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tener vida (Source: fuckyeahmercury) New double album out Oct 9th. Preorder at. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN (Graham Nash) – performed by Sadie Jemmett Played and sung by Sadie Jemmett and John McBurnie Original version appears on CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG – Déjà Vu (Atlantic 1970) Sadie: “I love CSN&Y in general and this song in particular. It was recorded around the time of the London riots in 2011, which made it all seem very poignant.” ————————————————————————————————— Route 61 Music & Hemifrån proudly present MUSIC IS LOVE A SINGER-SONGWRITERS’ TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG ————————————————————————————————— A 2-disc / 36-page booklet deluxe set. 27 artists, 27 songs. A tribute to the outstanding body of work produced by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. A benefit for the Equestrian Therapy Co-op* in Brandeis, California. *Equestrian Therapy is horseback riding for children and adults who can personally benefit from a natural encounter with horses. By combining horsemanship with concepts of physical and occupational therapy, Equestrian Therapy Co-Op programme promotes balance, coordination, focus and self-confidence in children and adults with special needs. ————————————————————————————————— PRODUCERS’ NOTE Like all of the musicians on this album, we grew up deeply affected by the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Perhaps it was even deeper for us as Europeans, because America was only a place we dreamed of, a far-off romantic world that we tried to understand, and music, movies and books were the among the ways we discovered it. This album is our little effort to thank the four men who opened up that world to us, and made it sing in harmony for more than forty years. Heartfelt thanks go also to all of the artists and bands — most of them good friends of ours — who are part of our larger musical world. Not only did you create your own great music, gifting us with beautiful original songs, but helped us make this tribute album possible. Music is love. That has always been the case. Once upon a time, through the songs of CSNY, we discovered that love was worldwide. Peter Holmstedt / Ermanno Labianca / Francesco Lucarelli ————————————————————————————————— A PRESENTATION BY DAVE ZIMMER, author of “Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography” and editor of “4 Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader” The music of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young has moved so many people, reaching across borders around the world, their music resonating with loyal legions of fans and inspiring musicians everywhere. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, writing, singing, playing and performing at the peak of their talents, they released a series of albums together and as individual artists that established key signposts of their musical styles, distinct but connected, forged with otherworldly harmony blends, vintage rosewood acoustic guitars, as well as big white and old black electric guitars, that endure to this day. What draws us so powerfully to these artists? For me, it’s a combination of Crosby’s mind-bending chords and vocals, Stills and Young’s multi-colored guitar explorations, and Nash’s timeless messages and high harmony, cresting stunning songwriting that addresses both personal and social issues. While the artists had all previously made their marks in formidable rock and roll bands — Crosby in The Byrds, Stills and Young in Buffalo Springfield and Nash in The Hollies — the unique character of their music kept growing. More than 40 years ago, these musicians were looking inward, speaking out and writing songs that helped define a generation. Well, that generation grew up, as did the artists, but this connection and bond continued; then new generations discovered them, and much of the musicrip. There is even a family tie. That CSNY feels like a family, with all of the love, rivalry and resiliency this entails, extends to the fans and musicians around them, creating a circle of fellowship and fraternity that is often unspoken but very real. There is a sense that “we’re all in this together” and can share in the communal experience. The specter of love looms large with each of these artists, who have turned matters of the heart inside out with so many of their songs, capturing feelings of tenderness, hope and tattered emotions, often writing about the ladies they cherished and longed for. Still, a good number of their songs can be interpreted with musicians of either gender, as this collection shows so well, with both male and female vocalists bringing out the essence of feelings expressed. There is an emotional center to the melding of words and music that allows for so many extraordinary contemporary interpretations. It feels appropriate, right and true, then, that the umbrella song that graces this compilation is “Music Is Love,” David Crosby’s mantra that evolved into a magical track in collaboration with Graham Nash and Neil Young in the summer of 1970. So go back to where it all began and enjoy these new takes on the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. ————————————————————————————————— THE ARTISTS Nick Barker Cindy Lee Berryhill Bocephus King Bonoff Covan Szcześniak & Waldman Clarence Bucaro Neal Casal The Coal Porters Judy Collins Marcus Eaton Andy Hill & Renée Safier Jenai Huff Sadie Jemmett Ron LaSalle Louis Ledford Mary Lee’s Corvette Michael McDermott & Heather Horton Ian McNabb Sonny Mone Elliott Murphy Willie Nile Liam Ó Maonlaí Carrie Rodriguez Eileen Rose & The Legendary Rich Gilbert Jennifer Stills Sugarcane Jane Venice Steve Wynn ————————————————————————————————— Album conceived and produced by Peter Holmstedt / Ermanno Labianca /Francesco Lucarelli (P) & © 2012 – Route 61 Music (Italy) / Hemifrån (Sweden) Mastered by Alex McCollough at YesMaster, Nashville ————————————————————————————————— awesomepeoplehangingouttogether: Queen and Andy Warhol tener vida mate nada

Security App For the New German Personal ID Hacked 93)." heh (Score:1) I think it was that Shakespeare dude who said, "The best laid schemes of mice and men. Go oft awry" Or, as the philosopher Simpson said, "D'oh!" Not quite (Score:2, Informative) "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley," And for one, Shakespeare wasn't Scottish... Re: (Score:2) Re: (Score:2) I don't think the men have got much do to with it. Re: (Score:1) I don't think the men have got much do to with it. Yes. It's obviously a mouse driver problem anyway. Re: (Score:2) I doubt it - he knew better than to split the verb and the subject into two separate sentences. What is the appropriate system, then? (Score:2, Interesting) If you have need for such an identification card and trackable number within the government database to allow you access to government services such as healthcare, what is the best identification system in that case? Re:What is the appropriate system, then? (Score:5, Informative) You probably didn't/couldn't read the article (it's in German after all, not everyone can read that). I did, hereby summary/translation of what's going on. Hoping I understand all correctly, so other posters please correct me when I'm wrong! It's got nothing to do with the ID card itself, or identification to the government with it. Basically the vulnerability is in the update function of the AusweisApp software. It starts with hijacking the DNS query for the update server, and redirect the app to a (malicious) server, which pretends to be the real deal. Then when the fake update server presents the software with a valid SSL certificate, AusweissApp accepts this without checking whether the certificate has been issued in the correct name (I hope I translate this well - anyway the SSL certificate is not checked properly, the core of the vulnerability), and will happily download a .zip file which is supposed to be the update for itself. Updates are distributed as .zip files. So this is vulnerability part 1: you can have it download the wrong file. But now it's part 2: the software will unpack the zip file before asking authorisation, and using relative path names for files in the zip archive malicious software can be placed on the user's hard disk. This of course is also an issue, it should unpack the zip in one location and disregard path names if any. So there you have it: a glaring vulnerability that allows for remote installation of software. The article notes they contacted the issuer of the software, who at first answered "we will look into this issue and if there really is a vulnerability issue an update", later they pulled the current version of the app from their download site without giving further explanation on why it's not available anymore. Re: (Score:1) Would this be a satisfactory system if this hole were plugged? The problem is whether there is any satisfactory system given the likelihood of whiny Slashbots complaining about either loss of privacy, insecure maintenance of critical information, and threat to identity security. If the default posture is "it will be hacked" to any proposal for a necessary identification system such as this, how could such a system be designed so that these objections are unwarranted? As we Americans move towards a national he Re: (Score:3, Informative) The ID cards for the health system are a completely different thing in Germany. Since it's run on the basis of insurance companies* (Krankenkassen) you get a normal chip-and-PIN card from your insurance company that you then give to the doctor or hospital staff when it comes time do sort out the paperwork. These ID cards on the other hand are only for German citizens and are issued by the federal government and have a much more general usage. Foreigners like me who live here can't get a German ID card and ev Re: (Score:2) Foreigners like me who live here can't get a German ID card and everybody will still have to have a health insurance card. I'd replace can't with are not required to. I'm happy that I don't have a German ID card; I don't like carrying around government issued cards with chips.!" I don't have a health insurance card either, since I an insured through a priv Re: (Score:1, Informative) This is wrong. [wikipedia.org] Re: (Score:2) Re: (Score:1) Correct, you are required to own one, but there is no law that requires you to keep it on you at all times. Although most Germans do not know this either. Law or not, the question is: if an officer asks you for it and you don't have it, what, if any, are the consequences? The legality of the matter is often less important than how you are treated by law enforcement. In the U.S., there are laws about what a cop can and cannot demand from you in specific circumstances: but even when they don't have the right, they may still expect you to obey and give you a hard time if you don't. Depends upon where you are, in many cases: I know there are some towns that I sim Re: (Score:2) Re: (Score:2)!" [wikipedia.org] Funnily enough this law applies to foreigners in Germany as well, meaning you have to carry around your passport or some other identification, eg. drivers licence. Private insurance is a lo Re: (Score:2) Funnily enough this law applies to foreigners in Germany as well, meaning you have to carry around your passport or some other identification, eg. drivers licence. In 20+ years of living in Germany, only once have the police requested an ID from me. I was walking near an area with bars and nightclubs, where there is often trouble. My drivers license and my accent were enough to convince them that I was not the person they were looking for. The police in Germany are always quite polite . . . and like any Re: (Score:2) In 20+ years of living in Germany, only once have the police requested an ID from me. Same with me - in over 2 years I've never been asked for ID, doesn't change the fact that the law applies to foreigners like us as well. It's not ideological, rather empirical. My girlfriend (state insured) had an allergy problem, and had to first go to her General Praticioner (Hausartz) to get a referral to an allergy specialist, who did a set of allergy tests. Since they all came up negative, the doctor needed to do anothe Re: (Score:2) Plus with private insurance you have no choice what you can send or not - you have to send exactly what the insurance company requires of you. Be careful there! An insurance company may request information, implying that it is required, that they are not, by law, entitled to. This happened to me. I showed the written request for information to my doctor, and he was angry at the insurance company, and said, "They have no right to that information, and they know it. Just ignore the letter!" So if your i Re: (Score:2) Be careful there! An insurance company may request information, implying that it is required, that they are not, by law, entitled to. This happened to me. Ok but at a minimum they're going to be able to demand the same information as is on the Krankenkasse cards aren't they? I mean demand as in say if you dont give us the info we don't pay you. If I had a doctor visit that I don't want the insurance company to know about, I just don't submit it, and sit on the costs myself. You could do the exact same thing a Re: (Score:2) The law actually only has an Ausweispflicht (requirement to own an ID) but not a Mitführpflicht (requirement to carry ID at all times). Of course how that plays out in practice is another matter... Re: (Score:2) From other posts it seems that most people are quite positive about the card as such, that it even allows for anonymous transactions (how that matches an ID card I don't know - maybe that's explained elsewhere in this discussion; going to read myself again later on). And European countries in general are way more protective of their citizen's privacy than the US is. This security hole is a problem of the supporting software, how to get such software 100% secure I don't know. But not doing something as simpl Re: (Score:2) It is abundantly clear to anyone willing to look that it can't. Centralization doesn't scale. Creating a single point of failure for an entire nation is stupid. It won't be. It will be ignored. Re: (Score:2) Your summary seems correct. But he defeated another security measure through the zip file. Normally, only updates with a specific signature are installed. But as the updates are .msi-files packed in a zip, and the zip is unpacked without verification, one can use the zip with relative paths to install other software in the AusweisApp's context. Re: (Score:2) I'd think the best identification system would simply be based entirely on biometrics and querying a central server which matches the biometric data to an identity. So whatever security that is required is to ensure that the service is connected to the legitimate central server. Having a portable ID card does make things a lot more convenient though, not requiring a central server, but security gets a rather more complicated. 1. You need a way to determine if the bearer of the ID card is the legitimate owner Re: (Score:2) You say unforgeable is impossible but suggest it is still worth trying. The harder something is to forge, the more faith will be placed in it making it more valuable to forge it, ergo more resources will be placed on trying to forge it. Re: (Score:2) No reason why an ID card can not be mighty hard to forge - I'm thinking encrypt data on the card with some digital signature, the secret key stored in a central database, and one unique key per card. Easy to create, easy to revoke. Optionally add part of the information in unencrypted format too for those situations where security is less strict. Re: (Score:2) I'd think the best identification system would simply be based entirely on biometrics ... OK, now what if someone is able to clone your biometrics to impersonate you (see German magazine that got a fingerprint of some German Gov official and distributed it on some suitable sticky film with their mag so anyone could leave that official's fingerprints all over the place). So now what if someone can hack the central server to change your biometric info to their biometric info? They are now, to all intents and purposes, you. If someone discovers your password or pin you can change it, if someone c Well now. (Score:3, Funny) (article in German) Most of us will have an excuse not to read TFA this time. (As if lack of an excuse ever made much difference.) Re: (Score:3, Insightful) We no longer live in the days of Babelfish being the only game in town. Google Translate does a passable (but far from perfect) job: [google.com] Re: (Score:1) (article in German) Most of us will have an excuse not to read TFA this time. (As if lack of an excuse ever made much difference.) Really. Although, I've been mod-bombed a few times for failing to read the article, so it does bother some people no end if you don't read it. I can guess the word most Germans said... (Score:2, Funny) Re: (Score:2) Actually, most Germans probably don't give a damn. BTW, is it scheisse or scheiße? Re: (Score:3, Informative) Depends on if you are Swiss :-) In Germany it's Scheiße, in Switzerland it's Scheisse. Re: (Score:2) Can someone explain, bitte? (Score:2) How does it matter? Does it let you get the secret key from a card, or somehow pretend to have a different ID? I though the point of using a smartcard is that PCs cannot be trusted. Is this about a MiTM attack without physical access to the PC? Re: (Score:2, Interesting) The new ID sounds good - really! (Score:5, Interesting) First, to TFA: there is no problem with the ID itself, just with the security of the special PC software than can work with them. As most /.ers know, there is quite a hacker community in Germany, and these problems are really not too bad. In order to compromise the software you first have to do a DNS hack, then fake a certificate, then... In a nutshel, yes, there are problems, but they aren't too bad and will be relatively easy to fix. The ID itself is really cool. Among other things, it supports secured anonymous transactions. How many governments are there that willingly support anonymity for their citizens? Re:The new ID sounds good - really! (Score:4, Informative) Any valid SSL certificate will do; it's not checked. That's the main problem. Re: (Score:2) So you are saying there are lots of hackers in Germany, but there is little to worry about, since people who don't know how to hack won't be able to hack it, and only the large number of people who do Re: (Score:2) Wow! It's a damn good thing Germany isn't connected the Internet then! Re: (Score:2) How can an ID card specifically facilitate anonymous transactions? Isn't that an exact contradiction? Re: (Score:2) Blind signatures [wikipedia.org] allow anonymous transactions: [wikipedia.org] You don't know the best things about the ID, yet (Score:4, Informative) You have to know that our (German) current ID card is being photocopied for many kinds of quick transactions/deals. Someone can give you something without paying in advance and you give him a copy of your ID card, so he can find you, when you forgot to pay or give something back. You can optionally give the ID card directly as security. Now... the new ID... it is explicitly forbidden to photocopy it and even leave it unattended somewhere. Why? Because there are some critical numbers printed on the new German ID cards that no one should know. Isn't it great? Imagine that someone printed your social security number on your new "great and modern ID card"! And here comes the first loop hole: banks always have needed and still will need your ID card photocopied to open an account. Guess what happens? They will get a special permit to do this (it has been already decided to keep the current account registration system working). Re: (Score:2) I like this rule that forbids to give the card out of your hands. Hopefully it will put some common sense in some heads and I can stop shaking my head over all those idiots who willingly give their credit cards out of their hands and let people do stuff they can't see with it, but then wonder about their crazy bills. And banks don't "need" an ID card or copies of an ID card to open an account. Any method which can prove that you are the guy who opened the account would do it. Re: (Score:1) Do you ever eat at nice restaurants? Re: (Score:2) Yes. But that doesn't mean that I'd ever let anyone except closest friends take my credit card out of my sight. I'm from Germany, and the usage of credit cards is not so widespread here as in the USA. If it's not a business related dinner, or some kind of bigger event, most people here usually pay cash in restaurants. And as I know how much the CC companies charge those poor shop owners, I tend to use a credit card only when paying in cash or with the bank card (don't know if there's something similar in the Re: (Score:2) True, credit cards aren't used that often outside online/mail-order transactions and what's referred to as "EC cards" is a different kind of animal ( [wikipedia.org] ). Re: (Score:2, Informative) Do you ever eat at nice restaurants? That was ten years ago, when the waiter had to take your card backstage to get the imprimt. Nowadays, they do have those small portable readers which they bring right to your table. The card no longer leaves your sight... Re: (Score:2) Re: (Score:2) Banks generally do need to go above and beyond 'have a photo ID' to protect your money - they store the copy of your official ID to compare against the ID you (or "you") show next time, and to compare signatures, and to have a photo of the bad guy and solid evidence that it wasn't you if a forgery was presented the first time. If you don't do this, then some shmuck with a forged ID can do stuff in your name. Oh - and that's the choice that most USA banks have made, so you suffer from id Re: (Score:1) If the banks were suffering from their lax fraud controls, they would probably do something about it. As it stands, the bank (the victim of the fraud that the bank failed to prevent) just pushes the problem off on some individual. So the laws are terrible there (it should be straightforward for someone to repudiate an account and hear nothing more from the institution that mistakenly opened said account). Re: (Score:2) The scan of your ID card also serves second purpose. In case your wallet is stolen you simply provide your name, address, date of birth and together with a visual confirmation they'll let you withdraw money at the counter until your replacement bank card is mailed to you. passport (Score:1) Just give them your passport. They will happily accept it. That's what I and most foreigners living in Germany use to authenticate, because we don't have an ID card. Re: (Score:2) Suspect they will still require an ID card if you happen to be German citizen... the passport bypass will work fine for non-nationals... Re: (Score:2) You mean like on my driver's license here in the US up until a few years ago? That's why my new driver's licenses always had an unfortunate encounter with a belt sander soon after issue. Sweden has chips on the national id cards... (Score:2) Quick Summary (Score:1, Redundant) For those who can't read German here's a basic summary of the article: There is a vulnerability not in the ID cards but in the desktop software that makes use of them for authentication on the Net. This software's update mechanism is apparently vulnerable to a DNS spoofing attack that would allow a skilled attacker to download and unpack a ZIP file on the user's machine (but not directly execute any code). The article was updated to say that the government agency responsible for this software has stopped dow Re: (Score:2) And since the ID card and desktop software know nothing about the operating system they run on there is no way to be sure they will behave as expected. Re: (Score:1) The really safe solution would have been to have a reader with PIN entry required, and have that reader directly communicate with the server (using a secure, encrypted protocol, of course), so for identification purposes, the computer acts only as a router for the secure communication. Of course that still doesn't protect against compromised readers, but I guess those are much more easy to protect than computers (after all, they are single-purpose appliances). Re: (Score:2) Yeah I think this point was brought up in the dw-world article (in English) linked to this story. It's like Internet Banking, if you use it from a computer which isn't secure or which you can't reasonably trust (eg. a computer in an internet cafe) you can't expect your session to be secure. Same with this system. I think the idea is to create a system where verified emails and documents can be securely sent, eg. if I want to cancel the contract with my phone company I use my ID+PIN reader gadget to send them Re: (Score:2) I think the attacker is a different person here. If you want your data to be secure you will use a secure system. If you want to defraud the Government then you may create a deliberately insecure system. another potential hole (Score:1) another potential hole here is the social aspect of the deployment: it is only for Germans. And you have a large percent of foreigners living there, who use the same services as Germans. And I don't people from far away countries. I mean even other europeans who happen to live in Germany in accordance to all European rules. These people use credit cards, do bank transactions, on-line shopping, etc. For these people, of which I belong to, our only means of authenticating is the passport. So in the end every s Bundestrojaner (Score:2) Now they can upload their spying tool to everybody without a warrant. All they need to do is accidentally mixup the new release of the passportapp with the trojan. Re: (Score:2, Insightful) But for that, they would not need to add that security hole. They could just install it from the regular update server of the app. Or redirect DNS, but use the original certificate. Re: (Score:1) But for that, they would not need to add that security hole. They could just install it from the regular update server of the app. Plausible deniability! Why this tool is crap anyway (Score:2) Which basically means, when ever somebody does something bad with your id, the damage is yours. They even read, that you should only keep it on the card reader for the few seconds of usage. As if those few seconds are not enough for an attack. One thing that already works easily with an exploited Re: (Score:1) The current terms of service (which you accept when you get this thing) are that the program is safe by definition. The user has to keep the pc free of viruses. Zerodays are the users fault as well, what so ever. Lemme guess... and the app is only available for windows. So basically they tell you "you have to expose your computer to attacks, but you (not we) are responsible when it does get attacked and your id stolen". Re: (Score:2) Very bad PR, but nothing extraordinary (Score:3, Interesting) This is very bad PR for the new ID, but neither the ID card nor the software has been hacked yet. This is just another way to install some malware on a computer. I have no doubt though that worse things will happen. The mistakes made here are so glaringly obvious that it's hard to believe that there aren't other holes to be found.

"Cyber War" Is Just the Latest Grab for Defense Money 161 Posted by Unknown Lamer from the monocle-polishing-terrorists-are-stealing-our-yachts dept. from the monocle-polishing-terrorists-are-stealing-our-yachts dept. New submitter.'" Is this a US thing? (Score:4, Interesting) Cause I've not heard the phrase "cyber war" being bandied about like the wars on terror/drugs/etc have been. Everything in the USA is a "war". (Score:5, Insightful) Americans are a very curious species. There are two things you should know about them: 1) Most Americans have never experienced real war of any sort. This includes those in the military, even those who have served in various conflicts, and even those who have killed during said conflicts. (Much of this killing has been done at great distances using missiles or munitions released by planes or drones, and was thus quite impersonal.) 2) Most Americans have a so-called "boner for war". This is especially true of those who self-identify as "Republicans", but many who identify as "Democrats" are equally afflicted. Unfortunately, there are a lot of these people, and they have thus acquired much power within the American political system. To them, anything and everything they don't like needs to be crushed in a "war". It doesn't matter whether their target is alcohol or drugs or Islam or homosexuality or affordable health care or free speech on the Internet. To them, "war" is the only solution possible, and they'll refer to "war" incessantly when discussing such topics. Re: (Score:2, Funny) Re: (Score:2) Sounds like you want to start a war on wars. Re: (Score:2) Now they want a war on drugs. A war on DRUGS! They ought to start a war on war! --Mojo Nixon, Burn Down The Mall Re:Everything in the USA is a "war". (Score:4, Insightful) Re: (Score:3) Mod parent funny! "Liberal pinko!" Of course, Gingrich probably would call someone like him a liberal. He and Perry and Paul would probably be against the interstate highway, too. Wonderful sarcasm. We have a war on poverty too (Score:2) Only we can't figure out a good excuse to shoot, bomb or jail poor people. Re: (Score:2) What do you think the "War on Drugs" is for? Re:Is this a US thing? (Score:4, Interesting) They're doing it in the UK too : Web War II: What a future cyberwar will look like [bbc.co.uk] ; and on the BBC. I wonder if it's just a few select plants in their newsroom, whether they are just being fed this stuff unwittingly, or whether their legendary neutrality is being eroded at an institutional level. Re: (Score:2) Yes, it's mostly a US thing (Score:2) It's really about getting new funding for the US Military establishment and their friends in private-sector contracting businesses. It lets companies who don't make heavy iron or high-tech weaponry sell consulting and overpriced computer system designs, and lets military departments who don't have overpriced cool airplanes (or can't get their next generation of cool airplanes) get more money to hire people and buy shiny equipment from politically well-connected vendors. That doesn't mean there aren't civil Hobgoblins! (Score:3, Funny) has anyone considered this latest Hobgoblin threat to the United States' civil security? We need to begin deploying elven rangers at our borders. It's the only way to be sure. I propose an Elven Archer High Command, taking pieces from DoHS, DOD, NSA, FBI, and other agencies which are clearly not as focused on the Hobgoblin threat as they need to be. We cannot allow American lives to be thrown away by caving into the Hobgoblin agenda. Re: (Score:2) Re:Hobgoblins! (Score:5, Funny) No. No no. No no no. We must begin deploying DWARF (Designated Warfare Advance Recon Forces) to defend against the hobgoblin menace. The best part is that all we need to send seven of them out with just a pickaxe and an axe and they are quite adept at constructing fortresses to defend against the hobgoblin menace. With a little bit of oversight we can make sure to avoid the lava cataclysm events that DWARF is prone to causing. Re: (Score:2) A pickaxe and an axe? Just a piece of bismuthinite, a piece of cassiterite, a couple of pieces of tetrahedrite, a random rock. They can rip apart their wagon and build an axe from the wood in it. Re: (Score:3) Well, people used to bad-mouth the Bear Patrol back when it started too. But I submit to you that we haven't had a single person killed in a U.S. city by a bear since it began. You can't argue with success. Seriously? (Score:4, Interesting) While I do agree that it is in the military's best interests to keep things rolling financially, make no mistake in the fact that cyber criminals and foreign nations are actively penetrating and stealing sensitive information from the United States as well as other countries. Re: (Score:3) Of course that's true. But the cost of making defense networks secure is trivial compared to the cost of developing a new weapon system or surveiling the world. Re: (Score:2) Foreign nations are actively penetrating and stealing sensitive information from the United States That fact that the sensitive info is on a public network, or networks connected to the internet, is reason enough to believe there is incompetence involved. Incompetence is the largest factor in a compromised network. If you don't want your fruit picked, don't leave it so close to the ground. Re: (Score:3) It doesn't work that way. Outside of the DoD, just about everything is connected to the Internet these days; workers expect to have access to the Internet for research while they work, or so that they can take breaks during the day and read their personal email. The fact that you can't make an inbound connection to those computers (because of firewalls, Re: (Score:2) Yes, they are. And leaving aside the fact that most of the world does care about this type of crime (but does not particularly care about the US, which still falsely thinks of it as the pinnacle of human existence), this is just a very conventional IT security problem. There are far too many organizations out there that will fall even to a moderately competent individual doing a targeted attack. Calling crime "war" either just exceedingly stupid, or exactly what the original story said. That said, one thing Re: (Score:2) In the USA we always hear the main aggressor is China. Re: (Score:2) For this aspect of things, that would be an accurate statement. They're responsible for a lot of state sponsored attacks on our digital infrastructure. It is (Score:3) continu Re: (Score:2) Thank you for saving some time. I'm bookmarking this thread. Re: (Score:2) In the USA we always hear the main aggressor is China. It clearly is not. The Chinese can be happy if they match higher-competence individual hackers. But there are a lot of economic and political reasons to paint the Chinese as a threat. Because, in fact, they are to the US. Not so much to Europe, though. All of the above (Score:3) Can you imagine a world where it's possible for there to actually be ideals that are opposed to principles of freedom and democracy, and where the US isn't to blame for everything bad that happens? I know this would be a stretch from your comfortable worldview which probably holds that the only reason the US and/or West has any "enemies" is because we make them ourselves. I'm sure if the US didn't exist after WWII, Western European nations would all be in a happy place and the world would be a peaceful utop Re: (Score:2) Well, I do agree there are actual threats out there, sure. Yes, China potentially is a threat, as is Iran and N. Korea. Of those 3, I'd say China is potentially the largest threat just based on economic power and supply controls. However, it is also very accurate to state that most of (the USA's) our "enemies" are primarily a result of foreign interventions. I use "enemies" loosely here, because we're not engaged in a traditional "war" with anyone (as defined by clear objectives competing against other Na Yawn. (Score:5, Insightful) You are preaching to the choir, sir. Is the Information Superhighway in danger? (Score:1) Maybe you're not worried about the safety of the Information Superhighway, but I sure am. When I go surfing in cyberspace, I want to know that I'm protected. The World Wide Web can be a dangerous place, but if you take some precautions it'll be safe sailing all the way. Re: (Score:2, Funny) You just to create some synergy by leveraging the Best Practices of both Open Source and Proprietary Technologies. And wear a condom. How about we taxpayers... (Score:3, Insightful) ...tell the government where to spend our taxes. Me regarding the taxes I pay, your regarding the taxes you pay. Extrapolate that out to realize what all else gets fixed. If you don't trust the people, then you probably support rigged elections. Does a politician who does not follow through with their campaign promises that people voted for them for, represent the people? No Taxation without representation. I'd rather realize results as being representative rather than some a person claiming to represent me. The value of defense is more often to protect yourself from those you suspect of retaliation of the wrongs you've done against them. go figure what the cyper war crap is really about. Re:How about we taxpayers... (Score:5, Insightful) ...tell the government where to spend our taxes. Me regarding the taxes I pay, your regarding the taxes you pay. Only problem is what to do about things that nobody wants to think about paying for despite the fact that they have to be funded. Often these are things that don't require a lot of money (can you think of anyone who wants to fund the retirement plans of federal auditors?) but without them all sorts of things just fall apart over time. Re: (Score:2) Are you high? What smart ass remark? He made a valid point. One you don't want to hear, so you are getting all pissy because if goes against your gut \feeling of how things should be. " its not all or nothing as he clearly insinuates" he did no such thing. You are creating a strawman, the second to last vestige of an argument without merit. "Try asking people randomly off the street if they would like to tell government where to spend their money if you want a real answer." and most would say yes, and they woul Re: (Score:3) The only reason we don't have direct democracy is because it's never been tried because it's never been possible in the history of the world until now. The thundering herd would wise up after a few misteps at first. I'd way rather try direct democracy over the illusionist representative democracy we have now. Re: (Score:2) As a reminder, a lot of things were said about Free Open Source Software, that this or that would happen, that it needed this other or that other and of course "it'll never work" and plenty more. But against all these speculations... it works. And it provides a working model of how participatory democracy can work within this Republic of the United States. Also there is local, state and federal government where taxes are levied and collected, so things can be sorted out on the local levels in getting this Re: (Score:2) Yes, open software can work. This is not open software, it's a form of government. Have you ever even been in a large open source project? All of them have a person who makes the decisions, regardless of popular support. Now, with software you can spin off you own fork. I can't decide to go build roads because I don't like how it's being done. Re: (Score:2) google "crowd source iceland" Re: (Score:2) False, it's been tried many times. Lasts about 2 years then someone has to make rules regardless of popular support. You are mistaking not seeing one right now with never been tried. You don't see one, because anything too large and it fails. Too large being more then 100. Hell, get a group of 20 people together who want the same goal, and it gets hard to manage the how. Re: (Score:2) [Citation Needed] Have you seen the Internet lately? (Score:3) Have you seen the crap people vote for as cool? Do you really want the latest hot YouTube video, cheezburger meme or Twitter trend be the example for our nation's policy? Over and over, "man on the street" interviews show a huge number of people have no real idea what's going on, yet they'll be able to vote to directly to influence policy concerning it. If we really want to kill ourselves, we can make voting mandatory, so the huge number of people who are uninformed or just plain old don't give a damn push Re: (Score:3) Your second paragraph is the most compelling for me, though. I grew up in northern Michigan, and the last thing the planet needs is for those ignorant, inbred rednecks to actually get off the couch and vote. (Yes, I'm including some relatives, though fortunately not many.) Re:How about we taxpayers... (Score:5, Insightful) That means that you should be calling your Congress person. Are you? The elected representative is the guy/gal who determines how the money is spent. Re: (Score:2) We can instruct government at the time of filing tax returns and the tax return processors can then allocate it. We can remove congresses budgeting problem of, by us doing it instead. This really is a very simple solution but some just don't know how to realistically extrapolate it all out to realize all the benefits and corrections. These are the one who might also think the way to do math is to memorize the times table and all other answers rather than understand the mathematical tool set from which extrap Re: (Score:2) Playing "can't see the forest for the trees" ? Every goal starts out with a general idea that gets broken down into doable easy to do parts. The complexity we have today didn't just appear and complexity reduction is certainly a worthwhile goal. Complexity increase also increases error and abuses and can and has been done with intention of profiting off errors and ability to hide cheating in the complexity.. As I said else where, this core change can and should start out with local government, then state and ev Re: (Score:3) Re: (Score:2) No Taxation without Representation.... look it up. Re: (Score:2) Re: (Score:2) haha. Another person who flips out some phrase they actually no nothing about. Taxation with representation was a cute phrase whipped out by a group of men becasue ENgland was going to sell a large portion of the US to france. Thos emen had a vested interest in the land. A) Colonist were barely taxed. Most didn't pay any taxes at all. B) It was used to whip the ignorant masses into a frenzy. Finally, that vast majority of people don't know what the fuck they are talking about. Listening to them is stupid. Instea Re: (Score:2) Citation needed. ;-) Re: (Score:2) Boston Tea Party Re: (Score:2) Say what? We elect politicians because we WANT them to represent us. THAT is their DUTY. Yes, we want them to do a better job than their predecessor. And, we want them to vote their conscience - provided that it is truly best for the people they are supposed to represent. Problem is, for far too many, it becomes about money and power. They abuse the system and people they represent. They spend more time trying to get reflected and not enough time solving our real problems. They become corrupt. Others try Re: (Score:2) The Declaration of Independence has instructions for the people, written by the experienced and wise founders of this country (Republic of the United States of America). They foresaw the probability of corrupt government and recognized the Peoples right and duty to put off such government and replace it with whet a system that adheres to the intents of the founders in protecting the interest of the people. This thread.is really rather exposing of the corruption that has become of slashdot posters. I wonder h Re: (Score:3) Politician don't represent the people and they shouldn't So tell me again why many of them have the job title of "Representative"? They're job is to give the people what they want - that's not "pandering" or "appeasement", that's democratic representation serving their constituents. They may have to balance several demands at once, and argue over how to make their demands a reality, but they are definitely supposed to be focused on doing what the voters want them to do. Re: (Score:2) You pointed to a source of our problems (Score:2) You are correct, representatives are supposed to represent their constituents. However, to counter the fickle population, we had another house with officials selected by the states. This was supposed to be the body that, not depending on popular support, could take a more level-headed view of things. It was a great balance that the 17th Amendment killed by allowing direct election of senators. Re: (Score:2) How about I when I tell the government that I'd like 100% of my taxes to be spent on a tax credit for me? Of course, I still expect everybody else around me to pay for roads and other government services I use every day, but that's not my problem, right? The basic problem of government is that everybody wants services, but nobody wants to pay for them. You can see that in California's state government, where Prop 13 prevents the government from raising taxes for any reason, but other ballot issues require th Re: (Score:3) People, if given the chance, seem to vote for insolvent government. It is better to have poor government and rich citizens than vice versa. Poor government is a self-solving problem. No money? They have whole blocks of cities that are full of bureaucrats. Get rid of them. If the entire government of California disappears overnight nobody will even notice. People don't need the government to live; it's an add-on layer that provides fewer and fewer services every year for more and more money. Now they are Re: (Score:2) There's obviously a need to strike a balance to achieve high levels of growth. Too high or too low causes problems. These are based off of the size of government by %GDP: Governments too poor to be effective: Afghanistan (9%), Turkmenistan (9%), Bangladesh (12%), Cambodia (13%) Private sectors too poor to be dynamic: Iraq (87%), Cuba (81%), Slovakia (66%), Timor (65%) G8 and permanent members of the UN Security Council: France (61%), Italy (55%), UK (50%), Germany (48%), Canada (48%), Japan (30%), China (22%), Re: (Score:2) As far as your example of losing your family home, you benefit from local and state services, so you should contribute in some way to the upkeep of your government. It is lost on me how the square footage of my house, or the number of electrical lights, determine how much I should pay in property taxes. There is only one street, and only one driveway, and only one resident. I'd understand if property taxes were related to number of people who live there. But they are not. Well, making the people who are Re: (Score:2) If you do not work you do not eat. If people with more expensive property are expected to sell their homes then perhaps people with less expensive property should sell some of their organs? So am I correct in boiling your argument down to the idea that my right to keep my property is more important than somebody else's right to remain alive? That seems more than a bit callous. If the government is Shylock (who is actually a pretty sympathetic character, upset because Antonio's pal stole his daughter and all his cash), you seem to be Ebenezer Scrooge ("Are there no workhouses?"). Losing one's home sucks. A lot. But it's a very different level of suffering from starving or living on the streets. Re: (Score:2) Because people are selfish and have no clue how to plan for decades? because most people can't even manage their own money? Because nothing would get done. I don't support rigged elections because they usually deal with issues on a larger scale. A voter may not like the economy, but they should be telling expert what we should specifically do. And how so you determine what amount? is the person paying the higher percentage get a higher say? is it real dollars? "Does a politician who does not follow through with Arguably even worse than that... (Score:5, Interesting) This is not a merely theoretical problem [forbes.com]. VUPEN [vupen.com] is the crass, attention-whoring, bad-boy of the industry; but practically the entire who's-who of staid, tight-lipped, defense contractors has a division peddling bugs somewhere in the business. Even if we were 100% warm and fuzzy about the use these exploits are being put to by these firms customers(Only the good guys, pinkie swear!), this situation is insane from the perspective of actual 'security'. Whose economies, financial systems, and infrastructure depend most heavily on complex IT systems? Ummm, mostly wealthy developed countries. Whose citizens are most vulnerable to electronic compromise of financial information and such? Countries with high rates of internet penetration and lots of computers. Who has the capability to deploy electronic attacks against unpatched vulnerabilities? Virtually everyone. In addition to the usual grab for rights and money, this 'cybersecurity' industry begets insecurity, because of the demand for 'offensive capabilities', despite the fact that we are the ones with the most to lose in an insecure environment. At least classic corporate welfare military R&D is merely expensive, and once you hand over the money, Raytheon or whoever goes off to build some impractical toy that is largely useless; but at least largely harmless.... Re: (Score:2) And they are overlooking a number of problems. One is that you can turn any type of malware around and use it against the attacker, unless the attacker is more secure than the attacked. Guess what, the whole world gets the same security patches. Until that changes, any offensive capability is highly problematic. Then there is the issue of how specific such a weapon is. The more specific, the easier any defense. The less specific, the larger the risk of unacceptable collateral damage. Those that want an offen Move along citizen (Score:4, Insightful) Re: (Score:2) Re: (Score:2) Arrr, yes! Eastasia and their terror-muslin-children-eating terrorists. Let's bomb them all! We cannot allow (Score:3) We cannot allow a cyber-war gap. Corporatocracy (Score:3) The truth is there *is* a cyber war issue, just as there is a terror issue and yes, even a drug issue that needs to be addressed (meth). What get's confused is the border between appropriate action and sponsored action. What's appropriate today is spend billions on contractors hoping the problem will go away, and less smart allocation. Bloat's always been a part of government, but today we're seeing an extremely stark privatization of public money, and externalization of corporate cost in public debt... Re: (Score:2) The truth is there *is* a cyber war issue, You have data to support that hypothesis? just as there is a terror issue In the US? I've seen no indication of such for over ten years. and yes, even a drug issue that needs to be addressed (meth). Yes, they should just legalize the shit so I can get cold medicine without looking like a criminal. If an adult wants to thoroughly fuck his life up with meth, why should I or my government stop him? I know quite a few hopeless alcoholics, and you know how that prohibition People do not want to hear that (Score:5, Interesting) I recently gave a talk on Cyberwar, with the main conclusion that there is nothing new here or nothing more scary than the targeted attacks we have increasingly seen in the last few years. Defense against "Cyberwar" is the same as against any other targeted IT attack. Even Stuxnet is not impressive at all and the authors made several unnecessary mistakes that jeopardized its mission. (And in addition, it is in no way certain that the damage to the Iranian centrifuges was even caused by Stuxnet. The Iranis had started using their own parts in the centrifuges and "the devil USA did it" may just be politically more opportune than "we do not have the skills to make our own centrifuges" or "we are incompetent to operate centrifuges reliably".) But guess what? Some people in the audience were offended! Seems to me some people are so in love with their own misconceptions, that they rather be afraid than admit that they were wrong (and that they are not experts on the subject in the first place...). As long as this stupidity continues, the immoral manipulators using these memes will continue to be successful. Re: (Score:2) As someone who has watched, monitored, and designed specialized security systems for SCADA, and Financial institutions, you are wrong. There are global coordinated attacks against many SCADA system, financial system. Other government agencies as well, but those are often much less professional. "Cyberwar" is defense against large scale coordinated attacks. So, yes the technical merits are 'the same' but in practicability, it is not. We now over large groups buying systems, then using them to test attacks agai Re: (Score:2) I am pretty sure I am right. I _know_ I am not ignorant. But as you chose to insult me, I am too lazy to find my sources again. The hints that Stuxnet is not great are very, very obvious. The only thing that allowed the attack is gross incompetence on the Irani side. Just one hint: I guess they never heard of independent monitoring systems for mission critical hardware. There is quite a bit more. Requires some searching though, and some engineering knowledge. As for coordinated attacks, you _can_ use cyberatt Re: (Score:2) Maybe it's not the "R" that makes them intransigent, but the "diehard" as you say. Re: (Score:2) I's an "R" all right, and that R is Religion. Believing that there is an infallible entity that controls the universe in all minutiae, and has laid down simple black and white laws to be followed, has a tendency to cause people to believe that, since they are on the side of unquestionable truth and goodness, any thought that passes through their mind obviously must have been placed there by the divine creator, and therefore who opposes it has certainly either made a mistake, or been led astray by the forces Re: (Score:2) You should ditch the "Republican"/"Democrat" line of thought. Flip sides of the coin, really. As for a "diehard 'R'" holding onto their mainstream-sensationalized beliefs, I think you'll find the other party's participants are quite more guilty of that than the 'R''s... Re: (Score:2) Historically(last 40 years) you would be wrong. OTOH, I actually read up on the facts in these issue and not just crap out whatever my gut tells me. You should try it. I will warn you, slaughter sacred cows requires a certain level of opening yourself up. Re: (Score:2) Not all experts on IT-security (the "cyber" is still the mark of incompetence) have the will to resist the call of big money. You mean the History Channel lied? (Score:3) The whole WWII think was made up? Damn! I knew Granddad told some whoppers, but I swallowed that one hook, line, and sinker. Pearl Harbor, Bataan (my great-uncle must have faked his death), Nazi's, and Holocaust were all imaginary. Go figure. Next you're going to tell me the Great Depression was fake too. You are mistaken (Score:2) This [slashdot.org] is the latest grab for defence money. Cyberwarfare is getting old enough that some people will start to believe in it for the sole reason that they heard it so many times. Re: (Score:2) I think you are exactly right. And "what I tell you three times is the truth" may exactly have been the strategy all along. Too bad it works nonetheless. so just pay for it (Score:2) The big difference that makes this silly is how cheap it is to fix these problems. We've got technical solutions for all security issues, but nobody uses them. Fire the programmers who get caught writing buffer overflow vulnerabilities. This is like firing building contractors who use substandard nails. After the roof blows off it's too late. Don't let your inspectors get away with being bribed. Don't tolerate substandard work. All these problems have been solved, we just have to fire the idiots who don't u Re: (Score:2) Before doing that, we should make it a requirement to get a professional Engineering certificate and sign off on projects. That means people will have to sign off on projects, so if management pushes something, and the engineer doesn't sign off and t ships? it's the managers ass. The engineering culture needs to be embraced, and the classic geek cowboy culture needs to be let go. With out this, you will be next to impossible to even find the specific coder responsible for a bug, and it will be impossible Big problems with that (Score:2) 1 it is likely that any certification legislation will be bought and paid for by Microsoft (or simlar companies) and will also legislate that that MS Visual Studio 2014* Enterprise will be required to be used and forbid the use of FLOSS tools. 2 this will make it impossible to use FLOSS tools on any business computer (can't have "uncertified" software running on a Business System) 3 it will not solve the problem since the Managers will force the Designated Engineer to "sign off" on whatever is needed when The Cheaper than welfare (Score:2) If it gives all the WoW kiddies a job, I'm all for it. Re: (Score:2) The largest demographics of WoW players is women ion their 40s. The more you know. Also, welfare isn't as expensive as you think. Re: (Score:2) You got a source for that demographic data? That doesn't match with sources I've seen (like the often referenced Daedalus Project). Welfare is INCREDIBLY expensive when you consider the impact it has on society and the creation of a class of of people raised on a culture of entitlement. Government assistance should be either a short-term bridge or part of a long-term solution for the disabled. You are not entitled to a standard of living paid for by other people, and there should be NO type of work you wi From one end of the spectrum of hype to the other (Score:2) Dumb summary (Score:2) First of all this doesn't belong in a summary since it's purely opinion. But second, it's a silly opinion. People don't wake up in the morning and think, "I'm going to menace the population with hobgoblins!" What people do think is things like, "we need to write a good ad for this anti-virus s Re: (Score:2) Keep telling yourself that. What Mencken stated is an _observation_ and right on the mark. And while governments do not "wake up in the morning" to think about this, they have think-tanks, committees, meetings, experts, etc. concerned with this, as it is an on-going effort. It happens to also be one of the strategies used by quite a few of the proponents of religion. Hellfire, damnation, eternal pain, etc. same thing, just with a more long-term agenda. An no. The threats are not more real than other things a Re: (Score:2) Summary (Score:2) Imaginary? Seriously? I guess there are two extreme wings for every opinion. You could probably argue reasonably well that the threats are "overblown" or "exaggerated". You'd have a hard time arguing that it's not important to secure our computer infrastructure. And you'd have an even worse time arguing that co except that (Score:4, Insightful) 1) million of attempts are made every month on US Government, and industrial systems. 2)And we have had system compromised by foreign attempts frequently. 3) It';s the military's role to protect against those threats None of that is speculation, none of the is fear mongering. Those are are facts. So, not it isn't the same as anarchist, of the red scare. And the war on drugs is a completely separate issue, stop bringing it up. Now, we can discuss where the line is, and discuss people using those facts to do things we don't want them to do, but don't pretend like they are made up threats. Re: (Score:2) Crime is a fact. These attacks are crime, just in a new area, but not even more intensive than other forms of crime. Repeating nonsense does not make it more true. Eisenhower (Score:2) Re: (Score:2) This is news? (Score:3) Bernard Shaw wrote "Of government, ‘that foolish gaggle shop’, he says:" Re: (Score:2) Re: (Score:2) Google "Sakka and Aang"

Got a wine- or science-related question? Email me at ithacork *at* gmail.com and I’ll do my best to answer it! A little while ago I got an email from a reader. She writes: I came across your blog online…I’ll be visiting the Finger Lakes soon and I was wondering if you know of any wineries that produce/sell de-alcoholized wine? I gave up drinking last year (sound decision, I promise) but still love the taste of wine. Am trying to find new and interesting de-alcoholized wines when I travel. Here’s my response: Thanks for reading the blog. I don’t know of any producers of de-alcoholized wines in the Finger Lakes, but I will ask around. Do you drink a lot of de-alcoholized wine? I have had several alcohol-removed wines (in the name of science) and none of them really taste like wine to me. Alcohol actually does much for the body and especially the acid balance of wine. Alcohol-removed wine to me tastes extremely acidic. Winemakers sensitive to those who choose not to drink alcohol can use glycerol or other agents to provide body and some even use capsaicin (from hot peppers) to replicate the “burn” of alcohol. Ariel Vineyards from California claims that its n/a wines have won gold medals against alcoholic wines. So maybe not all n/a wines are bad news. For the Finger Lakes, though, might I suggest a compromise of spitting? I spit whenever I visit wineries, since I am usually the one driving my friends around. Spitting would give you the tasting experience and the opportunity to talk with the tasting room staff without taking in that much alcohol. Also people who spit really look like professionals, because most pros spit! Failing that, i do know many wineries carry juice made from wine grapes. Looking back on this advice, I’m not sure that recommending spitting was such a good idea. No matter this person’s reasons for avoiding alcohol (medical, psychological, financial, religious, or anything else), I’m not sure that the answer is bringing her into closer contact with alcoholic wine. Indeed, for those of you who do spit, alcohol CAN get into your system without you swallowing a drop. It can traverse mucous membranes contributing to some absorption into the bloodstream. Various estimates exist but some numbers that I saw estimate that 3% of the alcohol in a drink is absorbed through the mouth (questionable Ref: Wine Business Monthly). So after a full day of wine tasting, spitting only, you could still end up having the equivalent of a drink or two. Of course, that doesn’t count those wines that are so rich and delicious that you’re just compelled to gulp them down. What do you guys think? Have you ever had a decent alcohol-removed “wine”? Any advice for this reader? Science! Wine is a complex mixture of water (about 85-89%), alcohol (12-14%), organic acids like tartaric, malic, and lactic acid, sugar (sometimes), and volatile aroma compounds. If your goal is to remove alcohol from wine, you might think you could just boil it. Alcohol is more volatile than water, ergo boiling the wine will reduce the alcohol. The problem with that is that all of the aroma compounds in the wine are also volatile, so you would destroy the wine (not to mention the effect of heating the wine). Alcohol can be removed from wines in many ways, but nowadays the most popular way is reverse osmosis. It’s a controversial topic in winemaking (see this article by PinotBlogger for some of the opposing viewpoints on alcohol removal), and I’m not really going to comment on the controversy, just the methodology. Reverse osmosis involves high pressure, used to push the wine through a very stringent membrane filter. Only compounds whose molecular weight is smaller than 90 can pass through a tight RO filter. This includes water, ethanol, and the {volatile acidity} compounds ethyl acetate and acetic acid. Once these pass through the membrane, the alcohol and VA is removed by distillation and the water is returned to the wine. No water is added during the process. For a picture, see below. This very simplistic diagram attempts to approximate the process of reverse osmosis on wine.

This evening I’m basking in the warm glow of a tummy filled with mashed potato! Here’s my lovely dinner (though obviously all that’s left now is the plate!) – Marinated Minty Lamb Steak with Mashed Potato and Green Veg. Yum! Here’s how I make my Mashed Potato (no amounts because I do it all by taste/eye): Take your potatoes (I usually use whatever general, all purpose potatoes they have in the shop – tonight it was Maris Piper), wash them and then cut/peel off any rooty or rough bits (but leave the rest of the peel still on for the tasty goodness). Chop them into smallish pieces and boil for 20 minutes. Drain, return to the pan and add a generous knob of butter. Add a generous dusting of freshly grated nutmeg. And a generous dollop of soured cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper (though I tend to leave out the salt here so I can dish it up to baby DD tomorrow). Mash away happily until it’s a consistency you like. I like to mash mine as smooth as they’ll go with a fairly open hand masher and the peely bits add texture and taste. If it’s really dry and stiff, you could add a bit of milk. I like my mashed potatoes without lumps of potato (but not super-smooth either), and lovely and fluffy. My perfect mash hangs happily from a spoon like this: Once it’s all mashed up, taste it and add more of anything above if you think it needs it and then add your yummy dinner. Tonight I marinated some lamb steaks before grilling them on the stove. They were marinated in a mixture of mint sauce, my mum’s home-made plum jelly and balsamic vinegar. While making the kid’s supper earlier, I gently simmered these together for a couple of minutes to melt everything together and start to caramelise it a bit. I then covered the steaks with it and left them for a couple of hours. I threw them onto the very hot grill pan and grilled them for a couple of minutes on each side. Add buttered green veg; tonight it’s spinach (I wilted mine rather than cook it properly by just plunging it into the boiling water from the mange tout and then draining it straight away) and lightly boiled mange tout. Make a super quick cheaty (but yummy) gravy by pouring a little bit of the vegetable cooking water into the grill pan, use a random utensil to scrape the yummy caramelised meaty marinade bits off the bottom of the pan and dissolve into the bubbling water. Add to your plate and… Ta da! (Though the eagle eyed people out there may notice that the pic was taken pre-gravy) … A super easy, delicious and balanced dinner that takes all of 30 mins to prepare… This kind of meal I can do! *~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*”*~,~*

This one really made me want to bang my head off of a wall. There are so many things to critique, where to begin… I guess I’ll start with the fact that the Indians only scored one run, despite the fact that they had a base runner in every inning. They were 0-12 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men stranded on base, which is pretty pathetic if you ask me. Particularly when they’re facing Freddy Garcia; his stuff didn’t seem necessarily spectacular and he had a 7.50 ERA against the Indians dating back to 2005 (prior to today, obviously). The only Indians without a hit today were Michael Brantley, Carlos Santana and Jack Hannahan; so they obviously had no problem getting hits off Garcia. Unfortunately, the hits stayed in the park and the Indians were never able to string any together to make a big inning. As usual with recent blowout games (which anymore, 3-0 qualifies as a blowout), Manny Acta went to Frank Herrmann and Chad Durbin after Josh Tomlin (Tony Sipp got some work as well). Herrmann had a decent outing, but Durbin was terrible yet again. Not that it mattered; the Indians weren’t going to score enough runs anyway. It’s still starting to get embarrassing to watch Durbin surrender his standard 3+ runs late in a blowout. You knew what you were getting when you signed him prior to the season, as his career ERA is 5.11. Still, his 7.39 mark this season is pretty painful. There were several teams competing for his services this spring; you have to think they’re counting their lucky stars right now that he went to the Indians. If Josh Tomlin had better defense behind him in the fifth inning, this game may not have gotten out of hand so quickly. Shin-Soo Choo, who is already struggling at the plate, misplayed Brett Gardner’s fly ball. Austin Kearns badly misjudged Alex Rodriguez’s fly ball; it was reminiscent of the time he misjudged the fly ball during the game I attended in Anaheim in early May. The one bright spot of the day: Orlando Cabrera reached the 2,000 hit mark in the second inning (even though the ball he hit looked more like an error by Derek Jeter, than an actual single). I’ll take what I can get at this point – congrats to O Cab. I’m not sure where the Indians go from here. Fortunately, the Tigers lost today as well so they maintain their tie for first place. They’ve looked so bad at the plate though, I’m starting to feel they’ll never be good again (I know that’s not true, but this is extremely discouraging). Acta spoke after today’s game about how they need to “tinker” with the lineup to get more success; I’m not sure a complete detonation of the lineup will help much at this point. There need to be some changes with the actual lineup’s participants before there will be any benefits. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very, very long, depressing series with Detroit. Durbin should be released (or traded if possible), he has not done anything all year. Even when the tribe was winning he was struggling. Not really sure what the Indians saw in him. Same goes for Kearns. He had a decent beginning to the year last year but has struggled since. The addition of Hafner will help also but won’t be much of a difference if the rest of the lineup doesn’t start producing when it counts. I think the tribe should go back to the opening day lineup, not sure it will help but it seemed to have the most success so far I whole heartily agree trade or release Durbin. I also agree on Kearns, why is Carlos still at the three hole? As far as durbin and kearns we have triple AAA guys that can do that good. Its wasted money let it go! I’m sorry i meant the four hole on carlos santana. have we had a hit with less than 2 outs in 3 weeks?

Pay your bill online or authorize other individuals to pay all or part of the balance due using a credit card, checking account, or savings account through QuikPay. Payment may only be made if a balance appears on the account. You may view your account details through OneStart. Students - pay your bill using your credit card, checking or savings account through QuikPay secure payment site. Authorized Payer - pay your student's bill using your credit card, checking account, or savings account through QuikPay Authorized Payer secure payment site. QuikPay Once logged into QuikPay, online by automatically deducting the amount due from a checking or savings account - Download and print a copy of the bill for sending check payments via U.S. mail - View billing and payment history - Check their student's current account balance and view new unbilled transactions Benefits and Advantages of QuikPay: - Convenient and easy - Private and secure - Free service offered by Indiana University - Saves time - no more waiting for the bill in the mail or waiting in line to make a payment - Saves money - no more writing checks and paying for stamps - Immediate posting of payment with confirmation of receipt Paying by Credit Card We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and JCB. You may pay in person at the Office of the Bursar (Hawthorn Hall, Room 102) as long as the authorized signature is on the back of credit card or pay online. High school students and non-enrolled students should make payments through IUPay Plus. Paying by Check or Money Order Send checks and money orders along with the bottom portion of your account statement to: Payment Processing Center IU Northwest Lockbox PO Box 7238 Indianapolis, IN 46206-7238 Make them payable to Indiana University, and write your 10-digit Student ID number on your check or money order. Please be advised that starter checks and counter checks are not accepted as a form of payment. Your financial aid (excluding work-study earnings) will be disbursed through the Office of the Bursar in accordance with federal regulations.. Payment plan (personal deferment) guidelines include: - Current balance of at least $450 - Initial payment received by the payment due dates (see the "Cost and Deadlines" tab) - Minimum payment paid by each due date listed on your bills Payment plans are available only to students who maintain a favorable credit history. If eligible, the minimum amount calculation will appear on the account statement. Students who do not qualify for a payment plan (personal deferment) are those who: - have a balance of less than $450.00 - have not honored the terms of a previous contract - have an unfavorable university financial record, including but not limited to a history of bad checks or returned items on campus, a poor loan status with any department, or any prior obligation remaining unpaid. Payment Deadlines The payment deadline for your semester tuition is included on the bill. When registering, it is your responsibility to print your bill. Either full payment, a deferment, or the minimum payment plan (personal deferment) must reach the Office of the Bursar by the payment due date. Remember that your semester registration is not considered official until all fees are paid. You will be financially responsible for the classes in which you registered unless you withdraw during the 100% refund period. Sponsored Students If all or part of your tuition and fees will be paid by a third-party sponsor, the Bursar must receive notification from the company or agency paying the bill on or before the payment deadline. Charges not covered by the sponsor must also be paid by the due date. The notification letter or voucher must include: - Name of the sponsoring agent - Name and student identification number of the student being sponsored - Dollar amount and types of fees that will be paid by the sponsoring agent - Address where the invoice should be sent - Contract dates or duration Fee payments not paid by the sponsoring agent within 30 days of the billing date become the student's responsibility. IU Tuition Benefit Full-time appointed IU employees, their spouses, and their dependent children are entitled to a tuition benefit provided the employee is working full time within the first week of the semester. More information is available at the Human Resources web page. Withdrawal Contact the Office of the Registrar if you need withdrawal instructions. Failure..

This post is difficult for me to write and inspired by my friends Lauren and Yael, who are two of the strongest women I know. Learning I learned an important lesson last night. I learned my emotional limits. I truly realized for the first time, too, that my primary responsibility now is to my son and keeping us both safe for his sake. This includes eating healthy, sleeping well, and setting emotional boundaries like I’m about to do. I’ve always rooted for the underdog, cried with the depressed, hugged the anxious. In other words, I feel I am an empathic person. Sometimes I wonder if I absorb other people’s energy because it affects me so profoundly. Worrying Last night, I lay awake from 1:30 until 5 in the morning worrying about a friend in trouble. Then I slept for an hour and a half before starting my morning, still deep in worry. Of course after a night like that, I had to call out of work; I was physically sick to my stomach from lack of sleep and abundance of worry. Then I cried a lot, and I turned to my friend Lauren, who has helped countless people, for advice. I struggled with what to do to help versus how far to extend myself, possibly endangering my emotional, mental, and physical health. Struggling And then I got mad. I got mad at myself for having taken so much on. I realized I do that all the time, and how drained it makes me feel. Sometimes it is uplifting to know that I had a positive influence on another person’s life. Sometimes I am able to help someone through their troubles, their depression or anxiety. But right now, it’s just too much. I got mad at my troubled friend, irrationally mad. I did not ask for the burden of the words he texted me that scared the hell out of me. I was angry with him for not seeking the proper kind of help, for not doing what needs to be done. But then I realized that when we are in the dark, it is difficult for us to see what needs to be done. My anger weakened. Stepping Back Times like this, when it gets to be too much for me, I need to realize that it’s OK–in fact, it is in my own best interest and that of my family’s–for me to put up what my dear friend Yael refers to as my “forcefield” and decide what I choose to let inside that forcefield. So that’s what’s happening, starting this very minute. I’m going to find a way to help others gently–and by that, I mean that I will be gentle to myself. There’s got to be a way to help others while not carrying the load myself, right? I want to shine a light, but not if it leaves me in the dark. Sweetie, hugs for the hard. I learned the concept of Forcefield from Havi Brooks of TheFluentSelf.com. and I traveled to Oregon twice to study with her. It’s something that you grow like a muscle. Baby steps, and some of those steps will inevitably be steps backwards, back to safety, because you are absolutely right to protect yourself. So much love to you… Yael Saar recently posted..Learning to Fly Thank you so much for posting the link, Yael. I will check it out the minute I have a chance. Well written. Perfect words. Very important. I think it’s critical to remember that if we don’t put ourselves first we can’t be of much use to others anyway, so it’s a weirdly curved circle, ya know? Sending you loads of virtual hugs. I’m glad you put this to *paper* for yourself. For the record. Andrea recently posted..Untitled. Because sometimes I’m just not creative. ((hugs)) my beautiful friend. Yuz recently posted..To the postpartum depression moms suffering in silence as posted in Postpartum Progress It’s a hard lesson to learn. I want to be there for everyone else. But, I’ve had to learn my limits, too. When something is too much and will take away from my family too much- I have to say no or walk away. Shell recently posted..Crafts for the Uncrafty: Easy Button Craft It is so hard for me to say no, but I’m learning. Thank you, Shell, for commenting! I have friends that lean on me hard too, and when you know youre the only source of counseling someone gets, it can be overwhelming. Im sorry you had a difficult last 24 hours, and Im hoping you did some good self care today. Frelle recently posted..Tuesday Tunes : Snow Patrol I did. I took a long nap–something I NEVER do. Ever. And last night, I took a long bubble bath. Ahhh… Feeling much better now. I am sending you huge hugs. I too struggle with taking on other’s pain. I am working on listening with love & empathy. I put on my old manager hat to see if the person just needs to be heard & validated. I gently suggest resources. Jenny recently posted..Guest Post for Charity: Reflections on Motherhood Suggesting resources is a great way to handle things. Thanks for that tip. Yay yay yay! Good for you! It’s so important. It becomes easy to take on everyone else’s burdens and try to fix everyone’s problems and yet you CAN’T. You just CAN’T do it. I know because I’ve tried. I’ve tried to be everywhere for everyone at once and you just can’t. Once you accept that it makes life so much easier. You get back to doing what you can and taking care of yourself too. So proud of you for taking care of yourself! Katherine @ Postpartum Progress recently posted..On Responding to Stigma and Ignorance Thanks, Katherine. It is a struggle, but I’m learning. :) It is so hard to step back when you know a friend is in trouble. I had to stop, once, because it was really seriously bringing me down and effecting my life. It is not easy. I’m glad you are going to be putting yourself first :) Raine recently posted..Top 25 Single Mom Blogs:)

A stunning report written by the late Eugene Mallove details the efforts of professors, researchers, and even the former President of MIT to squash cold fusion at all costs. If you have any doubt that Pons and Fleischmann had enemies desperately trying to discredit them, this article will erase it!.... A funeral party or "Wake for Cold Fusion" was held by the Plasma Fusion Center, before their replication test of Pons and Fleischmann's setup was even complete. They held another such party afterwards.. “Words to Eat” MIT Professor Ronald George Ballinger may hold the all time record for making a foolish statement against cold fusion. He wrote in 1991: “It would not matter to me if a thousand other investigations were to subsequently perform experiments that see excess heat. These results may all be correct, but it would be an insult to these investigators to connect them with Pons and Fleischmann.” Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the article is how Ronald R. Parker and Ronald G. Ballinger had a phone call with Nick Tate of the Boston Herald In summary, Mallove's article paints a damning picture of MIT scientists and professors hell-bent on discrediting cold fusion. Out of desperation to protect hot fusion research, they went so far as to tell blatant lies, alter data, hurl personal insults, conduct celebrations of the "death" of cold fusion, and organize journalists to write hit pieces to try and dismiss Pons and Fleischmann's work in the public eye. Then the leadership of MIT turned away and ignored the misconduct and potentially criminal behavior, even when they were specifically alerted to it. Years later, these same individuals (working in other positions with the DOE and DOD) continued to promote the idea that cold fusion was "garbage." If you want to know the TRUTH about why it has taken twenty plus years for a commercial cold fusion technology to be developed, you should read this article. It is a tragedy beyond measure that an institution like MIT would allow such inappropriate behavior. Everyone involved has blood on their hands from all the people on this planet that have died due to the suppression of this technology. Literally, due to their suppression of cold fusion, children have needlessly starved, millions have suffered dehydration due to a lack of clean water, the environment has been trashed, and the global economy has been almost destroyed. If the suppression of cold fusion by MIT had never happened, we might not even have an energy crisis today! Congress. I would really like to say that this shocks me but I've been aware of it for quite some time and sadly it is but one of hundreds of cases of scientific 'terrorism'. And I call it terrorism because the treatment many alternative theorists have received over the years has left many of them downright terrified to even open their mouths any more, and that was and is the whole point of it. The modern scientific establishment is a scientific dictatorship plain and simple. Look no further than people like Albert Einstein and Hans Alfven for evidence as they are both recognized and respected for their 'mainstream' theories but both have been viciously attacked and dismissed as "insane" or "quacky" when they challenged their own theories later on or expanded on them. When you aren't even allowed to challenge your own theories without terms like 'fringe' or 'pseudo-science' being tossed at you there is something wrong with the system. The #1 problem with "science" today is that mathematics has become more than just a tool but has become the 'master' of science. You have to cry when you have scientific 'celebrities' who are frequently quoted for their statement that in the pursuit of science - the understanding of physical reality - the best way to achieve results is to ignore physical reality completely and start with a mathematical construct. Scientists are no longer even seeking to understand what physical reality is and have instead sought to create theories based on their own perceptions of physical reality, facilitated by a century + of mathematicians calling themselves scientists creating mathematical constructs with reality being an ad-hoc afterthought. And the physical reality of things like cold fusion or astrophysical plasma electrodynamic processes can be ignored because they are either difficult to model mathematically or challenge established beliefs too much. Or they challenge large establishments receiving billions in government and private sector funding every year. No matter what the conclusion is the same - under the current scientific dictatorship real science is not encouraged unless it is profitable. In cases like cold fusion it would have to be more profitable than the multi-billion dollar 'hot' fusion industry. Though even other types of 'hot' fusion such as The Focus Fusion Society's aneutronic(no radiation) fusion using a Dense Plasma Focus(DPF) device which shows far more promise than the standard nuetronic fusion in every way but receives a tiny fraction of the funding is ignored and dismissed unprofessionally by the billion dollar neutronic fusion industry and the scientific establishment. It's no surprise that I am equally as scientific as I am political when both sectors of the "mainstream" society today are just about as equally corrupted, by many of the same forces. Thanks for posting this, I was well aware of the actions against cold fusion but had never heard they went so far as to have 'wake' parties over it. Not that it surprises me though.

Tree House Defense In the simple and kid friendly Tree House Defense, created by Robert Zubek and Bill Robinson for Three Rings' Whirled, protect your tree house from bullies, skateboarders, skunks, and other assorted neighborhood menaces. Place various objects like trash cans, sandboxes, and trees on the board to protect your flag. Each defense station comes with a kid, armed with weapons like paper airplanes, water balloons, and boomerangs. Each station has a point system for range, damage and delay, with different costs. We're sorry, but this game is no longer available on the Whirled site. Arrange these items in maze like patterns to get enough hits on your opponents before they reach your side. Each time you defeat enemies you get money to buy more objects. You continue placing objects on the board as the bullies get tougher. Your goal is to last as long as possible, and keep everyone away from your flag. You have four environments to pick from: forest, beach, winter, and Halloween, and each environment has a couple of unique assets to play with besides the standard ones on every board. Analysis: If you find that some of the elaborate tower defense games are bit too eye glazing and forbidding to get into, then this cute and simple game is a great place to start. So, it's probably not for the seasoned tower defense veteran. I liked the simple relatable idea of keeping the bullies at bay. The animations were cute, very Saturday morning cartoon-style. I especially liked the extras in each environment, like the Yeti and the huffing Jack-o-lantern. The gameplay feels a little slow at times, although I like that you can speed things up a bit by forcing out the next enemy on the board. I would have liked a fast forward feature. The other thing that bothered me a bit was that they used a flag as the home base instead of the tree house itself. On the plus side, there is a two player mode, and also some mention about making custom levels yourself in the future. Fight off the bullies in Tree House Defense! FYI: the art was done by Bill Robinson, the programming by Robert Zubek, and the design was a collaboration between the two. Thanks, MDB. I've updated the review. Is it just me or is it taking a long time to load? Running Firefox 3. This is a broken game without the ability to erase things. Can you really not do that? Or am I just an idiot? But so far, it's a cool idea, executed decently. But that cool idea only lasts about 10 minutes until you realize you've already played the WHOLE game. Other games throw new stuff at you, but those 6 (or so) weapons and the 5 (or so) enemies really don't offer much. The disability to delete objects renders the game obsolete, in my opinion. I was kind of annoyed when I placed something wrong and had to restart. Not only that, but there isn't really a restart button (as far as I can tell), so you have to either reload the game or hasten your death in order to try again. Also, I know that upgrades can get excessively complex, but some simple ones might be nice. Something simple and linear, like the upgrades in Desktop Tower Defense, might be nice since the enemies get harder to kill in later levels. All in all a cute little game, but could use just a little bit more to be a winner. A medium/low graphics mode so it doesn't start to fritz out when I have forty snowmen? Hi everyone, Thanks for trying our game! It's still very much in beta, not a final version, so there are still a few balancing issues and technical bugs to fix. Thanks for the feedback! :) If loading is taking a long time, try the latest version of Flash on IE7 (Windows) or Safari (Mac). The game does take a long time to load. I tried using Internet Explorer to see if it worked any faster and couldnt get the game to load at all. Yeah, I played this back when Corpse Craft was put up here and I tried out Whirled. The biggest, most glaring issue, ever, concerning this game, is lag! MASSIVE lag! It makes the game really unenjoyable. Graphics are nice, of course, but are all those star particles necessary? I can't seem to load this in Firefox. I turned off the NoScript for it but it's still saying I need to download Flash 9 even though I already have it. This was working for me quite smoothly last week with Firefox 3, but today it's puttering out. Sorry guys, hopefully it will be working better later. I was really addicted to this game with OOO rolled it out. The lack of a Destroy/Sell option drove me to tossing it out the window. I'll have to go back and play it again now that I've seen it here; see how much has changed since I was on Whirled about 3 months ago. The lag, however, is almost becoming a trademark in all of their invention, releases, and updates. Being an avid Puzzle Pirates player, I'm still rather awed at 3 Rings for somehow taking away my ability to *only* play casual games. This whole Whirled site just doesnt load for me - just sits on a black screen with a 'connecting to game server' box on it :( Can it really be true that the box is identical to the trashcan except the box is more expensive *and* reloads more slowly? So that it is strictly irrational to ever use the box (unless you're trying to lose; only, there are easier ways to lose)? Or is it a way of writing in a hard mode? "Game to easy? try using the box!" So I had nearly a perfect field, full of only trees and a few rocks, and with every single square used for maximum space. Not a single thing besides the bird made it very far, but it's impossible to stop the birds. That's really REALLY annoying, and another reason why this game is simply not very good yet. Has the game been removed from the website? When I click on either the link or the picture of the game on the right, a big black screen where the game is played states in the middle "That item could not be located." i'm using safari... [Edit: Thanks for pointing this out. The game is no longer available on the Whirled site. I will update the review accordingly. -Jay] Update

Eternal Red There is a door. They come through that door: vile, twisted abominations, their demented forms the stuff that monsters have nightmares about. Hordes of the disfigured beasts pour through in endless waves. And that's all perfectly fine, for as hideous as these things are, they can't hurt me. They are more than welcome to share this cold, desolate place with me, free to roam beneath the ever-present pale moon. That's not the problem. No, it's the second door, and these nightmares' unceasing attempts to get through it that I have a problem with. That just won't do. Eternal Red is, by its own admission, a cross between a platform arena style shooter and a real-time strategic defense game. No story, no dialogue, just you and the seemingly non-stop litany of enemies appearing from one door that try to make it to the second. To prevent this, as the game's cross-genre would imply, you must utilize a combination of personal weapons and floor traps to cut your foes down before too many of them make it to the second door. With each slain creature and each successfully survived wave you earn more money, allowing you to build traps, buy weapons, or upgrade existing equipment. You'll be doing quite a bit of all of it, too, as it doesn't take long for your traps and weapons to grow into obsolescence. Every ten waves you will come up against a boss. These bosses are larger and slower than the typical enemy, but they come with a ton of hit points and reduce your door's counter by a significant amount if they manage to make it through. Analysis: Eternal Red sucks you in. To give you an idea on just how engrossing of an experience this game can be, when I first sat down to play it, my intent was to do so only for five minutes to get a feel for what the game was trying to do and how well it did it. An hour later I had to force myself away from the game so I could make it to work on time, wait for my coworker to leave, and start playing all over again. While I'm not the world's biggest fan of either strategic defense games or platform shooters, Eternal Red just seems to work so well that it quickly becomes a difficult game to put down. Instantly it grabs you with its simple yet dark and foreboding artistry: everything save the moon in the backdrop is done in black shapes outlined with red, and these wonderfully morose visuals are backed up with a macabre kind of techno soundtrack that manages to combine the oppressive mood of the setting with the intensity of the action. And that action is quite awesome. The game starts off suitably slow, giving you time to acclimate yourself to the decently ergonomic interface and smooth controls. Soon enough, things can ramp up to a frenzied pace as you dash back and forth to make sure your floor traps are adequate to take out the ground troops while dispatching flying enemies with bullets leaping from the muzzle of your gun. As with many hybridized games, perhaps the greatest risk Eternal Red runs is falling short in the eyes of fans of the parent genres from which it was inspired. Strategic defense fans will likely be disappointed with the rather poor selection of available traps and upgrades, while fans of platform shooters may think that there aren't enough guns available, or the fact that the main character doesn't take damage may feel a little too much like cheating. The game is also woefully lacking in a reward system, even though the sheer variety of bad guys will keep you interested for some time. And while the lack of story allows you to focus on the gameplay, I don't think a sequel can be made without having at least a cursory explanation as to what's going on. Eternal Red may lack the depth of either of its parent genres, it manages to find a pretty solid balance between the two, making it a brilliant little diversion to pass the time with. Here is a word of warning: sentry guns are your friend. I didn't realize at first that they were even upgradeable, and unfortunately, as soon as I discovered that, out came the flying creatures. The ones who are impervious to acid and spikes. Aargh! While I agree that Sentry guns are great, I have seen at least spikes do some damage to flying creatures because of how they bob up and down as they fly along. :D I didn't realize that there even was sentry guns until well after the first flying one. I'm at level 37 now, I have the shotgun, 2 spikes, 1 acid, 2 machine gun sentries, 1 acid sentry, and 1 grenade sentry. This game is fun. Once your top floor is completely fitted with 10/10/10-upgraded machinegun sentries, it becomes very simple. This is more like Tower Defense for people, who don't want to think much - but just witness mindless slaughter. That being said, I sorta like it. stage 60. still no end. have 5+ 10/10/10 weapons and trying to get to the end with speed hack. The game "ends" at level 70. You can continue to play, but there's no more bosses and it lags up a lot around level 90 when there's a million enemies and bullets flying around. Shotgun is easily the best weapon if you can click fast enough. I got to level 70, with four machine guns and one grenade launcher all maxed out. My first floor time was a slow tile, maxed out. Not even the level 70 boss could get past that. Most creatures were wiped out as soon as they appeared! Then I got the option to start on a new map or continue fighting I was bored of the game by then, so I'm going to see how long it takes to lose. Wow, love the idea of combining shooter with TD. The only thing I feel is missing is, when you upgrade, a visible change in the weapons/grounds. But that's getting kind of nitpicky. Good game, currently on lvl34 with top level of machine gun and nade turrets. decided acid is useless. spikes on floor. any idea what the cashgun does? Meh. Towering Forever tried to combine them too, and honestly they just seem more tedious to me than either a defense or a platformer game. Possibly it's because I associate the platformer bit with exploring large maps, running and jumping around rather than shooting at basically the same place and the same enemies over and over. Nicely made for what it is, though. This game froze after level 25. . . Twice. I was playing on hardcore on the first stage both times. Not exactly a walkthrough, but helpful. Ok, the first map, which is the three floored with sentries and panels (not sure that it makes a difference what map it is), has about 74 levels till you beat the game. The cash gun is like the machine gun turret, but it gives you money when it hits a monster, depending on the amount of upgrades to damage. 10 upgrades = 10 dollars per hit. And a slow panel as the first panel with an acid sentry above and a machine gun behind it will decimate the monsters. The final thing is: the sooner you kill an enemy (measured by distance, not time, hence the slow panel in the front), the more cash you get. Alright, I thought this was a blast. Hah, get it, Blast? Anyways, I played until... now. I am tired of shooting things myself, and I am just letting the creatures trickle their way through everything and taking away my "lives". I am sitting on level 105, $350,000+ in current cash, and just over 3000 kills. Does anyone know if this game ever like, ENDS ends? And does anything hurt the flyers besides guns? This game is too easy and there isn't a lot of variety, but I like it anyway. This combines two genres that lose accessibility and friendliness with each layer of complexity, so it's kind of nice to see a game combining the two use a degree of simplicity in each one. The simplicity might be taking it too far, but games are supposed to be FUN, and the infuriatingly difficult TD games, while challenging and offering depth of gameplay, sometimes seem to be more challenging than fun. Eternal Red presents us with most of the advantages we wish we had in those games. You don't have to deal with a lot of tedious tower-matching, you don't have to prepare for a bazillion different special abilities in each wave of creeps, money starts coming in quick so you don't have to micromanage funds just to scrape enough together to hold off the next wave, and you can actually point and click on the creeps instead of just wringing your hands while the creeps who get past your defenses get away. This of course makes it too easy, but maybe it's better that way. I've just told you all the things it's NOT, but you know what it IS? It's pure mass-murdering FUN. An epic "Slaughterfest '08" wrapped up in a truly awesome artistic style, a pleasing visual aesthetic and gunning down creeps by the buckets. Don't get me wrong, I love complex, intricate, puzzle-like defense games, and intelligent tactical platform shooters. But I like games like this to unwind in between them. there is a bug in the game that freezes gameplay. The flying enemies can somehow get stuck on the other side of the wall. you cant kill them and the enemy waves will no longer advance while its alive so your game is frozen. I've restarted but it happens every time. I'm well annoyed. I was on level 90 something and then I accidentally clicked on one of those ads at the bottom of the game window, and it made me lose it all! p.s. The game is wicked - simplicity+tons of money= FUN Map with no Sentry So, how do you beat this? It's all about the gun baby! You're going to have to be one shooting little weird guy. I started out with the shotgun right out of the gate, and one spike trap and didn't even put a slow pad down until around level 5. Keep the gun upgraded and let the floor traps follow behind. Way behind at first. If you can't kill the flying guys with your gun by the time they appear you are done for. Even with this, do not expect to make level 70 with all your "lives" in tact. The best I've done is down 20 lives and that's on casual. Seems tough, but it's the best challenge this game offers imo. with the shotty maxed out and a full row of sentries you are unbeatable It's wicked fun even if i only started, it's like killing!!!! I have a shotgun, one machine gun, and spikes and i still goin' on.... oh yeah, + handgun, lol I haven't been able to get the game to work in weeks. First it wouldn't load. Now it loads but when I click "Play" nothing happens. All the other buttons work (like settings, instructions, etc.). Is anyone else having this problem? I found this game very addictive, I only wanted to play for about 10 minutes then 2 hrs pass and I'm sitting there scream DIE! I found that having your top row all slowdow maxed. My sentrys on top row were 1 machine gun 1 grenade and 3 cash guns all maxed. Can anyone help me? I can't seem to be able to upgrade after the first one, all that appears is the gun cursor and all it does is shoot when I try to upgrade a panel or gun. I'm afraid I'm not going to make it through the game with only a level 1 machine gun sentry and a level 1 shotty. next creature untill the first creature dies or walks out of range via dropping to second creature untill the first creature dies or walks out of range via dropping :) by using these two tips above, i have successfully completed (lv1, casual) all 70 levels with all lives intact im at lvl 130 i have 6 machine gun sentries, 3 grenade sentries, 4 acid sentries, 3 cash sentries (what s better about them?), machine gun, shotgun, handgun, and a pattern of slow, acid, then spike floors all maxed out with over 1.5 mil cash. >:P Slow Traps with 10 duration keep the enemy moving at what ever slow speed you have for the next entire floor panel to follow. Acid works the same way, 10 duration means the enemy will suffer poison damage for the entire next floor panel. So putting 2 slow or 2 acid in a row is a bad idea. Spikes continue to confuse me, which does more damage; spikes or acid? Next is the guns: Money gun pays you $1 per point of damage in it per bullet that hits the enemy. So 10 points in Money Gun damage means every bullet to hit an enemy will pay you $10. This money however only goes toward your spending cash and not your score. The ONLY time the Cash Gun helps your score is if it shoots a BIG (or BOSS) type creature. The acid gun continues to confuse me, does the acid gun do initial damage, or does it simply act just like a acid floor panel by starting a ticking damage over time? Grenades are extremely effective in doing area of effect damage to ground units, however, i have not been able to figure out if they hurt fliers. Pretty easy up to a point. If you don't buy anything else, you can fully upgrade a shotgun by level 30-35. I played twice and both times not a single creature got past even the first floor that way. Although the first time I played the reason I didn't buy anything else was because I had no idea you could, but it worked Update

Update 8 Jan: Reports state that both the Blue Jays and Angels have taken the lead in the sweepstakes with offers approximating $23,000,000. If true, it would leave all other offers rumoured in the dust and would make Aroldis decide between the 2, assuming no other team comes up with a better offer before one is agreed to. Update 7 Jan: It was brought to my attention that the Jays may actually be leading the race for Chapman due to 3 very important reasons. 1 – Canada has friendly relations with Cuba, whereas the United States do not. If Aroldis values his family and wants to bring them to North America, Canada is the easier country to do it with, obviously. 2 – Alex Anthopoulos returns from his honeymoon tomorrow, the exact day Aroldis hinted a deal could be completed and announced – pending physical of course, unless it was already done during the private scouting session. 3 – The Jays were the ONLY team to ask for and receive a private session which proves 2 things: Aroldis and his agent are willing to sign with Toronto, and the Jays proved their serious interest and presumably let Aroldis know he was their #1 priority. The Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes have made me realize one major point about the Blue Jays: They lack International presence on their roster despite spending lots of money in the Dominican and in Venezuela. I realized this when it was mentioned that the presence of Kendry Morales on the Angels was a lure for Aroldis to sign there instead of going elsewhere. It also reminded me that Hedo Turkogulu signed with the Raptors specifically because the Turkish community was so strong in numbers within Toronto, while passing up more money from other teams. The current 40-man roster for the Jays holds only 5 International players: - Reidier Gonzalez – Cuba - Jose Bautista – Dominican Republic - Luis Perez – Dominican Republic - Edwin Encarnacion – Dominican Republic - Alex Gonzalez - Venzuela The remainder are all from the United States or Canada. That makes the International presence on the Jays 12.5% on the 40-man roster. For a quick comparison, the Red Sox currently have 12 International players for a 30% total. Does this make them the better team just because they have International presence? No, it’s obviously not that simple. But, if a Japanese player like Yu Darvish was looking to sign with an MLB club, would he be more likely to accept a deal to the Red Sox who have 3 prominent Japanese players, or the Jays who have none? This is exactly the reason why Alex should be willing to overpay slightly in order to get someone like Chapman on board, it sets the table for future signings and attracts other International players to follow suit. I’ll take the lack of International presence one step further. Only 2 of the top 10 Jays prospects listed by Baseball America were International players – SP Henderson Alvarez (Venezuela) and C Carlos Perez (Venezuela). Both of these players are a direct result of the Blue Jays spending the money needed within Venezuela to scout players appropriately. Shouldn’t they be doing the same thing elsewhere? What about Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and most obviously – the Dominican Republic? Alex obviously had this on his mind when he expanded the scouting capacity of the Blue Jays and I definitely hope it bears fruit, because the Jays can definitely use a lot more International talent on their roster. However, as it stands today, the best opportunity for the Jays to begin the process of adding International presence on the roster starts with signing Aroldis Chapman. Once that’s done, the Jays need to make sure that they spend the money on scouting Aroldis type players early in order to sign them before they display their full potential. Here’s to hoping the Jays can pull this one off! Topics: Aroldis Chapman, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Luis Perez, Reidier Gonzalez Pingback: hotstove.com / archive » Overnight Hot Stove Notes: Phillies, Mets, Red Sox, Giants, Orioles, Delgado, Tejada, more

Australia was a new country and maintained a ‘White Australia Policy’. This policy, amongst others, effectively allowed for the preference of British migrants over all others through the first decades of the 20th century. After the attack and threat of invasion by the Japanese, and a new awareness of Australia’s vulnerability, the Australian government began the ‘Populate or Perish’ policy. Under this assisted migration scheme, citizens from all Commonwealth countries were recruited to immigrate to Australia. This was known colloquially as the ‘Ten Pound Pom’ scheme. Later, the scheme was extended to immigrants from northern European countries with the belief that they would more easily assimilate with the Australian community. After World War Two, Australia also welcomed refugees from war-torn Europe who were known as ‘Displaced Persons’. The second wave of post-war immigration arrived in the 1950s and 1960s. These included migrants from Italy, Greece, Malta, Croatia and Turkey. Unfortunately many of the British settlers saw the newcomers as foreigners. The term ‘wogs’ amongst others, was used frequently. The native peoples or aboriginals who had been treated harshly and imprisoned in the early years of settlement, had more hardship placed upon them. ‘Half-caste’ Aboriginal children - those of mixed breeding -were forcibly removed from their parents and institutionalised. The problems associated with these actions are still prevalent in today’s society. These persons are known as the ‘Stolen Generation’. Child migration schemes for underprivileged British children in Canada, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Australia promised a better life, and parents were persuaded to sign over legal guardianship of their children. These children as well as orphans and indigenous children were badly treated and abused, and are known as the ‘Forgotten Australians.’ In my first two novels, I have used this history as a backdrop for my stories. Growing up in ‘white’ Australia as children/young people of immigrant parents, my characters struggle to find their place and acceptance in a highly prejudiced society. In an era of so-called progress, being torn between two cultures was both unsettling and problematic. ‘Heart’s Promise’ begins in the mid 1970’s and ‘Where The Heart Is’ continues to the early 1980’s. They are two individual stories of emotional struggle, loss, acceptance and love. Set in my hometown, I have added a little local history to help the reader get the feel of small town life. Once a quiet rural area, the town is on the verge of change. The arrival of a large American mining company is the beginning of the region’s transformation. But that’s another story… Thanks for a really interesting post on Australian history. Concise and eye-opening! Thank you :)

No news (is good news) from Archie. We get him back tomorrow. Here is a picture of him on the doorstep on Monday morning, about to experience British education. "Smart casual", they said. That's his anxious mother, behind. Yesterday evening when I switched on the kitchen light, the bulb fell from the socket. It didn’t shatter, and for half an hour or so I felt happy about that. Then I began to wonder whether I will be able to get the metal bit out of the holder in order to replace it. I’ll postpone getting the steps out and going up to have a look, until I’ve had my porridge. Life is frot with problems. Knitting Yesterday I was looking at a knitting magazine in my bath, as is my wont, and had a Thot. What if I abandoned Effortless and Vitamin D alike, and used that madelinetosh yarn to knit Roberta Rosenfeld’s very simple and very clever sweater, No. 12 in the Winter 11-12 VK? (If you go to Ravelry and search on “Roberta Rosenfeld” you won’t find it, but “drape-front sweater” will get it. It took me a while to work that out. You probably have the magazine anyway.) I am worried about the gauge for the Effortless. It is written for madelinetosh DK, remember, but she wants me to use 5.5mm needles and get a gauge of 19 stitches to 4”. I’m knitting the v-neck vest on 4mm and getting 20-22 stitches to 4” as the ballband says. I don’t like knitting with big needles – will I be happy with 5.5? And I like the fabric I’m getting – do I want it looser? Vitamin D is written for sport-weight yarn. Not an insuperable difficulty, of course. But VK No. 12, written for alpaca, wants 5 stitches to the inch. I think I could achieve that. Try a swatch on 4.5 mm maybe. I think madelinetosh has a native droopiness which would go well in an alpaca pattern. The pattern sounds straightforward, and also sounds as if it could be tweaked if necessary to accommodate the gauge I was actually getting. The Ravelers who have knit it are very happy with it, and look nice wearing it. That is not always the case. The v-neck vest got on well yesterday. Lying about, waiting to be picked up and worked on, it now looks like a sweater, and a rather nice one. I remember when Thomas-the-Elder’s Brownstone (madelinetosh scarlet, late last year) began to look like that. Knit Now Shandy, I am ashamed not to have thanked you. Three people sent me copies. I was very touched, and am very grateful. It is an interesting idea for a magazine (small knits only). I don’t think I want to go on with it but I am glad to have seen it, and will have another very thorough look before committing myself on the snood front. For the metal bit still stuck in the light socket? Use a potato! It won't conduct electricity well and you won't be injured by any glass that might be left. You just stuff the potato into the opening until it "catches" on the metal of the lightbulb. You then just turn the potato until the lightbulb remnants come out. I know it sounds pretty silly, but it's a tried and true method. I concur with Anonymous' suggestion to use a potato to remove the metal bit from the socket. It seems to be the classic method! I concur with Anonymous' suggestion to use a potato to remove the metal bit from the socket. It seems to be the classic method! Jean, you may well get your 19 st to 4" with a 4.5mm needle, if you're getting 20 st to 4" with a 4mm. Potato OR needle-nose pliers, BUT, turn the power off first (of course) (I've heard carrot instead of potato...) Good gracious - Archie looks so tall! I must have seriously misjudged his age, or his mom is quite petite... The whole idea of boarding school is foreign to us in California - I am looking forward to his report after a week. Beverly near Yosemite CA I just finished a dozen extra-large eggs, and every one was double yoked. This comment has been removed by the author.

Gamification in Education Kendra is a sophomore taking an introductory course in forestry. Professor Sievert divides the class into teams of six students each and hands out a list of 100 plants found in the nearby national forest. Each team is responsible for finding photos and information about these plants, familiarizing themselves with them, and ensuring that they can identify them on location. The teams have two weeks to collect all the information they can and to quiz one another on plant recognition. Then, two weeks from Friday, Sievert explains, teams will compete in a contest in a specified area of the nearby national forest to see which team can provide the most and best identifications in a two-hour window. Teams will win “identification points,” and the team with the most points will win tokens allowing each every member to turn in any one paper up to 48 hours late during the term. Kendra and her team gather with their cell phones in hand half an hour early on the day of the contest. This gives them a few minutes to look over the rule sheets as Sievert distributes them. Rules are fairly straightforward. “Correct identification” consists of a photo of the plant with a team member standing beside it, sent by cell phone to a designated dropbox. These photos must arrive with a message giving the name of the plant and appropriate metadata. A standard plant on the list is worth 10 points; one marked “rare” is worth 25. There are also 5-point bonuses for a plant photographed in bloom, one correctly identified as suitable for human food, or one identified as toxic. Any misidentifications will subtract the number of points from the team total they would have added had they been correct. Kendra’s team decides to separate into three groups of two each. When the starting whistle blows, Kendra and Jacob set out as partners to find, photograph, and identify. The cell phones are busy snapping pictures, receiving images from other team members for confirmation, and submitting photos to the dropbox. There are also several calls to coordinate team progress. At the end of two hours, the teams meet back at the gathering place. The unofficial tabulation suggests Kendra’s team has won by 5 points. She’s glad to learn that her team will be competing in similar contests throughout the term. 1. What is it? Gamification is the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior. In business contexts, gamification is used to create an engaging dynamic—such as the points system created by Weight Watchers— and to build brand loyalty. It also has wide currency in organizations where it may be used to encourage member or employee interest in projects or organizational efforts. In academe, gamification typically employs elements such as points, badges, or progress bars to engage or motivate students in the learning process. Whereas building a full-scale game requires the design and construction of a holistic, systematic environment to house the project, successful gamification can involve no more than the employment of a few feedback or reward elements. That said, the practice is most effective as a pedagogical tool where it forms part of a well-planned strategy to encourage research, inspire creativity, teach basic principles, or hone problem-solving skill. 2. How does it work? Many instructors implement gamification because they believe the rewards or the spirit of competition will spur students’ concentration and interest and lead to more effective learning. On the surface, these rewards may include items such as physical tokens, badges, or points toward a long-term goal. Students may strive to “win” recognition among their peers or the larger community or engage for personal satisfaction or a simple sense of accomplishment. But beneath these game-like prizes lies another level of reward that may include relevant feedback, learning reinforcement, and a lively and collaborative class environment. While technology is not essential to gamification, it can make management simpler. Many faculty use technology to track accomplishments, total points, and aggregate results. In addition, gamification elements can happen both inside and outside the classroom. 3. Who’s doing it? The use of gamification is wide ranging in higher education, whether adapted from publicly available applications, designed by individual instructors, or created by departmental staff. Students at Pepperdine University’s business school, for example, are currently piloting a free web-based gamification tool called Veri. The product invites participants to test themselves on course topics using questions the instructor has entered. Game-like overtones include immediate humorous feedback and a running scoreboard for students to track their success. As they progress through various levels, a leader board sparks competition by showing who has the highest scores. In an economics course at Penn State, an instructor-designed example that ties content to play asks “So You Want to Be a Millionaire?” The syllabus notifies students that grades are for sale and explains that the primary way to acquire capital is by answering multiple-choice questions correctly, in this case on the course exams. Not every use of gamification in academe is tied to coursework. Metadata Games at Dartmouth College arose from a critical need in the college archives. Vast photo repositories were being left unused by researchers because they lacked metadata necessary for effective searches. In response, a Dartmouth design team built a game-style interface that invited students to tag archived images either as a solo activity or in two-player game-like scenarios. The pilot phase alone netted over 6,000 image tags from players, suggesting that this kind of implementation may have intriguing potential for archivists and curators. 4. Why is it significant? Adding game components to a course can result in several real benefits. Simulations can help students sharpen an ability or work out a novel solution, while a game-style patina may present coursework more as a challenge than a chore. But perhaps the most commonly cited benefit of gamification is that it fosters student engagement, often cited by the National Survey of Student Engagement as a key to increasing student retention. Where it functions well, gamification facilitates the formation of learning communities, giving new opportunities online or during course discussions to socialize or work as teams. In this sense, gamification has the potential to help build connections among members of the academic community, drawing in shy students, supporting collaboration, and engendering interest in course content that students might not have otherwise explored. 5. What are the downsides? Some stakeholders feel any introduction of game elements trivializes learning content. At the same time, students may see game elements as condescending or feel disappointed and frustrated when their application is not successful or does not yield the kind of satisfaction from winning that they expect. The competitive element that intrigues some students may discourage others, particularly those who have trouble with course content. They may feel the competition introduces another level of complexity or that it will reveal their difficulties in understanding the content to the rest of the class. Gamification can be deceptively difficult to employ effectively, and examples of failed efforts are not hard to find. For example, awarding points to students whose blog entries garner the most responses might encourage some bloggers to enlist their friends to comment, without regard to quality, their drive being the extrinsic rewards rather than the quality of the work they submit. In addition, careful thought must be given to the administrative details of gamification lest instructors be overwhelmed by the workload of tracking student progress through points, tokens, badges, and other game elements. 6. Where is it going? The use of technology in gamificaiton has given rise to several grants from sources such as Next Generation Learning Challenges and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Such support for gamification is likely to encourage more complex, technology- based, interactive scenarios that extend beyond individual classrooms. In fact, gamification is already moving toward institutional uses, in implementations such as “Just Press Play,” debuting at the Rochester Institute of Technology this fall. This university-wide instance of gamification is structured to involve students in all aspects of the student community experience. They earn badges for activities such as going to the gym for the first time or getting A’s during a term, but the awards are part of an integrated approach to engage them throughout the four-year program. Similar projects employed at a departmental or institutional level might serve many cross-disciplinary purposes to help students construct portfolios, build organizations, or derive artistic or business solutions that could bridge the space between the educational experience and career achievement. 7. What are the implications for teaching and learning? While the term “gamification” is of fairly recent coinage, the use of game elements to teach is certainly not new. Instructors have long understood that interactive experiences engage student imaginations and increase motivation. Gamification offers instructors numerous creative opportunities to enliven their instruction with contests, leader boards, or badges that give students opportunities for recognition and a positive attitude toward their work. These elements of play take advantage of the human desire to compete and socialize, as well as to measure progress toward clear goals, allowing individuals to compete against themselves. Where they are employed thoughtfully and effectively, game elements can engage and motivate students, encourage exploration, foster independent effort, and generate unexpected solutions to the problems posed by course content.

Read Together starts tomorrow. The linky will be up at midnight Eastern (HERE it is), but I thought I'd go ahead and put up my own post as a reminder and to give you some ideas. But at the core, I'm a selfish Mommy, which means that I don't read to them as much as I would like to. Amanda is such a self-motivated reader, and so I don't need to read aloud to her to keep her interested, but because we both love books, sharing books together is a natural venue that we should use to connect. This we do -- but not enough. Since I told all of you in the guidelines to make a goal that will challenge yourselves, I am going to stretch myself as well. - We were reading Uglies aloud last month, but we came to a halt with that. So, since she's already read it, I am going to commit to finishing it on my own. - She just started The Moon by Night, by Madeleine L'Engle, which I have started as well, so I think we'll be able to finish that one this month. We both read Meet the Austins last month (click the link to read our review). It's been nice to discover that series together. - Pieces of Georgia is a Nutmeg selection (our state's book award). She enjoys reading them, and when I saw that this one was free verse, I thought it would be an absolute perfect read-aloud. I checked it out from the library today, and was reading the first few pages to myself, and I got excited about the poetical feel of the language. - Along those same lines, when I read Amy's post about The Invention of Hugo Cabret (which I've been wanting to read for ages) it struck me that it would be a perfect read-aloud as well. I have visions of snuggling up with her, both of us looking at the pictures. The concept of a picture book for older kids is intriguing, and again, fits perfectly with the idea of connecting over books. - I had originally put Wings on the list, but I think that the two I listed above will be better as read-alouds, so perhaps this will go on our simultaneous reading list, but I'd be surprised if I got through this in April. - Amanda is really enjoying Wendy Mass' books, so she's invited me to read 11 Birthdays, which I'd like to do as well. Now how will I do this? Well for one thing I have to commit to the books that we are reading together, yet separately. Since I'm halfway through both of them, I know that I can do that, but it does involve putting aside some of my own picks. The second way is to find new times to read aloud with Amanda. As I mentioned, I've been reading to her in the mornings as she eats breakfast and fixes her lunch. I want to keep that up, and perhaps read to her a few evenings a week (she usually reads to herself before bed). Another way to squeeze in more time with Amanda is to find books that she, Kyle and I can all read together. We are currently reading Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle -- but honestly we've stalled there too. See why I need this challenge?? I'm also going to try to read The Incredible Journey to them. It is short-ish (160 pages), which is always good for a read-aloud, but I don't know if it has enough action to keep Kyle interested. Does anyone else remember this book from elementary school? I have selected it as my "dog story" pick for April's Children's Classics at 5 Minutes for Books. I am focusing my Read Together goals on Amanda and on finding things that the three of us can read together. I will try to bump up my reading with Kyle as well, but I feel much better about those practices right now. We always read a fair amount before naptime and before bedtime. However, since it looks like naptime is really falling by the wayside (he still needs one or two a week), I want to commit to read with him on no-nap days as well. Perhaps I'll read with him even longer on a no-nap day. ******** Link up your goals for April this week. Read the introduction post if you need more info. Feel free to grab the big button from the original Read Together post to use in your own post, or you can use this smaller one. You can put it in your sidebar as well as a reminder that you are committing to Read Together this month. <a href=""><img src="" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077200295037669458" border="0" /></a> You can follow me on twitter @jenndon or subscribe to my feed. Tag your #ReadTogether tweets and search for the topic. 3 comments: Great goals, Jennifer. And I'm impressed with how many books you hope/plan to read with Amanda (either out loud or together-but-separate). I've been curious about the Hugo Cabret book, so I'll look forward to your thoughts, and Amanda's too. I had never really thought about the importance of connecting this way as your kids get older and reading the same books as they are. I definitely want to keep that going as my son grows up. Thank you!! That’s looks so nice your posting. Everything looks good in your posting. That will be necessary for all. Thanks for your posting. Bathmate

There is a long list of natural phenomena and human inventions that lurked on the fringes of science before they became officially credible. At the end of the 18th century, the French Academy of Sciences said with impeccable Gallic logic that, as there were no rocks in the sky, no rocks could fall from the sky. In 1803, more than two thousand meteorites fell on a village in Normandy – after that, and an investigation by the scientist Jean-Baptiste Biot, the Academy was less sniffy. The eminent scientist Lord Kelvin said that Roentgen’s X-rays were a hoax. Edison’s electric lamp was declared an impossibility, and because it was an impossibility his fellow researchers wouldn’t go to see it even when Edison used it to light up the streets around his laboratory. From 1904, the Wright brothers made flights over fields bordered by a main highway and a railway line in Ohio: but though hundreds of people saw them in the air, the local press failed to publish reports because they didn’t believe the witnesses, and didn’t send their own witnesses because it couldn’t be true. Two years after their first flight, Scientific American dismissed the feats of the flying brothers; if there had been anything in it, the journal said, wouldn’t the local press have picked it up? But maybe it’s easier now to evade taboos and get a hearing for nonsense. The internet has so vastly increased the potency of urban legends, so quickened the circulation of rumours, that we may soon be the most deluded generation ever born. It seems strange that some scientists are so angry with the sacred books of old-time religions, when so many challenges to rationality are generated by half-understood, miscommunicated information, much of it masquerading as science, available online and in the press. The internet is the great source of light and of darkness; it trashes the status of knowledge, undermines its ownership, and scants the principle of editing and review. The laconic conventions that govern online communication favour the proliferation of irony, of a two-way split of meaning in every line, so that the knowing prevail effortlessly over the naive. Fleeting and flitting, self-generating, double-faced, the internet is the natural home for anomalous phenomena, which have a primitive quality, yet track social paradigms; like science fiction, they dance like sprites around the scientific consensus, sometimes seeming to follow, sometimes to lead, sometimes to head off by themselves into an ancient inner landscape. Until the idea of space flight became credible, there were no aliens; instead there were green men who hid in the woods. In the same way, psychotic delusions keep up with scientific change: the people once pursued by phantasms of the dead are now pestered by living celebrities who watch them from inside their TV sets, and those who used to confess themselves possessed now say there is a bomb inside them. The dictionary attests to the power and antiquity of the need to believe we are sharing the planet with beings not animal and not human, with ‘little greys’ from spacecraft, with goblins and domestic deities: beings who suspend the laws of nature wherever they pop up, and suspend moral laws too, for household sprites and pucks often have a fierce, childlike sense of justice, and retaliate without fear if they are slighted; aliens who want sex never ask nicely.. Saturday, January 19, 2008 Paranormalists from Toronto At the LRB, Hilary Mantel has an engaging piece on the Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained: I like the description of the Internet as "the great source of light and of darkness." The piece is also enjoyable for the sheer fun you can tell that Mantel had in writing it: she's reveling in words without letting them take over, almost like they're one of the paranormal forces she's writing about. What fun!

Berlin Wall in Our Backyard We, as a young and uninformed nation, used to have the excuse that we did not know about our politicians' overarching self-interest that far outweighed reason, integrity, and the well-being of our nation and, indeed, the world. Information did not break and spread so efficiently. Now it does. We have watched it all play out before us. We have shrugged, sighed, and shaken our heads. We have had no effect. We watch as our lawmakers blatantly mock their duties to us to pander to extremists and the uninformed in preparation for an election almost upon us. They transparently use taxpayer money to fund partisan campaign stops, masquerading as open hearings, and we roll our eyes. They have taken the easiest route of no debate, of over-simplistic treatment of a complicated and important issue to ensure that they, both as individuals and as political parties, hold or gain seats at the polls. This would be shameful enough were the effects of such behavior merely political. They are not. Our ignorantly drawn border long ago split at least one nation -- the Tohono O'odham -- that existed before ours. Our enforcement of inappropriate and insufficient immigration laws has disrupted the natural migrant cycles and increased the undocumented population of this country that it purported to eliminate. And instead of recognizing this, thinking, and changing tactics, we will continue to exacerbate the situation. We will dig the hole deeper at the expense of taxpayer dollars and human lives. This new fencing -- if it can be built through the harsh desert landscape of ravines and rivers and jagged mountain peaks that stretch along the border -- will leave 1,300 miles of our southern border uncovered. That's 1,300 miles of borderlands in which people will attempt to cross and continue to perish in the wilderness -- and 1,300 miles of borderlands through which our undocumented population should continue to grow. And that's if this particular show of commitment to "security" lasts beyond election day: Congress has approved only $1.2 billion of the $6 billion it's estimated the fence will cost, according to The Post. The argument that this wall will help secure us from terrorism also fails. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who until this past week stood for more comprehensive immigration reform, claims this wall will help fight terrorism: "'Fortifying our borders is an integral component of national security,' Frist said. 'We can't afford to wait.'" (WP) But not even in the Tucson sector of the border, which has seen the highest migrant flows, has Border Patrol encountered even a hint of terrorist activity, according to Sam Lucio, a Supervising Agent for that sector. We have, however, heard of terrorist action on airplanes and even an alleged terror cell in Detroit. Perhaps we should ground all planes and wall up the Motor City. It worked so well for Berlin. With the passage of this bill -- and the possible re-elections of the pandering politicians who seek to enact it -- hostilities, xenophobia, and ambient fear will continue to grow among us, as will our undocumented population and the death tolls of migrants. Everyone stands for disappointment except the politicians looking to keep their jobs -- and the already booming human-smuggling business that will surely boom even harder with this new measure. These men and women on Capitol Hill are our public servants, yet we are serving them. With this bill, the American people lose. Technorati tags: Immigration, Politics, Border, House, GOP,Security, Illegal.

Several months ago there was a sale at a school and up for grabs were bookshelves, desks, instruments and a million other things. We went, of course, and found three desks for the girls. Problem was they would not all fit in the back of the truck. I came home and hooked up the trailer (a very proud and physically tiring task!) and returned to the sale. The man who helped me load commented that he had never seen a woman tie down cargo quite as well as I had. Proud moment number two! After a successful drive home, I approached the driveway and faced a great obstacle: backing the trailer into the driveway. I have watched my husband do this over the last 13 years and I remember the ‘steer in the opposite direction’ concept from driver’s ed. classes, but this was the first time I had actually attempted backing up a trailer on my own. After several failed attempts and even more positive encouragement from my daughters, I did manage to back it in. While learning how to do this, I was completely blocking traffic on our street and had more than one offer from a man to just to it for me. Stubbornness runs fiercely through my blood, and I politely said, “No. I have to learn how to do this.” Luckily, the men just waited patiently in their trucks and laughed at my many comical moves. My pride was a bit bruised by their laughter, I’ll admit, but when I did finally succeed, those lovely men actually cheered for me. That was worth all the work! A few days later, my middle daughter was working on a new math concept, her most difficult subject. Working together, she could solve the problems well. But as soon as she was on her own, she forgot what to do next. And so I would model the process again, this time asking her to figure the steps along the way. On her own once more, she would trip and fail. We were both frustrated and I didn’t know what else to do. “I think you just need to try these on your own. Do one problem then show me. We can figure out the mistakes together, but you need to give this a go.” She did not like the idea. “What if I get it wrong?” Ah-ha! That was the problem. Children are afraid to make mistakes and adults are quick to jump and respond too harshly. Children need a safe place to learn, explore, make mistakes and succeed. There is a line from the movie, Megamind when Titan, the bad guy, tells Megamind that he always fails. Megamind responds with, “I might fail, but I’ve learned from my mistakes.” And he proceeds in successfully defeating the bad guy. (I apologize if that’s a spoiler for anyone!) I reminded her of that line in the movie. “We learn the most when we try and fail. Sometimes learning what doesn’t work is more important than learning what does. Thomas Edison, in inventing the light bulb, said he found a thousand ways that it didn’t work. He needed to find only one way that did.” (another movie line! Thank you National Treasure!) “Like when you backed up the trailer?” she remembered. “Those men wanted to help you, but you said no.” “And now I know how.” My parents always told me that parenting was a more difficult than growing up because you re-live all the emotions that your children feel. How true! I’ve also discovered that children are learning how to be adults. If, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends we can embrace a child’s mistakes and use them to enhance their understanding of this world and how they fit in, we are creating a future of people who can pass along the tradition of knowing the value of the ‘try and try again’ principle. The moms and dads of the world also need opportunities to completely fall on their faces and get back up. What would happen if we forgave a friend who made a grievous mistake that hurt us? Or what would happen if we gave a co-worker, who should know better, the opportunity to re-do a botched project? In a nut shell, children are being schooled on the idea of adulthood. Adults are taking the test.

November 2011 Sitting in Shafer Waiting til 4… Eating subway and watching the goonies This is perfection Trying to open a door the cool way. → the-absolute-funniest-posts: Expectation: Reality: This is a cool blog to follow Anonymous asked: What's your favorite tv show? That awkward moment when You see an old couple flirting at the bar and the guys hand is on the ladys butt.. Just strange to see I hope things work out in the end Cause I want to leave ct on a good note 1 tag Might go to willi brew tonight I just want to have a beer and then go to sleep send me any number, anonymous_19<< TMI Tuesdays? calculation-nation: heathrand: Let’s make my night interesting! ON YOUR FEET, YOU MOTHERFUCKING PUSSIES. When I accidentally hit my pet. lolsofunny: First, I’m like: And then, I run after him like: Anonymously tell me why you think I'm single. → noose-ends: I have a few guesses of what’ll come into my ask. Anonymous asked: How would you describe yourself? ive never met you but you seem perfect. i wish i could meet you tmi tuesday no one gives these to me meeting my parents at willington pizza i wish i could still eat pizza :( Think I met someone who likes star wars as much as... So come over Let’s build a fort Cuddle And watch star wars And be hopelessly happy 2 tags 2 tags On such a hostage calm kick Not going to class Just rehearsal at 4 I just feel so crappy skipped my piano class and havent done my homework for my other one… today is a lazy day How can we know what oceans the waters call home? And late at night do they swim there alone? Come rescue the cold. 1 tag meliiums replied to your post: When people say no one likes them it pisses me off bethy why do you say things like that? you know lots of people care about you like me and kristina and brian. you don’t seem to realize how beautiful you are and how fun you are to be around and it makes me sad everytime you say no one cares for you. i know people care but i know no guy in their right mind would...

Nat Hentoff | It looked for a time that House Majority Leader Dick Armey had saved us from the Ashcroft-Bush Operation TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System) program that would have sent millions of truckers, utility workers, meter readers and other service personnel to report "suspicious" behavior or other signs of terrorist-connected activity. Armey removed from the Homeland Security Department bill this plan, characterized by constitutional lawyer John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, as "essentially turning the average citizen into an extension of the thought police." This army of untrained informants, without any definition of "suspicious" or "terrorist" activity, would, as conservative Georgia Republican Congressman Bob Barr said, be involved in what "smacks of the very type of fascist or Communist government we fought so hard to eradicate in other countries in decades past." The House passed its bill without Operation TIPS, but the Senate is still debating the measure. John Ashcroft, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, was met with Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch's concern that, "We don't want to see a '1984' Orwellian-type situation here where neighbors are reporting on neighbors." Ashcroft satisfied Hatch by saying that these vast reports by informants would not be logged into a Justice Department database. Ashcroft conceded, however, that the information would be sent to other law-enforcement agencies that could put the allegations into their databases. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the attorney general: "We could be vigilant, but we don't want to be vigilantes." Leahy then sent a letter to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., head of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, which is handling the Homeland Security Department bill, asking him to include in the Senate version Armey's prohibition on enacting the ubiquitous Operation TIPS. With its echoes of the neighborhood watch committees in Cuba, China and other anti-Democratic countries, I find it reckless that an attorney general of the United States could even advocate it. Lieberman, not notably passionate about civil liberties -- like Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to whom the Leahy letter was also addressed -- ignored his colleague's attempt to prevent this country from forgetting why we are fighting terrorism here and abroad. On July 28, New York Times reporter Alison Mitchell accurately summarized the lessons of history that the Bush administration, Congress and the rest of us must heed: "A central challenge a free society faces in countering terrorism is in maintaining its own character, protecting its citizens while preserving what makes the society worth protecting in the first place." Prior to Ashcroft's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, David Carle, Leahy's press secretary, sent out a "News Backgrounder," which has been ignored by much of the press. Providing "a disturbing historical precedent for Operation TIPS," the report notes that in World War I, the "Department of Justice established the American Protective League (APL), which enrolled 250,000 citizens in at least 600 cities and towns" to enlist informants with wide access in their communities to report suspicious conduct and interrogate fellow citizens. "The APL spied on workers and unions in thousands of industrial plants with defense contracts, and organized raids on German-language newspapers." Members of the APL, with the power to make arrests, "used such methods as tar and feathers, beatings, and forcing those who were suspected of disloyalty to kiss the flag." Said the New York Bar Association after the war, "No other cause contributed so much to the oppression of innocent men as the systematic and indiscriminate agitation against what was claimed to be an all-pervasive system of German espionage." In September, when Congress returns, a conference committee of the House and Senate will decide the final language in the Homeland Security Department bill, including whether Operation TIPS will become law. Those of us who believe American citizens should not be spying on one another can let our representatives in the Senate know that we are committed to protecting our liberties both from terrorists and from Ashcroft's Justice Department. Separate messages should be sent to Tom Daschle and Trent Lott, the nation's leaders in the Senate.

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New Bed Means It’s Time to Redecorate A New Bed = Clean Slate Marriage and a new bed! Lots of excitement in my world lately! I got married, on May 19th, I thought that once that was over things would start calming down a bit… I was totally wrong! We received a NEW bedroom suit for our wedding gift, and we also got a new bed a SLEEP NUMBER BED!! YAY! We had to completely de-clutter our room, I mean seriously cleaning. I moved in with my husband (so.. strange still to say) about 3 years ago. I still had boxes to unpack. Things not needed or old or just trash. I believe we cleared out over 15 bags of stuff. It was not like an episode of Hoarders. But there was just stuff. Clothing, art supplies, pictures, books, more clothes… We got the first round done in last Monday afternoon. Which was awesome! YAY US! I went last Sunday (6/3) to IKEA with my sister, we pulled all the furniture that we wanted to order. Paid for it then took it over to home delivery.(I will say if you are thinking its better to have them deliver your stuff, just pull it then have them deliver, it is a next day delivery instead of 2 weeks, and a few bucks cheaper.) Monday rolled around and the items delivered, the IKEA guys took it upstairs into the bedroom. Which was a plus because one of the boxes was over 150 pounds.. and that would have not been fun to try to take upstairs. It weighted more than I do. So now with our cleared out room, we moved the mattress and box-springs off the bed-frame and set them aside. You can see why we needed a new bed, this set was my husbands since he was like 13 years old. It was not comfortable at all to sleep on, we actually were sleeping on the living room couches for the last few months. BOO.. so it was the best gift we could have ever asked for. Thank you Omi and Luis! Yes this is what our cats have done to the poor old bed. I show you because I should, am I embarrassed? YES but its life Seriously swept the carpet and started putting things together. The first thing was the new dresser for Jermie. MALM makes amazing stuff, very modern and sturdy. We were able to put it together in about 2 hours. (Ms Jolie approved… my kitty) Then Jermie had to go to work.. and me already in the mood to get the bedroom complete, I started putting the new bed-frame together, which was also MALM and a platform bed. I had little Ms R helping me singing Jem and dancing. She was also a terrific helper with the tools. Ms R is in love with these new fans, they are AWESOME!! Lasko Pro Performance Blower Fan (series 4900), after doing a LOT of research on fans, we bought 2 of these for the upstairs to try to keep from having to run the window air conditioner. Our room is a converted attic, which never had A/C installed. So far, after a week, they are seriously kicking butt! Then Thursday we had a special delivery, our new bed! The Sleep Number Crew brought everything in and set it up within minutes. We did a quick run through of the bed and how it works. And as you can tell the kitties love the bed. Our room is not close to being done. Now I totally want to paint it and still de-clutter some more, along with a few other pieces of furniture. Then it will be perfect! I am so happy that we have gotten this far! I can’t wait to make our room enjoyable, a place to go to get away from the daily hustle and bustle of life. Hope you all had an amazing week, as amazing as mine! XOXO – Jesy *disclaimer – I did not receive any compensation from Lasko, IKEA or Sleep Number for this post. These opinions are mine with no influence from either company.*

To top it off, the staff was amazing. My mom told me that as she walked around all evening, every waiter and bartender would say to her, "Congratulations on the beautiful wedding of your lovely daughter." How sweet is that? Tomorrow, I'll share photos of the ceremony, I can't wait! xoxo (Photos of the DTA by Max Wanger) Beautiful. It is hard to believe it is in Manhattan!! What a fantastic setting for your wonderful and lovely ceremony - I will be waiting to see the pics. Loved your honeymoon pics too. Thanks for sharing Joanna - you are such a beautiful bride! xxoo Laurie The waiters did seem very sweet. Congratulations on your wedding. I love the ribbon on your bouquet. Wow, what a great and interesting location! I am so excited to see more of the photos, Max Wanger is inspiring. joanna, i am so jealous beyond words. i can't wait till tomorrow to see photos of the ceremony. you and alex look so beautiful in the first photo. I loved the DTA!! It was the perfect NY venue - so elegant and beautiful! And Colleen (the manager) was AMAZING! I love love love that first photo! simply gorgeous! :) I simply ADORE the first photo :) It's so romantic! Did I mention how much I love your blog? :) I can't wait either! What a gem of a venue. I adore every detail. Congrats Joanna. It looks like a fairy tale! My inner anglophile is squealing with joy at these pictures. The venue is very English country manor meets Old New York. *BEAUTIFUL*... Can't wait to see the ceremony pictures! sush a lovely setting! i'm loving all your pictures! congratulations for the wedding ^^ you must b so excited! YAYYY!! I'm so happy for you! And what a treasure for you to have these gorgeous photographs for ever and ever. -L.A. Eve such a beautiful venue! thanks for sharing :) I would like to add that the food was amazing! What a cool place! Love that top picture of you two! what a splendidly romantic place, i love the taxidermy. and, oh wow! the top photograph is amazing. it's so perfectly captured. amazing! more! Lovely, Joanna. cariad (Alex should know what that means...) xo Susan umbrella shot is just too wonderful what a beautiful venue joanna! can't believe it's in downtown manhattan! The first photograph is just breathtaking! So lovely. This place is amazing!!! I can't wait to see more pics! thesingular.blogspot.com the venue is amazing! i cant wait to see the rest of the photos! What a gorgeous location. I love the laid-back yet elegant feel of your wedding photos... can't wait to see more!! Btw, LOVE the dress! The first photograph is stunning. It really reflects the genious that is max wanger. what a fabulous place to get married. love that first photo with the blue (or is it violet?...) umbrella! thanks for sharing all these great photos. can't wait to see the rest tomorrow! oh, how beautiful! i can't wait to see the rest of your pictures, you look so beautiful and happy!! Enjoying all these sneak peeks to your special day Darling... Love the venue very much, it's so both of you! xo* What a beautiful building... so romantic! xo Laura How sweet are those waiters! It looks like such a lovely place to have a wedding. Absolutely stunning! I love th first pic, especially. So romantic! How cute is the blue umbrella?! Totally reminds me of the red balloon engagement pics. These photos are absolutely gorgeous!!! Your dress/hair/makeup/smile!, your hubba hubba hubby, and the venue are each stunning!!!! I LOVE the top one!! what an eye for detail; the umbrella matches your pretty bouquet. what a gentleman he is! that first picture is fantastic! love it! frame it! you too are adorable i only hope my wedding (not that i have a bf or anything) will be this beautiful! LOVE, love, love! Can't wait to see more. You make a beautiful couple. Oooo...can't wait to see more picks! Char That ceiling is delicious!!! The pics are really lovely. Thanks so much for sharing. joanna - your pictures are so lovely. i cannot wait to see the rest, i was dying with anticipation today. max + you/alex, you just can't beat it. the venue looks fabulous too-- just another reason why i'd love to move to ny, so many hidden gems! xo, kim oh, so lovely!! That top image is so sweet!! Can't wait to see more. :) Hi Joanna, It's so much fun to see these photos. Thanks so much for sharing! What a lovely place for a wedding. loooooove this venue. very sophisticated. makes me want to get all dressed up and sip brandy, and i don't even drink brandy. I just fell over sideways out of gleeful dismay. How impossibly delightful that you got to do that THERE. ohmy. i am loving these photos and so excited to see more. thanks so much for sharing these with us! Oh, the umbrella and chromatic flowers! And the taxidermy is delightful. If Mary Poppins and Audrey Hepburn had a love child, it would be that classy umbrella photo at the top. Great pictures! that first photo is soo beautiful and sweet... congratulations! Oh Joanna! Im feeling so nostalgic...its so magical. Im sure I would have tears in my eyes if I were there. oh excellent, two posts after another! I love, of course, the first photo with the matching brolley to the bouqet. It looks like Alex is playfully chasing you, cute! what an amazing venue!! You look gorgeous!! and Alex very handsome...cant wait to see more! What a fantastic place! And yes, the bathrooms are fabulous, too. ;) I love, love the first picture with the umbrella! So typical, right?! Congrats to you both on your wedding day! It looks like it was beautiful day! It's been great following your exciting journey towards the day (especially since my sister has recently become engaged and we've just started planning!) Anyway I just wanted to say congrats on a great blog and the wedding!!! Look forward to seeing the next post! :) - nowandthenboutique.blogspot.com love the umbrella picture. very "singing in the rain" please frame the first picture. it is magic. What a truly unique wedding. the 1st photo is worth a 1000+words...truly warms the ♥! That first picture is art! That blue umbrella is the perfect touch...and your body language is so happy :) Its perfect Not trying to be un-nice, but I don't get the "modern" concept of all the drama--like not seeing the dress, first kiss and all that--when a couple has been living together. Really, I just don't understand it--I guess I am incredibly un-hip. What really floors me is when a bride goes all out in a bouffant pure white dress and a huge church wedding when she has been living with the groom for quite some time. That is really trying to have it all! On the other hand, ANOTHER thing I don't understand is how we girls can get away with wearing a casual-looking unstructured garment, while the men are nattily turned out in tailored suits and all that! It's a bit jarring--doesn't quite go. Oh, I really like that photo with the umbrella, though! The colors are really pretty and it's artsy! How gorgeous. I love that you have such fond memories of the service that you received there, too: this will be one of the details you (& your guests) remember about the day, I’m sure. so enjoy (said with a smile in my heart) that first photograph... lovely and sweet. My husband and I got married at the DTA in 2003 because we wanted to support downtown NYC after September 11 - it is as spectacular as your pictures and we will always remember it so fondly. We got married in the winter, and we had a saxaphonist play jazz so that people could find the place with all the subways snarled from the construction. It is a really special place. i absolutely love the picture with you two and the umbrella! seriously, classic and beautiful.

. (Just look at their amazing dresses and scarves!) Today LemLem is offering a Hana Pocket Bag ($188), with a bold handwoven stripe and six outside pockets. Isn't it beautiful? For a chance to win, please visit LemLem and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! xo Update: Sammie L. is our lucky winner. Thanks for playing. I have loved Lemlem forever. The designs are beautiful and relaxed. This tote would add a pop of color to any outfit. Muzz Haves Love. Beautiful bag! Such beautiful patterns!! What a beautiful bag! It would be perfect for next spring & summer. So lovely... their collaboration with J. Crew was the best! What a beautiful bag! This looks beautiful! ooh i love it! absolutely gorgeous! That is gorgeous work. Such beautiful items. This bag is so pretty! I am a college girl, and this would be perfect to carry around my books from class to class. The pockets would be great for supplies too! The true talent these weavers have is just amazing. love this! the colors are beautiful & that orange adds the perfect amount of pop. what a great bag! Just love the colors! great bag prefect for everyday and i love that is supports a community in need of jobs! yes please! This is such a great giveaway! I love that lemlem is now sold at J Crew. I LOVE it! I've been eyeing their stuff for a while. Great stuff. That bag looks like the perfect summer bag. Just in time for my upcoming trip to Vieques, PR. I love this bag! It's so so pretty and for a great great cause. Beautiful! love it! and for what a great cause! love love love! What an awesome line! I adore the Leli scarf. It's a must-have. And I would use this bag every day. Pockets are perfect. Gorgeous bag! Simple and lovely. love it! Been coveting a lem lem bag since you mentioned their site earlier this year. Love the color blocking and beachy city feel! Everything is SO beautiful! Definitely a company I can get behind! I adore this. The designs, the mission, the purpose! I love learning about companies like this one. Thanks Joanna! perfect bag for school! The woven print is gorgeous! Beautiful and simple-- beautiful! what an awesome mission statement/company! love this bag! and the purpose behind the company. Incredibly beautiful things. I love the kids clothes too! How lovely! what a wonderful idea (and bag)! yum! love the bag and the scarves! Absolutely love LemLem!!!!!! oh dear, i am crazy about their goods. so gorgeous! their baby stuff... GORGEOUS!!! The ponchos! the dresses! the bags! oh my! What a lovely giveaway! this site is amazing (: Love it! And love kids items! I would dress my kiddo up! Love this site all the goodies, especially the Maru loop scarf, the bag being given away and the studded cuff! Yes, please! beautiful oh i loooove their things! so cheerful and pretty. fingers crossed. Wow! This is my first introduction to LemLem, and everything is amazing! I wish I had heard about this company a few weeks ago, I would have loved to buy christmas gifts! Empowering these women is so important and what beautiful items! what a pretty bag! i love that it has so many pockets and the colors are so vibrant! it's so great to know that buying these support artisan communities in ethiopia. This bag is beautiful! Probably my favorite of their products! chocoholicchica3 (at) gmail (dot) com absolutely stunning! just beautiful!!! absolutely lovely! everything is so wonderful. the scarves are beautiful. bright colors and simple patterns. LOVE. i love lem lem! would love to win. Ooh, that bag is awesome! Thanks for introducing LemLem to me. Great cause. Beautiful items; especially love the bag and scarves. Wonderful way to support the true artisans. Gorgeous and would be so cheerful to carry around on a dreary day! Such a beautiful bag! I love love love lemlem! Crossing my fingers. prettypennydesigns@gmail.com What beautiful craftsmanship & unique character. So authentic & special. Absolutely gorgeous. LemLem is such an amazing company and I have always loved their scarves. Oh I love everything about this! love love love lemlem! gorgeous - you always have the most unique items. love it. Love the hot colors! ooh i'd love to have such a pretty bag! the photos on the site are great! annd the anna poncho dress is too cool- stripes! (awesome colors!) Gorgeous, I love:) that bag is lovely. I am absolutely obsessed with LemLem and almost squealed when I saw your giveaway! I love the pops of neon! Oh so lovely! That scarf in the first photo is lovely! The color combination is so unique. Ooooh that bag is incredible! So, so beautiful! <3 Beautiful...both the products and the heart behind them. I LOVE lemlem - it would be such a wonderful giveaway to win. thanks joanna! I so love the vivid colours LemLem is known for, and even better than it is ethically produced. I was very excited to hear recently of a New Zealand stockist too! This bag is so great. Perfect size for holding all of my life in it. Wow. Way to go, Liya. I'm so happy to know LemLem exists! Wonderful, lemlem is lovely.. I hope to win :) What a beautiful bag! That bag is all sorts of amazing! brilliant colors!! That bag is beyond beautiful and so is everything else! Love the colors! Love the stripes and the mission. Beautiful in more ways than one. I love all things LemLem and I especially love the fabric used for the bag!!! Perfect bag to brighten up gray sky days! love lemlem! how awesome. What a lovely, lovely gift! the whole line is amazing! I would much rather support a cause such as this than to buy at a mall. Thank you LemLem for the amazing opportunity! Great! Very pretty bag - I love Lemlem! love that stuff! Oooh, I love LemLem! I have been lusting after the printed rustic scarf forever. What an amazing cause and even more beautiful product. Would LOVE to tote this around everywhere and spread the word. Thanks, Jo! :D Stripes! how beautiful!! shivanimb (at) gmail (dot) com Ooooh, so many pretty things!! Joanna Darling, fantastic bag! gorgeous! Gorgeous! What an amazing & beautiful talent. my wife would love it! I can't stand how much I love that bag! And everything else on that website-wow! OH how I would love to own this bag!! I absolutely love the mission and purpose for LemLem as well! Have been following the company for a while now :) So pretty!! I love it. I Ioved!! That's a pretty sweet bag. Love the colors. Gifts that give back are the best. Thanks for thinking of us, your loyal blogees! inspirational! beautiful pieces! bookmarked lemlem for the future =) Fab bag! And great site (your and LemLem's)! Absolutely love all of their products! almila [dot] kakinc [at] gmail [dot] com Beautiful! I have been lusting after their dresses/tops/scarves forever. That bag is spectacular. Amba scarf is beautiful... I love LemLem so much. So glad they could be featured on your blog so more people know about them! Beauties! so beautiful, thanks. Gorgeousness! They're sold at a shop in my town & I always admire the designs. absolutely stunning. would love to win, thanks so much! inspirational! beautiful pieces. bookmarked lemlem on my browser! Beautiful pieces! They are so simple and yet feel so special! bold. Very versatile, would love to own this. oh how stunning, and what a wonderful cause too! the scarves look pretty cozy. Love the bright pops of color! love the tote! what a great company! love the bag and the site! please let me win :) Gorgeous! beautiful! Lovely site. beautiful! I've been coveting these scarves for a long time. I'll have to drop stronger hints before my next birthday. xoxo Those scarves ate so gorgeous! I love how colorful everything is! Love this! ah! have been lusting after lemlem for months! Love their scarves. this bag is gorgeous! thanks for a great giveaway! I love LemLem!! such beautiful fresh colours for a southern hemispehere christmas! Wow!! Thanks for bringing to my attention this wonderful site! I loved all the clothes!! Definitely adding many items to my wishlist! everything is beautiful! Such a beautiful bag! What a lovely bag, thanks for the giveaway and introducing me to their site :) Nice. So pretty & I love the mission of the company! What a lovely tote! Truthfully I would love to have many of these LemLem items! love the colors!!! so beautiful. The last time I won something at random was in 6th grade playing bingo. I love lemlem! Great products I love her stuff What a gorgeous bag! such beautiful pieces. thank you! Oh my! What a Santa treat early. Love lem lem!!!! I love the navy and orange combo. This would be a perfect teacher bag! Great giveaway, their scarves and bags are amazing! :) We have some personal connections to Ethiopia so it's great to learn of another avenue for supporting local endevours there. This bag is beautiful! oooh, love. beautiful i love lem lem!!!!! love lemlem! pick me! So handy...love the overdose of pockets!! Perfect for styling on the go! xo-Julie julie@juliekhuu.com Peace. Love. LOL! Haute Khuuture Blog: WIN A FREE PAIR OF SHOES!!! Lemlem is amazing! How wonderful that Kebede helped these artisans carve out a place for their craft in the world of high fashion. -Caroline Goddard (are we related?:0)) hopestatestyle.wordpress.com What a great company! I love going this route versus big chain corporations. Keeping this in my pocket. OMG so so beautiful. how wonderful, and how beautiful! I have never heard of LemLem but will certainly be a supporter in the future. I'm a bit of an international development/foreign news nerd and a fan of trade over aid so I love the idea behind this company. I would love to use this bag to haul all my stuff to the office each day (book, giant water bottle and snacks). Plus, it would be such a fun pop of color in my cube while I work. So lovely! Their bold colored stripes and simple siloettes make the clothes look gorgeous and effortless. I am loving their ponchos, but wouldn't mind that bag at all. Please count me in! Great to see social entrepreneurship expanding into fashion/retail! great bag for a great cause! Awesome story and an equally awesome piece...would love to have it! Beautiful, would love to win. Beautiful bag! LOVE. What beautiful things. I <3 those dresses! To die for! I love LemLem!!! That bag is soooo pretty, pretty. gorgeous bag... what a great company and beautiful woven clothing. This comment has been removed by the author. This is a gorgeous bag!! wow! Gorgeous. Stunner. Here's to hopin! Their pieces are beautiful! Fantastic with a conscience! The colors they use are amazing! I have coveted their scarves for months! This would be an amazing Christmas gift to myself :) LOVE. I love the bright colors! totally agree with the social entrepreneurship awesomeness! and beautiful. I love those colors together!! thanks for this opportunity to support a great company. happy holidays! Visited the site earlier today before I knew about the giveaway. Funny coincidence. Oh man, does this bring back memories... Lovely! I am so in love with this bag. I would love to have one! LoveLove! Thanks for sharing this is a gorgeous bag. And lemlem has such amazing scarves too - what a great discovery! I love the idea behind this! Oh wow, her clothes and accessories are amazing. I especially love the oxford shoes! If I had any "extra" money at all, I would snatch them up, along with a scarf and one of her tunics! And this bag is beautiful! i absolutely love everything!! love love love this beautiful bag - wish wish wish to be the lucky girl to have it - happy holidays

George was born on May 23, 1867 in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, which lies three miles from Tring to the east and four miles from Aylesbury to the west. George was christened at Aylesbury with three of his siblings on February 9, 1868. George worked as a piecer at the cotton mill in Glossop in 1881 when he was thirteen years old. While still in Glossop, he married Betty Sandiford in 1887. Betty was twenty, George was only nineteen when he married. George and Betty had moved seven and a half miles north west to the town of Dukinsfield by 1891, where George was working as a labourer in an iron works. It appears that Betty had no children with George and by 1901 they had separated. Betty moved back to her birthplace in Glossop and was found living with her mother; she gave her status as married in both the 1901 and 1911 census returns. George continued moving west, this time over forty-five miles southwest to Chester, where he was a fried fish dealer in 1896 at 15 Brook Street; nearby, his brother, Amos, was a greengrocer at 47 Brook Street. By 1900 he had moved again, south seventy miles to Kidderminster, where he had a fried fish business on Blackwell Street. A year later, George had moved again, to Northfield, Worcestershire and had changed his situation significantly when he appeared in the 1901 census as a thirty-three-year-old general labourer living with a twenty-year-old landlady who was a laundress. Young Sarah Ann Jones had a two-month-old son, named Ernest W Jones. At that time George Crockett was listed as married and Sarah Jones was listed as single, yet they lived as man and wife for over forty years. Three more children were born before 1905 came to an end, Sarah and all her children used the surname Crockett including Ernest William. When George accompanied Amos on the voyage to Philadelphia, he gave the address for his next of kin as his wife, Sarah, at Moor Street, Brierly Hill. That was on February 23, 1911. By the time the census was taken on April 2, 1911 another family was living at that residence and I have not been able to find George's family in the 1911 census. One of the stories that my father told me about George Crockett was that when he and Amos arrived in New York it was the fourth of July and there were American flags everywhere and George remarked that there wasn't a Union Jack to be seen. This has turned out to be family lore because they landed in Philadelphia in March. On the ship's manifest of the SS Merion, George gave the name of the person he was going to visit as his brother-in-law, Charles Jones. George is described as being 5' 5½” tall with fair complexion, auburn hair, and gray eyes, a true Crockett. George only stayed in Philadelphia long enough to visit Sarah's brother for a few weeks and then he returned to England on the Lusitania, leaving New York on March 17 and arriving in Liverpool on March 28, 1911. Amos did not return to England with him and I presume he made his way to Alberta overland. George and Sarah Crockett left England the next year, departing from Bristol on April 3 and arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 12, 1912. Thomas Amos Crockett, son of Amos, accompanied them on the voyage. The manifest listed the following aboard the SS Royal Edward: Crockett, George, 44, Poultry farmer Crockett, Mrs. G, 32, wife Crockett, Thomas, 20, Farm labourer Crockett, Ernest, 11 Crockett, George, 10 Crockett, Ada, 8 Crockett, Mary, 7 On the ship's manifest, both George and Tom Crockett claimed to have worked on a farm in England, but I wonder if that was to get assistance with the passage from the Salvation Army. The family was in “steerage” class with SA noted in the right margin of the manifest. Their destination was given as Edmonton.According to a map in the Busby history book, George's homestead was located on a ¼ section described as South-east quarter, Section 23Township 57 Range 1 West of the 5th Meridian in the Busby Park School District. From another reference to George and family in the same book about the Busenius family: My Dad spent his first year of school at Busby Park and recalled George and Sarah's children were: Ernie, Joss, Ada, and Alice. Joss must have been the younger George. George and Sarah moved into Edmonton after leaving the homestead and my Dad recalled that Uncle George worked as an elevator operator and Aunt Sarah worked as a maid at the Queen Alexandra Hospital. In the city directory for 1943, George was listed as retired and Sarah was still working at the hospital. Amos Crockett's granddaughter, Evelyn, recalls a story about Uncle George John Bull: "There was a dentist's office in the building where John Bull ran the elevator and he offered to make Uncle George a set of false teeth because he had none. A couple of weeks after setting him up with a fine set of dentures, the dentist noticed that George was not wearing his new teeth. When asked the whereabouts of the teeth, John Bull said they were in his pants pocket. To this the dentist replied: I hope they bite you in the ass!" George passed away in Edmonton in 1944 at age seventy-six and was buried in Edmonton Cemetery on May 13, 1944. In the city directory for 1947 Sarah was still working at the hospital as a maid and living at #32, 11045-97 Street (Lambton Block). In 1953 she was living at the same address but no occupation was given. According to my Dad, Aunt Sarah had some sort of mental breakdown and died in a mental facility in Oliver, just north of Edmonton. I wish my Dad was here to ask, because I think I can recall that Sarah also worked at the Oliver hospital. Sarah died in 1964, twenty years after her husband, she was eighty-four years old. Her body rests beside her husband, George in the Edmonton Cemetery. When I asked Amos Crockett's granddaughter, Vera Becklake, about her memories of George and Sarah, she had the following to say: Uncle 'John Bull' was a bit of a rascal. I was surprised to hear that he had been married in England. I know there was some scandal about him and a girl who worked in Grandpa's (Amos) fish and chip shop. Perhaps they were never divorced as I was told that he and Auntie Sarah were never married. I don't recall the circumstances of her death. She worked for years at the Royal Alex Hospital in Edmonton and was badly injured in an elevator accident there but as far as I remember, she recovered enough to go back to work. She was a very sweet and gentle person. George Crockett and Sarah Ann Jones had the following children: Ernest William Crockett (1901-1994) George Crockett (1902-1990) Ada Millicent Crockett (1904-) Mary Alice Crockett (1905-) My name is Betsy Weninger Imholt and I am the great granddaughter of George Crocket (1902-1990). My father is the son of Pearl Georgian Crockett. I just read this posting aloud to my father, Donnie Weninger. I find this information so exciting to read and I so much appreciate your fine writing and great story telling ability. Thank you for sharing this with us. Betsy, I would love to be in touch with you and your Dad. My email address is on my profile. I have been trying to contact George's descendants for years and heard from Chris and Ron Crockett in Salem and now you, this is indeed exciting!

Generation Y Woefully Unprepared For Job Market, Survey Finds Everyone knows it's terrible out there for young Americans, aka Generation Y or the millennials, who are just entering the workforce. While the national unemployment rate has slid below 8 percent the past two months, the official tally for Americans between the ages of 18 to 29 was 12 percent in October. And when you factor in the 1.7 million young adults who are not being counted (as they've taken themselves out of the labor force, presumably after giving up), the actual unemployment rate for the age bracket rate rises to 16.6 percent, according to General Opportunity, a nonprofit youth employment organization. So what's the cause of the pronounced and prolonged crisis among the members of America's newest generation to enter the workforce? The economy itself? Perhaps that's not the only factor, according to the Student Career Development study conducted by Millennial Branding, a Generation Y research firm, along with StudentAdvisor.com. The survey reveals a generation composed of students who are "not aggressively preparing for their post-college careers," according to the study. After compiling responses to a questionnaire about employment from over 200 students from across the country, an across-the-board trend of low engagement in career planning was revealed. Only 29 percent of the students have received career and job help from their universities, while only 22 percent belong to a professional development or industry-related group. More: 10 Millennial Generation Trends For 2012The survey delved into the extent of Gen Y's lack of preparation. Among the findings: - Less than half have had an internship in college (40 percent), although 85 percent understand that having an internship is vital to launching a career. - Despite all of Gen Y's social media savvy, only 1 in 3 have a presence on LinkedIn -- the site that recruiters and human resources officers rely on to post jobs and find candidates. In contrast, 95 percent have a Facebook profile. "College students are missing out on a very valuable resource by not leveraging LinkedIn," says Dean Tsouvalas, editor-in-chief at StudentAdvisor.com. "Internship opportunities, and the ability to network alumni or gain incredible insight into a company, are all there, waiting for students to take advantage." Any discussion about the troubled job prospects for millennials must of course also make mention of their debt problems. The average student, according to Forbes, already carries $12,700 in credit-card and other kinds of debt. And nationwide, tuition debt just recently passed the $1 trillion mark. What are the effects of all these struggles? A cultural shift, say observers and commentators. Millennials have been widely noted for their optimism, but according to a recent Rutgers study, just 14 percent of recent college graduates think they'll be able to do better than their parents financially. "I'm hoping that the millennial generation doesn't set its sights on homeownership as a benchmark of economic stability," sociologist Katherine Newman told Newsweek this summer, "because it's going to be out of reach for so many of them." Looking for a job? Click here to get started. Don't Miss: Companies Hiring Now More From AOL Jobs - Millennial Heroes -- Twenty-Somethings Changing The Nonprofit World - 5 Things You Might Not Know About Millennial Job-Seekers - Freelance, Part-Time Jobs: A Viable Option Or Last Resort? >... 69 Comments

Technical Training Jobs in Utah 4 Utah Technical Training jobs found on Monster.Jobs 1 to 4 of 4 Position Description: A GREAT PLACE TO WORK - A GREAT PLACE TO GROW! Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A. Inc is seeking a Customer Imaging Technician. We seek a polished individual who can thrive in a fast-paced environment to service our award winning products. You will be responsible for repair and maintenance of our analog and digital copiers, facsimiles, multifunctional and connected dig... Job Summary The purpose of this position is to develop and maintain a robust self-service capability accessible to Dealertrack Service team members (technical support, implementation, and premium support) and clients/partners through various tools and content, including but not limited to knowledge base, learning management systems (LMS), video content, product and other documentation, access to b... . Adecco Engineering & Technical is seeking a Microsoft Trainer on a DIRECT HIRE opportunity with a Professional Training facility inBoise,ID. This trainer must have at least one of these certifications: MCTS, MTA, CompTIA, MCITP, or Adobe. This position is a full time 40 hour per week opening that includes health insurance, paid vacation time, a training stipend, and help with any moving expenses... Description: We are leading the way in healthcare IT, and we need help developing first-class training to help our customers (providers, clinics, and hospitals) provide more effective and efficient care. Are you a creative instructional designer with a strong background in eLearning development? Do you enjoy working with subject-matter experts to design and develop eLearning, software simulations... Sponsored results Ask.com/Answers Automotive Technician Training Diesel & Industrial Training $14-$85/Hour: Part/Full Time - 100's of Jobs - Apply Now (Hiring) Hiring-Jobs.net Earn a Master of Arts in Teaching Online from USC's Top Rated Program requestinfo.rossieronline.usc.edu Didn't find the right Technical Training job in Utah? We'll keep looking and send you new jobs that match this search. Upload your resume and let employers find you! It's that simple! Answers for Technical Training Jobs Questions & Answers Powered by Yahoo! Answers How hard would it would be to convert my 1991 toyota camry to run on nuclear power? I have no technical training in this area and would appreciate any help I can get. I am tired of paying the high prices at the pumps, so I figured I would just go nuclear. How do I apply for automotive technical training job at pep boys (or another auto compay) with or wi... I go to a community college and I've only took 3 classes, I'm taking basic at the moment to refresh my memories. I don't have no hands on experience or anything. I want a job auto repair job, but I ... Can i separate from the airforce within 60 days of completeing basic training? I graduated from basic training the begining of this month. Today was my first day of technical training and they just let me know i cannot do the job I was already approved for and that I need to cho... Can I be sued for giving 2 weeks notice if I am difficult to replace? My employer thinks 2 weeks notice is not enough since my job is 'specialized'. I work at a family run greenhouse as a microgreen and wheat grass grower. The job is is not hard- I fill trays with so... How do you begin to fix all of the negative effects of depression? I've always been at least a little depressed, but it's gotten so much worse lately. In the last 2-3 years I legitimately feel like I have mentally deteriorated. there was up to 6 months where I drank ... Education Career Tools Technical Trainer Salaries $37,100.00 - $99,000.00 Typical Salary for Technical Trainer in Utah (361 Respondents) Source: Monster.com Careerbenchmarking Tool Education / Training Bachelor's 41.2% Master's 22.4% Some College Coursework Completed 13.6% Associates 12.9% High School 4% Certification 2.6% Vocational 2.2% (272 Conducts computer training needs assessment by collecting information pertaining to work procedures, work flow, and reports; understanding job-specific functions and tasks.?...

Dear Johnnie: Why do so many Longmont neighborhoods have old man-high light posts all along the sidewalk? Was there some construction period when they were popular? Are there any neighborhoods where they are still actively used? Who pays for the electricity and maintenance? — Curious John Dear Curious John:Those lights are called pedestal lights. The city has so many — about 9,000 of them — because in the 1960s, the city transitioned from powering porch A street lamp on the east side of Lonmgont near the 400 block of Alpine Street on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. (Joshua Buck/Times-Call) lights to installing these lights along streets. Their installation continued into the early 1990s. “They contain the customer service connection point and the electric meter,” Deborah Cameron wrote to Johnnie. Cameron is the customer services and marketing manager for Longmont Power & Communications. “Pedestal installations provided a front-lot underground alternative, and effectively replaced the overhead back-lot service entrances that were installed throughout older portions of Longmont.” The pedestal lights are owned, maintained and operated by the city, Cameron said. Hello, Johnnie St. Vrain: I have lived here for more than 50 years. At one time I used to go to Safeway at 17th and Hover and create my own salad from a salad bar they once had. No more. I want to know where a person can find a good salad bar in Longmont to create their own salad? I know of no such place. Can you help? — Salad Bar Hunt Hello, Salad Bar Hunt: In answering your question, I risk leaving out a restaurant or store that offers a salad bar. So, if someone out there operates a salad bar that isn’t mentioned in this column, please forgive me. I don’t know how long ago Safeway had a salad bar, but it was before the time of the person I spoke with over at the Safeway. Regardless, he confirmed that Safeway does not have what would be a considered a “salad bar.” Potato salad. Yes. Olives. Yes. But not leafy greens and croutons, with kidney beans, red onions, baby corncobs and fake-bacon bits. At least, I think that’s the kind of salad bar you’re talking about. I asked Johnnie’s Facebook fans what they thought, and several replied: Mad Greens, over on Clover Basin Drive. Another bemoaned the loss of Souper Salad. S.B., I don’t know what exactly you’re looking for, but you can find salad bars in restaurants that serve other foods, such as pizza places and all-you-can-eat buffets. And, if you’re up for other types of salad, grocery stores still have a wide variety. Or you could buy a head of green leafy lettuce and all the fixings yourself, then invite a friend over.

So, as of March 30th, every page on Facebook will be rolled over to the new Timeline format currently being used on personal profiles. It’s no use complaining; Facebook has mandated the switchover. While all pages will switch over on the 30th, you can actually get started now on designing it and using the Timeline feature for your page. But for authors, here are some critical tips to make the most of the new format. 1. Choose a great cover photograph. The measurement for the new page cover photo is 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall. But be advised: your cover photo must NOT have any of the following:.” Any of that stuff is expressly forbidden by Facebook. That said, your cover photo can really make a great impression. It should be sharp, illustrate who you are as an author (and more if you happen to have a good platform) and include a nice eye-catching graphic. Here’s the cover photo I had my graphic design guru do up for my page: Since my platform is “writer, producer, ninja” it was important to me that I convey each of those items through a visual cue. So, you have a screenshot of The Fixer website, me doing some ninjutsu, and then book covers for my various recent works. My logo is front and center and my name is prominently displayed. I think it works very well and comments have been great. Having the cover photo with Timeline gives you far more real estate to make an impression than the old page layout, so be sure to use it to get people excited about your writing! The overall design also ties in with my website design – brand continuity is very important! Finally, your cover image is also clickable, so be sure to put up a description there that helps sell yourself and your work. My cover photo description reads: “Find out more about my books here (for Kindle users) and (for Nook users) and be sure to visit me at & on Twitter @jonfmerz” It’s one more opportunity to engage new and old fans alike so don’t forget to use it! 2. There’s no longer a tab you can set as your default landing page, so anyone coming to your page will see the Timeline feature. Make sure if you’ve got posts or comments in your timeline that you don’t like that you delete them and clean things up. 3. FBML is going away in June. For a while now, FBML (Facebook Mark-Up Language) was a simple application you could add to your page and create a sort-of custom website on it, using HTML etc. Well, Facebook has decided that FBML is obsolete and they’re switching everything over to iFrames now. What that means is if you have any custom tabs (say, “Subscribe to My Newsletter” or something like that) they will stop working in June. So the best thing to do now is to replicate those same tabs using iFrames. How do you do that? Pretty easily, actually: grab the Static HTML iFrames Tab Application and add it to your page. Now you can take whatever HTML coding you had on your FBML tab and move it over to the iFrames tab. After previewing the new iFrames tab and making sure it works like it should, you can delete the old FBML tab. One thing, FBML used the same CSS style sheets that Facebook uses and inherited all those font qualities, etc. The new iFrames tab does not, so your stuff is going to look different until you set the font size and face to the same as your other pages. You can set the CSS style directly on the iFrame app tab when you insert the rest of the old FBML code. iFrames actually gives you a LOT more creative control over what you want the tab to do, so take some time to learn how to maximize it. I’m not going to run through how to do that here, but it’s something you’ll want to explore to get the most functionality out of your new page design. (I’m still in the process of redesigning my page anyway, so it would be premature of me to offer up advice when I’m still figuring it all out!) 4. Hello Data! One of the coolest new features when you implement the Timeline design on your page is the incredible amount of information Facebook gives to page administrators about who is viewing your page, liking it, post popularity, etc. This is fantastic because it lets you see immediately how much your posts and engagement with readers is registering. Say you write a post about your recent book coming out for sale: with the new data feedback, you can see how popular it actually was. It takes a certain degree of guesswork out of trying to quantify your reader engagement. The results are right in front of you. It might be slightly disconcerting to learn that your throwaway joke about Snooki and the Mayan calendar had more viral impact than talking up your latest thriller, but it’s also good to know how your demographic responds to you. Here’s a screenshot of my admin panel that displays on top of my cover photo (you have the option to hide this – see the upper right button there?) Check out the small square that says “insights.” If you click on “see all” you’ll be whisked away to a page with incredible detail. But here’s the cool thing about even that small screenshot: I’ve been sick lately two times. Guess where those two dips in my engagement data fell? Exactly when I was feeling like crap and didn’t post very much or otherwise engage. As a result, my reach dipped, people weren’t talking about me, and the page just sort of died in terms of excitement. Why is this data so important? Because as much as you might like to lock yourself away and live out that “writer hermit” fantasy, the truth is you’re in business. You sell ebooks, or books, or both. And as such, you need to know what your audience is doing, how they’re responding, and how to engage them – that is, if you have any hope of making a long-term career out of this stuff. So Facebook has graciously given you oodles of information to help you improve your business. Seriously. Some of you will no doubt roll your eyes and employ that old excuse, “I don’t have TIME to look at all of this stuff, I’m a writer.” Great. Well, if that’s your excuse, then so be it. Some other writer will quickly grasp how this data can give them a leg up on you and then proceed to decimate you in sales. This kind of intelligence is gold, people. Use it or lose it. I’ll have another post next week discussing more ways to make your page better. But for now, get out there and start creating some kick-ass designs! And by the way, if you find this post useful, come swing by my Fan Page and say hello!

BALMAIN. If you missed the first part of the Fashion, A-Z exhibit at Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) that ended May 8th, have no fear! The second exhibit is up and running until November 10th where more than 60 garments and accessories from FIT’s permanent collection will be on display for the public to view. If. Worn by Anja Rubik in Balmain’s Fall 2012 campaign, this jacket stole our hearts in March and we’ve been lusting after it ever since. Silk fringes of gold, white, and navy scattered with embellishment of Swarovski crystals and mirrors create this show stopping striped blazer. Our only opposition is the $31,095 price tag! However, we just can not let this look go, so we have found a way to get it for less. The look revolves around the jacket, and we love this sequin and silk piece by Parker . Channel the stripes and embellishment with rows of sparkling, two-toned sequins and keep the structure with an exaggerated shoulder. Grab a simple, comfy, white tee shirt like this one by T by Alexander Wang . It's sheer, cool, and layers perfectly with a statement jacket. Next, add a pair tailored skinny pants. Nez trousers by Hakaan boast a perfect fit, with a flattering front pleat and comfortable low rise..! Now that Fashion Week is quickly closing in on us it's time to start finding some answers to that all too important question, "What should I wear?" Granted Fashion Week is a perfect excuse to find some new gear, but unless you are an heiress with money to burn or happen to be bff's with a major fashion publicist who will let you borrow the latest and greatest Balmain ensemble, you will have to plan your outfits according to your budget. And with so many parties to attend, it can be hard not to go overboard and not dip into the rent money. Now, I find that whenever this time of year rolls around and I need a few pieces to update my wardrobe without incurring any over draft fees is to hit the all too lovable madhouse that is Forever 21. It is a one stop shop for fun Fashion Week friendly pieces that will not leave you dead broke and eating tuna and crackers for the rest of the month. Here are a few of my picks that will give your closet just a little boost without breaking the bank. Guy or girl, studded shoes are just in. You can go from something as simple as a pair of studded flats our outrageous with a pair of super duper high heels. Gotta make the guys drool some how right?.

As we prepared for this journey we had read about many different country’s orphanages (baby houses as they call them here in Kazakhstan) and what we read described a very clean but rather plain place with little stimulation. Our experience with Astana’s baby house is very different from what we expected. They are very clean, but they are more like a big home with pictures on the walls, many colorful toys throughout, friendly people that truly care for the children, and a schedule full of activities such as music and organized playing. The only similarity to what we read is the ratio of care givers to children (typically about 1 care giver to about 12 toddlers), which does limit how much they can interact with each child independently. Typically these children are 1 month delayed for every three months in an orphanage, which is about what we have seen with our new son, especially communication. To our surprise he is much closer to his age with fine motor, gross motor, and self- help skills. Here are several pictures of the Astana Baby House… As you can see our son’s temporary home is not what most people think of when they hear the term orphanages. Although his new home with us will be much better in many ways, I am sure he will still miss his familiar surroundings at first. We are close to sharing more about our new little man, but for now we will tease you a little by just give you a sneak peak… Thank you for all your comments yesterday, we really appreciate you following along with us on this journey! Blessings, Jay & Jen 12 comments: Ok...enough teasing already!!!! We want to see the little guy! His toes are adorable and he looks just like Hayden from the backside when he was a baby. The baby house looks very nice and homey like you said. It is nice to see that it is so clean and he seems to be well taken care of. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your new son...we will keep you all in our prayers as well as Shelby, Hayden and Zoe. Toni Ok you two, enough!!! I want to see him!!! Sounds like everything is going well. We will pray things continue to go smoothly. "The joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 Love ya! How very cool - I am so excited for both of you. My prayers are with you and all FOUR of your children! :-) Much love from Michigan, Kristy PHIL 1:6 How sweet he looks. Even his toes. I like the little hat. The house is suprising. It does look very stimulating. I was suprised to see the ball area where the kids could jump and play in. It's rather modern. I am continuing to pray for all of you. He looks like such a doll -- from behind! Can't wait to see his darling face and meet him later. Many blessings! Jess :-) Hi, it's Mackenzie, Sorry I didn't get to say good-bye. He looks cute from behind, just like my Mom said, he looks like Hayden did at that age. See ya soon, Mackenzie Great stuff! Thanks for sharing the teaser pics. He looks great! I will pray for continued blessings as your journey moves along. --Hugh Looks like a stimulating learning environment for little kids! Of course, your home will be a much better place for this little guy. Looks like a cutie from behind - can't wait to see his little face and all his cute features! Oh how it brings back memories. Your apartment is very much like ours was in Moscow. The double door, the bedroom,bath kitchen all the same. Amazing! We are so happy for you and we know what your are feeling. What a wonderful journey. The baby house looks very good and similar to our orphanage. Do you have to spend a month there? That is very different from what we did but regions require different things. Good luck and sorry i did not answer I had no idea who invited us to the blog. You didn't tell me you were close to going so I did not know. I am a big chicken on the computer so inless I know I don't answer. Anyways, we are praying for your safe journey and keep us posted. Love, M.J. Hi Jay & Jen, I hope you are feeling alot of joy right now. He looks like he will be handful as every boy should be and team him up with Zoe and you will have nuclear fusion. The teaser pictures are great and the enviroment looks much better than I would have perceived. What an amazing experience for the both of you and the kids. Can't wait to see him. The Straw Clan is in my prayers. Timmy What great pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us. Ingrid asked why you are not showing the litte guy's face?? Bruce said, "Because you guys are just goofy". We are praying that HIS wisdom, protection and PEACE be upon you both. The Blalocks Hey, Everyone here is waiting, well not so patiently, but we'll survive until you get everything settled. It looks like the lord has guided you to the right place at the right time to get the final piece to your family. Please know your in our prayers always. Can't wait to meet my nephew. LOL Sue

:1 – 200 of 741 Newer› Newest» Looking forward to lighting up Sabathia tonight! Lets make it 2/3 instead of 2 2/3! Oh, and... Fuck the Yankees! Iam personally glad we don't see the Sox again until August....as a Yankees fan, I don't know why we can't beat them, but I hope that by the time Aug rolls around, A.J. learns how to pitch under pressure, and Wang is long gone. Nevertheless....we'll see what happens tonight.... man i have a good feeling about tonight!!!! but seriously. imagine the sox with teixera. OUCH! That's certainly something the Yankees have going for them, B.R. - a long vacation from the Red Sox. There are a lot of games between now and then. They'll walk in cocky say oh we're a new team now, we're a well-oiled machine and we're clicking on all cylinders. But then Josh Beckett or Jon Lester will be standing out on the mound. Strike one. One-two-three first inning. 30 pitches from A.J. Burnett in the bottom of the 1st, and the Yankees will be thinking, "Here we go again." What would the Yankee fans rather see after 60 games? Assuming the Red Sox beat them again tonight. Being 0-8 against Boston, 2 GB in the East? Or being 2-3 against Boston, 6.5 GB in the East? Your second choice was reality after 60 games in 2008. Say we're able to sweep the Yankees (not likely given the pitching matchup tonight). If I were a Yankee fan like B.R., I would try not to read too much into it. The Yanks have had a lot of good things going on in a lot of different categories (I just read Heyman saying the whole starting infield lineup has only 8 errors). Two games out of first place, with the kind of hitting and defense they've been doing? Jeter and Damon doing well when they could have fallen off so badly? Not a bad situation. It's fun as a Sox fan to be beating the Yankees regularly this season, but there's no psychological factor going on on the field that's making it so. We just have happened to be able to win 'em all. The NY tabloids have been fun, though. Zen, you are so sensible. If the Yankees had been beating us rather than the other way around, I'd hate it, but I wouldn't read much into it, either. However, I sure as hell wouldn't hang around a Yankees blog subjecting myself to schadenfreude! "Your second choice was reality after 60 games in 2008." :>) Damn that was fun! Thanks, Laura. Come to think of it, Ish made the point a lot better than I did. (I just read Heyman saying the whole starting infield lineup has only 8 errors) You can't make an error on a ball you can't get to. (Note: No idea how NY is doing according to better fielding metrics.) (not likely given the pitching matchup tonight). That's bullshit, man! It's fuckin' CC. His ability to spit the bit against us is Garzian. Zen, you are so sensible. If the Yankees had been beating us rather than the other way around, I'd hate it, but I wouldn't read much into it, either. That five game sweep in 2006 was soul crushing. The standings in June don't mean as much as the standings in August, but.... I'm trying not to gloat, here, man! If it was September I'd probably be rubbing the front of my jeans while reading the Schadenfreude posts. Fuck the Yankees! Pedroia, 2B Drew, RF Youkilis, 1B Bay, LF Lowell, 3B Ortiz, DH Varitek, C Baldelli, CF Green, SS Jeter, SS Damon, LF Teixeira, 1B Rodriguez, 3B Cano, 2B Swisher, RF Matsui, DH Cabrera, CF Cervelli, C That five game sweep in 2006 was soul crushing. The standings in June don't mean as much as the standings in August, but.... When you begin at 2 games out and end up at 6.5, that's what's crushing. It sucked that it was the Yankees that did it, but that was just the icing on the cake. Also, that was five games in four days. This year, Yanks started slow (what's new), lost two to us. Started doing better, lost three to us. Now kicking ass, lost two more to us. Now let's make it one more, CC or no! So if Penny has a good outing tonight... will he be on the trade block tomorrow? Both Smoltz and Bucholz are knockin at the door. At least when the Red Sox are winning it makes the dreary weather tolerable. I don't think we've seen the sun in Beantown all week. FUCK - looks like YES Evening all... L is getting sox radio on her laptop. evening, lord. john flaherty looks like a fucking idiot. Smoltz's start postponed, will he make one tomorrow? Don't know, but this is possibly the last game that Penny starts for the Sox this year, let us hope it is a good start that amps his trade value to the stratosphere. MFY's need to go down. 1) dinner check 2) It is Rum and Cokes tonight as this teetotaler goes for three in a row!!! Frag the Yankees Morning Lord - sit back and enjoy!!! Hey look it's Lord and Mouse again... Again,on for one innings or so tonight. At least all the other MFY series this season are at weekends. Hi everyone. Wmtc4 minus 1 and counting. Trees are trimmed, house is cleaned. Red Sox are kicking Yankee butt. And an upcoming L-day. So much for the no hitter... About fragging time a MFY got hit this year. hbp - yay I know it is stating the bleeding obvious, but the first four in this line-up are truly hateful specimens. Carry on. Umps conferring. Oooooooooh warnings. Shakin' in me boots! 'Bout time the Sox hit a Yankee after all the plunking they've done against us this year! weren't the hbp numbers just the opposite back in 2004? all the sox were getting hit? A dot on the cards. Pity JTC doesn't bat... Maybe Penny is trying to endear himself to his teammates before he goes on the auction block? "And an upcoming L-day." Thank you! Don: "Bluff to third, bluff to first. Doesn't throw to either venue." Drink! I'd complain Penny isn't wasting a pitch, but it isn't his fault Cano's swinging at pitches at his eyebrows. Since 2004 to Tonight - Red Sox batters hit 54 Times, MFY's - 61 thanks penny 25 pitches. 11 pitches....and then you waste my time. Sit Crusoe. Whew 25 pitch first inning and 17 minutes to get 3 out... typical Sox Yankees game. I'll need to shave before this game ends. FY - crap, I truped myself there on that, I thought for sure it would at least scrape the wall. Damn... Castiglione pulled a Trupiano on us--There's a drive high and deep to left!!!... Damon has the room and hauls it in for the out. ON FIRE! dj werd Drewble! Fire! yoooooooook I forgot about "drewble". Fusionmouse knows more JOSisms than me. Somebody give CC a donut any news on cc's ultrasound? Puppies were spotted night all. Time to refill the glasss Meh, disappointing inning. Night Lord... sleep well across the pond; the game will probably still be on when you wake up. 1/2 hour per inning at this rate! CC's ultrasound? They found a dong. K or popup please. probably shouldn't rag on cc -- i hear penny is due right around jos1 Bleh. Okay, that was neither a K nor a pop-up. Double play? Triple play? K? Pop-up? Lineout? Any of these would be great right about now. Ok, Penny is not making me very happy rihgt now Sit. Sin Milk dud, oh, yeah, start arguing you toad. That K was huge. Now just get a DP to escape this. Copper-K; still, I'll go out on a limb and say we're gonna see "Moose" tonight. Not enamoured of the call! (DRINK!) the dud abides -- K! DP!! HAHA Eck, on Penny's size: The ball looks so small in his hand. BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Don: Swisher falls asleep at the switch! DP BABY!!! Oh yeah, Swishaliciuos you are now my favorite yankee!!! mog -- swisher is such an idiot. penny yelling "second base second base" Swisher demonstrating awesome baseball skills all over this series... I may have to send him flowers! NICE Another good Swisher move. PAPI!!!!! PAPI! Papi!!! Yeah Baby!!! Curtain call time! Methinks we are starting to see the REAL Papi! LARGE FATHER DONG!!!!!!!!!! fuck you fatty PAPI induces labor on CC and steals the baby! PAPI!!!!! TAKE THAT CC YOU'VE BEEN LARGE FATHERED!!!! Puppies, ish, they are puppies. Once again we take an early lead. Love it. Ish, great call :) Did you see Francona grinning in the dugout? Nice. That dong looked like the 2004 ALDS winner off of... Washburn was it? But we love puppies! Was the Ortiz homer first pitch? I'm on GameChannel... yes, first pitch but we love puppies That is why they must be stolen from a MFY. Heidi looks dressed for winter. WHEN WILL SUMMER COME? Any of you with Time Warner Cable would know that satellite hates puppies. cc distracted by the dunkin' ad behind the plate? Ah, now I get it. Papi has arrived at the Mendoza line... please continue upward!! CC and Penny together use a lot of uniform material. Not for sure when summer will come but will be hoping that we get good weather for lake fun the next two weeks. True, Penny is also a large man. You going up to---is it called the cottages or something? I remember you went there one summer. Somewhere north of Toronto? We have a houseguest here, but she's been awake since 3 a.m. and has gone up to bed. I'm glad b/c she's not a big fan and was distracting me. Oops, wrong person. What lake, S1C? Cottages north of Toronto is a Cdn thing. You probably heard Tim talking about it. I think s1c stays in Mass. No? Don't let her read the game thread, Laura! Yeah, I somehow read the comment as coming from Redsock, not S1C. Read too fast. Lake Bungee - in Woodstock Valley CT. Late start this year in opening it up (both families having major job changes), so this weekend its put out the docks, clean out the cobwebs and assorted other things. Then next week we start the fathers day bbq's, the end of school bbq's and then the graduation celebration blow outs. "Don't let her read the game thread, Laura!" I know, I thought of that! Hm, any chance she'll find this?? :) "Yeah, I somehow read the comment as coming from Redsock, not S1C. Read too fast." I wish we were off to a cottage, why not. But I think that will never be part of our future. I'll always want to use the money for travel. I don't look forward to Penny taking swings. Hopefully he will be traded before that. s1c, I am still hoping you change your mind on JoS. Not just me, we're all hoping. Sit I don't look forward to Penny taking swings. Hopefully he will be traded before that. We'll catch up with him in Philadelphia. Do you think pitchers wake themselves up making pitches in their sleep? K! Love watching Damon K. S1C, sounds good. Is it a place you get to each weekend? We leave for the Cape tomorrow and will be living in our cottage until mid-August while our new place is under construction. I can't wait! Two cats, a dog, two adults, two computers, a printer, scanner, and other stuff---all in 500 square feet. "I don't look forward to Penny taking swings. Hopefully he will be traded before that." Would he be so much worse than any of other pitchers? I second Laura's comment about JOS1, S1C! L-girl its a matter of 2 furlough days taking a bite out of the pay check plus having to come up with additional money to get the Mom mobile back on the road, plus going from a short commute to a large commute, in other words the financial picture went from safe to fragging kidding me in a matter of days. Evening, all. Watching the game here on a tiny streaming window- but still, watching! SIT! Even better than a Damon K is an ARod K. Best three-inning 65-pitch performance. Sit! Where in the world are you, Ofer? (Sort of like Carmen Sandiego) Would he be so much worse than any of other pitchers? Shades of Colon. That sounds tough, S1C. I am sorry to hear that. This economy is awful. Every day we hear about someone else who has either lost a job or suffered some way financially. s1c, I do understand. I don't mean to pressure you. I just wonder if in the long run you would notice the difference in $$, but you and B'fly would have so much fun that it would be worth it. But hey, I'm the Queen of Rationalization. There's nothing I can't rationalize when I want to. San Francisco, now. Here for a couple more days, then NY for a week, then back to Israel. "Would he be so much worse than any of other pitchers?" There's no possible way he'd be worse than Colon last year. "Where in the world are you, Ofer? (Sort of like Carmen Sandiego)" I thought of that. Or Find Waldo. I live by that financial advice, Laura. Not the best savings plan, but a lot more fun. Allan just said: there's no telling when JOS2 will be. It's true. Amy - the lake house is part of BH's family and gets used by everybody (10 MFY fans, 10 Sox fans) and this year do to major job changes in 3 of the 5 families is basically where everyone will be escaping from the rat races (good thing we all like each other). Plus this year the Virginia family is coming after the 4th and not leaving until mid august so, now is the time to really enjoy only the 7 of us who do most of the work around there. Yeah, Waldo came to mind also, though I don't see Ofer dressing like Waldo. This is my first time actually hearing Eck. How many FYs would it take to fill a CC? Wow, 10 Sox fans and 10 Yankee fans. I hope you are all as civilized as Harvey and I are while watching games. That is, no talking, no cheering, just watching. :) 4.8 "San Francisco, now. Here for a couple more days, then NY for a week," My two favourite places in the US. Enjoy. If you need or want tips on fun cheap NYC things to do, email me. Why isn't Allan in thread? Good places to be, Ofer, all of them. Yeah, Waldo came to mind also, though I don't see Ofer dressing like Waldo. Hey, at least the red and white would be supporting my team... First time hearing Eck---lucky you. Just don't go back to Israel speaking English like he does. I suppose he was before, but my attention span's short tonight. i'm here! I hope you are all as civilized as Harvey and I are while watching games. That is, no talking, no cheering, just watching. :) Not a chance, we are always ragging on each other (but we never get angry). The funny thing is it is split down the line generationally with each generation having the same number!!! damn - foul did not crack kay's skull open Amy, same here, I try to live for today, although I know it's not always wise. I wish someone would just tell me right now if I'm going to live long enough to use what little savings we have. 'Cause if not, I want to spend it all on travel. Well, as long as no one gets nasty. You all must be more mature than Harvey and I are. Only the vow of silence seems to work. My favorite expression regarding money is: You can't take it with you. Isn't it a little early to talk about CC's 300th win? "The funny thing is it is split down the line generationally with each generation having the same number!!!" Too funny. So it's a definite no??? Jos1 I mean. Where does your heart yearn to be, l-girl? Travel-wise.... At least you have savings. We spend it before we can save it. And then we borrow. But we always call it "responsible borrowing." When we sold our house recently and had so little equity in it, we rationalized that we had used that equity to send two kids to college and to pay for a wedding, etc. My favorite expression regarding money is: You can't take it with you. Mine: money, so they say, is the root of all evil today. Patrick, you're right, but it's probably a little harder to take that view if you have kids and a mortgage. Eck: uh oh. Never mind, not Eck. Amy, you're telling me you have no savings, no pension? That's hard to believe. You owned a home that you sold, so you had equity from that. We will never own a home, and we have no pension except our own savings. Jim Nantz in the booth with Don and Eck. Hello, Friend. Maybe they can show the action on the field. That would be nice. Mine: money, so they say, is the root of all evil today. I have related-demos, but thought they might be too old farty. Yeah, its a definite no, (BH and I) have been spending days going over everything but with the college fund losing a good portion of money, the 500 here and 500 there for this n that for Marist along with all the crap that came down in the last two weeks it is literally hold everything until September for extra money. Why do you think I have been emptying the liquor cabinet? Sit JohnGF, I am a travel nut. The list of places I want to go is very long. I've traveled as much as I can, but as I get older and I feel time moving so quickly, it feels urgent. I don't have enough time and money to do the travel I want... but I'm working on that. Changing my life to get more of both. Why do you think I have been emptying the liquor cabinet? ~$18/5gal. We have a 401K or whatever, but no pension. We only have that because our employer contributes partially to it and the rest comes directly from our paychecks. It's a good thing. So yeah, I guess those are savings, but since I never have to take the money and put it away, I can't be tempted to spend it. If it were in my hands, it would somehow not get put it into savings. As for the house, see above. We had only a small amount of equity when we sold it. OK s1c, I will let it go. Good luck with everything. I keep wondering if there are other threaders who we neglected to invite. I have related-demos, but thought they might be too old farty. Well, my perception is that Pink Floyd are still doing quite well with 20+ people. There's plenty of 90's music I'd consider more "old farty" than them. But then again, about half my music is from the 70s, so maybe I'm not objective... Ah, S1C, that answers my question from last night (not sure you saw it). I was concerned about why two games in a row you said you were emptying the liquor cabinet. Hang in there. I do believe things will eventually get better. Have you called Marist about the change in your job circumstances? Colleges can be pretty good about those things, though these days even they are pinched. Hey Mikey! DO doesn't want to interrupt Nantz to say the inning ended. The borrowing issue is one of the reasons I took so long to go to school. My parents told us when we were in high school that um, yeah. We don't have any money saved for you to go to college. I never really entertained the thought of taking out massive student loans but it's taken until now to realize how I just have to grin and bear it. I still want to continue to live a life that is low on borrowing. "We have a 401K" That's all I meant. That's all we have, the Cdn equivalent of IRA. We do the automatic savings thing too. We don't have a lot, but we don't make a lot, either. Thanks for the good wishes, but it will work out, just pisses me off that after all this time I get treated like crap and have to make major changes to how I approach my job on such short notice. now you need $ to restock the cabinet ... All the travel I want to do optimally needs me to be younger than I am: hiking and riding horses take it out of me more and more. Still keeping in the game, but not sure how long I can. Ish, student loans are not a bad deal when it comes to borrowing. And you have lots of time to pay them off very slowly. Damn... how did we let a MFY pitcher last more than 2 2/3 innings! Red Sock - trust me, I won't have to buy liquor if I get drunk every night for a month. #1 gift recieved for years in this family has been liquor, I empty one cabinet and just go to the basement and bring up another case or bottle. Ish, almost everyone takes out loans for school. It's pretty much impossible to do otherwise. You're investing in your future. I have a young lawyer friend who says "I took out a mortgage on my brain". She does nonprofit public interest law, so she says it's the only mortgage she'll ever have. John, is that you and your dog in your avatar? Amy, it's just wrapping my head around it. But I'm diving into it... That's also a big reason I'm going two years at community college and then transfering elsewhere. I love this time of year. Outside, the gloam is still crepuscular. "just pisses me off that after all this time I get treated like crap and have to make major changes to how I approach my job on such short notice." Yup. I hear ya. Careful, you'll turn into a socialist. JUST KIDDING S1C One of my five (5!) dogs, Amy, yes. When he was a puppy. And I was younger too. YES stat tiz vs nyy .308 tiz vs others .184 I don't know what Benjamin just said. It's quite dark here with the overcast. Barely seeing some daylight through the leaves. BAHAHAHAHAH DROPPED IT~!!!!! HAHA HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA Ish--gotta love the Maine Community College System! Take it from me up at EMCC. More and more people are doing that, Ish. Community colleges are a great deal, and you can finish up almost anywhere. Our undergraduate school has a fair number of students who start at community colleges for that reason---they save money and still get a degree from a four year school. Plus you can skip those damn standardized tests! "All the travel I want to do optimally needs me to be younger" We have one wish-list trip like that, dog-sledding. Now we even have a friend in the Yukon we can visit and learn with. I fear if we don't go soon we never will. THANKS JOHNNY!!!! YOU SURE SUCK!!!! This is great! DAMON!! HHAHAH! Yup. I hear ya. Careful, you'll turn into a socialist. LOL - of course what really pisses me off, if my boss was six weeks older, I probably wouldn't have to make any changes plus would be getting a raise, but no he's six weeks shy of taking the early retirement. Five dogs?! Yay!

Angels - 000 301 004 - 8 12 1 Red Sox - 032 207 30x - 17 20 1 Joe Saunders / Clay Buchholz With: Peter Abraham, Globe:Peter Abraham, Globe:Scutaro, SS Pedroia, 2B Martinez, C Youkilis, 1B Drew, RF Lowell, DH Beltre, 3B Hall, LF McDonald, CF Starting tonight, the Red Sox will play 20 of their next 23 games (in 24 days) against teams that figure to be playoff contenders this season. ...There is probably some middle ground between those two choices, but there's little arguing with the fact that this is a very important month. May 3- 6 Angels May 7- 9 Yankees May 10-12 Blue Jays May 14-16 at Tigers May 17-18 at Yankees May 19-20 Twins May 21-23 at Philadelphia May 24-26 at Tampa BayCome May 27, the season will be 30 percent over and the Sox will know whether they are contenders or frauds. Is it too early to give up on the 2010 Red Sox? NO!, say 54.1% voters in this Globe poll. ! 199 comments: it is such a different team without Ellsbury, maybe it is easy to read into that , but he just seems to create a buzz , that hasn't been there since he has been out... Annual Town Meeting for me tonight. The auditorium is a cell dead spot... no MLB on my phone for me. Enjoy tonight's slamming win! I'm discouraged. But I'll be watching tonight. Apparently Dave Roberts has Hodgkin's lymphoma, but the prognosis is good. Aybar, SS Abreu, DH Hunter, CF Morales, 1B Matsui, LF Rivera, RF Izturis, 3B Kendrick, 2B Napoli, C! We said this every other day in 2007. Hi! Been lurking here for about a year but I've always had problems logging in to comment. Anyway, I just got tickets to Wednesday's game. It'll be my first Red Sox game to attend. Decided to splurge a little bit in celebration of end-of-exams. Any tips for the first-timer? I picked Wednesday because the weather looks to be good, and I think the match-up will be Lackey vs his old team. Should be interesting. My only tip is savour every moment. Your first time at Fenway is very special. Enjoy! And welcome to the thread. Why am I just not excited about watching this game? OK, our "ace" is pitching, so I should feel better. But alas.... Meanwhile, we are going to the game on Saturday against the NYY. Our annual game with my brother and his Yankee fanatic friend Adine. I may need xanax for that game. FY! Hi, Matt....there is almost nothing you need to do to enjoy Fenway. It's just the best place on earth to watch baseball. Even my Yankee fan friends say it's true. Enjoy the game! FY flinched a bit at that flying bat. FY X 2! this new thing on espn where they have little lights for balls, strikes and outs really sucks. can't tell how many are lit. ... OH FUCKING FY PCIK!!!!! Fenway has always been my favourite park. Even... you know when. The first time I was there I just could not get over how beautiful it was. I had seen it on TV so many times but it was like I had never seen it before. DEFENSE!!! now for some offense. So I just was using the Google translate tool and translated this page into French (and back to English). It's pretty funny to read our comments translated into French. Unfortunately, my French is sort of junior high level vocabulary, but still amusing. Our comments seem so much more erudite in French! Everything sounds better in French. Please be ok Double-H Matt, Enjoy your trip to Fenway. It is amazing. I was awestruck when we first walked in. I felt a lot like Rudy's dad..."This is the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen." Beyond that, the atmosphere is unbelievable. There is a sea of fans and it is impressive. Take the tour. did joe just say "clog the bases"? beltrE Turnout will be light here tonight, I think, between the sucking Sox and the charging Bruins. E-drian Phew. RSVP. OK, now I cannot turn off the damn translater. Every time I switch a web page or refresh, I get a toolbar at the top asking if I want to translate. Arrggh. That's what I get for playing around with things. weiters dong BAL: 01 MFY: 0 Oh yes, speaking of French, RSVP. Amy, did you try right-clicking on the toolbar? SWEATY!!! SWEAT POWERED YOUK!! We score first!! I think I fixed it. Don't ask how, but it went away. For now. Maybe it was when I cursed at it in French. I love French cursing. Dr Singles! Nothing like our old guys coming through for us. FORE MONTY HALL LET'S MAKE A DONG!!!!!!! Hall-lelujah! My eyes are burning! We have two home runs and are ahead by three runs! And we are playing the ANGELS! Whoa, we got a three-run lead here now. Loooong inning for Saunders. Youk is NOT happy about that. yeah, yook very chatty on the way to first! Doctor Doubles does it once more! the doctor is in -- and on second base. Whoo-hoo! Dr Doubles this time! Do my eyes deceive me? 5-0?? Not quite dead yet. Were you referring to Lowell or the team, Benjamin? Both work, really. YEAH! Nice. CS! Always easier when you cut Martinez out of the play. Not Dead Yet? More like. Drew thinks he'll go for a walk. I knew someone would post that. :) Ozzie never ceases to amuse: Swisher hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth -- leaving his arm up longer than the State of Liberty -- Chicago rallied to win. And as far as Swisher's celebration, Guillen said that's just the kind of person Swisher is. "That's the way he is. Good for him, enjoy it," Guillen said. "I wish he could do that for me, because he wasn't a very good player for me. He was very bad for me." 9C where are you quoting from? L-girl said... 9C where are you quoting from? the post I believe Why did I miss something? I don't know if you missed anything, just wanted to know the source. No link or quotes or anything, but it didn't sound like you. L-girl said... I don't know if you missed anything, just wanted to know the source. No link or quotes or anything, but it didn't sound like you. sorry if I confused you , but I stick to what I am good at....:) I stick to what I am good at....:) Always a good decision Thanks for the replies. Glad to see some offense tonight. Hopefully Buch can recover that bad inning. angels playing with (on) fire .... !!! ON FIRE Bottled water companies telling us how their bottles are recyclable and you can make shirts out of them = very fucked up. Evening folks...good to see some runs on the board. Get him out! Out of the inning... Alright! Still rolling. mdc up Wow! Caught stealing. Wow, another runner thrown out at second! Not ANOTHER CS?? Nice work, HH. Let's see if the bullpen can avoid imploding for a change. victor got his shit figured out! even with the one hop throw, fy was waiting with the tag. Back after a 3-2 Bruins win. We've had several good bullpen appearances lately. ...although it seems like whenever our bullpen does well, Amy is not around. Convenient. ;) yoooooooooook mr. rbi! I am here, just checking in and out. I would love to see our bullpen do well! Go Drew GO! lowell into 3rd?? wearing a jet pack??? nice. Wow Sciocia really left this pitcher out to dry. drew runs thru stop sign (thinking, fuck that coach, he's a blind fool...) I just threaded on the wrong blog! :) BELTRE BELTS ONE! Whoo-hoo! Now we don't even need the bullpen to be good, just decent. YES --- 14-4!!!!!!!!! FUCK YEAH TIMES 3!!! Save a few runs for tomorrow, boys. MOAR PLZ Nice to see some offense! Maybe being swept by Baltimore will be the turning point for the season, when everyone on the team said: It's ON. I thought sweeping Toronto was a turning point. But this will do! Wow. What a score. &, to think, when I wore my Papelbon jersey to the university library today, a couple students wearing Yankee caps laughed at me. The Angels are getting KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT, we're up by 10! EN FUEGO. He is El Hombre tonight! ob's harsh words have clearly lit a fire under drew. good ol' shemp!!!!!!!! Dr Doubles strikes again! Save some runs for tomorrow night! Wouldn't that triple by Lowell have been an ITPHR for a lot of other people on the team? i think it was a double and he took third on the throw home to try and get drew Obie thinks the RS should slack off! Too many hits and runs! GODDAMN IT: MAKE TITO APOLOGIZE!!!!!!!!!! I know! "You almost want to tell them to call off the dogs and save some for tomorrow night" As if you can do that! I never call off my dogs! ;) Time to empty the bench. Holy crap! Just got back from a nearly 4-hr town meeting to find it 17-4!?!! Off to check out box scores, comments, and foooood. Keep scheduling those meetings, nick--seemed to do the trick. HOLY SHIT! I had to leave for a bit---17 runs! OMG! We don't need any bullpen tonight. Do you think this lead is safe? just saw bot wandering around - tito may be worried ... Nick, I hope your town hall was as good as this game. Democracy to spare. Even I think this lead is safe. Even if Papelbon and RamRam are pitching. Even if Timlin came back to pitch. Is the lead more, or less, safe if Bot comes in? TIMLIN!!! What about Eric Gagne? No, Timlin would blow it. Gagne would definitely blow it. I still have nightmares about him. At least I have some positive memories of Timlin. Maybe Van Every for an inning on the mound? Timlin blew more games than Gagne ever saw as a Sock. Good old Toast. How I don't miss him. What the hell did these guys ingest since they left Baltimore?? Heidi's first game back in some time..........I'm just sayin' Good point, Amy. We better make sure they all pee in a cup before they leave the park tonight. I bet Gagne had a worse overall record with the Sox than Timlin did. 9C--you devil, you! I love annual town meeting, though this one was frustrating at times. It easily could have been an hour shorter. One of the big items was a petition to close one of our two public libraries and there was lots of organizing around opposing that. A guy got up (big proponent of keeping the library open) and made a motion to pass over the question. If passed it would be tabled dead. People who came to oppose the closing were audibly upset at that and refused to pass over the question, so we had to hear half an hour of people going on about it while clearly a massive majority would clap after each one. Move the question! (/rant) Yeah, where was Heidi? I heard her say she was glad to be back earlier, but missed why she had been away. nick--Robert's Rules of Order take time to wind themselves out but patience winds out sooner sometimes Heidi's back? That's totally it. Testosteroooooone! Amy said... Yeah, where was Heidi? I heard her say she was glad to be back earlier, but missed why she had been away Something about a concussion he got in spring raining. I'm sure Gagne's record was worse, but it's a much smaller sample size. Timlin sucked more often, was my point. Amy: she got a concussion during spring break and has been on medical leave. Yes, I think this win is because of Heidi. Mm-hm. Thats where they practice only in the rain.... What was the final vote on the library, Nick? Town meetings can be great, but also demonstrate often why democracy doesn't really work too well. But it is one of the things I love about living in a small New England town. So are they gonna close the library? NESN has also feel in love with HH's wife, showed her a few times in Toronto and also tonight alot.... 9C LOL How the hell did she get a concussion? Was she trying to catch a ball? just hold 'em to 12, scott. something about tek's headboard ... Amy said... How the hell did she get a concussion? Was she trying to catch a ball? Is this one open to anything? ..:) This could be a turning point. When I went away earlier it looked like the A's were getting ready to make a come back. 17 runs! Turning point. Looks like up from here. LOL, 9C! You must be feeling very happy tonight---making us all laugh. I am now feeling better about going to Fenway with Yankee fans on Saturday. Are she and Tek still an item? That was mean, Allan. I laughed loudly! Michael Holloway said... This could be a turning point. Maybe. Also not a reality, just closer to what it should be, especially at Fenway.. We are a cheery group tonight. What a nice change! I think Heidi is several Sox away from Tek by now. I just want to say I called it in my first post upthread. 2 CS from V-Mart. nice! Amy said... LOL, 9C! You must be feeling very happy tonight- The magic of good sox baseball... I think Heidi is several Sox away from Tek by now. But Tek could still be one of the three stooges. Come on, Schoenweiss. Don't make me eat my words about the lead being bullpen proof. Heidi indulges in serial socksing? we must be up by a lot -- no one mentioning bases loaded in the 9th But Tek could still be one of the three stooges. Then she's really got something going on. Good for her. I did, Allan. You can always count on me to worry. Though I am not really worried. Heidi indulges in serial socksing? So they say. I only get my gossip in gamethreads, so I really don't know. ZOMG they scored a run we are doomed etc etc L-girl said... But Tek could still be one of the three stooges. Then she's really got something going on. Good for her. Only in a 17-4 game to you hear L's true feelings on group sex...I like it...:} Loaded bases have to insert a slight feeling of dis-ease whatever the fucking score.... Uh oh, we only have an eleven run lead now, and we still need one more out. The library will stay open. The guy who started the petition to close it had some interesting points. He's lived here his whole life (61yo). We're a town of 7500 w/ 2 full public libraries. We also have a (small) college in town with a library open to townies. We just spent 3-4 million renovating the one in town. This one in the village of Housatonic (which periodically wants to secede from Great Barrington) will need 1-2 million for renovations/ADA issues in the next few years. We voted down replacing a 22yo fire truck, so we clearly have some budget concerns. When we were up by 10 runs in the 7th, Obie said something about extra innings. I said, if we go into extra innings tonight, you can bet I won't be watching the game tomorrow night. OK, we are down to single digit lead. WTF? WTF? runs. that was foul. That's a decent case for closing a library. But I'm still glad it will stay open. Not that I'm biased or anything. Was that ball actually foul? It sounds like all the towns around here (and probably almost anywhere these days). Not enough money, and difficult choices about where to cut: schools, library, public safety, infrastructure? It's terrible. Only in a 17-4 game to you hear L's true feelings on group sex...I like it...:} Holy shit, I just saw this! OMG I am cracking up. That is all I will say! the ump has $ on the run diff? our public library here in Waterbury, lends out more DVD's than books....hence my spelling issues. Nick--That's a lot of libraries for a town of 7500. Are they just geographically distant or specializing somehow? Belfast Maine had three weekly newspapers for years. I thought the ball was foul, but apparently no one on the Sox did. Or they didn't care to protest the call. bring in van every for the last fucking out, pls. CHRIST. The vote was 90-odd % in favor of keeping it open, but he made a compelling argument, though it came far too late in the discourse. His letter to the editor on the subject last week was not very good. Last out please! Could we get this TF over with already?? TF, Laura? sox radio said the batter was shaking his head, like damn, a foul, then was surprised when he ended up be able to go on to second. TF as in WTF Thank goodness! DIRTY FILTHY! There really is DIRTY Water in Boston. And it's about fucking time! exhale... schoeneweis just needed the extra work, i guess muddy muddy muddy The water is Muddy!!!. Dirty! Good night all! Hasta tomorrow. Aha, I thought it was a noun. More power to Housatonic if it's willing to put money up to maintain its character. Good night, everyone. Let's hope we have really turned a corner. g'night Nothing good comes easily... G'night all! last library thing: Good for Housatonic for sure, but it requires money from all of GB, but in general the town is good with it. 5 HR more than the MFY. Beltre w/ 6 errors. World turned upside down. Wow. This was fun. Got to watch it on the big screen at the bar while my buddies played almost right under it. Fun! Nice game, fun night with the Bruins and Celtics also winning!

Damn, why must I always be fucking bored? This is some bullshit. Someone hit me up!! MCL Ninja's and Ninjette's. - January 16, 2013 12:49 pm - · - · "I looked into her eyes, and I remember what I said 'If you ever broke my precious heart, I garentee your ass is dead'." For a female rapper she's fucking wicked. "This is for the Skarekrows!!! Whoop Whoop!! This is for my weirdos!! What? What?" Underground Avengers - The Anthem Boondox, Bukshot & Claas I claim no ownership of any copyrights and this track was listed solely for entertainment purposes. There is no claim to lyrics, pro... What's good Fam? So fucking bored once again. Some one hit me the fuck up.I could always use more Fam to talk to. MCL Ninjas and Ninjettes. . What's up fam? I need more fam down here. I feel hella lonely. If you live within the Austin Texas area hit this Ninjette up! Even if you don't hit me up! Always down to meet new fam. :3 "But they said I'd be alright, if I took my lil' blue thingies, can't wake up, end up closing my eyes, can't shake it cause the demon wants to keep me inside." <3 "Girl you know I love you, but now you gotta die!" <3 TwiztidStonerLette posted on jugganinja's wall. Whoop whoop! Thanks for the add ninja. (: hiiiii TwiztidStonerLette What's goood ninja? - January 8, 2013 - · - Whoop Whoop! - · - 1 person danilo1118 ok - January 10, 2013 - · - Whoop Whoop! TwiztidStonerLette posted on Synfully Shaggy's wall. You a hoeeeee!! :D Mcl ninja. TwiztidStonerLette You better. :p - January 8, 2013 - · - Whoop Whoop! Synfully Shaggy i did - January 8, 2013 - · - Whoop Whoop! What good fam? Someone should hit me up, cause like usual I'm bored as a mafucker. Add me and hit up my inbox. Don't be shy! Mcl. (: TwiztidStonerLette added new photos to her album "This Wicked Bitch<3" Gahhh, so fucking bored. Come on fam, help a Ninjette out and inbox me. I need some wicked homies to entertain this bored ass 'Lette. Mcl. (: Hella fucking bored. Hit up ma inbox Ninja's and Ninjette's. (: TwiztidStonerLette posted a comment on her photo I'm hella bored. You should inbox or text me ninja! Lol.

Camera Critters~ (for Feb 4, 2012) A Variery of critters... ~~~ ~~~ At my house this week I had a few encounters with some critters... There's always something 'WILD' going on in the country! :) One day this week my son brought this little critter up to show me. He had rescued it from one of his cats. Luckily, the little guy was unharmed, and we set it free in my courtyard ; far away from his kitties. I can't identify this lizard, can you? Last night I had these 2 visitors to my back porch. They had come to dine on the food my cats had left on their plate! I don't mind them coming to eat the leftovers...however, my poodle, Emmy, went wild barking at them through the glass door. I wish I could get better pictures but there's no way! ~~~ This is what Emmy does to her stuffed animal toys... Maybe she's thinking she could do that to those big old wild Raccoons. Better think twice about that, Emma Rose! ~ Last, but certainly not least, (in size, that is) I went with my husband to the pasture yesterday to put out feed for the cattle. As big as these critters are, they are not at all intimidating, .... but I don't get close enough to 'pet' them! :) What critters have you seen recently? Junie Labels: camera critters, Charles, Cows, dog, dogs, june, lizard, lizards, MEME, Our place 8 Comments: What a cute critters you have around and in your home :) Lovely shots. Regards and best wishes What a cute little Emma! No critters around here lately, thank goodness. Your raccoons look right at home. LOL I'm skeered of them. :) GOlly I don't have any idea what kind of lizard that is. I am not into reptiles at all. "shiver-shiver" Your cattle are huge. I think I would feel intimidated even if there were a nice strong fence between us. LOL You look so cute standing out there with the herd behind you. And brave too! I probably shouldn't have smiled when I saw what Emma had done...but I did. :)) I don't know what kind of lizard that is...don't see those little critters around here much. Emmy us a hoot...watch out raccoons. Have a good week Junie... ~Joy Our Buddy does the Same thing to his stuffed animals...sigh...I'm just not going to buy him anymore. Love the feeding shots Junie! hughugs Haying cattle in shorts in February would be considered 'showing off' in these parts. We need to wear pants long enough to keep the snow off of our knees. :) Me thinks you'll need a different dog before you open the door on the racoons. Something a little bigger and meaner. I'm not sure I knew you raised that many cattle! Charles must stay pretty busy. We've only seen raccoons once here in my world. We are surrounded by wooded areas but they seem to stay away. Hope you're having a great week Junie! Links to this post: Create a Link

…. (via just-smith) Calling a woman anything related to “men” or any iteration of masculinity does not have the connotations of calling a man being related to femininity. Most women will not be offended will being called a dick like men can be when called a pussy. It’s just not the same thing because femininity within women is not held to be as sacred as masculinity within men. (via iamabutchsolo) It does with all of the women I know, and even if it didn’t, the ‘similar set of slurs’ point still stands. I think women are going to be less sensitive because they’ve had feminism to free them a lot more than men have. To me it’s more to do with the imbalance in gender equality than any imbalance in gender inequality. If this does show (as you say) that the male gender construct is stronger, it’s even more ridiculous for the OP to twist it to suggest that only women have problems. (via just-smith) The OP was not suggesting that “only women have problems,” but that the slurs often hurled at men basically relate them to being women, or having female qualities, which offends men because we’re socialized to see femininity as being weaker. Feminism has tried to show that it’s okay for men to be feminine and women to be masculine, but the way that people hold onto masculinity is a product of patriarchy and not feminism. (via iamabutchsolo) She said that this was proof of sexism (against women) and that no equivalent (sexism) against men existed. The way men hold on to masculinity is a product of patriarchy, yes. The way women hold on to femininity is also a product of patriarchy, but you yourself said that we see this less. That’s nothing to do with an imbalance in the patriarchy, because women were originally restricted just as much as men. The fact that women are freer today, and that more women want to be masculine, is a product of feminism - and a good one. You can say feminism tried to do the same for men, but the reality is that the vast vast majority of feminists have been campaigning solely for women. I’m not saying that that is a bad thing. All I’m saying is that men have been temporarily left behind due to this imbalance, and that is what is accountable for the discrepancy. butterscotchbliss likes this princesshanh reblogged this from stfueverything gaspundkiss likes this justbreatheanditwillallbeokay likes this emordnilap likes this i-adler reblogged this from becauseiamawoman ukuzihs reblogged this from vietlovestofu madalie obliviousastowelsandmoths reblogged this from archivep thirstydeer reblogged this from homoerotics angerliz likes this socatoah likes this petrabrokanian reblogged this from chocomiri touchreceptors likes this marquisclariceisfab reblogged this from teri-joyeaux danceswithpeccaries ambalzarini reblogged this from nyomiowahama nyomiowahama reblogged this from danceswithpeccaries nyomiowahama likes this ashkashi likes this kenwayorthehighway reblogged this from oldbirdbuttstink kenwayorthehighway likes this drikadas likes this alexandriamarie likes this danceswithpeccaries reblogged this from archivep danceswithpeccaries blackdragonmagic likes this shouldireallynamethisblog likes this romanovasledger likes this lighthouseaccident reblogged this from mugibrows - Show more notes

I just this minute finished red pen revisions of my latest manuscript. Long-time readers of this blog will remember ZF-360, my retelling of Mozart's Magic Flute, set in modern-day Manhattan and Kashkawan among the Irish Travellers. Well, I've entirely rewritten it, and I'm very happy with it now. Irish folk music figures heavily in the story; my male lead plays in a Celtic fusion band and receives an Abell ZF-360 pennywhistle as a gift. As I went through the printed manuscript today, catching tiny errors on virtually every page, I also made a list of all the songs I mention in the story. Most are Irish folk songs, but some are not. Here's the playlist, with links where available: "Katie Campbell's Rambles" "The Green Gates" "Bold Doherty" "Summer is Coming" "The Water is Wide" "My Funny Valentine" "Clohinne Winds" "As I Roved Out" "Strange Fruit" "Body and Soul" "Stella By Starlight" "Ships Are Sailing" "The Lakes of Coolfin" "Horo Johnny" "I's the B'y" "The Creggan White Hare" "The Dawning of the Day" "The Flower of Magherally" "Green Grow the Rushes" "An Paistin Fionn" "Rant and Roar" "Blackbirds and Thrushes" "The Waxies' Dargle" "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" "The Lark Ascending" ]]>]]> I wrote a post about writing and the loss of my father at Mommy Authors. I'd love to know what you think.]]> Michael Stanley Tanner 11 August 1946 - 3 March I'll miss you, Dad.]]> I originally wrote this post almost five years ago, but I felt like reposting it today. I'm off to LTUE tomorrow, and I'll report in when I get back. In the meantime, enjoy! I've been pondering all things meta this week. Well, not all things. But definitely many things meta-related-to-the-arts. I've been playing a game inside my head as I've done the dishes or driven people to sports practices or tried to get back to sleep in the middle of the night after going to the bathroom for the fourteenth time. (It's just one of the many crazy games I play all alone in this head o' mine, another being "List all the adjectives with the suffix '-id.'") The game is this: list all the films about film. Now all the songs about songs. Now all the poems about poetry. Now all the theater about theater. And now (my favorite part) all the fiction about fiction.* Ready? Go. Films About Film (or TV About TV) The Player Singin' in the Rain The Truman Show 30 Rock Studio 60 The Simpsons Stranger than Fiction (borderline: a film about fiction writing) Songs About Songs, Singers, and/or Singing "Hey, Mister Tambourine Man" (The Byrds) "Thank You for the Music" (ABBA) "Sing a Song" (Earth, Wind, and Fire) "I Write the Songs" (Barry Manilow) "If Music Be the Food of Love" (Shakespeare/Purcell) "Piano Man" (Billy Joel) "Rock and Roll Band" (Boston) "Killing Me Softly" (Roberta Flack) "The Day the Music Died" (Don McLean) "This is Not a Love Song" (Public Image, Ltd.) Poems About Poetry "Essay on Criticism" (Alexander Pope) "Don Juan" (parts of it; Lord Byron) "Ars Poetica" (Archibald MacLeish) "The Uses of Poetry" (William Carlos Williams) "There is no frigate like a book" (Emily Dickinson) "The High-Toned Old Christian Woman" (Wallace Stevens) Theater About Theater All That Jazz (Well, okay. It's a film about theater.) Kiss Me, Kate The Taming of the Shrew The Producers A Chorus Line 42nd Street Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead A Midsummer Night's Dream Hamlet Picasso at the Lapin Agile The Mousetrap Fiction About Fiction (and this would be my wheelhouse, people) The Princess Bride (William Goldman) Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke) Little, Big (John Crowley) Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) The Decameron (Giovanni Boccaccio) Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes) If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Italo Calvino) Anything written by Jasper Fforde The Neverending Story (Michael Ende) English Music (Peter Ackroyd) The Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) An awful lot of Kurt Vonnegut And a whole bunch of that Pratchett genius Leaf by Niggle (J.R.R. Tolkien) A Series of Unfortunate Events (Lemony Snicket) Atonement (Ian MacEwan) The Dark Tower, etc. (Stephen King) Possession (A.S. Byatt) The Book of Three (Lloyd Alexander) A Princess of Roumania, etc. (Paul Park) What about you? Can you add to the lists? *LDS readers, here's a fun study topic: revelation about revelation. And extra credit: revelation about Revelation.]]> My author copies of The Book of Jer3miah: Premonition arrived late yesterday. What a thrill! I am delighted with how it turned out. The official publication date is March 4th, but apparently it's in stock and available right here. Treat yourself to a copy, and the next time I see you, I'll sign it! Intrigued by the cover, but want to know more about the story? Watch this: Last bit of fun for today: the winner of the free e-copy of Michelle Muto's Don't Fear the Reaper is Rhi R.! Congratulations! PM me your email address, and I will make sure you get the download code as soon as possible.]]> What inspires you?]]>. I do love stories about the afterlife, and Michelle Muto has written a good one. This novel is just how I like them--dark, but with the promise of redemption. Plus, the title rocks--Blue Öyster Cult's single is one of my favorite songs from my youth. (I'm also excited to read her latest book, The Haunting Season. I just downloaded it, and it is creepyyyyyy!) Would you like a free e-copy of Don't Fear the Reaper? Leave me a comment, and on Wednesday, February 6, I'll choose one winner via random number generator.]]> I'm pleased to announce three awards for which Dispirited has been nominated: 1) Best Adult Speculative Novel -- Whitney Awards -- Finalists will be announced February 7th! 2) Dispirited's cover is a finalist for LDS Publisher's annual Best Cover Award -- go vote now! The deadline is midnight on January 30th and the winner will be announced on January 31st. 3) Best YA Fiction -- AML's annual awards -- The winner will be announced at AML's banquet sometime in March! Keep your fingers crossed!]]> I know a few people who seem addicted to chaos. They appear to be drama magnets, emotional "black holes," if you will. It seems like something is always going wrong for them, and then those of us around them get to hear all about the crisis-of-the-moment at length. Again and again. There's a fine line between expressing frustration and chronic complaining. I'm not judging these acquaintances. I try to offer help and support, or just a listening ear, depending on what's needed and/or requested. Here's the thing. I'm sure that what I see in these perceived drama addicts is much more about me than it is about them. Indeed, my observations direct me inward and remind me of what I need to change and repair in my own life and psyche. I'm grateful for opportunities to practice compassion and empathy. I treasure the luxury of feeling understood and loved despite my many faults, and so I attempt to communicate my understanding and love of others and their difficulties whenever possible. But I am often struck by how exhausting and contagious negativity can be. For someone like me, who already struggles with depression and anxiety, that negativity is as dangerous as a riptide. I find it's better just to stay out of the water and hold out a helping hand from the safety of the shore. One of my long-term goals is to be drama-free. Of course, bad things happen to us all. But when trials come my way, I hope to be able to take them in stride. I'm fine with grieving, or even ranting and moping--privately, to those I trust--when appropriate. But if I am to live in a world that is less chaotic, the calm amidst the storm needs to start with me.]]> I spent last Friday and Saturday in a Huntington Beach condo that was four blocks from the ocean. I did not surf; I did not sunbathe, even though the weather was sunny and warm. Nope--I sat in a quiet, empty room, all alone, and wrote like a madwoman. How does a madwoman write, you ask? Impossible? Not when you've trained for it. It was the equivalent of competing in an Ironman: death and despair for a newbie, but totally doable for someone who has conditioned and worked consistently over a considerable amount of time. I couldn't have done it without Rachel Aaron's help. Over a year ago, I read her blog posts that led to her ebook on writing faster and more efficiently, and I've been working ever since to improve both the quality and quantity of my writing. (Get the book! It's worth way more than the 99 cents you'll spend. Get Rachel's other books, too.) I don't write this to brag; I write this to tell you what's possible when you do the daily work that Steven Pressfield and so many other pros prescribe. And now? I had thought I'd jump into revisions right after the holiday weekend, but, like a post-Ironman athlete, I found I've needed a couple of extra days off to recover. But today, a week after my marathon, I'm ready to tackle the rewrites to make the story I love much, much better. Last weekend was my first Writers' Retreat. Would I do another? Absolutely. But I'm glad I was prepared to make it worth every minute away from my family. All the writing I do when I'm at home in the thick of my life--that's where I make the real advances.]]>

In this post, I’m going to show you how to further reinforce (and cover) the cut edges of your steek using a techique that I’ve called “the steek sandwich.” There are many other methods of binding / covering steek edges – but this one works well, I think, for a steeked cardigan. The front edges of a cardigan generally see a lot of strain because of the opening / closing action of buttons and button holes – and this method provides a strong facing as well as a stable edge where the garment needs it most. Above, you can see the wrong side of the swatch where we left it yesterday, with the steek cut, and the crocheted reinforcement holding the cut edge. In the steps that follow, I’m just going to describe exactly what I’m doing, and provide a little more explanation at the end. First, with the right side of the swatch facing, pick up and knit 3 stitches for every 4 rows, plus an extra 1 stitch each for the top and bottom edges. (I’m using yarn in a contrasting colour so you can see what I’m doing). For the edging to sit flush against the main pattern, you should pick up your stitches in the gap between the outermost steek stitch and the first stitch of the pattern. In the diagram below, there are two pattern stitches on either side, and five steek stitches in the middle. The pink lines show you where you should be picking up your stitches. When picking up your stitches, make sure you push your needle all the way through to the back of the work, and draw the yarn through from the wrong side (this may sound obvious, but people do pick up stitches in quite different ways . . . ) So, when you have finished, you should be able to see the backs of your picked up stitches on the reverse of the fabric. The backs of your stitches should resemble a line of sewn running stitch. And just as a running stitch would, these stitches are further securing and holding the cut edge of your steek. That steek is going nowhere! Now, beginning with a purl row, work in stockinette for four rows. Keep these stitches live on the needle: don’t break yarn. Here are these four rows from the right side. And here they are from the wrong side, with stitches 1 and 2 of the steek, and the chain of the crocheted reinforcement visible behind them. Sitting underneath the steek, you’ll see the back loops of your previously picked up stitches. Now without knitting, pick up each of these loops and place them on a second needle: Bring the working yarn round from the right side, and work in stockinette for 3 rows, beginning with a knit row. Keep these stitches live on your needle: don’t break yarn. The sandwich is now forming: four rows of stockinette on the right side, three on the wrong side, and, in the middle, the steek stitches and their crocheted reinforcement. This next step is a bit fiddly, so take your time. Turn the work to the right side. You have two sets of stitches running parallel to one another: one set on the front, and one on the back needle. Bring the working yarn around from the back and, with a third needle, knit one stitch from the front needle together with one stitch from the back needle, covering and containing the steek stitches and the crochet chain. When you have knitted each front-needle stitch together with its corresponding back-needle stitch, you end up with this. A neat stockinette facing! And here’s what it looks like from the wrong side: All that remains is to bind off the live stitches. Here, I’ve used an i-cord bind-off (knit 2; knit 2 together through-the-back-loops) (particularly useful if you are working a button / buttonhole band). Here’s the finished sandwich from the right side . . . . . . and the wrong side. Voila! the steek sandwich. I particularly like the fact that: 1) if you work an even number of rows from the right side, and an odd number from the wrong side, you never have to break yarn 2) Because you just pick up the reverse loops from the right-side stitches, you end up with two perfectly aligned stockinette flaps that can neatly be knitted together. 3) No need to worry about whether you’ve picked up the right number of stitches on either side: the number of stitches is always, inevitably the same! 4) You can weave in your ends by pulling them inside the sandwich. Points of note: :: You can of course, work more rows to create a deeper facing. I’ve worked the minimum here: just enough to fit the steek and and its reinforcement inside. :: I worked the i-cord bind-off from the wrong side. Personally, I like the way this looks. :: The ‘sandwich’ is formed from three layers of fabric and, as you’d imagine, has a solid, almost quilted appearance. I think this is great for the front openings of a cardigan, where a facing is often necessary anyway. It also works well as a blanket edging, but because it adds bulk, would probably not work so well elsewhere. If this rain ever stops, I’ll soon be able to show you how the sandwich looks on a finished garment! Also, I noticed that there were some good questions on my previous couple of posts. I thought I’d answer a few of these (those that I can!) in a final installment of this steek series tomorrow, so if there is anything you want to know that I’ve not covered, or that seems unclear, please say something below. When you knit one stich from the front and one stitch from the back together, could you also knit the ending loop from the crochet chain or would that pull on the chain and make it less stable? Also you say you use this technique for button-bands, is the whole facing the button band or do you then pick up stitches from the facing to create the button band? Thank you for the clear images. I think I will have to finally try steeks soon! Laurence B’s second question is just what I was going to ask. So that makes two of us who want to know how to go from sandwich to button band. The buttonhole band is even more finicky – or do you always use snaps for closure and buttons for ornament? Kate: That’s beautiful and neat. Gives me confidence to try a steek. I’m going to do a swatch as you have shown and give ‘er a whirl. Excellent , clear directions and photos Thank you Donna This is all really wonderful… thanks so much for your quite clear explanations. Will you also show how this relates to a button band? Thank you! This is a fabulous way to finish the front of a cardign………my question is, why do you have to initially finish your ends by weaving them into the fabric of the body. When yarns are stopped and started in the middle of the steek……all of these ends are trimmed off when the steek is cut, in whatever steek treatment used, eliminating the need for them to be woven in. I look forward to your new pattern using this technique. Your explanations have been great & have gotten me over my fear of steeks & actually eager to start my first Fair Isle project & first steeking. One question, instead of using an I-cord bind-off, could you close the steek sandwich with a 3-needle bind-off instead? Thank you, Kate, for being so generous as to share your expertise. Thanks Kate! I love your designs and will be getting your lovely sheepy blanket kit soon (I hope). This will be a great way to finish it. Best wishes! -Alice Thank you so much for this; I’m inspired! Thanks for this – sorted out my issues with picking up stitches. Brilliant, clear tutorial, thank you. this set of tutorials is so clear, you’ve inspired me to try and steek! I really appreciate the time that’s obviously gone into them, thank you :) As I anticipated, a beautiful, robust cardigan facing! Be still my heart! I am now looking forward to this pattern even more:-B Such a neat solution!Look forward to learning more! Okay, that is officially the smartest thing I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much for sharing this whole series! Hear, hear! That is just so cool! I’ve actually never really heard of steeks before so this has been very eye opening. Thanks for the time you spent on this, I’m now excited to give it a try! Thanks so much for the wonderful steek tutorials, with so many detailed directions and excellent photos. For me it is perfect timing, as I am just about ready to do my “Rams and Yowes” steek. I appreciate how much time and effort you have put into this! This series is the first thing I’ve read about steeks that has not been terrifying. Something very bracing about your tone, Kate. Thank you for all the reassurance in the first part. Without that I wouldn’t have been able to move on to the subsequent parts. It doesn’t really make me want to run out and steek something, but I’ll be much less likely to dismiss a pattern immediately upon seeing the word “steek” as I have been wont to do. What a great,beautiful, wonderful finishing technique – bravo, Kate!!! Just to clarify, when picking up the original 3 stitches out of every 4 rows, it looks like you picked them up one column outside of the 5 steek stitches you numbered in part 1, i.e. what would have been the original edge of a traditionally knit front? Thanks soooooooo much for all this :) :) Really clear directions; I’m ten times more confident about steeking than before. Might even try it one day! Thank you for your patient explanation, now I can consider doing the Sheep & Yows blanket (I’ve done the tam – so that’s one mountain climbed!) Can I show my total ignorance and ask you to clarify the i-cord bind off…now that’s scary!! Thank you Kate for this very clear explanation and very clear pictures. You rock!!! This is so fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to create this tutorial! Fabulous tutorial, thank you so much! I expect this way of finishing would work just as well for an “ordinary” cardigan edge… wouldn’t it? Just got back from yoga feeling blissfully happy and thought hey lets have my dinner and check out the traffic on the blogosphere. Yippee there’s a post from Kate about steaks – what is the history of this word I’m wondering – anything to do with steaks – is it pronouced completely differently. I’m not really a knitter but love the blog. Anna x, ps its raining here too in Devon, still – the ducks are happy but the lambs have had enough. Love it !!! I’m on the edge of my seat ! Wow! What a super cool method, and you make it look so easy! I can’t wait to try. You. are. a. genius. That’s all. I’m in awe! Thanks so much Kate for your time doing this. My question is would you be able to show on swatch where you picked up the (3 sts into 4 rows) stitches. Yes, I’d also like to know how far in from the edge of the steek to pick up and knit the first layer of the sandwich. Also, I’m wondering: you said that the number of picked up stitches always should equal exactly the number of loops showing on the back of the fabric (those that are used to create the last layer of the sandwich). But, according to the “fence post rule,” there is almost one more post than section of fence, so shouldn’t there be one fewer stitches on the back side than on the front, leaving you with one extra stitch on the front side when you are knitting the sandwich together? I also could state my question this way: if one were to pick up and knit stitches using yarn that wasn’t attached to anything first, then the yarn would come up from the back side of the fabric to the front create a stitch over the needle, and descend again to the back side. The actual “loops” on the back side are created BETWEEN the new stitches that are being picked up on the front side, so wouldn’t there be one fewer loops on the back than there are new stitches on the front? Finally, for those of us who are not familiar with the i-cord bind off especially in this setting, would you please demonstrate this in a photo tutorial? Thank you. That was the only place in your absolutely magnificent post that I felt as if a step got skipped over a bit too quickly. I have to say: I have always believed that I couldn’t steek anything because I don’t own a sewing machine. I am very comfortable crocheting and thrilled that I could actually make a steek without the benefit of sewing. Great tutorial, thanks! The closest I’ve ever come to steeking was with a stockinette cardigan knit in a worsted weight wool. In the end, I wimped out because it seemed as though the button band would be too bulky. Any words of wisdom about steeking with heavier-weight wools? Beautiful! I love it. Just one question: Which column of stitches do you pick up your “sandwich” stitches from? From the last column of the steek? Or the first pattern column? Or something else altogether? I’m not afraid of steeks, but I’ve never tried them. This tutorial serie is the best : so clear and well explained. That last part on the sandwich is just brilliant ! Thank you so much for writing this, Kate. Ok, now I find the urge to knit the Rams and Yowes blanket even stronger ! Thank you so much for this tutorial. I have always been afraid of steeks. Now I can’t wait to give it a try. I do have one question about the crocheting bit. Does the weight of the yarn used make a difference? Should it be the same or lesser weight than the garment? Thanks a bunch. Quick question – have you ever just picked up on one side (the front) and then knitted for say 8 rows and then did a 3 needle bind off using the backs of the initial knitted up stitches? I know Dale patterns from Norway use this method a lot for facings and I must admit its beautiful. You could then do a picot edge if you want half way – is that possible do you think with the steek – any problems you would anticipate – I am truly in awe of your work – thats so much. I recently got my scottish citizenship by ancestry and I madly knit J&S and Kate Davies patterns!! I am a very happy knitter. :) How nice and kneat! My question relates to this instruction “When picking up your stitches, make sure you push your needle all the way through to the back of the work, and draw the yarn through from the wrong side”. So are you creating new stitches thru the knitting rather than picking up stitch from the front ie the already knitted stitches? Thank you so much Kate, this has to be the best explanation of steeking that I’ve ever seen and I am not going to let the tag “steek” put me off patterns again. Thank you, Kate; I have the Rams & Yowes kit from J&S – knew it was going to be a learning curve with steeks, but this explanation is so clear. Looking forward to making a start! Thank you for the lovely tutorial. It’s very thorough and clear. I LOVE your steek series!!! Instead of the I-cord bind off, could the front and back “facings” be kitchenered? That produces such a lovely clean finish. Thanks for those 3 posts, I really enjoy cutting up my knitting, I’ll be able to do it so much neater now! Steek sandwich… Mmm… Thank you so much for this steek series. I was just considering cutting my first steek and your tutorials are exactly what I need! waouuuu ! These techniques seem so clear : I’m looking forward a peerie flower cardigan for a looong time…I just try to finish all my knitting affairs to be ready to start your new creation ! Thanks a lot for the precious tutorial and the time you take for explanations ! Cathy Another fabulous explanation. However, my steeks are rather thick already as I have finished all my ends within the steek – all done before I read your instructions. I will try the steek sandwich on my next steeking adventure…. Onwards with the other armhole today! I really wish I could have read this post before I spent £40 plus travel on a steeking class where the teacher announced there wouldn’t be anything much about finishing (in a 3-hour class!!). Excellent, thank you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us. That is an absolutely gorgeous finish. Wow! Thank you SO much for explaining steeks in so much detail. Your posts actually make me want to cut up my knitting. I will be using this. You, madame, are a GENIUS! These posts are going to my bookmarks and my printer, I’ll be doing this soon! THANK YOU! Second the genius part :-). I’m thinking also that instead of knitting the edges together a nice 3-needle bind-off would be perfect for a strong, stable edge such as a neckline. Wow, I can feel a steek coming on :-).

Hi Everyone, I've been away from the blog because I don't have much quilting progress to report. Except that I'm still on Easy Street, have all my patches done and finished sewing all my "B" blocks together. I still have to make 7 "A" blocks, and 3 set-in triangles. Sigh... I'll get it done eventually. Right now I decided to take a short break. This weekend while we had Winter Storm Nemo howling through dumping 15 inches of snow on us I finished basting my Baby Boy Blue quilt tops. Yes, both of them! I only have phone pictures, but they'll have to do for now. By the time I was finished I ran out of safety pins. I'm not gonna say I had just enough because I could've used a few more for safety, but it's alright. While I was basting the boyz were hanging out on the futon next to me. Guess what were they doing... As some of you know yesterday we went for a hike in the afternoon with a goal of taking some pictures of the sunset from the top of a hill that's about 3 miles from our house. It never occurred to me that the snow will be knee deep (we got 15 inches of it, hello?) and only had sweat pants and an ankle high pair of boots on with ankle socks. Clever, isn't it? By the time we got half way up the hill my ankle was frozen from all the snow and so was my shin. I just couldn't feel my legs! So we turned back and marched home defeated. I have to mention that it was almost 5:30 and we were late for the 5:23 sunset anyway. I saw no point of continuing. We took the kitties outside this morning and have some pictures of them enjoying the snow too :) Looking for trouble! He's a nice size kitty and the snow is still above him His Royalness is so serious! Notice that he's sitting on TOP of the snow! The 3 brothers from left to right: Grumpy, Gandalf, and Furry. They have the same mother as Sleepy. Attention, the snowball is in the air! :) In the afternoon we went out to the park to look around and decided to take the hike again with the modification of taking the car up to the park and just climb the hill which was about half a mile long. I was still sore from yesterday and was really glad Fiance decided to drive there this time. I was still having a hard time trying to balance to step into his footsteps to get the least amount of snow in my boots as possible. It was fascinating that no one, but us were there since last night. The ducks were having a blast at the park: Someone went cross-country skiing: The view from top of the hill: Cool ripples made by the wind: Love the way the sky looks! Now I think I'm done for the day :) I'll be back with the questions answered part 2, but right now I can't even think straight. 'Til we blog again! Oh how I envy you all the lovely snow ;)! It looks so beautiful, doesn't it? And your Kitties are enjoying it too it seems. I love both your Baby Boy Blue tops. How are you going to quilt them? By machine or hand? Love the quilt, love your photos and loooovvvveee your cats x I love the color combination that you used:))) I just love your quilts. Great pictures of your snow storm. I just love your quilts. Great pictures of your snow storm. Your cats "weather" the snow a lot better than my cats! My cats are strictly indoor and we had a couple of inches, and when they ran out the door, they ran right back in and were licking their paws until they were satisfied all the offensive cold, wet snow was off of their paws! LOL I loved your pictures! Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos! You have very attractive cats! The quilts are beautiful! .....and so are the cats :) Glad you survived the storm! Great job on getting both quilts all basted,they look beautiful already! Also thank you for sharing all the lovely snow photos,they take the breath away :0) Sorry to hear about your not so fun hike,but glad that you were able to get to the top of the hill anyway! The kitties look to have had a great time playing in the snow! So beautiful quilts. And your cats are so lovely and cute. Grit from Germany

Phone: 206-953-0237 Alki Kayak Tours 1660 Harbor Avenue SW Seattle, WA 98126 View Larger Map Alki Kayak Tours works to provide a safe, comfortable paddling experience for everyone. We will outfit you with a kayak suitable for your size and experience level and provide you with all the necessary equipment. Please read through our frequently asked questions and don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any other burning questions! Q: What adventure gear or kayak travel equipment should I bring? A: Alki Kayak Tours provides all sea kayaking equipment, you provide a sense for adventure. Besides that, the clothing you’ll need to wear includes shoes/sandals you don’t mind getting wet.. Q: What if I have never been in a sea kayak? A: No experience is necessary! And you don’t need to know how to swim. The only prerequisite is a spirit of adventure. While our trips are not designed to be strenuous, generally good physical condition is needed. If you are comfortable with a couple of hours of outdoor physical activity, you should be fine. Q: What about capsizing? A: Sea kayaking is a completely different sport than white water kayaking. Our Seascape 2 double kayaks are 21 feet long and provide a stable paddling platform, and capsizes are rare. There are no “wet exits” required and if you follow the guides instructions you will be able to safely paddle through any conditions. Q: Are there any age limits? A: There are no age limits, but you need to weigh at least 80 lbs. to safely operate the kayak. However, we have acquired a triple kayak and can take younger/lighter paddlers on calm days on some of the shorter paddles. Call or email for any specific concerns or questions. Generally any kids under 5 should stay home with a sitter so you can come out and enjoy yourself. Q: I was blessed with ample hips, will I fit in the kayak? A: You will be sitting in a confined cockpit for about 1.5 hours at a time. The seat is 17″ wide and the total boat capacity is 600 lbs for both paddlers. Come out early if you think you might want to see if you can comfortably sit in the kayak. Q: What if it is nasty weather? A: Contrary to popular belief, we have pretty darn awesome weather here in the NW if you are geared up correctly. We go rain or shine, so bring your breathable rainjacket with a hood. We use spray skirts, and paddling in the NW is a year round activity. We have a micro-climate rainshadow effect here in West Seattle and are positioned so that southerly low pressure systems break over the peninsula and we have a “donut hole” of blue over our shop while it may be raining in North/South and East of us. But yes it does get stormy occasionally, and we will call off trips due to high winds or unsafe conditions.

My Squirrelly View of Education Trying to Integrate Technology into HS English & Special Education Thing 4 Adequate Yearly Progress, Education, Education in the United States, FlintMichigan, GeneralMotors, GM, High school, Michigan, NCLB, No Child Left Behind Act November 10, 2008 How has learning changed? In some ways, a lot. In others, not so much. A couple of quotes form the Time Magazine article really struck me.. 2. .” These skills have always been necessary and have been developed in High Schools pre-NCLB. I learned these things in my High School Debate and Forensics program at Kearsley High School in Flint, MI. Unfortunately, few students took advantage of the opportunities these programs provided. In the 70′s my blue-collar high school was a “prep school” for the GM factories ran the city. Less than 3% of my class went to college. Those that did, did not return to Flint. As we graduated from college we witnessed the first round of GM’s downsizing that would turn downtown Flint into a relative ghost town. At my 5-year class reunion in 1980, there were classmates who had been laid off from GM never to return. For many of my classmates lacked the ability to adapt to change, to think outside the box, and to see opportunities in the future. The few who did, got retraining and left. I think that if we are to serve our students, we must stress these same skills, so that they can meat the challenges our changing economy brings. Right know I have a since of deja vu. I feel that I am watching Monroe struggle with the same problems that Flint has and still is facing. I fear that Michigan’s new graduation requirements, while admirable, when combined with the high stakes test, the Michigan Merit exam and NCLB’s AYP requirements will force schools to teach to the test rather than allow students the chance to create and explore this new world. The appropriate use of web2.0 collaborative learning is a step in the right direction, but it is only a step. We need to get our students ask the “Why and How” questions when confronted an issue just like I was trained to do in Mrs. Turner’s Debate Class. The question “Why is this happening?” can lead to powerful critical thinking. It can challenge our beliefs, our thought processes. It can lead to creative solutions to complex problems. Likewise, the question “How can this be changed?” can lead all of us to create new answers. This weekend I watched my 18 year son, a UofM-Dearborn freshman struggle with an argumentative essay for his composition class. He knows how to structure and write a competent paper, but he is lacking the ability to develop a complete, persuasive argument. He can use the web, but he lacks the facility to use any search engine other than the basic Google search. This kid is a math major (“Mom, calculus is fun. Get over it!”). He graduated with honors from a great high school that regularly turns out Merit Scholars. He took computer software classes, yet he was never taught basic web skills. I fear that we are and will continue to turn out students like him who look good on paper, but lack the skills and the thought processes to handle this complex world. In one of my presentations on Web 2.0 and 21st century teaching and learning, I show a picture of my dad and my 2 sons. My dad never graduated from high school. He served in WWII, and when he came home he got a job with GM and worked there for 30 years. We weren’t rich, but he earned enough to buy a car and a home. Contrast that with my sons’ generation. Even with a college degree, they will have a hard time keeping the same job for 30 years. I know the new HS graduation requirements are good for the colleges and universities, but I also worry that with such an emphasis on core subjects and high stakes tests, we will see an increasing percentage of students (those who aren’t good at playing school) become even more frustrated and likely to drop out. I have the same fears that you do about the new HS requirements. Heck, I couldn’t have passed Algebra II when I was in HS. I’m doing just find in this new age.

SUMMERFIELD, FL- Joseph P. “Joe” Oliver, 73, formerly of Delmar, passed away on July 6, 2012 in Summerfield, Florida after a short illness. A devoted husband and father, Joe was born in Albany to the late Vincent and Margaret (Cahill) Oliver. Joe graduated from the Christian Brothers Academy and served in the United States Coast Guard. Upon leaving the service, he graduated from Russell Sage College and Siena College. In 1962, Joe married his wife of 50 years, Carol Burns Oliver, and started their family. Joe enjoyed a very successful career in both the public and private sector. Joe worked in various capacities in the State of New York in the emerging information technology field between 1976 and 1995. His accomplishments included development and acquisition of the world’s largest computer of its time for the Department of Social Services (DSS) in 1977, and oversaw the design, development and maintenance of the State’s welfare management systems for both New York City and the rest of the State. He retired as Director of Project Support for the DSS Office of Technology in 1995. After leaving public service, Joe began a second career as a private sector consultant providing IT services to a broad range of commercial, industrial and governmental clients for the past 16 years. In the 1970s and 1980s, Joe was also active as coach and manager in the Tri Village Little League in Delmar. Joe was an avid golfer, and a loyal fan of the New York Giants and the Siena Saints basketball team. Joe is survived by his wife, Carol Burns Oliver; his sister Marcia Oliver Carswell of Honeyoe Falls, NY; five children: Maureen Farrar (Kevin Farrar) of Waterford; Nancy Oliver of Delmar; Timothy Oliver of Lincoln, Nebraska, Jeffery Oliver (Kelly Oliver) of Rotterdam, and Kevin Michael Oliver of Albany, as well as his grandchildren Colleen Farrar and John Farrar of Waterford and numerous nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 9:30 am in St. Francis of Assisi Parish, 391 Delaware Ave. Albany. Relatives and friends are invited and may also call at the Daniel Keenan Funeral Home, Inc., 490 Delaware Ave. Friday, July 13, 2012 from 4-8 pm. Interment will follow the Mass in Calvary Cemetery, Glenmont. Contributions may be made to St. Margaret’s Center, 27 Hackett Blvd. Albany, NY 12208.

Books Flynn is the author of five collections of poetry: The Talking Drum, The Book of Monsters, The Lost Sea, The Golden Ratio, and Colony Collapse Disorder, and one collection of essays, The Rhythm Method, Razzmatazz and Memory: How To Make Your Poetry Swing. Colony Collapse Disorder Wings Press, 2013/ ISBN: 978-1-60940-294-5 Paperback $16 “The poems of Colony Collapse Disorder form a geopolitical abcedarium that lives up to Keith Flynn’s reputation as a seminal force in poetry . . . a voice for the dispossessed . . . with rock-gospel charisma and riddle-like revelations.” (Choice) Praise for Colony Collapse Disorder “Keith Flynn’s lyrical travelogue, a revolution of sound and story, celebrates the reader as witness. Not only are we transported to gorgeously-crafted locales, but we are rooted there by the poet’s unerring narrative, transforming each poem is a facet of light, an illuminative hallelujah. Scan the poetic landscape all you want–but you won’t find anything like this.” —Patricia Smith, author of Blood Dazzler and today’s violent and chaotic news. Like the best music, Flynn’s poems bind us together with a shared sense of failure, challenge, joy and love.” —Robert Morgan, author of Terrior Links to Reviews of Colony Collapse Disorder: _____________________________________________________________________ The Rhythm Method, Razzmatazz and Memory: How To Make Your Poetry Swing Published by Writer’s Digest Books, 2007 ISBN: 978-1-58297-404-0 Paperback $16.99 Poetry. The Golden Ratio Published by Iris Press, 2007 ‘Chang ‘flying barefoot through the lion’s gate,’ you might even imagine you are being dazzled not by the poet, but by the world itself.” - William Pitt Root, White Boots: New and Collected Poems of the West The Lost Sea Published by Iris Press, 2000 ISBN: 0-916078-51-5 Paperback $13.00 Keith Flynn’s third collection of poems uses spectacular and musical language to address a wide range of crucial social, political and moral issues. These poems honor the visceral connection of the body and the physical world.. In The Lost Sea, language is cleansed of second-hand representations and once again acquires, like Henry Thoreau’s Concord bells, sacred presence to one and to any one inclined by soul to hear.” Praise for The Lost Sea “Full to brimming,” the poems of Keith Flynn’s dazzling new collection, The Lost Sea, give no quarter. The ebullient range of unruly references and the fabulously rich lexicon combine to stretch the limits of coherence into a compelling, original style, Here, “flesh and mud meditations,” narratives unfolding like petals, dramatic monologues and surreal juxtapositions run together just ahead of an exclamation mark. The poems are politically incisive and emotionally dramatic. They careen toward the reader with unlikely energy, with the music of a mind awake.” - Forrest Gander “Keith Flynn’s wide-ranging poetic vision often takes him beyond the pale of much contemporary American verse. The poems in The Lost Sea can take on such far-flung topics as surrealism, cinema, music, politics, and post-modernism and make them spin with energy and wit. There is humor and history and a large helping of erudition in these poems. Flynn is a provocateur with a tender heart who possesses the scholar’s respect for tradition and the artist’s hunger for innovation. His world is large and always interesting, and he journeys through it with great elan.” - Kathryn Stripling Byer The Book of Monsters Published by Urthona Press, 1994 Second Edition by Animal Sounds Press, 1996 ISBN: 1-889276-01-4 Paperback $12.00 “We expect our poets to go on dangerous missions,” says Rob Neufeld, describing The Book of Monsters, “into realms of personal psychology and social reality, and return changed, bearing new music. The motive for the journey is the sense that something is terribly wrong in our lives. This is no easy task because there are plenty of folk who can advocate temperance and condemn the malcontent. The poet’s return to society, therefore, better bring with it something that glows with renewed faith or smacks of truth. In this amazing collection, Flynn finds redemption for a mad clatter of castaways, villains, lost lovers, and forgotten heroes.” Praise for The Book of Monsters “These poems remember, as Heidegger said, “the oldest of the old follows behind us in our thinking, and yet it comes to meet us.” Keith Flynn writes raging visceral poems, searching out the dark corners of feeling, of need and surrender, so as to make the heart and body one. He is an American Rimbaud, whose morality is stronger than the Academy’s or of the institutions which claim to govern us.” - Jeffery Beam, author of The Fountain and Visions of Dame Kind “Keith Flynn is dungareed griot, hinge-hipped healer, a world rover with a heart where his pen should be. He’s a blues growler, a soul surgeon, a lover of momentum, a hundred kiss for the ears. He is deft and delicate, fiery and unerring. In these pages, he sees through to the bones of lovers and warriors, strangers and fools. According to his gritty gospel, we are all the monsters. And with this book, he has given us language–jolting, tender, as dependable as pulse.” - Patricia Smith, The Boston Globe “In The Book of Monsters, Keith Flynn rides the wave of a ‘fearful equilibrium,’ celebrating all that is vivid, tender, and mysterious in our lives. He knows the “bright rainbow landscapes of the damned”–where the mind and spirit compete for dominion and where the wrenching potencies of contemporary life deepen their hold over selfhood. In these beautiful and often startling poems, Flynn brings us nearer to ourselves.” - Charles Fishman, author of The Death Mazurka and The Firewalkers The Talking Drum Published by Metropolis Communications, 1991 Second Edition by Animal Sounds Press, 1996 ISBN: 1-889276-00-6 Paperback $12.00 Flynn’s first collection, published in Nashville, Tennessee in 1991, gathers poems from the first ten years of his literary career. From long poems to smaller bursts of lively and lyrical language, The Talking Drum foreshadows the stunning imagery and unique voice that are hallmarks of Keith Flynn’s later work. “Those who know contemporary poetry,” writes David Brendan Hopes, “will be amazed to find intelligence and passion in a rare conjunction. These poems attempt so much, so many points of view, so many outcroppings of verbal pyrotechnics, so many moments of hardwon empathy. These will be the very virtues cited by its admirers: inclusiveness, abundance, splendor of expression, understanding almost wholly without judgment, judgment almost wholly without malice. There is learning and immersion in the great tradition of American letters, but Flynn’s poems actually transform the world and its objects into personalities that are graceful, fallible, feminine, and most importantly, saved. It is a lucky break to have Flynn and his many talents among us.”

The air is stuffy and humid, and the rainy season has made the tin roof leak in the Pattiradjawane home. ''When the roof is leaking, we must put our children on the table," Mei Pattiradjawane, 33, told Khabar Southeast Asia. The Pattiradjawanes share the building in Passo Village, near Ambon City,Indonesia with eight other families. Each family has about 500 square feet of living space, separated by thin wood boards. It is part of a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs), hastily constructed in the wake of the sectarian violence in Ambon from 1999-2002. Hundreds of similar camps are spread throughout the province of Maluku. Ten years later, the Pattiradjawane family and many others still live in such camps, despite heartbreaking conditions – due to security issues, job opportunities and lingering trauma. Mei and Roy Pattiradjawane fled Kariuw village in Central Maluku and moved into this building in 2002. Later the same year, they received resettlement funds to buy a house – but didn't do so, they acknowledge. Today, Roy is a labourer in Ambon City. Like many people in Passo Village, his family members are no longer registered as IDPs. "Most of us living here already consider Passo as a home. We do not want to go back to our hometown because there are no jobs. Our nutmeg trees were destroyed during the conflict. We opted to stay in Ambon, hoping we will get better jobs and education for our kids, although there is no more government aid," Roy told Khabar. "We choose to live in Passo because we are in fear of returning home," added Jersen Marian, 56, another resident of the building. More than 700,000 people were displaced by violence in Ambon from 1999-2002, and some 30,000 had yet to be resettled by early 2011, according to UNICEF. "The conflict never ends" The trauma wrought by the violence has spilled beyond Maluku province, lodged in the hearts and minds of survivors. Yonara Wedak left Ambon in 2002 with her husband, using resettlement funds to find a new home in East Java. Even there, for her, the conflict lives on. "Every time I think about what happened in Ambon, it frightens me. The conflict never ends. I never feel safe," she told Khabar in Madiun, where she now lives. "All the blood and memories are still clear in my head. I still can imagine those suffering refugees, hungry kids, many tears and diseases – truly heartbreaking. I guess this is the price we have to pay for the conflict," she said. "Most refugees like me will be traumatized hearing guns shootings, the military car sirens, and the crying of a mother losing a child and a child losing everything." One such child is Manina Pessau, a refugee from Central Maluku, who now lives in Madiun after more than ten years in a refugee camp. She arrived at the camp at the age of nine, on her own. "As a nine year old girl, not knowing anything – where could I go? And not knowing anybody in the camps was really painful. I think that was the worst pain I could remember. I learned that both my parents were dead a year later." She seems hesitant to discuss the past, and how she managed to survive on her own so long. Initially, refugees received funding from the government and national and international relief agencies. "However, it has been awhile, and we have had to struggle on our own," she told Khabar. Seeds of conflict The roots of conflict in the "Spice Islands" can be traced to the sixteenth century, when the region's rich supply of nutmeg and cloves brought Dutch colonists and Christianity. Dutch policy provided Christians with better land, security, and education, sowing the seeds for alienation with the Muslim community. Centuries later, Jihadists from Muslim-dominated areas of Indonesia and even the Philippines travelled to the Maluku islands to "defend" their Muslim brothers, escalating the conflict to its worst ever outbreak from 1999-2002 in which as many as 9,000 may have died. "The situation in Ambon is one example of a latent conflict in Indonesia. The conflict itself is deeper than just a religious conflict," said Sutoro Eko, a senior researcher at the Institute for Research and Empowerment (IRE) Yogyakarta. Conflict flared again in September 2011, when rumors that a taxi driver had been tortured to death sparked riots, leading to six deaths, 89 injuries, and another wave of IDPs. "After the conflict we did a data collection, and we found 278 units of houses were damaged, 195 units were burned by fires, another 30 units were severely damaged and another 53 homes suffered minor damage," Jan Haumasse, the Ambonese chairman for IDPs, told Khabar. The displaced crowded into mosques, elementary schools, and government buildings, numbering some 8,990 people, local government officials said. Violence broke out again during a Pattimura Day procession in May 2012, due to a conflict between factions of spectators about who had the right to carry the torch honoring the independence hero. Fifty civilians were injured in the brawl, and three homes were set ablaze. Protecting one another In both cases, the central government reacted fast, dispatching riot troops and conducting rigorous community outreach to prevent a repeat of the sectarian warfare of a decade ago. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono praised growing religious harmony in Ambon when it successfully hosted the 24th National Musabaqah Tilawatil Qur'an, or Qur'an Recital Competition, in June. Martina de Brito, the wife of an Ambonese pastor, tells how her family was protected by Muslim leaders during the conflict in 2011. "Our house was among the Muslim community. During the conflict, people were attacking all these places. My family was lucky that the imam in the mosque was helping us to find safe locations until the conflict subsided." Martina refused to say more, protecting the person who protected her. "You never know when the conflict is going to happen again in the future. At this point, I want to keep my savior safe. Media spotlights can be dangerous for him," she added. Reader Comments Add A Comment (Comments Policy)* denotes required field

Festivities are in the air. The holiday spirit is at the highest level. Goodies & gifts adorn every aisle in the supermarkets. Reindeers are seen in front of almost every house. the lights, trees and decorations are so charming that one falls in love with them instantly.The Color red is so charming that you fall in love with it instantly. Red color is associated with festivities, happiness, love etc. Every culture globally has some specific goodness associated with the color red. In US red marks festivities, holidays and its also one of the colors in their Nation Flag. Meaning of RED color around the globe. Most Japanese think that the sun is red. Japanese flag has Red colored circle which signifies "sun's Circle". Since "Nihon (Japan)" basically means, "Land of the rising sun," the red circle represents the sun. In Greece, Easter eggs are dyed red and the Greek expression "piase kokkino" ("touch red") is said when two people say the same thing at the same time. It is believed that such an occurrence is an omen that the two will have an argument in the future, which can only be broken when the two touch the closest thing that is red. In India, a red marks good luck, prosperity etc. It also symbolizes joy, life, energy, and creativity. Islamic, Hindu, and Chinese brides traditionally wear red. In Aztec culture, red was connected with blood. In Aztec culture, red was connected with blood. [I googled the info & significance of red color, I cannot remeber the site from where i got this info :( ] In Singapore, the color red traditionally symbolizes joy. In Singapore, the color red traditionally symbolizes joy. There are many more beliefs associated with color red. But One thing which is globally associated with Holidays & Red is Santa Claus. I too wanted to make something special for Christmas but i have been eating too many cookies, chocolates etc and I am sure Santa also might be more than a little bored eating cookies & milk in every house on this planet. I made every cell in my brain work overtime to come up with something festive, easy ( on tummy), something with Desi touch ( was optional). My brain doesn't work as fast as google so i spent more than a hour thinking finally I got the answer. It was Paratha...Yeah yeah its a little off- beat since its BEET paratha. It was delicious, easy to make & festive looking. Lets chk the recipe. Lets chk the recipe. Beet Paratha Ingredients: 1 cup wheat Flour 1 beet 1 Potato ( small) 1 t spn ginger paste 1 t spn garlic paste 2 t spn cilantro leaves Little bit of oil to drizzle over the parathas salt to taste. Method: Cook beet and potatoes in pressure cooker till done ( upto 3 whistles is sufficient). Alternatively you can cook them in the microwave. Do not discard the water in which beet was cooked, This has nice red color which will enhance the color of the dough. Peel the outer skin from both, beet & potatos. Mash potatoes and beet together. In case the beet isn't as soft as potatoes, just grate it and mix. Mix all the other ingredients in cooked mixture and knead it till soft. Use the red water for kneading. Roll these like chapatis but a little thicker and cook on the griddle. Serve with chutney, pickles, sabzis, raita etc or anything else of your choice. They are so versatile that they taste nice with everything. Merry Christmas ! Feliz Novidad ! joyeux Noel ! 10 comments: Red and green are the colors to go these days!:D Looks delicious Pooja, happy holidays!:) Nice write-up....and nice looking paratha, too. Perfect for this season Pooja, Merry Christmas to you too :) wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year. Lovely deep red colour it looks so tasty. :-) Asha : Happy Holidays to u too. Jayashree : I am glad u liked it. Namratha :I am soooo in this holiday spirit. bee : To u too :) Jeena : I am glad you liked it. You have definitely captured the colour of the season with these parathas. Happy Holidays! wow paratha looks so beautifulll nice post pooja Nice festive color... :) Happy New Year Pooja! Nutritious and delicious way of getting in your vegetables as well. Nice color the beets give the rotis. Happy New Year Pooja.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Joe Burklund of Des Moines, Iowa, lost his job at the depths of recession in 2009 after 30 years in the advertising and marketing industry, he never imagined another career. He was almost 60 and optimistic he would land another job in his field, where he was earning $65,000 a year. After collecting unemployment checks for a year, Burklund took a part-time job at grocery chain Trader Joe's. As he watched his retirement savings bleed almost dry, he realized his situation would not turn around anytime soon. An acquaintance suggested he train for call center work, servicing banks and insurance companies. "I said, 'Well, I may as well try that because nothing else seems to be working,'" Burklund told Reuters. Thousands of Americans aged 55 and older are going back to school and reinventing themselves to get an edge in a difficult labor market, hoping to rebuild retirement nest eggs that were almost destroyed by the recession. "I went into it thinking 'I am not too sure I am cut out for call center work,' and I never really wanted to sell insurance. But I was willing to try anything to gain full employment," said Burklund, who has set aside hopes to retire at 65. Within two weeks of completing the program, he had three interviews and two job offers. In March, he started working at Marsh Insurance. A similar tale is recounted by Tom Halseth, about 380 miles east in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Halseth, 60, lost his job in May 2010 after 30 years as store manager with retail chain JC Penny. He spent 16 months unemployed. Today, Halseth is a quality assurance technician with dried fruit packer Mariani Packing Company in Wisconsin Rapids. He landed the job after a rigorous five-month program that included biology, chemistry and math classes and a two-week internship.. TOO YOUNG TO RETIRE Many older workers who lost jobs during the downturn are too young to retire and usually would not be considered ideal for retraining. Independent groups like the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, which is working with local communities and businesses to build skills and careers for workers and job seekers, are working to debunk that myth. In the last four years, the Fund has helped about 1,860 Americans 55 years and older retrain for new jobs. According to data from the Labor Department, 2.65 million people participated in its Workforce Investment Act programs in 2011. Those programs, which are also designed to help people find jobs, are separate from those run by independent groups like the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. About 345,000, or 13 percent of participants in the Workforce Investment Act programs, were 55 years and older. "If they have a 20-year record of being a great worker, companies will take them," said Fred Dedrick, executive director at the National Fund. He said the Fund, which worked with the academy in Iowa that trained Burklund and with the Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin, where Halseth received his food manufacturing science certificate, has a 60 percent to 70 percent success rate finding jobs for graduates. "It also depends on the labor market. If you have an unemployment rate of 4 or 5 percent they will take them," said Dedrick. "But if you have a high unemployment rate of say 10 percent, and you have the choice of investing in somebody who is 50 or somebody who is 30, of course you will invest in the younger worker because they will be around longer." The unemployment rate for workers 55 years and older edged up to 6.3 percent in April from 6.2 percent in March. This age group accounted for 16 percent of the 12.5 million unemployed Americans last month. While the jobless rate for older Americans is much lower than the 8.1 percent national rate, it is double what it was when the recession started in December 2007, a statistic with which people like Paulette Gordon, 59, are all too familiar. Gordon, from Houston, Texas, lost her job as a technical analyst for energy companies two years ago after three decades structuring acquisitions of oil and gas wells. She brushed up her resume to include administration skills. So far that has not yielded anything and last month she sold her jewelry to pay rent. "I am surviving by the grace of God," Gordon said. Productivity experts like Frank Lonergen say it is a mistake to overlook these so-called baby boomers, given their wealth of experience. Lonergen, whose company Ancile Solutions helps businesses to improve employee productivity through training, argues there is not much difference in terms of performance between a 25-year-old worker and a 55-year-old one if both are afforded the right opportunities. While it is a reasonable expectation that somebody hired at 55 would want to retire at 65, it could also be argued that a 25-year-old would probably not build a career at a single company, he said. "I think a 55-year-old worker who has the opportunity to come in and is given the right framework to help them get on board would have a much longer tenure than a 25-year-old," said Lonergen. "The tendency for 25-year-old workers is to look at accelerating their career after two or three years." MINIMUM WAGE SALARIES Even with new skills, older workers are re-entering the labor market at very low salaries, in most cases just above the minimum wage, which can be as low as $5.15 an hour and no higher than $9.04 an hour, depending on the state. Given the damage inflicted on their savings by the recession, this means many will probably continue to work well past the usual retirement age of 65, a fact acknowledged by both Burklund and Halseth. The share of Americans 55 years and older who are in the work force - which means either working or unemployed but looking for a job - is 1.4 percentage points higher than when the recession started. In contrast, the overall labor force participation rate dropped in April to a 30-year low. Last month, 4.6 percent of workers aged 55 and older held more than one job, according to AARP and government data. Halseth declined to specify his salary, but said it was a third of what he made as a JC Penny store manager. "While what I am making now is well above minimum wage, it would be hard to make a good living out of it," he said. "At least I have a job and the possibility of going up. My 401k (retirement plan) was ravaged by the recession; that's one of the reasons I will keep working," said Halseth. "Before, I could have retired at 62 and retired comfortably, but I can't do that anymore. I want to work until 70, if I could." Similar sentiments were expressed by Burklund. "Right now I am making $32,000 a year and there is a bonus program. I may not retire until my late 60s," said Burklund, who likes to joke that he will retire six months after his death.

As the United States observes the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, you may be wondering what you can do to mark the occasion. Lots of people are calling for September 11 to become a national day of volunteering. Why not honor the heroes of 9/11 by becoming a hero to someone else? Volunteering gives you an opportunity to change lives, including your own. If you're feeling frustrated or overwhelmed by the news of a disaster, volunteering to help can be a great way to cope. If you'd like to support a cause but can't afford to donate money, you can donate your time instead. Helping others in need is such an important part of the American way of life that many high schools require their students to spend a certain number of hours volunteering in order to graduate. So how do you go about it?. Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills — from working as part of a team to setting and reaching goals. It gives you a chance to discover what kinds of things you're best at and enjoy the most. A volunteer job that you love can even help shape your ideas about your career goals. Volunteering also can provide you with a sense of responsibility because people really depend on you. And it can help you develop a new understanding of people who are different from you — people with disabilities, people in financial distress, sick kids, or the elderly. Donating your time is a great way to feel like you have the power to change things for the better. When people depend on you, it can change the way you look at yourself. You can feel proud of the goals that you've achieved for an organization — whether it's helping to organize a 10K to raise money for breast cancer or running the race itself. Volunteering is also a great way to get a perspective on your own life. Sometimes it's easy to get consumed by worries about your grades or the fight you had with your friend or parent. And although these things are very important in their own way, sometimes it can be helpful to get some distance and think about other things. Volunteering allows you to do this. It lets you focus on others and see that your involvement in the world can be meaningful. Finally, volunteering can help save you from being bored — it gives you a place to be where you can have a good time and keep busy. When you donate your time to a cause you care about, it looks impressive on college or job applications. That's not the main reason for volunteering, of course — if you do it just to please other people or to look good you may not enjoy it. But volunteering does show others (and yourself!) that you are reliable enough to make a commitment and show up on schedule. Volunteering also shows employers and colleges that you believe in making the world a better place — and that you're willing to sacrifice your time and energy to do it. After you've decided what you're interested in and how much time you can devote, it's time to find out where you can volunteer. You have several choices. You can search the Internet or look in your local phone book under "volunteer." You can call an organization directly and ask if they need volunteers in your area. You can ask friends or relatives for ideas and contacts or look on bulletin boards in your library or in bookstores. It's worth spending the time up front to identify a job that's a good fit for you. When you're calling an organization to offer your time, it's best to ask for a volunteer coordinator. Be ready to answer some questions, like: Most places will ask you to come for an interview, which is usually pretty casual. They want to talk to you face to face and if they haven't yet asked the questions above, they will do it at the interview. Whether your interview is on the phone or in person, don't forget to ask questions of your own.,

Want to throw a beautiful party? A flower themed party can be fun, frilly and visually stunning. The amount of frills is up to you, but most flower themed parties can be executed with little more than some craft supplies you probably already have and a flower shaped cookie cutter. Whether you are celebrating a birthday, first communion or springtime holiday, a flower theme is perfect for a backyard that is already in bloom. Spring, however, isn’t the only season to celebrate with a flower party. A combination of artificial flowers and seasonal blooms make the flower party an option for any time of year. 1. Invitations You can use store bought flower themed invitations or easily create your own. One idea to create a simple flower party invitation. Additional options for flower themed party invitations: Additional options for flower themed party invitations: - Have your child draw and color flowers onto blank notecards. - Use a rubber stamp to decorate ordinary invitations with a floral design. - Print the party details on large mailing labels. Stick them to the backs of flower seed packets. 2. Decorations You can purchase several floral decorations from the craft store, party supply store or even the dollar store. Homemade decorations are also an option, many of which are easy enough to create, such as these tissue paper flowers. Additional Decorating Ideas. 3. Games and Activities Keep the floral theme going through a variety of games and activities. Suggestions for flower-themed party games include: - Musical flowers (cut out large flower shapes and place in a row on floor. Use these as the seats to play musical chairs. Play a flower themed song such as Ring Around the Rosie as the music for this game. - Play “Diana likes Daisies.” In this game, the players sit in a circle. The first player states her first name and a flower she likes that begins with the same letter as her name. The next player does the same and also repeats the name and flower chosen by the first player. For instance, if player one says “My name is Diana and I like daisies,” player two will say “My name is Lisa and I like lilies and she is Diana who likes daisies.” Play continues around the circle and anyone who forgets a name or flower is out. Keep a list of flower names on hand for players who may have trouble thinking of ones that match their names. - Have a watering can relay race where players must use a watering can to fill a large bucket with water. If playing this game indoors, use confetti instead of water to save floors and carpets from inevitable spills. - Paint flower pots or watering cans. - Make Flower Bracelet Balloon Animals. - String head bands using silk flower petals. - Make flower-shaped sugar cookies and have kids decorate them with icing, sprinkles and a variety of small candy pieces. 4. Food That flower shaped cookie cutter isn’t off duty yet. Put it to work creating some of your flower party menu items. Ideas include: - Flower shaped sandwiches. - Flower shaped quesadillas. - Flower shaped pizza muffins (cut the shapes before topping with sauce and cheese). - Flower shaped cookies. - Flower shaped brownies. - Flower shaped cereal treats. - Flower cupcakes or a flower themed cake. - Serve food such as chips, pretzels or pasta from flower pots and pour drinks from watering cans. 5. Favors Party crafts like the painted flower pots or floral beaded jewelry made at the party can also double as the party favors. Additional suggestions for take home gifts: - Lollipop flowers - Flower pot and flower seed packets - Miniature watering cans - A box of flower shaped cookies - A bouquet of fresh flowers

March 2011 1 tag February 2011 1 tag 2 tags BOGO Chipotle. → Do I really need to say anything else? Thought not. 1 tag When you see the person your ex is now going out... steenfox: *sniggles* magalomania: trevordeluxe: Shits so true. Always a downgrade. So, so true. Y’all. She has a mustache AND alopecia. And she’s shaped like a butterknife. 1 tag 3 tags 2 tags 2 tags 2 tags 1 tag 2 tags 2 tags 2 tags 1 tag 2 tags 1 tag Random ass mid 90s music all over your dash this... You’re welcome. 2 tags 1 tag 2 tags 2 tags 2 tags 1 tag softjunebreeze: afrocentricmiss: stackindoe: tradeyoursoul: miss-martini: If this happened to me, it would be my dying day. i would shit myself. then beat his ass. lmfaooooo i just died omfggggggggggggg. 100% Pure Fuckery ™ Chile, I needed this laugh today. ROFLLL I’d die if this happened to me 1 tag 3 tags Chicago now has a mac & cheese truck?! 2 tags Banana. Nutella. Shots. #ThreeWordStories 3 tags My Jello Americans: The rest of 2011 will be... My Jello Americans is a blog solely devoted to creating jello shots that are fancy as all the fcks. Some of my favs so far (all pics link to the site): from top to bottom: You Put the Lime in the Coconut Neopolitan Ice Cream Sandwich Strawberry Lemonade Banana Nutella Mimosas Mango Sticky Rice I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay this inspiration forward. You’re welcome. 1 tag 2 tags 3 tags 1 tag 2 tags 1 tag Damn, I just gotta make it til the 1st: A Game. - via The Consumerist I played and got... 1 tag 2 tags 2 tags 2 tags 1 tag That beautiful moment when you realize you... 1 tag Just found out Ikea is eliminating their credit... I got until May to buy ALL THE THINGS 1 tag 1 tag 1 tag I got new followers? 1 tag 1 tag 1 tag

Trusted Managers, New Funds During a 12-year stint at the helm of fbr focus, Chuck Akre compiled a distinguished record as a stock picker. Between 1997 and 2009, his fund posted an annualized return of 13%, better than 90% of its peers. But three years ago, Akre walked away from FBR to launch his own fund, Akre Focus. Though his fund has a new name, Akre says, little else has changed. He follows the same investing mandate he used at FBR: to find well-managed companies of any size with high and sustainable profitability. SEE ALSO: Our Guide to Mutual Funds So far, things have worked out well for Akre and his shareholders. Since Akre Focus’s inception in August 2009, the fund, a member of the Kiplinger 25, has gained 15.0% annualized. The fund outpaced Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index in 2010 by four percentage points; in 2011, it beat the index by almost nine points. Advertisement The success of Akre Focus led us to search for other relatively new funds with proven managers behind them. We found several, including DoubleLine Total Return, run by Jeffrey Gundlach and Philip Barach, who broke away from TCW to found DoubleLine in 2010. But not all of the new funds were worth crowing about. Some of the managers, for instance, had great records at their old shops but spotty returns at their new ones—or vice versa. In the end, we found six no-load funds that deserve a closer look. All are run by well-known managers who had stellar records at bigger shops and left to launch their own funds, and all are still going strong. Seeking Fast Growth Robert Gardiner and Blake Walker cut their teeth at Wasatch, a firm that specializes in fast-growing small and midsize companies. In 2011, they left to form Grandeur Peak, which, like Wasatch, is based in Salt Lake City. But a couple of things haven’t changed. The view from their new digs is the same: Both the Wasatch and Grandeur Peak offices look out on the Wasatch Mountain range. The investing strategy is the same, too. “We try to execute the core Wasatch philosophy with precision,” says Walker. Until recently, the pair ran Wasatch Global Opportunities, a fund that invests in fast-growing companies of all sizes headquartered anywhere in the world. In 2009 and 2010, the fund’s first two years of existence, it gained 61% and 26%, respectively, outpacing 96% of its global fund peers the first year and 95% the second. Before that, Gardiner managed Wasatch Micro Cap Fund, racking up an annualized return of 25% during his tenure, from June 1995 through December 2006. Last October, Gardiner and Walker launched Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities (symbol GPGOX), which invests all over the world, and Grandeur Peak International Opportunities (GPIOX), which buys only foreign stocks. Like their previous Wasatch funds, the new ones focus on growth stocks. But instead of combing through companies of all sizes, the managers home in on small companies, with market capitalizations from $50 million to $1 billion. “It’s easy to set up a large-cap value fund and buy Samsung,” says Walker. “It’s harder to knock on doors and uncover these little pebbles.” He and Gardiner look for companies with little debt and hefty profit margins. They carefully analyze those that look most promising, a process that includes making their own earnings forecasts. They visit the firms with the best prospects—those with estimated long-term profit growth of at least 15% a year. In Grandeur’s first six months, the managers traveled to China, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa, India, France, Germany and the U.K. “I’m trying to stay married,” says Walker, “but we’re on the road constantly.” In the end, Walker and Gardiner seek what many other growth-stock managers want: companies with a sustainable competitive edge, a good management team and a strong business model. “And headroom,” adds Walker. “We want the market it operates in to be big enough for these guys to grow a long time.” So far, so good, despite wobbly foreign markets of late. From their inception, the Global and International funds have gained 11.0% and 8.0%, respectively, beating the 7.8% return of the MSCI World index. (All returns are through June 29.) Global Bargain Hunter The world’s stock markets have never been more attractive, says David Winters, manager of Wintergreen Investor (WGRNX). “Today, I feel like a kid in a candy store with $100 in my pocket.” That’s because stocks are depressed all over the world, and Winters loves a good bargain. Not surprising for someone who got his training at Mutual Series under legendary value managers Max Heine and Michael Price (Franklin Templeton bought Mutual Series in 1996). Winters spent almost 30 years at Mutual Series, starting as an analyst and rising to CEO, president and chief investment officer. But in 2005, Winters left to start his own shop and launch the Wintergreen fund. Over the past five years, the fund returned an annualized 1.5%. That may sound slim, but it beats the MSCI World index by an average of 3.6 percentage points per year. Wintergreen can invest in companies large or small. But Winters will buy only if a company meets his definition of an investing trifecta: The company must have good or improving economics, be run by a management team that’s working for all shareholders, and trade at a value price. A bargain, in his mind, is a company that’s trading for less than what he thinks it’s worth. Winters uses several methods to arrive at that number, including the “arm’s length test”—what a knowledgeable buyer would pay to buy a company. He keeps tabs on takeovers and mergers to get a sense of the worth of companies in various industries. Winters has free rein to invest wherever he finds opportunity—in the U.S. and overseas, including emerging markets, and in any asset class, including stocks, corporate bonds and government debt. These days, he’s been eyeing stocks, especially those that trade in Switzerland and the U.K. (“no euro zone” issues, he says) and in Hong Kong and Malaysia. One stock he has held for a long time is the conglomerate Genting Malaysia Berhad. When Winters visited Malaysia six years ago, Genting was a small domestic company with a great balance sheet, able executives and international aspirations. Today it is part of a gambling duopoly in Singapore (Genting and Las Vegas Sands are the only companies with gaming licenses there), and it has a casino in the Philippines, among other international businesses. “We buy companies that we think will do well in the future without paying for that future growth,” says Winters. Winters typically turns over 11% to 15% of his portfolio annually, suggesting that he holds on to stocks for seven to nine years, on average. “When you trade, you’re making another decision,” says Winters. “We would rather make fewer and better decisions.” Yet Winters makes sure to have plenty of cash on hand (about 14% at last word) so he can be “in a position to accumulate” when the market gets bumpy. In Sync from a Distance More than 1,200 miles separate Larry Pitkowsky and Keith Trauner. Pitkowsky lives in New Jersey; Trauner, in Florida. But after working together at Fairholme Fund for close to a decade—at times as co-managers—Trauner says they “don’t have to say a lot” to understand each other. The proof is in GoodHaven Fund (GOODX), which the pair launched in April 2011. Over the past year, the concentrated portfolio of bargain-priced stocks (the fund holds just 19 companies) returned 6.8%. The S&P 500, meanwhile, returned 5.5%. Much like Fairholme, GoodHaven can invest in almost anything: stocks in companies of any size the world over and bonds of any type, from U.S. Treasuries to junk bonds and from mortgage securities to bank loans. The central theme that ties the disparate asset classes together is value. Pitkowsky and Trauner, each of whom has $1 million invested in the fund, find ideas by scanning lists of beaten-down stocks and companies poised for a turnaround. They look at what other sharp value managers are buying, too. The goal: to find good companies trading for less than what they think the firms are worth. The fund may own both a company’s stock and its bonds. “If we like the stock, we ought to love the bond,” says Trauner. Take Walter Investment Management. The little-known company specializes in servicing mortgages of troubled borrowers—a skill set in high demand these days. Walter does “a good job of keeping people in their homes and paying their mortgages,” says Trauner. Shares in Walter Investment have climbed about 30% since the managers began buying the stock. On the bond side, the fund owns issues in a Walter bank loan due in 2016 with a 12.5% coupon rate. In Search of Megatrends Before Mitch Rubin and Morty Schaja left the Baron funds in 2006 to found RiverPark Advisers, they had a string of successes. Rubin had several stints running various Baron funds; at Baron Fifth Avenue Growth from 2004 to 2006, he outpaced the broader stock market and the average large-company growth fund. And during his 15-year tenure at Baron, Schaja held many roles, including chief operating officer and president, and saw the company’s assets under management grow from $40 million to $15 billion. Now RiverPark is a family of six funds. Schaja serves as CEO, and Rubin manages three of the funds. Two funds caught our eye: RiverPark Large Growth (RPXFX) and RiverPark Long/Short Opportunity (RLSFX). At RiverPark, Rubin uses the same approach he learned at Baron: He looks for growing, well-managed companies that are poised to benefit from long-term trends, such as aging populations, the move to digital content and information, and growing global consumption of energy and commodities. With the large-company fund, that’s led him to Apple, Monsanto and Google. Over the past year, Large Growth returned 8.9%, outpacing the S&P 500 by 3.4 percentage points. Long/Short Opportunity’s strategy may seem like a radical departure from that of Large Growth. But Rubin sees Long/Short as the “culmination” of all the experience he has gained over the past 20 years. With Long/Short, he can invest in large and small companies that are growing, have sound management and are in a position to benefit from a megatrend. But the fund also allows Rubin to short stocks that fail miserably at fitting the bill—companies that are in contracting markets, are growing slowly (if at all), have low barriers to entry or are capital-intensive. “The long bets are our highest-conviction ideas,” says Rubin. “And the shorts keep us skeptical.” Long/Short began in October 2009 as a hedge fund, but RiverPark converted it to a mutual fund in March 2012. Although the record of the fund’s retail shares goes back only to the conversion, regulators are allowing RiverPark to promote the hedge fund’s record going back to 2009 because the fund’s strategy has stayed the same. Since its inception, the hedge-fund-turned-mutual-fund has returned 19.6% annualized.

Our brand new feature wall at the studio. Aubergine! It just went so well with the green that we used for the windows. And I really like it! The studio office is really starting to come together. This weekend Bianca and I tackled Ikea and came back with a carload of shelves and desks and drawers. Two bruised palms and one purple fingernail later (ahh how ironic) I'd put together the whole lot in an allen key frenzy. Myself, Bianca and Tegan in our studio office. Plenty more to be done but it's definitely on it's way :) 19 comments: It's really starting to take shape isn't it. I'm also not a big fan of purple but this wall looks great. I am soooo envious, and of course I can't wait for you to open your new business :o) Hee. I just bought that IKEA bin on the weekend too. I can't believe how quickly you've got all of this together! Love those floors. And the wall. (I'm the same with purple - but I think it's because my sister in law will wear nothing BUT purple. Right down to the eye shadow. Seriously.) It's gonna be great!! The studio looks amazing! I would love, love, love to have a workspace like that. My workspace (er dining room) at home is also all IKEA (table, chairs, bookcase, drawers, even the lamp!). Gotta love them. Good luck with the rest of your preparations! Nice! does this mean there will be a purple fabic collectin coming soon? ;) Looking good! I love when I get a change of heart. It's like you get to appreciate something for the first time. I liked the purple feature wall too! I was also impressed how you fitted the all the IKEA stuff in our SAAB - such a clever car with its folding rear seats and big hatchback. Love, Dad wow lara!!!things are looking great!!!cant wait for the studio to be up and running...! Wow it's looking so good! I love the purple wall, I think it's a great colour! I have been following yr studio progress and its really coming together now I recently turned a corner with purple too.. Now I am in love with it - but it has to be the right hue! This wall looks great. How exciting. hahaha, you're classic ;) What a great colour for a feature wall - it looks terrific. Your studio looks awesome, and the purple contrasts with the warm wood tones in such a nice way. I've never been a huge fan of purple, but this season it is definitely growing on me :) Go girls! That looks like a great workspace. I think the whole purple thing was global (man), so many of us - okay maybe not global - didn't like it, but there was 'the turning', and then people started posting that they liked it after poo pooing the 'chocolate for the eyes' crew as hippies (not that there's anything wrong with that). I like it too, now. It's not purple, it's mulberry! Or something like that. Crazy enough the EXACT same story for me. I hated purple my whole life - until last year. I tried on a plum colored shirt... and now I love it. just no lilac. *shudder* what is the paint color? (brand & #) Ummm, it was a strange little premixed 2.5 lt bottle by Taubmans called "prince" :) you were at Ikea on the weekend? I was working both days! I wish I had known you were going to be there, I have a 15% discount you know ;)

stuffed chicken roasted...make it atleast a couple of times..I do a diff version.. I always end up with leftover stuffings...love ur idea of using a chicken breast...About the incident at B'bay//Like always the blame game is going headstrong.... ichiri pada alle...:-))ennalum looks good... That is a really cool idea to use the chicken breast.... It looks absolutely delicious, I am bookmarking this to try! BTW, try Cornish game hens for the whole chicken recipes for 2. my sis in law and i used to stuff chicken whole and cook it in the microwave. the stuffing mainly had tons of onions, tomatoes, bread, potatoes, ginger-garlic and what not. There was no set recipe, we just used to follow some recipe blindly. and each time it rocked. wish we had thought of adding boiled egg at that time. this looks delicious! It is true Mish, but that stuffing actually came from Arabs.. If u r here, I will have reached there to taste this.. :) Hi ShnThis simply looks amazing,must try it out soon. I tried your chicken stew, i did not get your white colour but I had sauted the onions till it became a golden brown, maybe that's why.It hurts so much to see our country burning. I like that brainwave of stuffing breasts instead of a whole chicken! On another note, the terror attacks were scary, like watching a movie tho' this was very real! One of the best place for kerala dishes is here. This is really awondrufl dish. My mom used to make stiffed roast chicken when we were in holiday in my dads native place. But this one is really yummy looking. I liked the idea of you going them with chicken breast. I am sure bookmarking this recipe.Stuffing goat with chciken that is new to me.Love to hear more about this, when you get mails about this unusual recipe, not that i will make the goat dish, just curious I haven't heard of a goat stuffed with chicken stuffed with eggs. Must be something like a turducken(turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken!) they make here in the US? Also stuffing with puttu mix is also new to me. I love the malabari stuffed whole chicken, but I don't make it often. Stuffing chicken breast is such a wonderful and smart idea!...and it looks too good. I have eaten stuff chicken in sis place. Her MIL makes it, the stuffing is simple fried rice and then the whole chicken is fried and has counconut milk gravy kept in side . Its yummy. But chicken, egg, lentil,OMG, you have kicked it up a notch. pakka veg now. will try it soon esp since u have admited it is a awesome dish. My bleed for mumbai Oh my Mishmash! this one is a killer! I ll defnitely try this someday. and the terror attack is sickening, din kno abt te 75 kg mutton tho, read somewhere that they ordered 10 kilo biriyani :o what is the world coming to! very impressive...you have put two of my favourite things in there...chicken and eggs..;-DChicken roast used to be my favourite with parotta..long time since I had that as well..Ee recipe would surely be tried out next year..I am too lazy to cook anymore this year....;-P Yes, you are right about the goat being stuffed with a chicken and the chicken stuffed with eggs. In Northern Kerala, this is a delicacy among the muslims and is done the day after a wedding for the groom, or during a large salkaram(party). Your chicken looks absolutely mouth watering. Got to try it. wondeful..you are one hardworking person..:)I have heard about this dish in malabar ,in which first chicken is stuffed with some eggs +gravy and then it is filled with tons of onion-tomato-masala gravy in a fried goat..one hell of a dish..served during iftars and all.. Rachel, Thanks for the link...your stuffing is lil different...but thats something you can use in a sandwich too....so it's actually good to have leftovers :DRas, kurachu pani undu..pakshe it's all small scale preps...so wont really feel the effort...but takes time to put everything together :) Thanks!Sig, thanks a lot....you should try.. make the stuffing in advance to save some time....I was having some mind block towards cornish hens...i think i must give a try sometime soon.Nags,boiled egg is common in most places back home for such a dish...i have heard a combo of boiled egg + bread and potatoes....Seena, Thank you very much for confirming ...yeah , even i was thinking it is the arab influence as i have heard about this stuffed camel dish in Saudi..perhaps, when they came here they didnt see any camel, so the next best thing they could think of was stuffing a goat :D i guess there they stuff a baby camel with lamb...btw, veetil varumbo paranjittu varane...eppazhum ethonnum undavilla...njan nalla oru madichiyaa :)Maya, my chicken stew doesn't have white colour either...it has a creamy shade...dont brown the onion..stop at the transparent stage. Also with any meat stews, you wont get the same colour as in potato stew, coz of the stock produced ...beef stew has much a darker shade...Thanks for the feedback...quite glad to know you tried:)Jyothsna, i was impressed too :PHappy Cook, thank you very much...Do try and let me know.. :)well you can feed your curiosity now....some of the responses confirm the existence of such a dish :) I wish I could taste it once....RP, yeah similar to turducken but here they go one step beyond the bird category and use red meat too. From the comments I recieved, such a delicacy exists...part of the arab traditions left behind....in line with their stuffed camel:) if you re using chicken breasts, you can make your fav prep more often,isn;t it? :)Pooja, ayyo enthu pattee veg'n now? noyambu aano? the stuffing u mentioned and the coconut milk gravy is new to me.....so if u have some leftover fried rice u can stuff a chicken right...much easier :)Vidya, thanks:) btw, 10 kg biryani...hmm..so they were really in for a sumptuous meal...read somewhere that they had dry fruits too..!Mathew, porotta and beef fry njangallkku vendi koodi kazhikkane....ho...orthittu vaayil vellam varunnu :( pls cook something and eat,else amma will think u were 'pattini 'there seeing all the aakraantham :DMy comfort food, thanks a bunch for confirming this :) i have heard about the sumptuous feast during salkkaaram......i wish i could be a part of it sometime :)Varsha, haha...thanks :) ho u made me more hungry.....!! now i really want to taste this dish....thanks a lot for dropping by and confirming it :)Shn stuffing chicken breast is a good idea. Looks so mouth watering...wish i was at that table. I did read the comments. Aparetnly it is famous dish, i would also like to try once that goat dish. One never knows maybe in a trip to a part of indian and suddenly you see this in a place ;-) hi mishmash, i read about this stuffed dish in 'balarama' children s mag long ago..they were telling it s an arab preparation.. it doesnt end with the goat.. the goat is then stuffed inside camel and cooked.. hows that? I would call this innovative cookin.. will def try this sometime and let u know :) This looks absolutely delicious..even the stuffed chicken breast ,deep pan fried will taste great ...Somewhere I read about stuffing the Cornish Hen cuz they are small and easy to handle..Not so sure about it ..may be you know it already...hugs and smiles What a gorgeous dish, Shn.And yes, all the craziness breaks one's heart :-( Just the other day a friend was talking about egg-in-a-chicken-in- a-goat-in-a-camel thing! and there you have written about something similar ofcourse minus the camel and the goat:)!!(also saw the same mentioned in one of the comments-so perhaps he really was not bluffing:)!Interesting recipe Mishmash..Cheers Awesome and I gonna try this soon. How interesting recipe is this. U have decribed it so well Mishmash. U ought to publish ur recipes in d newspapers here. Its such a pleasure to read ur recipes after going thro reams of disturbing newsprint. Hope someday all this comes to an end. Ending this note with a prayer that no such incidents occur in any part of my world. Let peace prevail. Btw the pictures are awesome. The recipe surely will be mindblowing.Jisha. OMG..thats a beautiful picture shn!!!..really very inviting... hi shn...i had missed out this post..this looks so new to me..have never heard of a naadan style stuffed chicken... well, don't worry mishmash, your nutcracks hadn't loaded their boat with 75 kg of mutton, they had used that space for much more hot stuff, like ammunition. well, can you imagine gun-trotting guys running into a hotel carrying loads of mutton instead of bullets and grenades ! and, they did get time to sit down and wolf down biriyani and mutton ! beware of the media, that's all i have to say. some later reports were saying the guys were high on stimulative drugs, to keep hunger and sleep at bay, which is more likely. anyway, we all watched the incidents unfold for three days, live. and, yet to get over the whole mental trauma. so, what about those who were at the hotels, the CST and dear old leopold... I bet this definitely helps with adding flavor to chicken breasts. I do think this sounds much easier than the other dishes you mentioned, very tasty too :). I'd like to share your recipe with our readers! Please let me know if you're interested.Best,Sophie, Key Ingredient Chief Bloggersophie@keyingredient.com hi ,Actually im a big fan of ur recipes...i used to try almost ur recipes n coming gr8. but Sori to tel u this one was a failure...didnt net ny expectation after the long effort.i have taken the whole chicken stuffed from frnds home it was really heaven...but this stuffing didnt came so good ,just like a north indian dal inside....me really depressed hi the stuffing was not so good as in traditional style Yes it was owesome. Your imagination into making this dish tells, you are a cook! Really appreciate what you are doing.Thank you.

With my partner a whole ocean away from me, I’m not in a very lovey-dovey mood for Valentine’s Day. That leaves plenty of time to think about what allowed Love to sneak out of courtly ballads and Shakespearean plays and into the hearts of average Americans. And no, it’s not chick lit or rom-coms. The long answer would involve reading Stephanie Coontz’s Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage – the story of how marriage made the historical shift from an economic arrangement to a partnership from which we expect love and companionship. . Oh, and by now we also expect hot sex for more years than humans used to live, period, from birth to death. Nearly 500 years ago, Martin Luther set us down this road when he rejected the Catholic insistence on procreative sex, and instead embraced pleasure in marriage. Luther liked marriage. He termed it a “hospital for lust.” Bear in mind that in those days, hospitals weren’t in the business of curing; they took the poor and the insane and the unwed-but-pregnant off the streets. They were a way of containing social problems. Bear in mind, too, that Luther thought women’s lot was to be wives and mothers, undoing some of Eve’s screw-up in the garden. Still, there’s a solid though wavy line from Luther to Susie Bright. The short answer: If we feel free to love today – or to lust outside of of the old “hospital” – we can thank two things: 1) the right to say no to sex, the key prerequisite for sighing a breathy, enthusiastic YES, and 2) reliable birth control with legal abortion as a safe backup. From the Ohio Statehouse to the House of Representatives, these rights are under more ferocious fire than I can recall in the post-Roe era. But it’s a holiday, and so instead of gloom, let there be satire! It’s the more festive response – and maybe more effective , too. Here’s Kristen Schaal of the Daily Show, mocking the piss out of the “No Taxpayer Money for Abortions” crowd. I used this in class last week to illuminate rape myths, and students got it like never before. (Does this mean college administrators will one day replace me with a semi-random mix off the tubes?) And I knew I liked Felicity Huffman anyway (Lynnette is my favorite housewife, of course) but now I’m besotted: (Via Rachel at Women’s Health News – If you can’t see either clip from your blog reader, click on through and say hey while you’re here.) Take that to your next Tea Party, and sip it! Happy Valentine’s Day to all, especially to those of you who are celebrating it alone with chocolate, champagne, or blogging. (I’ve only got two out of three but am wondering why I am too cheap to open the champagne sans partner. Wandering off to the kitchen now to rectify what I can …) From a crypt in the All Saints Church of Wittenberg, a baffled “WTF?!?” can be heard! Thanks to the weirdness that is Twitter, Susie Bright actually saw this post and wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or queasy. I told her the former, for sure. So I guess the “WTF?” resounded at both historical endpoints.

Supposedly nowadays you can play Dwarf Fortress at the console, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. The 40d19 version for Linux which was released a few months ago allows you to set some options and send output to the console instead of its conventional SDL “translation,” if I understand it right. For me it’s kind of a bad thing, since it draws me back toward the game again, and it took weeks for me to break away from it last time. I have gotten tips from people on how to get it working, but my results are not very impressive. That’s a step forward for me, but there’s something missing. An email suggested using fbterm — which we all remember as the magic behind the wallpapered console, right? — plus the Terminus font, but to be honest, I don’t know if that’s better. Maybe a little more readable, but nothing to distinguish between different icons and a lot of screen artifacts, if I can use that word for a console environment. It does appear to be some sort of font issue though, where the default arrangement is spattering stuff everywhere. Perhaps there is a better font, or some other flag that I should be aware of. I suppose I should mention that starting the same setup under X was more or less the same. Interesting though, that the music works fine for me at the console, and while it’s visually discombobulated, it’s still playing as it should. I just can’t see what I’m doing. For future reference, I set this up by installing the dependencies listed for the graphical version of Dwarf Fortress in the Arch Linux repositories, then decompressing the 40d19 version into my home directory. Inside the data/init/ folder is an init.txt file, and the magic happens by setting the PRINT_MODE variable to TEXT. I would also suggest sifting through some of the other variables, since most of them will be set for a graphical environment, and you will probably want to turn them off. For fbterm, this is the command that was suggested by Kyle a couple of months ago. fbterm -n "Terminus" -s "12" --font-width="12" --cursor-shape=1 Kyle also mentioned that sub-1Ghz machines suffer even with the console version, which may or may not be good news to you, depending on your perspective. For me, that would be a good thing … because it means less time lost playing Dwarf Fortress on a leftover Pentium. In any case, if you’ve had better luck than me, please let me know how you got it going cleanly. I don’t need the distraction, but I do like challenges. I’ve been looking at DF a couple of times, it is something that looks really interesting about it, it’s just that it looks so complex, so I’m thinking that it is a bit much for me, I mean I still haven’t managed to get deeper than 6 levels in stone soup, and that more or less blows my mind already that is a lot of fun though Well. This looks like UTF-8 with the terminal set to something else. I’ve had the same problem back then… Maybe try the newer 0.31.11 version: Maybe it’s using xterm’s 256 color extension, fbterm supports it but you have to set TERM to “fbterm” That’s a good idea. I’ll try that the next time I install it, and see if it has any effect. I’ve been wondering how long it was until you picked this up Unfortunately I was hoping you would have clear-cut instructions, as I’ve been having the same issues I don’t think this could help you in your actual problem, but I’ve found you can play the win version with the linux sh file (wich is nice for all the only-windows-mods of DF) I notice similar display errors when playing Nethack with DECgraphics option on in fbterm Slight update – the Terminus font has a few issues. But I made a little tool that will convert DF’s PNG tilemaps to a TTF font for fbterm to use. Naturally, it works best on the “simpler” ASCII-esque tilesets. More here:

Search Patterns is not a technical book: it’s about design and user experience. It’s about what people prefer, what people are used to and what people would benefit most from when it comes to searching. And no, it’s not just about searching the web at the desktop: the book also presents some examples of searching on your mobile or even on TV and on kiosks. The book starts reflecting on how search is so often synonym of “the box”. We are now at a moment in time when we need to question that box and think outside of it. The anatomy of search, as the authors put it, is made of five elements: users, interface, engine, content and creators. All these elements influence and most support several patterns of behavior. How can we change design to improve the search experience is a key part of this book. A whole chapter is dedicated to the principles of search design: - incremental construction - progressive disclosure - immediate response - alternate views - predictability - recognition over recall - minimal disruption - direct manipulation - context of use. And then, we go into the design patterns: - autocomplete - best first - federated search - faceted navigation - advanced search - personalisation - pagination - structured results - actionable results - unified discovery. Search Patterns is not the type of book I typically review for KMOL. So, why did I decide to review it? Three reasons. First, I am unfortunately too aware of how user experience design is so often disregarded. And, yet, it can be a make or break in a project. It is important to help non-designers see the impact it can have and provide guidelines, ideas and examples of how to do it better. Second, knowledge management is a lot more than the tools and certainly a lot more than data and information. However, finding information, data and knowledge, easily, in the right format and when we most need it is one of the main challenges of organisations today. Looking at this challenge from the “search” perspective is a great complement to the usual KMers perspective: creation and storage. Third, search is like an octopus that extends its arms in many different directions, feeding from and impacting many different areas. Reflecting about search is reflecting about people, information architecture, taxonomy, context, business strategy, etc.. And these are all core to proper, strategic knowledge management. I have to say I really enjoyed the book. It’s written in a simple, yet almost poetic, way and includes loads of illustrated examples. It’s a great book for designers and user experience professionals, but also information science professionals, developers and knowledge management professionals. In the book’s companion site you can find information about the authors and also many of the examples shared in the book – Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender. Note: Resumo em português disponível aqui. Pingback: KMOL » Blog Archive » Search Patterns: Design for Discovery Gostei de teu review deste livro. Como acabei de receber pela Amazon o “Visual Thinking for Design” de Colin Ware, que ainda não li, e que de um certo modo trata do mesmo assunto por outro enfoque. Nossa percepção é visual por excelência. Há que se entendê-la melhor. Mãos à luta.

In the summers of my school years I delivered flowers, taught karate and once had a lemonade stand. But I never had a video game summer job. If I did, maybe I'd have imitated 14-year-old Giovanni Holmes. Giovanni is running a video game website this summer. He's trying to turn it into a social network. And his dad is paying him nine Canadian dollars an hour to do it, for five hours a day, Monday through Friday. Why'd he start this gig? "My dad wanted me to get a summer job." What are his hours? "From when I wake up until five hours later." Nice! Away from the shine of the sun, Giovanni Holmes has secured himself one terrific summer job. He's done better than our own Luke Plunkett, who, in 2003 tolerated a single summer selling games at an Electronics Boutique. He's got a more lucrative summer gaming gig than our own Brian Crecente did as a precocious kid, who spent the summer of '82 running an Atari arcade, charging other kids 10 cents to play a game, just a nickel if they could beat him (that's crafty of you, boss!). Giovanni's video game summer job is arguably even healthier than that of our Michael McWhertor, who did a few summers working an arcade in Orlando where he says that in the process of repairing pinball machines he occasionally electrocuted himself. Giovanni has a friend who is delivering newspapers this summer. Terrible! The friend's uncle is in the newspaper business. He's got friends who do babysitting. "I baby-sat once," Giovanni told me during a phone interview. "I don't hate it. If they're good kids it's not so bad." Newspaper delivery and babysitting may be nice, but they are not the thing Giovanni describes the building of video game websites as: "a growing market." More people are playing games, he reasons, and more of them are reading about games on the Internet. Because of this, when Giovanni's dad was nudging him to think about a summer job way back in April, Giovanni decided to build on dad's own profession as a website designer and craft a site of his own about video games. Giovanni's a gamer, of course, with his very own Xbox 360 that overheats from time to time. As spring turned to summer, Giovanni launched MoneyGamerz. He writes video game articles on it, based on news he picks up from sites like this one. He does that to keep people visiting, a necessary task to building a social network. The article writing is the hardest part, he told me. "If I get an idea from IGN or your website I won't copy the article word for word. I'll change the sentences around and make sure the article is my own." The real purpose of the site, however, isn't to inform but to build a community of gamers. That's where the MoneyGamerz points system kicks in. Refer a friend to the site and get them to register. You wind up with points. Comment. You get points. Do this enough and you can cash those points in for free games or even consoles (you have to comment a lot for that.) This is not an easy plan to execute. Giovanni says his site currently has just 36 members and he hasn't thought through the economics of the points system, whether, should MoneyGamerz be a bigger hit than the average lemonade stand, he and his dad could afford to give everyone the consoles their points would earn them. "I'm not really obsessing over the numbers," he said. "I kind of want it to grow on its own." Giovanni says he likes his video game summer job better than he thought he would and can see a future that has him working in the gaming market when he gets older. He was expecting this summer work stuff to not be much fun. Now he wants to work extra hours. With a pay scale like he's got, it beats mowing lawns. Have you ever had a video game summer job? Tell us about it below. PIC: Five year-old girl runs a lemonade stand in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise, Bill Hughes)

S Visceral Games at the helm, the franchise is being fine-tuned with a gold and chrome toolkit. The Devil's Cartel doesn't remove anything that made Army of Two great, especially Aggro, which determined how enemies decided on which player to attack based on the player's aggressiveness. The more firepower one of two cooperative players lays on the enemy, the more the enemy combatants focus their attention on the rainmaker. Only in The Devil's Cartel, Aggro isn't a visible feature. It happens all in the background. Players don't get a bar that shows who's nearly invisible and who's the wedding singer; they'll just have to figure that out on their own. In my playtime, that determination was easy to tell. It's common sense when the bad guys are more interested in your partner than you, or vice versa. Not having a gauge to tell players that they have a bigger target painted on their back actually makes the game a more challenging and fun. Of course, it also makes strategic strikes using Aggro more difficult to pull off…but more rewarding when done right. Every other aspect of the game has undergone significant improvements, from graphics thanks to Frostbite 2 to the friendly AI for solo players actively changing its behavior based on player gameplay. Previously marketed features like gun customization and a wardrobe that would please an 18th century czarina return with little to no change. The biggest difference from switching developers is really the two protagonists, or rather, the toned down testosterone levels. Rookies to Tactical Worldwide Operations (TWO of Army of Two), both are just starting out for the PMC. There's hesitation, discretion, and minimal carefree swagger. That doesn't mean that Salem and Rios are gone for good; Visceral has confirmed that the buddies are still kicking it for TWO, but they aren't playable characters. What their role is has yet to be revealed. The 10-hour campaign, while seemingly short, will include a number of different game modes beyond the drop-in cooperative play. They will all be cooperative, but Visceral declined to share details about those different modes. And to match with the story, cooperative play will always be two-player. If you're a solo gamer, you may end up enjoying the The Devil's Cartel even more because you don't have to deal with the most heinous of gamer problems: bad teammates. The friendly AI, while not yet fully developed, will be player-commanded via the D-pad, and its play style will be partially determined on the weapons loadout players assign. Give it a sniper rifle and it'll play a support role, or a shotgun to quickly take on Aggro early in a firefight. Additionally Visceral has introduced a new feature called Overkill, which makes players practically invincible and super-powerful for a few seconds. One or both squad mates can activate it, and when combined they double the strength of firepower again. Destructible environments just turn into mush and enemies…well, into limbless husks. The cooperative game wouldn't feel right without a lot of cinematic treatment and gusto from heavy action sequences, but it won't ever be just watching. The trailer showed just one aspect of that, where after one rookie catches the other from plummeting to his doom, a helicopter comes out of nowhere and the cinematic turns into a special section of gameplay where both players have to shoot the chopper down…while hanging on to each other. Cinematics will never be about sitting back and watching according to Visceral; if you're watching, you aren't playing. Maybe the key to making a highly successful Army of Two game lies in the franchise's core concept — cooperation. EA Montreal set the play and passed the ball. Now it's up to Visceral to run with it. Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel will release in March 2013.

12:00 pm Mon February 11, 2013 Toy Fair: Markers That Don't Blot Walls, Sand Without The. Vast acres of displays baldly appeal to the nostalgia of today's 30-to 40-something parents. Whole city blocks worth of booths are crammed with Mario Bros., Pacman and Star Wars figurines, Hello Kitties, Slinkies, and Big Wheels The main difference between those toys of thirty years ago and today, it seems, is the presence of USB ports. More than 30,000 people have registered to attend Toy Fair this year. Actual children are not allowed. It's all buyers and sellers, makers and takers. The biggest trends besides nostalgia are building toys — the most popular toy segment on the market right now — and toys tapping into design and style, exactly what parents tend to follow on their favorite TV reality shows. Kids have always enjoyed imitating the ways of grownups in play. And sure enough, my own unofficial survey of the 1,000-plus booths revealed trends in temporary tattoos and extravagant fake mustaches. One booth sold a combination: fake mustache tattoos. Had it also involved a nostalgic nod to ZZ Top, that booth may well have been mobbed. Some of the biggest purveyors of play — Lego and Crayola, for example — did not have booths at Toy Fair. Instead, they had fortresses: Giant, bright dividers guarded by stern PR types separated casual lookie-loos from the trendiest, most cutting-edge, new toys. One had to be approved in advance for an appointment. The Crayola people kindly took me around for a private tour. That's where I learned that holiday shopping season starts in late summer for the biggest toy makers. (It takes that long to create buzz.) Among the Crayola products coming out in July are magic markers that magically only write on proprietary paper developed by the company. That way, when your three-year-old wreaks havoc with a fat red marker and scribbles all over the couch, the walls and herself, the only visible red marks will be seen on that special Crayola paper. The company's also developed digital graphic design tools allowing young children to play with digital effects with their drawings and photos, including airbrushing — a skill I suppose can't be taught too early these days. Innovation was hardly lacking outside the corporate compounds. I was fascinated by the "Sand Puff," perhaps best described as high-tech sand. Imagine lighter, fluffier bread dough, but sandy. It's malleable enough to twist and mold into shapes — even castles! — but also fun to stretch, finger and tear. Sand Puff comes from South Korea and it's made, said the booth attendant, from "seashell powder and natural moisturizing oil." Stuffed animals have somehow gotten even cuter since I was a kid — more cuddly, more personable, more convincing. It's possible my favorite toys at the fair were the plush horses, as large as Newfoundlands, so soft and sensitive you could almost hear them nicker. Best of all, they're outfitted like tricycles, so you could actually ride these giant stuffed animals around. I mean, you could if you were little. (Neda Ulaby is a reporter for NPR's Arts Desk.) 9(MDAxODM0NzY4MDEyMTY4NTkyNzMzZTEyMA004))

Therapy, Ethics, Malpractice, Forensics, Critical Thinking (and a few other topics) This psychology site was designed to be fully accessible for people with disabilities (see below) and user-friendly to all visitors. For convenience, any of the major sections -- as well as the 3 other web sites (see "Ken's Other Sites") -- can be accessed immediately by using the menu that runs along the left side of each page. The site provides free access to a variety of articles from journals such as American Psychologist (currently 10 from this source); British Medical Journal; Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology; Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice; Psychology, Public Policy, & Law; Annual Review of Clinical Psychology; American Journal of Psychiatry; International Journal of Law & Psychiatry; and Professional Psychology: Research & Practice -- as well as the complete contents of a book (Children, Ethics, & the Law). It also provides other free resources such as: - links to psychology licensing laws and continuing education regulations in Canada and the United States along with contact information and related resources for each psychology licensing board in the two countries - over 100 ethics codes and practice standards for assessment, therapy, counseling, & forensic practice developed by professional organizations (e.g., of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, marriage & family counselors) - therapists' guide to preparing a professional will - informed consent: professional standards, sample forms, & key references - a malingering assessment research update providing cites & summaries for malingering assessment studies that have been published in peer-reviewed journals from January, 2001, to the present - 22 kinds of logical fallacies in psychology - resources for therapists who are stalked, threatened, or attacked by patients - ethics in psychology: 7 essentials - recent Research on Assessing Risk of Violence: Studies Published in 2012 & 2013 - over 100 online resources for torture victims, refugees, detainees, & asylum seekers - links to resources on boundary issues in psychotherapy: widely-used guides, stats, trends, research, & resources - links to resources for military personnel, their families, & those who provide services to them - over 300 cites of articles, books, and chapters on the controversy over psychologists and physicians participating in detainee interrogations - 8 bogus apologies: ethics, critical thinking, & language - 21 cognitive strategies to justify any unethical behavior - resources for finding health insurance and free or low cost medications (listed under "medication help") - 7 common fallacies and pitfalls that plague psychological testing and assessment - forensic assessment checklist - sample agreement between expert witness & attorney The journal articles and other resources are in this site's 27 major sections: assessment; psychology professor Bev Greene's images of Ground Zero; boundaries in therapy; psychological interventions for people with cancer resources; caregiver resources; Carolyn Payton's bio & a quote about ethics; detainee interrogations, physicians, & psychologists; Psychologists & detainee interrogations; end-of-life resources; over 100 ethics codes & practice guidelines for therapy, counseling, assessment, & forensics; articles on ethics & malpractice; fallacies & pitfalls in psychology; forgiveness resources; psychology laws & licensing boards; falacies & pitfalls in psychology; informed consent; psychology laws & licensing boards in Canada & the United States; resources for U.S. troops, veterans, their families, & those who provide services to them; resources for finding affordable health insurance and medications; memory & abuse; mindfulness resources for clinical training & practice; sexual issues in therapy, counseling, teaching, & the lives of psychologists; resources for therapists who are stalked, threatened, or attacked by patient; suicide; the therapist as a person; resources for torture survivors, refugees, and asylum-seekers; and resources for psychologists, physicians, & other health care professionals wanting to volunteer their services to people in need. You'll also find various pages with more information about the material on the site (e.g., please see copyright & disclaimers). Some of the material that was originally on this site has been moved to 3 other sites: 1) Please follow this link to the Accessibility & Disability web site, which provides information and resources on 10 topics: Articles on Accessibility in Psychology Graduate Education & Practice; the American Psychological Association Disability Mentoring Program; Accessibility Laws & Regulations; Court Adjudications, Formal Settlements, and Letters of Agreement: Disability, Accessibility, and Universities; Articles on Accessibility in Higher Education or Professional Licensing; Court Adjudications; Resources for Accessible Books & Articles; Assistive Technology for Computers & Printed Material; Articles on Web Accessibility, the ADA, & Civil Rights; Web Accessibility Verifiers; & 7 Easy Steps Toward Web Site Accessibility. 2) Please follow this link to the site providing information and resources for companion, assistance, and special-needs animals; that site's major topics are: animal emergencies, poison, & first aid; where to look for adoptions, fostering, & placements for companion animals; animal-friendly travel & lodging; finding missing animals; pet bereavement; companion animals and people with HIV or AIDS; health & behavior of companion animals; animal protection & welfare; where to look for special-needs animal adoptions, fostering, & placements; health & behavior information & resources for special-needs animals; equipment for special-needs animals; therapy, guide, hearing, and other assistance animals. 3) Please follow this link to the site providing photographs and stories of a family of special-needs cats & dogs . As mentioned earlier,. Although the navigation bar, which appears along the left side of each page, provides access to each section of this web site, below is a sample of some of the full-text articles and related materials available on this site. Full-text Articles Published research and other works on the Therapist As Person: Therapists as Patients, as Abuse Survivors, and as People who Experience Fear, Anger, and Hatred Therapists as Patients: A National Survey of Psychologists' Experiences, Problems, and Beliefs [Professional Psychology] Therapists' Anger, Hate, Fear, and Sexual Feelings: National Survey of Therapist Responses, Client Characteristics, Critical Events, Formal Complaints, and Training [Professional Psychology] National Survey of Psychologists' Sexual and Physical Abuse History and Their Evaluation of Training and Competence in These Areas [Professional Psychology] The Experience of 'Forgetting' Childhood Abuse: A National Survey of Psychologists [Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology] Discussing Death With Children [U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Child Development, Children's Bureau] Therapist's Guide To Preparing a Professional Will [American Psychological Association] Clinical Practice Strategies Outside The Realm Of Managed Care [annual meeting of the American Psychological Association] Boundary Issues in Psychotherapy and Counseling Dual Relationships: Trends, Stats, Guides, & Resources. A Practical Approach to Boundaries in Psychotherapy: Making Decisions, Bypassing Blunders, and Mending Fences. Nonsexual Multiple Relationships & Boundaries in Psychotherapy. An Essential Article on Boundaries: How The Field Began To Focus on Distinguishing Boundary Crossings (Helpful or Neutral) from Boundary Violations (Harmful) in the Early 1990s. Study Calling for Changes in the APA Ethics Code regarding Dual Relationships, Multiple Relationships, & Boundary Decisions [American Psychologist] Dual Relationships Between Therapist and Client: A National Study of Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and Social Workers [Professional Psychology] The Concept of Boundaries in Clinical Practice: Theoretical and Risk-Management Dimensions [American Journal of Psychiatry] Avoiding Exploitive Dual Relationships: A Decision-making Model [Psychotherapy] Ethical Decision-making and Dual Relationships [Jeffrey Younggren] Nonsexual Multiple Relationships: A Practical Decision-Making Model For Clinicians [Janet L. Sonne] Misuses and Misunderstandings of Boundary Theory in Clinical and Regulatory Settings [American Journal of Psychiatry] Published Research and Other Works on Ethical & Legal (e.g., Malpractice) Dilemmas of Therapists, Counselors, & Professors Ethics for Psychologists: 7 Essentials [excerpt from Ethics in Psychotherapy & Counseling, 3rd Edition] Contrasting Ethical Policies of Physicians & Psychologists Concerning Detainee Interrogations [British Medical Journal] Psychologists Abandon the Nuremberg Ethic: Concerns for Detainee Interrogations [International Journal of Law & Psychiatry] Steps in Ethical Decision-Making [excerpt from Ethics in Psychotherapy & Counseling, 3rd Edition] 21 Cognitive Strategies To Justify Any Unethical Behavior [excerpt from What Therapists Don't Talk About and Why: Understanding Taboos That Hurt Us and Our Clients] Developing & Practicing Ethics [chapter in The Portable Mentor: Expert Guide to a Successful Career in Psychology] Ethics of Practice: The Beliefs and Behaviors of Psychologists as Therapists [American Psychologist] Ethics of Teaching: Beliefs and Behaviors of Psychologists as Educators [American Psychologist] Ethical Dilemmas Encountered by Members of the American Psychological Association [American Psychologist] Informed Consent: Sample Forms, Standards, Guildelines, & References; 8 Bogus Apologies: Ethics, Critical Thinking, & Language When Laws and Values Conflict: A Dilemma for Psychologists [American Psychologist] Malpractice & Licensing Pitfalls for Therapists: A Defense Attorney's List [Innovations in Clinical Practice] Disability, Accessibility, & Ethics in Psychology: 3 Barriers [Ethics & Behavior] HIPAA & Forensic Practice [American Psychology Law Society News, American Psychological Association Division 41] Identifying and Implementing Ethical Standards for Primary Prevention [Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community] On Violating Ethical Standards: 20 Easy Steps [Ethics in Psychotherapy & Counseling] When The Therapist Doesn't Know What To Do: Some Steps That May Help [American Psychological Association] Ethical and Malpractice Issues in Hospital Practice [American Psychologist] The Ethics of Research Involving Memories of Trauma [General Hospital Psychiatry] AIDS & HIV Infection Update: New Research, Ethical Responsibilities, Evolving Legal Frameworks, and Useful Resources [Innovations in Clinical Practice] Psychologists' Use of E-mail with Clients: Some Ethical Considerations [Ohio Psychologist] Children, Ethics, & the Law [full text of a book originally published by University of Nebraska Press] Published Research and Other Works on Therapists' Sexual Attraction to Patients, Therapist-Patient Sex, Professor-Student Sex, and Sexual Dilemmas in Therapy & Counseling Sexual Intimacy in Psychology Training: Results and Implications of a National Survey [American Psychologist] Sexual Attraction to Clients: The Human Therapist and the (Sometimes) Inhuman Training System [American Psychologist] Sex Between Therapists and Clients [Academic Press] Prior Therapist-patient Sexual Involvement Among Patients Seen by Psychologists [Psychotherapy] Therapist-Patient Sexual Intimacy Involving Children and Adolescents [American Psychologist] Therapist-patient Sex as Sex Abuse: Six Scientific, Professional, and Practical Dilemmas in Addressing Victimization and Rehabilitation [Professional Psychology] Testing & Assessment Deposition and Cross-examination Questions on Psychological Tests & Psychometrics [American Psychological Association] Responsibilities in Providing Psychological Test Feedback to Clients [Psychological Assessment] Fallacies & Pitfalls in Psychological Assessment: 7 Examples HIPAA & Forensic Practice [American Psychology Law Society News, American Psychological Association Division 41] MMPI-A in Forensic Practice [Oxford University Press] Forensic Assessment Checklist [American Psychological Association] Pearson Assessments HIPAA Regulations FAQ [Pearon Assessments] Torture Psychological Assessment of Torture Survivors: Essential Steps, Avoidable Errors, and Helpful Resource [International Journal of Law & Psychiatry] Responding to Victims of Torture: Clinical Issues, Professional Responsibilities, and Useful Resources [Professional Psychology] Fallacies & Pitfalls in Psychology Logical Fallacies in Psychology: 22 Types Fallacies & Pitfalls in Psychological Assessment: 7 Examples 21 Cognitive Strategies To Justify Any Unethical Behavior 8 Bogus Apologies: Ethics, Critical Thinking, & Language Detainee Interrogations, Psychologists, & Other Health Care Professionals "Are the American Psychological Association’s Detainee Interrogation Policies Ethical and Effective? Key Claims, Documents, and Results" [Zeitschrift für Psychologie / Journal of Psychology] "Psychologists and Detainee Interrogations: Key Decisions, Opportunities Lost, and Lessons Learned" [Annual Review of Clinical Psychology] "Contrasting Ethical Policies of Physicians & Psychologists Concerning Detainee Interrogations" [British Medical Journal] "Psychologists Abandon the Nuremberg Ethic: Concerns for Detainee Interrogations"[International Journal of Law and Psychiatry] "American Psychological Association's Post-9-11Ethics for Detainee Interrogations" [Psychiatric Times] 300+ Published Articles on Psychologists' & Physicians' Involvement in Detainee Interrogations Suicide Responding To Suicidal Risk Memory & Abuse: The Recovered Memory Controversy Pseudoscience, Cross-examination, and Scientific Evidence in the Recovered Memory Controversy [Psychology, Public Policy, and Law] Memory, Abuse, and Science: Questioning Claims about the False Memory Syndrome Epidemic--Award address for the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Service [American Psychologist] Science As Careful Questioning: Are Claims of a False Memory Syndrome Epidemic Based on Empirical Evidence? [American Psychologist] What Psychologists Better Know About Recovered Memories: Research, Lawsuits, and the Pivotal Experiment [Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice] The Facade of Scientific Documentation: A Case Study of Richard Ofshe's Analysis of the Paul Ingram Case [Psychology, Public Policy & Law] The Therapeutic Relationship As The Foundation for Treatment with Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse [Psychotherapy] Sample Agreement Sample Agreement Between Expert Witness & Attorney by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP, James N. Butcher, Ph.D., & Joyce Seelen, J.D. [American Psychological Association] Books Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide, (Fourth Edition, 2011) by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP & Melba J. T. Vasquez, Ph.D., ABPP Publisher: Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley). "A stunningly good book.... If there is only one book you buy on ethics, this is the one." --David H. Barlow, Ph.D, ABPP; Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Boston University What Therapists Don't Talk About and Why: Taboos That Hurt Us and Our Clients by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP, Janet L. Sonne, Ph.D., and Beverly Greene, PhD., ABPP Publisher: American Psychological Association ." Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry Harvard University How To Survive and Thrive as a Therapist: Information, Ideas, & Resources for Psychologists by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP & Melba J. T. Vasquez, Ph.D., ABPP Publisher: American Psychological Association "This comprehensive practical guidebook is a must for all new and seasoned clinicians. From attorneys to ethics, from billing to possible errors in logic--it is all here. A remarkable compendium. Kudos to Pope and Vasquez!" --Donald Meichenbaum, PhD, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada The MMPI, MMPI-2, and MMPI-A in Court: A Practical Guide for Expert Witnesses and Attorneys (3nd Edition) by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP, James N. Butcher, Ph.D., and Joyce Seelen, Esq., Publisher: American Psychological Association "A must for every trial lawyer's library." -- Patricia C. Bobb, Esq., Board of Governors, Association of Trial Lawyers of America Sexual Feelings In Psychotherapy:Explorations for Therapists and Therapists-in-Training by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP, Janet Sonne, Ph.D. & Jean Holroyd, Ph.D. Publisher: Sexual Involvement With Therapists: Patient Assessment, Subsequent Therapy, Forensics by by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP. Publisher: American Psychological Association "A landmark contribution. The research, forms, and lists of cross-examination questions will be invaluable to subsequent therapists who appear in court. This unique resource is essential reading for expert witnesses and trial attorneys." -- Nancy Adel, Esq., Partner, Law Firm of Adel & Pollack Sexual Intimacy Between Therapists and Patients by Kenneth S. Pope & Jacqueline Bouhoutsos "A thoroughly unique, impressively comprehensive, and long-awaited contribution. A storehouse of information. Plaintiff and defense lawyers and expert witnesses would be well advised to be aware of its contents." --Jay Ziskin, Ph.D., LL.B. Past President, American Psychology-Law Law and Mental Health Professionals: California by Brandt Caudill & Kenneth S. Pope, Publisher: American Psychological Association Abstracts National Survey of Social Workers' Sexual Attraction to their Clients: Results, Implications, and Comparison to Psychologists [Ethics & Behavior] Licensing Disciplinary Actions for Psychologists Who Have Been Sexually Involved with a Client [Professional Psychology] The Ethics of Counseling: A National Survey of Certified Counselors [Journal of Counseling & Development] Are 25% of Clinicians Using Potentially Risky Therapeutic Practices? A Review of the Logic and Methodology of the Poole, Lindsay et al. Study [Journal of Psychiatry & Law] Therapists' Sexual Feelings and Behaviors: Research, Trends, and Quandaries. [John Wiley and Sons] A Community Psychology of Ethics [American Journal of Community Psychology] AIDS and HIV Infection Update: New Research, Ethical Responsibilities, Evolving Legal Frameworks, and Published Resources [Innovations in Clinical Practice] Sexual Behavior Between Clinical Supervisors and Trainees: Implications for Professional Standards [Professional Psychology] Seven Issues in Conducting Forensic Assessments: Ethical Responsibilities in Light of New Standards and New Tests [Ethics & Behavior] Therapist-patient Sexual Involvement: A Review of the Research [Clinical Psychology Review] Fee assessment and outpatient psychotherapy [Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology] Other Resources - Resources for caregivers: websites, books, & articles - Forgiveness Resources for Therapists & Counselors - Resources for Those Looking for Nursing Homes or Hospices, Or Who Are Facing End-of-Life Challenges - Resources for People with Cancer (Breast Cancer; Prostate Cancer; Lung Cancer; Colorectal Cancer; Exercise & Cancer; Psychological Aspects of Cancer) - Recent Research on Assessing Risk of Violence: Studies Published in 2012 & 2013 - Links to resources for military personnel, their families, & those who provide serves to them - Links to over 100 resources for refugees, torture victims, & asylum seekers - Links to Psychological Interventions for People with Cancer: Therapy & Self-Help - Mindfulness Resources for Clinical Training & Practice - Links to resources for Informed Consent in Psychotherapy & Counseling: Forms, Standards & Guidelines, & References - Links to resources for Dual Relationships, Multiple Relationships, & Boundary Decisions - Resources for Therapists Who Are Stalked, Threatened, or Attacked by Patients Thanks for Visiting! Thanks for visiting this site. I hope you find the information helpful. The materials listed above are a small sample of what's available on this site, and more will be added. You can use the navigation bar on the left side of each page to travel to each of the sections. Again: Welcome!

Now Playing Podcasts & RSS Feeds Connect with Us Behind the Mics The Two-Way 1:22 pm Thu November 15, 2012 BP Settlement Of Little Comfort To Some, A 'Down Payment' To Others Originally published on Thu November 15, 2012 5:36 pm There's mixed reaction this afternoon to the news that BP has agreed to a deal with federal authorities to pay $4.5 billion in criminal and civil penalties related to the 2010 Gulf Oil spill. Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, calls the fines and penalties appropriate. "People died, BP lied to Congress, and millions of barrels of oil poured into the Gulf," he says. "This steep cost to BP will provide the Gulf coast some of the funds needed to restore the region, and will hopefully deliver some comfort and closure to the families and businesses affected by the spill." But the news is little comfort to some families. Baton Rouge attorney Chris Jones lost his 28-year-old brother, Gordon Jones, in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. He says BP has never apologized to his family, and is only cutting a deal with the federal government to resume business. "I just want Gordon back but that's not going to happen," Jones says. "Unfortunately all BP has to do is write a check and they're back in operation." On the Gulf Coast, the settlement comes as a reminder of what the region suffered, both economically and environmentally when BP's blown-out Macondo well spewed uncontrolled for nearly 3 months. "You would want to think it was really just an accident," says Mike Voisin, a seventh-generation Louisiana oysterman who chairs the Gulf Seafood Marketing Coalition. "But if things happened that were criminal than it makes it maybe more than just an accident." Voisin says it's a relief that federal prosecutors are holding BP accountable, and says all the parties should work diligently to make sure a disaster of this magnitude never happens again. Today's agreement only covers federal criminal charges and civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission. BP remains in talks with the Justice Department and state governments to resolve a civil lawsuit that could lead to billions of dollars in additional fines and charges under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act. Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation, calls the criminal settlement "a good down payment" on restoration of the Gulf and its communities. "We look forward to working toward a full settlement that will not only hold BP and all other parties responsible for the devastation of the Gulf oil disaster, but deter future violations by sending a clear message that America holds reckless polluters fully accountable," he says. In Alabama, where beaches were oiled and the state's tourist industry suffered a financial blow, Attorney General Luther Strange says he's still preparing to press the state's case that BP was grossly negligent. "BP's criminal acts levied economic and environmental damages of historic proportions upon Alabama, and these damages are not covered under today's agreement," Strange says. A New Orleans federal judge has set a February trial date for the federal and state civil claims against BP. Separately, the company has agreed to pay an estimated $7.8 billion dollars to settlement economic and medical claims brought individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill. (NPR's Debbie Elliott is based in Alabama. Click here to see some of her reports on the Gulf Oil Spill.) 9(MDA4MjMxOTIyMDEzMTcxNjAzMzFmMjBhZQ001))

Now Playing Podcasts & RSS Feeds Connect with Us Behind the Mics It's All Politics 2:34 am Fri March 8, 2013 Senate Mostly Blamed For Agency And Court Vacancies, But Obama Isn't Helping Originally published on Fri March 8, 2013. 9(MDA4MzM1MjM1MDEzMTg5NTk0MzNmOTQ5MA004)) Transcript STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. Some workers dream about having no boss. Thousands of federal workers are living that dream. Many Federal agencies, commissions and courts are operating without permanent leadership. Sometimes the White House has been slow to nominate anyone. Often the Senate has not confirmed President Obama's nominees. New York University's Paul Light says Republican senators have strategic reasons to confirm nominees very slowly. PAUL LIGHT: It's a Napoleonic approach to defeating the president and reducing big government. I mean if you don't like the law, the Constitution is quite explicit. You're obligated to repeal the law. But in recent decades that has all changed. If you don't like a law now, and you can't repeal it, decapitate the agency and eviscerate its capacity to execute the law. INSKEEP: For example, keep it from having any administration-appointed senior officials. Just to be clear, this has nothing to do with automatic spending cuts or any of the other budget battles in Washington. It's a story of hiring, or not hiring, key members of an administration. We're going to talk about the effects with a group of NPR correspondents, starting with NPR's Brian Naylor. Brian, good morning. BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve. INSKEEP: How many agencies, commissions, courts are we talking about here? NAYLOR: Well, according to one count from the folks at ProPublica, there are 68 vacant positions at the end of the president's first term, which is more than the previous two administrations. INSKEEP: And we're not just talking about 68 jobs. This is 68 top jobs here. NAYLOR: These are top jobs. There's a key Medicare agency that hasn't had a permanent director since 2006. The Federal Election Commission, which has had commissioners held over on expired terms. There's the National Labor Relations Board, which President Obama filled with some recess appointments, but those were deemed unconstitutional by a federal appeals court - though they still remain in office. There are also plenty of lower level vacancies that the administration hasn't gotten around to filling so far, but those have less of an impact. INSKEEP: OK. So elections, the workplace, Medicare, Medicaid, these are agencies that have something to say about huge swaths of American life. What is the effect of them not having heads? NAYLOR: Well, you know, just imagine. I mean they're treading water on policy and personnel issues, sometimes key decisions get put off, and frankly lost opportunity. If you're the president and you don't have your folks in place, it's a lost opportunity to affect policy. INSKEEP: All right. You mentioned a Medicare agency. Let's bring in NPR's Julie Rovner, who covers health policy. Julie, what is that agency and what's the effect here? JULIE ROVNER, BYLINE: It's the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It's actually a lot bigger than that. It handles not only Medicare and Medicaid, but the Children's Heath Insurance Program and now a big chunk of the Affordable Care Act. Together, in 2011, it handled about 21 percent of the budget, $769 billion - that was bigger, by some accounts, than the Defense Department. And as you mentioned, there has not been a Senate-confirmed head since 2006. So that dates back to the Bush administration. INSKEEP: So we hear about the defense secretary. We just had a confirmation battle over the defense secretary. This is somebody whose job in dollar terms is perhaps bigger. ROVNER: That is correct. And... INSKEEP: Who is it right now? ROVNER: It is right now, there is an acting administrator, Marilyn Tabner; she's been acting for about a year. Before that there had been another acting administrator, Don Berwick, who is respected by just about every health authority in the United States, apparently, except the United States Senate, who refused to confirm him. Before that the Democrats refused to confirm the last Bush appointee. And now, of course, it became a huge conflagration over the Affordable Care Act; that's why the Republicans said they would filibuster first Don Berwick and now they're not so sure about Marilyn Tabner. So again, there's simply been an acting director of this agency. INSKEEP: OK. Let me bring in NPR's Yuki Noguchi, who covers financial matters - because there's a special battle over the head of a particular agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which you cover. YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: Yeah. That has a director, Richard Cordray, who was appointed through a recess appointment, which is now being disputed. And the Republicans in the Senate are angry about that appointment not because they have objections to Cordray himself, but because they don't like the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They say it has too much power. INSKEEP: They don't like what the agency is doing or set up to do. NOGUCHI: Well, they want to have the final say-so on what the bureau writes in terms of rules. INSKEEP: And this is why the president, unable to get his nominee through the Senate, effectively did it himself, and now this is a matter for the courts? NOGUCHI: It is a matter for the courts to decide. And then also he's been re-nominated so there will be a hearing next week. INSKEEP: OK. So we have that situation. We have the Medicare situation. There's even more. I'd like to know from you, Brian Naylor, who's still with us - are these delays normal? Is this the normal way of doing business in Washington? NAYLOR: Well, it's sort of become the new normal. It used to be that senators would hold nominations because they wanted to extract something - some personal favor from the administration. But that is pretty rare, those sorts of personal holds. Right now it's more of an institutional, we-won't-even-bring-this-up-for-a-vote kind of thing. INSKEEP: It's a power grab. That might be a rude term for it. But that's what you're saying - the Senate is asserting more power than they've had in the past. NAYLOR: That's right. INSKEEP: OK. Let's discuss the courts. And NPR's justice correspondent, Carrie Johnson, covers that area. What does it mean to not have scores of federal judges filling particular spots on the bench? CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Steve, nearly 90 judgeships are vacant. About 30 of those are considered judicial emergencies. That means the caseloads in those courts are very, very high. And the impact is that judges who are currently on the bench are hearing lots more cases. And there's a huge impact too on senior or retired judges, judges who agree to hear a few cases now and then... INSKEEP: They un-retire now... JOHNSON: Well, many of them are hearing a full caseload and some of them are even doing what's called circuit riding, which back in the day meant riding your horse to another location and hearing cases in that location to help that court out. A lot of senior judges are doing that. One from Washington, D.C. recently went to Atlanta to help out with that court's caseload. That's happening more and more. INSKEEP: And the cost of horse feed, I imagine, is going through the roof here. JOHNSON: Or at least airline tickets. INSKEEP: Airline tickets - what it would be today. There is the old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. Is justice being delayed for a lot of criminal defendants here? JOHNSON: What happens in these cases is that criminal matters get priority. So the delays are mostly happening on the civil side. However, that can have a huge impact on the lives of ordinary people. People contesting or challenging a denial of Social Security benefits, people who have personal injury lawsuits, and many people who are challenging denial of, say, their military benefits - all of those people have righteous disputes and they need them heard quickly. INSKEEP: Let me come back to Brian Naylor here, because Brian, at the beginning we had a political scientist who said this was a Republican strategy, a Napoleonic effort to take down the administration. Is that - if you talk to Republicans in the Senate, would they admit that's what they're doing? NAYLOR: I think they might in some of their more honest moments, or off the record. But some of the blame has to fall on the administration itself, the Obama administration, previous administrations, for not aggressively pursuing some of these nominations, for letting some of these vacancies just remain vacant. And there's also an incredibly intrusive process to become a nominee. They want to know a lot about your background, a lot about your finances. And for some nominees, I think it makes it more difficult for the administration to get nominees for some of these positions. People say it's just not worth it. INSKEEP: That's NPR's Brian Naylor along with NPR's Julie Rovner, Yuki Noguchi and Carrie Johnson, telling us about headless government agencies. Thanks to you all. JOHNSON: Thank you. ROVNER: Thanks, Steve. INSKEEP: Another Democratic president has evolved on gay marriage. Bill Clinton says he now opposes the Defense of Marriage Act. Clinton was considered supportive of gay rights in the 1990s, though the end result was often messy and much-debated compromises, like the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which has since been repealed. When President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, it prevented the federal government from recognizing gay marriages in any way. Now the former president has written an article for the Washington Post. He says he only signed the Defense of Marriage Act in order to head off a movement for even stronger measures. And he says he has come to the conclusion that the Defense of Marriage Act is, quote, "incompatible with our constitution." Two weeks ago, the Obama administration also took an official stand against that law, calling it a harsh form of discrimination. And later this month, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that challenges the law. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

October 2011 Hi! My name is Joe..:) 5-0 baaabaaay! :) First in the district!! Awhhh yeah. September 2011 4 tags 3 tags TOO MUCH HOMEWORK. 10 tags 6 tags 5 tags One of the best nights ever. AWHHH YEAH! <3 4 - 0!!! I love football! 4 tags 2 tags 3 tags 5 tags 7 tags YAY! I made an 96 on my journals & an 82 on my AP test!!! You don’t even understand how excited & relieved I am. <3333333 YES. 3 tags Reblog if you bite or lick your lips... A LOT. 4 tags 6 tags 2 tags 3 tags 6 tags *Cough Cough* I'm sick. Yeaaah. This better pass before friday…or I will be so pissed. THANKS EVAN FOR GETTING ME SICK!!! 4 tags *Things To Do. I will forget, so maybe this will help? (Doubtful) Schedule my nail appointment for homecoming. Get my shoes. Get a clutch. Babysit/make $$. Get a tutu, animal print slipper boots, feathers!!, etc. KE$HA stuff. Neon fishnets, big neon scrunchie, etc. 80’s stuff. HOMEWORK! 8 tags 10 tags 5 tags Me: Hey Gavin, wanna go to homecoming with me? Gavin: Um..no. Pay'in, wanna go to my house with me? Me: Sure. Gavin: We can play in my room. :) hahahaha. I love witttle Gavin. He's so adorable. Last night. Was one of the best nights I’ve had in a while. :) I love when people open up to me, I always feel so good inside. 5 tags 6 tags I don't have a choice, but I'd still choose you. "Your mouth is poison; your mouth is wine." 2 tags 8 tags 3 tags FBGM. 6 tags 2 tags 6 tags 5 tags People are going to say what they want to say and think what they want to think,...– Hilary Duff 1 tag No. When I say no, it means no. Get over it. Jeez. :) Everything is perfect now. Like I’m so happy. Let’s not eff this up this time. I saw you yesterday, but I already miss you like crazy. 4 tags So. I got a 79 on my first AP history test. FML. I know it’s college level and everything, but why couldn’t I just get one more question right and get a freaking 80 whatever! :( & cue the scene where everything falls apart once... I'm getting tired of this. You need to learn respect since you all clearly have only disrespect wired in your brain. It’s stupid that you need something like a traumatic experience to feel sorry for someone and to respect them for five minutes. I feel sorry for you. 5 tags

Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Monday, January 28, 2013 Bikers Beware- Sphincter-clenching moment ahead. Yikes that was close! If'n that was me I'da had to go change my drawers, then go buy a lottery ticket. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Saturday, January 26, 2013 If You Want Reasoned Discourse... I had lunch today with Mr. WhyDoesAnyoneNeeda and Mr. IfItSavesOnlyOneChild... (I should get a friggin' Oscar from my performance as "Ogre Not Dismembering Clueless Progressives That Soooo Desperately Deserve It") I need to write up some ground rules for lunchtime conversation in order to keep my sanity... 1. Do your homework. (a/k/a You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.) When you use "semi-auto rifle" and "machine gun" or "magazine" and "clip" interchangeably, your level of credibility drops considerably. Also- when you ask if my guns are "registered", you are showing your ignorance in extremis. 2. Using buzzwords will get you filed under M for "Misguided and Misled". When you start using all the current Obama Administration-approved nomenclature like "Military-Style Assault Rifle", "High Capacity Clips" and "Cop Killer Bullets", well, it just indicates to my that you don't want to have a discussion, you just want to lecture me on your position. 3. Know Your Stats, and their background. For instance: 40% of gun transactions are unregulated? Really? That "40%" figure is one of the best examples of cherry-picking statistics. Read some of the facts here. 4. Don't discuss Gun Show Loopholes, and Internet Gun Purchases unless you have first-hand experience. Because when you tell me about thousands of people people buying guns on the Internet and how it circumvents background checks, I will laugh in your face. And if you tell me you can go down to the gunshow and buy a machine gun, it will be doubly amusing and chortle-worthy. 5. Name Calling (gun nuts, right wing wackos, bitter clingers, Dirty Harry wannabes with a tiny penii) will require me to end the discussion and depart the premises before finishing tiffin. (And I just hate not finishing my tiffin.) It just shows you are unwilling to discuss things rationally and are just one step from going Godwin on me... At that point I will start feeling embarassed that I even know you. 6. On the "If it only saves one child it will be worth it..." topic... Why aren't you crusading against drunk drivers, bee stings, child abuse & neglect, swimming pool accidents etc. ad infinitum ... (Actually I know the answer to that... Once you have my my icky guns, then you'll come for my booze, swimming pool and my apiary...) TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Friday, January 25, 2013 More Maddie I was perusing her website this AM. Her owner Theron Humphrey (assuming he's her owner...) has such a great eye for composition. That, and a wicked sense of humor... Yo. 'Sup, dog? Of course, she's right cute even without props or standing on things... Humphrey's book "Maddie On Things" is available for pre-order... at Amazon, or better yet- pre-order at you local indie bookseller... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Wednesday, January 23, 2013 Bitch, Prease. (Edit: Everywhere except Vancouver.) TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Tuesday, January 22, 2013 Voices In My Head TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Road Warriors Understand TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Monday, January 21, 2013 Don't Judge Me... Like- when I come to help you with a problem on your PC, and you have the Ask toolbar installed... Boy, you are soooo getting put in my "WTF is wrong with this moron?" file... (It's just revenge for how I get labeled at the range when Fanbois see my Taurus PT92F on the bench...) TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE No One Needs a 30-Round Mag to Hunt? I guess you've never gone hunting here in North Florida... If I go out in the woods here, I'd take my AR with 5 or 6 mags, a flamethrower, and mallet & some stakes, and a gallon of Holy Water. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Welcome to Blue Monday So- Blue Monday Feel like crap today? Here's why: Cliff Arnall (the phlogiston scientist that came up with this crap) says the date was calculated by using many factors, including: weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and our ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action. This date allegedly falls on the Monday of the last full week of January. The date was first declared to be 24 January in 2005. In 2011 there was confusion about the correct date; some claimed it to be 17 January 2011 while others stated Blue Monday was on 24 January 2011. In 2012, the most depressing day of the year was said to be 23 January. Calculation According to a press release by a mental health charity, the formula is: (in case you want to waste your valuable time thinking about this...) d=debt, T=time since Christmas, Q=time since failing our new year’s resolutions, M=low motivational levels and Na = the feeling of a need to take action 'D' is not defined in the release, nor are units. (Personally I think D=the current level of Dumbassery in the current administration, contributing to the overall malaise in the country - TBG) Writing about the calculation, Ben Goldacre stated: ... the fact is that Cliff Arnall's equations ... fail even to make mathematical sense on their own terms. Really Ben, y'think? TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Sunday, January 20, 2013 Again With The "Want" vs. "Need" Argument? I've gotta quit arguing with these idiots. Ok..Let's start at the top... It's called the Bill of Rights, not the 'Bill of Needs' or 'Bill of Wants'. Ok, Mr. Progressive Moron, what do you drive? What part of town do you live in? And dig out your cell phone... Why could anyone possibly want... When all you need is: I mean really- I can even get you a sporty one... Why would you possibly want one of these: All you really need is one of these, right? It just stupid to have one of these: When all your really need is one like this: Really? You need this? All you really need is this: Don't be stupid- this is overkill: This should be more than adequate: You people are going to have to learn to quit f@$%ing with me about this... I'll beat you over the head with your own arguments. Morons. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Saturday, January 19, 2013 ToDo List "Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about." - Ben Franklin Seems like a good idea... TBG Wednesday, January 16, 2013 And The Hits Keep Coming... And my Houston / Jax flight is delayed... Motherf-ers... How To Piss Off the TSA Travel hour 19, 10:01am PST LAX Airport. Going through security after clearing customs... I get turned down to go through TSA PreCheck, so I'm back with the idiots that don't know you have to empty your pockets and take off your shoes. Morons. But I'm more pissed at the TSA... Sooo... In for a dime, in for a dollar. I put my bag and skateboard on the XRay belt, along with the bin with shoes, belt and pocket goodies. I announce (loudly): "My iPad is in the back pocket of my bag... Just so you TSA iPad thieves know where it is...save you some time." The three TSOs working that lane shot me some dirty looks, and after I pass the metal detector, a supervisor waddled over... "Sir, there is no need for that kind of talk. Why would you want to do that?" "Ma'am, how many terrorists have been caught by the TSA? And how many TSA agents have been arrested for stealing passenger's items?" "But sir, that is just a tiny number of bad agents...most of us are honest hard-working people. Why do you want to treat us all...like...criminals..?" My point was sinking in, but I wanted to make sure... "Exactly. You treat us like everyone is a terrorist, I'll treat you all like thieves. I think the odds of me being correct is much higher than yours." She opened her mouth to refute me, but thought better of it. 8 more hours to go... Next stop Houston. TBG Tuesday, January 15, 2013 Living My Life Like a Song - Sydney Edition Oscar Monday, January 14, 2013 Canine Neurosis I wonder if the Dark Menace would act like this... Time for research! TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Saturday, January 12, 2013 Civil Servant? Child, Please. Civil Master. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Raaaaaacist! TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Friday, January 11, 2013 Uh... I Have Mixed Emotion On This... Well done Mr. Shawcross. Official White House Response to Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016: This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking ForGreat googly moogly... There's even better stuff in the body.Really? C3PO? ... Keep in mind, space is no longer just government-only. Private American companies, through NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO), are ferrying cargo -- and soon, crew -- to space for NASA, and are pursuing human missions to the Moon this decade. Wow. And the last line- I wonder if Lucas/Disney will tag them for copyright violations?I wonder if Lucas/Disney will tag them for copyright violations?If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us! Remember, the Death Star's power to destroy a planet, or even a whole star system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force. On the other hand... Why don't y'all work on a witty response to coming up with a budget or doing something about runaway entitlement programs... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE This is why I only drink Rum. One _41<<... Doubtful Logistics So I'd have to wonder. On the off chance the Gummint decides to register all the firearms, Let me check a second... there is on the order of 300 million firearms out there. Do they really have a chance of makeing sense and order out of a database that big? After all, they think that it is an impossible task to register and deal with (only) 15 million illegal aliens... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Thursday, January 10, 2013 Connecting The Dots Dipshits Mike V over at SSI links to a very interesting Fed.Gov site... The Federal Election Commission - Individual Search Page. People like George Clooney have some interesting figures following their names... Now...If you were to go to that Gawker site with the list of all NYC gun owners and plug in a few names then cross-reference it to the FEC list... Well... Start with Robert Deniro... Then Howard Stern... Interesting Entertainment will ensue. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Putting the 'Strange' in Estrangement TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Wednesday, January 09, 2013 Executive Order? I hope he's smarter than that... It would be the tipping point. An EO on 10+ round mags? that's another story... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Overheard on the Radio - KR Arena Edition Unrecognized voice: "Tom... come in Tom. Big problems in KRA." (Ken Rosewall Arena) Tom (Operations Manager): "Go ahead for Tom. What's the problem." UV: "We're in a changeover and they are playing Nickleback on the PA. Everyone is leaving!" TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Tuesday, January 08, 2013 20 Degrees (celsius) Cooler Today In Sydney So damned hot they had to put a new color on the heat map. I think they are exemplifying the concept of "hotter than blue blazes". (Edit) ...And I've been informed that my colorblindness is showing again... It's magenta? TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE This Will Not End Well Getting a Jump On Christmas This Year Monday, January 07, 2013 Welcome to... It's every bit of 110° here at the tennis center at the Sydney Olympic Park. And it seems like every thing I need to do is on the opposite side of the site from where I am at any given time. And that little line under the temp up there- 'feels like 101°'? So much bullshit. Maybe more like 201°. I'm going to go look for a 55 gallon drum... ... 'Cause this looks soooo comfortable. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Clueless. Absolutely Clueless. Thank you President Obama, for making other people pay for my birth control pills. How about a thank you all the hard-working, tax paying suckers for providing you with your "Free" birth control... I guess you don't understand "Free". I'm not sure I understand the logic of Moocher-class women- they scream and shout about Women's Rights, abortion, free choice, and "keep your laws off my body", then expect special treatment... To sum up - Your reproductive system is 0% of my business but 100% my financial responsibility? Nice. I quoted Robert Heinlein in a recent post and I think it needs to be repeated here: Damn it. We are soooo screwed.Damn it. We are soooo screwed..” TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Pants On Fire WaPo:.Key law enforcement leaders? Who's that... Holder? Bloom. (emphasis mine- TBG) It will be interesting to see how this all spins up... But first- a blast from the past... ." No, we won't take your stuff... We'll just make you a felon for things you already own. I guess it might be time to trot out this old chestnut and post it: night Air Force One crashed during that crazy thunder storm outside of Chicago into a small farm. The FBI quickly went to investigate, but looking at the crash site they knew there were no survivors. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE They looked frantically through the wreckage trying to find President Obama's body, but it was nowhere to be found. There were only a few scattered bodies of Secret Service agents, so maybe Obama didn't died they thought. Maybe he had gotten out and went to get some help. In the next field over, there was a farmer plowing his field like nothing ever happened. They quickly ran over to him. FBI Agent: "Excuse me sir, did you see that plane crash over there?" Farmer: "Yessiree I certainly did". FBI Agent: "Did you see anyone get up and walk away?" Farmer: "Nope. I buried them all this morning. Didn't want 'em stinkin' up the place". FBI Agent: "Did you realize president Barack Obama was on that plane?" Farmer: "Yep, buried him too". FBI Agent: "You buried the president?" Farmer: "Well, he kept saying he was still alive, but you know what a liar he is!" Cow! Democrat Jeebus. It's getting so bad that a video of a cow speaking like a democrat politician makes me laugh like a madman. How much longer is this gig gonna last? TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Sunday, January 06, 2013 A World Without Guns - Really? Basically it is a treatment of Human Nature and firearms- Tam said: Remember that 'world without guns' post I wrote the other day? Well, Tim at Gun Nuts Media took the ball and ran with that sucker. Expect to find this essay in your email inbox within the next six months, credited to a "Maj. Caudill, USMC".With that kind of lead-in I had to go RTWT... (Besides, it was either that or go clean up the pool of possum piss behind the server rack...but that's another story entirely.) The whole thing is awesome, but the money quote for me was: Lots of people like to mindlessly chant that violence is never the answer, but when the chanters dial 911 they aren’t hoping that a philosopher or ethicist shows up to try and convince the bad man to cease being bad. They want a dude with a gun.OMFG.... It kinda reminds me of when the reporter for Ebony magazine asked Richard Pryor if he believed in God... He said something like 'When you're running down the street with your head on fire, you don't call on the Bank of America.' (Go...now. Read the whole thing. Tell your friends to read it.) Alright. Gotta go clean up possum piss now... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Ruminations On A Common Argument When I discuss that the main reason is not about hunting or target shooting- they idea was to fight tyranny - to keep the Government from getting oppressive AGAIN and the populace being unable to implement a draconian solution, people love to argue about capability. "You're going to take on the US Army/National Guard/Obama's Brownshirts/Police?" The obvious answer is 'Yes.' There are 2 aspects of this- one is, will the US Army/National Guard/Police actually enforce a disarmament/confiscation order? If Katerina is any indication, the answer is yes... If THAT happens, then a whole new kettle of fish starts to boil- to wit: Insurgencies. I was watching a series here in Sydney that follows a EOD team in Afghanistan on their daily routine. It's some pretty hairy stuff... Some pretty primitive IEDs and the weapon of choice for the enemy being a AK 47... But it got me thinking- If the situation was turned around- if Threepers in the US, with the access to chemicals and some much better long-distance weaponry, comms hardware- etc, wanted to make life miserable for the forces that are tasked to do the collecting... Well... The Brownshirts will encounter situations / conditions that will make Afghanistan look like taking candy from a baby. (Maybe a better analogy is needed... Have you ever TRIED taking candy from a baby?) Regardless- the Left seems to think most US gun owner are just gap-toothed slack-jawed droolers who wear camo and can only shout "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!"...or are they just 'projecting'? Perhaps they are the victims of a exceptionally biased media that only wants to show the fringe elements that advance their agenda, and are incapable of understanding the breadth and depth of the intelligence and capabilities of law-abiding gun owners... I think, should push come to shove, things will be quite different than they imagine. I can just see my man McThag as a latter-day Francis Marion, sabotaging the Brownshirts from a base deep in the swamps of Free Florida Territories... Keep your powder dry... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Saturday, January 05, 2013 Boy, That's A Shocker Massachusetts can't find thousands of missing welfare recipients Boston- Governor Deval Patrick is downplaying the Department of Transitional Assistance admission that it could not locate 19,000 people who have either been receiving welfare benefits. ... The Department of Transitional Assistance says 19,000 letters came back, marked "Return to Sender." And the real Captain Obvious moment: The group filed suit against Massachusetts because the DTA was not giving welfare recipients the opportunity to register to vote. That suit was filed on behalf of a Lowell woman who said she was never offered an opportunity to register to vote. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Are You Out Of Your Mind? Over half of voters now give President Obama positive marks for leadership, his highest ratings since the early months of his presidency. Gah. Wake. Up. You. Idiots. From Doug Ross @ Journal - (All links to sources at the original site.) • First President to Violate the War Powers Act (Unilaterally Executing American Military Operations in Libya Without Informing Congress In the Required Time Period - Source: Huffington Post) • First President to Triple the Number of Warrantless Wiretaps of U.S. Citizens (Source: ACLU) First President to Golf 105 or More Times in His First Three-and-a-half Years in Office And this is just from his first term of office. Wait until mid 2015... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Let Me Do The Maths For You... 45 113 44 111 42 107 40 104 38 100 36 97 34 93 30 86 28 82 24 75 20 68 So when I tell you that the headline reads: "Sydney Bracing for 40+ by Midweek" I'm not trying to make people in the US jealous by singing Summertime Blues. I'm just sayin' working down here ain't all Victoria Bitters and WEATHER forecasters are predicting the nation will experience its hottest ever day early in the week, the average national temperature set to climb above 40C.I'm feeling sorry for SpongeMark Squarehands- He's down in Hobart Taz, where it was 37 degrees inside their server room... The servers at his site have had their heat alarms tripping continuously since Wednesday... Holy crap on a cracker!, that is going to chnage with 40s by Tuesday, and inland NSW has cooked with peak temperatures of 45.1C in Wilcannia and 45C in Bourke, and 43.6C at the Riverina town of Hay.. In Queensland, the temperature at Birdsville topped out at 47.3C.. I'm just miserable as I roam the Sydney Olympic Tennis Park helping folks with their WiFi and fixing IT issues... I really feel for the players- the courts are a rubber composite that absorbs and radiates heat - It's probably 5 to 10 degrees (F) hotter on the court... Damn. Ok... Enough bitching... Coffee break's over.. I have to get get back on my head. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Friday, January 04, 2013 There But For the Grace Of God, Go I... I kinda like how they let him keep his glasses on... This is some What shouldn't be surprising to a Constant Reader is that I know exactly where they keep the PRKs on the United 757-300 and the 737-700. Sad really. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Out-F$#@ing-Standing Plan... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Wednesday, January 02, 2013 Damn That Hurt Whoever had 17 days, you're the winner. I'll spare you the pics of Fortunately I only lost a little skin- it could have been much worse- hyperextension, torn ACL, or an even more debilitating injury could have been in the offing. (Even more fortunate - Sydney Municipal Works doesn't have a clue where that crater at the bottom of Olympic Boulevard came from... And we aren't going to tell them, are we?) Walking into the site with both knees bleeding was quite a show stopper. Everyone who knows I ride a skateboard to the site every morning just laughed and shook their heads. "We all knew it was going to happen." they said. I took it in stride... After all, unless you have some road rash you're not riding correctly. TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE Tuesday, January 01, 2013 Permission To Come Aboard? I get the heebie-jeebies watching this... TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

>> This will be an exciting temporary addition. I especially enjoy watching people hesitate when interactive museum pieces are introduced, as with some of Franz West’s pieces. That moment when they surrender to the joy of breaking the don’t-touch museum barrier is so filled with energy. Um, OK, why isnt this at the childrens museum. Really, someone explain how this has anything to do with what anyone outside of an artschool would call art. Imperial Clothing More conspicuous consumption and waste in an age where we must now finally grow up and conserve what is important. It is time to put aside childish things. Your hero, Obama’s words. This is what he was talking about. [...] LACMA’s blog says it’s “actually nothing more than floor-to-ceiling strands of thousands of household containers procured from local 99¢ stores.” [...] I don’t think this is what Obama was talking about, Donald. You should lighten up and stop being so angry The colors are pretty and fun to look at. They make me happy, and I look forward to touching them! “More conspicuous consumption and waste” I think that is part of the statement they are trying to make. Try reading between the lines. There is nothing to read, it is entertainment, stop asking such shallow and absurd questions. They mean nothing. And are a waste of time, and most certainly are NOT art. Like I said, at the Childrens museum, fine, in a limited way. But then, children took over art long ago, and made it irrelevant to society. And so the numbers who go are down, and ages up, as few go to see such nonsense as this, except art school grads, Now thats a childish endeavor. Art is OUT THERE, go live it, and you will see the inanity of such “works” as this andd most else of the last few decades. Art has been forgotten, and become a lifestyle, fashion, and entertainment. Not creative art. And so art collegia delenda est art colleges must be destroyed, the inmates have taken over the asylum, no great artist has ever graduated from one. Art is about living, not about sheltered academic doodling. Imperial Clothing, read it. I agree in not producing excess waste, but in defence of the artist, everything used in this installation can easily be re used. Doesn’t seem at all wasteful to me. Installations are “creative art” as much as any other artform. They just aren’t for everyone. I’m not a fan of 90% of what I see in galleries, but I still respect it. You can’t please everyone. If you could, life, and art would be boring. Oh yeah! Outsanding colors, and the best part is YOU’RE ALLOWED TO TOUCH! Woohoo! I hate keeping my hands in my pockets.

Last month we told you we had acquired Manuel Arellano’s 1691 painting Virgin of Guadalupe. Now we can report that it’s on view in our Latin American galleries. You may have seen Christopher Knight’s post at Culture Monster earlier this week, which also included a video of the original Virgin of Guadalupe, hanging in the Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City. You can see the Virgin of Guadalupe as soon as you enter the top floor of the Art of the Americas Building. It practically calls out to you, asking you to pass through three other galleries on your way to view it up close. But don’t pass too quickly! On your way you’ll pass Diego Rivera’s masterpiece Flower Day and our other recent acquisition, Roberto Matta’s Burn, Baby, Burn. Speaking personally, probably one of the most valuable things I’ve gotten from working at LACMA in the last few years has been an appreciation for Latin American art—all eras and all varieties. It started, for me, with the mesmerizing Arts in Latin America, 1492–1820, a special exhibition from 2007. It was one of those rare exhibitions that knocked me off my feet precisely because I walked in with no expectations—I didn’t think it would be “my thing.” I was wrong. Then we reinstalled the ancient American galleries with the help of a gallery design by Jorge Pardo. The installation was controversial —does the design distract from the objects? Mine is just one opinion, but if you ask me, no. Pardo’s gallery design made me look at the objects with fresh eyes, made me consider the stylistic choices these ancient artists were making compared to those working at the same time in, say, Europe or the Middle East. Sure, you could make that comparison without Pardo’s help—the differences were always there—but I hadn’t taken the time before. Again, it wasn’t “my thing” until I saw it in this new light. At the same time, we reinstalled our permanent collection of Latin American art from the Spanish colonial era to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Walking through these galleries again yesterday, on the way to see the Virgin of Guadalupe, I was reminded again how much this collection impresses me. The Matta, the paintings by Rivera and Tamayo, the religious-themed paintings sharing the gallery with Arellano’s Virgin. And then there’s the contemporary gallery, which features probably three or four of my favorite twentieth and twenty-first–century works in the whole museum, including works by Francis Alÿs, Cildo Meireles, Mathias Goeritz, and Jesús Rafael Soto (visitors to the museum making a point to hit up BCAM and the Ahmanson Building’s modern galleries would do well not to forget about this gallery). The new acquisition of the Arellano’s Virgin of Guadalupe is reason enough to come up to these galleries—just be sure you take in everything else while you’re here. Beautiful painting! I am on the LACMA Docent Council, and although I too did not think the exhibition was my thing, I volunteered to tour it. I found it a wonderful experience and was delighted by the students’ responses – especially to Arellano’s painting. Many were familiar with the story, many saw the painting as an object of veneration, many wanted to return with their families. Virgin of Guadalupe is such a mystical representation. A definate must see of this painting up close.

I am often surprised by the subtle connections that can be drawn between LACMA’s exhibitions. Just yesterday I headed to the Pavilion for Japanese Art to see Fracture: Daido Moriyama, the first museum exhibition in Los Angeles devoted solely to the Japanese photographer best known for his gritty depictions of Japanese city life. The exhibition features black-and-white photos from early in Moriyama’s career, as well as some of his more recent color photographs. Having travelled to Japan a couple of years ago, I was curious to compare my own memories of Tokyo and Shinjuku with Moriyama’s images. To me, while chaotic, most of Tokyo is the pinnacle of order, efficiency, and cleanliness. Where I visited, there was barely a single piece of trash on the street and not a single person coughed in public without attempting to cover his or her mouth. As I mentioned, certain areas were certainly chaotic—Shibuya, in particular (think those gigantic crosswalks where hundreds of pedestrians swarm into the intersection from every direction)—but even that frenzy is reined in by an impulse toward order (red hand means stop and they stop). Street, Tokyo, Japan, 1981, the Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser Collection of Photographs, courtesy Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, © 2012 Daido Moriyama I ended up having a much more visceral response than I expected to Moriyama’s images. The textures in his photos—the fuzz of a young boy’s buzz cut, water splashing off of the scales of fish that are systematically being pulled from the water by an industrial fishing line—left an existential grit on my skin, in my mouth. I could taste the saltiness of the tears of post–World War II Japan; I could feel the smog in my lungs, the grease on my fingers of defiant and rapid industrialization/westernization of a country determined to bounce back. Daido Moriyama, Beauty Parlor, Tokyo, c. 1975, Ralph M. Parsons Fund, © 2012 Daido Moriyama Truthfully, it almost became too much for me to bear . . . until I came across two photos. The first is one called Beauty Parlor, Tokyo (c. 1975). The photo appears to be a close-up of a beauty parlor advertisement: a radiant Japanese woman—skin and blouse blazing white—set against a dark, dirty street, the black-dusted sky crisscrossed by low-hanging power lines. While, in theory, this is the ultimate cynical statement about the westernization of Japan—the emphasis on production and economic growth veiled only slightly by the western ideal of beauty—I still found this photo to be oddly stimulating. That girl looks fun. She looks like she would appear in a Haruki Murakami novel hanging out in a jazz club with a talking cat. Beach Boys, Zushi, Japan, 1967, printed 2009, the Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser Collection of Photographs, courtesy Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, © 2012 Daido Moriyama The second photo that lifted my spirits is called Beach Boys, Zushi, Japan (1967). I was immediately drawn to this photo. For one, it’s fairly large—hard to miss. But the composition of the photo is also alluring. The men’s bodies are reclined at the same angle on the beach, each body glistening. It’s almost as if their bodies have been lapped up onto the beach by waves—handsome fish beached on the shore. I also like this photo because these guys remind me of the Japanese men in my life—my father, my grandfather who passed away last week, and my father-in-law. All three of them were good-looking chaps during that era, if not in a Japanese-boy-band kind of way. I pondered these Japanese men in their fashionable swim trunks, another LACMA exhibition came to mind: California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way.” With Moriyama’s postwar psychological burden placed firmly on my shoulders, I walked over to the Resnick Pavilion for some levity. Maybe in my mind I thought I could make a connection between these sunbathers in the land of the rising sun and the Catalina Sportswear bathing suits that are featured in the exhibition. Installation view, California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way,” October 1, 2011–June 3, 2012, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, photo © 2012 Museum Associates/LACMA The exhibition itself is light, airy, and colorful, with the clean lines of mid-century design and a mix of wood, metal, and textiles (it closes June 3 btw!). My first, if not misguided, thought was, “Wow, this is how the winners prospered!” What I meant by that is that postwar America—in this case California—seemed to really embrace the hope that the defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II brought. It was an extraordinary time in the history of California art and design. People took advantage of the ramped-up domestic economy and industry to create some astonishing things—to create a distinct style and lifestyle that they exported (Japan imported its fair share, no doubt). Obviously other things were going on that made this era so lush with creativity in California. However, to me, juxtaposing the two exhibitions helps to contextualize the time and place of the artists in each. None of this is to say that Japan was all gloom and doom. The Japanese created some extraordinary art during that time—I think that it just germinated from a different philosophical seed than that of California artists. But don’t take my word for it: Check out Fracture: Daido Moriyama for yourself, which is on view through July 31. Also, LACMA is presenting a film series, High and Low: Postwar Japan in Black and White, along with the Fracture, starting tomorrow night through Saturday, and then it picks up again June 8–9. Jenny Miyasaki What a rich and informative piece and I loved the history and the personal tie-in. Good stuff ! Isn’t it oddly patronizing or, in a way, peculiarly discriminatory (or group-think centric) to have photography — even more so if it’s very much from the recent past — in the Japanese Pavilion merely because the works in question were taken by a person from Japan? Why isn’t such an exhibit held in the galleries for contemporary or modern art? The strategy behind such an arrangement points to either purposeful or inadvertent segregation—naive, ignorant or otherwise. I agree w Concord. I believe Moriyama’s more than an ambassador of Japan, I find it slightly undermining to not have put this (very, very small) collection elsewhere. I guess without Moriyama’s prints there, the pavilion would have been completely empty when I went. I was disapointed by the “Exhibition prints” of the more recent color work… not for the quality of the images but for how they were presented, pinned to the wall and probably to be destroyed once the show is over. Moriyama is not getting the attention he deserves here. Daido Moriyama is such an inspiration to myself. Visited studio Place M, Shinjuku, what a great place for photographers to exhibit. Love the rawness of his work.

Well team, I must say, I was very impressed with the response to Week One of the Friday Football Foodie Training Camp. The general response was overwhelming, and a few fine readers took the time to send in photos of your very own Pizza Loaves. With that type of enthusiasm, I really think we have a real shot of making the playoffs here. But we cannot go into the season without trying out some new plays. The Pizza Loaf is a good go-to running play, but you’re also going to need a new quick 15-yard slant pass because last year? You dropped the ball every time you pulled out a bag of Funions instead of going for something a little more substantive. We’re trying out something new this week, a menu that with a little fine tuning, could become our next 3 and 8 play. Friday Football Foodie – Buffalo Chicken Dip, Stoli Blueberri Fizz, and New Snack Review of the Week: Pringles Select Sweet Potato Chips You will need… 2 8oz packages of cream cheese 1 cup blue cheese or ranch dressing 3/4-1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese (Or white cheddar, or mozzarella, or whatever you have handy, aside of maybe gouda) 1/2 cup blue cheese (optional) fresh chives or green onions to taste 3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce Original (Yes, the Original. They make a buffalo style sauce, but there is no need for “soybean oil and buttery flavoring” when you have next…) 2 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons chopped garlic – really – use as much or as little garlic as you like. 2 cups shredded chicken Preheat oven to 375 degrees. A note about the chicken – The easiest way to get two cups of shredded chicken is to use the chicken in a can. But unless you’re making a casserole that also involves a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, you’re going to for fresher chicken. For the same price as two cans of chicken, you can pick up a roasted 2 pound chicken in the deli, which will be fall-off-the-bone moist and give you tastier results. (The dip is the Ravens and you just got Willis McGahee and released Jamal Lewis.) If you already have chicken at home, either bake or poach two to three chicken breasts and then shred those with a fork. Saute garlic over medium low heat. (If you opted out of the garlic, skip this step and just melt down your butter. Do not scald it and make it turn brown rookie, or you’ll be on clean up patrol.) Add chicken and Red Hot sauce and heat throughly. Now, if you want more kick here, feel free to use more hot sauce or give it a couple of dashes of “Dave’s Super Hot Melt Your Toes Off Sauce.” Since this was the first time I made this dish, I didn’t want to get too fancy and just used the Frank’s Red Hot. I thought it was spicy enough, but there is always some jerk at a party who says “Needs more heat,” as if one can prove the size of their stones by how hot food is. Keep a special bottle of “Mega Hot Death” on the side for them to use, and know that they’ll regret the extra heat in the morning. Layer into casserole dish. I made a mistake here. I should have used a larger – maybe a 9 x 13 inch – dish here. This is training camp and it is okay to make a mistake now, but you better believe when it is game time, I will use a shallower dish. Give your skillet a quick clean off, or use a second skillet. Melt cream cheese over medium-low heat. I am not kidding about the “low” in the description. Any hotter and you’re going to burn the cheese. Resist dipping bagels into pan or suddenly making cream cheese wontons. Reduce heat and add blue cheese dressing. Work quickly! No burning the mixture! Add chives/green onions. Just so you can say you had your greens for the day. Pour over chicken. Again, looking at the reel, I really should have used a larger dish and spread out the coverage more. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling at the edges, and then add your cheese on top. If you add it any sooner, it will form a hard crust on top, and no one needs to have to struggle with a dip when it is already a struggle to watch Nate Washington drop the ball. Again. Bake 15-20 more minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve with crackers and crudite. Another training camp mistake. Most of the recipes for this dip I read suggested serving the dip with the Chicken in a Biskit crackers. Never, ever again will I allow that much salty food on to the field at one time. You cannot go for the long run when you are retaining 17 gallons of water. It’s a hardy dip, and works well with the celery. Need to scout out less salty crackers or chips for the next time. Do not let one person hog the whole dip. Especially when that person is going to get bored with pre-season games early and go and play golf instead. Not bad for a first try. It was actually was a fantastic dip, saltiness of crackers and too deep to handle mistakes aside. But this is why we train in the first place. Stoli Blueberri Fizz You will need… Blueberri Stoli Lemonade Ginger Ale Blueberries Ice Muddle blueberries at the bottom of a glass with either a muddler or a fork. Add ice and a generous pour of Stoli Blueberri – not seen here as I don’t need you people judging me. Conversely, if you do not consume alcohol, just double up on the ginger ale and used more blueberries in the muddling step so you get the same fruit taste. Add about a shot (2 ounces) of ginger ale. Just enough for a light fizz in the drink. Fill the rest of the way with lemonade. I was as shocked as you were that there was still room in the glass. Garnish with more blueberries, to give yourself the appearance of getting in a full serving of fruit. Enjoy. While not quite as potent as the Watermelon Slushees, they still have a little bit of a punch so two before game time will have you good and ready to go. New Snack Review of the Week: Pringles Select Sweet Potato Chips Sometimes it is nice to have something soothing and sweet to go along with the spicy and hot, and cinnamon sweet potato chips are the perfect foil to the Buffalo Chicken Dip. These sweet chips are light in texture, and at 150 calories for 28 chips, (although the 9 grams of fat is a little high), it’s not a bad alternative to say, actual candy. NEXT WEEK – TBD – PROBABLY INVOLVES CORN DOGS I love the word ‘muddle’… Muddle the blueberries!!! Oh…my. Must try Buffalo Chicken Dip. As I live in Canada, I have never heard of Chicken in a Biskit crackers. Do they have some odd chicken-like flavour to them? yes they taste like a cracker soaked in chicken bullion. In my opinion they are just horrible, they are perfect if you are trying to dehydrate yourself quickly though. I love making that chicken dip, my aunt gave the exact (and I mean down to the butter and garlic and Frank’s Hot Sauce) recipe. I must add chives the next time though. Thank god I read this around lunch time, otherwise my boss would be angry with me for taking a chicken break at 10:15 AM. WE HAVE THE SAME GLASSES WE ARE TWINSIES. And lainie, trust me, you’re better off. That dip looks delicious. I cannot wait to try it. My pizza loaf turned out great. I’ve made the dip before, but w/out the garlic and chives. It was really good, but when I make it for my fantasy draft next week I am definitely going to add those in. Also Tostitos scoops work well w/it–a really good dip-to-chip ratio so less overall salt! Those sweet potato chips look freaking awesome! I must have some! Oh my god, fantasy draft! Thistle, you are a genius! I’m finally getting to have a live, in-person fantasy draft and I am TOTALLY making this. What a great idea! I like to dip Pita Chips in my Buffalo Chicken Dip, but I admit that celery seems to be the ideal dip vehicle. Yum! I love this feature and that cowboy hat is splendid. That is all. TSW…my sister-in-law makes this, and serves it with Fritos Scoops. May I say….awesome! [by the way...my first post over here] Fine, we won’t judge you on the booze. But you left yourself wide open with the diet ginger ale. It all looks good. I didn’t know they made 10-gallon Steeler hats. As a born and raised Buffalonian (I think I made that up), I completely approve of that recipe. The butter is completely necessary, it is part of what makes the wings so delicious. Some days living in healthy california is a real bummer. All recipes need extensive testing, so I made the buffalo chicken dip for dinner a few nights ago. FABULOUS. I baked mine in two little crocks, and I had it with carrot surfboards and Tostitos Gold chips. Yum. I’m disappointed TSW isn’t rocking the I-beam hat from the ’90s. Maybe she’s saving it for next week. One of my mom’s friends was making buffalo chicken dip last Christmas and was supposed to send me the recipe. His version used Cheddar cheese and had it mixed in while the chicken was still in the skillet. I’ll have to try this version for my fantasy draft in three weeks. However, I may make blueberry fizzes this weekend. I love the Stoli Blueberi. I couldn’t find the final step in the chicken dip recipe. You know… the one that explains how I bribe you into bringing two trays of it to my fantasy football draft. I kid… I kid… Looks amazing. I will have to make that soon. I love using the whole rotisserie chickens for dishes like this. I like to put one in my Zatarain’s Jambalaya. My pizza loaf sucked when I tried it after making it, but oddly it was delicious the next day reheated. Go figure. Oh, that looks like an excellent dip. Me, I like to make my artichoke dip (which is cream cheese-y, like this one) in my little crockpot so it stays warm all game long. What of chili? Is that part of your repertoire, TSW? TSW, why, oh why must you keep posting kick ass recipes when I am the midst of my most prolonged (albeit successful) weight loss program of my life. Screw it, I’m still trying this one as well. Keep up the great work. Oh lord, I don’t even want to try and calorie counter this recipe. The drink looks fantastic though! Yostal, you can enjoy these fine recipes and maintain your diet, if you just start every morning with a liter of Jack Daniels and 16 lines of coke. I’m starting to think that TSW doesn’t want anyone to see what she really looks like. My arteries do not thank you, but I do. Pingback: Top Posts « WordPress.com Oh my. NEED. BLUEBERRI. FIZZ. NOW. A side of Buffalo Chicken Dip would be an added bonus. Wow. I made the pizza loaf as an appetizer for a pot luck dinner this week and it was a HUGE hit. PS – the Pringles Select Parmesan Garlic chips are very money too. Fuck. Nobody is going to want to hear about my Totino’s frozen pizzas now. Thanks a lot. Stolis! Have we met before? This sounds absolutely delicious, but I must say that the Litehouse brand Bleu Cheese is not nearly Bleu Cheesey enough for my liking. It was basically mayo with a few chunks in it. They offer a double-the-cheese variety, but for the price you could go with Marie’s or Marzetti’s. The best option, though, is to just buy some fresh bleu cheese and make your own! Anthony – Strangely enough, I don’t like Marie’s at all, and Marzetti’s is never carried around me. I haven’t actually tried Marie’s, just ASS-U-ME it is better based entirely on popularity and price tag. Like I said, the best option is to make your own when possible, as it is fairly easy and does not require any special skillz or hardware. This post has inspired me to go post my Superbowl chili recipe on the old blog. I want chili, now. P.S. The buffalo dip was an excellent appetizer for my pre-golf warm-up. Helped me work through my slice. I would suggest switching the shredded chicken for ground chicken… would probably make things a little easier all around. Will – Good suggestion, but I prefer shredded chicken. (When I was a kid I got it in my head they didn’t grind up the good meat.) Woo looks and sounds great – think I will try it too. Thanks for showing me how. Regards, Erik —————————— la vie est belle :-) I have been making the buffalo chicken dip for quite awhile and my family LOVES it!! To change things up every once in awhile, we like to get a premaid pizza dough and make buffalo chicken pizza. Lightly cover the pizza dough with ranch dressing, then layer the chicken dip on top and cover with cheese. So yummy!! Instead of melting the cream cheese in the pan, I like to cut it into little squares, add it over the chicken like that, pour the warm ranch over top, and let it melt while it bakes. It makes it a little chunkier. Personal preference, but still really good! Loooooovvvveeddd IIIIIITttttttt!!!! Buff Chix sooo goood in tum tummmmm Instead of shredded chicken you can use canned white meat chicken and it makes it a lot faster and easier to make! I work with Swansons and we use their white meat canned chicken. Also, you can take this to a tailgate if you make it beforehand and then put in a heavy disposable foil pan. You can re-heat on the grill so it’s nice and hot and bubbly! HERE WE GO STEELERS…HERE WE GO…. I GOT A FEELING…PITTSBURGH’s GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL! Luv this dip–my sister makes it. Hmm, maybe a SuperBowl appetizer. It can be lightened up with lighter cream cheese, dressing, and reduced fat cheese. In any case, my main comment was about the blueberry fizz. I invented a drink with blueberry vodka last summer that I call a Blueberry Twist, which is similar, but not quite the same. I have yet to meet a single person who doesn’t like it, and my official sampling has included quite a diverse range of people. In any case, to try a Blueberry Twist, use the amount of blueberry vodka of your liking with a diet citrus soft drink such as Sierra Mist, 7UP, etc. over ice, and garnished with a nice piece of lemon peel and a couple blueberries (no muddling). If you want to take it up a notch you could use frozen blueberries. Enjoy! And here’s to the Steelers Six Appeal! Here We Go!!! Pingback: Buffalo Chicken Dip…the way to my hubby’s heart! « pieces of ME. I love how only one person said somthin bout the Steelers stuff! Here we go!!! D-fence, D-fence! We’re goin to the Super Bowl! Love the commentary! Was planning on making the buffalo chicken dip and went online to get a recipe, who new I would get a tutorial and the witty comments. I will definitely be back! We will cheer for the Steelers this year because our team is a no show:( {We’ll be back next year~ Go Pats!} Pingback: Good. Food. Stories. » GUEST POST—Fugging Awesome Dips We are looking forward to more. Made the chicken dip for my daughter’s 1st Birthday party (mostly adults!). Absolute hit! You should be seeing some hits on your site, because almost everyone asked for the recipe! Some of the best dip I’ve ever made, and eaten! Worth the effort!

Davad Bazan is my favorite vocalist from any band I’ve ever heard. There, I said it, and I’m not at all worried that I’ve painted myself into a corner. I’ve heard a lot, but his vocal range, distinct sound, and cut-to-the-core lyrics resonate deeper within me than anything I’ve heard thus far in my musical history. Having said this, I threw a mental party when I saw he would be playing Control from his Pedro the Lion days in its entirety at the Troubadour this month, but wasn’t even slightly surprised to see the show quickly sell out. After the opening performance by sibling duo Stagnant Pools, Bazan and supporting tour members Andy Fits and Alex Westcoat took to the stage to do their own final sound check. The audience kept quiet in anticipation, but with the opening notes of “Options” (reflective of Control‘s opening track), each onlooker was right on point with head-nodding and silent lip-syncing. I have to give credit to the crowd — this was a true following of people who knew word-for-word every song performed. I was curious to see how the performance would play out. I knew better than to think that Bazan would just play Control from start to finish, but I was elated to hear him move beyond Pedro the Lion songs. The band branched out with songs such as “Gas and Matches” from his project Headphones as well as tracks pulled from his solo material. From within Pedro the Lion’s catalog, Bazan wasn’t restricted to Control; “When They Really Get to Know You, They Will Run” from It’s Hard to Find a Friend elicited significant applause from the audience (as well as from myself). Despite the fact that the venue was packed to the brim just for them, the band kept a refreshingly humble demeanor. They not only took the time to talk to the audience, but also honored and answered questions from the crowd. From his feelings about Spotify to his initial thought process behind Control, Bazan honored a forum-like open discussion between songs. With such an extensive history of consistently great music, we all listened to anything he had to say earnestly. There was no chatter between songs (again, credit to the crowd); there was simply patience and involvement, which led to a greater appreciation of the displayed talent. The highlight of the performance was a tie between Pedro the Lion’s “Magazine,” with the percussion culminating with the chorus, and Bazan’s own “Eating Paper” from Strange Negotiations, which, despite my reservations, was equally beautiful without the keys present in the album recording. Though I did hope to hear “Wolves at the Door,” the performance was flawlessly executed, each song evoking the deepest human emotions and experiences, and with songs such as “Second Best,” provocative even. “You know we don’t fuck with encores,” Bazan stated, and after the last song, the room quickly emptied into the even smaller merch area and sidewalk, with people seeking relief from the overly concentrated space. Overall, Bazan’s performance was as consistent as his last albums, his talent translates equally across recorded and live platforms, and my initial statement about him being my favorite vocalist remains true and unchallenged. For more info:

Salisbury zoning board allows horse boarding BY JOHN FRIEL, Correspondent Outside storage is out, but a Narvon farmer is free to board horses and rent indoor storage space. At its meeting Jan. 22, the Salisbury Township Zoning Hearing Board heard from Amos T. Ebersol, 590 Red Hill Road, and some of his neighbors. Ebersol requested two special exceptions to allow horse boarding in his barn and storage in two former agricultural buildings as well as a variance to allow outside storage. Six neighbors requested, and received, party status in the case, using it to voice concerns about aesthetics and property values. Greg Kimes, of Thistle Drive, said he was opposed to outside storage and "farm equipment rotting away. ... Horse boarding is not an issue." Richard Johnson, also of Thistle Drive, said his house "by design looks directly at the farm." He objected to "anything that would turn my view into a negative." Debbie Ryan, who lives across the street from Ebersol, told the board, "We all moved there for the aesthetics ... because we had this fabulous view." She said she does not wish to see "RVs, construction equipment, farm equipment. ... We didn't move there to see that." Chairman Larry Martin asked her: "Do you know how this land is zoned?" Ryan replied, "Agriculture." Martin then inquired, "And what do they do in agricultural zones?'' "They farm," Ryan said. Martin countered, "But you don't want to see farm equipment?" All who testified agreed they had no objection to horses, but were concerned about the outside storage issue. Ebersol said he had proposed that as "an option," but mainly wants to rent the two outbuildings, which he said would be "really nice for a contractor." Ebersol plans a "high-tensile, three- or four-strand" fence around 7 acres of pasture on his 21-acre farm to contain up to 14 horses. Johnson said the existing fence "needs work. We've had cows and horses in our backyard" when the farm was under different ownership. The board denied the request for outdoor storage, but approved the rest of Ebersol's application. Farm buildings no longer used in agriculture can be rented, Zoning Officer Damian Clawser said. The board set no limit on the number of horses, noting that Ebersol must erect a fence at least 4 feet high and 10 feet inside his property line in addition to following state nutrient management guidelines for manure disposal. In the evening's other two cases, the board approved: n A variance allowing Daniel B. Stoltzfus to exceed the maximum permissible impervious surface coverage at 942 Gap Road, Kinzers. Clawser said Stoltzfus' planned new house will cover 17 percent of his 17,424-square-foot lot. Township zoning allows only 7 percent coverage in the rural residential district, but Clawser said that ratio is intended for larger lots such as the 3-acre minimum now in force. Stoltzfus's tract predates zoning and is surrounded by R-1 residential zoning, which permits 30 percent coverage. n A modification of a previous decision, allowing woodworker Levi K. Esh Jr. to employ up to six nonfamily employees at his kitchen cabinet and furniture business at 568 Hensel Road, Kinzers. In other business, the board reorganized for 2013 with the same lineup as 2012's. Larry Martin will again serve as chairman, Peter Horvath as vice chair and John Wanner as secretary. Julie Miller was retained as the board's attorney. For more Pequea Valley area news, visit: MyPequea ValleyNews.com © 2004-2013 Lancaster Newspapers PO Box 1328, Lancaster PA 17608, (717) 291-8811 Terms of Service Privacy Policy

. Posted by Lara Williams at 1:41 PM 11 comments: Mandala Monday: Zentangle Dare 3 What a great time to discover the new Zendala Dares from The Bright Owl when I have set my own zendala a week challenge. This week I have two zendalas I have completed for the 2nd and 3rd dares. I can't believe how completely different they turned out and feel. The first is from dare 2 and was completed earlier in the week after work when I really needed some zen time. The dare 3 zendala I completed today and seems to have much more energy and even a sort of circus or carnival feel to it. Keep Tangling!! Monday, April 23, 2012 Challenge 67: Amanda Day The Challenge from the Diva this week was to create a tile inspired by Earth Day or as it now known at the Diva's as Amanda Day. I thought what better to express the Earth than a string of "the Earth." So my string is based on a Western Hemisphere view. Once drawn, I realized how much water there is vs. land space on our lovely planet. The space to draw the continents was tiny and I wanted more than one represented, but you can definitely see that my waves are the predominant tangle on this tile. I tried to tie my tangles into the continents, not too sure how successful I was. North America is represented by Baton which reminded me of the stripes on our flag. Pais represents South America which is Spanish for country so I thought that might fit. Africa is Wellinstil which has little flames in it and since Africa seems hot to me I thought that worked. Then I was a little unsure for Europe and I thought of England and Aero candy bars so the bubbles are representing Europe. Greenland got some bubbles too. It was a fun and challenging challenge this week. Thanks Diva! Mandala Monday I am really enjoying the new Mandala tiles from Zentangle and have decided to complete one a week as I work my way through the 9 different pre-strung tiles. If you haven't tried them yet, you really should. The possibilities are endless! Keep Tangling!! Monday, April 16, 2012 Challenge 66: Auras This week's challenge is to use auras with all the patterns on the tile. There are already quite a few tangles and even some tangles that are just made up of auras. It was fun to try some new tangles and to add auras to tangles I have been using for a while. Keep Tangling! Sunday, April 15, 2012 New Tangle: Phansy My April newsletter featured a contest to name my newest tangle. So congratulations to Kara Monroe for the naming this tangle Phansy. Kara said the tangle reminded her of her favorite flower the pansy and she also thought the tangle looked like a fan so she combined the two to come up with Phansy. Thanks to everyone who sent in your awesome suggestions. Kara won the painted stone below with the tangle Enyshou. Phansy by Lara Williams, CZT Keep Tangling!! Friday, April 6, 2012 New Tangle: Koryl This new to my blog tangle, is actually the first tangle I ever came up with. I haven't shared it with anyone except at my CZT training when we were all asked to go out and search for patterns and come up with our own tangle. When I received this challenge I wasn't sure what I was going to do. When I left the CZT training that night I actually had to go to work. It was a really ridiculous week for me. I was in the middle of working on three grant proposals for work and taking the CZT training at the same time. Lucky for me the CZT training is so inspiring and full of positive energy or I might not have made it through. Anyway, when I finally got home that night I spied my dish of sea glass and in it was this fossilized piece of coral that I had been wanting to do something with and it struck me - AH HA! This could be your new tangle. I had always loved looking at the intricate details of it and now was my chance to put it into my art. So here for you is my first tangle, Koryl. Koryl by Lara Williams, CZT Keep Tangling! Wednesday, April 4, 2012 Challenge: 65 Huggy Bear This was a fun challenge. I really like the tangleations and possibilities of this tangle. Plus I just love trying new tangles. Looking around for new tangles in the world is one of my favorite things to do on walks around downtown Indy. The string for this tangle was actually inspired from a crest-like design I saw above a doorway on a walk this week. I never thought to look for string inspirations! Keep Tangling!

>> Introducing the Durable Human Manifesto If you’re tired of trying to do it all in this busy digital world and feel distant from what you used to hold dear, this little book helps you to be closer to your loved ones and more in control of your time. Although The Durable Human Manifesto does contain the word “revolution” (thanks to Foo Fighter Dave Grohl), it comes in peace as a declaration of human awesomeness and sensory celebration of our supremely unique selves. Driverless Vehicles and Human Durability Will. more » Bicycles environment local economics mobile phones personal sustainability public transportation » Where News is Going People.” Cellphones More Important Than Kids? Could it be that it’s easier to forget your child in the car than realize your cellphone is missing? A tragic number is telling. At last count, 513 American kids have died inside hot, closed cars since record-keeping began in 1998. About half were forgotten by a parent or caregiver. Because the death toll continues to climb, authorities met in Washington, D.C. this week to propose immediate action. “It’s so urgent that we find effective sets of countermeasures that we all can take right now,” said David Strickland of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as quoted in the Washington Post. And what do experts suggest as a top countermeasure? Put your cellphone in the back seat with your child. The unsettling message here: it’s gotten to the point that you might leave your child behind unnoticed, but you won’t go long without your phone. The advocacy group Kids and Cars.org has a there-but-for-the-grace-of-God perspective. Says founder Janette Fennel: “People think these people must be terrible parents, they must be monsters, because if we think that, we can’t relate to them. Nothing could be further from the truth.” The truth is that any of us can fall prey to a single act of absent-mindedness which could have horrific results. To avoid that, parents and caregivers must be mindful and informed. Some life-saving advice from KidsandCars: - Your child gets hot faster than you do – up to five times faster. - A closed car can reach a broiling 125 degrees in only minutes. - Cracking the windows does not slow the heating. Practice safe habits: - Don’t leave your child alone in a car, even for a minute. - Look before you lock. Open the back door and check inside before you walk away. - Instruct your babysitter or childcare center to call you if your child doesn’t show up when he or she is expected. And, yes – lest you forget: when you buckle up your child, put your go-to things in the back seat, too – which will surely include a cellphone. How to Get Through to Congress.” cell phones DC economy local economics mobile phones social media technology Washington Playing it Safe with Cell Phones I depleted the stock in two Radio Shacks of the PointMobl Stereo Earbud Headset with Mic. The relatively low-tech device lets you talk on the phone where it’s supposed to be – away from your head. I like the design because the wires don’t tangle, it has a universal phone plug and an adapter for an iPod – plus the writing on the packaging is very clever..” Social Media and The Stewart Colbert Rally Chalk. Disney’s Active New Attraction The. Disney environment mobile phones parenting personal sustainability technology Kids Make a Splash for Nature If.” Earth Day education environment mobile phones Nature parenting personal sustainability Have a Human Holiday De…” local economics mobile phones personal sustainability technology Bus Blog Action 2009 The.

Release DetailsLABEL Abyss Records RELEASED ON 4/30/2012 GENRES Thrash,Black,Rock Septekh The Seth Avalanche posted on 7/2012 By: 7 Imagine a half-drunken jam session between Mille Petrozza, Fenriz and Tom G. Warrior, the lot of them caught between ripping through varying combinations of their distinctive thrash, black and proto-black heaviness and just rocking out on Motorhead-meets-Venom sloppy rock. Don’t act like that doesn’t sound like fun. And it kind of is, and though it regrettably actually involves exactly none of the players I name-checked, The Seth Avalanche certainly sounds like the scene I just described. At heart, this six-song EP is a thrash effort, but it’s one that runs headlong and happily into black metal, and it’s one that sports a noticeable rock influence, particularly in the jaunty bounce and greasy-grimy guitar licks of “Eating The Maneater” and album opener “Fuckslut From Hell.” “Blunt Force To The Head” starts on a slow, simple chug before stepping into some blastbeats and a full-out thrashing ending, and “Not Quite What I Had In Mind” reverses that, starting out blasting and dropping into a swinging mid-section that is guaranteed to get toes a-tappin’, touching on a killer sliding riff and moving past without further ado. On each of these tunes, vocalist Nils Meseke shrieks and growls like a demented Petrozza, his performance dramatic, borderline unhinged, as engagingly silly as it is spitting and aggressive. While The Seth Avalanche is an entertaining endeavor based on quality thrashing blackness alone, it achieves a next-level ridiculous uber-metal-ness (and metallic uber-ridiculousness) by way of its lyrics, which are equal parts comical and disturbing and oddly endearing in their over-the-top attempts to shock. “Fuckslut From Hell” speaks for itself, and the title track lives up to its blackness – it’s the most stereotypically black metal lyric on hand, a sociopolitical middle-finger-raised take on the forthcoming end of the world: “Where’s your God now / at the dawn of the age of Seth?” “Eating The Maneater” begins with a verse about a man stalking, killing and eating a Bengal tiger – this man is clearly crazier and / or hungrier than I have ever been – but then it takes the titular character in a direction all Hall & Oates, juxtaposing the tiger against a woman in a bar, here both predator and prey. Hearing Meseke screech “Back home I’ve got a freezer full of women just like you / I’m eating the maneater!” is one of the EP’s most head-banging / head-shaking moments, and the couplet of “Cause when you spread you become my favorite dish / who’s wrapped around whose finger now as I go to the land of fish” is equally poetic. Still, the highest and lowest praise must go to “Not Quite What I Had In Mind,” which details in no uncertain terms the protagonist’s taunting of his enemies, who then beat him to a pulp, break his legs and teeth, tie him to a chair and brutally sodomize him repeatedly, which (you guessed it) was not what he had in mind. As noted elsewhere in other reviews, black / thrash is quite the rage these days, with some great recent efforts by Aura Noir, Mongrel’s Cross, and the like. Septekh isn’t as sharp or as raging as those, not quite in that league of giants, but The Seth Avalanche still exhibits a winning combination of the vicious and the ludicrous, and it’s certainly skilled enough to make for an enjoyable burst of rocking blackness.

Burbank middle school teacher who had sex with student sentenced to two years in prison nice Posted by: bikram prasd | May 07, 2010 at 11:46 AM Pathetic. Posted by: cowbell | May 07, 2010 at 11:59 AM If I was that student with this cutie, I never would've said a word when the cops came knockin'. Maybe she was overcome with guilt. To each their own. Two years at Chowchilla is no duckwalk. She'll meet some female thugs at that facility. But the overriding worst part of the equation is having to register as a sex offender. That's lifetime and will follow her to all 50 states. Posted by: Crazy Horse | May 07, 2010 at 12:13 PM Something truly needs to be done with this epidemic of child molestation before parents turn to taking the law into their own hands seeking revenge on their prepetrators. Our laws seem ineffective so far. Posted by: Mack The Knife | May 07, 2010 at 12:17 PM So where were such teachers when I was in middle school! Posted by: Doug from Germany | May 07, 2010 at 12:23 PM Another slap on the wrist for a female sex offender. How much time do you think a male teacher would have gotten for "consentual" sex with a teen girl? Posted by: greg | May 07, 2010 at 12:28 PM How stupid. This new "morality" looks more like hypocrisy to the nth degree than justice. I'm sure that the boy doesn't feel a victim, it's the morality peddlers that make it so. Why if this boy decides to kill some one gets tried as an adult, but if he is looking to have sex with a beautiful girl, he can't say no. I'm sure she didn't put a gun to his head, so I don't see any problem by them having sex. Why, and it has happened, if a 13 year old girl and a 17 year old boy want to have sex in a school bus and the bus video camera records the act, the city attorney didn't do any thing, why here? It's stupid and immoral to punish some one for having sex, when at the same time nobody gives a hoot about the thousands and thousands of teenagers who sell their bodies every day and night in every major city. This is hypocrisy to the nth degree. A cop, in San Antonio, TX raped, supposedly, a 13 year old girl and he got probation. And to add salt to injury. Two guys were sent to jail for 17 and1/2 and 20 years and they only bought pictures of children. There is something rotten in this morality lynching judicial system. And why the other teacher in Florida, a beauty also, was sent of home confinement. Something stinks to high heaven. This might be an opinion from the court; this can't be justice. Justice is supposed to be blind. No peeking allow, but here lady justice raised the blindfold. That is not fair. Posted by: Emile Zola | May 07, 2010 at 12:29 PM 2 years is too lenient. If the genders were reversed, the male teacher would have been convicted of several crimes that would warrent decades of imprisonment. Somewhere in the back of your mind is the thought, Lucky kid got his boyhood dreams fufilled. Admit it. Posted by: pmayer | May 07, 2010 at 12:40 PM Wow, and here I'm single, no chicks around that I would like to hang out with.. and this one is taking home 14yr olds? What the heck is going on around here.. Posted by: Mike | May 07, 2010 at 12:52 PM She is a molester regardless of her appearance. If the molester was a great looking male teacher, I wonder if people would have the same opinion? Posted by: boochie | May 07, 2010 at 01:05 PM I wish I had a teacher that friendly when I went to school;) From a guy's point of view if the sex was consensual I don't see much wrong with it. With so many teenage kids having sex these days he would have a better chance avoiding early parenthood, disease and/or jealousy issues with this lady than most teenagers do. There are a lot worse "crimes" that get shorter sentences. Posted by: Old but not dead | May 07, 2010 at 01:05 PM It should have been 14 years. Posted by: Bluejeans | May 07, 2010 at 01:08 PM Once again it becomes painfully clear that the law treats women like children in American society. While it may be true that, "Two years at Chowchilla is no duckwalk", had she been a man accused of having sex with a 14 year old female, the sentence would have been much harsher. Additionally, had the perpetrator been a man, the charges would have most certainly included rape. A charge not filed against Ms. Beck. Sex with a minor is the same weather it be a male or female and should be prosecuted fairly, without regard for the sex of victim or predator. Women will never be totally free in this country until they are treated equally under the law, for better or worse. Posted by: Rafael Noble | May 07, 2010 at 01:12 PM Makes no difference is the teacher is a "cutie" or butt ugly. She is the adult in this situation and therefore should suffer the consequences of her actions. I hope she likes her new roommates. Posted by: Cara D | May 07, 2010 at 01:17 PM The thing, i am mad about is if this is a "Man" having consent sex with a girl student, he will be sentence to jail for 15 years and because she is a women she got only TWO. I hate this sex discrimination. Posted by: hvinh99 | May 07, 2010 at 01:33 PM Emile Zola you obviously don't get it. Teachers are licensed by the state and have a responsibility and are an adult authority figure. What hope is there for our schools if teachers ( male or female) take advantage of this position to prey on their under age students ? Yes, there is plenty of hypocrisy in our society over sex, but this does not make what this woman did right. For all of you that can't see the young boy as a victim and think" how cool to have your teacher do this", then I challenge you to imagine the student as a female and the teacher a male. Or better yet the student your daughter. If your opinion changes then there's some hypocrisy..!! Posted by: Pedro | May 07, 2010 at 01:41 PM Why are these teachers-sleeping-with-tween-boy-students women generally young and attractive? Posted by: Why? | May 07, 2010 at 01:48 PM TWO years?????????????? can you imagine what sentence a MAN would have gotten if HE had had sex with a 14 year old GIRL???? he would have been sentenced to LIFE in prison. not this blond white woman. oh no, that would just be wrong. so despicable. even more so with the all victims/all the time status white women and women, in general are given. repugnant. Posted by: fc | May 07, 2010 at 01:51 PM Hey gregg, I realy sympathize. You poor men! You have always been such a downtroden sector of our society! Posted by: michelle | May 07, 2010 at 01:54 PM This stuff never happened to me. Unfortunately. Posted by: Jay B. | May 07, 2010 at 02:04 PM Burbank teacher did not and could not simply and solely have "sex" with a "student" under the criminal statutes of our laws. She did and is convicted of having deliberately prey upon and feloniously RAPE a child. For that she justly received two years in jail. And after she is released from jail she, for the rest of her life, will be known and professionally referred to as a sexual predator of children. Never again to be trusted around any child in a professional setting. Ever. Not just a sexual act. A felony one. A predatory one. A cruel and abhorrent VIOLATION of a child. Posted by: Lorraine | May 07, 2010 at 02:17 PM hmmm - If that same 14 year old student would have killed the 33 year old teacher how much do you want to bet that the DA would have charged the 14 year old as a adult? So they are old enough to be charged as a adult in a crime but not old enough to consent to have sex. The age of consent should be the same age that you can be charged as a adult for criminal activity. The DA likes to have it both ways. Posted by: Greg | May 07, 2010 at 02:39 PM There was nothing wrong with what she did. Morale police are just too much in America. Just because someone is under 18 does not mean they are a child. Circumstances need to be taken into account rather than using numbers to justify such persecution. Oh, if it was a male and they were much more famous than the lady here., nothing would have happened. Look up Roger Clemens and his friendship with a 16 year old. Posted by: la rider | May 07, 2010 at 02:40 PM two years sounds extreme to me. no priors? slap on the wrist is more appropriate. age of consent last century in Cali was 14. and 30 years ago it was 14 in Connecticut and many other states. Posted by: charles krup | May 07, 2010 at 02:45 PM It ain't no big thing. A man would've gotten approximately nine years. Posted by: Crazy Horse | May 07, 2010 at 02:52 PM

Google censored videos offending Thai king, denied other requests Google stopped more than 300 YouTube videos from being viewed in Thailand last year, hewing to a deeply controversial law that forbids Thais from insulting their king. The century-old lèse majesté law, championed by backers as a way to uphold the dignity of the king, has been increasingly criticized as a swipe at free speech that makes it easier to jail government opponents. Thai officials asked Google to remove 374 videos last year, saying they violated the disputed law, the California company revealed in its most recent Transparency Report. To follow the law within Thailand, Google agreed to restrict Thais from viewing most of the targeted videos. It was one in a growing list of requests from governments around the world that the powerful search engine company heeded. Operating a search engine that scours the globe, Google must contend with a thicket of local laws and court orders, weighing thousands of requests to erase or restrict search results. It releases information about what it has been asked to remove and why twice a year, a sometimes surprising chronicle of what governments and companies worldwide want to scrub from the Internet. Google canceled five accounts on YouTube that British authorities argued promoted terrorism, saying they violated its own company guidelines. It restricted some videos in Germany that the country said violated a law meant to protect children. And it also stopped Turkish Web surfers from seeing seven videos that allegedly violated laws against insulting Turkish founder Kemal Ataturk. But Google said it brushed off other government requests, many aimed at quashing political criticism. "It’s alarming not only because free expression is at risk, but because some of these requests come from countries you might not suspect — Western democracies not typically associated with censorship," company senior policy analyst Dorothy Chou wrote on the Google blog. Last year, Google refused to remove videos that satirized the Pakistani army, recorded police brutality in the United States, and poked fun at the lifestyle of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It turned down a Canadian government request to remove a video of a Canadian urinating on his passport and flushing it down the toilet. Spain unsuccessfully pushed for Google to remove search results linked to public figures such as mayors and public prosecutors, the company said. Google also scuttled a Polish Agency for Enterprise Development request to block some search results that criticized the agency. The balancing act that Google seeks to strike is evident in India, where the company stopped Web surfers from viewing some videos in areas where local laws banned speech that could stir up “enmity between communities,” but left them viewable elsewhere in the world. It also rejected a request to remove online profiles that criticized a local politician, saying they didn't violate any laws. The demands on Google have only grown: In India, requests to block content surged nearly 50% in the second half of the year. The upswing is even more dramatic in the U.S., where removal requests have more than doubled in the last six months, many of them tied to alleged defamation and harassment. All in all, Google says removal requests jumped by roughly a quarter worldwide in the second half of 2011. ALSO: Russia reportedly sending 2 warships with Marines to Syria Local Chinese party leader acknowledges damage done by scandal Israeli civilian, 2 gunmen killed in cross-border attack from Egypt — Emily Alpert in Los Angeles Photo: Thai protesters hold pictures of Ampon Tangnoppakul, a man jailed under the lèse majesté law for allegedly insulting the Thai monarchy, in Bangkok on May 22. Credit: Narong Sangnak / European Pressphoto Agency

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott List Their Malibu HomeAuthor: KePlay // Category: Real Estate Actors Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott have listed their Malibu, Calif., home for $2.7 million. The couple purchased the home in September 2011 for $2.4 million, according to public records. The home is on 1.8 acres in the Point Dume section of Malibu, and includes access to a private, gated beach. The 2,400-square-foot home has three bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. Before moving in, Ms. Spelling and Mr. Dean made roughly $100,000 worth of upgrades, including adding organic gardens, a chicken coop, new kitchen appliances and 100-year-old French oak wood floors. They also built a miniature horse corral. The property has views of the canyon below, and also includes a one-bedroom mobile home on site that can be used as staff quarters. The couple, along with their children, star in their own reality show, “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.” Listing broker Madison Hildebrand of Coldwell Banker Previews International in Malibu says the couple decided to sell because they recently found out Ms. Spelling is expecting a fourth child and the home is too small. “They moved in with every intention of staying,” says Mr. Hildebrand. Photos: Private Properties Ms. Spelling rose to fame in the early 1990s for her role as Donna Martin on the TV series “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and is the daughter of the late television producer Aaron Spelling and his widow, Candy. Last summer Candy Spelling sold the 57,000-square-foot mansion in which the younger Ms. Spelling was raised for $85 million. Colorado Ranch Goes on the Market Asking $23.9 Million Western Disposal Services owner Dan Souders and his wife put their 1,271-acre ranch in northwestern Colorado on the market for $23.9 million. Bordered by the Elk River, the property includes a 5-acre private lake and a stream for sight fishing. Located about 12 miles north of Steamboat Springs, the ranch also includes a 7,575-square-foot main house as well as seven other residences. There’s also an indoor equestrian center, outdoor riding rings, a horse barn and a cattle barn. Mr. Souders, 68, and his wife bought the property about 16 years ago for $10 million. They put part of the ranch on the market in the past but have now decided to sell it in its entirety. “We’d like to spend time some place a little warmer,” says Mr. Souders. Jeffrey Buerger of Hall & Hall has the listing. Brook Byers’s San Francisco Home Sells for $10 Million Brook Byers and his wife, Shawn, have sold their San Francisco home for $10 million to Andrew Spokes, a principal and senior managing member at Farallon Capital Management, a San Francisco hedge fund. Mr. Byers, a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, bought the Presidio Heights home in 1985 for $1.5 million. He and his wife began quietly shopping the home last year for $15 million, but dropped the price by 20% in December. The 9,300-square-foot Georgian-style home dates back to 1910, when it was designed as a wedding gift to a daughter of the Coors beer family. With eight bedrooms, it also has a master suite with views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Lisa Wolfe and Susan McBride of TRI Coldwell Banker represented Mr. Byers in the sale. —Candace Jackson and Lauren A. E. Schuker—Email: privateproperties@wsj.com A version of this article appeared April 13, 2012, on page D8 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Private Properties.

We’re just coming out of a week long cold snap where our temps dipped down to 0° c. at night and right around 10°c. during the day. This is a bit too cold for the bees and so they haven’t been out much which is a shame because we currently have several fields in our area filled with bright yellow canola plant blossoms, the bees love it and it gives them a large part of their spring honey supply. Today our temps are back up and the bees are zipping around like crazy. Here is a picture of the hives with their additional honey boxes. Currently there are 4 boxes to each hive, boxes are added as needed for honey storage. In the bottom two boxes the queen lays her eggs and all the new bees are born there. So unless you want bee larvae mixed in with your honey, you have to keep the queen out of the honey storage boxes, you can see in the picture a thin board right in the middle which I’ve marked as “queen excluder”. You place that thin board, which is actually a metal screen, on top of the brood box (where the babies are). The worker bees can pass through the slots in the screen but they are just a bit too narrow for the queen to fit through, so she can’t go up into the top boxes. My husband has been making good progress with the garbage removal, he’s got the first dumpster filled and we will get another one on Monday which is only for wood. There was heaps of stacked wood left to rot behind the house, we’re not allowed to burn it ourselves so have to pay to have it hauled away. This mixed material dumpster will end up costing around 500 euro… getting rid of garbage around here is not cheap! The wood container should be a bit cheaper since it only contains one thing. I haven’t been able to do much around the garden since the weather turned cold so I’m just dreaming about what to plant where :O) Next year I will plant a large herb garden, but for this year I’m only growing a few things on our bridge, just the stuff we use the most, like parsley, thyme, chives and later I’ll plant some basil. This is flat leaf parsley that I planted a few days ago. And here are some plants that I ordered from an online shop. They arrived packed in hay and looking a bit rough but they’ve popped back into shape nicely. I want to use as many native plants as I can, and also insect friendly plants, I’ll probably end up with a yard full of plants that many people would consider weeds, but those are of course the ones that are most attractive to wildlife. Here I’ve got some lady’s mantle, two types of comfrey, black-eyed Susans, and some hardy “Munstead” lavender. And these are my catmint babies. Hopefully the cats will give them time to grow before rolling around in them ;O) How far away are the bees from the house? I want to start raising bees, but I’m unsure of where to set the hives so they are safe yet the house and the horses are safe too. Hi Monique, our hives are about 20 yards from the house, mostly the distance is for their sake, so that they have a nice quiet area of the yard to themselves. The bees are really harmless unless you get too close the the front of their hives, then they might feel threatened and the guard bees might sting or chase you off. Really though they are very passive creatures, we might get 3-4 stings in a year and that is usually when we are working directly in the hive or when mowing too close to the hive, they don’t like loud machines like lawn mowers or weed-whippers, so we usually cut around their area either late in the evening when they are done flying for the night, or we use hand tools to do the cutting. It’s not a problem to mow in the rest of the yard. They shouldn’t bother the horses either as long as the horses are not right in front of the hive. Keeping the hives in a quiet area where you will not be walking all the time is a good idea. also some place where they will not be completely in heavy shade is good. They need to get some sun to help warm up the hive. Our bees are on the south side of our house. I would encourage you to give it a try. Look for a class in your area, or contact a local beekeeper and ask questions about getting started. It’s not hard and you’ll be doing alot of good for your area.

I think I finally realize why Greg likes me: I'm from before 1980. Okay, his love of old things doesn't really carry over into the subject of humans. Okay again, it's mostly just movies, TV shows, music and comic books. But maybe just knowing that I was around when many of those things came to be carries some weight with him... I've never made a big secret of the fact that I generally prefer shallow movies to deep. Well, I suppose I mean that I prefer comedy to drama. Oh, it's okay if they want to throw a message in there (as long as it's one I agree with and it's not done in a in-my-face or cheesy way--Hollywood isn't generally where I like to turn for morals/guidance); but mostly, just make me laugh, please. Greg likes comedies as well and is even willing to watch the romantic variety with me now and again. He also really likes science fiction, and I'm willing to watch those with HIM now and again (especially if they're sci-fi comedies). But mostly, Greg likes old movies. When we first moved to Poland it seemed like every week there was ANOTHER of Greg's favorite TV series from the old days re-running. There are countless mini-series, and regular series from the 60's and 70's (I sure lost count a long time ago), most of them in black and white, that he has watched and fallen in love with again (about Polish/German spies during WWII, two boys who travel around Poland alone during the summer, a guy who is a driver and an awesome man and has interesting adventures, a man who has a car that turns into a boat and takes some kids treasure hunting, where they learn cool stuff about history, and at least a few just about families). He has since bought many (just counted-7) of them on DVD or VCD. He watches them over and over. He has taught our kids to love them (those geared to younger audiences) despite the fact that they are 1) black and white 2) slow moving 3) not interesting (or maybe just not shallow or funny?) enough for their mother to sit through an entire episode. I really love this about Greg. He recently found a whole slew of Polish semi-musical comedies from the 60's that you can get cheap on DVD, and bought them. We've been watching them and they are mostly fun and a little silly. If a movie, Polish or American, comes on TV and it looks like it was made before 1985 (but the best are 60's and 70's), I can guarantee he will want to at least "give it a try." When he says this, I know he means "watch from beginning to end, barring too much foul language or nudity, and regardless of the level of stupidity or poorness of acting." In this way we have discovered many, many strange, interesting and sometimes awesome movies. We've also discovered a lot of very dumb, pointless ones. When I think they're too dumb (or I'm just not in the mood) I don't watch them, but Greg still likes to watch, for the same reason he likes to watch the good ones. They take him to another time and place, when life was simpler, problems were more easily solved and people wore astonishing clothing. I don't know if it's like this in America, but here, at 9:00pm Cartoon Network turns into TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and this is where we see the majority of those old movies (the American ones, anyway). On this channel we have seen North by Northwest 59 times, Coma once, and then avoided it like the plague ever after, and lots of others I can't think of to name (great memory, eh?) Oh, but I do remember that I finally got to see the ever famous Breakfast at Tiffany's on this channel. Speaking of which, are any of you Breakfast at Tiffany's fans? From what I gather, all of you should be. If you are, please explain to me why I'm supposed to love that movie. I feel very backward about it. It definitely would have fallen into the previously mentioned category of "too dumb" (not in the sense of intelligence so much as the weak acting, awkward pace/story line etc.)for me to watch all the way through, but I decided to "give it a try" Greg style. After all, it's Breakfast at Tiffany's! I thought. I'm baffled. And if it's about Audrey Hepburn? Give me My Fair Lady ANY day. (But don't be offended by my review! Convert me!) 7 comments: I suppose it is much better to be addictd to old tv rather than today's crud. And that explains all those shows you guys are watching when I call! I don't remember "Breakfast at Tiffany's" being anything special, but I do like the song "moon River". I love the nostalgia of the shows I grew up watching. It always seems like the current ones are so dumb in comparison, but maybe if I went back and watched the ones I saw as a kid they wouldn't really be that great. Nathan had me watch a documentary about musicals behind the iron curtain. Some of them were propaganda (songs about the joy of working in the field) and some were very funny. It was an interesting subject. Sorry, I can't help you with Breakfast at Tiffany's. I watched most of it that one time that I went to Portland with Greg and that other girl. The family I was staying with didn't feel comfortable with me and their son alone watching a movie (which is so astoundingly funny, since we didn't even hold hands) but I just couldn't get into the movie. I had expected to love it, but it was pretty pointless. So I'm with you on that one. Hurray! Other people who don't "get" that movie! I agree. Confusion. I don't even really buy Hepburn's character, and why does she even spend time with that guy? Yes, the song is good (my dad used to sing me to sleep with it), but even that doesn't make a lot of sense to me, as far as the placement in the movie. (Behind the scenes scoop: Hepburn really wanted to sing the song herself, despite people advising her against it. She ended up singing it, but it's not so hot. Maybe why it's not her singing on My Fair Lady...?) I also don't like "Love Story." Have you seen it? Another "classic." One of the big lines is, "Loving someone means never having to say you're sorry." (or something like that.) But no, in my opinion, loving someone, means you SAY you're sorry when you do something lame, or whatever, because you never, never want them to hurt them and would go out of your way not to and you couldn't live with yourself if you DIDN'T. ESPECIALLY in the bizarro circumstance that that line falls in the movie. And the other person shouldn't forgive you unconditionally if you don't show them the respect that they deserve... Wow. I guess I really cared about that. Don't even get me started on "The Graduate..." Andrea- I haven't seen either of the other movies you mention (see? I'm BACKWARD) That's great! I knew there was a reason I have a hard time apologizing to Greg sometimes! It's because I LOVE him! SO much! Therefore, I naturally feel that I don't need to... I guess the idea is that you know each other so well and love so unconditionally that you automatically forgive each other? It sounds to me like someone was unhappy with how low the divorce rate was and came up with this phrase to remedy the situation. It reminds me of one of the quotes you have on your blog about how love doesn't "die a natural death". I love that quote because that idea is ridiculous (same with"we just grew apart" or "we fell out of love" and a load of other "reasons" people divorce). It's like saying the neglected flower died a "natural" death. man, I've started this reply 2X already, let's try again: About Breakfast at Tiffany's: I made the same mistake that you made. I rented the movie cuz I'd heard of it, and my impression was that people said they "kind of liked it". Then I watched it and thought it definitely wasn't all that, though I don't think I really hated it, just nothing to like, so why all the hype? Then I realized that I didn't actually KNOW a single person who'd recommended it, I was actually only going off of the song I like by Deep Blue Something ('s_(song)) think about it, is that possibly your mistake? I think it's kind of funny. As for all the other old movies, I went through that phase a couple years ago when we did Blockbuster online. I must say I was soooo surprised at things that I'd heard of forever (like All's Quiet on the Western Front) that were just too tedious to be born! A few were pleasant surprises, like An Affair to Remember, and Gone with the Wind (not QUITE the same category, but still old) and I remember loving Arsenic and Old Lace. But I agree with you in general about the oldies not being so great, and I can't sit through an entire one that I clearly hate. But I have a sympathetic bone with Greg in the desire to experience them, and especially, to find the gems. Breakfast @ Tiffany's: You're right -- not a great plot. I'm not a big fan of Truman Capote anyway. I think part of the reason it's a "classic" are the highly stylized sets and costumes, and of course, the theme song. The Japanese character played by Mickey Rooney is really offensive... Roman Holiday is a much better flick. You might like it...

Archived Story ‘Sexting’ among teens addressed at public forumPublished 9:39pm Thursday, August 11, 2011 Think the situation involving five area high school students charged with sexting-related offenses in May was an isolated incident? Think again, says Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter. “If you think you don’t know (a teen) who has done this (sexting), you’re deluding yourself,” Cotter said at a community forum held Thursday at the Niles City Council Chambers. “It’s common, probably as common as underage drinking.” The forum, organized by city council representatives Georgia Boggs and Pat Gallagher and dubbed “Saving Our Future,” indeed addressed the need for parents to monitor their children’s cell phone and online activity. But it was also about teaching parents and community members how to guide young people in the right direction in all aspects of life. Gallagher said the purpose of the forum was to give people “a greater awareness of the laws” and to teach parents how to “inform and protect” their children. Pastor Dan Miller of First Missionary Church in Niles said the prevalence of broken families today has made it more difficult on children and said the churches in the community need to be a “point of light” for area youth to turn to. School teachers and administrators also play a role. Both Richard Weigel, superintendent of Niles Community Schools, and John Jarpe, superintendent of Brandywine Community Schools, said there is little school administration can do about what children do outside of the classroom. “But we can give guidance and advice,” Jarpe said. Weigel said some of that guidance needs to be in the area of technology. “They’re a tool, not a toy,” he said, regarding cell phones. “We want to teach them to use them as a communication and learning tool.” The New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy that will launch this year at Niles High School will encourage having cell phones in the classroom as an avenue for learning, Weigel said. Thursday’s forum took place in light of five Niles teenagers recently being accused of extracting sexual favors from a teenage girl for keeping recorded sex videos of her off the Internet. Niles police officer Kevin Kosten presented Michigan laws on sexting and the dangers of posting explicit images online at the forum. Several community members expressed shock to find out that a teenager taking a nude or sexually explicit photo qualifies as producing child sexually abusive material, a 20-year felony under Michigan law. Kosten referenced a 2008 study that revealed 40 percent of teenagers have sexted. “Today those numbers are probably higher,” he said. Kosten encouraged parents to be educated about laws involving technology, keep current on the technology, monitor their children’s cell phones and computers and keep the home computer in an open area of the house. He also advised parents to make sure their children do not post explicit images on the Internet. “The digital footprint will live on forever,” he said. The forum also included a time for questions and answers with community leaders. Boggs hopes the forum will spark a community movement to encourage and train local youth. “Each of us has to take an active role in the future,” she said. “It’s about ‘what can I do?’ If we all sit on this, nothing will change.” Did they also teach kids not to extort their classmates to have sex with a group of guys? I am having a hard time understanding why this is becoming the topic of discussion. Those men did have pictures from “sexting” but those were only discovered in the process of investigating more serious crimes. Those men are not facing life in prison because of sexting. They are facing life in prison for extortion and rape. The sexting charges are small potatoes compared to the multiple life sentences they face. I sincerely hope people aren’t buying into this blame the technology and hide behind buzz words like sexting to excuse these men’s actions. The least of those guys worries are charges from sexting. Let’s talk about rape and where the attitude comes from that men can bully around females, a very common occurrence in a town like Niles. Let’s teach females about self respect and to break their dependence on abusive and manipulative men to feel good about themselves. Let’s teach women to not feel ashamed to report crimes to the police when necessary. Telling kids that sexting is bad does not even begin to address the larger issues here.

. http: //. ROTFFL...... Yes because everyone should NOT have a fair shot at the American dream here. Everyone shoud have oppurtunity? Outrageous. So evil. metoo, what excuse did REAGAN use when HE RAISED TAXES 11 TIMES? i'm waiting.... Settle in. It's going to be a while. 11:10am and still no answer. 12:46pm. Prsident Obama's 4 years in office has been the biggest contradiction I've ever seen. And by the way, tastes nothing like StarBurst candy. Poor davey still drowning no matter how hard he clutches his straws. Mitt's Dad took welfare? Was on relief?....Good for him.....it gave him an oppertunity to be somebody. Otherwise his dad, and maybe even mitt would have been dead from starvation......Isn't it strange how soon we can forget when we are doing better.......I also like the way she says give him a chance! Mitts Mom speaks...... Mom Fauxstew is just reminding us the of the timeless American value that everyone is NOT to have a shot at success in the United States. How can one not be behind that idea......no fair shot for anyone FIRST READ: In rest of '98 clip, Obama speaks of 'competition' and 'the marketplace' Sure he should apologize, but he won't. Don't you know that apologizing is a sign of weakness? He's too much of a tough guy to do that. What a douchebag. The ideas spoken to the $50,000 a plate dinner was typical for Gov Mitt Romney and his pandering to the room he is in. As a centrist Republican married to a moderate Democrat we both discussed the leaks from Romney and the ones from Senator Obama in 1998, we felt that the comment from 1998 was not disenfranchising nor isolating a large segment of the population, whereas Romney's seemed to deliberately excise a portion of the population. While we realize this is due to the room he was talking to and their ideas that they pay more than their share, such speech does not show a presidential candidate aimed at united all Americans. There is too much movement depending on the room for Romney to be able to feel a sense of trust. We may not always like everything about Obama, but he is consistent and true to what he runs on. Given that we have both decided to cast a unified vote for Obama, Even given that, we believe Romney owes America an apology. Romney didn't punt with his most recent comments, he fumbled inside the opposing teams Red Zone. Considering voting Republican 'cuz Romney's a businessman? Consider this: You can't run the country like a buisness. A business is not a democracy! Cindy - I would rather have the country run by a businessman than a 'Community Organizer'. What the hell is that anyway? Organize the community to protest for more goverment handouts! Romney/Ryan 2012 Of course you would because you are rather clueless that there were only 2 businessmen elected president, the first created the great depression of the 1930's and the second created the great recession of 2008. So go pretend that you know more then what American stinker puts into your mouth back at free republic. Considering voting Republican 'cuz Romney is a businessman? Consider this: You can't run a country like a business. A business is not a democracy. I think the protests, violence, and murders in the Middle East are a prime example of why the US should not be involved in solutions to the problems in the region. It is obvious US influences of the past have led us to where we are today. Romney is right in my opinion, let nature take its course. Perhaps in time the problems will be resolved by the primary parties. Hey that is a great speech by Obama, and even then he believed there were kind ways to work out differences, so that every body has a shot at life, and know one will be just put out on the streets. He says he doesn't know what to do about it at that point, but he believes that we can give everyone some quality of life if we can manage to find a way to make it happen. So what is wrong with saying that. He wasn't trying to create a division like willard ripoff does. HatefulMom - you are obviously part of the handout crowd which is the reason you adore Obama and believe all his lies! free republic sully you are as well I have yet to see a tea bagged republican who didn't have his hand out while whining that he was entitled to more. Your candidate is Pinocchio and he would not know the truth if it came up and bit him on his only claim to manhood. In addition, he running mate is Lying Ryan he even lies about his Marathon time. The 47% are not the "handout crowd", they are:, ccharitable. Does your contempt apply to those Corporations who do not pay Federal Income Tax? How about to your zero - oh I mean your hero- he uses tax loopholes to avoid paying taxes and what about those Swiss Accounts and Cayman Island accounts again to avoid paying taxes. Reason to see Complete Returns for more than 2 years on Romney/Ryan: 1..” Marriott had to pay huge penalties and I wonder have similar methods been used on Romney’s tax returns? Was Romney ever issued amnesty? 2. Need to see Romney’s tax return to see how. There were two articles on this: Huffington Post and Rueters. 3. Would his tax return show the following: Paul Ryan’s financial disclosure forms for Congress that were made public, showed he and his wife own stake in 4 family companies that lease land in Texas and Oklahoma to.” 4. Did Paul Ryan benefit from news Congress received about the financial crisis in 2008 and would it show on his tax returns. Is there any truth to this story: “September 18, 2008 the day Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson broke the news to congressional leaders that they would have to approve a bailout to avert a complete meltdown of the financial system. gop theme song.....but a bitting sorcasim. . At last sully makes the best post he has ever mind and it is a reflection of his opinion as well. Well this is not that much of a stupid comment from Romney on the Israel-Palestine thing. There is no settlement for peace on the rise, I don't see that happening in eight years no matter what the international community does. Obama has himself voted down staehood for Palestine, this was a wise decision. Fact of the matter is any Palestinian "government" will have too many direct ties to terror to be endorsed. Those two people's have been content to kill over this worthless stretch of land for centuries and that won't end until BOTH sides put down the hate and that is no one of mankind's strong points.. The United States should continue to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel's right to exist, and abides by past agreements. The Obama administration has both funded and legitimized Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood while strongly pressuring Israel to retreat to the indefensible 1948 border lines, not recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital,. Also the Obama administration has implemented a de facto six-month freeze on arms sales to Israel. The hostile climate the Obama administration has created between the U.S. and Israel since this president took office does not enhance Israel’s confidence in a peace deal brokered by this administration. Is that all you got...unfact checked BS from a radical site? I guess you wouldn't believe it if it came from the horses mouth huh? . Funny thing is, 70% of Jews support Obama in this election. Funny how sully thinks American stinker is a credible source of information. kathy Sine - I am not jewish although I have many friends who are. Many of them live in Florida, and the problem is they want to vote for Romney. They are seniors, who stand to lose a lot if Romney/ Ryan get elected. Many of them are not that well off financially. How is it that they want to do that? It makes no sense to me. . Woolard's goose is cooked and because of this video! I guess you could call it a TV dinner! Much like a pig with an apple in its mouth Woolard has a foot in his! Hah! Romney has an attitude that should be dealt with the same as the French dealt with their problem during the French Revolution...OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. It wouldn't matter he would still be flip-flopping around! I love how the liberal and the OWS crowd refer to the bloody, frenzied French Revolution as the one they aspire to instead of the American Revolution. Maybe because deep down you know Obama is the tyrant! You would prefer to execute anyone you deem a 'threat' to your cause than face the truth, much like you rejoice when a conservative gets banned here! You don't want to hear apposing viewpoints, you just want to wallow in your ignorance with your compatriots! xxx is a prime example. He accuses others but does nothing but spew hate and lies! Re: #16 OK I get it now. The way your mind works -- Take a statement someone makes - twist it - distort it - make a grand generalization out of it - state it as fact - and then believe it as truth. Never mind that the 2 revolutions were about 2 completely different issues. Typical tea bagged republican non thought. maphi-I do believe you've got it. whom - everything has to be explained to you! The American Revolution was about Independence and getting rid of a tyrant. Today Obama is the tyrant! Which is why the liberal and OWS crowd aspire to the French Revolution. As Voiceinmyhead (apt name for all you liberals) stated: he didn't like Romney's attitude so "off with his head" like the French did during their revolution. Wrong again sully gee sully keep on proving that you know less then a 5th grader. The American revolution was about the colonies not having a say in the government. The French revolution was caused by the wealthy who were eating good while the working man starved, see the wealthy French Aristocrats enjoyed tax freedom everyone else had to pay taxes, oh and for your information it was that same type of wealthy Aristocrats that gave rise to the legend of Robin Hood. You know what the republicans are creating in the US today. Foriegn Policy - here is what matters Is the world better off than 4 years ago? Don't think so!! 4.5 million times better Bin Laden DEAD....Oh yeah we are way better off.... That's right always look at the short term - the potential problems out there now are greater than we have faced in decades. In history, there are many times when the killing of the founder of a movement has only strengthened it, let hope that is not the case here. The violence in the Muslim world could point otherwise. 4.5 million? don't get the reference? NBC/WSJ Poll: Approval of Obamas foreign policy plunges. Must be Bush's fault. If you look back through history and not fox news history...you will find that when a democratic president is in office we as a country do far better in all areas of the world. You see greywolf we have to come in and clean up or clear up the mess you republicans start all the time. We are not the world cops as you clearly think we should be. You live by the fear tactics the the republicans always thrown down as that is all they have. Get real! Get a life! And stop listening to the lies that have no basis of truth....wow... NBC/WSJ Poll: Approval of Obamas foreign policy plunges. Must be Bush's fault I think even Obama is getting tired of that excuse.....maybe he will try using the Tsunami excuse this time..... It's like a recipe.....4 scoops of Bush's Fault, with 2 ounces of Arab Spring, 4 pounds of Europe and a Dash of Tsunami......Bake it 3.5 years and Bing.....You have the answer to all our troubles.... GrayWolfl-All those things were true 8 years ago. And most of them were true 20 years ago. And Bush is the one who made a disaster out of Iraq, and removed them as a steadying influence on Iran. Darn I forgot ......6 Tons of Congress.... It is a shame it has come to this....when all we really need is On ounce of a Leader. And the lying Ryan plan will address the budget some time around 2040, maybe. Funny how the budget is always the worst problem today yet every republican plan doesn't address the budget problem for at least 20 years or never. And only during Democratic administrations. whom - got facts? Didn't think so. The liberals here repeat the Democrat talking points that the reason the economy is still so bad is because the Republicans are not cooperating with Obama. Remember Obama and the Democrats who held both the houses in 2009 telling the Republicans to "either go along for the ride or go to the back of the bus"? Barney Franks also joked about Republicans suffering from post-bipartisan depression, indicating the Democrats had no intention of working with the Republicans. The liberals in the room thought it was oh-so-funny… then! Ryan. who is known for his specificity about how the nation should move forward to address the fiscal challenges of debt, deficit, and entitlements. Mr. Obama, on the other hand, seems to be distancing himself as much as possible from his record as president and what that record reveals regarding his plans and intentions for America's future; instead, he is running a campaign of contempt and personal attacks against Mr. Romney. Go back to American stinker sullly, I'm sure they would love your non opinion there. sully, you must have missed this. http:/ / (Remove the space between the //'s when you copy & paste the link to your search engine.) What's changed and when? The democrats have no intention of working with republicans because republicans have no intention of working. They've not done anything to work with the dems in the house and have wasted time repealing obamacare 30 times even know they've known from the beginning will not pass the senate. They've released zero bills to create jobs instead they've voted to keep their own congressional healthcare benefits...you know the ones obamacare gives to everyone....that thing they want to take away. The house republicans apparently believe they should keep benefits they think the people don't deserve to have. They've voted to keep unnecessary oil subsidies. They've voted for needless deregulation policies....deregulation has never created a single job.....od how the GOP wants less regulation on the financial sector after all it's not like that was a major factor in what crashed the economy in the first place. Nice improvement there guys. Oooh they've rewritten the rules to gives themselves more vacation. Gee wish I could "work" for two weeks and then take a whole week off. Cantor has already sent them on a break for the next two and half months after they just got off break a week and half ago Now on Paul Ryan since he's so specific which loopholes in the tax code does he want to get rid of? Where's the rest of his budget? You know the part that would actually make it possible to do all the things he claims will happen? The GOP is the party of foreign policy illiterates and has not added one single solution of substance to any foreign policy issues. They still think the Soviets are coming and we're going to have to fight them off like Red Dawn. Rocky 4 was a long time ago. Why is the Obama campaign allowing Paul Ryan to say that it was "Obama policies" at fault for the growing number of dependent people and the debt? I'd like Ryan to name those Obama policies at fault. He'll just tell a lot of lies. Ryan's a lost cause. Soon to be "former vice-presidential candidate Ryan." BO...Are you serious.? It was Obama that escalated our debt to 16 trillion. It was Obama who removed the food stamp requirement that one must be working to qualify. It was Obama who has kept unemployment above 8% for 4 years , forcing people who would be working otherwise, to go on dissability. Every statement a lie. BO - if you can't figure that one out for yourself it would be a waste of time for anyone to try and explain it to you. You wouldn't want to believe it anyway! Like whom and Sad Chris your posts have no basis in facts, just the propaganda you hear from MSNBC! Projecting yourself onto others sully typical say nothing post by the guy who reads American stinker. Ryan's going to be on the WI ballot as Senator AND VP candidate and could end up losing BOTH! We can only hope! I knew it! Ryan is keeping one eye on the prize. Gotta keep that government pension under close scrutiny. Ryan got his mind on his money and his money on his mind. That poser ain't going to voluntarily leave government-- big or little! Yeah, who was the President that got us in to the Viet Nam war. And who pulled us out? Eisenhower got us in. Nixon got us out 'cause we made him. Let's see WWII - Democrates - Korea - Democrates - Viatnam - Democrates (only advisors before) Not saying they were not justified - another whole question. To say that Dems don't get us into as many messes as Rep is silly. But what has Obama got us out of? The plan for leaving Iraq was negociated by Bush. Afganistan is a mess. The point of the 10 item is that nothing is better, only worst! The point of your post is propaganda, nothing else. The Chris..............One day when your kids are living under Obamas Shiria law, just call it propaganda. What is not true? turnout-Your statement definitely is. graywolf-already answered. Gray and Turnout - don't even bother to respond to SadChris. He is obviously not very smart, believes everything Ed says, then gets offended when anyone challenges Ed becasue in effect you are challenging his intelligence. SadChris and whom are a complete wastes of space and oxygen! Romney/Ryan 2012! And you are a dumbass racist jerk. Liberals hate the truth and Romney told the truth. Obama has created a voting block of people who are expecting something from government, that is the truth and no one can deny it. I believe he will get re-elected because of these people. True americans do not take from government, true americans seek and find work and those who don't the liberals say, "come on in, we'll help you, here is some money for your drugs and for your booze, now remember to vote for us". This counrty will not be the same in 2016, if we survive that long under this clown. It's been a long time coming. I think that Liberals just don't understand that Conservatives don't mind helping people but that it should be help that gets them on thier feet with dignity. We have spent trillions on proverty programs since the early '60s and the poor are in no better shape now. The percentage living under the poverty level is basicly the same or worst. So you can continue to do the same old programs which do not cure the problem or you can try something different. After I have hit my head against a wall for 50 years & it is not moving, I would hope I had the sense to change the present course of action. Liberals not only want to continue the same old but want to double down on what has not worked! WASHINGTON — A look at where Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican presidential rival ruling. Said he would end federal aid to Planned Parenthood. ___, but vital specifics are lacking. At same time would increase military spending, reverse $716 billion in Medicare cuts and cut taxes. Favors constitutional balanced budget amendment. ___ ECONOMY: Obama: Term marked by high unemployment, a deep recession that began in previous administration and gradual recovery. Persistently high jobless rates over 8 percent — 8.1 percent in August, up from 7.8 percent in February 2009.. Romney: Endorses 2014 end to U.S. combat in Afghanistan, subject to conditions at the time. Would increase strength of armed forces, including number of troops and warships, adding almost $100 billion to the Pentagon budget in 2016. ___. @ dave 3254139; Romney generalized my friend. He put all 47% in the same box. I can generalize too, why should the rich think they are "Entitled" to get paid millions for doing very little work? Come on, do these people really think they are worth that much over anyone else? So the investor deserves a bigger return than the inventor? Investors do not invent new things except when it comes to inventing ways to screw people over. I will repeat, THE ONLY ONES WHO DESERVE TO MAKE MILLIONS FROM AN IDEA OR AN INVENTION ARE THE INVENTORS THEMSELVES and NOT THE INVESTORS. Investors should get no more than a couple % on the money they invest. This is the primary problem in business. The people at the top think they are "Entitled" to make millions as compared to the ones who actually design and make the products. So, let's get rid of that feeling of entitlement too. I myself do not think I am entitled to anything from the government except a return on the taxes I pay. In other words, infrastructure investment, research investment, education investment and some protections for the consumers. That is what I feel we are all entitled to expect from our government. If you pay into SS and medicare, then you should expect a return on that future investment. If there is not a return, then you should not have to pay SS or medicare. Why should we believe him this time? Hey The Chris............I'll give you another chance. Now think hard, or maybe ask EDD or Maddow for a hint. Who was the president that got us in to the Viet Nam war and who got us out. ? Already answered. The Chris........Youre either to young to remember or you need to catch up on youtr history. You can't remember a post from 5 hours ago. Oh look-turnoutthelights has rereged already. 1. GOP failures give wealthy tax breaks and they create jobs. Only every republican president saw jobless recoveries gee and you whine democrats don't fix GOP problems fast enough. Here is a clue robme hood plans on more tax cuts to the wealthy the workers gets tax increases, so how is robme hood going to let someone keep more of what they work for when he plans on taxing them more. And we get another example of the tea bagged republican circle jerk. 999, I have a feeling most voters don't know this including that blogger you copied and pasted from. When FDR was President http:/ / (Remove the space between the //'s when you copy and paste the link to your search engine.) And in case you aren't aware, 13,000,000 unemployed was 25% back then. http:/ /ingrimayne.com/econ/EconomicCatastrophe/GreatDepression.html (Remove the space between the //'s when you copy and paste the link to your search engine.) You can not address serious budget matters by taking more from those with least to give that to those who did not need it. Taxing those already in financial hardship into further poverty will only result in those people more dependent on government. That is your solution you don't get to say that isn't the case because you don't want that, that's the consequence of what you advocate. USA - GOP WAR ON AMERICA See other USA - GOP WAR ON AMERICA Articles Title: 'If I were a fanatic I'd let off nuclear bomb in Chicago': Romney brands Iran 'crazy people' in new secretly filmed outburst URL Source: ... omb-Chicago.html#ixzz26vkctS1V Date: 2012-09-19 14:45:45 by Skip Intro Keywords: None Views: 5 Mitt Romney’s White House bid took another blow last night after he appeared to suggest a pro-Iranian terrorist could hold America to ransom by threatening to blow up Chicago with a nuclear bomb..’ In another secretly filmed video clip, Mr Romney claimed there was no point trying to appeal to Democratic voters because they were ‘freeloaders who don’t pay taxes’. ‘There are 47 per cent who are with Barack Obama, who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims,’ he said. ‘These are people who pay no income tax. My job is not to worry about those people.’ In another video, he fires a broadside at the Palestinians, saying: ‘I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, committed to the destruction of Israel, and I say there’s just no way [there will be peace].’ And he can be heard joking he would have an easier time winning the US election in November if his father had Mexican parents, instead of being a state governor and wealthy car company boss. In the same video, Mr Romney also tells how he considered investing in a sweatshop-like factory in China when he was head of US private equity giant Bain Capital. The businessman – who recently criticised Mr Obama for ‘spending 43 months failing to confront China’s unfair trade practices’ was given a tour of the factory in the 1990s, where 20,000 women earned tiny wages and lived in squalid conditions. He said: ‘As we were walking through this facility, seeing them work, the number of hours they worked the pittance they earned. ‘And around this factory was a fence, a huge fence with barbed wire and guard towers. And we said gosh, I can’t believe that you, you know, keep these girls in. ‘And they said, no, no, no. This is to keep other people from coming in. Because people want so badly to work in this factory that we have to keep them out’. US news channel CNN said sources revealed Bain did not invest in the firm or buy it. The videos, which were all taped during a $50,000-a-plate dinner for wealthy donors in Florida, surfaced as the presidential campaign enters its final 50 days. Snippets were placed online in YouTube films by Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, which said it obtained them from a guest at the dinner hosted by millionaire US financier Marc Leder on May 17. The footage was unearthed with the help of former Democrat president Jimmy Carter’s grandson, James, who is credited with ‘research assistance’ on its website. Last night, Jim Messina, Mr Obama’s campaign manager, said: ‘It’s shocking that a candidate for President would go behind closed doors and declare to a group of wealthy donors that half the American people view themselves as ‘victims’ entitled to handouts, and are unwilling to take 'personal responsibility' for their lives. ‘It’s hard to serve as a president when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation.’ Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian lawmaker and scholar, said Mr Romney’s remarks were ‘irresponsible and dangerous’. However, the politician said he stood by the remarks which were ‘not elegantly stated’. The fundraiser where Romney made the fateful remarks was thrown in May by hedge fund manager Marc Leder, who has developed a reputation as a party boy. Mr Leder, who is worth a reported $400million, runs Sun Capital Partners in Boca Raton, Florida. The New York Post reports that he threw a lurid end-of-summer party in the Hamptons last year at a mansion he rented for $500,000 a month. The raucous gathering included at least one couple that stripped down naked in the pool and then had sex on the pool deck in full view of other party guests. All of this took place to the backdrop of go-go dancers, fire twirlers and throbbing techno music. Mr Leder, 50, reportedly kicked up his partying lifestyle after his wife of 22 years cheated on him with her 23-year-old tennis instructor. Obama has been working hard to make political hay out of Romney's comments at the fundraiser. During an interview with David Letterman late Tuesday, the president accused his Republican challenger of dividing the nation. 'My expectation is that if you want to be president, you have to work for everyone, not just for some,' he said. 'What I think people want to be sure of is you are not writing off big chunks of the country because the way our democracy works.' He also criticized Romney for saying 47 percent of Americans think of themselves as 'victims,' saying the American Dream is alive and well among all of the voters he meets. Romney didn't score marks for his choice of words -- even from his own running mate, who called the comments 'obviously inarticulate.' Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan made the comment in an interview aired Tuesday by KRNV-TV in Reno,. Meanwhile, Republican launched a counteroffensive in an attempt to regain momentum. Appearing on Fox News on Tuesday, Romney pointed to a secret 1998 tape of Obama saying he wants to redistribute wealth in the United States. Hitting back: President Obama said Romney's remarks were not fitting for a national leader. He said a president must represent all Americans Hitting back: President Obama said Romney's remarks were not fitting for a national leader. He said a president must represent all Americans Then-Illinois state senator said: 'The trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution. 'Because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level to make to make sure everybody has got a shot.' The audio of the tape was posted on YouTube on Tuesday and dated October 1998. Romney says it shows a clear division between the vision of America that he is offering and the ideals that Obama espouses. 'Frankly, we have two different views about America. The president’s view is one of a larger government. There is a tape that came out where is the president is saying he likes redistribution. I disagree,' Romney told Fox News. 'I think a society based upon a government-centered nation where government plays a larger and larger role, redistributes money, that’s the wrong course for America. That will not build a strong America or help people out of poverty.' Click for Full Text! Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread I wish James Carter would find out if there is any footage on the the fundraiser Cheney held for Romney and unearth that. I bet that would be interesting. This is like writing an essay and then you realize its so bad, you just throw it in the trash So throw your essay in the trash. I guess the peanut didn't fall far from the plant......President Carter...you are very nice person....but as president....you harmed this great country....just like Bush and Obama. BREAKING NEWS! MITT ROMNEY HAS A(nother) SILVER SPOON MISHAP:(O.M.G.! _____ 'Romney is also heard saying that the campaign trail is not a good place for specifics.....'"' (emphasis mine.) _____ Above, Mitt Romney is heard telling the "beautiful people" and the" lovelies" what he really thinks about you "little people". Its nice to be able to take off your wig and scarves every now and again, yes? Oh, cheers the video! (video link left.)

>> 151 to 154 of 154 Comments I’m an atheist who lives in the Midwest, so I’ve learned that religion can be touchy subject. After one incident where I was laughed at by group of people of probably fifteen peers for being an atheist (I was six years old, mind you), I almost needed therapy because I was so afraid of what my atheism could cause. I’ve talked to girls my age who have lost their best friends because they’re atheists (they live in the Midwest as well.) So my opinion is that the world would be so much better off if everyone stopped caring about what a person’s religion is and just went on with their business, instead of glaring at you or saying they’re disappointed or being nasty about it. If you’re Christian that’s great, if you’re Muslim that’s great, if you believe that magic fluffy unicorns rule the universe that’s great, but don’t shove your doctrines down my throat.— Callie In my experience, people unaffiliated with religion tend to be tolerant of everyone. Not saying that religious people aren’t nice, just that I think more unreligious youth can make the world a more loving place. Or everyone can swallow any hatred they have for people not like them and the world can finally be at peace. As of now I find myself affiliated with a religion. Mostly because I follow my parent’s footsteps. I see this also happening with my friends. I do agree that every generation people aren’t as religious. For example : my dad. My dad doesn’t worship/pray to our god everyday. As for my grandparents praying to god is a daily routine for them. I think young people are becoming less religious because of the diversity and exposure to different religions and cultures, Also there is a lot of technology and activities to do instead of believing in a religion. I also think people are becoming more busy to be committed to a religion, and in the end not believe in anything at all. t think for people to express their morals outside of worship services, depends on how serious do they believe in them. But for the most part I think people do. I think the decline of religious beliefs means that America is becoming more neutral and independent. So maybe the future generation would focus on other things and improving America.— Nisha S I was raised going to a non-denominational Christian church, and although I sometimes preferred to sleep in on those early Sunday mornings, I was, for the most part, always receptive of the lessons and messages therein. For me, religion serves a much greater purpose than believing just to believe. The church, or more specifically the Bible (bear with me here, I’m not trying to get all preachy, just share my perspective and experience) provides so much knowledge about the ins and outs of life (just look at Proverbs; so much knowledge in one book), how to deal with tough situations that we ALL still go through so many centuries later, and more. In addition to providing a means of wisdom and clarity, I believe my religion has played a role in shaping me to be a loving, genuine person. And although identifying with a religion is not necessarily a prerequisite for being a good/loving person, it definitely has the capability of roping in people who may not have otherwise explored the more compassionate components of themselves/their “souls.” It’s highly unfortunate that there are people who claim to be religious/Christian and yet spread hate for the gay community, for example. (and believe it or not, there are some “Christians” who boast their hatred for minorities). I’m not sure what Bible they’re reading or what church they grew up in (most likely the church of some morally corrupt “Pastor” trying to spread his own f’d up views). Believe me when I say: They, along with their corrupt, self-serving “beliefs,” are the minority. At least, I hope they are. In sum, religion is more than a tool of seclusion, as some of the aforementioned misguided souls use it. In fact, it is a tool of INCLUSION. It helps to develop mature, compassionate souls. It also helps people to become strong, spiritually, and believe me, that definitely comes in handy as you progress in life and experience new (or even some old) challenges. Not everyone feels like they have the strength they need to endure life’s challenges on their own, and not everyone has family or genuine friends there to help ease some of that burden. For those people, and for me, God is a source of strength when I can’t muster it up within myself. There have literally been days where I’ve had to pray for strength just to get up and do what I had to do for the day because of such psychological (and sometimes, emotional) exhaustion, and maybe it was just a fluke, but it works. It helps (and is necessary, even) to have a source outside of ourselves in which to rely for strength, wisdom, guidance, etc. Some people might say that prayer/belief in God makes one weak, or that just because you pray for something and it happens doesn’t mean it’s real, but A) I’d rather be weak for praying than taking hard drugs/drinking more than is required for health reasons and potentially ruining my life/not living as productive a life as I could, and B) even if I am praying and it’s some massive coincidence when my prayers get answered, at the end of the day, they were answered, and I don’t know how or if they would otherwise have – so what’s the harm? My theory is that the younger generations are straying from religion because of the people from older generations who claim religion and yet, hold contradictory beliefs such as “it’s okay to hate gays.” As a Christian, my theory on homosexuality and, more specifically, government intrusion on marriage laws is this: the Bible does not advocate homosexual relations, but clearly God still gave people the free will to live and love as they choose, and so should the government. Government has no business interfering in such personal choices. Also, just because the Bible doesn’t advocate homosexuality, doesn’t mean Christians were intended to spread hatred for them. That is just someone’s own f’d up interpretation, and is so not representative of the faith as a whole. Please, believe me when I say that. They should be ashamed. Maybe they would be if they had the proper cognitive function required to do so. (haha, ok, had to throw one in there) So please, don’t let other peoples’ misguided takes on religion and what it means to be a Christian govern your own beliefs. If you don’t tend toward religion, that’s fine as well, I NEVER shove my beliefs down the throats of others or even make subtle hints to make people feel uncomfortable; nothing like that.— preppyblackgirl.tumblr.com There’s a fundamental misunderstanding of atheism by non atheists. No one knows what causes it.— zack

Greetings, Learning Expressions Readers! In October, we’ve got some very exciting reading-related events happening at our Learning Express stores! During the second week of the month, we’ll be celebrating both Read for the Record and the first annual Star Wars Reads Day. Wondering what these events are all about? Read on! Read for the Record For the last three years, millions of adults and children have helped support early literacy through Jumpstart’s Read for the Record event. On a single day (this year it’s October 4) millions of children around the country gather to read one single book—with the goal of setting a new reading record together. Last year, 2.2 million (!!) readers participated, all reading the adorable Llama Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. For an overview of the 2011 Read for the Record, tune in here: The selection this year is Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by Jacky Davis and David Soman. The book delightfully documents one of the Bug Squad play dates (the Squad consisting of Ladybug Girl, Bumblebee Boy, Dragonfly Girl, and Butterfly Girl) and teaches a valuable lesson about friendship, feelings, and the beauty of compromise. As Lulu and her friends romp through the forest and harness their super Bug powers, Lulu is thrilled that, “Everything is going just how she wanted it to!” But what happens when things don’t go exactly Lulu’s way? Well you’ll just have to read and find out! Join us next week on our Facebook page when we’ll be giving away a copy of the book every day of the week—or if you can’t wait that long head over to We Give Books and read it online! Make sure that you also pledge to read that day, so your numbers can be added to the grand total reading tally! Star Wars Reads Day May the force of literacy be with you! On October 6, we’ll be celebrating the very first Star Wars Reads Day. Star Wars Reads Day was created by Lucasfilm with the purpose of celebrating reading and Star Wars. There are over 1000 official events across the country, including many at Learning Express stores. The events will feature story times, character visits, as well as crafts and activities. Get in touch with your local store to see exactly what fun they have planned. We hope you join us at one of these fun filled events next week, and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook for your chance to win a copy of Lady Bug Girl and the Bug Squad! Talk to you again soon!

All of the chicks are very sociable, and when we talk to them or approach the tank, they run to get as close to us as they can, and they jump up and down trying to get to us. They enjoy being held, and the boys made them a "playpen" by cutting the sides off two large cardboard boxes and taping them together to make a fence, then we put a paper tablecloth left over from a birthday party on the floor inside the pen, and let them run around. So far, our cats are not interested in being around them when they are out, and our dog acts like he's afraid of them! Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study has a section on chicks, and it includes some wonderful information for turning a study of chicks into a lesson. She writes about the "chicken ways," describing how to teach children the "details" of chicks, from the egg tooth and downy feathers, to the ways they eat, sleep, and communicate. There is also a discussion on the differences between chickens and "perching birds." I read this section first, and then I talked about it with my boys and read passages to them. We looked at our chicks and observed the details Anna Comstock wrote about. I followed the prompts in the book to ask the boys questions about their observations of the chicks and about what they remember from our visit to the farm where we got the eggs. If you haven't seen this book, it is a wonderful resource for science and nature study and is a complete field guide as well. I have used it countless times since we began our homeschool journey, and it has become one of my go-to resources. It has a place on our bookshelves, but it is usually out on my desk or on the table being used. No matter what grade your children are in, this book makes a great starting point for science, covering teaching methods for nature study, animals, plants, earth, and sky. The internet archive has the book free online. (It is over 850 pages long, so beware before you start to print it.) In addition to the handbook, we have visited our local feed and seed store a few times to get chick starter feed, and have ended up spending a half hour each time talking to the knowledgeable staff and farmers who stop in. The boys have loved visiting the baby chicks, turkeys, ducks, and mama cat and kittens who inhabit this wonderland, and we have brought home some vegetable plants for our garden. These visits have become weekly field trips. We bought a couple of hobby farm magazines with articles on chickens to learn more about taking good care of our little chicky-babies. 1 comment: we've recently got baby chicks too! they've been so much fun to have and watch grow and our grankids love them! we too have taken regular trips to the 'stock shop' to look around and see what's new...lots of cute animals to see. they are lots of work and not cheap but it's all been a great experience....

Recharge Your Life! I better remember to tell my sister “Thank you!” For one thing, she is always there for me: nudging me into action with a kind word or a kick in the pants, collaborating on how to best help our elderly parents, listening to complaints about bills and insurance, or just sending words of good cheer and encouragement. But this specific nod of appreciation is for giving me a great little book: Oil for Your Lamp: Women Taking Care of Themselves (2010, Simple Truths, LLC). The book shares a deceptively simple message, but if taken to heart its truth can be life-changing. The authors, Lisa Hammond & B.J. Gallagher, present stories, poems, photos and advice to illustrate the wisdom of Mother Teresa’s words: “To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.” The book is divided into two sections: How & Why We Let Our Lamps Run Low and How to Fill Our Own Lamps. The first section reminds readers how easy it is to let doing too much and doing for others take over our lives. In part, women are socialized to be care-givers—of others, not of ourselves. And we have internalized that expectation too well, giving it more and more control as we master the art of multi-tasking. For me, one of the best features of the book is the many quotes interspersed throughout from a wide array of sources, including everyone from Mother Teresa & Oprah to Winnie the Pooh & Mark Twain. These quotes trumpet the lessons offered in the second section of the book. The advice on how to recharge is what sounds so simple, as it reminds readers of what we often know but do not put into action in our day-to-day lives. The basics include realizing it is okay to put ourselves first, to ask for help, and to simply do nothing at times. My favorite advice is the challenge to follow the edict so often given to children: Go outside and play! Personally, my playtime usually involves a sojourn into Nature—or taking a nice long catnap. The book and its simple direct message are great gifts! Think about giving them to others. If someone gives the book to you, be sure you remember to say “thanks.” Paying attention to what is good and right in your life—perhaps through a gratitude journal—can help you keep life’s demands in perspective, which in turn can help you set the best priorities for yourself. So, the next time you are taking a day to detox, laying down for a nap, or saying “no” to a new commitment, also remember to give thanks. Of course, there is a lot in life worthy of appreciation: acts of kindness, words of hope or encouragement, a helping hand, a positive attitude, just an awareness of life’s blessings, or even the beauty of Nature. So count your blessings and jump-start the re-charging process! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go call my sister—and maybe send some flowers to a friend. “Don’t under estimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things we can’t hear, and not bothering.” Winnie the Pooh “If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race.” Oprah Winfrey

So Republicans are responding to the new Priorities USA ad featuring Bain layoff victim Joe Soptic, who lost his job and health insurance in 2001 and whose wife died of cancer in 2006, with a new web video focusing almost entirely on the question of whether or not Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter was correct when she said she didn't know exactly when Soptic's wife passed way. But what I can understand is why they don't want to deal with the issue raised by the Priorities USA ad: Mitt Romney's lack of concern for people like Joe Soptic. Romney made millions on the deal involving Soptic's company, but Soptic was left holding the bag: out of a job and without health insurance. Within five years, his wife?who herself had lost health insurance from another job?died of cancer. Nobody can say for sure if Soptic's life would have been saved if she'd had health insurance. But one thing we do know is that if Obamacare had been in effect when Soptic was laid off, she would have had health insurance and access to to the health care that might have saved her life. In fact, Romney's campaign tried to defend itself yesterday by saying basically the same thing, arguing that if Soptic had been in Massachusetts, Romneycare would have provided coverage. That would have been a good argument to make, but Mitt Romney has now abandoned Romneycare. If he gets his way, Obamacare will be repealed, jeopardizing the health security of families just like Joe Soptic's. Romney once supported taking Romneycare national, but when it became politically inconvenient, he flip-flopped to save his own skin. And that's what Mitt Romney has always been about: ruthlessly putting himself first. That's why Joe Soptic got the raw end of the deal when Mitt Romney was CEO and sole owner of Bain Capital. That's why Mitt Romney made millions even when his investments went bankrupt, putting employees out of work, destroying their retirement funds, and kicking them off insurance. That's why Mitt Romney has never made a promise he wouldn't break for the right price. And that's why Mitt Romney is not what this country needs as president. Republicans want to dismiss Soptic's story as being the equivalent of an accusation of murder. But that's not what it is. It is, however, an accusation of callousness. The central point of the ad is that Mitt Romney put his own interests ahead of others, a pattern that we see continued to this very day with Romney's abandonment of his signature policy achievement, Romneycare. The fact that Republicans refuse to defend Romney on the merits and instead try to shift the debate into hyperbole and irrelevancy speaks volumes about just how weak Romney's position is on this very point, and Democrats can't afford to walk away from this fight.

This page contains a list of latest news about Accident which has been collected from credible news resources: CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, TIME Magazine, FoxNews, BBC, New York Times, CBS, Sky News, Reuters, World Magazine, etc. Apart from News, you can also use the tabs to browse Accident images, videos, wiki information, tweets, documents and weblinks. Accident News Accident as." Types [edit] Physical and non-physical [edit] Physical examples of accidents include unintended collisions or falls, being injured by touching something sharp, hot, or electrical, or ingesting poison. Non-physical examples are unintentionally revealing a secret or otherwise saying something incorrectly, forgetting an appointment, etc. By activity [edit] - Accidents during the execution of work or arising out of it are called work accidents. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 337 million accidents happen on the job each year, resulting, together with occupational diseases, in more than 2.3 million deaths annually.[1] - In contrast, leisure-related accidents are mainly sports injuries. By vehicle [edit] - Bike accidents - Tram accidents - Traffic collisions - Sailing ship accidents Most common causes [edit].[2] The United States also collects statistically valid injury data (sampled from 100 hospitals) through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.[3] This program was revised in 2000 to include all injuries rather than just injuries involving products.[3] Data on emergency room visits is also collected through the National Health Interview Survey.[4] See also [edit] General [edit] - Accident analysis - Accident-proneness - Human error model - Injury - Injury prevention - List of accidents and disasters by death toll - Safety - Safety engineering - Risk management Transportation [edit] - Air safety - Bicycle safety - Car - List of rail accidents - Tram accident - Sailing ship accidents Other specific topics [edit] - Aisles: Safety and regulatory considerations - Explosives safety - Nuclear and radiation accidents - Occupational safety and health - Sports injury References [edit] - ^ "ILO Safety and Health at Work". International Labour Organization (ILO) - ^. - ^ a b CPSC. National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Database query available through: NEISS Injury Data. - ^ NCHS. Emergency Department Visits. CDC. External links [edit]

Lendler An anonymous Lendler owns it. 6 weeks ago - Advertisement mjbhc owns it. 6 weeks ago sanjon owns it. 19 weeks ago shiloh owns it. 38 weeks ago bashoemaker61 owns it. 38 weeks ago - Advertisement uncw05 owns it. 39 weeks ago Jennifer Wardrip owns it. 1 year ago Marianne owns it. 1 year ago - Advertisement SUMMARY Thai criminals kidnap Andrew’s five-year old daughter from their home in a secure Moo Baan (Gated Community) in Bangkok, and his Thai wife blames him. After two years of heartache, it seems they have lost Jennifer for good and their happy marriage comes under so much pressure that he feels he will soon lose his wife, as well. However, after months of steady research, he conceives an amazing plan. He studied the great long jump champions of the past, and noticed how their amazing feats attracted worldwide publicity. He discovers a new power or procedure that he can use to match or even surpass their records, which will result in worldwide publicity. He recruits his grandson Jason, to help him prepare for this great challenge. However, he is too old for serious competition, so he enters a local UK athletics event. On the day of the competition, he uses his new technique and is so successful he soon has the whole world clamouring for information. However, things start to go wrong. When the tremendous publicity of his long jump reaches a peak, disaster looms from a suggestion he is cheating, or taking drugs. This appears to bring Andrew’s plan to find his daughter and save his marriage to a halt. Discover how, despite Jason’s fumbling help and mistakes, he overcomes all obstacles until he is able to put into action the final stage of his amazing plan. You will find mystery, excitement, fantasy, romance and much more as the story continues. Written by Brian Hunt, the bestselling author of “Michael’s Irish Magic” and “The Dariwn Manuscript”. AUTHOR’S COMMENTS I found it difficult to classify this novel, because it falls into many categories. There is a great deal of suspense and action in the early part, which covers the abduction and the immediate consequences. But then as in so many cases of child-abduction, the family goes into a kind of limbo, wondering what steps to take next. So it is in the novel. At this point, two things happen. 1. The hero finds he has an amazing power, which he realises he can use to great effect in trying to re-unite his family. 2. His grandson, looking for a new career, comes to live with him. The story now has two interleaved threads and becomes interesting as the well-matched pair work together on honing the hero’s new power, and make plans on how to put it to good use. This is a complex novel, quite long, but well worth the effort in reading it! EXCERPT “Please tell me you’re not honestly serious about this long-jump scheme, Andrew. I listened to your theories and arguments this morning, and they all sounded practical and genuine enough, but mate, look at you. You’re a gangling sixty-nine year old grandfather without a muscle on his body; my God mate, a thirteen-year old girl can jump further than you can—please give up this crazy idea right now. Don’t embarrass yourself and the family, Andrew.” David reached under his deckchair for a beer, but finding nothing there, he said, “If you really must exercise, pop into the kitchen and get a couple of beers, and then the pair of us can sit down and have a good laugh about it.” Andrew ignored his brother’s cynical comments, and without even looking at him walked to the start of the run-up path, as the vibrations began to build up in his body. He turned around, looked down the path towards the sandpit, and then started his ungainly run, wavering as he passed David’s reclining figure. “Go on my son,” called out David, sarcastically and enthusiastically shouting his brother on as if he was the favourite horse in the two o’clock at Epsom Racecourse. “That’s the way, mate, give it some stick…” His voice tailed off as Andrew suddenly picked up speed about ten yards from the take-off board, almost sprinted like a young man, and leaped skywards over the sandpit. With an open mouth, he saw his brother sail across the sand and land gracefully in the grass beyond the pit. David jumped to his feet, “What the hell!” Lendle stats - 8 Lendlers own it - 8 Copies available - 0 Lends requested - 0 Lends fulfilled - 0 Lends outstanding - 0 Spots in line booked

>>IMAGE { 6 comments… read them below or add one } Oh, LEOnes~~~~~~WIdewylde OPEN hugs. keep breeeething. IN and OUT. *sores* hurt, they just DO ***************************** and i like the J. K-Zinn quote. did u know I took a meditation course by him (from a woman doc. who learned from him) ?? Mindfulness Based Stress reduction. I still listen to the “body-scan” med. CD & it Helps me a lot. Hugs inTO U. oh Leonie. wrapping my arms around you. stroking your hair. listening. sitting with it…with you. something tells me that you need to be outside a lot through this. outside in nature where your uncle can speak to you through the wind, the leaves dancing, the sunlight on the water, and the ripples in a lake. i hope it’s okay that i shared that with you. i am here if you need me… loving you. xoxoxo Oh Leonie, I am so sorry for your grief. All the platitudes in the world don’t help when the grief is fresh. And you’re right, just sitting with it until everything else balances out is the best well to survive it. I’ll say a prayer for you and your Uncle. Take care of yourself. Chris aka Bright Phoenix Leonie~ I agree with Bohemian Girl. I too think you need to be outside for this. It is much easier to ride the waves of emotions, especially grief when you are boxed in. Step outside, breath deeply. Know that your uncle is also on his own journey. One that we both know isn’t coming to an ending. It is a beginning. all my love to you leonie. reaching my hands to where you are to help hold you up and keep you strong in your time of need. love, Dawn What beautiful pictures and beautiful, raw, honest words. “there is duality in my seeing, i am living both in the spirit world of knowing it will be and is okay, and in the human world of feeling sadness and grief.” From what I have read here on your blog, you seem to be such a free spirit ~ I agree that it seems only natural that being outside and allowing the sun to shine it’s grace upon your face, the wind to flow through your hair and nature to remind you of the spiritual truth you speak of will make this time easier to process and feel. You are in my thoughts…. Thea you alreday sound like you are working through your grief beautifully…they are always with us! I like the thought that we all remember we are buddah…that is a very beautiful thought to me big HUG <3

So I was enchanted when I found some illustrations from a little book titled The Architect and Builder's Miscellany, or Pocket Library, Containing Original Picturesque Designs in Architecture, for Cottages, Farm, Country, and Town Houses, Public Building, Temples, Green Houses, Bridges, Lodges, and Gates for Entrances to Parks and Pleasure Grounds, Stables, Monumental Tombs, Garden Seats, etc.I found the drawings in the New York Public Library Digital Gallery, a terrific resource for anyone interested in period pictures of all types. With a little research, I discovered that the author of the book, and its illustrator, was Charles Middleton [1756-c.1818]. He was an architect and a surveyor, and had done work for the Prince of Wales on Carlton House. He presented designs over several years at the Society of Artists and the Royal Academy. Middleton published at least four books of designs and this was one of his most popular, first published in 1799, and still advertised, in the Edinburgh Review, in 1827. I found a copy of the book at Sims Reed Rare Books. It was available for purchase at £1800 and it seems to have sold! A rare book indeed... The illustrations at NYPL are all house plans, and they run the gamut from classic architecture to the cottage ornee to the downright eccentric. Here is a little folly with five rooms on the main floor, and an unknown number above. I love the conical thatched roof, and just look at the way the rooms are fitted in the circular space! Then there is the classic design of a small home at the top of this post (its most attractive feature, I think, is the lovely fanlight over the door) and a larger classical house below. This rather austere house has a standard floor plan except for the 'Dressing Room' which connects to the Dining Room and the Library. What is that about? The cottage ornee below seems to have a charming ground floor plan that offers all the neccessities of space, and the upper rooms must have been very interesting. Unfortunately the scan is a little pale, but again there is a 'Dressing Room' to the right of the front entrance just before you enter the Study. Is this the equivalent of our 'powder room'? The elevation of the last house that I will offer is, I think, less than pleasing but the floor plan has its merits. The small room labelled "Cabinet" has distinct possibilities for reading, writing and retreat. I notice that each floor plan offers an "Anti-room" on the Ground Floor. I am wondering if this was an innovation that only Charles Middleton included in his houses, or if it was a well-known addition to the Georgian house. My copy of "Georgian and Regency Houses Explained" does not mention such a thing. I wish that there were plans of the upper floors in this book, but there were only 60 aquatint plates, and I expect space was at a premium given the quantity of structures listed in the extended title of the book. I would love to see the other types of illustrations--Monumental Tombs? Gates for Entrances to Parks and Pleasure Grounds? Nothing fires my imagination like a building which my characters can inhabit. Am I alone in this? Do you love houses? 'Til next time, Lesley-Anne 2 comments: I DO love houses and architecture. I think if I had to choose another profession other than writer, architect would be it. These pictures are so wonderful. And yes, how strange to have a dressing room next to the dining room. I wonder if it was meant as a gentler way to say "retiring room"? Great post as usual Lesley-Anne. You certainly could be right, Anne. Although the rooms designated are quite spacious, bigger than necessity would require :) Thanks for visiting!

A big thanks to Jewel for coordinating this beautiful blog train with contributions from several of my fellow designers at theStudio! I love the palette that was selected and that it is very different from the traditional Valentine’s colors. I chose to use the darker colors; they will coordinate perfectly with all the other contributions! Once you collect all the pieces, you’ll be able to create many beautiful memory pages! Here’s a preview of my kit; if interested, you can download it here (link expired 3-2-13). The train officially starts February 14. If someone’s link isn’t up yet, be sure to check back – we’re in several different time zones. These kits will only be available as freebies for a limited time, so grab them quickly. If you have problems with the links or this table format, let me know. 62 comments: Thank you so much for your beautiful mini. Thank you Maureen! I truly enjoy your designs. Thanks for making and sharing them. I truly enjoy your creations, they always "speak" to me. Thanks for creating and thanks for sharing. They certainly will coordinate, thank you so much, they are lovely Thank you for the gorgeous mini kit. I love the frame. Beautiful mini, thanks so much and Happy Valentines Day! Thank you! Love it! Thank You so much for your wonderful portion of the blogtrain. Happy Valentine's Day!--Franki I think this is my favorite part of the train so far! Thank you so much. Hello and Thank you for this lovely download... Thank you for this gorgeous kit, Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks for your part of the blog hop. Pretty mini. Thanks so much. Thanks for your contribution. It's gorgeous! I especially love the shade of green with the brown -- so earthy yet Spring-like. Happy Valentine's Day to you, too! Lovely! Thank you Maureen and Happy Valentine's! Beautiful mini! Thanks for your generosity. love the colors-thanks so much Its beautiful Maurine! HUGS! Awesome! Thanks so much! Thank you. I always love your work. Your mini kit is wonderful. Thank you so much! Thank you. LOVE LOVE LOVE This is beautiful, thank you so much. I especially love the greens in your mini, and am looking forward to scrapping with them. So pretty! Thank you. thanks so much- love it! Thank you so much! Love your part..thank you so very much! Thanks so much!! Thank you so much! Gorgeous part, very pretty, thanks so much for sharing! how lovely, thank you so much, love the freshness of your kits. Thank you so much for your part in this lovely kit! Thank you so much! I love the grame and paper mat especially. Great colors. Beautiful! Thank you so much! Happy Valentine's Day to a very talented designer!!! beautiful mini! Thank you very much. Thanks for sharing! Love the colors! thank-you for the beautiful kit! I LOVE IT! So PRETTY! Thank you so much for sharing with me.:) Thanks for the wonderful mini! Darling mini! Thank you so much! lovely part! thank you :) Love this Always blog train. Thank you for the beautiful pieces, Love it ... thanks so much for sharing Maurine and God bless. love the beautiful colors...yummy! thanks for sharing. C. Thank you. love the colors - thanks! Thanks so much! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful part. Your work is always so unique! Love it. Thanks so much! Merci beaucoup. I highlighted your freebie on my Saturday's Guest Freebies. Thank you. Maurine, your portion of the blog train is stunning! I love your work. Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you for the lovely freebie! Thank you so much! thank you Ty beautiful kit xxx Thank you! Thank you so much. It is a lovely kit. Love you kit. It is beautiful. Thanks so much Beautiful kit!! Thank you so much for sharing your hard work!!! Thank you so much for this beautiful kit, I am really looking forward to using it.

Since the first holiday tree retail lot was set up on the streets of New York City in 1851, Americans have been enjoying the tradition of a live tree to celebrate the holiday season. Today, over 32 million trees are sold each year. This industry employs about 100,000 people and in the United States it is estimated that there are over 1 million acres in tree production. There are many different species of tree used in the holiday market. The most popular ones are eastern white pine, Fraser fir, Scotch pine and Norway spruce. For many families, selection and purchase of a holiday tree is an annual tradition. This is usually the official start of the holiday season for many households. Proper selection of a tree will help make the season enjoyable for you and your family. Thomas E. Walker If you purchase your tree from a sales lot, always check your tree for freshness. This is important because the length of time since the tree was cut and the way the tree was handled can greatly influence how well it holds its needles and fragrance. onto the cut trunk end. Green needles should not drop off the tree. You will usually have a few dried inner needles that fall, but the outer ones should not be affected. Once you have selected your tree, you should locate the tree in a safe place, preferably near a wall or corner where it is not likely to be knocked over. Keep the tree away from any heat source, such as hot air ducts, wood stoves and fireplaces. Light cords and connections used in decorating the tree should be in good working condition. Lights should always be turned off at bedtime or when leaving for an extended period of time. The following formula is one that many people use with their tree to keep it fresh. Ingredients: 2 cups of Karo syrup 2 ounces liquid chlorine bleach 2 pinches Epsom salt teaspoon Borax 1 teaspoon chelated iron 2 gallons hot water (You can find the Karo syrup, Borax and liquid chlorine bleach at your grocery store, the Epsom salt at your drug store and the chelated iron at a garden or plant store.) Using a bucket that will hold the 2 gallons of hot water, add the other ingredients and thoroughly mix them into the water. With a saw cut a one-inch section off the base of the tree, making it a level cut. Immediately stand the trunk of the tree in the solution and leave it there for 24 hours. Remove the tree from the bucket, but keep the liquid in the bucket. Then place your tree into a tree stand that has a water reservoir. Once you have located your tree in its position in your house, you can then take a cup and fill the tree stand reservoir with the liquid mixture from the bucket. Every day that your tree is standing in your house you will need to refill the reservoir. The ingredients in this solution serve various purposes. The Karo syrup provides the sugar necessary to allow the base of the tree to take up the water. Up to 1.5 gallons of water can be taken up by the tree over a two-week period. The Boron allows the tree to move the water and sugar out to the needles and the magnesium compounds in Epsom salts - along with the iron from the chelated iron - provides the essential components for the production of chlorophyll which keeps the tree green. The bleach prevents mold from forming in the solution. Have a safe holiday season. Thomas E. Walker is county extension director for Mifflin and Juniata counties and director of the Penn State Learning Center in Lewistown. He can be contacted by phone at 248-9618 or via e-mail at MifflinExt@psu.edu. P.O. Box 588 , Lewistown, PA 17044 | © 2013. All rights reserved.| Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

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Economics of transition Managing intellectual property International communication gazette Indiana business magazine Journal of international food & agribusiness marketing Journal of business and management Telecommunications policy Journal of database marketing & customer strategy management Journal of modelling in management International journal of nonprofit and voluntary sector marketing International journal of research in marketing Review of industrial organization Journalism & mass communication quarterly Journal of marketing theory and practice International journal of wine marketing TelevisionWeek (Chicago, Ill.) 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Tobacco control Strategic advertising management (3rd ed, 2009) / Percy, Larry The advertising and consumer culture reader (2009) / Turow, Joseph Cross-cultural marketing : theory, practice and relevance (2009) / Burton, Dawn Marketing across cultures (5th ed, 2009) / Usunier, Jean-Claude Sponsorship's holy grail : six sigma forges the link between sponsorship & business goals (2005) / Bednar, Raymond Contemporary strategic marketing (2002) / Brennan, Ross Global marketing and advertising : understanding cultural paradoxes (3rd ed, 2010) / Mooij, Marieke K. de The practice of public relations (11th ed, 2011) / Seitel, Fraser P. Consumers (2nd ed, 2004) / Arnould, Eric J. Advertising : principles & practice. (8th ed, 2009) / Wells, William The practice of market research : an introduction (3rd ed, 2009) / McGivern, Yvonne Consumer behavior : buying, having, and being (8th ed, 2009) / Solomon, Michael R. Marketing research : an applied orientation (6th ed, 2010) / Malhotra, Naresh K. This is PR : the realities of public relations (10th ed, 2010) / Newsom, Doug Strategic brand management (2007) / Elliott, Richard Marketing strategy : the difference between marketing and markets (3rd ed, 2007) / Fifield, Paul Strategic marketing : creating competitive advantage (2010) / West, Douglas C. Emarketing excellence : the heart of ebusiness (2nd ed, 2005) / Smith, P. R. Strategic marketing (9th ed, 2009) / Cravens, David W. Internet marketing : strategy, implementation and practice (4th ed, 2009) / Chaffey, Dave Principles of direct and database marketing : a digital orientation (4th ed, 2008) / Tapp, Alan Integrated marketing communications (2nd ed, 2005) / Pickton, David Sponsorship : for a return on investment (2007) / Masterman, Guy Cooperative strategy : competing successfully through strategic alliances (1999) / Dussauge, Pierre Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications (3rd ed, 2007) / Clow, Kenneth E. Advertising (2006) / Yeshin, Tony Business ethics and values : individual, corporate and international perspectives (3rd ed, 2009) / Fisher, C. M. Business research methods (2nd ed, 2008) / Blumberg, Boris Marketing communications : interactivity, communities and content (5th ed, 2009) / Fill, Chris The business of sport management (2004) / Beech, John The practice of advertising (5th ed, 2005) / Mackay, Adrian Consumer behaviour : a European perspective. (3rd ed, 2006) / Solomon, Michael R. Marketing strategy and competitive positioning. (4th ed, 2008) / Hooley, Graham J. Doing business in emerging markets : entry and negotiation strategies (2002) / Cavusgil, S. Tamer Marketing plans : how to prepare them, how to use them (6th ed, 2007) / McDonald, Malcolm Consumer behaviour (2nd ed, 2009) / Evans, Martin Advertising : principles & practice (7th ed, 2006) / Wells, William Principles of marketing (13th ed, 2010) / Kotler, Philip Strategic brand management : building, measuring, and managing brand equity (3rd ed, 2008) / Keller, Kevin Lane Event sponsorship (2003) / Skinner, Bruce E. Building great customer experiences (2002) / Shaw, Colin Management research (3rd ed, 2008) / Easterby-Smith, Mark Consumer behavior (4th ed, 2007) / Hoyer, Wayne D. Integrated marketing communications 2000-2001 (2000) / Yeshin, Tony Competitive advantage : creating and sustaining superior performance (2004) / Porter, Michael E. Sports sponsorship and marketing communications : a European perspective (2005) / Lagae, Wim Brand management : a theoretical and practical approach (2003) / Riezebos, H. J. Essentials of marketing research (4th ed, 2005) / Proctor, Tony Kotler on marketing (2001) / Kotler, Philip Consumer behavior (9th ed, 2007) / Schiffman, Leon G. Electronic marketing : theory and practice for the twenty-first century (2004) / O'Connor, John Customer relationship management (2005) / Peelen, Ed Research methods for business students (5th ed, 2009) / Saunders, Mark Global brand strategy : unlocking brand potential across countries, cultures and markets (2003) / Van Gelder, Sicco International business (4th ed, 2006) / Rugman, Alan M. Relationship marketing : creating stakeholder value (2002) / Christopher, Martin Internet marketing : strategy, implementation and practice (3rd ed, 2006) / Chaffey, Dave Essentials of marketing (4th ed, 2002) / Lancaster, Geoffrey A. Consumer behavior : buying, having, and being (6th ed, 2004) / Solomon, Michael R. Research methods for business : a skill-building approach. (5th ed, 2010) / Sekaran, Uma Principles of marketing (12th ed, 2008) / Kotler, Philip Brands and branding (2004) / Clifton, Rita Consumer behavior (8th ed, 2004) / Schiffman, Leon G. Finance and accounting for business (2nd ed, 2008) / Ryan, Bob Business research methods (2nd ed, 2007) / Bryman, Alan Marketing : concepts and strategies. (5th ed, 2006) / Dibb, Sally The media student's book (4th ed, 2006) / Branston, Gill Management of event operations (2006) / Tum, Julia Marketing research (7th ed, 2005) / Chisnall, Peter M. Public relations : an introduction (2nd ed, 2000) / Harrison, Shirley Marketing communications : engagements, strategies and practice (4th ed, 2006) / Fill, Chris Managing across borders : the transnational solution (2nd ed, 2002) / Bartlett, Christopher A. Business research methods (10th ed, 2008) / Cooper, Donald R. International marketing strategy (5th ed, 2005) / Bradley, Frank Marketing management and strategy (3rd ed, 2002) / Doyle, P. Accounting : an introduction (4th ed, 2008) / McLaney, E. J. Advertising. (2000) / Wright, Ray Organizational behaviour / David A. Buchanan, Andrzej A. Huczynski. (7th ed, 2010) / Buchanan, David A. Consumer behavior and marketing strategy (7th ed, 2005) / Peter, J. Paul Integrated marketing communications : the holistic approach (1998) / Yeshin, Tony The European Union : economics and policies (7th ed, 2004) / el-Agraa, A. M. Consumer behavior (9th ed, 2001) / Blackwell, Roger D. Marketing management. (12th ed, 2006) / Kotler, Philip Even more offensive marketing : an exhilarating action guide to winning in business (1997) / Davidson, Hugh Purchasing and supply chain management (7th ed, 2006) / Lysons, Kenneth Strategic management : awareness & change. (6th ed, 2010) / Thompson, John L. Organisational behaviour and analysis : an integrated approach (4th ed, 2008) / Rollinson, Derek European business (2nd ed, 2006) / Johnson, Debra Marketing (2008) / Baines, Paul Strategic market management (7th ed, 2005) / Aaker, David A. Marketing strategy and competitive positioning (3rd ed, 2004) / Hooley, Graham J. Consumer psychology for marketing (2nd ed, 1998) / Foxall, G. R. Global logistics and supply chain management (2008) / Mangan, John Research methods for business students (3rd ed, 2003) / Saunders, Mark N. K. Service operations management : improving service delivery (2nd ed, 2005) / Johnston, Robert Exploring strategy. Text & cases (9th ed, 2011) / Johnson, Gerry Successful event management : a practical handbook (2nd ed, 2004) / Shone, Anton Market segmentation : how to do it, how to profit from it (3rd ed, 2004) / McDonald, Malcolm Retailing management (5th ed, 2004) / Levy, Michael Advertising. (4th ed, 2000) / White, Roderick see this blog post for more info

Missy Lodge, Associate State Librarian for Library Development State Library of Ohio In late 2008, the State Library of Ohio was chosen to participate in the third and final round of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s (BMGF) Opportunity Online hardware grant. This two year grant provides funds that assist public libraries with upgrading and adding public computer workstations for patrons in communities that have a high concentration of poverty and also have public computers that are at risk of becoming outdated with limited capacity for users. The BMGF, using their own process, determined which public libraries were poverty-eligible and thus met the first criteria for participating in the program. Those libraries then completed the TechAtlas technology planning tool to determine if they were “hardware vulnerable.” Those public libraries that met both criteria were invited to participate in the program. In total, 61 public library systems representing 162 public library outlets were included in the program. In order to receive BMGF funds, public libraries had to complete three requirements: send match verification and documentation to the State Library, attend the Public Library Association’s “Turning the Page: Building Your Library Community” Advocacy Training and complete the ALA Funding and Technology Access Survey. The BMGF valued each computer at $2600; this cost covers not only the initial purchase price but also the cost to maintain a workstation for four years. For Phase I of the program, a library had a match requirement of 25% ($650) per workstation and this escalates to 50% ($1300) in Phase II. This aligns with the BMGF goal of assisting libraries with building long-term support for sustaining free public access computers in libraries. Between October 2009 and March 2010, the State Library Board awarded $1,015,950 in BMGF Opportunity Online hardware grants to 60 Ohio public library systems. (Because of state budget cuts, one library opted out of the program prior to completing requirements.) In August 2010, these public libraries completed the TechAtlas program for a second time. This was used by the BMGF to ascertain if libraries met their Phase I requirements and was the first step toward participation in Phase II. To participate in Phase II, libraries must also complete a Phase II match verification and complete the ALA Funding and Technology Survey. The BMGF Opportunity Online hardware program is already having a huge impact in Ohio. According to the Foundation, 1 system opted in to Opportunity Online but did not complete the grant requirements, 520 workstations were granted in Year 1, and 855 workstations were purchased. A narrative report submitted to the State Library indicated that many library systems opted to purchase all of their required workstations the first year. Grant funds were also used for peripherals such as printers and software as well as for training, maintenance and support. One librarian noted that the additional computers mean that they can serve the same number of customers in a shorter timeframe, which is essential since they have had to cut their hours. Many libraries placed moneys in a special fund for future technology needs. Librarians also indicated that the Advocacy Training proved beneficial in either levy campaigns or in seeking grants. Almost all librarians noted that there is a growth in the use of the library computers. The BMGF Opportunity Online hardware grant became available to Ohio libraries at a very opportune time. The hardware was much needed and the advocacy training has proved invaluable. Libraries are completing their Phase II participation requirements and it is anticipated that most of the funds will be awarded at the January 2011 State Library Board meeting. Public Libraries will be asked to complete the TechAtlas program and the ALA Funding and Technology Survey in the fall of 2011 as the project concludes. Download PDF to print article.

I have been feeling more and more boundless during my times of prayer. When I close my eyes and sink deeper and deeper into it, I can begin to sense that the idea of my body as my boundary is contrived. That my true self is without limits. Like I said, I’m no ordinary squirrel. I remember when I was about nine that I had a life-changing moment driving past the lake in the passenger seat of my mom’s car. Looking out the window I suddenly realized in my gut that I was completely singular, completely alone in my experience. I remember looking at mom and, with no small sense of amazement, realized that she and I were two different people and our experience of the world would never fully converge. I would never know what her eyes saw as she looked at the same road I was looking at, or how the seat beneath her felt on her legs, or what thought was filling her mind from one moment to the next. It felt very isolating, yet somehow inspiring. There was suddenly a feeling of importance for my life, but also great alone-ness. Whether or not it is related to that early event, for most of my life I have been operating under an unexamined belief that we are all separate. Why wouldn’t I think that? Don’t most people think that? Doesn’t it look like that? I am me and you are you. I am one and you are one. Here we are: Even as I’ve come to know more about God, even as I’ve experienced inexplicable connections with a few very special people, even as I have done some reading up on metaphysics and theories of transpersonal connection, my grander experience of life has never really changed. So why would my overall paradigm change? But now, something new is dawning. The other night, as I was feeling boundless, I said, “Thank you for the way you move through all things.” With those words my paradigm changed. Suddenly there is a ONE. If my Self is boundless, then your Self is boundless. And his…and hers… Where do you begin and I end? Where does my spirit or consciousness or energy cease to inform yours and vice versa? Where does yellow end and green begin? I’m telling you, I am walking down the streets of Los Angeles the past few days passing people and thinking, “Do you know that we are actually colliding right now?? That you are made up of divinity just like the rest of us? How cool is that!?” This doesn’t mean I have to trust every person, that I have to welcome their energy into my experience, but I do think it is a part of the Love that I have asked to learn more about. As for separateness, I think we are separate as sensory processors and as egos. My little nine year-old self was right about that. But senses and egos are not all we are. ******************** A final reminder—for you and for me—that this blog was started with the idea that we are like waves. Remember that you can not point to where your wave ends and another’s begins. Nor can you can point to where your wave begins and the ocean ends. It is a metaphor I like…and now I like it even more. Hope you do too.

The short answer to that, for me, is not well…at first. In fact, ‘not well’ is a gross understatement. Depending on the particulars of the setback, on one end of the spectrum, I may get angry and loud or on the other end, I may get positively hysterical, screaming and crying and pounding my fist on the closest hard surface, be it a table or someone’s noggin. The latter was a recent reaction to losing an entire manuscript just as I was about to begin editing. Doesn’t matter how it happened, but my reaction was over the top, just a little. (I pounded my desk and not Hubby’s head, by the way.) Naturally, all I could think about was how much time, blood, sweat and tears went into that story. How would I ever retrieve the whole of it from my less than stellar memory? Did I even have any more blood, sweat and tears to shed? And time? Well, I had beta readers and a pro editor waiting on me. The rest of the day is a blur of padding around the house with my head down, staring into space, while alternately indulging in fits of sobbing. My mood had brightened by the time I woke the next morning. Oh I was still reeling from the shock of it all, but I could see clearly now what I had to do. There was only one thing I could allow myself to do…begin again. On the path to your own dreams and goals, all sorts of obstacles can block the path. The small stones that can litter the path are easy to kick out of your way. Then, there is the monstrous boulder. When it falls onto your path, you need some help moving an obstacle of that size. In my case, I had my Hubs, kids and a few friends telling me “Things happen for a reason” and “The book will be better than before”. Yes, it might be better. Or, it might not. And that’s the rub. Whatever you choose to believe is what you can expect to happen. A covey of dark angels swoop down on you and ask questions like: “Are you sure you want to do this all over again?” “Wouldn’t you rather sit back, binge on chocolate and read all day?” “You don’t really think a second book can possibly be better than your first masterpiece, do you?” “Hahahaha! Sucker! This was meant to be. Don’t waste your time rewriting!” Yes, my dark angels really did say all those things. But not immediately. At first, I was pumped up to write my “better” story. I knew I could accomplish it in a matter of a few weeks, too! My fingers flew over the keys…the first 3 days! They waited for my weakest moment. The moment my burst of excitement, drive and confidence wore thin. I was easy prey. The most evil dark angel appeared with all of his needling and prodding to get me to quit. I could have listened. I was certainly tempted. I even took time to think it through. “Should I drop this book? Maybe losing it was a sign that I shouldn’t be writing it.” An image of myself ‘walking down the street, shoulders hunched forward, tattered clothes, messy hair, carrying a bottle of gin’ flashed in front of my mind’s eye…that would be me as a quitter. I’M NO QUITTER! So I got right back to writing my story. My fingers aren’t flying as fast and I’ll need to replot the majority of the book but, it’s a fabulous feeling. When you have a setback – when a big ol’boulder jumps in your way – take another path or find a way to scoot around that boulder and continue on your way to reach your goals. Whatever you do, don’t listen to those dark angels partying on your shoulder. DON’T QUIT. READJUST, INSTEAD. You may have reacted differently that I in a similar situation. Care to share your reaction to a setback in goals or plans?

Tag Archives: trail Racer on the 12 Hours of Bradbury Course. Bike Passion on the Silver Screen: Taking in the NEMBA Mountain Bike Film Festival The dim heart of the Regency Theater swirls with energy as over one hundred mountain bikers greet each other in anticipation. The food and beer lines stretch along the back wall. Mountain bikers oogle raffle prizes including day-passes from Highland Mountain Bike Park, bike care-kits from Pedros, Two Fox suspension forks, CrossMax wheel-sets from Mavic and Back Bay Bicycles, and the Grand Prize, a Kona Tanuki mountain bike. This is the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) Mountain Bike Film Festival and the anticipation isn’t just for the Red Bones BBQ or the beer donated by Harpoon Brewery–or even the prizes–it’s for the films. While screenings of big name films happen all over the country, this is one of the few that celebrate the making of mountain bike films at the amateur level. These are videos made by mountain bikers about their own rides and adventures. Soon, the lights go dark and the films begin to tick off one by one. They are all short (rules require under 5 minutes, but most are under 3.) They all have limited production quality. They each shake, wobble and tilt in vertiginous ways. But what these films lack in production, they more than make up for in passion. As I watch beginner XC riders skitter through singletrack turns and freeriders send-it off dirt kickers, I realize that picking one to be the “People’s Choice” was going to be a contentious event. Mike Feeney produced a couple of hard-charging freeride videos that not only included hucking decent-sized jumps and ripping scary ladder bridges at Highland MBP, but also rednecks jumping ATVs and starting a snowmobile on fire. “Badassalon 2008″ and “I Didn’t Pump My Tire” head up the humorous entries with pellet rifles and a remake of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Marsha MacEachern’s “A Biker’s Playground” is a surprisingly emotional romp through the woods (and a lake.) I am surprised to see an animated feature, but Bryan McFarland put one together with some chill music. There is also an iPhone entry that has some of the best composed visuals in the festival. Two high school kids put together a strong contender for the People’s Choice award filming their mountain biking class riding homemade stunts. It is “One Speed Jasper” that barely edges out the other films for People’s Choice, however. This film used the GoPro HD camera famous for helmet-cam shots in so many adventure movies. Of course, the camera ended up attached to the usual places on the bike: helmet, rider’s chest and seatpost. What really made this film shine was that the subject wasn’t just the ride, but also the faithful mountain bike companion: the “trail dog.” In the true GoPro fashion of showing things from “your point of view,” the camera was attached to Jasper the Dog for a trail-dog’s-eye-view of a run through the woods chasing a bike. THIS is what makes amateur film shine. The footage shook like “Blair Witch Project” but it focused on a valuable part of mountain biking that often gets overlooked by the large production films. After watching Highland Mountain Bike Park’s GnarEast film winner, a good film that centered around the central “story” of the park and ride bus that shuttles riders in to Highland from surrounding towns, they announced the raffle winners. Not everyone left with a Kona mountain bike or set of Mavics, but, I think it’s fair to say, we all left with a greater appreciation for mountain biking, whether it’s the camaraderie of riders gathering in the dead of winter, the glimpse into where video will be taking us in the future or the passion for riding that made these films happen. Winnick Woods Trail Day Video Here is the film from the footage I shot during the Winnick Woods trail day. If you look at the dates of the trail day, you’ll see that it’s been a while since the work got done. I got the final shots of the completed work being ridden just a couple of days ago. Enjoy! Trail Day pt 2: IMBA Trail Care Crew It’s not every day that you get to work with the preeminent experts in your field. Greater Portland NEMBAgot that opportunity when they won a grant to bring the IMBA Trail Care Crew to Falmouth to teach a trail building clinic. Thirty people showed up for the workshop that included both in-class instruction and field work at the new Falmouth open land project. Chris and Leslie Kehmeier of the IMBA Trail Care Crew (East) spent the morning teaching us about “flow” of both water off the trail and of mountain bikers gliding along singletrack. After spraying a heavy coat of bug spray on ourselves, we picked up our Pulaskis, McLeods and rakes and and began the outdoor clinic. With their help and instruction, we turned 1800 ft of nothing but little pink flags into fresh, sustainable trail. There is still plenty of work to keep us busy out there, but with their technical, hands-on teaching, we have a good start on a great trail. Thank you, Chris and Leslie, and IMBA. Apply for a visit by the IMBA TCC here. Trail Work Day Pt 1: Winnick Woods There. Raging in Portland Mountain biking, for me, is a solo event. So I feel some apprehension when I ride into the parking lot to see a dozen cars parked with bikes on top. Normally I blame my work schedule for my lack of riding partners, but that’s only partly true. My thirst for alone-time derails any real attempt at finding people to ride with. Tonight, however, I’m heading out with the Rage on Portland group, a loose organization of riders who consistently meet up to ride. I do these rides once or twice a year. As I begin talking to the Ragers getting their bikes ready for the trail, I remember why. There is a subdued energy surrounding these people. They love trails. They love riding them. And they love riding them together. We set out and I drop in mid pack. I represent the center-point in this group of twenty-five–somewhere between the hammers and the cruisers, somewhere between the twenty-ish woman on her ninth ride ever and a sixty-five-year-old man who’d been riding since before I was born. There is a lot of chatting on the road. Then, we drop into the dense Maine woods. Sound disappears. Our tires roll over dry dirt and pine needles. The occasional rustle of dry leaves breaks the silence. The line of riders weaves like a multi-colored serpent through the forest. It’s like a dance where my personal experience gets swallowed up in the greater experience of the group. The line bunches up as we slow to say hi to a hiker with a border collie and thank her for letting us pass. once past, the line stretches until I can’t see either end. The banter picks up when we stop at trail junctions to wait for the rest of the group. While I’ve met most of these guys before, I don’t know any of them well enough to engage in the ribbing that goes on. Instead, I take it all in, learning about the people I’m with. Brian spends a lot of time crashing. Mike is riding strong after fracturing his hip in a crash the summer before and Katrina could kick all of our asses on a bike or climbing a rock face. There are riders who just got back from Moab and riders dreaming of making the trip to Kingdom Trails a couple of hours away. Even though I know nothing of their off-the-bike lives, I feel like I know them all. And they seem to know me–the important parts, at least. Maybe the bike is the only thing that unites us. I doubt it, but it doesn’t seem to matter. We set off again, pedaling into the woods. The only real competition amongst us is with the sun racing toward sunset. I follow the leaders, trying to memorize where the new trails are so when I come out here again, by myself, I can find them. The task is impossible in the labyrinth of trees. It doesn’t matter, I tell myself. I promise myself this is the year I put away my loner tendencies and begin riding with the group. Mourning Trail Closures in Montana A precedent-setting decision by made by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy condemns 150 miles of trail in the heart of Montana to closure and threatens over 700 more miles of singletrack throughout the state. The trail closures stem from a lawsuit filed by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Montana Wilderness Association and The Wilderness Society alleging that, by allowing mountain bikers to use the trails, the Gallatin National Forest Service failed to preserve the wilderness character of the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn wilderness study area (WSA). This ruling sets the stage for possible closures of trails in other WSAs around the state (and the greater US). This loss is personal for me. The Hyalite trail system was the solas I fled to during one of the lowest points of my life. I often headed out after work. Since I was on a mountain bike, I covered the distance to overlooks in the short hours before sunset that would have taken far too long on foot. I have many fond memories of watching the slanting rays of the sun light up raw peaks and tree-carpeted valleys in crisp alpenglow. Being in the center of all that beauty gave me the strength to wake up and go through it all again the next day. The Gallatin Forest Service office’s mountain bike-friendly policies make the trails surrounding Bozeman easily the best trails I have ever ridden. They built sustainable trails long before “sustainable trail-building” became a buzzword. Their trails consistently show less wear and less erosion than other trail systems around the US and should be a model for trail-building. Instead, it makes them an easy target for lawsuits. The IMBA and Montana Mountain Bike Alliance have vowed to continue the fight through appeals. Here are a few things you can do to help: - Become an IMBA member. - Make a donation to IMBA’s Legal Advocacy Fund. - Donate to the Montana Mountain Bike Alliance. - Be cool, and politely share the trail with other users. Remember, this fight will soon extend into your own neighborhood trail system. Joining your local trail advocacy group is essential. The opposition is organized, we must be, too. Here are some links to articles on the trail closures:

Summer the way summer was meant to be lived We have had a most peculiar summer, with the weather either overly cool and rainy (today) or blazingly hot (temps near 100 predicted for Sunday). I long for a stretch of 82 degree, low humidity days, but I wonder where it is that I think I live. Minnesota doesn't do moderate, not summer, not winter. On Tuesday, I took a rare day off work--a rare day that wasn't committed to book nonsense, that is--and met up with dear, dear, dear PMiller, famous on this blog, famous in life, a best friend, an old friend. She knows all my secrets and she does not judge me. She is wise and thoughtful but also loves to laugh and hike and doesn't mind the rain or bugs. She came by my house in mid-morning, won the hearts of the dogs all over again, and then we cruelly left them behind and drove down the Mississippi River to Frontenac State Park for a hike. Now if you've been reading the news, you know that the state government here in Minnesota has shut down. The state museums and historical sites are all closed. You cannot buy a fishing license, or renew your driver's license. Beer distributors are finding out that once their licenses expire they cannot renew them, and so Miller has to pull all of its products off the shelves of all liquor stores. The Minnesota Historical Society has shut down its library, and the Minnesota Historical Society Press might not be able to publish its fall line of books if this goes on much longer. It is madness, all of it. The state parks, too, are closed. This means you can't park in them, there are no employees, you are not allowed to camp, all the buildings (including bathrooms) are locked, and if you fall off a cliff there will be no ranger around to rescue you. But you can hike. The trails are open. So hike we did. Pam grew up down near Frontenac; this is her territory, like the North Shore is mine. And it is gorgeous. Sandstone bluffs high along the river; eagles and turkey vultures wheeling on currents of air; prairie grasses and wildflowers grown tall, swaying in the gentle breeze. It was not a ridiculous weather day. It was chilly and we had spotty rain in the morning, but the skies cleared and we got freckled and a little sunburned in the afternoon. We had the park to ourselves--us, and the animals. As we rounded one grassy path, I saw movement up ahead, a dozen or so small brown birds with long necks. "What are those birds?" I asked, and then the mother--a turkey!--hurried out of the tall grass behind them. She made a noise, and the baby turkeys all flew, almost straight up, and hid in the leaves of a spreading birch tree. Mama turkey crossed the path, plunged back into the grass, and was gone. What magic! A dozen wild baby turkeys. But there was more. Pam spotted a fox (I missed it). We both stopped and watched, through brush and grass, as a speckled fawn nursed from its mother, who watched us with big eyes and did not move. We walked and walked. We saw an immature bald eagle at the top of a tree, all hooked beak and mottled feathers, and a mature eagle gliding and soaring nearby. Pam insisted on calling them "the mother eagle and her baby," but that was one big baby, with sharp-looking talons. We stopped for a picnic; Pam always packs a feast, and so we had fresh berries and cherries, two kinds of cheese, crusty peasant bread, two ripe tomatoes, an apple. We ate so well we forgot to eat the chocolate she had packed. Later in the day, we drove down the Mississippi, crossed over into Nelson, Wisconsin, got ice cream (me) and wine (Pam), sat outside, had a mid-afternoon coffee, meandered back to the park for one more walk. We were never at a loss for words. We solved all the problems of the world that day, as my grandfather would say--we reminisced about our youth; we talked about her grown son and the job market; we wondered how much money we will need to retire (that one we didn't solve); we talked about romance and relationships and friendships and all the people at work who drive us around the bend and all the people at work we respect and admire. (I will leave it to you to decide which is the larger group.) And then home again, along the empty road, through the quiet farmland and pretty river towns, back to the Cities.

- Hi. I am Pando, a huge fan of World of Warcraft. For me, WoW is more than slaying dragons. I love the pets, mounts, clothes, trinkets, and fun achievements. My blog is all about the amazing things I discover while exploring the world of Azeroth. - Current Stats - Achievement Points: 14025 - Companion Pets: 507 - Mounts: 163 - Titles: 48 - - - Recent Posts Favorite WoW Resources - Wowhead.com An awesome database of everything in WoW. If you need to figure out where an item is located or how to complete a quest, this is the site for you. - WarcraftPets.com This is an amazing site that covers all the companion pets in World of Warcraft. - WarcraftMounts.com A simple but very helpful site that lists all the wonderful mounts in WoW. - CraftersTome.com A great database of profession recipes, where to get them, their skill level, and mats required. - WoW-professions.com This site can help you find the easiest ways to level professions. - Wow-Petopia.com Everything you would want to know about hunter pets and their abilities. - El's Extreme Anglin' A guide that covers everything fishing related in the World of Warcraft. - WoW-tabards.com A site dedicated to all the tabards available in the game. - World of Wardrobes A list of gear for transmogrification organized by color, armor type, and more. - Curse.com World of Warcraft addons that make the game more fun and enjoyable. Warcraft Blogs I Like - Bubbles of Mischief - Classy Plays WoW - Dizzy's Dressing Room - Drrum's Pets & Mounts - Heals n Heels - Image Heavy - Kamalia Et Alia - Pint-Sized Paladin - Postcards From Azeroth - Pretty Fly for a Draenei - Shooting Azeroth - Sugar & Blood - The Daily Frostwolf - Druid Edition - The Other Tank - Tome of the Ancient - Toys of Azeroth - Transroguerification - Turkey Lurkey Rogue Jerkey - Vephriel's Pet Journal - WoW Rare Spawns - WoW Roleplay Gear - Do you know of some cool looking gear, pets, mounts, fun achievements, amazing artwork or videos? - Let me know.

I'm giving away an FQ bundle of Architextures. After the overwhelmingly excitable response to my showing these fabrics on the blog a few days ago, it seems there are a lot of you out there anxiously awaiting the arrival of this line by Caroline Friendlander for Robert Kaufman. And so I thought it would be fun to give one FQ bundle away. 21 FQ of text, architectural, sketchy modern, fabulousness. To win? Three chances, one comment per chance: 1. Any old comment. 2. Click to follow this blog and let me know that you do or that you already are a follower. 3. Spread the word - tweet, Facebook, blog, you know the drill and let me know you did. ohhh you are SO much a tease !!! I follow you already and Ive tweeted it but don't want many people to see :) gaaaaaaaaa!!!! wants!!!!!! and I am a follower :-) Woohoo, beautiful giveaway! And I'm a follower of course! ooh, thanks for the giveaway! count me among those who are anxiously awaiting! What a great collection! Thanks for the chance to win . . . i'm a follower!! You KNOW I follow you! Oh wow, so beautiful! Love these! Thanks so much! I am already a happy follower! What a sweet giveaway ~ count me in! How fun. Thanks for the chance to win! And, I follow your lovely blog! I follow you! Fab giveaway! Fingers crossed... Oooh, I love this line. In fact when you posted about it before, I thought I had missed its release. How exciting it would be to get the whole fq bundle. Thanks for the chance to win! Lovely, These are beautiful! Thanks. Oh, and I follow you already! I follow. Absolutely I'm a follower! Gorgeous fabric....would love to win your generous prize. Old comment? Not only one:) sigh.... :-) I follow your blog! I'm your follower:) I'll fly to the mountain where witches meet and make everything which is possible to enchant Mr. Random:D Fabulous giveaway! Thank you for a chance to win!! Come to me, pretty please following the leader I'm a follower. I'm a follower! I tweeted the giveaway @threecatsranch I'm crossing my fingers! This line is great. And I follow your lovely blog :) Happy Thanksgiving! I am a follower! I love these fabrics!! Thanks for the chance to win!!! I would love to play with this fabric! What a beautiful blog you have, I just found it. And would love to follow, thank you! I am a follower!!! I think those are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, please, oh please let me win! : ) I am already an avid follower! : ) These are great, I need some text fabrics. And I already follow your blog. I follow you, all over the place :) These fabrics are spectacular and would be a very welcome addition! Thank you for the chance :) Please and thank you! For a line that hasn't come out yet, I get insanely jealous of all the people who already have it! Please pick me so I can be one of those people! Happy Thanksgiving! Of course I follow your wonderful blog!!! Oh wow!! This is fabulous fabric...I would love to have this. thank you I'm reading blogs instead of cooking for the Thanksgiving feast. I like fabrics, that can be "manly". Thanks! I am an old follower...lol; I know!! I am a happy follower I also following you! oooh! thank you. :) I tweeted second entry: i follow your blog via bloglovin. :) Come to me my precious!! ;) I am a follower. Awesome giveaway! Thanks for the chance! This line is awesome. Thanks for the chance to win. I am a follower :) I follow you like a puppy dog. Oh, so great, I would love to win this fabric! Thanks for the chance! ...and I am a follower! Oh my, what a fabulous giveaway! Thank you! The first entry requirement has started off a chorus of 'Any Old Iron' in my head so thanks for that! Any suggestions for something to replace it?! And I'm a follower. Of course I'm a follower, anyone who isn't is a fool! I've been eyeing this beautiful fabric--what a great giveaway! Of course I follow you! Love the fabric and I follow you I love those text pieces and the colors. Thanks so much for the chance. Sweet! Love this line. That line is so pretty, there are so many things that could be done with it. ooo ... it would make a great guy quilt too. Thanks for the great giveaway and chance! :-) I am already an avid stalk...er...follower. And I'm already a follower! I already follow you ... Thanks again for the chance! :-) Beautiful fabric! Thanks for the chance to win. I tweeted about the giveaway - thank you!! I'm already a follower and love your blog:) Ooo this would be just too exciting to win this. Thanks for the chance. And yes I'm a follower, love the posts. So beautiful and something different and that stack of fat 1/4s would last me forever! Wow - I am loving this fabric and you have a giveaway of it!!! Double wow!! [pick me pick me!!!] HAPPY TO FOLLOW YOU VIA GFC+BLOG LOVIN'! THANKS FOR SHARING! msstitcher1948@yahoo.com Yay I am a follower and I would be a super-duper excited follower if I were to win this AHHH-MAY-ZING fabric!!! HELLO! WISHING YOU A NICE DAY ! msstitcher1948@yahoo.com What a lot of fabric - I'd be happy with just the bias "weave" FQs. Following the blog with BlogLovin. Yes! I love this fabric and would love to make that awesome quilt of "shirt" blocks. :) And begrudgingly I've tweeted about this, although the fewer people that know the better!!!! Cheeky smile;) I follow! What a great fabric line I love it already! Posted on Facebook. I am a follower too! I shared at: Such beautiful fabric. I don't own a single piece of text fabric, so this would be wonderful. Thank you for the give away chance. love the fabric !! i am a follower !! I sure am a follower. I love your work! LOL - my sister and I were just talking about this gorgeous line of fabric! Would love to win a fat quarter bundle :) Thanks for the chance! I have been following your blog on Google reader for quite some time - love seeing all your beautiful projects! Count me in for a chance to win these lovelies! :) thimbleroom(at)gmail(dot)com Almost as scrumptious as all the Thanksgiving goodies I am about to consume -but much less fattening!!! Wow! This is way generous! I follow your blog already - Can't miss the chance of this pile of joy. the fabrics look gorgeous. thanks for the chance! grace I could use some new fabric (now if my bank account would only agree)! Oh, and I'm a follower. :) I am a follower I've been following your blog for quite a while. I already follow! Count me in for a second chance to win these lovelies, because I follow your blog too. :) thimbleroom(at)gmail(dot)com I would love these to make a quilt for an architect friend Just perfect to build my next project, fingers crossed. This is a very generous giveaway. I am a happy follower. I follow your blog!!!! I really want this. Any old comment coming at ya...for a new chance to win! Thnx. oh goodness what a wonderful bundle! I am a follower already! Your blog is in my reader,does that count? I'm so excited about that fabric! Thanks for the giveaway! I follow your blog! I went hunting for this fabric when I saw it on your blog yesterday, without too much success though, so I'd love to win some. I'm already a follower What a great line, thanks for the chance! A very sweet give away! I am already a follower Count me in for your very generous giveaway! I already follow your blog. Oooooh lovely fabrics! Would love to win these! I am already a follower :-) And I follow you already! And I follow you already! Would love to win these! Wow! I would love to win this bundle! Thanks for this giveaway! Happy Thanksgiving! I'm of course thankful for family, friends, and good health, but also the joy of sewing!!!!! Love the fabric---thanks for the giveaway! I am a follower! The fabric is indeed beautiful. Thanks for the chance to win, and a very happy Thanksgiving to you. Any old comment! LOL! Jxo Already a follower! Jxo Liked on FB Jxo Oh wow, that’s an amazing chance to win some of that gorgeous fabric1 Thanks Lynne! Sweet giveaway, thank you. Oh yes please!!!! This line is so amazing. Thanks for tue chance. Happy Thanksgiving! I am already a follower of your blog. Happy Thanksgiving. I already follow you:) What an amazing giveaway! I have been a follower... I pinned this bad boy so all of my followers could see it too! I'm a follower! I’m already a follower! This line is amazing! Thanks for sharing some of it! If I never touched another bundle of fabric after this bundle of total me-nerd awesomeness I would die a happy girl. sad but strangely, true. And I follow you in my reader. What gorgeous fabric, thanks for giving some away. I am a follower I want this fabric so much - hope its out soon. Thanks for the giveaway! I am a follower This is such a fantastic line. Thanks for the chance to win some. And I'm already a follower. Thanks I've been waiting for this line to come out - it's so great! I'm a follower - thanks. I shared on FB - :) What a great giveaway! thanks for the chance to win! I've been following for a whole day. Looks like I joined at the right time. Sorry everyone but I hope I win❤ I am also a very happy follower Om! come to mama babies! I also twitted about the giveaway! Already yr follower!tks fr the chance! x I know it's almost impossible to be the chosen one but I like to dream. lauramdd(at)terra(dot)es And I already follow you! Happy thanksgiving! I follow you Awesome Giveaway! :) I have shared this on linkedin and twitter. Can hardly wait till December till the fabric line is released... Would really love to win the giveaway (fingers crossed!) great fabric thanks for the giveaway I'm a follower. Happy Thanksgiving! :0) i am a follower That is one fabulous giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win some awesomeness! love love love this line - yay! fingers crossed! and I'm already a follower :) I have been a follower for a while now. These are beyond gorgeous! And I am a follower, would love to win! What a fantastic giveaway! From these responses, you can tell we're all drooling for this collection! Sitting here watching the Thanksgiving parade and looking at these fabrics, I'm a happy girl! Thank you for the giveaway! Wow, count me in. Oh, I'm for sure a follower of you! I am a follower. PRETTY! YUMMY! FABRIC! I'm a follower, too. Count me in! I'm a follower!