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Late in Joseph Stalin’s reign, the budget for his personal bodyguard was cut. Knowing Stalin, one can’t believe that the decision was made with his input or approval. This is a man who was so paranoid that he had an ingrown toenail treated by sticking his foot through a hole in a wall; the doctor who was on the other side of the wall was not told whose foot it was. Sounds silly, but Stalin remained in power longer than any other Soviet ruler, so clearly he knew how to run his tyranny. Nevertheless, the government cutting his bodyguard budget — and then announcing it? This was a signal, and somebody must have understood it because Stalin was soon dead under circumstances that are still debated.
#ad#In totalitarian societies, open debate over leadership is impossible, and even private communication is problematic. The secret police penetrate everywhere and the higher the level in the power structure the more likely the person you are talking to has been compromised. This is intended to forestall coup plotting, and generally, it works. So people in totalitarian societies, especially in the ruling class, have to resort to subtle signals to communicate dangerous ideas, things which are unmistakable to those in the know but which also can be denied if accusations arise. Of course, if it gets to the point of accusations arising, the signal was not subtle enough, something to ponder before the electrodes are attached.
All of this is why questions arose when Saddam Hussein’s personal bodyguard appeared at a press conference March 27 standing behind Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed. (I have heard it reported that the bodyguard’s name is “Murafiq” but this is Arabic for “companion” — Saddam’s close bodyguard detail is known as the Murafiqin, and the chief among them Murafiq Aqdam (principal companion). Thus it is most likely his title, not his name.) Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld was asked about it on Fox News Channel, and said he found it “interesting.” This, coupled with a senior administration official’s statement that Baghdad would “fall from within” makes the situation more interesting still. But what could it mean?
It might mean that the defense minister is running the show. However, if he took charge, why would he keep Saddam’s bodyguard around, unless the man had proved his loyalty by plugging the maximum leader himself? But if that had happened, certainly the inner circle would know about it, and there would be other contenders for power, such as Ahmed’s son-in-law, Qusay, better known as Saddam’s son and heir. There would be some signs of disruption, and Ahmed’s bid would have to have been more dynamic. In that press conference, and in Iraqi media in general (what’s left of it), there are not even subtle rhetorical indications that Saddam is not in control. One still hears the same praise to the “unique leader,” the same honorifics, and Iraq radio is still carrying the popular “Sayings of Saddam Hussein” five-minute spot. For that matter, Ahmed is not dominating the airwaves; Information (or Disinformation) Minister Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf seems to be the star.
So let us assume the bodyguard was assigned to Ahmed. Perhaps he felt some need for protection. It was a live news conference, and the defense minister, a serving, uniformed Iraqi army general, is a legitimate target. There was no telling who might be out there in the press pool that day besides Peter Arnett. But why that murafiq in particular? Is Saddam running out of trustworthy men? It is not an academic question — two months ago reports surfaced that Abu Hamdi Mahmoud, Saddam’s bodyguard-in-chief, had defected to Israel and was providing all manner of useful information. Mahmoud is the kind of guy who knows where the bodies — and bunkers — are buried and could be the source for much of the targeting information for the nightly Baghdad bombings. In addition, we still do not know who the finger man was for the decapitation strike, though Saddam may have already taken care of that patriot.
The more likely explanation is that the defense minister cannot be trusted and Saddam sent someone that both he and Ahmed knew would enforce Saddam’s will if he got out of line, and who, in any case, would report back everything he saw and heard. This thesis is reinforced by a report that appeared in February in the Cairo-based newspaper al Ahram stating that Ahmed had been placed under house arrest to prevent a coup. Ahmed was an admired military leader during the Iran-Iraq War, and is still much respected in the Iraqi army. In other words, he is not the kind of person Saddam would want roaming free. Moreover, since Saddam’s bodyguard is a known symbol of his authority, his presence would imply that Saddam still runs things despite what others in the power structure might have heard to the contrary. The situation communicated — don’t get any ideas.
That being said there is little public evidence that Saddam is even alive. There has been no recent live video or audio, no recorded video or audio that make reference to known facts since he was last seen, no public sightings, little evidence of command and control in his armed forces, no strategic counterattacks against Israel or targets in the U.S. (the fedayeen ops require no particular command guidance other than “kill,” so they are not proof). Of course, Saddam would be a fool to allow any electronic signal to connect himself with the outside world. He cannot know Coalition capabilities to trace live signals back to their source, and cannot know if the couriers used to transfer tapes to the outside are trustworthy, even if ten degrees removed. The edited footage that has been released is strangely unconvincing. One recently aired meeting showed Saddam and company in a small conference room with a clearly visible round passageway directly to his left, looking very much like an escape tube, the kind any evil genius bent on world domination would have in his secret underground lair. Another such video ran on March 29, showing Saddam and some chief leaders, including Ahmed. Both reports were voiced over, and there was nothing to prove that the videos were shot on any particular date. You would think Saddam would want to make the fact of his survival unambiguous. Osama bin Laden had indisputably genuine tapes out immediately when battle was joined in Afghanistan, though they stopped in December 2001. (And by the way, where are the al Qaeda attacks, statements, and so forth that were supposed to take place upon the opening of the attack on Iraq? This is a widening credibility gap I will address in a future column) If he is alive, wouldn’t Saddam want to give the Coalition his personal thumb’s up?
Nevertheless, if Saddam is dead, why are the Iraqis fighting back? If one of his sons or underlings has taken control, why not announce it and fight on under new management or, to avoid further difficulties, cut a deal? Is the terror bureaucracy of the regime on autopilot? No doubt it can function well that way. On the other hand, maybe the commanders keep Saddam “alive” because no matter what happens in coming days they can blame it on him?
It is fun to speculate about these things, and very noteworthy that it does not seem to matter from a warfighting perspective whether Saddam is alive, dead, incapacitated, or asleep. The war is moving along to a successful conclusion regardless of Saddam or his minions. Every day the military equation shifts further in favor of the Coalition, and the self-interest calculus of those who have supported Saddam’s regime becomes more difficult, the timing more acute. If Baghdad falls from within, they will have to play a role if they want to survive. But when to make the move, and what to do? How to swap horses midstream and survive? The Coalition is coming, but Saddam is not yet gone — perhaps. There is still plenty of time to be executed if they move too soon; Saddam will be shooting traitors until his dying breath. When the Republican Guard units around Baghdad are routed and the fedayeen are readying for street fighting, the upper-mid-level elites — high enough to have a great deal to lose but low enough to have a potential buy-in to the new regime — will have to make their choice, to go down fighting or turn on their former master. I suspect they are the pragmatic sort who will choose the latter. In which case, to paraphrase Caesar, we can hate the traitors but love their treason.
— James S. Robbins is a national-security analyst & NRO contributor. | <urn:uuid:1d3d1390-1560-47b2-b7a8-e0c04e349087> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://www.nationalreview.com/2003/03/bodyguard-james-s-robbins/ | 2018-07-17T00:23:32Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676589536.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180716232549-20180717012549-00084.warc.gz | en | 0.977474 | 1,823 |
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Poor Joe Biden. Another fallen victim to the #MeToo movement. They are out to get another “white privileged” male. ‘Uncle” Joe is in trouble; even Madam Pelosi warned him to “stop being so touchy-feely”. Mark my words, moderate Democrats are slowly and systematically being replaced by the new loony left. The new socialist generation who are short on history and long on ignorant rhetoric. But back to Uncle Joe. Can anyone imagine JFK or FDR in today’s political “gotcha” climate? The women’s movement would have had a field day with both men. JFK had a virtual White House revolving door for floozies, and by what I have read, FDR was no better. I can almost forgive FDR because from what I’ve seen, Eleanor was no Marylyn Monroe.
Years ago the American voter seemed to differentiate between the politician and the man. Ladies we might have come a long way baby but we have also turned into whiny pain in the asses. For the life of me I cannot understand the dual entitlement that this generation of women demand. Equality with benefits. We want to be in a man’s world that suits our gentle sensibilities. It is beyond annoying. It is excruciatingly painful to watch. We demand to be taken seriously but do not have the grit to tell a man to fuck off when he gets stupid. Women accept male manipulation to get ahead but then cry foul years later. Hollywood comes to mind. The myriad of actresses who had very little problem with Harvey Weinstein launching them into stardom. Their morality was conveniently put on the back burner of their rising careers. Their activism dormant in anticipation of a hit movie. Oh, yes the awakening of the Hollywood conscience was alarming.
Now we get into politics and the sudden surge in female values. The female politician incensed by Joe Biden’s “affections”. What a crock. How are voters to take these females seriously? Their fragility on demand will only take us so far. They want to become our leaders, even presidents. Somehow I can’t imagine them going against Russia or Iran. Putin’s bare chest and knowing Cossack smile suddenly comes to mind.
Democrats Amy Lappos and Lucy Flores are supposed to represent the new generation of kick-ass political women. Women who have risen from the ashes of the 60’s women’s movement. Instead they conveniently wait in the wings until an election is on the horizon. Then they make pathetic allegations against one of their own. I am no fan of Joe Biden the politician. He is the bookend to another idiot, Dan Quayle. He often thinks and speaks through the recesses of his prostate. But he is like that old relative who tells the same joke at every family gathering and gets a laugh because he is harmless. Joe Biden is a good man. If these two females had an “episode” with him they could have told him to knock it off years ago, and not waited until his name is almost on a ballot. What exactly do they have against this man? These two fools are supported by no other than the left wing ethnically undecided, Elizabeth Warren. Remember her? Another genius of the far left who has the gall to go after Joe when she has been the most disingenuous woman on the planet. This woman feeds on malcontent. She creates nothing. She salivates on taking what is mine. She hopes to save the world but only for the chosen few.
The Democratic Party has been hijacked by lunatics, bigots, socialists, and idiots. Biden’s spokesman Bill Russo is another gem. He went after the proverbial “right wing trolls”. What a surprise. Isn’t there a Democrat with some imagination? Why don’t you go after your party’s kooks, Bill? That irks the crap out of me. In 1994, Hillary tried to blame her husband’s untimely blow job on a Republican conspiracy. Right! Let us blame accusations by two Democrats on “right wing trolls”. Forrest Gump was correct, stupid is as stupid does. The Democrats seems to be doing quite well in screwing themselves up without any help from the far right.
The party of Truman, JFK, and FDR is slowly morphing into the party of Fidel Castro. Serious moderate Democrats are being pushed aside in lieu of fanatical pseudo intellectual socialist morons. No one is in charge. In the past 10 years, and thanks to Mr. Obama, the Messiah, the party shifted toward socialist and politically correct agendas rather than sustainability. Democratic cities are rife in crime, poverty, and greedy entitlements. Chicago, Detroit, and Baltimore come to mind. Held by Democrats for years, they have raised a constituency that thrives on welfare and hopelessness. Some areas have been turned into war zones unprotected by an impotent police force afraid to intercede for fear of repercussions. How these cities keep on voting these clowns in is beyond me.
Democrats support a Women’s Movement run by the three most vicious, vile, and bigoted anti-Semite females in the country. Friends to Farrakhan, another charmer who makes the KKK look like the PTA. Democrat’s freedom of speech is conveniently evoked only if it is anti-Trump, anti- conservative, anti pro life, anti Christian, and in recent months, anti Israel. Four months into the biggest win in Congress, the Democrats have managed to accomplish squat. Their agenda has been the Mueller report, hatred for Trump, impeachment of Trump, going after Trump’s family, going after Trump’s assets, indicting Trump, and for good measure hating Trump one more time. The Trump Derangement Syndrome is alive and well in the Democratic Party.
So why are we surprised that poor Uncle Joe is thrown under the bus? He is dispensable. He is the proverbial white privileged. The unclean. As the insane unfolds before our very eyes, the opposition should wait quietly in the wings. Politicians fail to understand that normal Americans have a way of assessing crazy. The East and West Coast may make the loudest noise, but middle America sits quietly and waits. It is evident that there is no longer any significant leadership in the Democratic party. I almost feel sorry for Nancy Pelosi. She should call Theresa May for comfort because they are both ineffectual in their respective parties and government. Anarchy and visceral hatred will only be tolerated for so long. Sane Americans can only take so much crap. Democrats were indirectly responsible for electing Trump in 2016, and if they are not careful, their crazy will elect him again in 2020. | <urn:uuid:7afb7f21-ba29-4511-8028-ee306bc28091> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://judith60.com/2019/04/04/the-imploding-democratic-party/ | 2021-05-12T21:19:11Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243989705.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20210512193253-20210512223253-00192.warc.gz | en | 0.967124 | 1,394 |
Joseph with his father Thomas Bithell and six of his siblings migrated from England to the Utah Territory in 1860. Joseph was thirteen years old. His mother Eleanor Williams died in England five years earlier (1855). His older brother Samuel Bithell crossed the plains twice as a 'back and forth teamster' and the family settled in Ophir, Utah.
Just a side note about Joseph's brother Samuel who was married to Agnes Hislop, born in Scotland.
Together they had sixteen children all born in Ophir, Tooele, Utah and all but two children grew to adulthood. Joseph and Ellen Maria had seven children, the first three reached adulthood and the next four children died before three years of age.
In my stash of pictures found in the old trunk kept in the granary in Albion, Idaho are pictures seen below of the first two children. On the far left is Joseph James Bithell born 12 October 1875 in Ophir. The photographer certainly caught him with eyes wide open. It's like he can't beleive what's happening! Joseph married Lovantia Painter Card on 17 Oct 1900 in Logan Utah. He died at the young age of forty three (18 Nov 1918). At the time of his death he was a merchant for the Thatcher Clothing Co. in Logan and died of Bronchial Pneumonia.
The sweet faced dainty little girl on the right was named Cora Mae Bithell. She was born 17 May 1877 also in Ophir, Utah. Cora married Adelbert James Mcintyre in Salt Lake City on 11 Feb 1897. She lived to be seventy four and died on 5 Oct. 1951. She lived in Portland, Ore.
|Joseph James Bithell|
b 1875 - 1918
|Cora Mae Bithell|
b 1877 - d 1934
Third child born to Joseph and Ellen was Charles Kidgell Bithell born 26 Jul 1878 also in Ophir.
Charles married Emma May McDermott on 3 Jul 1901 in Salt Lake City.
He died at age fifty one from an accident when a dirt bank caved in while working in a trench on 13 Mar 1934. He was a pipe fitter for the water department of Salt Lake City.
Father Joseph's occupation in the first years of married life was a livery stable keeper; living in Ophir, Utah. The 1890 Salt Lake Directory shows the Joseph Bithell family living in Salt Lake City at 537 S. Fifth E. Street and lists Joseph's occupation as a minor. Did he commute to work at the mine in Ophir each day? It's not that far away but, mining is hard work and I would think a person would be very tired at the end of the day to commute by riding a horse. Maybe he stayed at the mine and only come home on the weekends.
Joseph died from a terrible mining accident and his two sons were present at the time. I found two articles about this accident; the Deseret News article is very graphic; the Salt Lake Herald article is more 'how' it happened. With information from both articles pretty well tells the whole story of the death of Joseph.
|Deseret Evening News|
Monday 13 Jan 1902
DIED AT THE HOPSITAL
Accident at Queen of the Hills Mine
Fatal to Supt. Bithell
Superintendent Joseph Bithell of the
Queen of the Hills mine in Ophir dis-
trict, Tooele county, died at the Holy
Cross hospital today as the result of
Injuries received at the mine on Friday
morning last. [10 Jan 1902]
The accident was a very violent one
and crushed the head and breast of
the unfortunate man in a frightful
manner. The whole of his scalp was
torn off and one of his ribs was forced
through his lungs by a car which broke
from its moorings and started down the
rails of a steep incline that he was as-
cending. His two sons, Joseph Jr., and
Charles K. were both at the mine at
the time and the latter ran down the
mountain side a distance of five miles
at a speed that caused him to fall
to the ground exhausted. He was taken
Into a farm house and cared for while
his message was born several miles
farther for the holding of a Utah- Ne-
vada train until the injured man could
be conveyed to Terminus preparatory
to being brought to Salt Lake. He
reached here late last night and was
immediately operated on but his condi-
tion was found to be so serious as his
recovery was despaired of.
The deceased lived in this city at the
corner of Third East and Edith Avenue,
and leaves in addition to the two sons
named, a wife and daughter, the latter
being Mrs. A. J. McIntyre. Mr. Bithell
was 55 years of age and had lived
in the west for the past 35 years. He
was well and widely known and his
friends will be greatly shocked to learn
of his tragic fate.
Salt Lake Herald
Tuesday 14 Jan. 1902
DIED FROM INJURIES
Joseph Bithell, Who Was Hurt in
Mine in Dry Canyon
From injuries received in a mine acci-
dent a few days ago, Joseph Bithell, the
foreman of the Utah Queen mine in Dry
canyon, died at the Holy Cross hospital
The accident which cost Mr. Bithell his
life occurred last Friday. Mr. Bithell was
standing in the incline shaft of the mine
when a “skip” loaded with ore broke
loose from the wire cable and ran with
ever increasing speed down the steep
track. Mr. Bithell, who was standing on
the track, discovered the runaway “skip”
but too late to save himself. He was
struck by the heavy car and hurled
violently against the side of the tunnel,
badly injuring his head and body.
It was thought at first that he had been
instantly killed, but he revived and was
removed that night to Holy Cross
Hospital and placed under the care of
Dr. Hosmer. All that medical aid and
surgery could do was done, but the
injuries affected vital parts and yesterday
morning death released the patient from
Mr. Bithell was a native of England, but
Has been a resident of this country for
a number of years. He was about 55
years of age and leave a family to
mourn his loss.
The funeral will be held from the family
residence near Third East and Edith
avenue. Thursday at 2 p. m. Friend
of the family invited to attend.
What a difficult time for the Bithell family. I'm sure this had a life long impact on son's Joseph Jr. and Charles. I don't know any Bithell's. I wonder if any of Joseph and Ellen's descendants have a life history?
Ellen Maria is a widow for 20 years never to remarry. At some point Ellen moves to Portland Oregon to live with her daughter Cora Mae. In the Oregonian paper is her funeral notice:
19 July 1922
BITHELL - In this city at St. Vincent's
hospital, July 17, 1922, Ellen Maria Bithell
age 66 years. Deceased is survived by a daughter,
Mrs. Cora McIntyre of this city; a son, Charles
Bithell, and a sister, Mrs. Sadie Hepworth, both
of Salt Lake City, Utah; a brother, Fred Kidgell, Logan Utah.
She was a member of Piscah Chapter Eastern Star, and of the
Salt Lake Circle No. 559, Women of Woodcraft. Remains
accompanied by her daughter, Mrs. Cora McIntyre, will be
forwarded this evening by the Skewes Undertaking Co., to
Salt Lake City, Utah, where interment will take place.
Deseret News 20 July 1922 Funeral Notice
Funeral services for Mrs. Ellen M. Bithell who died July 15 at
Portland, Ore, will be held Friday at 3 p.m. at the Masonic Temple.
Services will be conducted by the order of the Eastern Star. The body
may be viewed at the Evans & Early undertakers parlors from
11a.m. until 2 p.m. the day of the funeral. Interment will be in
Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
Unless more information on the Bithell's surface, this takes care of the life of Ellen Maria Kidgell Bithell. | <urn:uuid:0cdeb4a7-fbda-4d86-959d-52fb45567bbd> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://honorancestors.blogspot.com/2011/09/ellen-maria-married-into-bithell-family.html?showComment=1316820110699 | 2017-02-21T05:14:47Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501170651.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104610-00629-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974906 | 1,828 |
It is necessary to refresh your mind from a busy working day or season once you get a break for the holidays by taking some drinks. Some of these drinks are e-liquids in common when you don’t have to specify and they are taken to create a new feeling in one’s body. It is a fact that e-liquids will never taste the same since they are produced from different fruits. E-liquids are found in different stores in the market and you can look for them when in need.
It is not every e-liquid store will sell to you the best-produced drinks that you would wish to take. It is a daunting proposition to select the best e-liquid store but this website will make it simpler for you. If you follow the guidelines highlighted in this article then you will stand a chance of choosing the best e-liquid store. The first factor that you are supposed to consider is the reputation of the e-liquid shop.
If you want to be on the safe side then you should make sure that you stick to this guideline and nothing less than that. You can seek information from your friends and colleagues if by any chance you do not know any information about the shops. You will weigh out options when given the recommendations and then later come up with a solid decision on the one that you prefer in terms of the services.
The location of the e-liquid store is the second tip that you should keep into consideration. It is not easy for some people to operate with an e-liquid shop that is too far from their area and so this means it has to be considered by all means. It is a fact that you will most times need the e-liquids in your home so that you can take while relaxing and you shouldn’t go for that shop which will make you struggle to get the drinks. This will make you save the cost of traveling all the way to far areas in search of e-liquids.
The other tip that you are supposed to think about is the period of operation of the e-liquid store. A quality service cannot be easy to find but once you come across such service providers then you should not let them go. If you want to get the best services then make sure you go for the e-liquids stores that started their business operations a long time ago. You should find out whether the e-liquid shop is legally operating or not by requesting for the license of operation. An active license is the key if you want to know whether the business is authorized to operate. Without an active license then the e-liquid store is not safe and so you can look for another one. | <urn:uuid:80b80fdb-56f5-4811-9fd6-c0636aeea7f6> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | http://qqraja.biz/incredible-lessons-ive-learned-about-vapes.html | 2019-04-19T06:27:54Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578527148.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190419061412-20190419083412-00460.warc.gz | en | 0.96228 | 548 |
I received a random tweet one day last week from this author asking for a review. She sent me the link to check it out on Amazon before agreeing and I almost said no just based on the title and cover. Don’t get me wrong, the cover looks great, but I thought it was just your plain, run-of-the-mill romance novel. I was wrong and I’m glad that I was wrong!
Summary taken from Amazon:
Publication Date: May 6, 2013
A nymph: a woman with the ability to seduce at will, shift to protect, but cursed with the fate to have the man she falls in love with die a tragic death. As one of these ill-fated nymphs, Aura Montgarten has spent her lifetime drifting from one place to another hiding from love. Until she meets Dane.
When a body washes up on the shore of a rural Montana lake, police officer Dane Burke is faced with the task of finding the killer – even if it means he will be forced to put his life and heart at risk by working with a drifter. As the truth of Aura’s Mustang-shifting nymph ways are revealed, Dane learns exactly the amount of danger he and Aura are in, but can’t force himself to leave a case unsolved when the truth is just outside his grasp.
When the killer decides he needs to take another victim – Dane – Aura must choose between their forbidden love and her immortal life. Can there be life without love or is death her only choice?
Sensuality Level: Sensual
I love mysteries. That’s not a surprise as I drool over Criminal Minds and obsess over the paranormal crimes on Grimm. I do enjoy romances on occasion, but I rarely ever pick just a regular romance novel. This isn’t just a regular romance novel, so I didn’t make an exception. 🙂
The novel starts the mystery out quickly and held on to my attention as I wanted to know who the next victim would be and what on earth was going on. Honestly, that would have been enough to keep me hooked, yet there was still the paranormal aspect. I’d never read a book about shapeshifting nymphs, but I found the concept interesting. The biggest obstacle is that nymphs can’t fall in love or the lover will face a tragic death. HELLO, relationship issues! Even THAT would have been enough to keep me hooked without having the mystery!
I won’t spoil the story, but I will say that I highly recommend this to BOTH romance and paranormal fans, even if you don’t usually read paranormal romance. The “magic” is just enough to satisfy a paranormal fan without it being too much for someone who may not usually read paranormal. I’m glad that I opted to read this and am looking forward to more from the author. You can find Montana Mustangs on Kindle for $3.82 and it is well worth the price! You can find the author at http://www.danicawinters.net to learn more about this and her other books. | <urn:uuid:c7a24951-aed6-4ea4-aa43-30ffcb6d1168> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | https://melaniehays.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/montana-mustangs-by-danica-winters/ | 2017-05-29T00:11:34Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463612003.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170528235437-20170529015437-00330.warc.gz | en | 0.96477 | 656 |
With the Narendra Modi government encouraging start-ups in the space, defence (and several other) sectors, and young Indians responding with new technological breakthroughs, the goal of becoming Atma Nirbhar (self-reliance) is that much closer to realisation.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement last May opening up the space and defence sectors, among others, to private participation has come as a boon to India’s booming startup eco-system.
Apart from the large, established industrial giants that have come forward to enter these virgin fields, several start-ups such as Bellatrix Aerospace, Pixxel, Vesta Space Technologies and Agnikul Cosmos, Tonbo Imaging and VizExperts, among dozens of others, are raising funds from venture capitalists and showcasing technology demonstrators, many of which could become the next big things in these two tech-heavy sectors.
“Attaining self-reliance in defence manufacturing is a crucial factor for maintaining India’s strategic autonomy. The iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) initiative stands out as one of the most effective and well-executed defence start-up ecosystems created in our country,” Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at a function recently.
Many investors are convinced that the time is ripe for start-ups to bloom in these two nascent sectors. Indian and foreign venture funds such as StartupXCeed, Blume Ventures, Next Capital LLC and Inflexor Ventures as well as some government-backed capital providers have invested in Indian space and defence start-ups.
But the ticket sizes remain small. For example, Blume Ventures, Lightspeed and growX invested $5 million in Pixxel last year to back its plans to launch its first and second satellites. Then, the IIT Madras and Anand Mahindra-backed Agnikul, which test fired the world’s first 3D printed rocket engine recently, had received $3 million in funding from pi Ventures.
Read more on Space:
This has placed Agnikul, a fledgling Indian start-up, at the cutting edge of the space technology domain. Christened Agnilet, the semi-cryogenic rocket engine will be used in the second stage of Agniban, the company’s launch vehicle that can carry 100 kg payloads to low earth orbits by the end of next year. Importantly, the engine can be fabricated and turned around in only four days.
This places it ahead of even Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has succeeded in 3D printing only parts of but not the entire rocket engine so far despite many more years of research and much greater volumes of funding.
Bellatrix Aerospace, another start-up in the space sector, is developing what it calls a “taxi in space” to ferry small satellites into a variety of orbits on the Vikram rocket developed by Skyroot Aerospace, another start-up.
Taking a leaf out of the books of tech-based cab aggregators Uber and Ola, Bellatrix will offer ride sharing and “drop” each small satellite to its targeted position in space.
Yashas Karanam, a co-founder of Bellatrix, told ET, a leading Indian financial daily, that his company has built electric and chemical-powered thrusters to place satellites in space.
Like Agnikul Bellatrix is also a path finder in the space sector; it is only the second company in the world to build an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV).
These are just a few examples of innovative technologies being developed by the more than 50 start-ups that have come up in the space sector since it was opened for private participation. These companies offer or plan to offer services to both domestic and international customers.
This story of innovation and technological advancement is being replicated in the defence sector as well. Fledgling start-ups with shoestring funding are exploiting India’s frugal engineering capabilities to venture into areas such as stealth technology, underwater swarm drones, smart loitering munitions and pseudo satellites.
Often founded by young engineering students or fresh graduates, many of these start-ups are already making heads turn.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
For example, at the recently concluded Aero India show, a homegrown start-up Tonbo Imaging vied for pride of place along with the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, the French Rafale fighter jets and a host of the world’s most sophisticated weapons platforms from the likes of Boeing and other MNC arms manufacturers.
Tonbo’s product: See-through armour for infantry combat vehicles. These Russian-origin vehicles, manufactured under license in India, have a major blind spot: They can’t “see” in the dark and are practically useless after sunset and in theatres with heavy smoke or dust.
“We have now come up with a solution under which nine cameras are installed on the vehicle. These cameras are integrated with a helmet display… When the commander turns right, the headgear displays images of the surroundings on to the insides of the tank as if he were looking through the armour,” Ankit Kumar, Managing Director of the company told the media.
This enables the vehicle to make real time manoeuvres in the middle of a battlefield even at night, using an integrated GPS system for precise location tracking.
Apart from the Indian army, several foreign countries are also believed to have shown an interest in this system, which can, effectively, convert regular armoured vehicles into “smart” ones.
But to fully leverage on the entrepreneurial spirit and technological knowledge of young Indians, the government still has to remove a few hurdles that still discourage all but the most intrepid of innovators.
The first is transparent procurement norms. Despite massive improvements brought about in the procurement process by the Modi government, there is still far too much red tape that ties up defence purchases in knots. Reasonable timelines must be fixed for acquisition of new systems.
These procedures need to change. Deep pocketed global and Indian investors will be wary of investing big bucks in this sector that holds much promise. And without large investments from private players, these start-ups will not be able to scale up to global standards.
However, India also has many advantages that few other countries can match. Indian companies typically spend only a tiny fraction of what it costs to put build launch vehicles, satellites and other space and defence-related equipment.
Then, India’s pool of technological talent is the envy of the world. This is being harnessed by the private sector for innovations in these two sectors for the first time.
If these can be harnessed properly, the goal of Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) can be achieved within the foreseeable future. | <urn:uuid:784e5bf8-f041-4737-9943-5a510ee62b9b> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://www.indiaglobalbusiness.com/industry/defence/indian-space-defence-start-ups-at-the-cutting-edge-of-innovation | 2021-12-03T06:59:07Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964362605.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20211203060849-20211203090849-00107.warc.gz | en | 0.948746 | 1,411 |
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The Sonic Alert USS360 is a universal sound signaler designed to work with audible devices as well as most remote and lamp receivers.
The Sonic Alert USS360 operates via a light switch connection and works brilliantly as a desktop signaler. If the phone rings, the baby cries or the doorbell goes, the USS360 will alert you by flashing a designated lamp on and off. You can also extend the signal to other rooms where there is a Sonic Alert remote receiver, a great feature for the hearing impaired.
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For over thirty years, the Sonic Alert team have been building alerting devices which are geared for the hearing impaired. Today, the company is a global leader in the amplified alarm clocks, amplified telephones and personal listening devices markets.
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©2019 - Hearing Direct - All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:5748239f-a06f-4212-8aec-cabe70870f0a> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://www.hearingdirect.com/us/sonicalert-uss360-sound-signaler.html | 2019-11-20T02:14:17Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496670389.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20191120010059-20191120034059-00435.warc.gz | en | 0.911476 | 275 |
A proposal to amend a contract between the city of Mandeville and an engineering firm to determine the impact a hurricane might have on a city coastal restoration project triggered heated debate before being deferred by the City Council amid ethics concerns Thursday night. After a long, tense discussion, the council voted unanimously to defer a resolution to authorize Mayor Donald Villere to add $8,616 to the existing $324,420 contract the city has with Neel-Schaffer, Inc. to devise a protective structure to guard a vulnerable area of privately-owned wetlands on the Mandeville lakefront just east of Sunset Point.
The deferral was pushed by Councilman Ernest Burguieres, who questioned the city's expenditure of public money on a project that would improve private land, which he noted was owned by a non-profit organization co-founded by City Attorney Edward Deano. Burguieres, a lawyer, said the city should get an opinion from the state Ethics Commission before moving forward to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
Burguieres also questioned whether the money for the restoration project could be better used to address what he considers the more pressing issues of drainage and flood control in Old Mandeville.
Both Deano and Villere bristled at Burguieres' comments. Deano said the councilman has a right to be against the project, but "insinuating that anyone from my family" is getting special treatment is out of line. "What you're doing is foul ball," Deano said.
Villere called Burguieres' actions "nothing but a stall tactic because Mr. Burguieres doesn't want the project."
Burguieres said his push for an opinion on the project is not aimed at Deano but rather is an effort to ensure the city is on sound ethical footing.
Under what has been named the Mandeville Coastal Restoration Project, the rapidly-eroding cypress forest along the city shoreline between the western end of Lakeshore Drive and Sunset Point would be restored to a functioning wetlands and steps would be taken to prevent further degradation of land. The plan, which carries a price tag of about $2.7 million, would also include construction of a 950-foot berm that would link Lakeshore Drive and Sunset Point. A bicycle path has also been proposed on top of the berm, which would be eight feet above sea level and would help protect the wetlands.
The plan calls for a system that would allow fresh water to flush through the area to help maintain the marsh and sections would be planted with new vegetation.
In 2010, the city hired Neel-Shaffer to perform coastal engineering services for the project. The following year, the city entered into a cooperative endeavor agreement with Green Fund Inc., the owner of the diminishing lakeshore property, to reclaim and restore the eroded swampland. Deano is one of the co-founders of the ad hoc, non-profit environmental group.
In arguing in favor of the project, Villere noted that the city routinely undertakes projects that benefit private land owners if citizens also "get a direct benefit from it. This would be a tremendous benefit to the citizens." And Villere said money to construct the project could be made available through grants that Green Fund could acquire.
Councilwoman Carla Buchholz said she supports the project, as do citizens in the Hermitage Subdivision, located directly to the north of the wetlands area in question. She said residents in the neighborhood fear that left unchecked, the erosion could eventually threaten their homes.
Had the resolution been approved by the council, the Neel-Shaffer firm would have been paid to evaluate the impact that Hurricane Isaac or a storm like it may have had on the proposed coastal protection structure. Neel-Schaffer would also be required to conduct a public meeting to explain the results of the study, according to the resolution.
Villere said the city needs to have a good handle on what impact a hurricane would have on the proposed structure before moving forward with the project.
The deferral approved by the council will allow Burguieres to seek the ethics opinion, which he said should take 30-60 days. | <urn:uuid:f5294aa4-868c-483c-9a62-6f59f64a2d40> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/03/mandeville_coastal_restoration.html | 2014-04-20T20:24:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609539066.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005219-00183-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967118 | 871 |
more on POPOL VUH revisited & remixed HERE
This entry was posted on June 29, 2011 at 6:37 pm and is filed under News with tags A Critical Mass, Alex Barck, Aphex Twin, Haswell, Hecker, Klaus Kinski, Mika Vainio, Moritz Von Oswald, Mouse On Mars, Peter Kruder, Popol Vuh, Remixed, Revisited, Roland Appel, SPV records, Stereolab, The Orb, Thomas Fehlmann. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Join 912 other followers | <urn:uuid:f549e045-cddb-4753-b4d7-b98e81eadcf2> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | https://extramusicnew.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/popol-vuh-revisited-remixed-video/ | 2016-07-30T01:54:42Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832475.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00195-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.801467 | 273 |
Data-driven Project Analytics
Your VCS is a source of valuable data showing how your project evolves over time. Upsource keeps track of all commits, revisions and personal contributions in your project. It continuously analyzes these data and is capable of highlighting areas in need of refactoring or process adjustment.
See how the development pace in the project has been changing over time. You can explore any particular period, see individual activity, and even review the contribution distribution across project modules. If you're new to the project, use this chart to quickly discover the responsibility scopes of your teammates.
See interactions in your project and code review relationships that have been built. Each node represents a project contributor. The more two people review each other's changes, the stronger the link between them becomes. The graph is interactive – try dragging the nodes or clicking on them.
Get a bird’s-eye view of the project structure and pinpoint files and directories with unusual maintenance patterns, e.g. hotspots. Project Treemap helps teams detect candidates for refactoring and better plan their QA efforts.
Discover how well your project is covered with code reviews, and to what degree each user is involved in the review process. After consulting these statistics, you will understand who is mostly reviewing the code and whose changes get reviewed the most, and may even want to tune your code review process.
Easily identify abandoned files – files that experienced enough edits to be among the most edited, but have not been edited for a long time. These are represented by the points lying closer to the middle of the chart than most. | <urn:uuid:f1406ed4-3d11-4e75-9109-cf7d12a8feb6> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://www.jetbrains.com/upsource/features/projectanalytics.html | 2018-12-16T02:20:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827175.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216003916-20181216025916-00518.warc.gz | en | 0.937503 | 329 |
Brooklyn Wrongful Death
Sally and Sam were driving home from the movies when Joe ran a red light at a high speed, slamming into Sally and Sam's car. Sam did not survive the accident. It was determined that Joe was intoxicated. When a person dies or is killed due to the negligence or intentional act of another person or entity, under New York law the surviving members of the victim's family may sue for "wrongful death." Wrongful death claims involve all types of fatal accidents including auto accident, workplace accidents, slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice, or product liability cases. Individuals, businesses, and governmental agencies can be legally at fault for acting negligently or intentionally. If you are in need of a personal injury lawyer because a family member passed away in an accident due to the intentional act or due to the negligence of another person or entity, it is critical that you contact an experienced Brooklyn wrongful death lawyer who will explain to you the process for holding the responsible party financially accountable. You should do so quickly as there are time limits that you must follow when you file a wrongful death claim.Who may sue for wrongful death
Under New York law, only a decedent's personal representative may file a claim for wrongful death. A personal representative is typically the person the decedent named as executor in his or her will. Otherwise, the personal representative would be the person named by the court to serve as such. The personal representative would file the wrongful death claim on behalf of the real parties in interest. The real parties in interest would be the decedent's beneficiaries or heirs. Typically, the real parties in interest would include the decedent's surviving spouse and children, but may also include the decedent's parents, siblings and other relatives.Recoverable damages
Depending on whose negligence caused the accident that resulted in the wrongful death, the family of the deceased may recover a variety of damages. If family members file a wrongful death lawsuit they may recover medical expenses related to the injury that ultimately led to the victim's death. Funeral and burial expenses are compensable. The family may be compensated for the loss of financial support that the victim would have contributed to the family during his or her lifetime. In some cases the plaintiffs may recover damages for benefits lost such as medical insurance and pension benefits. Recovery for loss of companionship refers being compensated for the comfort and care that the deceased would have provided.
However, if the victim died in a workplace accident then under New York workers' compensation law the decedent's survivors are entitled to workers' compensation death benefits and cannot sue the employer in court to recover additional compensation. Death benefits include burial expenses as well as a weekly benefit that is equal to a percentage of the decedent's wages and is subject to a cap. On the other hand, even if the accident occurred at work, if the negligent party was not the employer but a third party the victim's family may be able to sue the third party in a personal injury lawsuit for compensation in addition to workers' compensation benefits.
It is important to file a wrongful death claim as quickly as possible as New York's statute of limitations is generally only two years after the death.Example
In Gardner v. State (N.Y.Ct.Cl., 2012) Brandon Gardner was traveling along Route 81 Park Street Bridge in Syracuse. Earlier that day it had snowed and there had been accumulating snow over the past few days. A witness saw Gardner hit a slippery spot on the bridge and lose control of his vehicle. Gardner's vehicle hit the snow bank on the side of the road, rode up the bank and finally fell off the bridge to the road below. Gardner suffered multiple injuries including brain contusions, rib fractures, pulmonary lacerations, and a transverse laceration of the aorta. He did not survive. The court found the State of New York liable for the accident, citing that the way it plowed the bridge cause the snow banks that ultimately lead to Gardner's death.Contact the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates
Wrongful death cases can be complicated. It is not always easy to determine who is legally responsible for a victim's death. In some cases more than one person is ultimately responsible. Furthermore there may be complex procedural rules and timelines that must be followed. To make sure that your case is properly handled it is critical that you are represented by attorneys with experience handling wrongful death cases. Contact the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates to discuss the details of your case. Our staff is experienced in handling claims involving wrongful death cases related to construction accidents, car accidents, product liability, and medical malpractice. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Nassau County, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk County and Westchester County. | <urn:uuid:b56d199c-c635-4cda-94ff-6bdaf25277c9> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://injury.1800nynylaw.com/brooklyn-wrongful-death.html | 2019-12-11T17:35:52Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540531974.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20191211160056-20191211184056-00185.warc.gz | en | 0.967568 | 1,007 |
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The ACLU comprises two organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Learn more about the differences between the two organizations. | <urn:uuid:e7ef810d-b8da-46f6-8265-db2df3a6984f> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://www.aclu.org/donate-aclu?ms=menu_other&ms_aff=NAT&ms_chan=web&initms=menu_other&initms_aff=NAT&initms_chan=web | 2019-05-20T14:34:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232256040.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190520142005-20190520164005-00105.warc.gz | en | 0.896183 | 759 |
Obesity Fact #3: Physical Activity Improves HealthThursday, February 21, 2013
There is certainly no arguing with obesity fact #3 from the New England Journal of Medicine paper:
“Regardless of body weight or weight loss, an increased level of exercise increases health”
There are indeed countless studies showing how even moderately increasing physical activity can improve glucose metabolism, increase healthy HDL cholesterol, improve cardio-respiratory fitness, improve mood and general well-being, reduces stress levels, improves sleep and even helps ward off some cancers.
However, these studies also show that for most people, losing weight is not one of the benefits of being more active (after all it’s called “working up an appetite” for a reason!).
Thus, while exercise is not the panacea for weight loss (or even preventing weight gain), it is certainly the panacea for good health.
Fortunately for those who may not happen to be the biggest activity enthusiasts, even very moderately increasing activity levels for a few minutes a day can have significant benefits. Indeed, when it comes to the health benefits of exercise – less, done regularly, is often more (especially if you are at a higher weight).
Remember, if you can lift 300 pounds out of that chair and carry them across the room – you’re already an athlete in my books. | <urn:uuid:89e2c2fa-1c9a-4624-92c9-e0357d63db19> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-fact-3-physical-activity-improves-health | 2022-06-27T18:47:45Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103337962.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220627164834-20220627194834-00445.warc.gz | en | 0.94887 | 284 |
Oil Leak - Left Motor Mount Arm / Oil Filter Housing
It took me a long time to track down this oil leak, because I was blind to what was right in front of me.
I cleaned the engine well, put dye in the oil, and yet still couldn't figure out where it was coming from.
The engine block and head were dry (driver's side) above the A/C Compressor bracket, but under the bracket the block was soaked with oil.
The only things that seemed to be there were the left motor mount arm, and the oil pan gasket. I had decided that it was the oil pan gasket, gotten mad, and walked away.
Luckily, the next morning I looked at it again..and realized that the damn oil filter hangs off of the side of the left motor mount arm - and that the motor mount arm was the path for oil getting to the oil filter! DOH.. that explains that!
Well, next problem- do some reading, and find that the seal in question (Ford P/N XW4Z6840BA) is no longer available from Ford. However image searches on the internet / ebay for the mount arm make it appear that the seal is a simple (relatively large) O ring...
Luckily, further checking the Jaguar parts catalog, Jag still carries the seal for the S-Type.
In addition to that, one site has a couple of notes on the parts dimensions, (thanks to [url]http://www.brit-car.co.uk[/url])
Main O ring seal
XR816242 - 6.6cm x 6.6cm x 0.1cm (up to vin)
XR824893 - 7.5cm x 6.3cm x 0.3cm (after vin)
I've ordered both of these, as the oil filter housing hasn't changed- in the parts catalogue (AJ85632). I'm interested in seeing the difference (if one is updated/better), and will provide measurements for all of the o rings. It is possible that the block fitting changed between the years, i didnt' have a good way to check that.
The bolt also has an O ring in the jag parts diagram that I don't see in the ford diagram, and after disassembly I can see it is very important:
XR85180 - 3cm x 3cm x 0.3cm
I'm going to follow most of the Left Motor Mount replacement process to get into this piece, since i've done that before. This requires loosening the front sub frame, which sounds harder than it really is.
I'm not going to list every step. like setting emergency brake, loosening lugs before picking up car, etc. Anyway..
The factory manual indicates:
Remove the LH engine mount..
Remove Oil Filter
Remove Oil Cooler
Remove Oil Filter Adapter.
Removing LH engine mount:
First thing i did, because I wanted to do it with all of the engine mount and subframe bolts tight, was break loose the oil filter adapter/motor mount arm main bolt. Oil Filter Adapter mounting nut is 21mm. 114 ft lbs
Factory manual has you remove the intake tuning valve and the fresh air intake housing, seems like a lot of work. I managed to remove the motor mount without doing this.
Remove Upper motor mount nut, 15mm, 30ft lbs
Remove Lower motor mount nut 15mm (deep well handy), 46 ft lbs
Disconnect steering coupling bolt. 10mm, 26ft lbs. Be sure wheel and rack don't turn separate from each other, or when reattaching can damage airbag clockspring.
Support/raise engine as far as can without damaging intake manifold tuning valve, fresh air intake (for HVAC), and fuel pressure sender unit
Remove splash cover to gain access to subframe bolts. You may encounter 5.5mm headed screws..
You may want to pb-blaster the tops of the subframe bolts at this point
you may also want to unplug the variable assist steering plug at this point to avoid stretching the wire..
Loosen subframe bolts (15mm, 76ft lbs), 2 on each side. Loosen passenger side a few turns (1/8" or so), drivers side you can fully remove. I left one threaded a few threads to avoid possible future alignment issues.
Removing the oil filter buys you some space to work with, but I didn't have to. (Probably will before removing the arm, however...)
Use a prybar to pry the subframe away from the bottom of the car. I had sufficient clearance to get the motor mount out with the front subframe bolt still in place twish turns.
Pry down subframe, disconnect steering arm (do not rotate) to get it out of the way, then jiggle out motor mount.
Engine mount removed! This is a crappy aftermarket mount. The OEM mounts need a bit more space, as they have steel heatsinking/caging on them, If i remember correctly.
Remove the OIl Filter
Nuf said. have a drain pan ready.
Remove oil cooler
I'd really like to avoid doing this as I don't want to break open the cooling system at the hoses, and I don't want to remove it from the top of the filter housing as it isn't leaking and i'd like to not disturb any seals there may be in there.
I'm going to see if there is enough slack in the cooler lines to remove the oil filter adapter far enough to replace the o-ring without having to disconnect any of the oil cooler lines.
Seems I did. Leaving cooler and hoses in place.
Remove Oil Filter Adapter
Remove main bolt (when tightening, 21mm 114 ft lbs in two steps, 22ft lbs, then 114 ft lbs) (hopefully you already broke loose as 'first thing i did')
Remove nut affixing power steering electrical connector bracket (10mm)
Remove other 3 adapter bolts (14mm 18 ft lbs)
You can clearly see this is where the oil was leaking from now
This is what the mating surfaces look like
I took measurements of the old O rings, but they're smashed and brittle- so not going to bother posting.
I'm awaiting the seals, but replacement should be same as removal, with torques as noted.
Will take pics and specs measurements on new parts as well. | <urn:uuid:ee10665d-6f2e-4aa2-9191-f064d1d4e12c> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://www.c-j-l.net/Home/automotive/gen1-lincoln-ls-stuff/oil-leak---left-motor-mount-arm--oil-filter-housing | 2021-05-18T23:24:49Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243989874.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20210518222121-20210519012121-00003.warc.gz | en | 0.94913 | 1,352 |
Preventing The Crash Of A New Relationship
A new relationship can appear very, very promising. It’s like taking on in an exciting adventure of promises and lots of expectations. From wanting to always be there for your partner – being the one s/he calls first when in duress or in need of company, to expecting same whenever you are in need of company.
And the circle can go on and on for a long time, or for a very short time — because despite all the green lights of exciting optimism, the early periods of any new relationship could be a ticking time bomb, and if the wrong wires are pulled (by any partner), it may only speed up the catastrophe of such relationship.
Essentially, one must know that sincere communication is an indispensable tool a relationship must have if it will survive. However, too much of everything becomes an overdose, and an overdose can be poisonous, and a poison that lingers for (too) long in the body, kills — kills even a new relationship.
What I’m saying is, there are things you should try to avoid in the early stages of your relationship if you really wish to keep it. They are the buttons you really don’t want to push if you truly value what you have — and though these buttons might be numerous,
I’ve listed and explained a few number that I consider very pertinent having made my research and observations.
Being too sensitive/jealous: This is one red flag you wouldn’t want to raise in the early part of your relationship. Whether your partner appear too wild, or too quiet – thus prone to the judgement of being secretive, you must avoid the temptation of jumping fast, into conclusions as that often breeds distrust — and distrust is one sure poison that kills any relationship really fast. It isn’t wrong to be a sensitive partner, but make sure to first understand the other person’s character, and try to engage him/her in sincere communications first.
Putting up performances: No doubt, being in a relationship with a new partner is exciting, and thus each partner would want to die-hard impress the other. But that could as well be a reckless move, and might sooner or later be very toxic for that relationship to survive — because when “you put a bit of a show, you’re (only) trying to perform instead of being authentic” says Dating Coach Persia Lawson. And that is an exhausting pretense to maintain long term. Why not just be yourself? If you’re trying too hard to perform around someone, they’re probably not the right person for you anyway.
Moving too fast: Telling someone you think s/he is your soul mate after a date or two is not great for everybody. “it’s ok to take things at a slower pace” says Anmanda Major, a therapist. “People want to get in there and meet friends and parents and live in each other’s lives after only a short time, but it’s ok to take it at a slower pace”. If you go rushing, posting all sort of pictures with romantic captions about the both of you, and the whole thing collapses only after three months, you may end up feeling bereft.
Not establishing clear boundaries: The first three months of a relationship set the tone for the rest of your time together. If you’ve allowed the relationship to be on your partner’s terms, you will find it hard to come back from that. “You need to respect yourself and have clear boundaries when it comes to boundaries when it comes to dating someone” says Lawson. Be careful though, you’re not setting terms — not exactly, but be confident enough to set your beliefs clearly, in order to avoid conflict later on.
These are only a few explained red buttons you must try not to push in your relationship, there are a host of others — from being over-inquisitive, to being too secretive, to revealing too much too soon- the list is ever going. Notwithstanding, the most important thing is to keep it real, and try as much as possible to engage in sincere communication with the other person. Happy love life!
The Guardian Media News limited | <urn:uuid:1da19c1f-9eff-4045-943c-f1401decb860> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://ladyprowessblog.com.ng/4-ways-prevent-your-new-relationship-from-crashing/ | 2021-04-14T14:53:33Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038077818.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20210414125133-20210414155133-00102.warc.gz | en | 0.955323 | 882 |
Devils adjust lines at practice
NEWARK, N.J. -- An effective forecheck and undeniable compete level ultimately proved to be the difference for the New Jersey Devils in their opening-round triumph against the Florida Panthers in seven hard-fought games.
So what will be the game plan against the bigger Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semifinal series slated to begin at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC)?
For starters, how about a few line adjustments.
The Devils returned to practice on Saturday and coach Pete DeBoer conducted a one hour-plus workout in preparation for the Flyers.
DeBoer opened some eyes when he had top-line center Travis Zajac between Alexei Ponikarovsky and Ilya Kovalchuk, and second-line center Patrik Elias between Zach Parise and Dainius Zubrus -- Ponikarovsky and Parise were basically flipped. Petr Sykora, who was a staple on the Elias line most of the season, was placed on a line with center Adam Henrique and David Clarkson.
"Any kind of change is refreshing and it gives players around them a different jump and different look," DeBoer said after practice. "It doesn't mean we will make a change; we've won a lot of games here over last month with the lines we've had. No decisions have been made yet but any change usually gets a positive reaction, one way or another."
Henrique was the overtime hero in Game 7. The rookie connected for his second goal of the game 3:47 into the fifth period to end New Jersey's longest overtime playoff game since 2003.
Ponikarovsky was asked about the shuffling and being placed on the top line with Kovalchuk and Zajac.
"If they stay that way, it won't change my game," he said. "I know what I have to do and I'll just fit in with Trav and Kovy. We played one game against Pittsburgh back in the regular season and had some success, so that's what they're trying right now."
The only trio that remained intact from the Florida series was the fourth line of Ryan Carter, Stephen Gionta and Steve Bernier. That's not too surprising considering the trio accounted for five goals and nine points in seven games.
"We scored well 5-on-5 against Florida but there's always room for improvements," DeBoer said. "I thought our fourth line generated a lot of offense, and the top two lines were a little sporadic. We're going to try different things throughout this series."
DeBoer was also asked if rookie defenseman Adam Larsson could make his playoff debut in this series. Larsson has been a healthy scratch for 12 of the team's last 13 games, including all seven of the opening round.
"I would guess so," DeBoer said of the team's top pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. "We've only got seven defensemen here and you rarely get through series without some types of bumps and bruises, so I wouldn't doubt that he would play."
Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale | <urn:uuid:13606ded-00b9-479a-b647-6c7cf2a9c3cd> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://devils.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=630016 | 2014-09-21T02:03:35Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657134511.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011214-00192-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979084 | 661 |
New Rules to be tested at Spanish Grand Prix
Barcelona will be the significant test for F1 new rules
There was a mixture of changes that Formula 1 introduced at the beginning of the 2011 season in order to make overtaking much easier, this involved the DRS passing aid and tyres which go off more quickly
. However, the jury is still out as to whether the current rules have actually contributed to flawless racing. Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer thinks that it may take a few more races to adjust to the current rules and see what is and what isn't working.
With a lot of pitstops you get tyres differences and overtaking is too easy. I thought that China was great, fantastic - and perhaps Turkey was a bit more extreme. But let's give it a bit more chance - will it tend towards what we saw in Turkey or will it tend towards what we saw in China? The nice thing is that if we all agree it has been overdone then you can throttle it back – and maybe get rid of the DRS, or whatever. It is better than it was three years ago, that is for sure.
This weekend's Grand Prix in Barcelona will be the ultimate test for the new F1 regulations with the circuit providing the drivers with their most difficult challenge yet. The Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona has long high speed corners with very little braking zones making it tough for the drivers to overtake. With a good combination of DRS and Pirelli's, I think this is going to make for a really exciting race it will be interesting to see how the rule changes in 2011 will effect Sunday's Grand Prix especially when there are limited opportunities for overtaking thrown into the mix. | <urn:uuid:4ed50841-0e51-4f8f-9142-95780252d1f9> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://www.team-sport.co.uk/bruces-blog/new-rules-to-be-tested-at-spanish-grand-prix/ | 2019-06-18T13:38:33Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998724.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20190618123355-20190618145355-00373.warc.gz | en | 0.970284 | 351 |
Nour Zakaria 24
I am here to support the legitimacy of President Morsi, because if we do not support him the country will descend into chaos. I want to prove to the world that we are not barbarians, that we believe in democracy and in a democracy you don't do things this way.
This was a well-planned conspiracy, made with the help of the former regime, the military and a corrupt Egyptian media. If Morsi is forced to leave the palace, we will remain here and the cycle of street protests will become a permanent fixture in Egyptian life. I was never with Hosni Mubarak, but I did not participate in the last protests.
This time I slipped away from home. Nobody saw me leave. This is a matter of principle.
Lama Omar, 26
Human resources supervisor
The Muslim Brotherhood is not a democracy at all. All its actions were very, very bad. He was never going to leave his office. Morsi had already destroyed much of the country in one year and what would have happened, God only knows.
I was not with the first protest until Omar Suleiman [the former intelligence chief] made the announcement that Mubarak was gone. But this one I have been with from the bottom of my heart.
I am very, very optimistic. I am very proud of my nation and for all of us. My home is near Tahrir Square, and I heard the noise of the celebrations last night. It was a thrilling night for everyone. Something I will always remember.
Asmaa Fathi, 30, and her daughters Dima, 11, Imam seven, and son, Abdullah, three
We came here to celebrate with all Egyptians. I was not enthused to vote last time, not for Morsi or for anybody else. This time it is different. So long as we have strong armed forces, the country will be strong and we will be strong.
Morsi made the days of Mubarak look much better … all I care about now is for my children to live well. I want a good education for them. I want them to have good lives. The security in Egypt gives us peace of mind. Ramadan starts soon and we will be coming home after dawn prayers. We can do so in comfort and safety now.
Mohammed Hani, 22
Everybody's reaction here in Rabaa – the whole square – was one of complete shock. It was totally unexpected. No one saw it coming. This was a coup against the legitimate office of the presidency. They have crossed a red line.
The army is a patriotic institution and would never do such a thing. Only one person was responsible for what happened: Abdel Fatah al-Sisi [the chief of the army].
What happened is proof to us that we were on the right path and that we had given everybody their full rights. The media had been very open, and the press was criticised the whole time. He [Morsi] had never closed down media outlets, like what happened under military orders on Wednesday night. We were applying democracy correctly.
We will stay on the streets till all our demands are met. We will not budge.
Osama Yousef, 45
This revolution was stronger than the first because it was a fight for Egyptian identity. We have said to the world who Egyptians are and what we stand for.
I want to give a message to Obama. I want him to understand that the way he addresses us needs to change. His talk of cutting aid [because of the coup] upsets me. Nothing comes from the US for free. This is aid in kind, and the price we pay is the peace treaty with Israel.
We are not weak: we can make our own weapons instead of getting them from America.
Carmen Bedawi, 28
I don't think the elections were fairly held. The Brotherhood used to distribute oil and sugar to the poor people – they bought their loyalty that way. In Egypt there are a lot of poor people, maybe 60 to 70% of the population. He used ignorance and religion to fool them.
The cabinet that was formed was all Muslim Brotherhood and his clan. He wasn't going anywhere. The people have revolted. They have learned in the past two years. They did not know how politics works. Now they do. And they are united.
Alaa Hassan, 28
Air conditioning technician
We came here not for Mohamed Morsi as a person. We came to respect democracy. We are here to respect the people's will. We chose him [Morsi] as a president in a referendum and validated him through a referendum. Our choice has to be respected. The rules of democracy have to be respected. If they are just tossed away on a whim, there will be major problems.
We will never leave this place until the legitimate rights of those who elected Morsi are respected and recognised. What has happened sends a very bad message to everyone. It is a bitter taste.
Nancy Riyadh, 26, and her mother Yvonne Hanna, 54
This is the first time we have ever hit the streets. I have never seen people as happy as they were last night and as peaceful as they were. There was so much love between everybody. It was more than we ever saw in Mubarak's time. There are some groups that gave a lot of themselves to push Morsi out, which was not the case during Mubarak's time. It was like a burden that had to be moved. And we are so happy he has gone.
At the time he took office, I cried so hard, because I did not believe that Morsi could become president. I could not believe that the Muslim Brotherhood could control the country. We wanted to leave Egypt – we wanted to go to Canada for six months. We feel like we were victorious over an enemy. Egypt will now be the best country in the world.
Abdul Muneim Ahmad, 35
I was extremely angry when I heard the news. This was a betrayal of electoral legitimacy and of democracy. It is without precedent anywhere. This was a planned coup, orchestrated by Ahmed Shafiq [the presidential candidate whom Morsi defeated] and the army for a long time.
It was a conspiracy against democracy. It can't be the case that when democracy brings something that people don't want it can be discarded like this. I respect the ballot box. We are ready for anything now. All options are open, including death. But we will not use weapons." | <urn:uuid:042c1e67-f9c2-4f43-b745-c7ac84c8c779> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/04/cairo-streets-military | 2017-03-26T02:28:58Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189090.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00111-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986412 | 1,332 |
Nightwish drummer Jukka Nevalainen has decided to "step aside" from the band's eighth album and upcoming tour work as he continues a long battle with chronic insomnia.
He’s concluded that his health issues mean he’s not able to do what’s required of him – and admits he’s “indescribably sad” to say he doesn’t know if he’ll ever be back.
Wintersun drummer Kai Hahto has been drafted in to record the follow-up to 2011’s Imaginaerum, but no decision has been taken over who’ll be behind the kit when the band hit the road.
Nevalainen says: “For a number of years I have suffered from occasional but very difficult insomnia, my unwanted companion during many of our tours. I’ve done my best to try to control it, or at least to cope with it. There’s not much information available on why some of us suffer from sleeplessness. There is no 100% cure for the problem.
“During the last month it has become evident that due I can’t fulfil my duties as a musician in the way that I’d want, and with the precision the music deserves. Thus I have decided to step aside from Nightwish during the recording of the forthcoming album and the subsequent tour.”
He’s thanked Hahto for stepping in, and says he’ll remain involved with the band’s day-to-day management. He continues: “The dearest and the most important thing – playing – is, for the time being, not possible. Time will tell what the future holds.
“It is just part of the constant, inevitable ebb and flow of life. The sad things are part of it as well as the beautiful, unforgettable experiences and adventures that I’ve already had. Surely there will still be many adventures ahead, too.”
Nightwish mainman Tumoas Holopainen last month confirmed the band were working on a new album, their first with Floor Jansen and Troy Donockley as permanent members. They aim to release it before next summer. | <urn:uuid:00bb4329-f61d-4dbd-b15c-e4bf48c32b2f> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.loudersound.com/news/nightwish-jukka-nevalainen-steps-aside | 2022-09-28T04:13:59Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335059.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928020513-20220928050513-00184.warc.gz | en | 0.961568 | 472 |
Are you going to be in Miami area next week? Catch RCN Capital at IMN’s Single Family Rental Forum (East)! This 3-day event is taking place on May 23–25th at the beautiful Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
The IMN Forums continue to be some of greatest event in the real estate space, with plenty of opportunities for learning, networking, and growing your real estate business. With the SFR market currently estimated at $3.4 trillion and occupancy rates at an all-time high, an increasing number of investors are expanding their strategy to include this asset class. Featuring the timely educational takeaways and variety of tailored networking opportunities you’ve come to expect from IMN, we hope you will join us this May 23-25th for another world-class event.
There will be many talented guests lending their expertise at speaking sessions, and that includes some of RCN’s own very best. Our CEO, Jeffrey Tesch, will be featured on a panel titled “An Overview Of The Latest Financing Terms, Rates & Availability For The SFR, BFR & Fix & Flip Markets” at 9:25 AM on Monday, May 23rd.
The following day, RCN’s CFO, Justin Parker, will be hosting a session on “Short Term Credit Lines, Bridge, Gap Funding & Second Lien Financing For Rental Housing” at 9:10 AM. Finally, RCN Capital’s Executive Director of Retail Loan Development, Tim Herriage, will be hosting a panel the same day at 2:20PM titled “The Owners Forum“.
With all the great info-packed session at this IMN Event, these will be ones you do not want to miss! Don’t forget to stop by RCN Capital’s booth to meet our team and pick up some swag!
For more information on the IMN Single Family Rental Forum (East), click here. | <urn:uuid:4a77782a-83e8-4f51-aef7-4e256d3c3671> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://rcncapital.com/single-family-rental-forum-east-2022/ | 2023-03-21T17:51:27Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943704.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20230321162614-20230321192614-00049.warc.gz | en | 0.931817 | 411 |
DOWNLOAD NEWS 2014/2
by Brian Wilson
Just when you thought you'd seen the back of me, I'm
putting together one last issue of Download News until my successor
can hit the ground running.
2014/1 is here and the index of earlier recordings is here.
Index for 2014/2 and earlier reviews mentioned therein:
BACH CPE Cantatas - Herrmann - Phoenix 2014/2
BACH CPE Hamburg Symphonies - Christ - Hänssler 2014/2
BACH CPE Keyboard Concertos Vol.20 - Spányi - BIS 2014/2
BACH CPE Magnificat, etc - Rademann - Harmonia Mundi 2014/2
BACH CPE Symphonies; Cello Concerto - Manze - Harmonia Mundi 2013/17
BEETHOVEN Missa Solemnis - Gardiner - SDG 2014/2
BEETHOVEN Missa Solemnis - Klemperer 1955 - Past Classics 2014/2
BRAHMS Piano Concertos 1 and 2 - Hough - Hyperion 2014/2
BRAHMS Piano Concertos 1 and 2 - Hough - Hyperion 2013/17
DAVY, SHEPPARD, MUNDY Voice of the Turtle Dove - Coro 2014/2: Recording of the Month
FALLA Amor brujo - Collins; Sombrero - Ansermet - Naxos
FALLA El corregidor e la Molinera + LORCA - Pons - Harmonia Mundi
FALLA Noches en los jardines - Soriano + RODRIGO -Beulah 2014/2
FALLA Noches en los jardines; Piano Music - Harmonia Mundi 2014/2
FALLA Sombrero de tres picos; Noches en los jardines - Harmonia
FERRANDINI Cantatas - Deuter - Accent 2014/2
GRAUPNER Cantatas - Feuersinger - Christophorus 2014/2
GRAUPNER Orchestral Suites - Finnish Baroque - Ondine 2014/2
HARDOUIN Masses - Krueger - Toccata 2014/2
La Lira d'Orfeo - see MONTEVERDI -Resonus 2014/2
LISZT Solo Piano Music - Cameron - Cala 2014/2 and 2013/16
LLOYD Symphonies - Downes - Lyrita 2014/2
LLOYD Symphonies - Lloyd - Albany 2014/2
LORCA Canciones antiguas + FALLA - Alvarez - Urtext 2014/2
LORCA Canciones antiguas + FALLA - Pons - Harmonia Mundi 2014/2
MACMILLAN World's Ransoming; Isobel Gowdie - Davis -LSO Live
2014/2: Freebie of the Month
MENDELSSOHN Symphonies 1, 3-5 - Litton - BIS 2014/2
MENDELSSOHN Symphonies 1-5, Overtures - Abbado - DG 2014/2
MENDELSSOHN Symphonies 3 and 4 - Karajan - DG June-09
MENDELSSOHN Symphonies 4 and 5 - Gardner - Chandos 2014/2
MENDELSSOHN Symphonies 4 and 5 - Krivine - Naïve Jun-09 and 2014/2
MENDELSSOHN Symphony 3; Hebrides - Klemperer - HDTT 2014/2
MENDELSSOHN Symphony 3; Hebrides - Maag - HDTT 2014/2
MENDELSSOHN Symphony 4 + BRAHMS - Boult - ICA 2013/4
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No.3 - Maag -Past Classics 2014/2
MINGUS Charles Complete recordings 1957-60 - Playtime 2014/2: Jazz
Bargain of the Month
MONTEVERDI etc La Lira di Orfeo - Pé - Resonus 2014/2
MUSSORGSKY Pictures + PROKOFIEV - Osborne - Hyperion 2014/2
NIELSEN Symphonies 4 and 5 - Oramo - BIS 2014/2
PROKOFIEV Visions Fugitives, Sarcasms + MUSSORGSKY -Hyperion
RODRIGO Concierto de Aranjuez - Yepes + FALLA - Beulah 2014/2
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto, etc. Pike/Davis - Chandos 2014/2
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto, etc. Suwanai/Oramo - Japanese Decca 2012/23
STRAUSS R Salome - Schønwandt - Chandos 2014/2
STRAUSS R Salome - Solti - Decca/Hallmark 2014/2
VERESS Music for String Quartet - Basel Quartet - Toccata 2014/2
Recording of the Month
Voice of the Turtle Dove
John SHEPPARD (c.1515-58/9) Gaude, gaude, gaude Maria [14:08]
William MUNDY (c.1530-before 1591) Adolescentulus sum ego [5:35]
Richard DAVY (c.1465-c.1521) O Domine cæli terræque creator [14:41]
John SHEPPARD Libera nos I & II [6:28]
In manus tuas I [3:46]
Richard DAVY Ah, mine heart, remember thee well [4:57]
John SHEPPARD In manus tuas III [3:40]
William MUNDY Vox patris cælestis [17:37]
The Sixteen/Harry Christophers
pdf booklet with texts and translations included
CORO COR16119 [70:58] – from thesixteendigital.com (mp3, aac, 24/96 flac and alac)
my admiration for The Tallis Scholars and other, newer groups in this
repertoire, or, rather, in addition to them, The Sixteen have strong
claims to this territory, too. To quote the blurb: ‘In 2014 The Sixteen
returns to its grass roots for the repertoire of the 14th Choral Pilgrimage
tour as it revisits the golden age of Renaissance polyphony in England.’
My only complaint is that almost all of the music has already featured
in earlier recordings by The Sixteen.
The oldest music here, by Richard Davy, O Domine … creator and Ah mine heart appeared on The Pillars of Eternity,
Volume III of The Sixteen’s 5-disc survey of music from the Eton Choirbook
(COR16022). Both pieces are taken slightly faster than before
but otherwise there is little to choose. I must take this opportunity
to direct you to those wonderful recordings of the music from the Eton
Choirbook and to express the hope that thesixteendigital.com will make
them available in lossless download form – good as the 320kb/s downloads
are from classicsonline.com.
There are also earlier Sixteen recordings of the music of John Sheppard,
made some time ago for Hyperion (2-for-1 CDD22022 or in 10-CD box, The Golden Age, CDS44401/10 – review and review: Bargain of the Month) and more recently for their own
Coro label. In the case of those works included in the Hyperion set,
Harry Christophers adopts slightly slower tempi than before but, once
again, there is very little to choose. The download of the 10-CD set
is currently discounted at £26.25, so it’s a superb bargain even if
you also choose the new album.
The Sixteen also recorded the two Mundy works for Hyperion on an album
entirely devoted to that unjustly neglected composer: CDH55086 (budget price) or in the 10-CD set listed above. There is little to
choose between the two versions of Vox patris cælestis but Adolescentulus sum ego is now taken decidedly faster than before,
yet still given time to breathe. I’d still go for The Tallis Scholars
in Vox patris cælestis, from the very first recording of theirs
that I encountered, coupled with the Allegri Miserere and Palestrina Missa Papæ Marcelli, available very inexpensively on their
25 th Anniversary Album GIMSE401.
The Sixteen pace it beautifully but The Tallis Scholars give it that
little extra room to breathe and for that reason I marginally prefer
them to The Sixteen and even to their own remake on Live in Oxford (CDGIM998).
Whichever version you choose, the music deserves to be more widely known.
I awarded the Recording of the Month accolade for the
sheer delight of this new compilation, despite my misgivings about the
duplication of material.
Both thesixteendigital.com and gimell.com have reissued their recordings
of Sir John Tavener’s (1944-2013) Ikon of Light, with
The Sixteen and The Tallis Scholars respectively:COR16116 and GIMSE404 (both in mp3, aac and 16/44.1 lossless formats). The Coro is available
now; the Gimell, at budget price, is due at the end of March 2014 but
can be previewed as CDGIM005 by streaming from Naxos Music Library.
La Lira di Orfeo - A Tribute to Gualberto Magli
Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643) L’Orfeo – Musica (Prologo)
– Primo intermezzo –
Speranza (from Act III) – Possento Spirito – Prosperina (from Act IV) [13:42]
Johann NAUWACH (1595-1630) Amarilli mia bella [3:37]
Francesca CACCINI (1587-c.1645) Dispiegate guancie amate [2:34]
Giulio CACCINI (1550-1618) Sfogava con le stele [2:31]
Sigismondo D’INDIA (c.1582 - 1629) Ancidetemi pur, dogliosi
affani (Lamento di Giasone) [7:5]
Francesco LAMBARDI (1587-1642 ) O felice quel giorno [2:40]
Giovanni TRABACI (c.1575-1647) Toccata Seconda per l’arpa [2:39]
Girolamo MONTESARDO (1580-1620) Hor che la nott’ombrosa [3:04]
Alessandro CICCOLINI Solo et pensoso [7:27]
Giovanni Camillo Di PRIMI Se fama al mondo [2:11]
Johann NAUWACHTempesta di dolcezza [1:51]
Jetzund kömpt die Nacht herbey [4:21]
Sigismondo D’INDIAPiangono al pianger mio [3:10]
Raffaele Pé (counter-tenor)
Chiara Granata (triple harp – arpa doppia)
David Miller (theorbo) – rec. June/July 2013. DDD
pdf booklet with texts and translations included
RESONUS CLASSICS RES10124 [56:59] – from resonusclassics.com (mp3, aac, 16- and 24-bit lossless) or eclassical.com (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless) or stream from Naxos Music Library. No
billed as featuring Orpheus’s lyre, the cover illustration shows a 3-string
harp, as employed for the principal accompaniment here. Actually, there’s
so little difference between the harp and lyre that the instrument discovered
in an Anglo-Saxon burial mound at Sutton Hoo and displayed in the British
Museum, was originally reconstructed as a harp and only later turned
out to be a lyre. In any case the prime raison d’être for this
release is to showcase the voice of Raffele Pé, who, as I’m quoted in
the booklet as saying of an earlier release, ‘is a discovery, indeed,
a challenge to the likes of Andreas Scholl and Philippe Jaroussky.’
I suppose it was too much to expect more than excerpts from Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, especially in the light of the recent release on Avie
of a fine new recording of that work from a team headed by Andrew Parrott.
One day, however, I hope that Pé gets the chance to record the complete
work. Meanwhile he shines as brightly as on that earlier Resonus album.
Christoph GRAUPNER (1683-1760) Orchestral Suites
Suite in F for transverse flute, viola d’amore, 2 chalumeaus, baroque
horn, strings and cembalo, GWV451 [20:49]
Overture in F, GWV 450 [25:18]
Suite in G for viola d’amore, bassoon, strings and cembalo, GWV458 [29:53]
Finnish Baroque Orchestra/Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch – rec. May 2013.
pdf booklet included
ONDINE ODE1220-2 [76:00] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and loss)
Cantata GWV1145/11 ‘Angst und Jammer’* [19:08]
Overture in c minor, GWV413: Tombeau* [2:52]
Cantata GWV1102/11b ‘Furcht und Zagen’* [14:42]
Cantata GWV1106/19 ‘Ich bleibe Gott getreu’* [16:46]
Cantata GWV1144/11 ‘Ach Gott und Herr’ [22:38]
Miriam Feuersinger (soprano); with guest Xenia Löffler (baroque oboe)
Capricornus Consort Basel/Peter Barczi (violin) – rec. April/May 2013.
* world premiere recordings
pdf booklet with texts included – no translations.
CHRISTOPHORUS CHR77381 [76:06] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless)
Graupner was the Leipzig council’s first choice for the job of Kantor
at the Thomaskirche but his employers refused to let him go, so the
‘second-best’ Johann Sebastian Bach was chosen and the rest is history
– but not quite because history has been undeservedly unkind to the
memory of Graupner. Three of the cantatas and the overture on the Christophorus
album are receiving their world premiere recordings. His works have
now been catalogued – every good German composer needs a WV number –
and the record companies are gradually putting right the neglect. These
two well-filled recordings should serve that purpose very well.
Mark Sealey has already sung the praises of the Ondine recording – review – and I’m happy to concur. The downloaded recording is good – 16-bit
only, though I see that the original was recorded in 24-bit sound –
and the fine booklet comes as part of the deal.
I hardly thought to hear a voice that challenges and in some respects
excels that of Emma Kirkby for clarity and beauty of tone, but Miriam
Feuersinger does just that on the cantata recording. I have only one
grumble about this album, that the tonal beauty is not matched by clarity
of diction; I tried to listen without the booklet of texts to hand and
could hardly make out a single word, perhaps as a result of the slightly
resonant recording. Those whose German is rusty will have a problem
even with the booklet because there are no translations. As if to prove
that it can be done, the opening words of Ich bleibe Gott getreu are beautifully clear. For the rest, the booklet provides the texts
in German but no translations.
Don’t expect cantatas on the Bach model – if you know Telemann’s cantatas
for solo voice, for example as recorded by Toccata, these are more akin
to that type. Otherwise I have only praise for the quality of the music,
performances, recording and lossless download. In the booklet Ms. Feuersinger
thanks all concerned but most of all Graupner himself for the pleasure
of discovering his music: Der Schlussdank geht an Christoph Graupner,
dessen Kantaten zu entdecken ein sehr schönes und tiefgreifendes Erlebnis
für mich war. Conversely the spirit of Graupner owes a debt of
thanks to her and all who have contributed to this recording.
Giovanni Domenico FERRANDINI (1709-1791) Cantate drammatiche
Sinfonia Pastorale [1:32]
Cantata No. 1 [12:32]
Cantata No. 3 [20:00]
Sinfonia in B flat [5:15]
Cantata No. 4 [22:50]
Olivia Vermeulen (mezzo)
Harmonie Universelle/Florian Deuter – rec. December 2010. DDD
ACCENT ACC24277 [62:31] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless, no booklet) or stream from Naxos Music Library (with
is new ground for me – the only music by Ferrandini that I’d heard before
is his Pianto di Maria, once attributed to Handel* – and it’s
ground covered in an attractive manner in this recording, which appears
to be available, in the UK at any rate, as a download only. Two of these
cantatas are on the old theme of powerful, unrequited love, while No.3
features the sunflower defending its attractions against the more showy
flowers of the field.
All three cantatas recorded here, indeed all six in the collection,
are for solo voice, in this case for mezzo. Though beautifully sung
by Olivia Vermeulen and with two short Sinfonias interspersed
for a degree of variety, there is an element of sameness throughout,
especially as the music is not quite as dramatic as the overall title
With six violins listed among the personnel, Harmonie Universelle would
seem on paper to be a little on the large side for a chamber ensemble
but in practice the accompaniment is of just the right proportions.
The lossless recording is good but the lack of a booklet of texts from
eclassical.com reduces the appeal. Fortunately subscribers to Naxos
Music Library can sample the music there and obtain the booklet of notes
– slightly awkwardly translated into English – texts and translations.
* sung by Bernarda Fink on Decca Oiseau-Lyre 4781466 – review.
Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788)
Sinfonia in G, Wq. 182/1, H. 657 [10:41]
Sinfonia in B-Flat, Wq. 182/2, H. 658 [10:35]
Sinfonia in C, Wq. 182/3, H. 659 [11:39]
Sinfonia in A, Wq. 182/4, H. 660 [12:25]
Sinfonia in b minor, Wq. 182/5, H. 661 [10:51]
Sinfonia in E, Wq. 182/6, H. 662 [9:08]
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra/Wolfram Christ – rec. February 2013. DDD.
pdf booklet included
HÄNSSLER CLASSIC CD98.637 [65:29] – from classicsonline.com (mp3) or stream from Naxos Music Library
you are new to the Hamburg Symphonies of C.P.E. Bach, as was I before
I heard this recording, you’re in for a real treat. Composed in 1773
for Gottfried van Swieten, the Austrian ambassador in Prussia who later
sponsored Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, these works abound in interesting
melodies and are simply delightful.
The performances by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under the direction
of Wolfram Christ (former principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic)
are fresh and ebullient. Tempos in the outer movements are swift, and
slow movements never lag. Playing and ensemble are crisp and tight.
Unique here is the decision to use a fortepiano for the continuo part,
which provides a fuller yet less invasive sounding accompaniment than
the typical harpsichord. I found nothing lacking in the sound quality
of the mp3 version, which is both clear and dynamic, though the 16-bit
lossless recording can be found at eclassical.com and prestoclassical.co.uk.
Albert Q. Lam
I’m happy to endorse Albert Lam’s high opinion of this recording – and
to point out that it sounds even better in lossless format from eclassical.com.
If CPE’s music appeals – and it’s a good deal more interesting and unpredictable
than is often said – there’s a very good recording to follow up by the
English Concert and Andrew Manze of the symphonies Wq.183/1-4 with a
Cello Concerto (HMU807403 – DL
enjoyed several releases in the BIS series of CPE Bach’s keyboard concertos.
The latest, final volume (No.20: BIS-CD-1967 – rec. 2012) includes
the double concertos Wq.47 (H479) and 46 (H408) and the Sonatina Wq.109
(H543). Miklós Spányi plays a modern copy of a 1745 harpsichord, is
accompanied by Concerto Armonico Budapest and the album is available
in mp3, 16- and 24-bit sound from eclassical.com.
The other soloists are Tamás Szekendy (fortepiano, Wq.47, establishing
a very effective contrast between the two keyboard solos) and Cristiano
Holtz (harpsichord, Wq.46 and 109) and Péter Szüts conducts the Sonatina.
As before there’s a helpful set of notes.
Now I must catch up with some of the earlier volumes that I’ve missed.
There’s a 2-CD set of CPE’s vocal works:
Morgengesang am Schöpfungsfeste , Wq.239, H.779 [12:00]
Weihnachts-Musik: Auf schicke dich , Wq.249, H.815[18:03]
Anbetung dem Erbarmer , Wq.243, H.807 [20:41]
Heilig (Te Deum), Wq.217, H.778 [7:18]
Herrn Pastors Gasie Einführungsmusik , Wq. 250, H.821[25:39]
Wer ist so würdig als du , Wq.222, H.831 [4:56]
Der Herr lebet , Wq.251, H.821g [36:18]
Barbara Schlick (soprano); Rheinische Kantorei; Das kleine Konzert/Max
PHOENIX453 [2:04:55] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless) Also available on CD, Brilliant Classics 94817.
recording dates are given, though I think these have been round the
block before. They’re part of a series recorded by Capriccio for the
bicentenary of his death in 1988 and reissued for the tercentenary of
his birth. There are no texts or translations, though you should find
Klopstock’s Creation Ode, the text of the first cantata, easily
enough online: try http://www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/volltexte/6315/pdf/Morgengesang.pdf
The music and the performances are attractive and the recording still
sounds well. Whatever new recordings of CPE we get in this tercentenary
year are not likely to put this too much in the shade.
CPE Bach’s Magnificat, Wq215, is written in a style akin to his
father’s music, not surprisingly since its first performance in Leipzig
seems to have been intended as a bid to succeed his father as Thomaskantor.
For that reason it has sometimes made a good companion for JS Bach’s Magnificat, and it doesn’t fall far short of the latter – both
were intended for those high days when the Latin text was sung rather
than the German paraphrase. A new Harmonia Mundi recording couples it
with the short but striking motet Heilig ist Gott, Wq217, (a
paraphrase of the Te Deum), and the Sinfonia in D, Wq183: Elizabeth
Watts (soprano), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (alto), Lothar Odinius (tenor) and
Markus Eiche (bass); RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie für alte Musik, Berlin/Hans-Christoph
Rademann. (HMC902167 [55:30] – from eclassical.com as HM2167D in mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless, with pdf booklet
containing texts and translations).
This arrived as I was closing the DL News, so I haven’t had time for
comparisons. There’s not much competition in the current catalogue –
and two of the competitors are bound up in 10- and 30-disc boxes – but
the new recording will do very well indeed.
Henri HARDOUIN (1727-1808) Four-Part Masses, Volume One
Mass No. 1, Incipite Domino in tympanis (publ. 1772) [17:47]
Mass No. 3, Jucundum sit eloquium meum (publ. 1772) [23:36]
Mass No. 4, Exaltate et invocate nomen ejus (publ. 1772) [19:00]
St Martin’s Chamber Choir/Timothy J. Krueger – rec. DDD.
pdf booklet with texts and translations included
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC191 [60:38] – from toccataclassics.com or eclassical.com (both mp3 and lossless) or stream from Naxos Music Library
again we owe Toccata our thanks for rescuing neglected music, this time
by a French priest-composer whose works could not be performed during
the first phase of the Revolution between 1791 and 1794. These are premiere
recordings and they are promised as the first volume, with three other
masses yet to come. The a cappella settings are short and fairly
simple and conservative in style – don’t expect anything to match Haydn
or Mozart, though the brevity would have delighted the latter’s employer,
Archbishop Colloredo – but the music is nonetheless attractive and the
performances and recording do it justice.
The titles of the masses suggested to me, as to the author of the notes
in the booklet, that Hardouin was employing a cantus firmus technique,
using tunes perhaps peculiar to the local Rheims usage, but the modern
editor of the music suggests instead that the titles, from the Breviary
readings from Judith and Psalms, rather suggest appropriateness to a
particular Sunday or feast day, though I’m not sure how that works out,
since traditionally the canticle from Judith 16, quoted in the titles
of Masses 1 and 3, was traditionally assigned to Wednesday Lauds.
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Missa Solemnis in D, Op. 123 [70:04]
Lucy Crowe (soprano), Jennifer Johnston (mezzo), James Gilchrist (tenor),
Matthew Rose (bass)
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/Sir John Eliot Gardiner – rec.
live at the Barbican Hall, London, October 2012. DDD.
pdf booklet with texts included
SOLI DEO GLORIA SDG718 [70:04] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless)
of the Month – see review by John Quinn)
I passed this by when it was released, thinking that not even Sir John
Eliot Gardiner could surpass his own DG recording, my clear favourite
among earlier versions. John Quinn’s review and others in similarly
adulatory vein persuaded me to listen – and I was convinced.
I’m not going to dispose of my CD of the earlier Gardiner recording,
but the new one will, I’m sure, be in my listening schedule just as
one other recording that I must mention with strong approval: between
Otto Klemperer’s 1951 classic Vox account and his more monumental EMI
Classics version, WDR recorded him in Cologne in 1955 and this recording
is available inexpensively on Past Classics – just £2.10 from emusic.com and only a little more from other download sites. There has been considerable
speculation about the provenance of this recording, with some attributing
the direction to Josef Krips, but it seems to have been Klemperer at
the helm of the Kölner Rundfunk-Orchester, with some fine soloists.
Past Classics don’t name them but they seem to have been Anneliese Kupper,
Sieglinde Wagner, Rudolf Schock and Josef Greindl. The timings (total
74:51) closely match the Medici Masters CD which reliably claims to
be of Klemperer in 1955, allowing for slightly longer run-in and -out
times on the latter, but I responded much more positively to the Past
Classics transfer than John Sheppard did to the Medici Masters – review.
The singing is excellent, the scale of the performance just right and
the recording, though edgy and resolutely double-mono, is clear and
free from distortion even in loud passages, albeit that the emusic.com
transfer is at a miserly 160kb/s.
Mendelssohn in Birmingham – Volume 1
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26 [9:51]
Symphony No. 5 in D, Op. 107 Reformation [27:40]
Symphony No. 4 in A, Op. 90 Italian [28:12]
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardner – rec. October
CHANDOS CHAN5132 [66:04] – from theclassicalshop.net (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless). Also available as hybrid SACD CHSA5132.
Comparative versions of Mendelssohn symphonies:
Symphonies 1-5; Overtures: DG 471467-2 (4 CDs)
LSO and Chorus/Claudio Abbado – from amazon.co.uk (mp3)
Nos. 3 and 4 only from 7digital.com (mp3), or 4 and 5 only from 7digital.com (mp3).
Symphonies 1 and 4; Ruy Blas Overture: BIS-SACD-1584 Bergen PO/Andrew Litton – from eclassical.com (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless) – review.
Symphonies 3 and 5: BIS-SACD-1604 Bergen PO/Andrew
Litton – from eclassical.com (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless) Recording of the Month – review.
Symphony No.3: PAST TIMES LSO/Peter Maag – from emusic.com (mp3)
Hebrides Overture; Symphony No.3: HDDL315 Philharmonia Orchestra/Otto Klemperer – from High
Definition Tape Transfers (24/96 and 24/192 lossless). pdf booklet
Symphonies 3 and 4; The Hebrides: DG Originals
4497432 BPO/Herbert von Karajan – from 7digital.com - June
2009 DL Roundup
Symphony No.4: ICA ICAC5093 RPO/Sir Adrian Boult
(with BRAHMS Symphony No.4) – review and DL
Symphonies 4 and 5: NAÏVE V5069 La Chambre Philharmonique/Emmanuel
Krivine – review and June
2009 DL Roundup
Symphonies 4 and 5: Philips 4224702 (no longer
available separately) NPO/Wolfgang Sawallisch
The arrival of the new Chandos recording and the death of Claudio Abbado
prompted me to look at recordings of all the Mendelssohn symphonies.
Among those listed above there’s nary a dud to be found, so the new
recording has its work cut out. Even its availability as an SACD and
in 24-bit download format is not unique, as that applies also to the
two BIS/Litton recordings, albeit that they were recorded at 44.1kHz.
The Maag recording, from 1960, is the oldest of those listed. Though
the emusic.com download is at a disgracefully low bit-rate of around
150kb/s, it sounds well enough, albeit with some moments of strain in
loud passages and it’s very light on stereo placement. Despite the fact
that it’s very inexpensive at £0.84 or less it’s a safer buy on mid-price
CD (Decca E4669902) or as a download in mp3 or lossless flac, Mendelssohn in Scotland, Decca 4783184, from prestoclassical.co.uk.
Both couple music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Maag’s Scottish Symphony originally came with The Hebrides Overture but the Past Times download has been shorn of what was an appropriate
coupling which remains available on a 2-CD budget set from Decca Eloquence
(4803483). This recording set a high standard for many years
until Decca capped their own achievement with a recording featuring
the LSO and Claudio Abbado (mid-price Decca Originals 4758677:
download for £4.99 from 7digital.com).
There’s also a recent 24-bit audiophile transfer of Maag’s Hebrides and Symphony No.3 from HDTT (HDDL414 – here)
of which I was sent only the Hebrides for review. That track
sounds very well indeed – much better than the Past Classics version
of the symphony and slightly brighter than the HDTT Klemperer (below)
and slightly faster-paced. Both these HDTT transfers are available in
24/96 and 24/192; be aware that the latter are very large files indeed
and not all DACs can cope with them – my own Dragonfly will play 24/192
but only by downsizing to 24/96, which rather defeats the object of
paying more and taking four times as long to download.
Klemperer’s recording of the Third Symphony and Hebrides dates from the same year as the Maag. If you thought of Klemperer as
a slouch, this should make you think again: he gives the overture time
to breathe but he’s only seconds slower than Maag and slightly faster
than Abbado. In the first movement of the Scottish symphony,
too, his tempo falls between Maag and Abbado – very little between them
again – and in the third movement he’s actually slightly faster than
The 1960 recording has come up extremely well in this HDTT transfer,
without any of the artificial brightness that they sometimes apply,
so I was delighted to make the acquaintance of this recording again.
There’s something odd about the booklet, which switches abruptly from
describing the symphony to a description of Act II of Giselle.
another vintage (1952) Decca recording of this symphony from Solti on
Beulah 4-6BX16 – DL
Roundup November 2010. I enjoyed it but it’s somewhat outshone as
performance and recording by Maag and I’d hardly make it an urgent recommendation.
Karajan’s recording from 1971 sounds much fuller than the Past
Classics Maag. It offers the classic coupling of the Scottish and Italian symphonies plus The Hebrides in performances
that still deserve to be ranked with the very best and, at £4.99 from
7digital.com, it’s good value, too.
You may have to re-number the tracks to get them to play in the right
If it’s just those two works that you want, the choice is between this
and the other DG recording listed above, taken from the complete
If you plan to buy either of the single-album DG/Abbado recordings,
however, you should bear in mind the availability of the complete 4-CD
set from Amazon for just a little extra - £9.99 in the UK for all five
symphonies plus the overtures. The bit-rate is lower than 7digital.com’s
320kb/s, at around 250kb/s, but the DDD recording comes over well in
this transfer and the set reminds us that there’s more to Mendelssohn
than just the three best-known symphonies.
The Boult recording of the Italian Symphony comes with a version
of Brahms’ No.4 that challenges – but doesn’t replace – Klemperer’s
version of that work in my esteem.
His Mendelssohn may not be quite so special but it’s well worth having
for the sake of the Brahms. The download from eclassical.com comes in mp3 and lossless flac and at a price that makes it competitive
with other download sites who offer it in mp3 only.
one time I might have had to make a case for No.5, the Reformation Symphony, but that work has become more popular in recent years. Sawallisch’s 1966 recording of 4 and 5 still finds a regular place in my listening
schedule, alongside his Elijah (in German). Both of these are
now entombed in a budget-price 14-CD Decca set, along with the other
three symphonies (Decca 4807707, around £40) but you may be able
to find copies of the single CD of the Italian and Reformation symphonies and the Philips Duo of Elijah. The five symphonies
from Sawallisch are also available in a budget-price Brilliant Classics
set along with the String Symphonies (93777, 7 CDs for
around £19, Bargain of the Month – review).
Krivine with his period-instrument players casts new light on
these two symphonies. It’s not just the faster tempi that make the difference;
these lithe performances will be ideal for many listeners. Emusic.com
is the least expensive way to obtain this recording but at a fairly
low bit-rate; classicsonline.com give you 320kb/s mp3 for only a little more (£4.99).
For all the enjoyment Krivine delivers, it’s the Abbado, Litton and
Sawallisch versions of Nos. 4 and 5 and Karajan in No. 4, with modern
instruments that I’ve used as my benchmarks for the new Chandos recording.
Litton on BIS has received some very mixed responses from MusicWeb International
reviewers: Nos. 1, 2 and 4 were not liked but Dominy Clements made Nos. 3
and 5 a Recording of the Month – review.
Stephen Francis Vasta’s judgement on No.1 as phlegmatic and on No.4
as featuring generalised and diffuse playing – review – surprised me in view of the positive reviews which this recording
has received elsewhere, so I listened with apprehension to the BIS download.
You may not be too startled to learn that, there being no accounting
for taste – de gustibus, etc – I couldn’t find much amiss here
and enjoyed the pairing of the 1833 work with its teenage predecessor
One strange thing about this recording of the Italian concerns
timings, especially for the finale. The booklet, like Naxos Music Library
and eclassical.com, states 5:31 – about in line with the consensus for
this movement – but Winamp times the 24-bit lossless and Windows Media
Player the mp3 version at a much slower 6:03, reflecting a most unusual
run-out of 30 seconds.
new Gardner recording is billed as Volume 1 of Mendelssohn
in Birmingham – a city where much of his music was performed, so
the title is no mere gimmick. It opens with The Hebrides as an hors d’œuvre. It’s a bit slow to get under way; though the overall
tempo is about par for the course, I prefer something that opens with
a little more zip, such as the vintage Beinum on Beulah 10BX37.
After that I listened to the whole of the Fourth and Fifth symphonies
without ever wishing to jot down a single adverse comment. That may
sound like a negative comment but it’s a measure of the extent to which
I enjoyed the new Chandos album. With good recording to match, especially
in 24-bit lossless format, this merits prime placing unless you have
a particular desire for an alternative coupling or an attachment to
an earlier recording. This coupling of the Italian and Reformation is particularly valuable for, I hope, re-establishing the latter in
popular esteem. With such powerful advocacy it’s hard to see why Mendelssohn
came to dislike it so much.
You could hardly go wrong with any of the albums that I’ve listed. There’s
a remarkable degree of agreement among the five recordings of the Italian and the four of the Reformation symphony. Only Karajan’s timing
for the first movement of the Italian stands out and that’s because
he omits an important repeat, thereby slightly diminishing the work’s
You may wonder why I haven’t referred to Sir Thomas Beecham’s recording
of No.4 with the RPO (BBCL4044-2, plus Schubert Symphony No.3,
TchaikovskyNutcracker Suite) but the recording (RAH, 1958) is
shrill and dated so I’m sorry to have to agree with Terry Barfoot – review – in ruling this out.
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Don Juan Fantasy [17:42]
Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 [8:16]
Funérailles: Octobre 1849 [13:26]
Hungarian Rhapsody No.5 [6:14]
Valse Oubliée No.1 [3:48]
Les Préludes [6:20]
Matthew Cameron (piano) – rec. c.2010. DDD
CALA RECORDS [72:48] – from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or iTunes (mp3).
(See also DL
very much enjoyed listening to a recording recently which included pieces
composed by pianist Matthew Cameron, as well as music by Chopin and
Liszt and arrangements of some well-known orchestral pieces. The current
recording consists entirely of music and transcriptions by Liszt as
well as transcriptions by Cameron himself. He begins this new recording
with the Fantasy on Don Juan by Lisztafter Mozart. He
presents us with a suitably powerful and majestic opening and soon Cameron
displays his virtuosity to great effect. However he also plays with
great delicacy and lightness when required and successfully portrays
the ever-changing moods in this lengthy piece.
Matthew Cameron plays the opening Andante sostenuto of Hungarian
Rhapsody No.13 very affectingly and with plenty of expression and feeling
for the style. I am not sure about the substantial cut he makes, at
least according to the editions at my disposal, but maybe Cameron feels
the piece otherwise would seem too long to maintain interest. Cameron
demonstrates his virtuosity in brilliant decorative flourishes with
crystal clear demisemiquavers, and these fiendishly difficult passages
seem to hold no fear for him. In the end, they are only decorations
of the melody. One of my favourite recordings of this piece is by Misha
Dichter (Philips Duo) who seems to make all the virtuoso sections become
part of the structure and melodic line. Dichter is fractionally slower
than Cameron in the concluding vivace. Although Cameron’s virtuosity
here is thrilling to hear, I did feel that Dichter’s fractionally slower
tempo allowed the music to breathe and to give us more time to feel
the shape of the musical phrases. Also Dichter makes no cuts but he
adds the occasional short, but effective embellishments. However Matthew
Cameron’s performance is thrilling and exciting and we want plenty of
that in music by Liszt.
Funérailles from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses begins
in sombre mood and Matthew Cameron captures well the tragic tones of
this music. He plays the opening Adagio very slowly indeed, and
his performance of this work is as much as two and a half minutes longer
than some, but he nevertheless manages to maintain the interest and
intensity throughout. He phrases beautifully and the sound is well-balanced.
The recording is excellent and well able to cope with the huge climaxes
achieved by the pianist. Once again I noticed a few minor textural differences,
and I wondered why Cameron sometimes releases the pedal earlier than
marked thus breaking the melodic line in some tied notes.
Jorge Bolet on Decca also gives a fine performance, a little quicker
and more flowing in the slow sections. I like Bolet’s clarity in the poco a poco piu moto where he never allows the left hand quavers
to drown the right hand even in the grandest fortissimo, something
Cameron does in a couple of bars. Misha Dichter colours and phrases
these left-hand triplet quavers brilliantly. Arnaldo Cohen on BIS also
moves forward more than Cameron in the opening Adagio. He is
also more concerned than Cameron to bring out the melody in this section,
but too much so at the expense of the balancing of the chords. That
said, Cohen always makes the piano sing and gives a superb reading,
though some may find the recording a touch cavernous.
Hungarian Rhapsody No.5 is given a rather quick introduction for a piece
marked Lento con duolo. I am not sure that Cameron quite captures
the mood here and the sense of line does not always follow through.
For example the long G in bar 1 seems to disappear as the pedal is perhaps
half released. In the expresso assai section which soon follows,
the tied crotchets are not joined to the ensuing notes thus breaking
the melodic line. The pedalling sounds a little blurry in the semiquavers
at the end of bar 2 and similar, and I also felt that the first crescendo
is built too quickly and it reaches a climax too soon. Sometimes I would
like to hear a greater distinction between semiquavers and demisemiquavers
and I am wondering why on one occasion Cameron plays semiquavers as
triplets. Just before the final section, he continues to play triplet
quavers where ordinary quavers followed by crotchets are written. Again,
he makes a cut. Maybe Matthew Cameron has a more up to date edition
than those available to me, but Balint Vazsonyi on Vox gives a totally
accurate reading rhythmically, at least according to my sources. Also
Vazsonyi maintains a beautiful sostenuto and sense of line in
the second main theme. There is a feeling of organic growth throughout
and he gives a convincing performance although the recording is not
quite top of the class. Jenö Jandó on Naxos is also very accurate with
his rhythms but when he reaches the G major section this can hardly
be described as dolcissimo. I find Jandó too fast and loud here,
but the powerful sections are built superbly. But there is no disputing
that Matthew Cameron, in spite of my minor niggles, gives a thrilling
performance which is well worth hearing.
Liszt asked conductors to make sure that in the tempestuous opening
section of Hunnenschlacht or the Battle of the Huns, brilliantly
transcribed here for piano solo by Matthew Cameron, the colours must
be kept dark and ghostly. In the fearsome opening section, Cameron displays
his phenomenal virtuosity to great effect with dark and deep sounds
to terrify us all.
Valse Oubliée is a nostalgic little piece and it is given an
attractive and characterful performance. The recording at the start
sounds a bit dry but I like Matthew Cameron’s phrasing and subtle pedalling
here. To hear a different approach to this piece, listen to Clifford
Curzon on Decca who gives us a faster, lighter and mostly pedal-free
In Les Préludes the mood is convincingly set right from the start.
Cameron’s arrangement and performance is very effective and the opening
section builds to an exciting climax and then more lyrical music follows.
Liszt himself made a transcription of this work for two pianos but Matthew
Cameron’s version is equally successful, very virtuosic and exciting.
Cameron’s transcription is sensitively realised and he successfully
conveys the drama and intensity of the work.
This collection is very varied and exciting and although there are already
many fine recordings of some of the pieces presented here, Matthew Cameron
puts his own distinguished stamp on the proceedings. He demonstrates
such fine musicianship and virtuosity, and this excellent project is
really well worth hearing.
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Piano Concerto No.1 in d minor, Op.15 [49:02]
Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat, Op.83 [48:51]
Stephen Hough (piano)
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra/Mark Wigglesworth – rec. January 2013.
pdf booklet included
2 CDs for the price of one
HYPERION CDA67961 [49:02 + 48:51] – from hyperion-records.co.uk (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless)
(See also DL
Hélène Grimaud; Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Concerto
Wiener Philharmoniker (Concerto 2)
Andris Nelsons (DG 4791058, 2 CDs, mid-price: Recording
of the Month – review)
Salzburg orchestra is truly menacing at the beginning of Stephen Hough’s
performance of Brahms Piano Concerto No.1. The horns, violas, bass(es)
and timpani attack the opening D with a ferocious fortissimo.I
am used to hearing the orchestral introduction, marked maestoso taken in a rather more drawn out way in the old Romantic tradition.
By contrast, this is lithe and rhythmical with momentum and makes for
a refreshing change. A bit further on the strings play a new theme marked
by the composer to be played softly with expression, and they play here
with great delicacy and refinement. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
presents a more full-bodied, richer sound for Hélène Grimaud and Andris
Nelsons on DG. They are a fraction slower than Stephen Hough and Mark
Wigglesworth and their attack is more mellow and less biting. Hough
plays with great eloquence and musicality and he builds the concluding
Grimaud’s orchestra makes a fabulous, opulent sound at the beginning
of the Adagio (slowly) second movement and there is some very
intense playing here. Grimaud is heartfelt and passionate in this music.
There seems to be a touch of background noise during Grimaud’s solos;
maybe it is her breathing but this is not too obtrusive. Hough and Wigglesworth’s Adagio feels more like an Andante and they set a very
different mood. The intensity and passion have gone to some extent and
this is no longer the Brahms to which we are accustomed, but there is
a feeling of forward movement and flow and very expressive playing from
all concerned. Stephen Hough’s playing is beautifully phrased and nuanced.
I could grow to like this way of playing Brahms.
In the concluding Rondo, Hough and his orchestra play spiritedly
with fire and energy. There is always great clarity in the texture,
for example in the strings fugato episode, but the tone does
sound a bit thin here. Being a niggly person sometimes, I did not notice
one wind chord not quite in perfect tune, and at the beginning of the Tempo 1 just before the end, the horn figures (first horn 1 followed
by horn 2) are more or less inaudible due to the overloud piano trill.
I prefer Grimaud’s sense of direction, fuller sound and lively excitement
at the beginning of the Rondo, but there is a curious balancing
when the strings take over the main theme. This is all but drowned by
Grimaud’s semiquaver accompaniment … enough niggling. This is a great
performance, truly spectacular. The playing of the orchestra and soloist
Unusually the opening of Piano Concerto No.2 has more of a sense of Allegro, as marked by Brahms in Stephen Hough’s performance.
We are used to hearing this horn melody beautifully played, and this
usually means rather drawn out, sostenuto and held back thus
allowing the horn player the opportunity to demonstrate his beautiful
tone. Hélène Grimaud’s horn player is an example of that, although she
herself changes gear a bit and starts to move forward at her first entry.
The first statement of the main theme both by Hough and later by the
full orchestra does not have the attack or sense of power with which
we are accustomed and the strings sound comparatively lean. Steven Hough
also sounds a bit underpowered sometimes, but I think the performers
are saving themselves for the fortissimo later and the huge climax
as we approach the conclusion of the exposition. At this point Grimaud
and her orchestra are filled with so much fire and passion that I think
she wins hands down. The horn playing is outstanding in the Vienna Philharmonic
at the beginning of the development, with a slight pungency combined
with tonal beauty. The most striking feature of Stephen Hough’s performance
is the beauty of the playing and the lightness of touch. For example
at the beginning of the recapitulation the delicacy of the piano playing
and the gentle wind chording is to be admired for its beauty.
Grimaud begins the allegro appassionato with plenty of fire and
passion. Her power here is amazing, although I think that Nelsons slows
down too much for the second subject which almost comes to a halt, but
the movement builds to a thrilling and passionate climax. Hough makes
an arresting start to this movement. There is much clarity and forward
thrust in his performance and I prefer Wigglesworth’s conducting of
the second subject which he keeps moving well. This is a fine performance,
and like Grimaud, Hough provides a superb climax.
Hough and Wigglesworth present the third movement as a real andante with a feeling of forward movement and never too slow. In fact when
we reach the forte it feels a bit rushed. The opening cello solo
is beautifully played and accompanied with lovely textures in the orchestra.
All is captured superbly on this Hyperion recording. Grimaud’s conductor
is a little slower, and the opening cello melody more dreamy but less
characterful than the Mozarteum orchestra’s player. At the forte Grimaud and Nelsons maintain the tempo although they speed up a little
further on. I prefer the cello soloist, the greater clarity and beautifully
balanced colours of Hough’s recording, as well as his and Wigglesworth’s
sense of forward movement. Hough’s subtlety of phrasing and expression
here is unsurpassed, and the orchestral soloists, as well as the cello
playing are outstanding.
Hough and Wigglesworth are beautifully light and airy in the Finale
and they play here with great delicacy. Once again the orchestral soloists
are exquisite and all is beautifully balanced. The playing is outstanding,
so delicate and refined where necessary and it is all backed up by a
great recording. The sections of the movement are well integrated by
Hough’s subtle sense of rubato. There is always a sense of forward
movement and thrust.
In short Hough is more classical in his approach than Grimaud who gives
a full-blooded, truly Romantic style account and is just a little slower
in the slow movements. The tempi are much the same in the other movements.
Grimaud’s tone can be massive or delicate as required and her orchestras
are superior to Hough’s. The Hyperion recording has greater clarity
and allows every refinement in Hough’s playing to be really appreciated.
If I were forced to choose between the two I would probably go for Grimaud,
but fortunately I now have both of these great performances in my collection
alongside my benchmark recording by Gilels, Jochum and the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra. Both are outstanding.
Modest MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881) Pictures from an Exhibition (piano version) [35:47]
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Visions Fugitives, Op.22
Sarcasms, Op.17 [19:36]
Steven Osborne (piano)
pdf booklet included
HYPERION CDA67896 [65:58] – from hyperion-records.co.uk (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless)
oft-recorded work is heard here in a new recording by Steven Osborne
from Hyperion. The first Promenade is given in a forthright,
no-nonsense way by the pianist and Gnomus also has a minimum
of rubato, but great clarity and control. I particularly like
the soft sections which sounded really mysterious. Il vecchio Castello is played really musically but maybe a touch more feeling of romance
would not come amiss! Tuileries is fast and fleeting and Bydlo begins with a magnificent fortissimo; the sense of struggle as
the oxen try to pull the oxcart to the summit of the hill is well portrayed.
Osborne produces a wonderful, sonorous tone, never forced and always
beautiful however loudly he plays. The next Promenade comes as
a quiet relief after the tension created in Bydlo. Ballet
de Poussins dans leurs coques is played and recorded with crystal
clarity. I particularly like the refinement of the trill playing here.
The hustle and bustle of the market place Limoges, Le marché is
vividly characterised by Osborne and this leads directly into Catacombæ played with subtle balancing of chords and extremes of dynamic contrast.
It is difficult to forget Ravel’s orchestration at points like this,
but Steven Osborne is totally convincing in this piece. He gives a lovely pianissimo at the start of Con mortuis in lingua mortua which
is played with the utmost delicacy and sensitivity. La cabane de
Baba-Yaga sur des pattes de poule reminds us of our pianist’s faultless
technique and virtuosity. Always fiery and exciting! Then we move directly
into the elegant first statement of La grande Porte de Kiev which
can sound a bit of an anticlimax in some pianists’ hands, but Osborne
is magnificent here. Later his octaves are sonorous and clear and he
brings the work to a magnificent climax. I always feel that this is
a really difficult work to bring off in its original piano version but
Steven Osborne’s performance is very good and the Hyperion recording
Some months ago I wrote a review of Nicolai Demidenko’s performance,
also on Hyperion. Although I found this very fine, I made comparisons
with many other performances and I still feel that Lazar Berman’s account
on DG from 1979 is the best with Richter as second choice. The trouble
with Osborne’s performance is that there is little sense of romance
and whilst the ferocious movements are phenomenally played, performances
sometimes sound too calculated with little sense of danger. The recording
by Hyperion is wonderful and couldn’t be bettered.
A great idea to follow this with some of Prokofiev’s astringent dissonance.
The first of the Sarcasms is truly tempestuous in Steven Osborne’s
hands, and the other fast movements are also thrillingly played. These
miniatures provide a good contrast to the large scale Mussorgsky work
and this strikes me as being good programme building. There is a lovely
and subtle balancing of textures towards the conclusion of Smanioso, and the pianist’s lyrical style is well demonstrated.
The first piece of Visions Fugitives seems simple but with an
underlying feeling of melancholy and Osborne captures the style instantly.
Many of these pieces are easy to play compared with what we have already
heard. But in No.4 we are back to virtuosic semiquavers, played here
as we would expect from Osborne with the utmost clarity. What a strange
ending this piece has and indeed all these short miniatures in the collection
have real musical interest and unexpected turns of phrase. No.7 is particularly
attractive with its unusual textures and spread chords. The direction Pittoresco is subtly observed by Osborne and this is just one
of many unusual and sometimes humorous performance directions given
by the composer. Osborne characterfully portrays No.10 Ridicolosamente and what a funny little gem is No.13 Allegretto. No.14 Feroce brings us back to the aggressive style that so often characterises
Prokofiev’s music. Listen to the extraordinary textures in No.16 Dolente and No.17 Poetico, and the tenderness of No. 18. Steven
Osborne plays the final piece beautifully. He is always able to change
the mood for each successive piece in this collection quickly and easily
and I can’t imagine hearing these Prokofiev works better played.
This is a very fine release and well worth hearing. It is welcome for
its performances, particularly of the works by Prokofiev and these are
the highlights for me. However, for the reasons already mentioned this
would not be my first choice for the Mussorgsky. The quality of Hyperion’s
recording is outstanding and David Fanning’s programme notes are excellent.
Jean SIBELIUS (1865 – 1957)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in d minor, Op.47* [31:55]
Karelia Suite, Op.11** [15:51]
Tuonelan joutsen (The Swan of Tuonela), Op. 22/2**/*** [8:16]
Valse lyrique, Op. 96a [4:09]
Valse triste, Op. 44/1 [5:03]
Andante festivo, JS 34b [4:06]
Finlandia, Op. 26 [8:16]
Jennifer Pike (violin)*; Hege Sellevåg (cor anglais)**; Jonathan Aasgaard
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis – rec. June 2013. DDD/DSD
CHANDOS CHAN5134 [78:24] – from theclassicalshop.net (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless)
Also available on SACD, CHSA5134
my benchmark recordings in my head – Kyung-Wha Chung/André Previn (Decca
2010 DL Roundup; ignore passionato link – download from 7digital.com)
and Leonidas Kavakos/Osmo Vänskä (BIS, original and revised versions
– review and review)
– in my head, as I thought, the opening movement of the Violin Concerto
in this new recording seemed rather languid and lacking in energy. My
impression was somewhat akin to listening to just about any recording
of the first movement of the Brahms Violin Concerto after hearing Heifetz
and Reiner (RCA),
yet the stopwatch tells a different story: at 15:46 the new recording
is only marginally slower than Chung/Previn and considerably faster
Jennifer Pike and Andrew Davis almost exactly match the tempo of another
recording which I like: Akiko Suwanai and Sakari Oramo with the CBSO,
not generally available in the UK except as an expensive import but
available for download in 24-bit sound
from Linn – DL
News 2012/23. So maybe it’s not these more recent recordings that
lie in my unconscious but Tossy Spivakovsky and Tauno Hannikainen with
the LSO (Everest, available for 24-bit download from HD
Tracks), whose time of 14:42 – and sheer energy – undercuts all
the versions that I checked out yet doesn’t sound rushed. In the case
of Suwanai/Oramo it may be the extra-full sound of the 24/96 transfer
that contributes to my preference – the Chandos was, surprisingly, available
only in 16-bit sound when I obtained it, though 24-bit alternatives
have now been added – but I listened to Spivakovsky/Hannikainen (also
on Magdalen) in a streamed version which I received for review,
to Chung/Previn in mp3 and on CD, and to Kavakos/Vänskä in 16-bit, so
that’s not the whole answer.
If you like to hear the lyrical side of Sibelius stressed, you will
probably be happy with the new Chandos, but my own preference lies with
Suwanai/Oramo and Spivakovsly/Hannikainen, with the extra stipulation
that Kavakos and Vänskä on BIS are indispensable if you wish to hear
both the original and ‘regular’ versions.
Carl NIELSEN (1865–1931)
Symphony No.4, Op.29: Det uudslukkelige (FS76) (The Inextinguishable)
Symphony No.5, Op.50 (FS97) [33:50]
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/Sakari Oramo
pdf booklet included
BIS-SACD-2028 [69:46] – from eclassical.com (mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless)
Symphony No.4: BEULAH 1BX161: Danish State Radio
SO/Thomas Jensen – rec.1951 ADD/mono [33:15] – see DL
Roundup August 2011/1.
Symphonies Nos. 4-6: DOUBLE DECCA 4609882: San
Francisco SO/Herbert Blomstedt (+ Hymnus Amoris [2:21:21] – from 7digital.com:
Roundup April 2012/1
Symphony No.5: NAXOS CLASSICAL ARCHIVES 9.80541:
Danish State Radio SO/Jensen [38:40] (+ Maskarade Overture) –
rec.1954. ADD/mono [42:35] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless) or classicsonline.com (mp3) or stream from Naxos
Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6: BMG/RCA 74321202932 (no
longer available): Royal Danish Orchestra/Paavo Berglund – rec.1988/89
two Jensen recordings inevitably sound dated, though Dutton,
Beulah and Naxos have done very well to make them sound more than tolerable,
especially as the Naxos is available in a lossless transfer from eclassical.com.
More to the point, they have never been bettered as performances, not
even by the Blomstedt recording which I’ve listed, though that remains
the prime recommendation among recent recordings and it’s available
very inexpensively on a Decca twofer (around £10 on CD, around £7.50
as a download). The Beulah is a remarkable bargain at £2 and the Naxos
even costs a penny less in mp3 from classicsonline.com, though I’d be
inclined to pay a little more ($7.67) for the lossless version from
eclassical.com. Surprisingly the Berglund remains out of the catalogue
– surely the time is ripe for a reissue.
One other highly-regarded recording which I must mention, though it’s
a long time since I heard it, comes from the LSO and Schmidt, another
bargain on the Alto label (ALC1236) and available direct from MusicWeb
International for £5.99. See review.
Against those benchmarks the obvious advantage of the Sakari Oramo recording
is the fact that it was recorded digitally and is available as an SACD
and as an impressive-sounding 24-bit download. I tried the mp3 and that’s
very good of its kind, too, so you may hesitate to pay a 50% premium
for 24-bit ($16.73) over the 16-bit, which comes at the same very reasonably
price as the mp3 ($10.46).
But it’s the lesson that the benchmarks teach us about performance style
that’s vitally important, namely that it’s easy to capture the power
that’s abundantly present in both these symphonies but that the real
trick is to get the right mix of power and repose, of drama and reflection.
Not surprisingly in view of his performance of No.4 at the 2011 Proms,
Oramo fits the bill in both respects and I very much look forward to
further instalments of what looks like being a complete series. Don’t
throw out Jensen, Blomstedt or Berglund, but this could well be the
If it matters – perhaps to teachers and lecturers seeking to play examples
– the new BIS recording, like the Naxos, divides the Fifth into just
two tracks, whereas Decca make six tracks out of it: more convenient
for finding examples, but even Winamp creates a minuscule pause between
some of the tracks where the music is continuous.
Manuel de FALLA (1876-1946)
El sombrero de tres picos (The three-cornered hat): Suites 1
and 2 [40:10]
Noches en los jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain)
Josep Colom (piano)
Orquesta Ciudad de Granada/Josep Pons – rec. c.1996. DDD/DSD
HARMONIA MUNDI HMC901606 [65:07] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless) or stream from Naxos Music Library
Federico García LORCA (1898-1936) Canciones españolas antiguas (Old Spanish Songs)* [26:10]
Manuel de FALLA El Corregidor y la Molinera (The Official
and the Miller’s Wife)** [45:17]
Ginesa Ortega Cortés (singer)*; Olga Serra (soprano)**
Orquestra de Cambra Teatre Lliure/Josep Pons – rec. c.1995. DDD
HARMONIA MUNDI HMA1951520 [71:27] – from eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless) or stream from Naxos Music Library
these two releases we have Spanish performances of Falla’s El sombrero
de tres picos – the two suites – and its less well-known original
form, El Corregidor y la Molinera in which most of the familiar
music appears but not always in familiar guise. On the second album El Corregidor is coupled with Lorca’s settings of songs from
the late medieval and early modern periods.
The first album is deleted on CD, presumably because in 2011 Josep Pons
made a later recording of Noches en los Jardines* with Javier
Peranes and the BBCSO, and ridiculously high prices are being asked
for it, so its availability as a download is very welcome, especially
as the performances of both works are good and well recorded.
The recording of El Corregidor is less easily recommendable:
the parent CD is still available for around £6-7, slightly less than
the cost of the download. There are no texts, but Harmonia Mundi are
notoriously mean about providing these with the budget reissues, so
there may be none with the CD either – a pity since the words are hardly
familiar. I was able to recognise only Las Morillas de Jaén,
based on a 15th-century song about three converted Moorish
girls who love the poet: Tres moricas me enamoran / en Jaén: / Axa
y Fátima y Marién.
Ginesa Ortega Cortés sings the music in flamenco style, no doubt more
‘authentic’ than Victoria de los Angeles (EMI Icons, 7 CDs) but some
may find it off-putting – try first from Naxos Music Library if you
can. The music has been orchestrated and, in some cases, the texts have
been abridged.** Whatever your reaction – and I was put off by the singing
of the Lorca – the recording is well worth having for the familiar yet
unfamiliar version of the Falla ballet, which is available separately
The 1952 recording of El sombrero de tres picos (Suzanne Danco,
soprano, OSR/Ernest Ansermet) inevitably sounds rather dry but has come
up sounding surprisingly well in a Naxos Classical Archives transfer,
coupled with a shrill but tolerable transfer of the LPO/Anthony Collins
1950 recording of El amor brujo. It’s available very inexpensively
from classicsonline.com but, so good is the transfer, belying the original
review which described it as suffering from ‘LP pinch’, I’d recommend
paying a little more for the lossless version from eclassical.com.
(980466). The information was clearly all in the grooves but
the cartridges of the time couldn’t process it.
I’d just finished writing this review and was about to close this DL
News when I received Beulah release:
The Art of Spain: Volume 2
Manuel de FALLA Noches en los jardines de España (Nights
in the Gardens of Spain) G49 [22:35]
Gonzalo Soriano (piano); National Orchestra of Spain/Ataúlfo Argenta
– rec. 1957. ADD
Joaquín RODRIGO (1901-1999) Concierto de Aranjuez [21:17]
Narciso Yepes (guitar); National Orchestra of Spain/Ataúlfo Argenta
– rec. 1957. ADD
Joaquín TURINA (1882-1949) Danzas fantásticas [16:59]
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra/Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos – rec.1962.
BEULAH 2PD88 [60:52] – coming soon from iTunes and Amazon
are two classic performances here – the two concertante works,
originally released on Decca SXL2091 – and one very enjoyable filler,
all in transfers that belie their age. Various inexpensive transfers
exist of the two recordings with Argenta, but I think some of them are
actually of the earlier mono recordings with the Madrid orchestra and
I can’t imagine that any of them come close to the quality of sound
which Beulah have achieved.
The Soriano/Argenta recording of Noches en los jardines remains
a prime recommendation even in the face of Soriano’s own later recording
with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra and Frühbeck de Burgos, now available
only in a 16-CD set, though the single-disc release with El Amor
brujo (de los Angeles and Giulini) remains available to download.
Much as one might bemoan the fact that Rodrigo’s other concertos seldom
get a look in, it must be admitted that the Concierto de Aranjuez is music with a very strong appeal. Narciso Yepes, who recorded it several
times, has always been one of its prime advocates and this recording
can stand its own against the later DG versions, at least two of which
remain available on CD. Yepes’ guitar seems to fill the whole soundstage
in a larger-than-life fashion but that’s my only reservation about any
of the transfers, and it’s hardly a fault that can be laid at Beulah’s
There’s only one recording of similar, slightly later vintage of the
Rodrigo to equal the Yepes and that’s the Julian Bream recording with
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, now available again in its original 1975 coupling
with the Lennox Berkeley Guitar Concerto for just £3.99 from iTunes.
Similarly, there’s only one vintage recording of Noches en los jardines
de España to rival the Soriano and Argenta and that’s Alicia de
Larrocha and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos on a Double Decca 2-for-1 bargain
(4661282: The Essential Falla – download from 7digital.com).
I was slightly underwhelmed by the recent Chandos recording of El
sombrero de tres picos and Noches en los jardines de España on CHAN10694 (Bavouzet and Mena), but I liked their mid-price El amor brujo and Noches on CHAN8904 (Fingerhut
and Tortelier) – see DL
Roundup February 2012/2. A 24-bit version of CHAN10694 has been
added since I wrote that review.
At the time of writing the Beulah reissue had yet to appear from iTunes
or Amazon but precedent suggests that it will be available at a price
attractive enough, around £7.50, to recommend snapping it up.
It’s been pointed out to me that the Beulah reissue of the Chalabala
recording of The Bartered Bride which I reviewed in 2014/1 is
also available for download from Supraphon, at a competitive price and
re-mastered from the original tapes – here.
You do, however, require a greater degree of fluency in Czech than I
* HMC902099: eclassical.com have that, too, and in 24-bit format as well as mp3 and 16-bit lossless,
albeit at a premium price of $21.45 (mp3 and 16-bit a much more reasonable,
indeed competitive $14.30). Noches en los jardines is coupled
with other music by Falla in texts which have been revised from authentic
sources. This time the pdf booklet is part of the deal.
** Urtext offer the original settings with guitar (JBCC053),
available from classicsonline.com and Naxos Music Library. Valentina Alvarez sings just as powerfully
but clearly and without the gypsy-fying which I found somewhat off-putting.
Still no texts with the download, however.
Sándor VERESS (1907-1999) Complete Music for String Quartet
String Quartet No. 1 (1931) [17:25]
String Quartet No. 2 (1937) [29:07]
Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (1961) (first recording) [24:50]
Basel String Quartet;
Hungarian Symphony Orchestra/Jan Schultsz – rec. October 2012 and January
pdf booklet included
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0062 [71:26] – from toccataclassics.com or eclassical.com (mp3 and lossless) or stream from Naxos Music Library. Also available
on CD from MusicWeb International here.
being my first encounter with Sándor Veress’s music, I can’t better
Toccata’s own brief introduction to this album: ‘[he] was born in Kolozsvár,
then in Hungary … but spent the last half-century of his life in Switzerland
as an exile from Communism. In the 1930s he worked as Bartók’s research
assistant in his work on Hungarian folksong, with results audible in
the two early string quartets. By the time of the Concerto for String
Quartet and Orchestra three decades later, Veress had developed a lean
and muscular style, incorporating elements of modernism but retaining
a powerful sense of onward momentum, expressed in an original voice
which combines head and heart in an exhilarating blend of freewheeling
invention, fantasy and wit.’
Appropriately his native Hungary and Switzerland, which gave him refuge,
have combined to produce this attractive album of his music, including
a joint offering of the premiere recording of the concerto.
There’s an earlier recording of Veress’s two string quartets from the
Ensemble des Equilibres on Hungaroton, coupled with his string trio
on HCD32691 – review – download from classicsonline.com (mp3) or stream from Naxos Music Library.
The booklet which is provided free to all comers on the Toccata website
is complete; that which eclassical.com offer lacks the rear CD insert
with the important track details and timings.
As I was about to close this DL News, I noted that Jonathan Woolf has
been impressed, too – review.
George LLOYD (1913-1998) Symphonies
Neglected for far too long, George Lloyd’s music at least received some
attention from the record companies towards the end of his life, unlike
poor Havergal Brian – no sooner had he been ‘discovered’ on a BBC TV
programme than he suffered a serious accident and died soon after.
Apart from Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 and 8 from the Philharmonia Orchestra
and Edward Downes on a 3-CD Lyrita set (SRCD.2258 – review, review, review:
download in mp3 from emusic.com*),
Albany Records are the ‘home’ of George Lloyd’s symphonies, in authoritative
performances, mostly with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and all conducted
by the composer himself.
I’m very happy with that Lyrita set, I’m very pleased to see that High
Definition Tape Transfers have released some HD recordings in 24-bit
sound under licence from Albany. Symphony No.11 (HDDLTroy060 [58:57]) is a powerful work, all the more remarkable for succeeding
the easy-going No.10, November Journeys, which celebrated the
cheap pensioner fares that British Rail used to offer in that month.
No.11 began the Lloyd/Albany relationship in 1986 – the work was specially
commissioned by the president of the Albany orchestra, having heard
a BBC broadcast of the Eighth symphony.
The performance is clearly authoritative and the Albany Orchestra is
no makeshift provincial ensemble. Because the original recording was
made in 24/44.1 sound, HDTT have not tried to improve on it so, unusually
for them, playback – from the master tapes rather than a commercial
reel-to-reel tape, as is their wont – is at that setting rather than
24/96 or higher, but it sounds none the worse for it – here.
At current exchange rates HDTT’s $14.00 represents a price advantage
over the UK price of the Albany SACD of around £14. Don’t be deceived
by the ghostly image of the composer on the cover – there’s nothing
feeble about the music – see analysis by Paul Conway – performance or recording.
bookends of Lloyd’s symphonies, Nos. 1 and 12, recorded in 1990, are
coupled on HDDLTroy032 [65:39] – here.
Once again the transfer is at 24/44.1. Here, too, it’s only the image
of the composer on the cover that is at all faded – if anything, this
is an even more important release than that of Symphony No.11. As before,
the music, authoritative performances and recording – no attempt to
make the sound over-bright – make this a desirable purchase and the
price, slightly higher at $16, still compares favourably with the SACD
* an inexpensive download but not transferred at an ideal bit rate;
the CDs are available from MusicWeb International, a 3-for-2 offer at
£23 p.p. worldwide – here.
Richard STRAUSS (1914-1949) Salome
Birgit Nilsson (soprano) – Salome
Gerhard Stolze (tenor) – Herod
Grace Hoffman (mezzo) – Herodias
Eberhard Wächter ((baritone) ) – Jokanaan
Waldemar Kmentt (tenor) – Narraboth
Josephine Veasey (mezzo) – Page to Herodias
Paul Kuen (tenor) – First Jew)
Stefan Schwer (tenor) – Second Jew
Kurt Equiluz (tenor) – Third Jew
Aron Gestner (tenor) – Fourth Jew
Max Proebstl (bass) – Fifth Jew
Tom Krause (baritone) – First Nazarene
Nigel Douglas (tenor) – Second Nazarene
Zenon Kosnowski (bass) – First Soldier
Heinz Holecek (bass) – Second Soldier
Theodor Kirschbichler (bass) – Cappadocian
Liselotte Mailk (soprano) – Slave
Wiener Philharmoniker/Sir Georg Solti – rec. c.1961. ADD.
DECCA ORIGINALS 4757528 [2 CDs: 99:19] also available as a Hallmark
download from emusic.com (mp3)
Reiner Goldberg (tenor) - Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Judea
Anja Silja (soprano) - Herodias, Herod’s wife
Inga Nielsen (soprano) - Salome, Herodias’s daughter
Bent Norup (baritone) - First Nazarene
Per Hoyer (baritone) - First Soldier
Morten Frank Larsen (baritone) - Second Nazarene
Anders Jakobsson (bass) - A Cappadocian
Stephen Milling (bass) - Second Soldier
Sten Byriel (bass-baritone) - Fifth Jew
Robert Hale (bass-baritone) - Jokanaan (John the Baptist)
Marianne Rorholm (mezzo) - Herodias's Page
Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano) - A Slave
Gert Henning Jensen (tenor) - First Jew
Peter Gronlund (tenor) - Fourth Jew
Deon van der Walt (tenor) - Narraboth, a young Syrian, Captain of the
Ole Hedegaard (tenor) - Second Jew
Mikael Kristensen (tenor) - Third Jew
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Michael Schønwandt – rec. 1998
pdf booklet with texts and translations available
CHANDOS CHAN9611 [2 CDs: 98:58] – from theclassicalshop.net (mp3 and lossless)
downloaded the Hallmark version of the classic Nilsson/Solti recording for a mere £1.68 from emusic.com, sceptical that so inexpensive
a transcription (mp3, at around 225kb/s) could deliver the goods in
the case of a Decca Sonicsound original. I have to say that, although
Decca’s own refurbishment from the master tapes no doubt sounds better,
especially if downloaded in lossless format*, the Hallmark budget version
is to my ears little inferior to what I remember of the full-price LPs
(SET228), as played by a fellow (richer than me) undergrad on state-of-the-art
equipment c.1963. It stands playing at a high level and will benefit
The performance remains ‘the one to have’ as Göran Forsling put it – review,
with all the power intact that I remember from fifty years ago. GF made
it a Recording of the Month and it’s not just nostalgia
that makes me regard it as unassailable.
With just four tracks on Hallmark, corresponding to the sides of the
original LPs, you can burn the whole opera to an mp3 CD without any
problem of hiatuses between tracks.
no libretto with the Decca download but the Chandos booklet is free
to all comers. More to the point, if you’re looking for a more modern
version in lossless sound, the Schønwandt recording is not far
behind the Solti.
You’ll find a detailed analysis of this recording from Dan Morgan in DL
Roundup June 2011/1. On that occasion both Dan and I experienced
some problems downloading so I started from scratch again this time
and experienced no difficulty.
* Available from deutschegrammophon.com in flac for £11.49 – but NB you can find the CD set less expensively
than that, currently for as little as around £8, from some online suppliers.
Freebie of the Month
The World’s Ransoming [22:14]
The Confession of Isobel Gowdie [22:51]
Christine Pendrill (cor anglais); London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Colin
Davis – rec. live 2003 and 2007. DDD/DSD
pdf booklet included
LSO LIVE LSO0124 [45:05] – from theclassicalshop.net (mp3 and lossless)
is the February 2014 free offering, in mp3 format, for subscribers to
the Chandos/theclassicalshop newsletter. There are several other fine
versions of the Confession – purely orchestral despite the title
and MacMillan’s intention that this should be the Requiem that
Isobel Gowdie never had – but none to be had free. Tony Haywood liked
the recording on BIS-CD-1169: Recording of the Month – review:
download from eclassical.com,
mp3 and lossless, with booklet. Even if you’re still not sure about
James MacMillan – his often powerful music is a taste that I’m acquiring
more and more – this is a good opportunity to get to know him. If you
haven’t yet signed up for the newsletter, you’ll have missed this, but
you can join now to enjoy forthcoming freebies.
If you are considering buying, I should point out that at £7 (mp3) and
£9 (lossless), the download is rather expensive and that classicsonline.com’s
and 7digital.com’s £7.99 (mp3 only) are even more so: MDT’s normal price
for the CD, £5.40, is currently reduced to £4.50.
Jazz Bargain of the Month
Mingus: Complete Recordings 1957-1960
Word from Bird [10:09]
Show Time [5:03]
When Your Lover has gone [2:29]
Just One of Those Things [6:01]
Blue Greens [11:39]
Haitian Fight Song [12:03]
Blue Cee [7:58]
Reincarnation of a Lovebird [8:34]
The Clown [12:25]
Back Home Blues [5:31]
I Can’t Get Started [6:31]
Hamp’s New Blues [3:54]
Dizzy Moods [6:53]
Laura (Three) [6:33]
Memories of You (Take 7) [4:27]
East Coasting (Take 4) [5:12]
West Coast Ghost (Take 6) [8:56]
Celia (Take 5) [7:05]
Conversation (Take 16) [5:28]
Fifty-First Street Blues (Take 4) [5:46]
Scenes in the City [11:55]
New York Sketchbook [8:55]
Duke’s Choice [6:27]
Better Git in Your Soul [7:21]
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat [5:43]
Boogie Stop Shuffle [4:59]
Self-Portrait in Three Colors [3:08]
Open Letter to Duke [5:50]
Bird Calls [6:16]
Fables of Faubus [8:14]
Pussy Cat Dues [9:12]
Jelly Roll [6:16]
Nostalgia in Time Square (Live) [12:18]
I Can’t Get Started (Live) [10:08]
No Private Income Blues (Live) [12:51]
Alice’s Wonderland (Live) [8:54]
Hey (Night) / Too Blue / Ballad of the Fortune Teller [3:13]
Note on the Commercial Theatre [1:35]
The Weary Blues [3:09]
Blues at Dawn [0:51]
Six Bits Blues [1:18]
Morning after [1:27]
Could Be / Bad Luck Card / Bad Man [2:50]
Life Is Fine [2:02]
Hey Hey (Morn) [1:18]
Consider Me [3:19]
Warning / Augmented [1:07]
Motto / Dead in There [2:05]
Final Curve [0:10]
Boogie / 1am [1:51]
Bed Time [1:06]
Tell Me [0:39]
Good Morning / Harlem [1:43]
Same In Blues / Comment On Curb [1:45]
Democracy / Island / Extract from Warning / Augmented / Jump Monk [6:07]
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting [5:43]
Cryin’ Blues [5:02]
My Jelly Roll Soul [6:50]
E’s Flat, Ah’s Flat Too [6:42]
PLAYTIME [6:17:37] – from iTunes (m4a)
The contents of nine Charles Mingus LP recordings for £3.99 are a real
bargain: you’d pay at least as much or more for each of the classic
1959 albums – the Sony reissue of one album, Ah Um, alone from
iTunes costs £9.99. Moreover, this is only one of such offers, with
similar collections from 1945-56 and 1960-62 available for the same price.
Better still, the sound, transferred at
around 260kb/s, is good, so Mingus fans need not hesitate; even if they
possess some of the tracks already, the rest is eminently worth having
at the price. | <urn:uuid:6318b0f4-391d-4e30-b587-1d27b84ec199> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Feb14/DL_News_2014_2.htm | 2016-08-31T23:32:03Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982954852.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200914-00158-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.876879 | 21,643 |
Pittsburgh Pirates: 3 Moves They Must Consider to Top the NL Central
Joe Sargent/Getty Images
After a hot start in which it looked as though the Pittsburgh Pirates would finally end their historic losing streak, the Pirates collapsed once again and finished at 79-83, just four games under .500.
Despite the slow finish, the young Pirates—led by star center fielder and MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen—have a bright future, and with the right front office decisions can be a contender in the not-too-distant future.
In a relatively weak free agent class, Pittsburgh will need to be creative with any moves they make this offseason in order to improve their team. Here is a list of three ways Pittsburgh can set itself up for success in the coming seasons.
Trade Joel Hanrahan
Hanrahan is an asset that could be very valuable to other teams
Joe Sargent/Getty Images
Contending teams are always looking for late-inning bullpen help. Hanrahan is a proven closer who can go out and get the job done and has been an All-Star for two consecutive seasons.
Hanrahan will be a free agent in 2014 and the market value for closers is becoming more and more expensive. For a team like the Pirates, who run on a tight budget, there is no reason to spend potentially $10 million or more per year over three seasons for Hanrahan.
Instead, they could use his value (which is at its peak) and net themselves some young valuable pitching prospects. With the right team and players, Neil Huntington can flip Hanrahan for even more high-ceiling pieces that will complement the ones already in place.
Call Up Gerrit Cole
Cole has the pure stuff to be the next Justin Verlander
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Cole was a late first-round selection out of high school by the New York Yankees, but the righty chose to take his power arm to UCLA and pitch with Arizona Diamondbacks stud prospect Trevor Bauer. Just a few years later, the Pittsburgh Pirates made him the No. 1 overall selection in the draft.
Cole throws a fastball that reaches the upper-90s and sometimes triple digits with a devastating circle-change and two breaking pitches, a slider and a curveball, that both grade out as average or above average.
Sound familiar? To me, this sounds like a younger version of Justin Verlander or Stephen Strasburg with a less effective curveball. Cole is a can't-miss prospect who is just about ready for the majors.
The Pirates can use help in the back of their rotation and Cole right now would be better than a large majority of options at the four and five slots in the starting rotation. Also, Cole would benefit from the experience of pitching against big league competition while the Pirates are still building their team, as opposed to throwing him into the fire during a pennant race.
The sooner they call up Cole, the sooner they will reap the rewards of their prized right arm every fifth day.
Sign Stephen Drew
Drew is one of the most coveted shortstops on the market
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
One gaping hole in the Pirates' depth chart is at shortstop, where Clint Barmes has not produced enough to keep the starting spot he currently holds. In Barmes's six seasons in which he has played in 107 or more games, he has hit over .245 only once.
For the past four seasons, his average has hovered in that range while his power has disappeared since leaving the Colorado Rockies. The Pirates need to move in another direction from the 33-year-old Barmes.
Enter free agent Stephen Drew, who is probably the best shortstop currently on the market. Drew is coming off of a down season in which he hit over 40 points lower than his career average and hit the second-lowest amount of home runs in his career.
Much of this can be attributed to playing half of his games in Oakland, where the deep fences and vast outfield can frustrate hitters. However, in the right situation and right ballpark, Drew can still be a very good hitter and plays a solid shortstop.
Drew would come at a steep price, but as long as it is within reason, Pittsburgh would be wise to bring in this potential impact bat and fill their void at shortstop. | <urn:uuid:2b7111d3-8e84-4270-82cc-e807f118e47c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1430378-pittsburgh-pirates-3-moves-they-must-consider-to-top-the-nl-central | 2013-05-20T12:32:45Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698958430/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100918-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970004 | 895 |
1/158 Fremantle Rd, Gosnells
$15,000 Cash Back @ Settlement House - Property ID: 903401
First Home Buyers may be eligible for 30K Cash Back.
These Luxury units are a class above everything else in the downsizing market, they have been built without compromise and are sure to tick all the boxes. These newly constructed villas are also conveniently located, with easy access to transport and shops.
You will be impressed with the sheer size of the villa, situated on 309sqm with over 207sqm under the main roof you will not be short on space. Entering the property you immediately notice the large ceramic floor tiles and the spacious entry, master bedroom to the right and shoppers entry from the remote access double garage on the left.
The master bedroom is a pleasure to present with lush carpets, walk in robes and loads and loads of space (and yes a king bed would easily fit). The ensuite is fantastic with large shower recess, china bowl basin with flick mixers and w/c.
You will fall in love with expansive open plan living, featuring family room, dining big enough for an eight seater suite and multi media area. The kitchen is one you would expect from a high end builder with stone bench tops, quality stainless steel appliances including built in microwave, cast iron trivets on the gas cook top and multi function wall oven.
The minor bedrooms can accommodate the largest of bed suites and come with built in robes, lush carpets and multiple power outlets. The quality finish doesn't stop there with the main bathroom having frame-less shower screens, china basins and full length bath.
You will love the low maintenance backyard with alfresco under the main roof, reticulated garden beds and access from the garage, its the perfect place to sit and unwind on a sunny afternoon.
* 31c ceilings through out
* LED lighting
* Skirting boards
* Security alarm
* Stone benches
* Stainless steel appliances
* Double remote access garage
* Large floor tiles
* Plush carpets
* Soft close cupboards
* NBN ready
These villas qualify for the first home buyers grant and are also ideal for the couple looking to retire to somewhere with a bit of style and class.
Display Photos are from unit 2
Book your appointment to view today, call Grant Wilson on 0405141530.
- Built-In Wardrobes
- Close to Transport
- Secure Parking
Office & Agent Details
Professionals Armadale Real Estate
- 19/193 Jull Street
Armadale WA 6112
- E: firstname.lastname@example.org
- P: 93992122
- F: 94971119 | <urn:uuid:535f51c9-8615-474c-b511-bd8381775ed9> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://rural.professionals.com.au/real-estate/property/903401/1-158-fremantle-rd-gosnells-wa-6110/ | 2017-05-30T07:12:59Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463614615.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170530070611-20170530090611-00416.warc.gz | en | 0.898102 | 574 |
The Nose and Color: Smells like Adagio’s Ti Kuan Yin except more happy if that makes sense. Not exactly floral but still a very soothing smell. The color is a beautiful light green with a slight golden hue.
Tasting: Very subtle flavor
-a little lemongrass
-gorgeous finish on my palate
- very calming tea. could see this being a perfect tea to help wake you up in the morning | <urn:uuid:24456011-67fd-4fe9-9130-898c2b58b85e> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://steepster.com/indieteas/posts/35367 | 2016-09-28T22:48:32Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661768.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00029-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894373 | 94 |
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Defunct tiki not included,
distances are as the crow flies.
Brochure from Luau 400
date unknown, from the collection of Mike Remmel
Have a photo or a collectible from Luau 400?
Add it to Critiki!
This location is now Jimmy's Downtown restaurant. | <urn:uuid:855dd762-cfe3-4e1a-a181-ced17b621221> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://critiki.com/location/?loc_id=382 | 2015-07-31T13:22:04Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042988305.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002308-00046-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.78264 | 84 |
Having run the risk of becoming modern US metal’s forgotten sons by disappearing for five years, A Life Once Lost need to make a splash with the follow-up to the criminally overlooked Iron Gag.
Ecstatic Trance represents the wholesale abandonment of its predecessor’s swamp-flecked groove and a move into fearlessly distinctive territory that combines a partial return to the polyrhythmic fury of 2003’s A Great Artist via a bleak, subtly psychedelic and unexpected post-punk sensibility.
Guitarist Douglas Sabolick has outdone himself. These are songs underpinned by flailing, grotesque riffs that churn and grind as vocalist Robert Meadows flings out his scarred-throat barbs.
At their most immediate on pulverising opener Something Awful and the lurching Madness Is God, wickedly abstruse on the nihilistic fidget of Miracle Worker and grimly dramatic on the metronomic Empty Form, the Philadelphians have dared to think outside the usual metal box and ended up sounding both wildly original and obscenely exciting. | <urn:uuid:c526af14-d63e-4e83-b0a9-32ff71471e31> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/a-life-once-lost-ecstatic-trance | 2021-12-06T09:10:17Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964363290.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20211206072825-20211206102825-00627.warc.gz | en | 0.921855 | 224 |
- Winner is first team to score 21 points or more
- 3 points for each bag in the hole (That’s a BAGGO!)
- 1 point for each bag on the board is an Ace
- Score is the difference in the team totals
After 1 round of 8 bags played,
#1 team with 1 bag in the hole = 3 points
#2 team with 2 bags on the board = 2 points
Score for the 1st round for #1 team = 1 point
- Bags pushed in by an opponent’s toss count as a BAGGO
- The game is over if the score reaches 11 to Zero (SKUNK)
- If a bag ever touches the ground or is tossed out of turn, it doesn’t count
Follow these steps to easily calculate the score:
- Take away or remove “offsetting or canceling” bags from the board. The net “board” bag or bags are positioned at the bottom of the board.
- Retrieve the BAGGO, or hole bags, and discard offsetting/canceling bags to the side. The “net” BAGGO, or 3 point bag or bags, are positioned over the hole.
- The team net round score is calculated by subtracting or adding the points from the board bags and the hole bags. | <urn:uuid:9338f436-2f59-4149-bd4b-e69bdb75a82b> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://www.baggo.com/official-scoring | 2015-08-01T20:13:20Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042988860.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002308-00225-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901565 | 285 |
LG has just announced its latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone, carrying a whole host of high-end features. Inside, NVIDIA's revamped 1.2GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor will ensure everything chugs along nicely, and coupled with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage we're faced with a pretty powerful smartphone.
The star of the show is its ultra-bright 4in 800 x 480 pixel display, with 700 nits of brightness. So, like the Optimus Black, not only is its screen so sharp it might just poke your eyes out, it can be used in direct sunlight without irritating glare and is a 40 percent improvement over Samsung’s Super AMOLED effort.
It also helps that it's a bit of a looker, with a 9.65mm waistline, complete with HDMI connectivity for big screen viewing and DLNA support for those who prefer to keep their smartphone multimedia experience wire free. A dual cam setup is also on offer – a 5MP cam around the back and a VGA shooter at the front. 1080p video support is also on the cards.
It's available in either black and silver or white and gold overcoats, and for now, will only be available in Korea. Pricing and availably details for the rest of the world are yet to announced, so we'll be keeping our ears to the ground in the mean time. | <urn:uuid:58087ec4-a53c-4ad5-a3ce-6f007540cc98> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://www.stuff.tv/news/lg-optimus-ex-steps-smartphone-arena | 2017-02-27T04:48:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501172447.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104612-00370-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944909 | 289 |
Sewanee, Tenn. – A first half filled with goals turned into a second half of drought, as the Transylvania Men's Lacrosse team fell 11-3 to the Sewanee Tigers at Hardee-McGee Field on Saturday afternoon.
The game started off with promise for the Pioneers as junior midfielder Josh Mesmer and senior attack Zach Roby each scored a goal in the back-and-forth first quarter that ended in a 2-2 tie between the Pioneers and the Tigers.
Freshman midfielder Thompson Summers got into the scoring column for the Pioneers with eight minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Tigers responded with two late goals in the quarter that gave them a 4-3 lead over Transylvania at the half.
The second half proved to be a much different game than the first half. Sewanee's defense suffocated the Pioneers offense throughout the half while the Tigers offense scored seven unanswered goals en route to the 11-3 victory over the Pioneers.
Transylvania collected 18 groundballs in comparison to the 36 secured by Sewanee.
Senior goalkeeper Cooper Fogle came up with 13 saves and four groundballs for the Pioneers in the loss.
Up next, the Pioneers will face the Huntingdon College Hawks in their home opener. The faceoff between the Pioneers and the Hawks is set for 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, March 4 at Pat Deacon Stadium.
For more on Transylvania men's lacrosse, follow @TransySports on Twitter | <urn:uuid:ba8a55a2-3c5d-4f74-a76c-eada4eca0a5c> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | http://transysports.prestosports.com/sports/mlax/2016-17/releases/201702260nx6n0 | 2017-11-20T23:11:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806258.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20171120223020-20171121003020-00446.warc.gz | en | 0.945736 | 322 |
United States and Ireland top list of developed countries where kids exercise the most
NEW YORK (April 10, 2013) – A study ranking developed countries in terms of child well-being, launched today by UNICEF’s Office of Research, finds that the Netherlands and four Nordic countries—Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden—top the list, while four southern European countries—Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain—are at the bottom.
Report Card 11, from UNICEF’s Office of Research, examines the state of children across the industrialized world. As austerity measures and social spending cuts continue to generate debate, Report Card 11 charts the achievements of 29 of the world’s advanced economies in ensuring the well-being of their children during the first decade of this century. The report shows that child poverty in these countries is not inevitable; rather, some countries are doing much better than others at protecting their most vulnerable children.
“Whether in time of economic crisis, or in better financial periods, UNICEF urges governments and social partners to place children and young people at the heart of their decision-making processes,” said Gordon Alexander, director of UNICEF’s Office of Research. “For every new policy measure considered or introduced, governments explicitly have to explore the impact and effects on children, families with children, adolescents and young adults. These groups do not have a voice in the political processes or their voices are too seldom heard.”
Report Card 11: Child well-being in rich countries measures development according to five dimensions of children’s lives—material wellbeing, health and safety, education, behaviors and risks, and housing and environment.
The study does not find a strong relationship between per capita GDP and overall child well-being. For instance, Slovenia ranks higher than Canada, the Czech Republic higher than Austria, and Portugal higher than the United States. The report also finds that countries in Central and Eastern Europe are beginning to close the gap with more established industrial economies.
Despite setbacks in some countries, the overall story of the 2000s is one of steady improvement in various aspects of child well-being in the industrialized world. Every country where data are available saw reductions in infant mortality. The rate of school enrolment has also increased.
There is good news across the board when it comes to child behaviors and risks. Among 11-15 year olds in the 29 countries assessed in the report, only eight percent say they smoke cigarettes at least once a week, just 15 percent report having been drunk at least twice in their life, and about two-thirds are neither bullied nor involved in fighting. However, exercise levels are low. The United States and Ireland are the only countries where more than 25 percent of children report exercising for at least an hour a day.
Report Card 11 also includes the views of the children themselves on their own life satisfaction. These findings are generally in line with the measurement of child well-being, with some notable exceptions: children in Estonia, Greece and Spain gave their countries a much higher ranking than the data, while Germany, Luxembourg and Poland rank lower.
“We need to know more about how children see and evaluate their own lives and do this in a more systematic way. Children's voices, even at a very young age, are vital,” said Alexander. “They reiterate the message that governments need to guide policies in a way that will safeguard the long-term futures of their children and economies. This has never been more urgent than in today’s climate.”
Given the absence of up-to-date internationally comparative data on children’s lives, Report Card 11 reflects the outcome of government decisions in the period before the economic crisis. The report states that the past three years of economic hardship do not bode well for the present or near future. Most data in the report is from 2010, the latest comparative information available.
Despite this, for the most part the report’s data track long-term trends and reflect the results of long-term investments in children’s lives. For example, average levels of school achievement, immunization rates, and the prevalence of risk behaviors are not likely to be significantly changed in the short term by the recent economic recession.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when ZERO children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org. | <urn:uuid:d674ee05-f1df-4fe7-be1e-80f19882f9e0> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://www.unicefusa.org/press/releases/unicef-report-finds-netherlands-best-place-be-child/8225 | 2015-10-07T12:25:02Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737864605.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221744-00050-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949436 | 994 |
Marriage therapy in Winder Georgia
Marriage therapy is a growing field. Numerous couples enter marriage therapy due to the fact that of issues within the relationship. There are many types of marriage therapy, such as spiritual or spiritual, restorative or counselling, psychoanalytic and a lot more. Couples treatment focuses aim to develop lasting, fully grown relationships, and get rid of social difficulties. The first step in any marriage counseling program is the examination of each partner.
In a marriage-counseling program, one therapist helps the couples to objectively assess their relationship, with the assistance of a group of other therapists. The goal of the assessment is for the couple to understand their relationship and how it relates to the habits and sensations of both partners. Responding to these concerns is the first step toward an effective marital relationship counseling program. The goal of treatment is for the partners to recognize and work through their disputes, and after that create an efficient action prepare for repairing the relationship. The treatment strategy will consist of communication modifications, development resources, and other activities.
In marriage therapy, the therapist will ask open-ended questions about the behaviors and beliefs that are adding to the issues in the relationship. The goal is for all partners to have an open and truthful discussion within the marital relationship, to understand what is producing the conflict, and how they can work together to much better the relationship. It is very important for the therapist to plainly identify the issue or concerns that specify to the couple. Particular issues can be addressed separately or in group sessions. In group sessions, the therapist will teach the couples to recognize and handle the analytical skills necessary to successfully resolve marital issues. If the couples are battling over something like a toy or a pillow, the therapist might teach them to acknowledge the symptoms of a problem and not combat about something that really does not matter.
In marital relationship counseling, the therapist and the couple will discover to determine the issues, and how to resolve them. Some common issues are sex/sex associated problems (i.e., efficiency and/or performance levels), money/finances, children, and comparable things. Each couple will be examined on how well they are handling these specific problems. The therapist and the couple will also be taught abilities to help them restore their lives after a divorce, that includes anger management and tension management methods. Often, medication might be prescribed.
Throughout marriage therapy, it is not unusual for the partners to try new things. These consist of video games, workout, yoga, talking, chuckling, cooking, heading out to dinner, etc. The treatment strategy ought to be extremely specific and address these concerns. The goal of the treatment strategy is to assist couples handle the disputes that are making them feel unpleasant within the relationship, while strengthening their social bonds. Generally, sessions last about 45 minutes, with a break in between sessions.
As previously pointed out, marriage counseling can be an excellent option for many individuals who are having marital issues. It is particularly helpful if the couple has had difficulties prior to in their relationships. In addition, those who are newly married may find some relief from marital problems by entering marital relationship counseling.
When looking for a qualified, licensed marital relationship therapist, it is important to inspect the backgrounds of any possible counselors. Accredited marriage therapists should have a Master’s degree in marriage or household therapy, and have at least five years experience in supplying counseling. If you do not feel comfortable with the idea of marital therapy, there are other choices such as treatment, counseling over the telephone, support groups or online forums, to call just a couple of.
One of the most common reasons that people look for marriage therapy is when they are experiencing trouble handling their emotions, such as anger, disappointment or anxiety. Attachment relationship therapy is an excellent choice for those who want to explore this location. This kind of therapy is particularly designed to help customers in working through their emotional accessories to their partner. Once again, while this therapy is developed to assist in handling anger or aggravation, it does not attend to the reasons for these problems and will more than likely be required in order for the couple to repair any issues they are experiencing. If you feel that your substantial other is seeking this type of therapy, you must make sure that they actually do require it prior to attempting it on your own. | <urn:uuid:a6f86f07-700f-4374-843c-0113180543c6> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://wilaya-annaba.org/marriage-counseling-in-winder-georgia/ | 2021-01-27T23:27:44Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610704833804.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20210127214413-20210128004413-00010.warc.gz | en | 0.962235 | 877 |
The Global Cloud Service for Automotive Market from 2022 to 2027 published by MRInsights.biz. This research report includes a business description, a product overview, a market share, a demand and supply ratio, a supply chain analysis, and import/export information. The industry study focuses on various techniques and processes supported by global Cloud Service for Automotive market leading players to make critical business decisions.
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Data and information for the study were gathered from a variety of primary and secondary sources, private databases, corporate/university websites, investor presentations, and highlighted press announcements from company websites and industry-specific third-party sources.
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Market by type :
Market by application :
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- North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)
- Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, and Rest of Europe)
- Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia)
- South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Rest of South America)
- Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa)
Market by companies :
- Alibaba Cloud
- Baidu Cloud
- Tencent Cloud
- HUAWEI CLOUD
- Kingsoft Cloud
- JD Cloud & AI
- yonyou auto
The study paper provides vital metrics, manufacturing status, and is an important source of guidance for enterprises and organisations. The study also provides an insightful review of product specification, technology, product type, and production analysis by taking the most essential elements into account, such as revenue, cost, gross, and gross margin.
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This report can be customized to meet the client’s requirements. Please connect with our sales team ([email protected]), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs. You can also get in touch with our executives on +1-201-465-4211 to share your research requirements.
You May Check Our Other Report @ | <urn:uuid:a3b6d99a-aa39-44fd-a369-3accd85f7cfe> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.reducebusinessbills.com/global-cloud-service-for-automotive-market-company-business-analysis-industry-synopsis-business-outlook-2021-to-2027-industrial-it/ | 2023-02-04T21:40:56Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500154.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20230204205328-20230204235328-00019.warc.gz | en | 0.891576 | 554 |
You’ve saved for retirement for years with tools like 401(k)s, IRAs, other investments, and rental properties. Now you need an income stream for life. How do you go about it? You may need to create income to support your lifestyle for 25 years or more.
Financial experts Joe Anderson and Alan Clopine give you strategies to create a steady stream of income during retirement.
Plus, Pure Financial’s Matt Balderston, CFP® tells us about the Total Return approach and the benefits of using this strategy for retirement planning.
(00:48) – Retiree Sources of Income
(2:27) – Creating a Steady Stream of Income in Retirement
(3:25) – Calculating How Much Money You Should Have Saved for Retirement
(4:47) – Analyzing Strategies to Help Save More Money
(5:08) – The 4% Distribution Rule
(8:39) – Retirement Income White Paper – Download Here
(9:43) – Life Expectancy
(10:22) – Ways to Create a Fixed Income: High Dividend Stocks, High-Yield Bonds, Laddered Bonds
(11:28) – Types of Annuities
(14:12) – Total Return Approach
(18:23) – Is Social Security Going to Run Out of Money?
(19:54) – Delaying Social Security Benefits
(20:35) – Reverse Mortgage
(21:30) – Part-Time Jobs
(22:08) – Renting a Room in Your Home
(22:59) – Saving Money on Taxes After Selling Your Business
(24:16) – Pure Takeaway | <urn:uuid:c1ba1b78-14ab-47e7-9740-5fdcfea8a336> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://purefinancial.com/ymyw/episodes/steady-stream-of-retirement-income/ | 2019-10-21T00:11:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987750110.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20191020233245-20191021020745-00417.warc.gz | en | 0.741182 | 357 |
It’s almost the end of the run for Smash, the heavily hyped drama series set behind the scenes of a Broadway musical – and you can almost hear the sighs of relief over at NBC!
A few weeks ago Smash was renewed for a second season, a move some thought premature. And they might be right. Since its launch in January, Smash has gradually lost viewers week after week, and is now in the danger zone of around 6 million viewers an episode (and a 1.8 18-49 share). For NBC that’s just about okay. Any other network and the show would be toast!
However it’s not just the Smash ratings that are likely a cause of concern for NBC – creatively they’ve probably been a little worried too. I’m a big Smash fan, but even I have to concede the show is all over the shop at times and needs a good shake up for Season 2. That’s probably why the series’ original show runner Theresa Rebeck is out, replaced by Gossip Girl exec producer Joshua Safran. Doubtless Joshua has a pretty clear idea of what needs to change for the show’s second season… but here’s my list!More >
Working in the TV industry is definitely a tough job at times. The hours can be horrendous, there’s a lot of stress, budgets are never big enough and networks can certainly be a challenge to work with!
But there’s one aspect of the industry that should be easy – but never is. Hiring staff. I honestly think there’s more BS in the US TV world than in any other industry I’ve come across. The lying is so brazen it’s stunning!
I’ve had people who’ve worked for me as interns suddenly calling themselves producers; people giving credits on their resumes for shows they’ve never even worked on; and a non stop succession of staff claiming credit for developing shows and projects that you know they had pretty much zero hand in.
How do I know all this? Because unfortunately like everyone else in the industry I’ve hired some of these people – and a couple of weeks after they come on board the truth becomes apparent. That’s the point where you realize that the wonderful person you interviewed is either a) chronically lazy, b) hopelessly disorganized c) plain incompetent d) incapable of working as part of a team or e) all of the above! More >
Late last week NBC quietly cancelled Best Friends Forever – and the TV world was changed forever!
Okay, I’m joking! Let’s be honest BFF couldn’t have made less of an impact, dumped into an early Wednesday night slot with barely any publicity, the show’s last episode managed just 2.65 million viewers, even worse than the wretched Are You There, Chelsea?
But Best Friends Forever isn’t alone. This year has been a truly terrible one when it comes to mid-season shows. ABC had high hopes for The River but the supernatural saga flopped in its debut and was totally DOA by the time of its finale. Likewise Missing, the network’s Ashley Judd thriller which is doing okay in total viewers but rating so old that’s it’s a sure thing for cancellation. And even GCB is struggling to hold onto the low audience it inherits from Desperate Housewives.
We’ve all been there. You’re at a dinner party of gathering and introduced to a new acquaintance. As the conversation develops you rattle through a list of topics – food, movies, music, TV… and that’s when your new ‘friend’ drops the bombshell. You ask if they’re following Game of Thrones or the new season of Mad Men. They reply, ‘I don’t have a TV’, acting as though this is a point of social pride.
Okay so the scenario doesn’t always play out quite like that. Sometimes people will say they ‘don’t watch much TV’ or ‘don’t have time for TV’ – but the insinuation is still the same. These are busy people leading busy lives and don’t have time for all that trash on TV. After all they’re far too cultured to waste their time on that grubby little device. Ugh!
Okay I’m exaggerating. Some people genuinely don’t watch much TV. But have you noticed how people always seem embarrassed to admit they do watch TV, as though it’s some great social vice that reflects badly on their character! To that I say ‘get over yourselves!’ You’re not that busy and frankly you’re not that interesting!
You know how sometimes you really like a celebrity – and then they suddenly come out with a new show, film or song and you suddenly feel really, really bad for them! That’s how I’m currently feeling towards Kathy Griffin…
I’ve been a Kathy fan for several years now – pretty much since the start of My Life On The D-List on Bravo. I’ve seen her stand up shows several times here in New York and think she’s massively underrated by the comedy in-crowd who prefer to fawn over the unfunny likes of mean girls like Chelsea Handler and Sarah Silverman (don’t get me wrong Kathy is no pushover either – but she’s bitchy not mean – there’s a difference!)
So when I heard Griffin was getting her own talk show on Bravo my immediate reaction was, ‘what took them so long!’ For me a Kathy Griffin talk show is a no-brainer.
And then I saw the show last week… oh dear!
So did you watch Game Of Thrones over the weekend?
If you did you’ll have seen a man stabbed in the head with a sword, a young boy taking a spike to the neck, and an old guy who sacrifices male babies to appease his ‘gods’.
But of course the scene that’s getting a few Game Of Thrones fans up in arms doesn’t involve violence – rather two men making out. Yep, a few gay kisses are still considered shocking by some. In 2012!
The scene in question featured King Renly making out with his wife’s brother, Loras. There was a lot of kissing but no nudity and frankly it was all rather PG. Check the clip out here and you’ll see what I mean.
Of course if you were on Twitter at the weekend you might have thought Game Of Thrones had turned to hard-core gay porn. Here’s some of the comments I read:
So what did you watch on TV last night?
If you’re a fan of quality TV, chances are you felt pretty overwhelmed by all the different shows on offer…
Over on AMC we had The Killing at 9pm, followed by Mad Men at 10. HBO countered with Game Of Thrones at 9 and the opening episode of the acclaimed Girls at 10.30 (BTW am I the only person who thinks Girls has been massively over-hyped?). Meanwhile Showtime had new episodes of Nurse Jackie and The Borgias. Anyone else’s DVR having trouble keeping up with this lot?
As you may know I’m not a huge fan of Community, the Thursday night NBC comedy that its fans would have you believe is the greatest comedy ever created (or at least since Arrested Development!) But even I’ve found myself checking in on all the behind the scenes drama currently circulating around the low rated comedy. Grab the popcorn, folks!
What’s become apparent is that Chase and Community creator Dan Harmon are not exactly big fans of one another as their feud plays out on the public stage. So now we have stories of Chevy walking off the set, complaining that the comedy just isn’t funny enough (I bet Community fans love that) and leaving pissy phone messages. So here’s my big advice to Chase. The two words I try to abide by in the industry. Be. Nice.
Looks like one of my favorites is back on form!
Towards the end of last year I questioned whether Ringer, The CW’s twisty turny twins saga, had painted itself into too much of a corner with it’s increasingly bizarre storylines. You remember how ridiculous Ringer had become – from a tired student teacher seduction to a cop who can’t even kill at point blank range to a dead body that actually moved on camera! What was this – a daytime soap opera?
So when Ringer returned after an ill-advised holiday hiatus I must admit I was in half a minute about whether to continue watching. And it seems I wasn’t alone – Ringer lost quite a chunk of its audience following its break and is now heading for an end of season 1 cancellation.
But I have to say I’m glad I did stick with Ringer as the show has definitely re-found its form in the last few weeks. So what happened? Well for starters Ringer started adding some more depth to its supporting cast. Siobhan’s dull and virtuous husband Andrew has suddenly become a little less squeaky clean, guilty of financial mismanagement and even possibly murder. Step-daughter Juliet has gone beyond her initial More > | <urn:uuid:008f784e-d91f-4a82-a65a-685540a74837> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://www.remotepatrolled.com/category/opinion/page/10/ | 2015-01-27T20:56:32Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422122071449.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124175431-00035-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961648 | 1,985 |
Activity of male pheromone of Melanesian Rhinoceros Beetle Scapanes australis
Rochat, Didier, Morin, Jean-Paul, Kakul, Titus, Beaudoin-Ollivier, Laurence, Prior, Robert, Renou, Michel, Malosse , Isabelle, Stathers, Tanya, Empuba, Sebastian and Laup, Samson (2002) Activity of male pheromone of Melanesian Rhinoceros Beetle Scapanes australis. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 28 (3). pp. 479-500. ISSN 0098-0331 (Print), 1573-1561 (Online) (doi:10.1023/A:1014531810037)Full text not available from this repository.
Laboratory and field investigations were carried out to investigate the nature and role of the male pheromone emitted by the Dynast beetle Scapanes australis and to develop a mass trapping technique against this major coconut
pest in Papua New Guinea. We report the biological data obtained from natural and synthetic pheromone, previously described as an 84:12:4 (w/w) mixture of 2-butanol (1), 3-hydoxy-2-butanone (2), and 2,3-butanediol (3). EAG recordings from natural and synthetic pheromone and a pitfall olfactometer were poorly informative. In contrast, extensive field trapping trials with various synthetic pheromone mixtures and doses showed that 1 and 2 (formulated in polyethylene sachets in 90:5 v/v ratio) were necessary and sufficient for optimum long-range attraction. Beetles were captured in traps baited with racemic 1 plus 2, with or without a stereoisomer mixture of 3 (2.5- to 2500-mg/day doses). Plant pieces, either sugarcane or coconut, enhanced captures by the synthetic pheromone,
which was active alone. Traps with the pheromone caught both sexes in a 3:2 female–male ratio. A pheromone-based mass trapping led to the capture of 2173 beetles in 14 traps surrounding 40 ha of a cocoa-coconut plantation.
The captures followed a log-linear decrease during the 125-week trapping program. The role of the male pheromone and its potential for crop protection are discussed.
|Uncontrolled Keywords:||Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scapanes, aggregation pheromone, EAG, field trapping, coconut pest|
|Subjects:||S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)|
|School / Department / Research Groups:||Natural Resources Institute|
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute
Faculty of Engineering & Science
|Last Modified:||14 Jul 2015 17:30|
Actions (login required) | <urn:uuid:15e503ef-f8a8-4e60-9852-ad5fe168b9d3> | CC-MAIN-2016-07 | http://gala.gre.ac.uk/4096/ | 2016-02-11T21:19:01Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701162808.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193922-00288-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.834624 | 615 |
Come join us for the finale of Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch LIVE on Twitch! We will be giving away one more prize tonight! Follow us here!
Head’s up! Tomorrow only, Saturday, is World Whale day. We are having a sale on Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island for 50% off. Come back tomorrow to get your big discount! Shop here.
Tonight’s the last night to enter the Valentine’s Day card contest! Learn more here.
Also, remember the great sales we are having right now! Shop here for Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch.
And shop here on Teespring for 10% any merch item until Sunday. Be sure to look for the “I have a promo code” link at the checkout page to enter the code word CANDY.
And one more thing! Check out the latest Valentine’s Day special podcast episode! Ryan Ricks is the composer for Midnight in Salem, and he’s married to the voice of Nancy Drew: Brittany Cox!
Not to forget, we have some birthdays this weekend! | <urn:uuid:1ebd5a93-f0fa-4259-9079-ca0b0c6f3099> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://www.herinteractive.com/2020/02/happy-valentines-day-2020/ | 2021-01-15T23:58:16Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703497681.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20210115224908-20210116014908-00129.warc.gz | en | 0.885668 | 234 |
Earth science is one of my favorite units. (Mainly because most of the labs are edible.) No, in all seriousness, it is fascinating to see how many light bulb moments my students have when we really delve into the inner workings of our planet. Students have a hard time understanding slow changes because it isn't… Continue reading What’s in the Lab? Graham Cracker Plate Tectonics
What’s in the Lab? Cookie Mining
I remember my first year in science, lab day was always the most stressful part of my week. I felt like I was scrambling for ideas, and I had no idea what to do half the time. Luckily, I am older and wiser. These days I can honestly sit back (well, not too far back)… Continue reading What’s in the Lab? Cookie Mining
Science Vocabulary: Why Is It So Important?
A mentor once told me, "Science vocabulary is like a foreign language to students." And it's the truth! Students struggle with scientific terminology because they don't use the words in everyday conversation. That's why vocabulary is the foundation of my science lessons, and it should be for yours too. It's impossible to expect students to… Continue reading Science Vocabulary: Why Is It So Important?
Maternity Leave is Almost Over!
The school year started with the birth of my second child looming heavily. I worked furiously to make sure the lesson plans were ready, with step by step instructions for every hour of every day (seriously)...Then I left, and left it up to God. My son was born early September, and I will finally be… Continue reading Maternity Leave is Almost Over! | <urn:uuid:f1e3ae19-1889-4524-b22c-dc5f5ba03aa3> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://sockmonkeyscience.com/tag/teaching/ | 2023-03-25T01:38:10Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945292.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20230325002113-20230325032113-00558.warc.gz | en | 0.951475 | 348 |
IDFI Director Giorgi Kldiashvili took part in a human rights conference titled On the Frontline: Human Rights Situation in the EaP Countries. The event was held by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) and its Moldovan National Platform in Moldova.
The two-day (Septeber 19-20, 2016) event brought together around 50 human rights experts from the EU and EaP civil society community, major international NGOs, EU institutions and the Council of Europe.
The Conference was opened by the Moldovan National Platform Coordinator Ion Manole, Ombudsman of Moldova Mihail Cotorobai and Pirkka Tapiola, Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova.
The topics discussed include: human rights challenges in the EaP countries and international mechanisms; human rights defenders: best practices in campaigning, networking and fundraising; and human rights monitoring and protection in conflict zones.
Giorgi Kldiashvili served as a moderator at the workshop on Practice of the European Court for Human Rights with regard to the EaP Countries.
Promoting Entrepreneurs Living Next to the Occupied Territories in Shida Kartli Region through Branding23.06.2022
Panel Discussions: Enhancing Legislative Framework and practices for access to public information in Georgia16.06.2022
Regional Event: Consequences of the Ukraine invasion on the AML/CFT regime for NPOs in the Eastern Partnership11.06.2022
Statement of Civil Society Organizations on the possible involvement of State Security Service in the events of July 5-614.06.2022
We call on the government to take concrete steps in order to gain candidate status gain EU Candidate Status10.06.2022
Celebrating May 9 in Russia02.05.2022 | <urn:uuid:a153cf7e-c557-4b33-870a-d3dc6c5da16f> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://idfi.ge/en/giorgi-kldiashvili-at-human-rights-conference-titled-on-the-frontline-human-rights-situation-in-the-eap-countries | 2022-06-28T15:53:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103556871.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20220628142305-20220628172305-00108.warc.gz | en | 0.879889 | 384 |
MARCO ISLAND — Seawalls, density credits and more stringent fertilizer regulations were three of the items debated by City Council members at their regular meeting on Monday night.
In effort to spur development, council members gave final approval to a plan to transfer waterfront commercial density credits to any commercial property within the city’s Midtown District. A maximum of 200 credits could be transferred from one waterfront area to another area within the Midtown District to allow for one to two limited-use hotels with no more than 150 rooms. Planning officials reason that new hotels could stimulate re-development in the district and create a pedestrian friendly environment while ensuring that any development plans gain council approval before being built.
Chuck Kiester, one of two council members who opposed the plan, cited concerns about how additional competition will impact existing businesses. He also doesn’t believe that taking a chance on inspiring investors is worth what he called a “zone it and they will come” gamble.
Council chairman Jerry Gibson was adamant that transferring density credits is not the same as re-zoning and that the move is a “baby step” towards expanding density credits.
Bud Balsom, a broker for Peak Realty, which represents a local development group that has spent two years researching the possibility of building a limited service hotel in the Midtown District, welcomed the 5-2 vote. Balsom claims that Marco lacks this type of hotel, which could cater to not only tourists, but families of seasonal residents who cannot afford the cost of staying in a large, chain hotel.
Meanwhile, Bill Waichulis, senior vice president of operations for Boykin Management Company, which owned the Radisson Hotel on the Island before selling it to Marriott told council members that large hotels chains cannot get funding to build the kind of hotels that the city hopes to attract, and predicted that the ordinance will actually discourage development.
During the public comment, a representative of the Marco Island Civic Association also told councilors that its query of residents found that 80 percent opposed density transfers.
Increased fertilizer regulations voted down
A plan to urge the Collier Board of County Commissioners to adopt a fertilizer ordinance more stringent than the current minimum requirements set by state law did not get the support of council members, which failed to pass the regulation by a 4-3 vote.
More forceful requirements suggested included a four-month fertilizer use black out period, regulating chemical use to within three feet of water when there is no shield to keep the chemicals from leaching into waterways and even regulating the point-of-sale of fertilizers.
“I think its important for us to send a message that this is important to use,” said Councilor William Trotter.
Chairman Jerry Trotter added that the ordinance passed would be more of a symbolic gesture than anything else.
“It’s incumbent upon us to protect the water,” he said.
But council member Frank Recker testily told his fellow councilors that they should wait for Collier County to make a decision before attempting to enact a stiffer ordinance.
“This is a perfect example of government intrusion,” Recker stated, added in his mind the regulation is nothing more than “feel good, hug-a-tree (legislation).”
Seawall amendment passes first reading
An ordinance to amend the building code regarding seawalls passed its first hurdle. Councilmen unanimously approved the first reading of a plan to allow for new seawalls to be placed in front of old ones where whalers are retained as part of the design renovation.
The change comes from an appeal regarding Tropical Isle Condominiums, which prohibited a design that included seawall in front of a seawall because the outside face of the new structure would exceed 12 inches. However, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has extended its regulation from 12 inches to 18 inches, making the new structure compliant.
In addition to updating the code to comply with what has been set by DEP, the ordinance puts the burden on a property owner’s engineer if a seawall fails or collapses. If and when that happens, an owner will have 60 days to contract a licensed marine contractor to get a permit and make repairs. A design professional will certify the design and inspect the structure, which is current practice. Then, a final inspection would be performed by the Building Department.
The ordinance will receive a second hearing and vote at an upcoming council meeting before being enacted. | <urn:uuid:6e2d8dfd-3a9e-4fdd-b0d8-a8c4606da774> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jun/07/density-credits-fertilizer-regulations-and-seawall/ | 2014-03-17T01:51:24Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394678704396/warc/CC-MAIN-20140313024504-00003-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957753 | 924 |
As the University prepares to transition to the house model in Fall 2012, administrators and students are examining how the new living structure will affect diversity.
Although West Campus has become more representative of the diversity in the student body since 2002, officials have said changes in the housing model should not decrease this diversity but rather enhance student communities and experience.
“If you just look at the numbers, and you just say how many people of what kind live on West [Campus], it’s not that imbalanced, but if you drill down and say, ‘How are they experiencing the residence experience?’ then there is real disparity,” said Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost of undergraduate education. “That’s what I talk about with equity—I’m not just interested in numbers. I’m interested in the totality of the experience.”
Since Fall 2001, West Campus has become more racially diverse due to increased enrollment of minority students and broad efforts to ensure that the campus is representative of the larger student body, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said. Administrators added that in transitioning to the house model, they are committed to maintaining that diversity.
Nine years ago, black students represented just 5.6 percent of West Campus residents and white students represented 65 percent, according to data provided by Residence Life and Housing Services. Currently, the population of blacks on West has nearly doubled to 9.3 percent, and white students occupy just over 43 percent of beds on the campus. The residential population of Asian-Pacific students has also increased since Fall 2001, from 15.1 to 28.4 percent.
“[The lack of diversity in 2001] won’t happen again because [of] everything else we’re doing on West—promoting houses [and] making the non-selective experience as rich as the selective experience,” Moneta said.
According to the data provided by RLHS, the populations of black, white and Asian-Pacific students living on West mirrors the racial makeup of the overall student population, with black and Asian-Pacific students being the two largest minority groups within the student body. Black and white students represent 10.3 and 45.7 percent of the undergraduate population respectively, and Asian-Pacific students comprise 28.6 percent of the total student body.
One effort that helped to increase residential diversity was requiring all sophomores to live on West beginning in 2002, Moneta said. Because the sophomore class now makes up the majority of West, the campus is more representative of the student body, he added.
But Moneta also said that in switching from the current quadrangle model to a house model, sophomores will no longer be required to live on West. He added, however, that he is not concerned that this will reverse the gains the policy achieved.
Instead, the house model will encourage diversity throughout West by allowing for the continuation of the randomized communities formed on East Campus. Although the administration may institute broad policies to promote diversity, Moneta said officials do not intend to enforce strict or confining regulations on houses.
Student input has also been significant in the development of the house model, Nowicki said. The administration included the Council for Collaborative Action—a committee of leaders from student groups—Campus Council and Duke Student Government in its conversations about the house model.
Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a senior, said it is too soon to know exactly how diversity may be affected by the house model.
“There is certainly the potential for an increased diversity on West versus Central [Campus]— that will depend how things play out as we get more into logistics,” Temple said.
Asian Students Association President John Chang, a senior, said, he feels little anxiety about this residential policy.
“[Residential diversity] in particular is not something our constituency has brought up as a huge problem,” Chang said.
But other student group leaders expressed concerns about how the house model will achieve its goal of improving diversity.
“The housing model does a good job of fostering a good sense of community, which we fully understand and appreciate,” said junior Nana Asante, president of the Black Student Alliance, on behalf of the organization’s executive board. “But what we feel is not being made clear is how this necessarily translates into fostering diversity.”
The responsibility of building diverse communities also falls to students, Asante added.
“If we can’t raise hell about something that we say we want, how is it reasonable to expect [the] administration to do so on our behalf?” she said.
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TAMPA — The Hillsborough Public Defender's Office wants a judge to throw out DNA evidence linking Kendrick Morris to two rape cases, arguing that law enforcement officials improperly obtained it and other physical evidence and incriminating statements.
In a 76-page motion, the teen's attorneys also present a time line for his whereabouts the night of the April 24, 2008, attack that conflicts with the version offered by authorities.
They say surveillance video shows Morris walking into a Walmart store at 10:22 p.m., just seven minutes after the time authorities say the assault began about a mile away at the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library in Valrico. Morris then went to McDonald's before returning to Walmart at 11:36 p.m., Assistant Public Defenders Rocky West Brancato and Maria Pavlidis wrote.
Reports from the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office previously suggested that Morris made only the later trip to Walmart after McDonald's.
The 18-year-old victim had gone alone to the library that night to return a book in the after-hours drop box. Talking on her cell phone, she told her friend there was a "weird guy" hanging around. The friend heard a scream, and the call went dead at 10:15 p.m., according to the motion.
Friends and family found the victim lying half-naked behind the library. Beaten and sexually battered, she suffered multiple strokes that damaged her brain and left her unable to move.
She has no memory of the attack.
Authorities used DNA evidence from that case to tie Morris to the unsolved June 2007 sexual assault of a 61-year-old woman at a day care near his home. Now 18, he remains in jail awaiting trial in both cases.
In their motion to suppress, Morris' public defenders argue that Circuit Judge Sam Pendino should not have signed a search warrant permitting authorities to obtain a saliva sample from the teen. They said the Sheriff's Office's application for the warrant failed to lay out probable cause that Morris' DNA would match the DNA in the victim's sexual battery kit.
Authorities noted that Morris was seen sitting at a bench in front of the library about 11 minutes before the attack, but they failed to include any corroborating details to show that he was involved in the attack, the attorneys said.
"The affidavit for search warrant establishes nothing more than lawful activity of the child defendant," they wrote. "It does not state why the swab would uncover evidence of wrongdoing."
They contend that the search warrant contained false statements and material omissions. It did not mention that Morris was a frequent library patron who never gave the employees any trouble and witnesses who saw him after the attack did not observe anything unusual about him.
"The material omissions were made, at a minimum, with reckless police conduct that amounts to deception," the motion states.
Deputies initially detained Morris at the library the morning after the attack on the grounds that he had been reported as a "missing juvenile." By that time, however, he also had been named a "person of interest" in that rape case.
Authorities decided to drive Morris to the criminal investigation division's office to conduct an interview. Without advising Morris of his Miranda rights, Cpl. David Waytovich began asking the teen during the trip where he had been the previous night and what time he had left the public library.
As a result of the improper questioning, attorneys Brancato and Pavlidis said their client's statements about his movements the night of the attack should be suppressed.
The public defenders also take issue with how law enforcement seized clothing, a shoe and a backpack from Morris' bedroom on April 26, 2008.
Whether the motion has any merit remains to be seen. In court Wednesday, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Chet Tharpe scheduled a hearing date for March.
The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office does not comment on pending cases, spokesman Mark Cox said.
Colleen Jenkins can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or (813) 226-3337. | <urn:uuid:89f2bb68-2667-4468-9917-21c24d67d020> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/defense-attorneys-take-issue-with-evidence-in-hillsborough-library-rape/1068765 | 2015-07-04T05:36:13Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375096504.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031816-00005-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971185 | 828 |
- (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
Actress Susan Sarandon has spoken out about the recent comments made by presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Sarandon was a guest on "The View" and said she was "entertained" by Romney's remarks about the "47 percent" of Americans.
"I'm so entertained. I'm very happy that he's so entertaining," Sarandon explained. "I don't know if it's going to cost him. I think a lot of people agree with him in seeing things that way. I guess it'll mostly affect the swing voters. And I think it's an interesting few days on the campaign trail to see how he deals with that, but I don't think that was really new information."
Sarandon has had a sometimes-lukewarm relationship with President Barack Obama and the White House administration. Earlier this year she claimed to be under surveillance by the administration.
"I've had my phone tapped… I've gotten my file twice under the Freedom of Information Act," she told an audience at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Sarandon also revealed that she had been denied clearance at the White House but had no reason as to why.
That has not stopped her support for Obama, though. When host Joy Behar commented that Romney's words "made him look like Scrooge," Sarandon readily agreed.
"But I think that's what he is," she replied. "But I don't think-listening to, you know, where he wants to spend his money, that he was very interested in education or the elderly, and I mean a lot of the people he's talking about pay taxes, so I don't know what he's thinking."
Sarandon's comments come as the nation reels from Romney's remarks caught on tape. Romney has defended his position, but that has not stopped President Obama from issuing his own comments on the situation.
"My expectation is that if you want to be president, you have to work for everyone, not just for some," Obama said on "David Letterman" last night. "What I think people want to be sure of is [that] you are not writing off big chunks of the country because [of] the way our democracy works." | <urn:uuid:ebedd274-4b10-495c-a78a-0c0cc72cfe56> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.christianpost.com/news/susan-sarandon-slams-mitt-romneys-remarks-calls-nominee-scrooge-81858/ | 2016-09-29T10:16:16Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661781.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00239-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.99233 | 464 |
Screening for colorectal cancer has been proven to be effective in reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. While the precise benefit of screening exclusively by colonoscopy is not yet known, unarguably, the exam is central to the success of any screening programme. The test affords the opportunity to detect and resect neoplasia across the entire large bowel and is the definitive examination when other screening tests are positive. However, colonoscopy is invasive and often requires sedation as well as extensive bowel preparation, all of which puts the patient at risk. Furthermore, the test can technically be demanding and, unarguably, there is variation in how it is performed. This variation in performance has now been definitively linked to important outcome measures. For example, interval cancers are more common in low adenoma detectors as compared with high adenoma detectors. This review outlines the most current thinking regarding the effectiveness of colonoscopy as a screening tool. It also outlines key concepts to optimise its performance through robust quality assurance programmes and high-quality training.
- CANCER PREVENTION
- COLORECTAL CANCER
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Hotels in Lethbridge
Need in addition to the airline tickets a hotel room in Lethbridge? Choose from more than 45,000 hotels. | <urn:uuid:1fe0b73d-5589-4dc6-b8a2-b893a212a546> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bookingpoint.net/en/airline-tickets/lethbridge-YQLLK3.html | 2017-01-19T10:54:03Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00462-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.884218 | 115 |
Lactose intolerance…a vicious nasty beast with no mercy. It reared its head slowly with distant rumbling that became a thunderous roar. It began by gently tapping its claws along its victim before attacking violently, tearing every last bit of stomach lining right out of whomever was lucky enough to suffer from its onslaught.
Heather just happened to be its unfortunate victim this morning. Why she had let Kipp ply her with cheese and wine to begin with was beyond her but she swore she'd never let it happen again. Oh who was she kidding? Of course she'd do it again if it meant she might get the chance to star in a Mahoney production.
She slowly shuffled out of the bathroom, dabbing a cool cloth against her forehead. She had gotten rid of Kipp last night by feigning sleep. She certainly hadn't wanted him around when her nasty visitor chose to pay her a visit. She would suffer through this alone…and curse herself for her stupidity for eating the cheese in the first place.
She slid her feet across the floor, afraid to jar her stomach with any sudden movements. She opened the door to retrieve the morning paper before she retreated to the sofa. She eased herself onto the cushions before letting out a pained breath. Why had she eaten the cheese?
Deciding to attempt to distract herself, she unfolded the newspaper and read over the front page. "Doctor Murdered, FBI Investigating." She read the first paragraphs of the article before hitting a very familiar name and reading aloud, "Mathis was involved with the current fiancée of Brant Ashford, one Avery Morrison."
A grin crept across her face, "Well, it seems little Miss Avery might not be an angelic as she appears after all," Heather grinned as she continued to read the article. Another familiar name caught her attention, "Special Agent Shannon Pryce has been assigned to the investigation by the Bureau of Investigation. Agent Pryce was once involved with Brant Ashford. When asked if such a fact would affect the investigation, the Bureau's spokesperson reiterated the agency's commitment to seeing justice done and stated that Agent Pryce was a consummate professional."
"Yeah right…if she's investigating Brant, she'll hand him his balls in a brown paper sack," Heather spoke to herself before she nibbled on her lip. Her eyes widened as an idea raced through her mind, "Oh Heather, you are a genius," She chuckled to herself as she considered her idea. Yes, it just might work…and if it did, Avery would be out of Brant's life forever and Heather would have her chance to get the man she loved back into hers.
Jade stepped into her office and put her purse in her desk. She sank into her chair and took a moment to compose herself. She needed to collect all her thoughts before going to speak with Grady. If only Seth hadn't been so pigheaded, she wouldn't have to explain so much to Grady.
She closed her eyes, thinking of how angry Seth had been. She'd never wanted to upset him. She only wanted to love Grady, and she'd almost had that opportunity. If only Seth had listened to reason. Instead, he had to remind her of her horrible painful past.
Grady wasn't like the men her father had been involved with. He was honorable, respectable, and trustworthy. He was all of the things her father would never be. And she loved him all the more for those reasons.
She decided that now was as good a time as any to face Grady. She hoped she wouldn't have to explain to him why Seth was so protective, but she would if it came down to it. She just hoped that Grady would be able to look over what had happened in the past.
She stepped down the hall and knocked lightly upon his door. Upon hearing his invitation inside, she opened the door and entered his office. In the instant their eyes met, Jade said a thousand thank yous that Grady was smiling. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Hey," Jade said as she closed the door behind her and moved across the room to take a seat across the desk from him.
"Hey yourself," Grady smiled at her, "I see you emerged in once piece."
"Yeah, I almost always do from a fight with Seth. He's just very protective of me. I'm sorry he got so angry."
"It's okay. I know what it's like to be the protective big brother, remember?" He asked with a smile, "He loves you, and he doesn't want to see you hurt. That makes him a very loving brother."
"It makes him a pain in my behind," She corrected, "I never expected him to blow up like that. I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for. Seth doesn't even know me, and to find us in your bed...well, I'm sure that shook him up," Grady leaned onto his desk slightly, "I can't blame him a bit for being upset. Maybe once he gets to know me, he'll understand that the only one of us in danger from the other is me," He teased with a wink.
"The only thing you're in danger of is falling hopelessly in love with me," Jade pointed out with a grin, "So it's not like you're in danger of any real harm."
"That's cute," He said with a chuckle, "So really…how did things go after I left?"
"Seth tried to give me the protective big brother speech, and I told him that I didn't need protecting from you," She shrugged, "You know…the usual sibling three round gala."
"Did you two set things straight?"
"As straight as they can be for the time being. I just want him to let me live my own life. Is that really asking so much?"
"Of a big brother? Yeah, it's asking a lot," He nodded, "We tend to think it's our job to keep our siblings protected from any and all dangers of the world…no matter how many we get into ourselves."
"Is there anyway I can reason with him?"
"No," Grady admitted, "But we might try easing him into the idea of us being together instead of just springing it on my like this morning."
"What are you suggesting?"
"I saw Blake Ashford there. I'm guessing they're dating now?"
"Yeah, what's that got to do with anything?" Jade asked in confusion.
"We should all get together for dinner. That might help everyone get used to the situation."
"That's a great idea," She agreed, "I'm just getting to know Blake, and I think I might actually like her. It's a strange thing to say coming from me, I know, but still…she's not at all what I expected from an Ashford."
"Then this will be a chance for you and Blake to interact as well as for Seth to learn more about me," He shrugged, "Plus he gets to play chaperone for you, and that might make him feel a tad more secure as well."
Jade chuckled, "It might, but I wouldn't place any bets on it."
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Grady invited the entrance of whomever had arrived.
Thea opened the door and stepped inside, delighted to see Jade was actually with Grady for her performance. She knew instantly that Cameron's plan was at least one step closer to being realized. She stepped across the room, "I'm so sorry to interrupt, Grady."
"Thea," Grady said her name in surprise as the blood drained from his face, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh…well I was on my way to Stone Corp, and I thought I'd drop off your cell phone. You left it at my place the other night, and I thought you might need it," Thea explained as she looked to Jade, "You're Jade, right?"
Jade eyed the woman carefully, "And you are?"
"Thea Valentine, I'm Cameron's personal assistant," She smiled brightly, "He says great things about you."
"I'm sure he does," Jade frowned.
Grady quickly made his way around the desk to accept the phone from Thea, "Thank you for bringing this by."
"No problem," Thea said softly as she eased a finger down his chest, "Do you have plans for this evening? Perhaps we could have dinner."
"I don't think so," Grady replied.
"Oh come on…it's just dinner," She urged as she met his eyes, "Everything else is just fringe benefits."
"A raveled fringe," Jade muttered under her breath.
Grady knew the situation was about to become nasty if he didn't do something decisive, "Thea, really, I appreciate the invitation, but…"
"But what?" Thea questioned with pouty lips.
"He's involved," Jade said boldly as she stood and slipped her arm around Grady, drawing him out of Thea's touch, "So if you don't mind…"
"But…" Thea looked between the two of them, "What about the other night?"
"It was a mistake," Jade informed her, "We all make mistakes, and unfortunately you were his. Thankfully for Grady's sake, he learns from his mistakes and doesn't repeat them. So if you don't mind…" She said as she motioned towards the door.
"Well…I never," Thea turned on her heel and stalked from the room, slamming the door behind her.
Grady stared at Jade with amusement sweeping over his features as she turned to look at him.
"What?" Jade asked bluntly.
"You…you certainly have a way with words," He said with a grin.
"Yeah well, don't smile so big pal cause we have a few things to talk about ourselves. But right now I have work to do, and so do you. After work, we're going to have a nice long talk. Understand?" She questioned firmly.
"Of course," Grady agreed before Jade smiled at him and left his office. He chuckled to himself as he thought of Jade's way of dealing with Thea. She had turned the situation around in the blink of an eye, and he had never been more impressed by her bold nature than in that moment. If there was one thing he could count on from Jade it was bold almost brutal honesty, and it was one thing he adored about her.
Avery lead Russell out onto the deck out back feeling the cool morning
air rush over her soft skin as she took a look around the peaceful garden
area seeing that they were alone at last. Thinking of her mother’s
actions, she turned to face him concern evident in her eyes, “Are you alright?”
“Brooke didn’t dish out anything I couldn’t handle,” he promised her, a sexy smile sweeping in over his features, “although there is something that has been bothering me since I got here.”
“What’s that?” she questioned watching him set down the bag of goodies he brought for her before his arm stretched towards her curling around her waist as he pulled her in against his chest.
Feeling her breath escape her lips as he held her, Russell’s grin widened as he pressed his palm against Avery’s cheek tenderly. He leaned in towards her, feeling the warmth of her breath mingle with his as he spoke in a low, sensual tone, “This,” he whispered brushing his lips against hers in the faintest hints of a kiss despite the fire he’d felt burning inside of him.
Gently nibbling on her lower lip, Russell tasted traces of vanilla lingering over her as he felt a sense of pride rush over him as her responsiveness to him was a good indicator of the way she too was feeling about him. She slid her arm around his waist as he held her against his body, her tongue tasting and teasing his as his fingers slipped into her dark hair drinking up her soft moans. His arm dropped leisurely around her waist clutching her tighter beside him while offering a gentle squeeze over her pert bottom as she shifted against him.
“Wait,” Avery broke away from the kiss finding herself breathless as her eyes scanned the private area they’d found themselves in, “Are you insane?”
“Insanity isn’t the half of it,” Russell teased with a wink, “After having faced the wrath of Brooke, I’d have to say that kissing you like that was without a doubt worth the lashing I took back there.”
“It’ll be nothing in comparison to the one you’ll get if she sees us like this,” Avery untangled herself from his arms suddenly on edge as she looked around the garden beyond the patio, “Given that half the world is camped out on the front lawn, not to mention that the FBI is here questioning my relationship with Brant, well, we shouldn’t be doing this now…”
“As long as we can be doing this later,” he reached out to her placing his hand upon the small of her waist, “I won’t complain.”
“Russell, this is serious,” Avery spun around to face him again her eyes burning with anger, “Bruce was just murdered and now Brant’s psychotic ex-girlfriend was assigned the case and she’s bent on making my life a living hell.”
“What?” Russell questioned in confusion, “Back up a minute. Brant’s ex-girlfriend?”
“Shannon Pryce,” Avery nodded bitterly, “She and Brant were pretty hot and heavy a few years ago--only then she was a Federal Marshall.”
“Brant’s Federal Marshall is investigating the case?” Russell’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ve heard about her?” Avery raised a curious brow as she eased out of his embrace and made her way towards the lavish patio set. Sliding out one of the chairs, she took a seat and reached for Russell’s bag of goodies eager to lose herself in their sinful promises of pleasure.
“Here and there,” Russell nodded following her over to the table as he took a seat across from her, “though I don’t understand why a Federal Marshall would be here.”
“She’s with the FBI and to make a long story short, I think she’s got a hidden agenda of her own,” Avery frowned simply, “I think she and Heather Gibbons are on the same wavelength if you catch my drift…”
“She wants Brant?”
Avery nodded, “And I get the distinct vibe that she wants to bury me or worse in order to make it happen. When she interrogated me before, she was leading up to questions about my relationship with Brant. Somehow I had a feeling that was what this witch hunt was all about. It’s not about Bruce, but more so about this woman’s obsession with Brant.”
“Avery, I realize that he drives women crazy, but are you sure that’s her only agenda,” Russell inquired thinking about the FBI stepping in on the murder investigation.
“I don’t know,” Avery sighed, “she asked me a few questions about Bruce--probably hoping that I’d hand her over a signed confession admitting that I was the one who killed him.”
“Avery, only an idiot would believe you could do such a thing,” Russell reached for her hand across the table.
“And Shannon’s just the idiot whose willing to put me away for life for the fun of it,” Avery groaned inwardly thinking about the disastrous interview. She tore off a piece of the bear claw attempting to savor it’s seduction on her taste buds, but still Shannon Pryce was putting a serious damper on her mood.
“Like hell she will,” Brant’s voice interrupted as Avery looked up to see him standing in the doorway. He stepped out onto the patio shaking his head in disagreement, “Though I have to admit she’s one hell of a lunatic.”
“Hmm, sounds like there’s not a shortage of that going around here these days,” Russell noted thinking back to his less than savory encounter with Brooke as Brant pulled up a seat at the table.
“I’m starting to wish I never got involved with that woman to begin with,” Brant groaned as he looked over at Avery throwing out a bright smile, “Clearly I was an idiot before I fell in love with you.”
“Clearly,” Avery teased back nibbling on her bear claw as her thoughts lingered back to her interview with Shannon, “So what happened?”
“Someone spilled the story about the dispute Grady and I had the night of the quake,” Brant’s eyes turned towards Russell.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Russell shook his head simply as he shrugged his shoulders, “I wouldn’t say anything about that night as it wasn’t the most exciting evening…” his gaze drifted over towards Avery, “though it did have it’s memorable moments.”
Avery ignored the secret hint of innuendos in his tone as she turned her attention to Brant hoping he didn’t pick up on it, “So what about that night? Nothing happened. You and Grady fought and then you left.”
“According to the story Shannon is spouting out about, Bruce was the one that broke up my altercation,” Brant mocked Shannon’s tone, “with Grady. He swept in and played the hero and somehow I was attacking Bruce.”
“That’s a lie,” Avery gasped as a frown touched over her lips.
“Even so, it’s something Shannon’s running with,” Brant slumped his shoulders in response.
“So we all were there,” Russell reminded him as he snatched a piece of Avery’s pastry and popped it into his mouth as she gave him a scathing look, “Anyone who was there knows that Avery and I are what stopped that ill-timed, distasteful display you chose to dish out at my brother.”
“Your brother was asking for it that night,” Brant reached across the table tearing off a piece of Avery’s bear claw for himself before dropping it into his mouth. He cast a glance over in Russell’s direction noting the stains that ran up and down the front of his shirt, “What the hell happened to you?”
“Brooke happened,” Russell remarked with a frown, “If you want to talk about lunatics…”
“I think she’s somewhat charming,” Brant quipped with a tiny grin as he turned to Avery giving her a knowing look, “and very insightful on a few things.”
“Oh God, what has she done now,” Avery groaned inwardly.
“She showed me a picture from your,” Brant’s grin widened, “modeling days. Why Avery, how is it that you never shared that part of your life with me?”
“It could be because I’d just as soon bury it in the past,” she groaned thinking to her mother’s obsession during her teen years, “and besides if word of my modeling career got out now, well certainly Shannon would really think she’s found herself a bimbo to barbeque,” she finished with a groan.
“You were never a bimbo,” Russell offered reaching for another bite of her breakfast, “and anyone who thinks like that is clearly a fool.”
“You were beautiful,” Brant added honestly, “You still are, but I must say that Temptation ad was breathtaking…”
“Brooke brought the Temptation ad with her?” Russell’s brow arched with interest.
Brant nodded reaching into his pocket withdrawing the photo, “She gave me the copy she had.”
“It was a great ad,” Russell took a look at the photograph thinking back to that time in his and Avery’s life together, “Granted I know you hated doing the shoot, but Avery even I have to confess this one is a keeper. I still have my copy in this in the scrapbook next to prom…”
“Even so,” Avery interrupted snatching the photograph away from the both of them, “if my mother starts flaunting around that damned Temptation ad, then I’ll surely get the stories circulating around about me being the poster child for an Ashford babe…”
“They’re as notorious as the Bond Girls,” Brant teased receiving a scathing look from her, “Hey it’s a joke.”
“Well it’s not funny,” Avery glared back at him, “The last thing I need is anyone diving into my past. It’s bad enough that my ex-lover has been murdered and the FBI thinks I’m the one behind it, but now…”
“Actually,” Brant shifted uneasily in his seat, “I was going to mention this earlier, but then we kind of got carried away with the picture and…” he trailed off.
“And what?” Avery looked to him concern evident behind her eyes.
“Well Shannon kind of cornered me,” Brant cleared his throat.
“And?” Russell looked to him, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Brant explained simply, “I stuck to the story that the last time I’d seen Bruce was the night of the quake.”
“So what’s the problem with that?” Avery questioned with a frown, “I didn’t say anything about what happened at my apartment.”
“Which is good because I know Shannon is itching for a reason to strike,” he continued with a frown.
“Well as long as we all stick to our stories about the night in question, then there shouldn’t be reason for any of us to be suspect,” Russell reminded the both of them as he lowered his voice, “I mean we were all together officially.”
“Of course, but if there’s reason for us to be worried,” Avery looked between the both of them, “I know you’re not telling me something…”
“Avery, that’s not important,” Brant dissuaded her questioning eyes, “What is important is that Shannon knows about my having Bruce fired from the hospital.”
“You what?” Avery’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Avery, I was upset,” Brant explained noting her look of displeasure, “When he tried to kill you and you wouldn’t let me call the police, well I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands.”
“So you had him fired?” Avery repeated stunned by the thoughts.
“It was better than killing him,” Brant insisted as a long moment of uneasy silence fell over the trio.
“So what now?” Russell questioned breaking the tension in the air between them.
“We find a way to get the upper hand of this situation,” Brant leaned back in his chair, “Together we can come up with something.”
“Brant, knowing that you did that,” Avery shook her head, “What were you thinking?”
“The man tried to kill you,” Brant pointed out, “I was thinking that I wasn’t going to give him a chance to do it again.”
“But having him fired?” she groaned again, “Do you have any idea how bad that looks right about now?”
“It only looks bad if we let it look bad,” Brant replied trying to think a way out of this situation, “Hart stopped the interview with her before it turned into something more than it was…”
“Still, she’s going to want to know why you had Bruce fired. What did you tell her?” Avery questioned with a frown.
“I told her it was irrelevant,” Brant answered flatly, “What I do is none of her concern.”
“It is when she’s trying to bury someone for Bruce’s demise,” Avery added with a huff, “How could you do something like this?”
“Avery, I was trying to protect you,” Brant pleaded with her, “I never thought that the FBI would send Shannon nosing around…”
“This can be fixed,” Russell decided contemplating the news that had been tossed upon them, “We can find a way to make what you did seem like a typical Brant Ashford move without it looking like more than what it was.”
“How so?” Brant questioned turning his attention to Russell.
“When you asked to have Bruce fired, did you specify why you wanted him gone?” Russell inquired the wheels turning in his head as he began to put together a reasonable explanation for the turn of events.
“Of course I didn’t. I knew that Avery didn’t want anyone to know about what happened, so I just said if Bruce wasn’t fired, then it would result in the loss of some Ashford funds at the hospital…”
“Wonderful,” Avery rolled her eyes as she sank back into her chair, “Just wonderful.”
“Avery, just give me a second here,” Russell raised his finger in the air, “So let me get all of this straight. Shannon knows about your fight with Grady and she also believes that Bruce stepped in and broke up the fight. Clearly we all know what happened, but given how you like to fly off the handle,” Russell paused noting the look on Brant’s face, “Just hear me out…”
“I’m listening,” Brant warned irritation heavy in his tone.
“Well, that night Blake and Jade were going back and forth about who would see Jade’s brother first,” Russell pointed out.
“Right,” Avery nodded, “and then you and I were called in when Brant and Grady were arguing…”
“And then Bruce kicked everyone out,” Russell nodded further, “and while we all had to leave, Bruce was in a very sour mood that could’ve very well transpired into Brant’s feeling that Bruce was being hard on his sister…”
“Wait a second,” Brant gave Russell a sideways glance, “Are you trying to tell me that I’m going to say my reasoning for getting Bruce fired was Blake? Because if you are, I’m not dragging her into this…”
“You aren’t dragging her into this,” Russell explained simply, “It was just a case of you weren’t happy with how things went down with your sister. You didn’t like that she was allowed to be harassed by Grady and Jade like she was…”
“And he blamed Bruce for that?” Avery finished giving him a sideways glance.
“Well it sounds like a typical Brant move,” Russell shrugged his shoulders, “I mean he gets angry, takes it out on some poor schmuck who decided to annoy him and the man gets fired…”
“And the guy never really sees it coming,” Avery piped in as an idea formed in her head, “Brant’s done it a few times in the past, so in him attempting to get Bruce fired…”
“It doesn’t look like anything more than a typical ‘Brant’s a bastard’ move,” Russell nodded.
“Um, excuse me I’m still here,” Brant waved his hands out in front of the both of them.
“Of course you are,” Avery shook her hand at him dismissively.
“This could work,” Russell offered unable to believe he’d come up with such a thought.
“There’s only one problem,” Avery frowned after a moment.
“What’s that?” Brant turned to her.
“Bruce is the only man that Brant had fired that wound up dead,” she blurted out with a sigh.
“Even so, that could be chalked up as Bruce was just down on his luck,” Russell suggested thinking it over, “Bruce could’ve gone off somewhere to drown himself in his miseries and then he could’ve wound up ticking off the wrong person and that’s how this all came about.”
“The good doctor gets canned and then he gets toasted,” Brant thought it over, “I could see that.”
“Still if Shannon’s leading this investigation,” Avery offered once again.
“Avery, listen to me,” Brant turned to her, “Nothing is going to happen. Everything is going to be fine.”
“You keep saying that, but every time I ask the both of you about that night, you both avoid my questions,” she looked between the two of them, “How am I not supposed to think the worst when the idea of losing either one of you terrifies the hell out of me?”
“Avery, you aren’t going to lose us,” Russell promised reaching out across the table for her hand, “We’re not going anywhere.”
“Russ is right,” Brant collected her other hand, “Sooner or later Shannon will see she’s barking up the wrong tree and this too shall pass…”
“And when it does, everything is going to go back to normal,” Russell added offering up a supportive squeeze.
“That’s right,” Brant smiled at her, “and until then, we don’t lose our cool in front of anyone. The world may be looking for a story right now, but there’s nothing to tell. There won’t ever be anything to tell.”
“I hope you’re right,” Avery sighed looking between them as she wondered what the future held for all of them. Somehow she wasn’t buying into their ‘everything will be just fine’ act and while they tried to convince her life was going to be normal again, the very thought of Shannon Pryce lurking around looking for a reason to start something was more than enough to leave her worried about what twists of fate the future held in store for them.
Kenneth looked out his office window thinking about how impossible Avery
was proving to be after her interview with Shannon. Even now as he
made his way down to his office opting to focus on some of his other important
clients like the Hendersons, his concerns of his family still lingered
as a sigh escaped his lips. Hearing a knock at his door, he turned
around to find Hart eyeing him curiously.
“Got a minute,” Hart asked scanning Kenneth’s office.
“Of course,” Kenneth nodded motioning for Hart to step inside, “What’s on your mind?”
“That was one hell of a morning back at your place, huh,” Hart sank into the seat across from Kenneth’s desk, “and somehow I get the feeling that the battle lines are no where near what they will be…”
“Shannon returning does add an edge to things,” Kenneth frowned thinking to Avery’s reaction to Shannon’s questioning.
“So what’s her story,” Hart questioned with a slight frown, “Should I be filing some kind of motion with my federal contacts to get her away from this investigation considering her history with Brant?”
“I don’t think Shannon’s going to have a biased opinion,” Kenneth answered after a moment’s contemplation, “Granted she and Brant didn’t leave off with one another and the best of terms.”
“Gee, considering that Brant decided to move onto Heather as soon as Shannon made her exit,” Hart remarked with a tiny laugh, “I mean hey, I have to give Brant credit--he at least had the next one lined up before Shannon drove him crazy.”
“I think that was part of the attraction,” Kenneth thought back to his brother’s wild and reckless love affair with Shannon, “From the start I think he enjoyed the fact that he couldn’t stand her. They seemed to both get excited by the obvious distaste they had for one another…”
“Hence some of the stories,” Hart felt a smile tug over his lips, “Oh what I wouldn’t have given to have been Brant back in those days. From what I heard Shannon was a real wild cat.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Kenneth shifted in his chair uneasily, “She was nice enough, and smart enough not to be involved with Brant--much like Avery.”
“Which begs the question of what exactly Brant and Avery are doing together,” Hart paused, “Is this the real deal or am I missing something from this picture?”
“Hey he’s your client,” Kenneth replied with a shrug, “Don’t expect to be getting any information out of me. If you want to know what’s going through his head, then talk to Brant.”
“Still, what about Avery?” Hart asked further, “Is she a threat?”
“A threat,” Kenneth suppressed the urge to laugh at the very idea, “Avery’s something else.”
“Think she did it?” Hart probed further, “That she had Bruce Mathis knocked off?”
“She’s my client,” Kenneth reminded him simply.
“Which means you think she’s innocent because you refuse to take on situations where you feel anything but…”
“I plan to give Avery the best representation possible,” Kenneth nodded thinking to some of the phone calls he’d made earlier in the day, “Beyond that she’s a good friend.”
“That’s right you two went to college together,” Hart noted as he thought about the morning’s disaster, “Is she worth the world of trouble that comes along with her?”
“Isn’t that something you should be asking my brother,” Kenneth countered noting the strange expression on Hart’s face, “What are you getting at?”
“Brant had Bruce fired,” Hart explained with a frown, “Shannon popped that one on us before the interview concluded this morning. Did you know about that?”
“That’s not what you want to ask me,” Kenneth replied seeing the curiosity burning behind Hart’s eyes.
“No,” Hart confessed with a frown, “it’s not.”
“Then what’s the real question?”
“Why did Brant do it? Why get the guy fired when he already has Avery?” Hart asked after a moment’s contemplation.
“Hey, who are you working for,” Kenneth gave Hart a strange look, “Brant or Shannon?”
“Your brother asked me the same question earlier today,” Hart let out an amused chuckle, “It’s nice to see that I can still make you both wonder.”
“You always have me wondering what your next move is, but then again I also make it a strict policy not to ask,” Kenneth reminded him simply.
“Good choice,” Hart chuckled lightly, “However that being said, I have a feeling Shannon’s going to somehow turn this around on Brant and I’d like to be prepared for whatever she’ll toss out of him as there’s nothing worse than a woman scorned.”
“I don’t really think…” Kenneth began again.
“Avery’s wearing that five million dollar engagement ring that passed Shannon by not once, but twice,” Hart interrupted, “if nothing else I know women and that one has a score to settle. Even with her credentials she’s out for blood which means that I have to be one step ahead of her. She’s clearly looking for a way to help the FBI bury your family and if we don’t work on preventing that, then there’s no telling what line of crap she’ll throw out in the name of justice.”
“You’re a good lawyer,” Kenneth shrugged his shoulders thinking about Hart’s assessment, “You’ll do what it takes to keep Brant out of trouble even if that means stepping on a few toes. That’s what you do best.”
“It’s one of my finer talents,” Hart answered thoughtfully as a smile pressed over his features, “I’d just like to see Brant not going out of his way to irritate Shannon for now.”
“Considering he’s with Avery, I’m sure the likelihood of that will be less than it might’ve been before considering Shannon and Brant thought that type of behavior to be foreplay,” Kenneth groaned thinking back to his brother’s disastrous relationship with Shannon.
“Well if Avery’s everything he makes her out to be, then I don’t see how Shannon could strike a chord in him,” Hart contemplated it for a moment, “Maybe I’m just getting worked up for nothing.”
“Oh there’s plenty to be worked up about,” Kenneth watched Hart rise from the chair to exit, “But then again that’s always your favorite part of the job.”
“Damn straight,” Hart winked back at him leaving the office as Kenneth thought to his own situation with Avery. Her silence about the situation with Bruce could be something that might work against them in the long run, but still he knew she was stubborn as hell and without reinforcement, well, it might be next to impossible to keep Avery out of trouble. With that thought in mind, Kenneth realized he was going to need all the help he could get as the phone on his desk rang.
“Ashford,” he answered immediately feeling his luck changing as the voice on the other end of the line seemed to be the answer to his prayers, “When did you get in? Alright,” Kenneth looked to the time, “I’ll send a car down to pick you up in about half an hour,” he contemplated the notion, “On second thought, I’ll be there myself as soon as possible,” he finished his conversation feeling a wave of hope rush over him as his phone call was a very pleasant surprise indeed.
Blake tiptoed into the house hoping to keep her presence from being
detected as right now all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and dream
about her night with Seth. She’d had the best day of her life with
him and now, well now she wanted to savor the magic he’d made her feel
as she turned towards the staircase ready to head up to her room.
“I thought I heard someone come in,” Annie’s voice interrupted as Blake stood motionless realizing she’d been spotted.
Turning around Blake smiled at Annette before offering a wave, “Hi Annie.”
“Just getting in,” Annie asked casually trying to keep her concern to a minimum.
Blake nodded feeling a blush rise over her features, “I figured with the fireworks happening around here, it would be best if I stayed away for a while.”
“And am I to assume that you were with your handsome gentleman?” Annie raised a curious brow.
Blake nodded again, “I was with Seth last night, yes.”
“It sounds pretty serious,” Annie noted taking a long look at Blake, “you look tired.”
“We were up all night,” Blake started before taking in a breath, “and it was wonderful.”
“Hmm…this isn’t the first time you and Seth lost track of time with one another,” Annette teased her, “Am I to assume that things are getting that serious already?”
“I think, well,” Blake felt a smile touch over her lips, “I know he’s the one.”
“The one?” Annette nodded in response, “Well that’s something I heard once before.”
“Oh Annie,” Blake seated herself upon a stair feeling the warmth of her face rise as she thought of Seth, “Last night was so magical. We spent the day together and then he had this picnic for me at the studio he worked at and then…” she trailed off her face suddenly serious, “Annie, can I ask you a question.”
“Of course you can,” Annette situated her skirt as she took a seat beside Blake, “You can always ask me anything.”
“This is going to sound silly,” Blake felt a flush spill over her features.
“Nothing is ever silly,” Annette reached out to her hand, “well unless of course we want it to be silly, but somehow I don’t think we’re about to have one of those chats, are we?”
“Not this time,” Blake shook her head offering up a light smile, “Actually this time I was hoping that maybe we could have a talk--you know woman to woman. I mean obviously there really isn’t anyone else that I could talk to about this since Brant and Kenny aren’t exactly, well women.”
“Thank heavens for that,” Annette teased with a wink, “otherwise there might be even more questions raised around here.”
Blake felt a tiny laugh spill over her lips as she leaned into Annette, “Annie how do you know when it’s real? When love is really meant to be?”
“Well I think that the heart and mind can lead you to feel a certain way and with time you begin to know,” Annette began as she reached out to Blake stroking her hair gently as Blake nestled in against her in a childlike motion.
“I already know that much,” Blake explained with a giddy grin, “but I mean how do you know when experiencing love in it’s every amazing aspect is meant to be. I mean when you find yourself sharing everything with someone else--with the person you love, how can you be sure that it’s right?”
“Blake,” Annette watched her closely thinking about their long chats in her younger years as Blake pondered romance. Seeing her now brought forth the same familiar feelings as Annette stroked her hair, “when it’s the right time, you’ll know.”
“Part of me already does,” Blake closed her eyes thinking about Seth, “Last night was so incredible and in just being near him, well, he makes my heart soar and I feel alive--truly alive. My stomach is all tied in knots, it’s hard to breath as my heart feels like it’s soaring out of control, but when I’m with him, I don’t ever want that feeling to end. When I’m away from him, I can’t help but think about wanting to be near him once again and when he holds me--oh Annie I could lose myself in his arms for hours and his kisses…” a warmth touched over her, “there aren’t any words to explain just how wonderful he makes me feel.”
“It sounds like he’s made quite an impression indeed,” Annette smoothed her blonde hair.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I want to spend my life with him,” Blake’s blue eyes turned up towards Annette, “When I’m with him, I know in my heart that he’s everything I ever dreamed about and while I didn’t want to believe that real love could exist, Annie, he’s it for me. I know that…”
“Blake, I know that you’re feeling excited about what’s happening as it’s been a while since you’ve found someone who raised interest in you…”
“No Annie, this is more than just an infatuation,” Blake insisted eyes wide with innocence, “Last night when we were together, well I knew then that I wanted to be with him--really be with him in every sense of the word…”
“Blake, honey are you saying that you and Seth,” Annette’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Made love?” Blake felt the words nearly fall upon Annette’s lips as she shook her head in response, “No, we didn’t make love…yet, but I know in my heart that he’s the one.”
“You’re really determined about this, aren’t you,” Annette eyed her closely, “I know how you feel on this issue and now…”
“Now I know why I waited,” Blake explained further, “and Seth knows about my decision and he still wants to be with me.”
“Of course he wants to be with you,” Annette reached out to touch her cheek, “You’re a beautiful young woman with a lot of love to give. Any man would be very lucky to share his time with you.”
“It’s more than that,” Blake insisted thinking back to her day with Seth, “When we were together, I told him the truth--that I’d waited for the right man and I was so afraid. I thought he’d turn me away because he wouldn’t want me, but then he took me out dancing--to take a walk in the clouds with him and oh Annie I fell for him all over again. I love him and he loves me too.”
“Then if he’s as good as you believe him to be, then when the moment happens for you both, if you’re really sure about things…”
“I’m sure,” Blake nodded eagerly, “I know that I want to spend my life with him. He’s the one and I know now that there won’t be anyone else who ever makes me feel the way he does.”
“Then it will all have a way of working itself out,” Annette promised thinking of Blake’s fragile young heart, “Just be sure that you’re certain about Seth before you make any decisions. I know how your heart holds onto those near and dear to you, but just promise me that while you’re certain now that the certainty you have in your heart is in your head as well.”
“It is,” Blake sighed as her thoughts lingered to Seth, “He’s everything I’ve ever wanted and now I feel like the luckiest girl alive because I have the love of the most wonderful man in the world,” Blake continued as Annette hugged her hoping that Blake’s heart wouldn’t lead her astray with this new man who’d walked into her life. After the years of Blake’s heartbreak, Annette hoped that this time things were turning around for her.
Shannon stepped out of her car and activated the alarm. She walked around the car to step onto the curb, glancing up to the apartment building before her. She glanced to her watch and tapped her foot impatiently. She and Dave were suppose to search the apartment of Bruce Mathis. She was punctual, but he was not. It figured. Men never had any sense of time unless they thought they were going to get lucky.
A dark blue sedan pulled in and parked behind Shannon's rental. The car had no markings, but she knew it was Dave. No one drove a car that looked so much like a cop car unless they were a cop.
Dave stepped out of his car before locking the doors and approaching her, "Sorry I'm late. The DA wanted a word with me."
"About this case?" She questioned as he joined her, and they began towards the apartment building.
"She just wanted to be sure that we were still going to have the prosecution in this case. She doesn't want some hot shot US Attorney stealing the case from her," He shrugged, "I can't say I blame her at all."
"I don't think anyone wants to steal the prosecution from you," She said as they entered the apartment building, "Unless Brant's guilty then you may have more federal involvement than you know what to do with."
"What exactly is going on here, Shannon? Why are the feds investigating a case where the victim is a virtual nobody?"
"Because he was once involved with someone involved with a somebody," She pointed out as she knocked on the door of the landlord, "When the name Ashford came up, this became a totally new ballgame with very high class players," She said before the door opened and an older gentleman answered.
"Can I help you?" The man asked as he looked between Dave and Shannon.
"I'm Special Agent Shannon Pryce. This is Coral Valley Chief of Police Dave Warner," She said as she flashed her badge and Dave did the same. She produced a slip of paper with her other hand, "We have a warrant to search the apartment of Bruce Mathis. This is a copy of the warrant for your records," She said as she placed the paper in his hand, "We'll need you to unlock his apartment and give us entrance."
"Okay, just hold on," The old man said as he stepped back into his apartment to get his keys. When he returned, he led the investigators to the stairway and towards the second floor.
"Sir, may I have your name for my records?" She asked as she dug her notepad from her pocket.
"Buck Stringer," He answered as he stepped onto the second floor, "I was floored when I heard about Dr. Mathis. He was a good boy and a dream tenant. I never got any complaints from the neighbors, and he always paid his rent on time. It was a perfect arrangement. I'll never find another tenant that good," He explained as he approached the apartment door. He slipped the key into the lock and unlocked the door, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No, sir. When we leave, we'll be sealing the apartment as evidence. No one else should be allowed inside unless they are a police officer or accompanied by one," Shannon advised.
"Okay," Buck replied as he flashed them a helpful smile and walked back down the stairs.
"You're really a stickler for details, aren't you?" Dave asked as he removed a pair of latex gloves from his jacket pocket.
"I'm a federal agent. What do you think?" She snorted as she slipped on her own set of latex gloves. She pushed open the door and stepped inside. She whistled as she looked over the furnishings, "I should have been a doctor."
"Your bedside manner would have sucked," He said bluntly as he stepped into the apartment.
"You're no joy ride yourself," She rolled her eyes before she moved to the desk at the corner of the room. She sat at the desk and looked over the papers upon the blotter, "This guy was anal, wasn't he?"
"Bruce was known for being a really good guy with a real devotion to his career," He explained as he opened the door to the bedroom. He flipped on the lights before stepping inside.
Shannon sorted through messages on Bruce's desk before she opened the desk drawer. She sorted through some more slips of paper before she withdrew a key. She turned over the key chain and frowned, "Dave…"
"Yeah?" Dave asked as he emerged from the bedroom with a shoebox.
"How much do you know about Avery Morrison?"
"She's a damn good attorney," He shrugged, "She works for BBK, and apparently she's involved with Brant. I don't know a whole lot more."
"Does she have a reputation for being honest?"
"Yeah, I think so. Why?"
"She told me this morning that Bruce had gone to her apartment to return some of her things and to return her spare key," Shannon dangled the key in front of her, "This key, however, has her name on it. I'll bet you that this fits her door," She frowned as she took an evidence bag from her pocket and slipped the key inside.
"I guess this means we're going to pay a visit to Avery's apartment too, huh?"
"Just as soon as I get a warrant," She nodded before signing her initials on the bag.
"Well I found something else."
Dave opened the box and pushed it towards her, "I think Bruce was a little obsessed with the idea that Avery could have been having an affair with Brant."
"Well now," Shannon's brow lifted as she removed pictures of Brant and Avery from the box. She sorted through several pictures of Brant and Avery at meetings, at BBK, and in court. She looked up to Dave, "Do you get the feeling that their break up had a whole lot to do with Brant?"
"Yeah, I do," Dave agreed, "And since Brant and Avery are engaged now…"
"Dr. Mathis must have been right in his suspicions," She concluded, "I think we need to check this key first. And then I'm going to arrange another meeting with Avery Morrison."
"Do you really think Avery killed Bruce?" Dave asked in disbelief.
"Right now, I'm not sure what I believe, but I do know I've been lied to. And there is nothing I hate worse than being lied to," Shannon declared as she glanced at the key in the evidence bag, hoping to finally have some ammunition with which to corner Avery.
Seth poured himself a cup of coffee as his mind was still on the sight
before him when he’d walked in on Jade and Grady together. Just the
idea that Jade would think of ruining her life with that man set Seth’s
every synapse on fire with anger and then with her damned stubborn side.
Why couldn’t she see that Grady was only going to hurt her? Why couldn’t
she just let go of her father complex after the horrors that she faced
and more so why couldn’t he just find a way to get through to her?
Frowning as his mind replayed the horrors of the past, he realized that
he had to find a way to stop her from ruining her life with Grady.
It was bad enough that Cameron was holding the past over his head using
Jade as a pawn, but now, well now he feared for what could happen to her
if she gave her heart over to another bastard who would use and abuse her.
“I can’t let you ruin your life,” Seth vowed thinking of his sister as the phone rang interrupting his thoughts. He reached for the phone wondering if Jade was calling to listen to reason. With that thought in mind, he spoke to the caller, “Hello.”
“There you are,” Cameron’s voice broke though his thoughts as a hint of darkness flooded over the line, “Where the hell have you been?”
“I’ve been busy,” Seth answered sharply, “Not that it’s any of your concern.”
“It’s very well my concern when I’m paying you to do a job for me--one that should’ve been taken care of already as I’m well aware of the fact that Thea dropped off your next assignment.”
“I’m not interested,” Seth’s eyes darted to the envelope that Thea had dropped off the other day.
“You don’t have a choice and I thought I’d made that painfully obvious,” Cameron began again, “Unless of course you’d like me to take your lack of quality out on say Jade or perhaps Blake. I’m sure she’d like to know all about the man who’s won over her heart. Could you imagine the pain that would rip through her knowing that your intentions for her were less than noble….”
“You wouldn’t…” Seth growled back at him.
“I will if it’s what is needed to keep you in line,” Cameron warned with a low growl, “I have made a simple request of you and you’re being paid more than enough compensation for the task at hand. I don’t like to be put off and I won’t allow for you to ignore my demands any longer. This job must be done.”
“I haven’t even looked at it,” Seth admitted with a frown.
“Then see to it that you do,” Cameron grumbled in response, “as I would hate to have to make a trip to see you myself considering that right now you aren’t on the top of my list of favorite employees. Granted I think you and I have a very promising working relationship should you choose to get over this insubordination of yours. Given the rewards and perks you’ve been given of this job, it would be best not to cross me as I would hate for your father’s mistakes to destroy your sister, wouldn’t you?”
Seth reluctantly pulled the envelope from the desktop opening it up to find the photographs he’d taken not so long ago in his hands. A scowl crossed over his features as he spoke up once again, “There isn’t anything here, but the photographs I took for you.”
“That’s because you’re going to get into the mansion and get me what I want,” Cameron explained simply.
“I can’t just walk into the mansion and take the painting,” Seth argued with him, “It’s not going to be something that they won’t notice if I tuck it under my arm and leave.”
“It’s not the painting that I want,” Cameron’s voice rose with agitation, “It’s what is inside the painting that is of interest to me. What I want from you is for you to get what is mine from the painting…”
“And what might that be?”
“Somewhere in the back of the painting is an envelope,” Cameron explained coolly, “and in that envelope should be some microfilm. It’s of the utmost importance that the microfilm isn’t damaged in your retrieval.”
“What is on the microfilm?” Seth questioned in confusion.
“That’s none of your concern, but what is of concern to you is getting that microfilm to me as soon as possible or else I may have to see to it that Brant Ashford won’t be the only one in the headlines as the scandal of young Blake’s heart breaking might be the new lead…unless of course the tale of Jade’s demise takes the front page from Blake’s misery.”
“I’ll get you the damned film,” Seth grumbled feeling his anger rise at the mention of Jade and Blake.
“Good, I knew you’d see it my way,” Cameron’s voice echoed with enthusiasm before the line went dead and Seth hung up the phone realizing that he had to find a way to get Cameron what he wanted or else life as he knew it was about to fall apart at the seams.
Caitlin sat in the records department of Coral Valley city hall. She had decided that she needed to find out more about Midlands as well as the area where the dump site had been. Her story needed to be informative of both the Hendersons' circumstances but also of Midlands' business practices.
She had pulled every newspaper article that mentioned Midlands, but now she was looking through deeds and corporate registration documents. It was important to know who owned what and when they took control of the area. Proving that Midlands knew the dangers of the area when they put it on the market was imperative to winning the case for the Hendersons.
She moved her stack of copies to the end of the table and opened a binder which held corporate registration documents. She flipped pages in the binder before stopping at a registration page. She raised a brow as she read over the document.
"Majority stock holder…Cameron Stone, CEO Stone Corp."
Caitlin paused as she sat back in her chair. Stone Corp. She'd heard tales of the gigantic conglomerate, and if they had a stake in Midlands, that could only mean trouble for the Hendersons' case. She needed to speak with Kenneth and ask how he ever hoped to win a case against a giant like Stone Corp.
Grady knocked lightly upon the door before entering Jade's office, "Are you busy?"
"Not anymore," Jade smiled as she put her pen down upon the desk, "Come on in."
He closed the door behind him and approached her desk, "Things are not that hectic today so I thought we could talk."
"Eager, aren't you?" She teased.
"For this, yeah, I think I am," He said as he extended his hand to her, "Come on. Let's sit on the sofa to talk."
"Wow…getting up close and personal…I really am impressed," She chuckled softly as she took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the sofa.
As they sat down, he kept her hand in his, "I think we need to set some ground rules for us."
"Yeah, that might be a good idea. We don't want a repeat of this morning, do we?" She asked softly, "Anywhere you'd like to start?"
"We've already talked about taking things slow."
"Yes, and this morning seemed to negate that."
"Yes, it did," He nodded, "I want to take things so just to be sure that neither one of us gets hurt. At the same time, it's hard to go slow because I want you so badly."
"The feeling is very mutual," She assured him.
Grady grinned, "Despite that, we need to keep this moving slow. I don't want there to be any misconceptions about what we feel."
"Okay," She agreed, "And my brother…" She sighed, "It's probably a good idea that we don't spend time at my place for the foreseeable future. We don't want Seth to go ballistic."
"And there's one more thing we need to talk about."
"And that is?" He asked as he met her eyes.
"I don't want another Thea on our hands, Grady. Don't turn to alcohol when you could turn to me," Jade advised as she caressed his cheek, "The next time you get the urge to go for that drink, just remember that you can come to me instead and I won't give you a hangover."
"I'm so sorry about Thea, Jade. I never wanted anything of that to happen. It was just like you said…a stupid mistake."
"Just as long as it's a one time mistake, it can be forgotten," She said with a soft smile, "And we can start building our relationship together."
"You really are determined about this, aren't you? Even with all my faults and screw ups," He said in awe.
"Grady, I adore the entire package that is you. I don't want just a part of you. I want it all, and that means accepting everything that you are."
"You're more mature than any other person I've ever known. If I'd been that mature when I was young…hell if I was that mature now…"
"Grady, don't sell yourself short. I think that's part of your problem. You don't see how wonderful you are, and you even doubt that part of yourself which is inherently good. I don't have that doubt and I see the good in you very clearly."
"And you are such a great flatterer," He teased as he lifted her hand to his lips to gently kiss her skin, "I want this to work out for us, Jade…more than anything in the world."
"I believe it can," Jade assured him with a smile, "We just have to be honest and forthcoming with one another."
"I think we can manage that," Grady agreed as he gazed into her eyes, hoping that he could overcome the demons of his past by building his relationship with Jade on a solid foundation.
“So now that we’ve got the drama out of the way, I think it’s about
time to get to the heart of the matter here,” Brant announced breaking
through the silence that surrounded him, Avery and Russell.
“And what might that be,” Avery questioned lounging back a bit as she eyed the last bite of pastry before her. She watched Russell reach out to it and she swatted at his hand throwing him a contemptuous look, “That’s mine,” she growled popping the piece into her mouth before sticking her tongue out at him.
“You,” Russell shook his head at her feeling a smile touch over his lips as he turned his attention to Brant, “So what’s on your mind, Brant-o.”
“Brant-o?” Brant gave him a sideways glance, “What the hell is that?”
“Since we’re all about to be one big happy group of friends here, I figure maybe we should work on the nicknames,” Russell laughed lightly, “Isn’t that right…” he turned to Avery.
“Don’t you dare,” Avery threw him a warning glance, “Don’t you dare say it?”
“Say what?” Russell’s eyes lit up with mischief as he feigned innocence, “I don’t know what you could possibly be talking about,” he paused a smirk spreading over his features, “Honey Bear.”
“Russell,” Avery’s face grew hot with embarrassment as Brant looked over to her. She raised her hand to her face trying to ignore the way his words affected her as she turned to Brant, “Clearly Russell has had too much sun.”
“What?” Russell teased, “You don’t want Brant to know all about our nicknames for each other?”
“Honey Bear was a long time ago,” Avery frowned deeply throwing out an apologetic look at Brant, “Russell has a tendency to open his mouth when he’s not supposed to…”
“Clearly,” Brant’s eyes darkened with rage as he turned his attention to Russell.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Russell confessed unable to suppress the laugh building up inside of him as he turned to Avery, “Come on Avery. We’re among friends, aren’t we?”
“I don’t like either one of you that much to recount my tales of horror,” Avery groaned inwardly.
“Oh now I’m interested,” Brant looked to Russell, “do go on.”
“It was some stupid story from when I was a kid,” Avery piped in wrinkling her nose in disgust, “One that Russell was sworn to secrecy about.”
“Hey, if you’re willing to let the world believe you’re going to marry Brant,” he threw a look back at her, “then I don’t see the problem in my opening up about your noble intentions.”
“Russell Denton,” she squealed as she kicked at him from underneath the table.
“Now you have no choice, but to share the tale,” Brant probed leaning forward a bit, “Tell me all about…” he turned his eyes towards Avery wiggling his brow at her, “Honey Bear.”
“Oh,” she threw her hands up on the air ready to cover her ears as Russell explained.
“When Avery and I were younger, our parents used to send us away to the same summer camp for two weeks each year. Avery was the little leader even back then and stubborn as hell,” Russell’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he recounted the tale, “One night we were playing truth or dare and though Avery seemed too much of a snob to participate most of the time I cajoled her into it…”
“I wasn’t too much of a snob,” Avery objected shaking her head at him, “I just had the good sense not to think like an idiot.”
“Even so,” Russell laughed heartily, “That night I managed to tempt her into showing her true colors.”
“I never back down from a dare when it’s good enough,” Avery explained solemnly, “and while that one was stupid as ever, there was a lot riding on my following through.”
“So what was the dare,” Brant questioned casually as he noted the color flooding over her features.
“There was some mascot on top of the flagpole that was the sacred totem at the camp,” Avery rolled her eyes at the memory, “They wanted me to climb up to retrieve the stupid mascot, but on the way up I got stuck in a tree and wound up not only falling flat on my ass, but taking down a very agitated bee hive on the way down…”
“Hence her being dubbed Honey Bear,” Russell laughed heartily.
“Thus my sole motivation for loathing you completely,” Avery grumbled back at him shaking her head as she turned to Brant, “So what were you saying before Russell opened his mouth and lodged his foot in it?”
“Hey, I thought that was cute,” Brant replied with a smile, “though I hate hearing about your fall there,” he reached out to touch her hand gently, “If I was there, unlike Russell I would’ve caught you and broke your fall.”
“Oh he broke my fall,” Avery laughed at the memory, “when the tree branch knocked him out.”
“And then I had bee stings as an after shock,” Russell frowned at the memory.
“Hey you brought it up,” Avery shrugged her shoulders, “If you’re ready to tell Brant all my dirty little secrets, I can easily bring yours to the table.”
“Are you sure you want to bring up all of my dirty secrets,” he arched a curious brow as she looked away from him.
“So really, what’s on your mind,” she focused her attention on Brant as she kicked her leg out under the table connecting with Russell’s shin once again.
“Well, catching up is always fun I suppose, but…,” Brant noted the pained expression on Russell’s face, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Russell nodded in response as he let out a slow breath.
“Alright, then I was thinking about our engagement party,” Brant reached for Avery’s hand drawing it up to his lips and offering a tender caress of his lips.
“What about?” Avery gulped feeling his thumb sweep over her palm sending a pool of sensation rushing through her.
“I think we should have one soon,” Brant confessed casually, “Considering that the world knows how much we feel for each other, it would seem very un-Ashford-like for us not to throw a party.”
“Over my dead body,” Russell remarked with a frown, “There’s no need for a party since there’s no real engagement.”
“On the contrary,” Brant threw Russell an icy glare, “Why else would the three of us be spending so much time together if not for my upcoming nuptials with Avery? I mean clearly we’re working on planning this party so that the world can see how much Avery and I care about each other.”
“The engagement is nothing but a lie fabricated on that overpriced ring you gave her,” Russell argued with him, “Anyone who knows Avery knows that she isn’t going to marry you--not even in your wildest dreams.”
“See there’s where you’re in denial Denton,” Brant grumbled back at him, “Avery and I will have a future together and when she’s my wife, well then you’ll see just how wrong you are.”
“How wrong I am?” Russell’s voice rose in anger.
“You’re damn right you are,” Brant stood from his chair, “You have a problem with my saying that?”
“As a matter of fact I do,” Russell leapt from his chair as well now standing face to face with Brant.
“Well then what are you going to do about it,” Brant taunted as Avery jumped towards the two of them placing herself between them before things got ugly.
“Nothing,” Avery shouted at the both of them, “Neither one of you is going to do anything to the other one because the last thing we need is the FBI hearing about the two of you tearing each other apart. If we thought we had problems before, well then this will only make matters worse…”
“He’s not going to tell me the way things are when clearly he doesn’t have the first clue about us,” Brant answered sharply.
“You’re the one who’s clueless, Brant,” Russell sneered in response.
“You’re both treading thin ice with me,” Avery groaned, “and this macho bull isn’t impressing me in the least, so knock it off,” she shoved them away from each other as she shook her head in strong disapproval, “Brant, right now we need to worry about Shannon and everyone else trying to pin what happened to Bruce in this direction…”
“Which is exactly why we need to have a party,” Brant explained simply, “That way when the world sees how happy we are together, then they won’t question the situation with Bruce because an Ashford gala always brings about the media seeking out a story and our engagement, well that one will be a headline for sure…”
“And look what kind of response it made in the first round,” Russell snapped in response folding his arms in front of his chest, “It’s a bad idea.”
“Not entirely,” Avery argued with him, “Brant might have a point…”
“Avery, you’re just asking for your life to be invaded upon if you open yourself up to this,” Russell argued with her, “If you have a party, then who knows what else could happen?”
“Do you have a better idea?” Avery challenged folding her arms in front of her chest.
“As a matter of fact,” he began as the doors to the patio opened and Kenneth stepped out to look at the trio.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Kenneth noted looking between the group, “Although I must confess I never thought I’d live to see the day that I’d find the three of you out here together…again…”
“Ken,” Avery directed her attention to him grateful to find herself surrounded by at least one sane individual as she brushed past Brant and Russell, “What are you doing here?”
“I have a surprise for you,” Kenneth explained simply as he gave Brant a curious look. He no doubt stepped into something intense, but given the circumstances, he wasn’t about to ask.
“Please don’t tell me Shannon is back again with a warrant for my arrest,” Avery groaned in response, “because I really don’t think I can deal with that right now.”
“Actually as much as I’m sure Shannon wanted another crack at you, there was someone else who’d much rather take at an interrogation with you.”
“Oh God, what now,” Avery groaned fearing the newest person to tear her world apart as Kenneth stepped aside and much to her surprise a familiar face stood before her. Her eyes widened in surprise as her jaw dropped, “Daddy?”
“Princess,” Richard Morrison embraced her as she threw her arms around him excitedly.
“Daddy, what are you doing here,” Avery asked hugging him as a sense of relief began to wash over her, “Brooke said you were in Europe and…”
“Plans changed,” he promised looking down to his daughter with a proud smile, “Kenneth called and told me that my baby girl was having a few problems, but now that I’m here you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” he assured her hugging her tightly as he vowed not to let anything or anyone hurt his little girl again.
“What the…” Brant gave his brother a strange look as Kenneth stepped in closer to him. “How did you…”
“I thought Avery could use some extra support,” Kenneth explained proudly, “and I knew just the man to help her through this situation.”
“If anyone can do it, he can,” Russell added as they all watched the exchange between father and daughter as Russell realized with Richard Morrison in Coral Valley, things were about to take a turn for the better as there was no way Shannon Pryce or the FBI had a chance of taking on the great Richard Morrison and gaining the upper hand. | <urn:uuid:97411887-4e5b-4e2e-a98d-e4fdf3540106> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | http://coral-valley.com/episode26.html | 2020-07-02T05:12:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655878519.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20200702045758-20200702075758-00186.warc.gz | en | 0.984789 | 17,506 |
SATURDAY OCTOBER 1, 2o16
You can read my review of the Americana gigs at ATN and, while I had enjoyed Nashville immensely, I was looking forward to another visit to Cuba – my third time here.
The highlight of Nashville had to be recording Off The Record at Southern Ground Studios and then a fantastic interview with Stax legend William Bell. I was lucky to be able to talk to Bell after he turned up a day early at the studio! (My fault entirely). He agreed to meet me on Saturday morning at his motel before he flew home to Atlanta. His show the night before at 3rd & Lindsley was superb.
Hurricane Matthew is heading across from the Caribbean and we are hoping to make it out on Sunday after an enjoyable week here.
We arrived in Cuba last Sunday, flying into Santa Clara on one of the first American Airlines flights from Miami. I had thought the plane would be full of Americans. Wrong. There were more people on the tarmac to greet us than passengers that at my count numbered about 30 and were mainly Cubans going home to visit relatives. The girl in front of us was very excited to be seeing her family for the first time in 16 years.
US citizens still have to qualify to enter Cuba under one of 12 conditions and it turns out that we did too because we were flying in from Miami. We both qualified under the ‘education’ provision. Hopefully, we will get back into the USA. We filled in two or three other forms that they did not even collect when we arrived. Santa Clara airport was like a small country airport, I guess because it is a small country town.
Santa Clara, population 200,000+, was an unexceptional town except that we found our way around easily, visited the Che Guevara monument (impressive) and discovered a really good place to eat. We were staying in the very basic and cheap Santa Clara Libre hotel but the people were friendly and helpful and it was in a great location right on the town square. Around the corner we could sit by the pool and have coffee at the much more expensive Hotel America, where the WiFi was good. I had taken some work away with me, though I had vowed never to do that again, and spent hours online at 2CUC an hour for the internet cards. (The tourist currency, Cuban Convertible or CUC is just over a Euro per peso).
Thanks to the Ecotours rep at the hotel we were able to hire a taxi driver for 50CUC to take us the 90 minutes to the World Heritage listed town of Trinidad, wait for us for three hours and then drive us back. The 98km drive was hair-raising at times, the roads often rough, with the biggest hazard the horses wandering across at random.
Trinidad is picturesque and set up for tourism, fixed in the past and looking like it must have done a couple of hundred years ago. Stroll up a laneway and you’ll find a café with a band playing and they are all good.
We visited the local version of El Floridita, the bar in Havana where Hemingway drank (though there could be a long list of places in which he imbibed). The surprise there was the fact that some of the local school girls were there enjoying a beer in uniform with friends! We visited the very expensive Iberostar Hotel and sat in the fern-decked lobby for a while. I managed to find a barber and had one of the best haircuts ever by a barber who had the hands of an artist and only charged 5CUC.
In the evening we sat glued to the TV and watched the whole of the Presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. It was disturbing to see a man so obviously unhinged running for the nation’s top job. I was wondering when someone would mention Trump’s continual sniffling and when they did he blamed the microphone. In the entertainment industry you would blame a certain white powder. We also watched several hours of post-mortem and by the next day had an analysis of almost every word. Can you really believe that Trump was leading in some polls?
On Wednesday (28/09) we were scheduled to take the 11.30am bus to Havana, a journey of 4 ½ hours. Run by local company Viazul, the bus turned up 90 minutes late. When I enquired of one of the officials about the arrival time he just smiled and shook his hands back and forth. Like Asia, you have to learn to relax and wait. At least the bus was air-conditioned but the seats laid back so far that the lady in front of me nearly crushed my legs.
When we eventually go to the Havana depot, some 12 kms or so out of the centre of town, we then had to contend with finding a taxi, a task that was not as easy as I thought. Teaming up with a Swedish couple we managed to do a deal and got to our hotel.
Our driver was an entertainment in himself, pointing to a poster of the Pope and telling me that the Pontiff’s visit was the reason the avenue and its buildings were clean. “They didn’t let him look inside the buildings!” he laughed, adding “We really need him to live here all the time.” Then he showed me his Samsung phone and mentioned that none of the apps worked here and that is why you never really needed to upgrade your phone in Cuba. As we passed the Capitol building he noted that they had been renovating it for ten years and that it might take another ten years. ‘That’s Cuba,” he sighed.
We arrived at the Hotel Sevilla to be told that we had to pay extra because I had only booked for one person. I wondered why it was so cheap. Still, it was one of the more reasonable good hotels and, after our budget accommodation in Nashville and super-budget hotel in Santa Clara, it was time for a treat. The Sevilla must have been grand in its heyday when singers like Sinatra sang here and all the American celebrities were hanging out at the now renovated Sloppy Joe’s bar across the road. We had time to shower, change and head off to Obispso Street where we found a café that we knew from our previous visit with a great little combo and some reasonable food.
On Thursday morning we set out early to go to the local ETECSA office (a local version of Telstra) to buy some Internet cards for 2CUC per hour each. I wanted to get enough to enable me to listen online to the Grand Final. You have to get your priorities right!
Like all other Telco offices here in Cuba there was a long line to get in. We met a lovely young Austrian couple in the line and the 45 minutes flew by quickly as we chatted. As it turns out, once we all got inside we had to ask them to buy us the cards because we did not have our passports or driving licences. We invited them for a drink to thank them.
The differences in Havana since our last visit four years ago are subtle but noticeable. There is definitely better wifi access, though we are told it is government controlled. I can easily access the wifi in my hotel room, whereas last time it was difficult and when I was first ere in 2007 I had to sit at a computer station in the lobby and the connection was incredibly slow. Speaking of the internet, some things in Australia have not changed in nearly ten years. It was impossible to access the Big Pond webmail site and it is no easier now! It is hopeless. Luckily, I have the email it set up on my laptop.
There are more new cars – mainly from France, Spain and Korea – and they are starting to outnumber the classic American cars. How the Cubans have managed to keep the Oldsmobiles, Chevrolets and other cars going for more than 60 years is a miracle in itself. A speaks of ingenuity that could be used elsewhere to create some interesting industries.
Then there are the buildings, which are gradually being restored so that, while some young German guys in Santa Clara told us they thought Havana was ‘dirty and trashy,’ I have noticed that there are a few modern buildings springing up (sometimes directly behind the old facades). Fro m the hotel you can see some newer apartment buildings off in the distance which look, as you might expect completely without character.
Some of the stores around town are stocking some more modern products and one of the white goods stores in Santa Clara was packed with people buying televisions, food processors and other goods. Then again, in one of the grocery stores we saw people buying stock cubes in small numbers rather than full boxes.
On Friday morning the hotel public relations lady organised a taxi for us to go out to see Ernest Hemingway’s house, Finica Vigia, near San Francisco de Paula. This cost us 50CUC because we couldn’t get on an organised tour. Last time we were here someone from the government tourist office would visit us at the hotel every few mornings and organise everything for us. Obviously, private enterprise is playing a larger role with the tour companies doing a lot more.
The house has supposedly been undergoing a restoration but you could not really tell that much had changed. It remains impressive and Hemingway is still somewhat of a local hero for his promotion of Cuba. The animal trophies might not appeal to everyone. For a time back in the 30s and 40s Hemingway must have been one of America’s most successful writers and the lifestyle here was certainly lavish. His library alone is impressive. Guests to the house included our own little Aussie battler Errol Flynn and the large pool at the back of the house apparently witnessed Ava Gardiner swimming naked. A few years after he left Cuba, Hemingway shot himself but it is difficult to imagine any such thoughts would haunt him here.
Our driver Julio took us to the seaside fishing village of Cojimar, that inspired The Old Man & The Sea. We enjoyed a drink at a café that apparently was frequented by Hemingway but perhaps it would be easier to identify the places where he did not drink!
Last night we visited the grand Hotel Nacional in Vedado and sat out on the lawns facing the Atlantic ocean and watched the traffic on the Mellecon and the ships entering the harbour. Then we visited the nearby Waoo Snack Bar, recommended to us by our son (who spent a month here last year) and enjoyed the best meal we have had on the whole trip. All for a total 24CUC including a free drink each. Fantastic. It is near the university and we got a completely different view of Havana in this bustling neighbourhood.
I awoke at 1.30am to listen to the Grand Final. I was able to use the AFL app on the iPad to listen to the ABC and had enough time on my card to listen to the second and last quarters. It sounded incredibly exciting and the wifi managed to fail just a few minutes before the final siren by which stage the result was in no doubt. You couldn’t help but barrack for the Bulldogs. I felt a little sad for Bob Murphy who wrote a great column for The Age and I imagine how hard it was for him to miss out. I thought it a grand gesture for the coach to hand Bob his medal.
This morning over breakfast we met an American engineer who was here because, as he tells it, “I wanted to see what it was like before the Americans come in and ruin it.”
“We are too polite to say that,” I responded.
“They put a McDonald’s on every corner and destroy the place,” he said and then proceeded to tell us how run down Havana was and how distressed the buildings are.
So, do we want Havana to stay as it is, a kind of Disneyland for history buffs, or are the Cubans entitled to aspire to the same sorts of things that we do, with the resultant problems? I’ll ponder that on the bus back to Santa Clara this afternoon. | <urn:uuid:c1e2ad42-5c69-441b-b570-5c6ba723d474> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | http://a2noise.com/from-nashville-to-havana/ | 2019-06-18T15:37:10Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998755.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190618143417-20190618165417-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.982223 | 2,537 |
I feel very fortunate to have listened to Paul’s talk about happiness. At first I was skeptical about this topic, but right after he started the presentation, I found myself in a very different mood. I highly recommend him for any group of people who need some inspiration. He is truly the Happiness Expert. I am already using what I learned and life is better for it!
Attila Kovarcsik, One Thyme Pictures | <urn:uuid:693cfd39-fa1a-447e-bb0c-1af56aabd101> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://www.happinessexperts.ca/testimonial/attila-kovarcsik/ | 2021-01-22T14:48:46Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703530835.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20210122144404-20210122174404-00462.warc.gz | en | 0.976369 | 89 |
Do You have some pads available?
What is the price?
The price remains the same as in the original post. I have a few pairs available.
Do you still have any pads left?
At the moment I don't have any left. However, I'm supposed to get them in a few days (a few HF members asked about them so I've ordered a few more pairs).
I am also interested in a pair, please keep us updated! =)
Have a few more pairs once more :)
I need a pair of pads if available? Please send me PM.
Any pairs of pads left for the AKG K340?
Please, let me know.
Hello Anatoli, can I still buy from you the oversize K340 pads ?? pretty please :-) | <urn:uuid:770205a9-97b1-4fb6-a3a0-07c885a050cc> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://www.head-fi.org/t/291951/fs-costum-akg-pads-for-k340-as-well-as-k240-and-maybe-others/45 | 2015-10-09T20:08:05Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737935292.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221855-00175-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95308 | 162 |
The 10 day Fall workshop in Nara just finished. Here are some photos of both demonstration pieces and pieces the participants did.
Here are some photos of the first day of the Nara 10 day workshop.
The Three Pines Farm kintsugi workshop will start in a couple of hours, in this space.
I am in the U.S. for the 1st. time in 2 years, 4th. time in 20 years.
I flew in through Dallas/Fort Worth on the day Hurricane Patricia landed. My American Airlines flight was cancelled so after waiting 2 hours in one line and about 1 hour in another line and an additional 3 hour delay I arrived on the east coast of the U.S. at about 3:30 am.
In a couple of days I will be in Cedar Falls, Iowa. That workshop is now full and I am looking forward to meeting everyone and working with synthetic lacquer with them.
On Halloween and the next day, November 1st. I will be in San Francisco for 2 workshops. The first one is with synthetic lacquer and the second one is with real lacquer. The second workshop focuses on metal finishing so I have prepared a set of silver, both #3 grind and #10 grind so everyone can have a chance to finish them.
One more step 14 video, applying lacquer to #3 gold and #3 silver.
This video shows the application of a thick type of lacquer over #10 grind silver. The lacquer is nashiji and it is used over grinds of metal over #5. It will take 2 or 3 applications of nashiji before the silver is ready to polish.
Here is the second application of lacquer to #3 silver. #3 silver will take between 2-3 applications of lacquer.
Not me but a woman I am working with.
Here is a video showing step 10, applying #3 silver. | <urn:uuid:39786386-e088-4a9b-b21c-bc9474dfe291> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.kintugi.com/?paged=17 | 2018-02-24T18:02:59Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891815918.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20180224172043-20180224192043-00156.warc.gz | en | 0.930613 | 394 |
July 14, 2011
Resetting the Races, American League
This season’s American League playoff picture primarily tells a tale of rich teams getting richer; four of the five clubs with the most improved odds of making the playoffs at midseason entered Opening Day as the favorites in their division. Although no division leader holds a lead greater than one game in the loss column, which would seem to suggest tight races all around, our Playoff Oddsindicate that three clubs have already come close to punching tickets to October, leaving the Central as the league’s most likely locus of a dogfight down the stretch. As has been the case in every season since 2006, two AL playoff berths will almost certainly be reserved for teams from the East, leaving occupants of the league’s less privileged divisions with little choice but to come in first or start their offseasons early. As play resumes for the second half, let’s examine how each team’s stock has risen or fallen relative to the expectations of our pre-season projections.
The “Act” column shows each team’s actual winning percentage to date, while “Exp” denotes each team's expected winning percentage going forward, derived from a blend of PECOTA projections and third-order winning percentage. “Div” and “WC” describe each team’s chances of winning the division and wild card, respectively, while “total” represents the sum of the two—a team’s chances of making the playoffs by any means. “Proj” provides the PECOTA-based pre-season estimate of each team's chances of making the playoffs, and “+/-” represents the amount by which each club’s total odds have changed.
Everyone expected the Bronx Bombers to mount their usual onslaught against major-league pitching, but their own ragtag staff appeared vulnerable to opposing lineups as the team traveled north from spring training. Not only have the bats delivered, but the seemingly over-the-hill arms have become a strength; the Yankees’ 3.8 runs allowed per game places them fourth in the league and first in their division. CC Sabathia, perhaps the lone member of the rotation who came without any serious pre-season concerns, has been as good as advertised, but the shockingly successful foursome of Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova, A.J. Burnett, and Freddy Garcia have all made positive contributions (with only Phil Hughes disappointing among the team’s presumptive starters), and the emergence of David Robertson has helped offset the losses of Joba Chamberlain and Rafael Soriano in the late innings.
Boston’s 2-10 start prompted many to write the Red Sox off prematurely, but they’ve won at a near-.700 clip since then, even though they’ve yet to see a substantial return from Carl Crawford, one of their two big-ticket off-season acquisitions. Their other costly import, Adrian Gonzalez, has been the league’s best player situated south of Jose Bautista, giving the Sox an unparalleled offensive attack (.293 TAv), as well as baseball’s third-best defense. Strong first-half showings from the East’s two financial titans have all but cemented their pre-season status as the safest bets to earn playoff spots.
Two AL Central teams round out the contingent of teams that have seen their odds rise by double digits since the start of the reason. The Tigers have ridden a lopsided lineup to the AL’s fourth-best offense, but league-average ERAs have been few and far between after Justin Verlander, making Detroit one of the majors’ easiest teams to score on (and a potential destination for pitching at the deadline). The Indians’ scalding April shifted their expected winning percentage only slightly, from a pre-season-forecasted .458 to a .468 figure going forward. That modest pace would leave them well out of the playoff picture, but it would constitute a rebound from the .405 mark they’ve managed since the end of May.
The Twins and White Sox have suffered that the Tigers and Indians might thrive; Minnesota has been wracked with injuries to some of its most important players and has gotten nothing of value from its signature stars, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. What’s more, the team’s mediocre defense (ninth in the AL with a .709 defensive efficiency) hasn’t provided adequate support for a shoddy bullpen and the pitching staff with baseball’s lowest strikeout rate. The White Sox, meanwhile, have been hurt by extended slumps from Alex Rios, Adam Dunn, and Brent Morel, who have combined for over 2.5 wins below replacement, as well as Ozzie Guillen’s insistence on playing Juan Pierre (.242 TAv) over superior options like Brent Lillibridge and Triple-A outfielder Dayan Viciedo.
The Rays are at worst the league’s fourth-best team, but being third-best in the East will leave them out in the cold come October nonetheless. Tampa Bay’s mediocre offense ranks fourth in the division by any measure of effectiveness, and the team’s MLB-best defense has polished the ERAs of some pitchers with subpar peripherals (such as Jeremy Hellickson and Adam Russell, who both sport SIERAs near or above 5.00) to deceptive shines.
A version of this story originally appeared on ESPN Insider . | <urn:uuid:62153443-67bf-49ad-adaa-622de373bc63> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=14519 | 2013-12-05T00:20:13Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163037893/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131717-00013-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961438 | 1,149 |
I'm guilty of these things...P.S. im sorry its such a long comment...:)
You hear Gerard say “We’re My Chemical Romance and we come from New Jersey, where we shoot motherfuckers like you!” and your first thought is “Awww, he’s so cute!”
You can listen to their CDs back to back for days on end and not get sick of it at all.
At a MCR concert, you stand up the entire time, and you sing all the words and scream after every song, even if you loose your voice.
You know what the Umrella Academy is (even though Gerard chooses to keep it seperate from the band)
You’ve had any other fantasy about meeting MCR.
You wish you could have gone to school with the members of the band because you know they’re the kind of people you’d be friends with.
You sit on the computer watching random youtube videos of MCR for hours at a time.
You've listened to a band just because someone from MCR said they're cool.
When hearing any word even slightly associated with MCR on the television, you insantly freak out and turn up the volume.
You have actually read and re-read and re-re-read etc. any MCR webpages you could find.
When going through pictures on your computer, you find that you have over 300 saved random photos of mcr.
You hear New Jersy and instantly think MCR MCR MCR MCR MCR!!!!!! (big time)
When someone says "Chemical," or "Romance," you think..."MCR!”
You've had their CD for two weeks and iTunes says it's been played at least 46 times
You know Bob is a fuzzy bunny and Frank is a princess.
You wouldn't mind watching Gerard draw all day
You've written at least one fanfic.
You wouldn't mind Gerard and Mikey smellling like shit if it meant you got to go on tour with them!
You'd offer Frank your shower at 3 AM.
None of your friends like them but they could probably write a book on them you talk about them so much.
You've named pets/stuffed animals/instruments after them.
You sneak into your computer lab at school at lunch to watch their videos.
You call Gerard "Gee."
Your friends all get a glazed look when you mention MCR.
You support Bob Bryar's solo project.
You've stared at Gerard's face for more than 10 seconds
You have nicknames for the band members.
You have sang at least one MCR song all the way through in front of the mirror.
You've looked for the movie frank, mikey and ray were in.
You know which member of the band makes Bob Bryar's heart burn.
You know that homophobia is gay and that Frank Iero is "a monster".
You know that there are teenagers, and then there is "Teenagers".
You still mourn the death of Pansy.
You can make the connection between the letters "NJ" and the inside of the lower lip.
When you are sick of your face, you are allowed to be sick of your face, 'cause it's your fucking face.
You know that dead cartoon people aren't the only ones who have X's over their eyes
You have OCRD (Obsessiv Chemical Romance Disorder)
You deny being a fangirl, but know that you really are at heart... ;)
You just wrote and/or read this (or forced a friend too.) | <urn:uuid:27338821-23ea-46a8-b215-e6f428430fca> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://ficwad.com/review/339049 | 2018-02-18T09:10:11Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891811795.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20180218081112-20180218101112-00194.warc.gz | en | 0.967218 | 772 |
Polymag Tek manufactures custom web/sheet-cleaning equipment that can save money by reducing waste and operating costs, while improving quality. USA-made and built to last with near 100% cleaning efficiency. We specialize in the design and manufacture of innovative web, sheet, and process roll-cleaning equipment for the printing, coating, and laminating industries.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine. | <urn:uuid:d8314ec8-c468-4f72-b88e-f0749b7765d3> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://www.screenweb.com/dir/bg/polymag-tek-inc | 2015-08-28T19:52:39Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440644063881.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827025423-00261-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953526 | 88 |
Lawn Savers in Toronto, Ontario is offering 4 (Natural) Fiesta Herbicide Treatments. Their website indicated great results with 4 applications in 2010.
"Our methods embrace opportunities & developments in plant health care, naturally allowing us to focus on environmentally sustainable ways to create healthy lawns & trees for a greener environment. (INCLUDING NEW FIESTA Weed Control)"
Natural Weed Management** 4 scheduled treatments thru the Summer & Fall (using Fiesta!) Great results in 2010 [2 Applications Only Allowed]
Perimeter Insect Control gets rid of pesky insects like earwigs and ants trying to invade your home from the outside.
Vegetation Control controls unwanted vegetation growing on your patio, driveway or walkways down to the root! [THIS STATEMENT IS NOT TRUE]
Total weed and crabgrass control is neither reasonable nor practical to expect under new laws.
We do NOT guarantee a weed free lawn
For your convenience, service continues from season to season, from year to year, [Lifetime contract unless you cancel]
(Owner Kyle Tobin, the Co Chair of the Landscape Ontario Commodities Group. Lawn Savers was involved with Sarritor.)
The label on Fiesta Herbicide allows a maximum of 2 applications per year.
Use Precautions: Do not apply to drought stressed grass; ensure lawn is well watered prior to application. Do not apply when the daytime temperature
will exceed 30o C. Do not apply to bentgrass. If unsure of grass sensitivity, test spray a small area of your lawn. Apply to established turf only. Do not apply
to newly seeded areas or to turf generated from seed and that is less than one year old. Avoid spraying desirable plants. Any desirable plants or structures
accidentally contacted should be rinsed with water. To avoid staining, wait until treated area dries before re-entry. Do not apply if rainfall is expected within
3 hours of application. Do not irrigate within 3 hours of application. Do not apply more than 2 times per year. DO NOT contaminate irrigation or drinking
water supplies or aquatic habitats by cleaning of equipment or disposal of wastes. | <urn:uuid:58feadb3-f40b-4e39-9228-5a1e6345194c> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://pesticidetruths.com/2011/02/09/lawn-savers-toronto-4-applications-of-fiesta-herbicide-great-results-2010/ | 2023-12-05T17:51:15Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100555.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20231205172745-20231205202745-00253.warc.gz | en | 0.887222 | 440 |
In The Stand With Gun Digest
It’s preseason prep time for deer hunters across America. Here’s a little tip for those of you who are finishing up your summer range sessions from the experts at our sister publication, Gun Digest.
Distinguishing fact from fiction is as challenging in the world of firearms as it is everywhere else. Here’s one perspective on firearm cleanliness, from author Tom Tabor in his Gun Digest 2013 article, “Ten Shooting Myths Exposed”:
“How could anyone make an argument against firearm cleanliness? Well, I can think of only a single instance when a little dirt might be a good thing, and that is inside your gun barrel when it comes to heading out for a hunt.
“One of the factors necessary for consistent shot placement has to do with the consistency of the firearm bore. Simply put, a round fired through a clean bore will almost always impact at a different point that those shots that follow—and that first shot is often the most important you will take in a hunting situation.
“I have frequently found the amount of variation can be from about an inch all the way up to three or four inches at 100 yards. If you never shoot past 50 yards, this might not be an issue of concern, but, if you find yourself trying to pull off a shot at a recordbook bighorn ram on that once-in-a-lifetime hunt at 400 or 500 yards, it could easily become a substantial problem to overcome. I like to remove all the variables I can and, in so doing, I always send a round down the barrel and foul the bore before heading out to hunt.”
Read the other nine myths exposed by Tom Tabor, and more great stories from today’s top gun writers, in the newly-released 2013 Gun Digest. Remember to use promo code INSIDEGDB to get free standard U.S. shipping on your order. (Promo code fine print: Items which ship directly from the manufacturer do not qualify for free shipping.) | <urn:uuid:dc493f1f-38a9-4576-b322-79f6eb61c30e> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/blogs/in-the-stand-with/in-the-stand-with-gun-digest-dirty-up-your-gun | 2016-08-27T01:10:29Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982296931.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823195816-00111-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944487 | 426 |
We focus on superior nutritional products designed with the everyday person
in mind. We only use the highest quality ingredients without all the
"fluff". Each product is designed by a team of experienced of Personal
Trainers (over 80 years experience) so you know it works. Take your health
to the next level with 360 Fitness Supplements! | <urn:uuid:4ebc1228-e8df-47fc-b21b-a8987d02c6b0> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://360-fitness-supplements.myshopify.com/ | 2020-01-25T09:01:38Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579251671078.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20200125071430-20200125100430-00315.warc.gz | en | 0.923694 | 70 |
Cleanliness is on the top of my list for hotels and Inns and my room at the Kilby House Inn was immaculate. There wasn't a speck of dust anywhere - how does he do that?! The Inn is furnished with beautiful old furniture and the dinning room table was just lovely. The owner was friendly and engaging and so were the guests at the breakfast table. If you're traveling to Eastport, this is the place to stay.
- Also Known As:
- Kilby House Inn Eastport, Maine | <urn:uuid:c095e0c8-9013-428b-9fd9-1c08336bfdb1> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g40622-d1488294-r219227044-Kilby_House_Inn-Eastport_Maine.html | 2017-03-25T05:08:10Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218188785.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212948-00584-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985075 | 109 |
When Box were approached to design a holiday home on Kawau Island, they weren’t prepared for the unconventional brief. The owners wanted to recreate the idea of camping on the site.
To them, life was to be lived in the Great Outdoors; the dwelling itself was simply an add-on that came into its own during inclement weather. The idea is akin to at-home glamping so, instead of bedrooms, the couple requested a number of sleeping spaces – quite a number. The owners were attracted to the island because of its timelessness – the feeling you get when you arrive, that you are stepping back in history.
The 10 hectares is blanketed in regenerating bush: slender manuka and kanuka taper towards the sky while, along the coastline, magnificent pohutukawa cling to the cliff-side. This is mid-century modernism, wearing an indigenous cloak.
The house teams industrial structure with elements of the marae. Exposed Gluelam beams sandwich plywood panels and the whole appears strapped together by stainless-steel cross braces. Walkways with railings that mimic palisades provide a contextual reference to the former use of this land. An entry ramp cements the fortress-like image.
Although the home seems to turn its back on the view, glimpses of the emerald cove can be seen through the glazed box of the living zone. This room, which contains a plywood kitchen and wood-burner, is only 3.6 metres wide. A partial wall at the Southern end creates a slightly separate snug where the television and stereo reign. It converts into a sleeping space with a pull-out couch. | <urn:uuid:5dbea514-8bcc-46af-a1fb-e4aa7c30f7b3> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://www.box.co.nz/project/designed-for-summer/ | 2021-08-03T19:59:10Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154471.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20210803191307-20210803221307-00461.warc.gz | en | 0.959962 | 343 |
On Sept. 29, 2021 NOAA announced that Downeast Institute was one of four institutions nation-wide awarded funding from Sea Grant and the Ocean Acidification Program to support research to address the impacts of multiple stressors on shellfish and increase resilience in shellfish aquaculture through research and industry partnerships.
Mussel aquaculture is a growing industry in Maine, especially as populations of intertidal wild mussels have declined, most likely due to high levels of predation spurred by increased ocean temperatures. Additionally, early life stage bivalves are believed to be most vulnerable to ocean and coastal acidification and other environmental stressors.
DEI’s research, led by Dr. Robert Holmberg, was chosen to represent the New England region. The project will work to improve the resilience of hatchery-reared blue mussels to the interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming with diet enhancement and seawater buffering. From 2021-2024 Downeast Institute will test the efficacy of various alternative diet regimes to bolster mussel resilience to the stressors of ocean acidification and warming, as well as test for an interaction between diet enhancement and seawater buffering on both laboratory and commercial scales. We will work with two mussel farms, Bang’s Island Mussels and Blue Hill Bay Mussels, to complete grow-out trials.
There is evidence that diet plays an important role in the resilience of bivalves to the effects of ocean acidification and ocean warming, so this study will test how diet enhancement of larvae and young shellfish impacts survivorship and key growth metrics.This research seeks to fill the knowledge gap by testing whether diet enhancement can improve mussel resilience to ocean acidification and warming in the hatchery.
If successful, this diet mitigation strategy could easily be implemented by hatcheries. The strategy could complement existing protocols for seawater buffering, or even replace buffering where equipment for monitoring and controlling seawater carbonate chemistry is prohibitively expensive.
Community of Practice
This project also seeks to strengthen an existing community of practice composed of mussel growers and researchers at the Downeast Institute and the University of Maine. By co-producing a technology transfer and outreach plan, this team will help ensure the information generated by this project reaches the shellfish aquaculture community in Maine and beyond.
This work is funded by NOAA Sea Grant and the Ocean Acidification Program. The results will bolster NOAA’s Blue Economy Initiative by supporting U.S. seafood production and building coastal resiliency. Specifically, these investments support the goals of NOAA and the Department of Commerce and are consistent with Sea Grant’s focus area of Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture. Learn more about Sea Grant’s work in aquaculture and ocean acidification. | <urn:uuid:1f3135d2-b527-4189-8158-7b897cda2978> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://downeastinstitute.org/research/blue-mussels/improving-resilience-of-hatchery-reared-blue-mussels-mytilus-edulis-to-interactive-effects-of-ocean-acidification-and-warming-with-diet-and-seawater-buffering/ | 2023-12-03T13:24:33Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100508.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20231203125921-20231203155921-00862.warc.gz | en | 0.910449 | 565 |
8/19/2014 5:58:36 AM
Allergan Inc. CFO Steps Down
August 19, 2014
By Jessica Wilson, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Allergan Inc. (AGN), the Irvine, CA-based pharmaceutical company and maker of Botox, said its Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Edwards, will be stepping down, after which Jim Hindman, a 30-year company veteran, will assume the position of CFO. The changing of the guard is happening in the midst of Allergan’s battle to prevent a hostile takeover by Canadian-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) and billionaire investor William Ackman. According to the company, Edwards’ decision to step down has to do with family commitments. Neither the company nor Edwards has intimated that the hostile takeover attempts have anything to do with the leadership change.
David E.I. Pyott, Allergan’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer was quoted in a press release from the company as saying, “After devoting so much time and energy to Allergan, Jeff informed me in February 2014 of his desire to commit more time to his family, and that he was therefore considering stepping down from the Chief Financial Officer position at a later point in 2014.” Edwards also emphasized that the initial commitment made to his family occurred in early 2014.
The family commitment, therefore, occurred well before April 22, the date of the initial bid for takeover by Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Pershing Square Capital Management, Ackman’s hedge fund.
February, however, did mark the partnership of Valeant and Pershing Square. Pershing Square said in a statement on Thursday, August14, that the two companies “formed a partnership in February and acquired a toehold position in Allergan before an offer was made to acquire the company in a merger transaction.” The statement came in the wake of the announcement of an SEC investigation into the buy-out attempts. The hedge fund said that, “There is nothing illegal, unethical, or improper in taking a toehold position before a merger is proposed, even if it is not wanted by the target's management.”
Allergan has rejected three offers by Valeant and Pershing Square on the grounds that they have been too low. Valeant and Pershing Square have not abandoned the buyout, however. The hedge fund has said it will call a meeting of Allergan shareholders to replace board members with new ones who support the acquisition of the company by Valeant.
Several weeks ago, Allergan sued Valeant and Pershing Square for alleged securities violations, contending that the two companies committed insider trading. This is the situation that will greet Jim Hindman as he takes the reigns as CFO. Hindman joined Allergan in 1984 and in 2002 the company appointed him Senior Vice President of Treasury, Risk and Investor Relations. Pyott said that Hindman has been an “instrumental” member of the organization for a long time, but emphasized that “particularly during the past few months, [Hindman] has played an important leadership role.”
comments powered by | <urn:uuid:b561cdb5-83d6-496a-ae41-5c2ddf8be79f> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?StoryID=343729 | 2014-12-18T15:57:09Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802767247.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075247-00063-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975938 | 661 |
Summer unofficially is in the history books, so it is Minnesota political season.
It is a time when voters may turn more attention to campaigns leading up to the Nov. 4 election. There are local races that attract some, but most Minnesotans who care about such things will focus on the U.S. Senate and governor races.
And those key statewide races could be affected by congressional races being waged in northern and western Minnesota.
“It is huge,” political scientist Larry Jacobs said of money being pumped into those races.
Jacobs said that money could influence the statewide races, as well as which party controls the Minnesota House.
Those U.S. House races’ impact also could go well beyond Minnesota politics. If Republican Mike McFadden upsets U.S. Sen. Al Franken, it could help swing the U.S. Senate to Republican control.
Jacobs, professor and Walter F. Mondale chairman for political studies at the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, said that candidate-raised and outside money in the two U.S. House districts will help Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor parties increase turnout in critical, mostly rural parts of Minnesota.
If voters turn out for one race, they generally vote up and down the ballot, so the party that attracts the most in a U.S. House race also benefits with more votes in other races.
Campaigns got into full gear in the past few days as the Minnesota State Fair attracted the statewide candidates.
For Democrats Franken and Gov. Mark Dayton, Fair campaign stops are routine. Both said that instead of the need to campaign around the state, for the 12-day Fair the state comes to them.
For newcomer McFadden and GOP governor candidate Jeff Johnson, the Fair gave them a chance to introduce themselves to thousands of people they otherwise may never meet.
All of the big four candidates were there most days of the Fair. So were some Senate and governor third-party candidates, none of whom has gained much traction.
Jacobs said the two races are referendums, but for different things.
“The governor’s race is a referendum on Minnesota, and the Senate race is more of a referendum on Washington,” he said.
Jacobs said things look good for Dayton because Minnesota “has one of the faster-growing economies.”
In the Senate race, however, President Barack Obama’s low popularity means the Republican strategy of linking Franken with the president is wise and could hurt the incumbent.
For Dayton, after 39 years in government and politics, the State Fair was bittersweet: “This is the last time I’m here as a candidate for public office.”
For McFadden, surrounded by family volunteers, including his mother-in-law from Texas, it was fun. He said he loved talking to the people. “Maybe it is because I’m Irish.”
Johnson used the Fair to put an edge on his campaign, opening the event demanding more debates with Dayton. The governor stuck with the six he already proposed.
Of the four big names, Franken attracted the largest crowds. Wherever he went, he drew Fairgoers who talked about his work, both in the Senate and in his previous life as comic, satirist and writer.
Recent polls put Franken and Dayton up 8 to 9 points over their GOP challengers. Both sides are using the early numbers to seek donations, with leaders complaining that the race is close and they need money to stay ahead and those trailing arguing that more money would help them catch up.
But for all the begging for money in the Senate and governor contests, two U.S. House races could wind up making the difference.
In northern Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan is in a fight with Republican upstart Stewart Mills, heir to Mills Fleet Farm money. It has attracted national notice in a district that has grown to the south, where Republicans are in control and threatening longtime Democratic district dominance (other than the one term the GOP’s Chip Cravaack served).
“Both parties are putting lots of money into the 8th,” Jacobs said.
In the massive western Minnesota 7th Congressional District, state Sen. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake, is mounting the most serious challenge in years to Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, who has served in Congress for 24 years.
Peterson remains a solid favorite in many observers’ eyes, but people in both parties say this could be Peterson’s last campaign and if Westrom does well he could be the front-runner two years from now in the normally Republican-leaning district. That could attract money this year to give Westrom a 2016 head start.
No one knows just how much money will be spent in the two House races, but it is obvious that if either is close, outside groups will throw millions of dollars at Minnesota.
At last report, the Nolan-Mills race had attracted $1.4 million in outside spending, and the real campaign usually does not start until after Labor Day. The Peterson-Westrom race outside spending was anemic in comparison, $245,000.
In the 8th, Mills has money behind him — from outside interests and his own bank account — but is untested and unknown.
“I’m still not clear what kind of candidate that Mills is,” Jacobs said. He could work out, but he “also could be a loose cannon.”
“I tend to be suspicious of people who are new to politics,” he said, adding that there is no substitute to having run a campaign.
Still, if Mills and Westrom show they can compete, money will follow and that money could influence politics beyond their districts | <urn:uuid:23088fdc-a66b-452f-bc74-2b3342b4ee42> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://www.twincities.com/2014/08/31/minnesota-election-season-kicks-into-high-gear/ | 2017-02-23T03:04:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171070.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00232-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968865 | 1,227 |
The lawyer of a 22-year-old woman who tried to give her newborn to authorities by pretending to find the baby on a beach says she kept her pregnancy a secret because she didn't want to disappoint her family.
Keala Simeona was sentenced Thursday for filing a false police report. Defense attorney Don Pacarro says Simeona can keep the misdemeanor off her record if she stays out of trouble for a year. Her sentence includes 25 hours of community service.
Police said Simeona reported finding an infant girl on Honolulu's Sandy Beach in April and took the baby to the hospital.
Pacarro says Family Court returned the baby to Simeona.
Simeona could have taken advantage of Hawaii's Safe Haven law, which provides immunity from prosecution for leaving an unharmed newborn within 72 hours of birth at a fire department, police station or hospital. | <urn:uuid:01c7bc95-1616-471a-9bce-5687225e6cba> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://m.kitv.com/news/honolulu-mom-sentenced-for-lying-about-baby/23968646 | 2015-03-05T22:36:12Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936464876.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074104-00248-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971661 | 178 |
Iraq: Two Bad Decisions and a Debilitating MetaphorBy Richard Butrick
Ten years ago this week, in the middle of a horrendous sandstorm, the U.S. invasion of Iraq began. The objective of the invasion was to topple the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein and establish a democracy in the middle of the Arab world.
The report card is not good. But aside from the question of whether the whole enterprise was (stupid, wrongheaded, unrealistic... take your pick), it is hard not to come to the conclusion that the whole Iraq endeavor would have had a much better chance for success right off the bat except for two colossal mistakes and the prevailing fatal metaphor that pervaded the mindset of the Iraqi war/reconstruction effort. Is there a take-away?
To be fair, the fall of Baghdad left a fractured country in turmoil. Religious factions, tribal factions, and animosities made Iraq ungovernable in any simple sense of the term. Add to that a natural resentment of foreign troops occupying their land and that the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) had a cauldron of conflicting forces to deal with. Machiavelli's observation that a country that is hard to conquer is easy to rule and conversely that one that is easy to conquer is hard to rule certainly seems applicable here.
That said, two decisions made by CPA chief L. Paul Bremer or at least enacted by Bremer can only be said to have added fuel to the conflagration. His policies shut out huge numbers of Iraqis from participating in the restructuring and rebuilding of their own country. Many Iraqis then gravitated to the various factions intent on bringing down the CPA and simultaneously building up their own power base.
1) Bremer disbanded the professional army without pay.
2) Instead of giving contracts to Iraqi construction firms for the huge construction projects envisaged, Bremer gave the contracts to international construction firms including German and French -- creating a massive unemployment problem and tremendous resentment.
As regards (1), Bremer signed Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 on May 23, 2003. It disbanded the Iraqi military, security, and intelligence infrastructure of President Saddam Hussein, in effect dissolving the entire former Iraqi army and putting 400,000 former Iraqi soldiers out of work. Bremer claims he was just following orders from Rumsfeld, but he certainly did not contest the wisdom of the plan. The controversy is discussed but unresolved in a Slate article in 2007.
It almost seemed to have happened in a vacuum. General Peter Pace, the first U.S. Marine to serve as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not consulted for advice or a recommendation with regard to the order. Secretary of State Colin Powell has also said he was never consulted on the matter, which he believes was a major mistake, and then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was said to have been surprised by the decision.
As Bob Woodward reports in his book State of Denial, Lieutenant General Garner, Bush's first appointee to lead the Coalition Provisional Government, upon hearing of the order to disband the army, attempted to convince Bremer to rethink the dissolution. Bremer was reported as saying: "The plans have changed. The thought is we don't want the residuals of the old army. We want a new and fresh army." To this, Garner replied: "Jerry, you can get rid of an army in a day, but it takes years to build one."
Garner further asserted that none of the ministries would be able to function after this order, "If you put this out.... you will put 50,000 people on the street, underground, and mad at Americans, And these 50,000 [are] the most powerful, well-connected elites from all walks of life."
The reaction of our primary ally in the Iraq invasion, Britain, was equally negative. A 2004 report in The Guardian cited senior UK military and intelligence sources saying that British Admiral Michael Boyce told his commanders to negotiate with senior Iraqi army and Republican Guard officers to switch sides and operate under UK guidance to uphold law and order, but that CPA orders 1 and 2 effectively destroyed any chance to regroup the Iraqi forces for such a plan.
As regards (2) - Iraqi reconstruction, under Bremer, one of the CPA's most important tasks was the reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure. Bremer had grandiose plans to rebuild Baghdad as a shining example of free enterprise and capitalism. As such he reasoned that top-flight international firms had to be the primary contractors.
Administration officials, including Bremer, have stressed that other countries and foreign donors, as well as foreign corporations, must be brought into the rebuilding effort. However, the officials have maintained that the U.S. government should continue to direct the project.
Firms like Halliburton and global construction and engineering firm Parsons Corp and, of course, Bechtel, the prime contractor, were engaged for the $680-million Iraqi capital construction project. Nearly 3,000 potential subcontractors showed up at two meetings hosted by Bechtel National Inc. on two continents to learn about construction opportunities in Iraq. Although the bidding process was ostensibly open to Iraqi firms, they were all but ignored. Only 2% of the reconstruction contracts in 2003 were awarded to Iraqi firms.
The net result of this was that the leaders of Iraqi's industrial and construction firms were left embittered and out of the money. Influential people who would have had reason to support the U.S. became resentful and distrustful of U.S. intentions. Not only that, the Iraqi labor force, out of work and money, became potential recruits for the Iraqi Insurgency. The insurgency festered and grew for several years and in the end seemed to be winning until the Bush surge -- a surge that turned the tide but which at its inception was roundly condemned by Obama and other luminaries of the Democratic party.
In October 2006 -- three months before the president's new strategy was unveiled -- Obama said, "It is clear at this point that we cannot, through putting in more troops or maintaining the presence that we have, expect that somehow the situation is going to improve, and we have to do something significant to break the pattern that we've been in right now."
Whatever incentive for cooperation Iraqi leaders and citizens may have had for cooperation with the CPA was squandered and the reconstruction process dragged on for years costing American lives and emboldening America's detractors and enemies. Add to that that the decisions made under Bremer's leadership of the CPA were just that -- decisions. They didn't have to be. The exact opposite decisions could have been made -- involve a realigned Iraqi army and give the reconstruction projects to Iraqi firms (they built Baghdad in the first place) -- decisions that even at the time seemed to most senior officials of the Bush administration to be the path of wisdom.
And the fatal metaphor?
The Iraqi reconstruction operated under the general metaphor that policies should be shaped under the goal of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqis. It is as if the reconstruction process was some sort of Dale Carnegie enterprise to win friends and influence people. The H&M metaphor also presumes that there is some sort of common denominator to the Iraqi hearts and minds. The will to power and survival is certainly a common denominator but that is hardly a make nice H&M denominator. Undoubtedly, if the British occupying forces in the war of 1812 had just been nicer and handed out tea and crumpets to the colonials the whole resistance would have wilted? Whose hearts and minds? The Sunni hearts and minds? The Shia? The Sadrists? The tribal? The process was to be some sort of courtship? We were out to win their hearts and minds? How about their pocket books and skins? The one common denominator of governance in the Muslim world seem to be respect for power.
Ralph Peters, Fox news analyst, New York Post editorial writer and retired military officer (and favorite leftist bogeyman) had this to say about H&M:
Our current hearts-and-minds approach that seeks to avoid "unnecessary" combat gets it exactly wrong: Religious warriors can't be bought with new roads, wells and vaccinations. On the contrary, over two millennia of religious revolts tells us that fanatic uprisings can only be subdued by killing the true believers.
He points out further that the H&M metaphor presumes incorrectly that Islam is not the driving force of the militant insurgency but some sort of convenient ideological rationale for their actions:
This leads Western analysts to insist that the Taliban merely exploits religion as a tool. And there we stop, failing to ask why the tool is so effective. If Islam galvanizes support for the Taliban, how can it be irrelevant? As for Taliban hypocrisy, if hypocrisy disarmed religious fervor, no faith would long survive.
Subtract Islam from the equation, and the Taliban (or al Qaeda) wouldn't exist as we know it (the name itself comes from "Talib," a student of Islam). Subtract Pashtun ethnicity, and you wouldn't have the Taliban we face. Fighting an insurgency fueled by faith and blood, we explain it away in politically correct terms of economic underdevelopment.
"The metaphor is perhaps one of man's most fruitful potentialities. Its efficacy verges on magic, and it seems a tool for creation which God forgot inside one of His creatures when He made him." -- Ortega Y Gasset
Stupid decisions will always be with us. If we can learn from history then, hopefully, they won't be the same. Similarly our minds will always be under the sway, consciously or unconsciously, of accumulated constellations of metaphors. We have to simplify and structure raw reality. The problem is that the power of metaphors to govern our policies, plans and decisions is not recognized. We "filter" reality through our metaphors. Metaphors like 'jump start the economy', 'the human family', 'mother earth', 'lame duck', 'cornered rat', etc. suggests ways to deal with problems and predict actions. Seeing our current economic problem in automotive terms has led to various "stimulus" packages.
Yet metaphors are usually treated merely as ways of explaining policies that have been previously arrived at through some sort of rational scientific procedure. Metaphors are seen as sort of a quaint rubric used to explain policies and problem solving strategies when actually the metaphors serve rather to structure or define the problem that policies are then devised to address. The lesson, then, is to take our metaphors seriously and subject them to the same critical analysis to which we subject the subsequent solutions. Had the hearts and minds metaphor been subject to scrutiny it would have been seen as a tempering metaphor rather than an overarching metaphor. A metaphor which, as argued by Ralph Peters, was in potential conflict with the precondition to all other goals, namely defeating the insurgency.
Moreover, lumping hearts and minds together is at best dubious. How do you win a mind? The same way you win a heart? A dubious combination. Moreover, like happiness, it is an attendant state which may or may not accompany certain actions and achieved states. A dubious way to define a primary objective. Dubious three times over.
FOLLOW US ON | <urn:uuid:144e4d87-650e-40c9-bdbf-cfa899625ee9> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/03/iraq_-_two_bad_decisions_and_a_debilitating_metaphor.html | 2013-12-11T15:07:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164037762/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133357-00027-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966974 | 2,333 |
4 Traits of Health Content That Engages and Satisfies
Patient education can be one of healthcare providers’ most effective tools in today’s value-based care systems. By setting patient expectations, promoting behavior change and measuring adherence to a care plan, it can improve outcomes and have financial benefits.
At UbiCare, we call this kind of patient education “architected” content because of the research, thought and strategy that goes into its construct. It’s designed to engage patients, improve care outcomes and increase satisfaction for patients and healthcare providers alike.
No matter what you call it, patient engagement technology fueled by evidence-based, carefully “architected” content has several important elements.
1. It’s digestible and multimedia.
Doctors share a wealth of health information at appointments, yet patients forget 80%–90% of what they learn there.
If you supplement the doctor’s office visit with personalized digital health information—broken up into small, digestible pieces and shared at key points over time—you make it easier for patients to remember their care instructions.
Incorporate multimedia elements (images, videos, and interactive tools, such as quizzes or health assessment calculators), and you’ll further support retention. Studies have found that multimedia’s primary benefit is to enhance, aid and reinforce learning by presenting information in a variety of ways.
2. It’s targeted to the right times in the care episode.
An automated patient engagement solution lets you deliver personalized content when each patient needs it, outside the hospital or practice setting and based on known points along a care continuum.
Pre-surgery messages, for example, can set patients’ expectations about their medical procedure, hospital stay and recovery back at home. A Gallup study of the benefits of pre-surgery education found that patients who knew what to expect after surgery were extremely satisfied with their surgery results; only 8% reported post-op problems.
3. It has proactive, push messaging.
Proactive, push messaging—content delivered to a patient (via email or text message, for example) rather than requiring the patient to come to it and, in some case, even login—makes it simple and more likely for a larger audience to engage.
Consider health apps, which generally use a pull strategy and require logins: 45 percent (nearly half!) of people who download mobile health apps stop using them, citing data entry burdens among other reasons.
If you want your content to engage patients, eliminate the barriers to getting that content.
4. It has trackable engagement points.
Perhaps the most critical pillar of effective, architected health content is that it’s built with points of engagement that provide measurable predictors and indicators of patient outcomes.
This kind of engagement can happen through interactivity (games, surveys or quizzes, for example) that yields data to help the provider understand patient adherence and, as a result, improve patient navigator activities.
For example, you might survey a patient preparing for joint replacement surgery on whether he smokes and has a plan for quitting before surgery. The patient’s answer might indicate potential complications (which could lead to costly hospital readmissions). Knowing the answer in real-time lets you provide additional one-on-one patient support and intervention when necessary.
P.S.: Don’t call it a patient “newsletter”
With all of the research, structuring and interaction built in, it’s important to note that true patient engagement content and technology should not be confused with a patient newsletter. A patient newsletter conveys health information for all patients at once. Patient engagement content does so much more—for patients, physicians and hospitals.
Architected health content and technology provides a blueprint for better patient and provider experiences. And with this kind of architecture, there’s no heavy lifting required.
With minimal effort, you can empower your patient education with scientifically backed strategies that guide patients toward desired health outcomes and collect the data you need to track their progress along the way. | <urn:uuid:14837b51-ae02-4524-9046-e3041913e4cf> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | http://blog.ubicare.com/building-better-patient-education-strategy | 2019-10-19T08:00:12Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986692126.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20191019063516-20191019091016-00462.warc.gz | en | 0.914027 | 847 |
H195561Pte. J F Watson
A Coy. Q.O.C.H. of Canada
Canadian Army Overseas
Dear Dad & Mom & Helen, etc.
Well it’s been a long time since I wrote you last hasn’t it. I hope you are all doing okay and having the best of health. How are the kids doing? How is the little one coming along? Is the house all finished up yet? I hope so.
I got your money order that you sent me. It sure came in handy. I never got drunk on it either. Richard had a darn good time. Marvin and I went out the shells warning event. It lasted an hour and while it was on all the shops closed even the shows and pubs. We were pretty mad about it. We never got in town till the last show started and then we never saw it. That was the first shelling I was in. But it won’t be the last I guess. A bunch of buildings were lit about a block from the theatre but nobody was killed. Q. “P” plane has first gone over and a spit was right on to him. I guess he got him we heard him fire at it. we have seen lots of them come over but most of them are shot down. They were travel and a spit has to travel to keep up with them. We saw one of these jet planes shot down by ack ack the first time they were used and when he hit the ground the whole sky was lit up by the explosion.
We had a 28 mile speed march about a week ago and if you ever see a tired lot of guys you should have seen us. My feet were practically raw and I wore a pair of socks out doing it. We stopped every two hours for a break and smoke and most of us needed that break too. We got tea and biscuits from the legion and that helped a bit.
Well they are trying to make linceys out of us now Dad. We have breakfast at
08 00 and tea at 1000 and dinner at 1215 and tea at 4 o’clock and supper at 730. They don’t give us time to get hungry. It’s well quick tho when we get it. Its done up by limey cooks and they sure can cook. I guess we’ll have to eat all we can get while the getting's good. We are having a soft go of the whole thing write now. All I’ve done for the last day and a half is eat, sleep and go to the shower put on in the camp for us. We saw an Onsa concert put on for us last nite. It wasn’t bad, but you know what limey humor is.
Your mail has been coming thru pretty fast that is the last mail got from you. I’ve been getting it in 10 days th: more was 14. Your air-graph came in 3 days. Well Dad please don’t worry as much about me, I’ll be okay. I wonder if you could send me a cigarette lighter in your next parcel. One thats cheap and will stand lots of banging around. Put lots of flint and wicks in for it too please.
I’ve decided not to send Violet’s picture home for a while at least I’ve got it in my big pack now and it should be safe there. I tried to get my picture taken in our last camp but I couldn’t find a shop anywhere. I’m sorry but I tried my best. The shops just can’t get the films. If we get leave again I’ll make it a point to get one taken – If I can.
Well Dad there isn’t much else to say so I’ll close for now and I’ll write again as soon as I can. I hope this letter finds you all in good health and enjoying yourselves. All my love to you all at home
Your loving son | <urn:uuid:31417091-2689-4dfe-91eb-cc36c786257a> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://canadianletters.ca/document-63424 | 2021-09-22T05:30:45Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057329.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20210922041825-20210922071825-00484.warc.gz | en | 0.983636 | 841 |
When you are in the checkout line at the supermarket and looking for a nutritious snack to satiate your hunger, take caution when selecting an energy bar.
The energy or snack bar market is big business — a $9 billion industry — and many people are easily fooled by the slick marketing that food companies employ to get you to purchase their products.
The absolute first thing to look for is a certified organic snack bar — one that has the green and white USDA organic seal on it.
And it’s very important not to fall into the trap of thinking that certified organic bars and ones that say “made with organic ingredients” are the same thing. They are categorically not the same.
Because of a loophole in organic regulations, many “made with organic ingredients” bars contain protein isolates which have been processed with the neurotoxic solvent hexane — a byproduct of the gasoline refinement industry.
In order to help you figure out which snack bars are the best, among both organic and conventional, The Cornucopia Institute has just released a brand new report called Raising the Bar: Choosing Healthy Snack Bars versus Gimmicky Junk Food.
Raising the Bar exposes misleading marketing practices by food industry giants and calls out leading natural/organic brands for using cheap, conventional ingredients instead of creating nutritive products that qualify for the USDA organic label.
As it turns out, the highest rated brands in this report are Simple Squares, Bearded Brothers, and Larabar Organic with Superfoods. These three are all USDA certified organic and use only organic fruits, nuts, and seeds without any added sugars, gums, flours, protein isolates, or preservatives.
To read Raising the Bar – Executive Summary, click HERE.
To read Raising the Bar – Full Report, click HERE.
To see how your favorite snack bars rate, check out the Snack Bars Scorecard, which is mobile-friendly.
This scorecard is just another extremely valuable piece of research from Cornucopia, one of the organic industry’s most important watchdog organizations. These people are doing the very hard work to keep us both safe and informed. | <urn:uuid:f61e1c92-ceff-4c67-b8bb-f728164534d9> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://livingmaxwell.com/best-energy-snack-bars-ratings-scorecard | 2023-02-06T05:58:47Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500304.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20230206051215-20230206081215-00092.warc.gz | en | 0.92919 | 446 |
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For inquiries please | <urn:uuid:dcf28807-89d9-496a-906b-4b0f47be23dc> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://cientoluna.com/services/ | 2020-05-26T18:23:55Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347391277.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20200526160400-20200526190400-00227.warc.gz | en | 0.874142 | 312 |
If you ask most people what makes someone an amazing lover, they’ll probably say that it’s about being able to give your partner pleasure. There’s certainly a lot of truth in that, but it’s only half of the story. The other half is taking pleasure.
Let me explain that that means.
When you give someone pleasure, you’re touching them while focusing on their experience. Your attention is on what the receiver enjoys, and you are in service to their pleasure. You can think of it as if the sensation is moving from your hand into their skin.
This kind of touch is the topic of almost every article, book, and video about sexual technique. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of pieces with names like “12 Mind-blowing G-spot Moves” or “8 Blowjob Skills You Have to Have”. These articles are all about giving your partner pleasure, and they’re easy to write because they’re tell you how to take specific action. Touch here. Kiss that. Follow these instructions to make your partner feel good.
As Betty Martin frames it, when you’re having sex like this, the touch and the pleasure are both flowing in the same direction: from the giver to the receiver. It can be delicious fun for both people, but it’s only half of what’s available to you.
When you take pleasure, your focus is on touching your partner in the ways that feel good to you. It’s tracking the sensations that your hands enjoy and using that to guide your touch. The touch is moving from your hand to their body, but the pleasure is moving from their body into your hand.
Keep in mind that this all needs to happen within the boundaries of your partner’s consent. In that context, you can think of it as your partner allowing you to take your pleasure from them. That is what makes it a gift. When taking happens outside of consent that’s sexual assault, and that is most definitely not what I am talking about.
We don’t often talk about taking pleasure. It can be difficult to find the words, since the difference between giving and taking is one of intention. You can give someone a blowjob for their pleasure, you can do it for your own enjoyment, or you can go back and forth. If you’ve ever had a partner say, “I really enjoy going down on you,” there’s no way to know which intention is behind. But if you ask, you might be able to figure it out:
- I love seeing you feel good. (giving)
- It feels so good to my lips and it really turns me on. (taking)
If someone is interested in giving, they’ll talk about how much they enjoy your pleasure. If they want to take, they’ll talk about their own experience. The key difference is whose pleasure is the focus of the action. Both of them can be lots of fun, and it’s not as if one of these is better than the other. Being clear about which happening can make sex much more fulfilling.
The Pleasure in Allowing
So if taking is all about the pleasure of the person doing the touching, what about the person being touched?
When you allow your partner to take their pleasure from you, you experience their arousal and their excitement in a different way. Instead of focusing on your physical stimulation as the source of your enjoyment, you get to receive their passion and desire. There’s a delicious energy that you can feel when your partner is taking their pleasure from you, and it’s distinctly different from what you feel when they’re giving pleasure to you, even if the physical act is the same.
Allowing your partner to take pleasure from you can also be exciting because you’re the object of their attention and desire. You get to feel wanted, appreciated, and lusted over. You get to tune into how much they want you, and that can be an incredible aphrodisiac.
I’ve read plenty of surveys and interviews in which they ask people to identify what makes sex feel good and one answer that comes up over and over is feeling your partner’s enthusiasm. Experiencing someone’s eagerness and the intensity of their passion can be an amazing turn on, and it’s wonderfully easy to tune into that when they’re taking their pleasure and you’re allowing it.
I find that this is one of the reasons that so many people have fantasies of being taken. Although most people classify them as “rape fantasies,” I don’t think that’s the most accurate way to describe them. No matter how intense or extreme the fantasy, it’s rare that anything happens in them that the person doesn’t want. There is always consent in a fantasy, even when the story of the fantasy is that there isn’t.
Sometimes, these fantasies are about getting what you want without having to ask for it because the other person magically knows exactly how to satisfy you. But sometimes, these fantasies are about feeling the other person’s desire, lust, and gratification in taking pleasure from you. They can actually be “allowing fantasies.” Unfortunately, since most people don’t understand the exquisite enjoyment of allowing, we misunderstand these fantasies and add to the cultural confusion about their meanings.
Learning to Take
While it might sound easy, there are some hurdles that people might face when learning to take pleasure. Some of the common ones that I hear are: feeling guilty about being selfish, worrying about crossing boundaries, and habit.
I once heard it said that amazing sex happens when we can balance being selfless and being selfish. I think there’s a lot of truth in that. But all too many of us have learned to not ask for what we want, that we don’t deserve to get it, or that we’ll be punished or shamed if we put our desires into words. Some folks lose their erotic voices because they’ve been trained out of them. And sometimes, people deal with that by focusing 100% on giving. After all, if you only ever do what your partner wants, you’re safe from worrying about being accused of selfishness. The problem with that is that you’re sacrificing a big part of your erotic potential in exchange for safety.
It makes a lot of sense when people say that they don’t want to take pleasure because they’re concerned about going too far or doing something their partner doesn’t want. I find that this is a good place to explore how they can let each other know when things need to slow down or stop. Sometimes, there are relationship dynamics that need to be addressed. There might be old wounds that need to be healed. There could be stories that someone is carrying from a past relationship that needs to be released. And sometimes, we need to learn to trust ourselves and our partners to be able to navigate erotically-charged situations with compassion and honesty.
When people are exploring taking pleasure, it’s easy to slip back into giving. For example, I often invite couples to learn the difference between giving and taking by touching each other’s arms. When they’re practicing giving, the focus is on having the receiver tell them where and how to touch them, through words or non-verbal cues. When they’re practicing taking, the focus is on having the toucher do what feels fun to them. Almost everyone finds themselves slipping into giving without realizing it. It really does take a lot of attention to make the change, at least until you get used to it.
There are lots of reasons that people feel guilt about being selfish, worry about going too far, or fall into familiar habits. There isn’t any one path forward because we each have our individual histories and experiences. We also face different challenges and have received varied messages about sex, depending on our gender, age, race, sexual orientation, etc. But no matter what any one person’s experiences have been, there is always a way forward.
Learning to Allow
When I talk with folks about allowing they often worry that their partner will not honor their boundaries. Allowing can only happen to the degree that you feel safe enough to relax into the experience. That safety comes when you know that you can speak up when something doesn’t feel good, and that you will be heard.
Sometimes, people have challenges with that because of events that have happened in past relationships. Those difficulties might also be the result of things that happened at an earlier point in their current relationship. They can also arise when someone has experienced sexual shame or trauma, or simply weren’t taught the skills to navigate their desires.
Taking is safe to the degree that the allower can advocate for their needs and to the extent that the taker can respond with care. Given how rarely we learn these skills, it’s no surprise that so few people are aware of the incredible pleasure that they can feel from taking and allowing.
How to Move Forward
As a somatic sex educator, I find that the most effective step we can take to explore taking pleasure and allowing is to try it in small, controlled ways and then look at whatever comes up or gets in the way. Rather than talking about it and getting into an intellectual discussion, it’s far more effective to experiment with it and discover what stories, feelings, or sensations arise.
While you can certainly do that with a coach or other support, you can also do plenty on your own. Betty Martin, the amazing teacher who introduced me to this idea, has several free videos on her website and they are a wonderful resource for discovering the different kinds of touch. Her Wheel of Consent is also one of the best explanations of how consent works in the body. I’ve lost count of how many people have told me that her videos changed everything they thought they knew about touch, boundaries, and consent.
The most important piece of this is to do it in small amounts and feel what comes up. When I ask people to explore taking and allowing by touching their partner on the arm, we only do it for three minutes and it’s limited to the forearm and hand. It might sound easy, but you’d probably be surprised at how much information we can get from that experiment. We also get different information when people try it with me, rather than their partner. Or they might go home and try it with a trusted friend or housemate. Each variation gives us different data about it, and all of it is useful. (You can get more info about these explorations on Betty’s website.)
It can also be helpful to try this exercise with the guidance of a coach or therapist. When I do that with my clients, I can see things that they might miss. For example, I can often spot it when the taker shifts into giving. Or I might notice that the allower doesn’t seem to be enjoying it and has shifted into compliance. Or I might need to step in if one of them seems checked out. If you’re working with a therapist already, you could send them the link to Betty’s videos and ask to do the Three Minute Game in a session. Their observations and support can be really useful.
Whatever path you choose, the important thing to remember is that you don’t need to have all the answers. What you need to do is move towards the direction that you want to go and then deal with whatever emerges. Exploring taking and allowing can be an incredibly satisfying and exciting way to do that.
As a somatic sex educator and relationship coach, I want to help you find new tools to create the relationships that support you and make you thrive. I offer in-person sessions in Seattle, as well as coaching over video. Get in touch with me to schedule a free Get Acquainted video call. Let’s talk about what’s going on for you and how I can help you make sex easy. | <urn:uuid:4a6c30a9-7a00-44e1-aaa5-1bf65d432a85> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | http://www.makesexeasy.com/taking-pleasure/ | 2021-12-03T06:22:25Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964362605.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20211203060849-20211203090849-00131.warc.gz | en | 0.970309 | 2,549 |
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Anti-conformity in the Bible? You bet.
Want to rebel against something? Stop doing things the world’s way and start doing ’em God’s way. Fight evil. Battle racism. Declare war on poverty. Stamp out injustice. Lovingly.
The key is right there in the middle of today’s verse: be transformed by the renewing of your mind. God wants to help. Listen to Him. Talk to Him. Read the Bible. Pray.
The more you hang out with God, the more you’ll start to think like Him. You’ll start to see things from His eternal perspective and you’ll get a clearer picture of what the creator of the universe wants you to do with your life. | <urn:uuid:2fd8cca8-138c-4254-ad4f-708340da30cf> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | http://getupwithgod.com/conformity/dont-conform-man/ | 2019-04-19T03:08:01Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578526966.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20190419021416-20190419043416-00263.warc.gz | en | 0.925281 | 214 |
Two of my grandparents turned a milestone, 80.
I got a new teaching job at a fabulous school teaching 4th grade.
Left a company I had been at for years with many wonderful friends who I miss dearly.
Gabe's job role changed to a higher level with more responsibilities.
Found out we were pregnant in July with our little Brody.
Found out many great friends are pregnant. (2009 will be B-U-S-Y)
Sold our house...extremely fast.
Moved in with my mom and step-dad.
Signed a contract on a new house - about to break ground at the beginning of '09.
Were able to travel to LA and Chicago with friends.
Celebrated mine and Gabe's 3 year anniversary (married) and 10 years (dating).
My little Rocky turned 4, wow time flies!
The Lord has given us so many blessings this year, I don't think I could have asked for more. Gabe and I are so lucky to have each other and to be experiencing the things we are at such a young age. We are blessed to have a wonderful, gracious family and fabulous friends! Our hope is that you had a great 2008, and that you have an even better 2009. | <urn:uuid:c1109df2-e03c-4e0c-88df-446a32fdb1e8> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://gabeandlindsay.blogspot.com/2008/12/ | 2017-05-29T05:56:13Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463612018.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20170529053338-20170529073338-00126.warc.gz | en | 0.976495 | 259 |
From Farm to Fork presentation
by Gail Eisnitz
Gail Eisnitz feeding a friend
The following is from a presentation given by Gail Eisnitz of the
Humane Farming Association on September 18,
1999 at the "From Farm to Fork: Reclaiming Our Food System from Corporate
Giants" Symposium presented by the Clean Water Alliance. Some pictures
from her slaughterhouse investigations are available in our
It is a pleasure to be here today.
Today I'm going to discuss two investigations I've conducted in the
last few years that have a direct link to consolidation in the meat
industry. First, I'd like to talk a little bit about the way in which hogs
are raised and housed inside massive confinement operations, and secondly,
I'd like to talk about some of the findings that I report in my new book
While the majority of emphasis on hog factories in recent years has
focused on what's going on outside these operations--the environmental
effects like odors, water pollution--I've been focusing on what's taking
place in the indoor environment. What I've learned is that corporate
agribusiness's contempt for the rights of others doesn't stop with the
farmers and communities it's displacing. Or with pollution or massive fish
kills. Corporate agribusiness's bulldozer mentality extends right on down
to the way factory farmers systematically abuse the animals in their care.
That which supports the entire pork infrastructure--the pigs
themselves--are nothing more than raw materials to the greedy corporations
that profit off of them.
In 1997, a single hog corporation in Oklahoma reported losses of
420,000 dead hogs--that's 48 hogs dying every hour. These and millions of
other hogs on corporate factory farms didn't die naturally. They died as a
result of the hostile, stressful, disease-promoting conditions inside
these massive factories. Or they died because, in a business where product
uniformity is more important than anything else, they didn't make weight.
Or they died because after permanent immobilization inside tiny crates for
years, they could no longer stand. Unable to reach their food troughs,
they starved to death. And many died violently. Thousands of piglets that
were sick or didn't grow fast enough were beaten to death. The industry
calls this thumping or PACing: the industry acronym for "Pound Against
Concrete." Others were flushed alive from waste pits into manure lagoons.
Pregnant sows were beaten with gate rods, wrenches, and hammers; others
had their throats cut while they were still alive, some had cesarians
performed on them while they were still alive and fully conscious. And
thousands, unable to walk, were dragged by their ears and feet and
deposited in piles, where they were simply left to die slowly of
starvation or dehydration.
The following is a description by factory farm workers of the standard
hog factory practice of "thumping" in which workers pick up pigs by their
hind legs, whirl them over their shoulders, and bash them headfirst into
the concrete floor.
"We've thumped as many as 120 pigs in one day. We just swing them,
thump them, then toss them aside. Then, after you've thumped ten, twelve,
fourteen of them, you take them to the chute room and stack them up for
the dead truck. And if you go in the chute room and some are still alive,
then you have to do this whole procedure all over again. There've been
times I've walked in that room and pigs would be running around with an
eyeball hanging down the side of their face, just bleeding like crazy, or
their jaw would be broken. I've seen them with broken backs, where they've
been knocked unconscious for a few minutes, but then they're trying to get
"Some of those guys thump them, then they just stand on top of their
throats. Whether it's to keep them from moving or to suffocate them, they
stand on top of their throats and wait til they die. They break their jaws
and everything while they're doing it."
"You can't really swing the bigger pigs. One time I walked in and the
guys were using two by fours and hammers and gate rods and everything else
to kill them pigs. "
"We had a total of 138 one day," said a woman at another farm. "And the
guys who were supposed to thump them didn't kill them all. I went back in
that room after they'd left, because I was supposed to pick up all the
dead bodies, and there were pigs with blood just running down their heads.
And they were up walking around. Here these animals had the courage to
make it through the first thumping, and here I have to go and thump them
In US hog factories, millions of breeding sows spend their entire lives
inside tiny metal cages so small that they can never walk or turn around.
The practice, called "crating" has been outlawed on the grounds of cruelty
in several European nations. When first crated, sows scream and crash
their bodies against the side bars of their stalls. Over days, months, and
years of confinement, they develop increased levels of corticosteroids
associated with high stress and exhibit mourning behavior and other signs
of learned helplessness and steriotypies similar to those in humans
suffering from chronic psychiatric disorders. They are provided no bedding
or nesting material so their dung can fall through to the waste pit below.
They live--eat, sleep, defecate, give birth and nurse their young--on
concrete or metal slatted floors. They develop severe respiratory
disorders from inhaling their own fumes (even workers are provided gas
masks). And a large percentage of these sows collapse after years of
immobilization in crates or have to be culled because of the severe
arthritis that results from this type of warehousing.
When the pregnant sows are ready to give birth, they are moved from
gestation crates into farrowing crates. "They beat the shit out of the
sows to get them inside the crates because they don't want to go," said a
female worker. "One guy smashed a sow's nose in so bad that she ended up
dying of starvation." "We had one too with his nose smashed in," said
another. "A 600 pound boar. Smashed him in there. He finally died."
"On the farm where I work," said a worker, "they drag live pigs who
can't stand up any more out of the crate. They put a metal snare around
her ear or front foot and they drag her the full length of the building.
And these animals are just screaming in pain. They're dragging them across
the concrete. It's ripping their skin. These metal snares are tearing up
"When sows can't stand up anymore and we have to kill 'em to perform
C-sections, we wait until within a week of farrowing and we kill her and
cut her open, then we drag her outside to the Dumpster. We use a stun gun
or we get a hammer and start beating the head. Until they die."
One animal group recently released videotape shot at a North Carolina
factory farm. They asked me to speak at their press conference, because so
many of the abuses depicted on the tape were already reported in my book
as standard practices at the hog farms I'd visited across the United
States. The tape documents sows being beaten with gate rods and violated
with canes, struck in the head with wrenches, sows being kicked, stomped
on, and dragged down alleyways, having their throats slowly cut with a
tiny scalpel while they were still fully conscious, sows being killed by
having cinderblocks dropped on their heads, and sows being skinned alive
and having their legs removed with a hack-saw while they were still fully
conscious and moaning. Anyone who wants to see first hand the realities of
factory hog farms should stop by my booth and watch this brief videotape.
Because factory breeding and feeder pigs are maintained under such
stressful and unnatural conditions, they are incredibly susceptible to
disease spread. So, before even entering these so-called farms, or before
leaving them, workers are required to shower in/shower out of these
facilities, with plant management providing on-site clothing right down to
their underwear. Another example of the extreme measures used to keep
animals alive under these hostile conditions: If a pig being transported
by truck between barns accidentally touches the ground during unloading,
or a pig escapes its barn, contact with Earth is so dangerous to the other
pigs that that pig is immediately killed. Another example of the hostile
conditions: When electrical power is lost from lightening strikes, tens of
thousands of pigs routinely suffocate on the fumes of their own wastes.
Just how wasteful are these operations? One worker summed it up. She
was telling me about a pig that was supposed to be transported from the
nursery to the grower barn and how she had didn't ship it for three weeks
because it was lame. "Then she got too big, we couldn't ship her out. She
ended up having to be killed." In short, she was killed because she was
In a rare instance, a worker was allowed to take home 20 pigs that had
been slated for thumping. "We turned them loose on my dad's farm," he
said. "They ran around in the mud like normal pigs. Grew to maturity.
Really healthy. No diseases." The worker told me how he wanted to go into
business raising pigs the company planned to kill. "I would've made a
fortune," he said.
These staggering death losses are not considered a major financial
drain to factory farmers because dead hogs are simply picked up by "dead
trucks" which make daily rounds, and then they're trucked to rendering
plants, ground up, and fed back to live pigs, cattle, and other animals. A
person can visit a rendering plant and see a constant flow of dead pigs
being dumped from dump trucks and tractor trailers into auger pits 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
Nor is value placed on animal life in the transportation process,
because insurance carriers pick up losses en route to the slaughterhouse.
In the summer, massive numbers of pigs die from suffocation. In the
winter, thousands of pigs arrive at slaughterhouses frozen as solid as
"In the winter, some hogs come in all froze to the sides of the trucks.
They tie a chain around them and jerk them off the walls of the truck,
leave a chunk of hide and flesh behind. They might have a little bit of
life left in them, but workers throw them on piles of dead ones. They'll
die sooner or later because there's nothing left to them."
Before I radically shift gears here and talk about the findings of my
slaughterhouse investigation, I just thought I'd take a minute to mention
some unprecedented litigation that Humane Farming Association has
spearheaded against a giant corporate hog producer. Last year, we sued to
Bureau of Indian Affairs in an effort to halt construction of what was
scheduled to be the third largest hog farm in the WORLD. The Bureau had
approved the project--scheduled to produce 859,000 hogs a year--on South
Dakota Indian lands without conducting adequate environmental studies. As
a result of our lawsuit, the Bureau was forced to reverse itself and void
the lease for the operation. Since that time, a federal judge ruled that
the Bureau couldn't halt the operation once construction had begun. The
Bureau and HFA have appealed that ruling. In the meantime, all
construction has stopped, the Tribe has been made aware of the damaging
effects of the operation and is now strongly opposing it, and it looks
like we may be able to permanently stop further construction.
So now I'll shift gears to slaughterhouses. In the last fifteen years,
more than 2,000 small to mid-sized packing plants--or one-third of the
nation's packing plants--have been forced out of business by a few large,
high-speed operations, each with the capacity to kill millions of animals
a year. Today 14 plants slaughter half of all cattle in the country, and
something like 10 plants slaughter half of the country's 101 million hogs,
plus another 3 million from Canada.
With fewer slaughterhouses killing a growing number of animals,
slaughter "line speeds" have skyrocketed. Today, individual workers kill
as many as 1,100 hogs per hour--that's one pig every three seconds. One
plant I visited kills almost 150,000 hogs a week and had requested
permission from regulators to increase that number to nearly 190,000.
In these operations, where a minute of "down time" can spell a loss of
many hundreds of dollars, a production mentality has emerged where that
line doesn't stop for anything: not for injured workers, not for
contaminated meat, and certainly not for slow or uncooperative animals. In
these operations, workers resort to brutality to keep the production line
running uninterrupted in order to keep their jobs.
The Humane Slaughter Act was passed 41 years ago. It requires that
animals in federally inspected slaughterhouses be handled humanely and
that they be rendered unconscious with one application of an effective
stunning device prior to being shackled and hoisted up on the line. Once
stunned, animals must remain unconscious during shackling, hoisting,
bleeding, and butchering.
Stunning is accomplished in a variety of ways. Cattle are rendered
unconscious or "knocked" with a captive bolt gun. A worker stands over the
animal and shoots a metal rod into the head. After stunning, the cow has a
shackle placed around a hind leg, is hoisted up on to a moving rail, has
the throat cut--that process is called "sticking" and is performed by the
"sticker"--is supposed to bleed out for several minutes, and then is
skinned and dismembered.
Pigs are stunned with electricity, they are shocked into
unconsciousness, shackled, hoisted up on the rail, they have their throats
cut, and then, after bleeding out for several minutes, they are dragged
through a long tank of scalding water to loosen their bristles for
The Humane Slaughter Act also requires that disabled animals are never
to be dragged and are to be protected from inclement weather; that pipes
and sharp objects are not to be used to prod animals; that animals have
access to water at all times, basic things like that. Humane Slaughter Act
regulations authorize USDA meat inspectors and veterinarians stationed in
slaughter plants, whose primary responsibility is to inspect meat for
wholesomeness after animals are slaughtered, to stop the slaughter process
when violations occur and are not immediately corrected.
My initial complaint came from a USDA employee down in Florida who
claimed that, due to time constraints, cows at his plant were not being
properly stunned or bled, and as a result, were having their heads skinned
while they were still fully conscious. I was able to document his
allegations. Next, I learned about a midwest plant where thousands of pigs
were being scalded to death. The electrical stunning equipment at that
plant was marking the hogs' loins, and so, despite the importance of
adequate electrical current in the stunning process, the plant decided to
solve the problem by reducing the amount of electricity in the stunner.
Stunning the pigs without the necessary electricity was not rendering them
unconscious. As a result, countless thousands of hogs were being shackled
alive and since they were struggling, it was difficult to cut their
throats properly to get an adequate bleed; then the hogs weren't given
enough time to bleed fully, and so they were being immersed in and dragged
through the scalding tank alive, kicking and splashing water all over and
squealing. I also learned that frustrated stunners, shacklers, and
stickers were beating pigs with pipes, poking their eyes out, chasing them
into the scalding tank alive, crushing their skulls. They stuck electric
prods up animals' butts and in their eyes and held them there. They
dragged disabled animals with meat hooks in their mouths and anuses until
their intestines ripped out. When there was down time, workers
half-stunned pigs with electricity to watch them flip up in the air. They
allowed disabled animals to freeze to concrete floors, and then stay there
for days; they chain-sawed hogs alive into pieces for rendering.
Some quotes from my interviews with workers. This is just a tiny
"These hogs get up to the scalding tank, hit the water, and just start
screaming and kicking. I'm not sure whether the hogs burn to death before
drowning. The water is 140 degrees, not that hot. I don't believe the hogs
go into shock, because it takes them a couple of minutes to stop
thrashing. I think they die slowly from drowning."
"After a while you become desensitized. And as far as animals go,
they're a lower life-form. They're maybe one step above a maggot. When you
got a live, conscious hog, you not only kill it, you want to make it hurt.
You go in hard, blow the windpipe, make it drown in its own blood. Take
out an eyeball, split its nose. A live hog would be running around the pit
with me. It would be looking up at me and I would just take my knife
and--eerk--take its eye out while it was just sitting there. And this hog
would just scream.
"One time, I took my knife--it's sharp enough--and I sliced off the end
of a hog's nose, just like a piece of lunch meat. The hog went crazy for a
few seconds. Then it just sat there looking kind of stupid. So I took a
handful of salt brine and ground it into his nose. Now that hog really
went nuts, pushing its nose all over the place. I still had a bunch of
salt left on my hand and I stuck the salt right up the hog's ass. The poor
hog didn't know whether to shit or go blind.
"Another time, there was a live hog in the pit. It hadn't done anything
wrong, wasn't even running around. It was just alive. I took a three foot
chunk of pipe and I literally beat that hog to death. I'll bet there
couldn't have been a two inch diameter piece of solid bone in his head.
Basically, if you want to put it in laymen's terms, I crushed his skull."
"If you get a hog in the chute that refuses to move, you take a meat
hook and clip it into his anus. You try to do this by clipping the
hipbone. Then you drag him backwards. Your dragging these hogs alive, and
a lot of times the meat hook rips out of the bunghole. I've seen
hams--thighs--completely ripped open. I've also seen intestines come out.
If the hog collapses near the front of the chute, you shove a meat hook
into his cheek and drag him forward."
"The preferred method of handling a cripple is to beat him to death
with a lead pipe before he gets into the chute. It's called 'piping'. All
the drivers use pipes to kill hogs that can't go through the chutes. Or if
a hog refuses to go into the chutes and is stopping production, you beat
him to death."
"Hogs are stubborn. Beating them in the head seems to work about the
best. Piece of rebar about an inch across, you force a hog down the alley,
have another guy standing there with a piece of rebar in his hand. It's
just like playing baseball. Just like somebody pitching something at you."
Sadly, this was just the beginning of my investigation. Every time I
thought I'd encountered the worst violations I could imagine, I'd visit
another pig, horse, and cattle plant with even more horrendous violations.
The workers I talked with represented 2,000,000 hours on the kill floor.
They told me that they routinely had to pound away at cows' and horses'
heads with ineffective captive bolt guns in order to render the animals
unconscious. Workers strangled cattle with cables when they were dragging
them up to the stun area, they listened to bones cracking and necks
popping when they dragged horses. They used saws or blow-torches to remove
the legs of live cattle that were stuck in trucks, in chutes, and in the
stun area. They drove over the legs and heads of disabled animals with
tractors; they routinely skinned heads, bellies, sides and rumps, removed
legs, ears, horns, and tails, and began eviscerating cattle that were
"When a cow arrives at the first hind-legger [who removes the legs],
usually the legger tries to make a cut to start skinning out the leg. But
it's hard to do that when the cow is kicking violently. A lot of times the
leggers'll take their clippers and cut off the cow's leg right below the
knee--the skinny part. The cow'll continue to kick, but it don't have that
long of a reach."
"Outside of the weak ones, just about every cow I stunned had to be hit
between three and five times just to get it to go down. There were plenty
of times you'd have to make a big hole in their head, shooting them eight
or nine times. And they'd still be alive. I remember one time I saw the
other knocker at the plant shoot a bull twelve times, and still it
wouldn't go down. "
"Sometimes a steer would get its head stuck in the restrainer [the
conveyance that cattle ride up to the stun operator in]. You couldn't stun
it at that point, so you'd end up cutting its head off while the steer was
still alive. Or, there've been a lot of cases where the beef almost falls
through the restrainer, and it struggles and twists so bad that the
restrainer wouldn't move. A lot of times what happens is we just chop the
leg off. We do it with a saw."
"Sometimes they go pretty far. Sometimes they have all the skin out and
they're all peeled. Sometimes you can tell they're alive because when you
look at their eyes, you can see the tears of a cow. And their eyes are
moving and everything. But mainly they just make a lot of noise and are
trying to kick."
"Cows that get hurt, they call them 'haulers'. You take an electric
winch, latch it on to one of her legs--it's supposed to be a leg--and drag
her all the way through he kill alley to the knocking box. You can always
tell them because when they come out on the line, they're covered with cow
shit from being drug through the kill alley. If you can't get her leg, it
goes around her neck, and by the time she gets up here, she's almost dead.
It's literally strangling her."
"I've seen beef still alive at the flankers, more often at the 'ears
and horns'. That's a long way. I've seen them over where they take the
hide off with the down-puller. I've heard them moo when people with air
knives were trying to take the hide off. I think it's cruel for the animal
to be dying little by little while everybody's doing their various jobs on
'The majority of the cows they hang up, the majority of them are still
alive. They open them up. Skin them. They're still alive. They're skinned
out. Their feet are cut off. They have their eyes wide open and they're
crying. They're yelling, and you can see their eyes popping out."
Prosecutors aren't interested in slaughterhouse cases for a variety of
reasons, and the media was only interested in meat contamination. So I
decided to work the contaminated meat angle, since it was also directly
linked to industry consolidation and exhorbitant line speeds. Working with
a Washington, DC law firm which represents government whistleblowers, I
found that due to increased line speeds and pressure from USDA supervisors
not to interfere with industry profits, inspectors were virtually
powerless even to enforce meat safety regulations.
I examined poultry slaughter practices. Did you know that we are
currently slaughtering as many chickens in one day as we did in the entire
year of 1930? Anyway, I learned about expedient slaughter technologies
that, while allowing a single plant to kill as many a half million birds a
day, were resulting in increased contamination rates. Today, our poultry
is so filthy that plants have to decontaminate it with chlorine--in this
use chlorine is potentially carcinogenic--at the end of the production
process. The entire European Union won't even import US poultry because
they say they can't count on decontamination to produce a safe product
when the product doesn't have to be contaminated in the first place.
Next I looked at expedient beef inspection programs that USDA
officials--generally corporate agribusiness leaders from the private
sector who had been temporarily appointed to head up the meat inspection
program--had put in place over the years to allow for increases in line
speeds. These programs has produced dangerously contaminated beef.
I interviewed parents who had taken their kids out for hamburgers to
celebrate good report cards and such and then watched as their children's
bodies were slowly dismantled organ by organ until, after days or weeks,
they finally died from E.coli 0157 poisoning. After looking at the CDC
statistics, it became apparent that deaths from foodborne illness had
quadrupled in the last 15 years, as consolidation and line speeds had
If, thanks to pressure from corporate agribusiness, meat inspectors
couldn't even protect the public from deadly meat, which they perceived as
their primary responsibility, then surely they couldn't stop the line for
animal suffering. When I met with the chairman of the 6,000 member meat
inspectors' union, he told me that due to industry consolidation,
increased line speeds, and inspection policies developed in collusion with
the meat industry, USDA meat inspectors are totally powerless to enforce
During our conversations, and in subsequent discussions with scores of
other meat inspectors, it became apparent that, while inspectors are the
individuals charged by Congress with enforcing humane regulations, they
are not even stationed in the areas of the plants where animals are being
handled or killed. No one is stationed in these areas of the plants.
What's more, while the regulations required inspectors to stop the line
when they observed violations, no where did the regulations require the
inspectors to visit the areas of the plants where they could observe
violations! Thus, the inspectors told me, if they stopped the production
line for Humane Slaughter Act violations, they would probably be
disciplined for abandoning their inspection stations and for impeding
"I've seen cattle dragged and choked, knocked four, five, ten times.
I've found them alive clear over to the rump stand. Takes them about ten
minutes to get to the rump stand. That's after they've been completely
legged [had their legs removed] and run through an electrical shock system
too [to facilitate bleeding]. They're up there sucking in air and
bellowing. Their eyes bugging out."
"One day when I went out to the suspect pen, two employees were using
metal pipes to club some hogs to death. There had to be twenty little hogs
out there that they were going to give to the rendering company. And these
two guys were out there beating them to death with clubs and having a good
"I went to the USDA vet, my supervisor, to complain. He said, 'They're
of no value because they're going to be tanked [rendered] anyway.' So,
according to my supervisor, it was all right to club those little hogs to
death. They were beating them like they do those little seals in Alaska."
"Dragging cattle with a chain and a forklift is standard practice at
the plant. And that's even after the forklift operator rolled over and
crushed the head of one downer while dragging another."
"I've seen them put twenty to twenty-five holes in a hog's head trying
to knock her and she was still on her feet. Her head looked like Swiss
cheese. Tough gal. Sometimes they'll use a twenty-two and shoot the hog
through its eye. Or you might have to hit both eyes on the same hog."
"Sometimes cattle fall through the bottom of the restrainer and they're
still alive. And the workers have to get them up anyway they can. So they
wrap a chain around it, lift it up, bust something. If it's a leg, they'll
break the leg. If it's the head, they'll break the neck. It usually
breaks, whatever they hook on to. You can hear the bones cracking a lot of
"An employee recently told me about a cow who got her leg stuck when
the floor of a truck collapsed. 'How'd you get her out alive?' I asked the
guy. 'Oh,' he said, 'we just went underneath the truck and cut her leg
off.' If somebody tells you this, you know there's a lot of things
nobody's telling you."
"A steer was running up the alley way and got his leg between the
boards and he couldn't get it out. They didn't want to lose any time
killing cattle and he was blocking their path, so they just used a blow
torch to burn his leg off while he was alive."
And if that's not bad enough, the USDA, at corporate agribusiness's
behest, has come up with ways to further deregulate the meat industry, to
remove inspectors from slaughterhouses. The fewer the number of inspectors
to try to stop the lines for contaminants, the faster the production lines
can go. In its latest inspection program, called Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Points, the USDA is actually attempting to remove the vast
majority of inspectors from plants. Not only does that compromise the
safety of the meat and poultry coming out of those plants, but it leaves
us wondering exactly who will be charged with enforcing the Humane
Slaughter Act if there aren't inspectors in the plants!
And it's not just USDA. As so many of you know, last year, US farmers
and ranchers who were required to contribute millions in check-off dollars
to beef, pork, and dairy trade associations--a total of a quarter of a
billion dollars for programs they didn't necessarily support. Thanks to
the incredible efforts of the Campaign for Family Farms, the Land
Stewardship Project, and the Livestock Marketing Association, we are
hopeful that we may finally see an end to these outrageous payments. Up
until now, however, despite the fact that these greedy commodity groups
have had an annual income of a quarter of a billion dollars to fritter
away, little to nothing has gone to ensure the humane slaughter of 142
million farm animals a year--the very source of their profits. The farmers
and ranchers who have read my book find this outrageous.
And those 142 milllion animals are the ones covered by the Humane
Slaughter Act. Then there are another 8.2 billion chickens that are exempt
from that law's coverage who are subject to incredible suffering at
slaughter. To immobilize birds for neck-cutting, US poultry processors, on
an average, use only about one-tenth the electrical current that would
adequately stun the birds. The result is that untold numbers of birds are
going into the scalding tank alive.
I also found during my investigation that it wasn't just the animals
and consumers who are victims of multinational corporate greed, but the
workers are victims as well. Many of these operations have 100 percent and
higher turnover rates per year. It's the most dangerous industry in the
country. Workers are chewed up and spit out. During the course of the
investigation, I documented people who had lost fingers, limbs, had
breasts caught in machines, people who had been burned and stabbed, people
who had been crushed by falling animals, people who had been killed or who
dropped dead on the line. But the real danger to the workers lies in
repetitive motion illnesses. Due to exorbitant line speeds, in the last 15
years, we've seen a 1000 percent increase in cumulative trauma disorders.
Even the meat industry itself reports that at current line speeds,
workers' bodies are physically used up after 5 years. In fact, that's why
these companies intentionally recruit illegal workers from places like
Mexico--that completely and conveniently protects them from insurance
And then there are the independent farmers whose lives are destroyed by
multinational corporate packers. Advance contracts with corporate hog
producers, vertical intergration, and what appeared to be the
carefully-timed shut down of an IBP Iowa plant in the middle of last
year's hog price crisis and the resulting massive bottleneck at the
nation's hog plants, drove hog prices down to disastrous levels. While
production exceeded 100 percent of slaughter capacity and farmers were
receiving $8 to $10 per hundredweight of animal and were unable to pay
their feed bills; while this catastrophe may ultimately spell the loss of
as many as 50,000 independent hog farms; IBP, Smithfield, and Seaboard
were enjoying record profits. IBP declared fourth quarter earnings to be
four times higher in 1998 than in 1997. Smithfield Foods reported fiscal
1999 net earnings for its year ended May 2 up 77 percent from the previous
A few months ago, I had the incredibly unique opportunity to confront
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on national TV. One morning, in a
motel room, when I rolled out of bed and flipped on the TV, I happened to
stumble across Glickman speaking on C-Span. Well, you can imagine, I
dialed and dialed until I finally got through. The fact that I was sitting
on my bed in my underwear talking to the Sec. of Agriculture only added to
Anyway, I explained who I was and I clearly elucidated what the
findings of my book were. He said he'd read my book, and that many people
at USDA were reading it. He expressed concern about the problem, but then
said the USDA's primary function is meat inspection. And then he went into
a cheerleading routine, telling me and America about the terrific job USDA
inspectors do when it comes to inspecting our meat. I guess that's why
we've seen a 25 million pound recall of ground beef and a 35 million pound
recall of hot dogs in the last few years. Oh, and incidentally, he said,
the USDA does not have the money to enforce the Humane Slaughter Act.
Over the course of my investigation, I faced many roadblocks:
informants were gagged and fired; one was actually stabbed to death; an
uncooperative boss impeded my efforts to the point where I was forced to
change employers; TV producers repeatedly got my hopes up that they would
expose the findings and then dropped the story because it was deemed too
graphic for public consumption; I became so physically depleted and
discouraged about ever exposing this information that I was struck with a
life threatening illness. But now, it's done. And it's all right here in
black and white.
This book is an incredibly powerful weapon in the war against greedy,
corporate agribusiness interests. This is the first time that slaughter
workers and federal meat inspectors--individuals who represent 2,000,000
hours of service on the kill floor--as well as factory farm workers, have
ever gone public in their own words, telling America about what is going
on behind the guard shacks of America's slaughterhouses, and the locked
doors of America's factory farms.
For 41 years, Americans have assumed that the Humane Slaughter Act was
being enforced. The public has a right to know that the USDA has violated
its trust. The public needs to know that thousands of helpless animals are
being brutalized in America's packing plants. That packers can brutalize
animals with impunity.
If you don't want to buy the book, go to your library. If they don't
have it, get them to order it. TV is not going to tell Americans about
these atrocities. Contact local radio stations, write letters to the
editor, convince anybody and everybody you can to read this book. Do
whatever you can to get this information out there. Help me to spread the
word! I am so grateful to know that there are so many people at this
conference who care and who can help us in the grassroots effort that's
necessary to change the nation's consciousness. Thanks to all of you for
being here to listen to me today!
Copyright (c) Gail A. Eisnitz/Humane
Farming Association. Chief Investigator Humane Farming Association | <urn:uuid:c83e08e7-5e23-4a1e-95f1-1b12b12aa005> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://animalliberationfront.com/Practical/FactoryFarm/From%20Farm%20to%20Fork.htm | 2016-10-21T00:24:05Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717959.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00047-ip-10-142-188-19.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9708 | 8,103 |
Hello and welcome! We are happy you are joining us for our May New Product Release Blog Hop! As always, we are thrilled to show you our new products, share inspiration and of course host a few fun giveaways! This month we are featuring the following collection: Romancing The Swirl by Becca Feeken and The
Elena Salo is back again to show us some transparent cards using the new collection Romancing The Swirl by Beeca Feeken. Elena was so inspired by this collection and she loves how you can make quick elegant cards with these dies.
Hello die cutting fans, thank you for joining me on Spellbinders blog! Today I am going to showcase 2 projects featuring Swirl Background and Curvy Labels die sets from Romancing the Swirl collection designed by Becca Feeken. Both cards are the same design but are a bit different in structure. The project #1 is a multi-layered
Hussena’s final guest post featuring Romancing The Swirl Collection by Becca Feeken is sure to inspire! She is sharing a card and a coordinating gift box using Trefoil Crest, Hemstitch Circle, Swirl Booklet Insert, A2 Corner Cotillion and Sweetheart Swirl dies.
Hello, dear friends! Elena Salo is here. Thank you so much for joining me again! Today is the second post where I show how you can use new collection of the dies from Becca Feeken – Romancing The Swirl. You can find my first project using this collection here. Today I prepared for you two
Hussena Calcuttawala is back again to to show off some additional projects using the brand new collection Romancing The Swirl by Becca Feeken. Hussena, says “This collection has some beautiful dies which are perfect for making shaped cards, and today I will be sharing one such card I made using these dies.” | <urn:uuid:8949df60-5d81-477a-b03a-911c22f44aae> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | http://www.spellbindersblog.com/tag/romancing-the-swirl-collection-by-becca-feeken/ | 2018-07-17T04:09:54Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676589557.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20180717031623-20180717051623-00298.warc.gz | en | 0.918302 | 400 |
Hundreds of permanent roles for nurses and doctors available throughout the UK
HCL Permanent is one of the UK's leading suppliers of nurses and doctors for permanent positions. Our dedicated teams work with our candidates to provide the roles they need, where they want to work and when they need them. We are proud of the working relationships that we have built with our candidates and clients alike.
For more than 10 years, we’ve been building a formidable reputation for service excellence and have set the standard in compliance assurance.
If you are searching for a new permanent role, use the job search option to find the perfect fit for you.
Email us today, give us a call on +44 (0)20 7861 8950 (London) /
+44 (0)113 243 8200 (Leeds) or register online.
Whether you are looking for your dream role or ideal candidate, we can help you. | <urn:uuid:88b39b73-b00b-449a-a639-9c7319393808> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://www.hclpermanent.com/ | 2017-04-29T15:24:50Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917123530.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031203-00440-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933928 | 188 |
Stellar waterfront lot in The Waters at Lake Anna. With approx 450' of water frontage this one is sure to please. Nothing will beat the panoramic views and excitement of owning this lot and what it has to offer. Wide, open views of Lake Anna. Located on a cul-de-sac for even more privacy! Enjoy the clubhouse, pool and tennis courts for even more relaxation!
- Site Link
- Style Other
- Roof Type Unknown
Listing Agent: Ashley Hoffman
Courtesy of: Lake Anna Island Realty, Inc.
Office Phone: 5408944400
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Updated: 17th May, 2017 4:26 PM.
99 ACORN DRIVE Mineral, VA | <urn:uuid:495e0a14-3ff1-41e6-b740-9f4bb7b120f4> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | http://realestate.arlnow.com/property/va/mineral/23117/lake-forest/99-acorn-drive/58dd72dda78e920cdd000405/ | 2018-01-23T13:59:14Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084891976.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20180123131643-20180123151643-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.880407 | 152 |
Recently, another task and project manager came across my desk. I agreed to review it because I was interested in seeing how it stacked up against other software I had been looking at.
ToDoIst is a project and task manager that works on iOS, and has a web component to make it easy to use. Written by Ist Apps, it is a step in the right direction for managing projects; however, it is not without it’s drawbacks.
The application breaks things down into projects and tasks. Projects can be nested, as can tasks. There is no concept of a next action, though, and all tasks and projects at the same level are treated as independent.
The project entry screen is very easy to use. Both on the web, as well as in the application. The application gives you the option of colors, which I find nice. However, when you enter a project, it automatically goes to the bottom of the list.
On the iPad, it was easier to set the indentation of the project. On the web, you had to see the arrow icons on the right of the project to indent.
You can rearrange the projects and tasks as you wished, but this would be difficult to do on the iPad with a very long list.
The application sends email reminds of things that are due, but I found the emails singularly unhelpful as they were almost plain text, and little to distinguish what belonged where.
- Web entry gives you access to the information
- Sync options were straightforward and automatic
- Email reminders are a plus
- Simple options for entering projects and tasks makes it very straightforward
- using web entry on the site while on iOS gives you only those features available in the iOS version.
- The email reminders are rather bland
- I was unable to find Help information in the iOS version
- The iOS version allowed a level four to be added under a level one without adjusting
- Reordering projects and tasks is done in a straight list without any indication of level
- The recurring task option is not hinted at in the Web version, and only by guessing was I able to figure out what it should be on the iOS version.
- There is no way to copy tasks from one project to another.
The iOS version of this application has a long way to go to equal the features of the website. Both web app and iOS app should have the same feature set to make it easier to do what you need to do.
While Todoist shows promise, I don’t think it is where it needs to be to be a strong contender in the project and task marketing app market.
Author: Ist Apps
Price: Free; premium option available
Disclosure:Ist Apps provided me with a free copy of the premium software to enable me to write this review. | <urn:uuid:ed23fc58-71b9-4234-9e09-db7a22326359> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.simpleproductivityblog.com/todoist/ | 2016-06-28T22:23:33Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947935 | 582 |
Prem Joshua plays:
Sitar, Bansuri (Indian Bamboo Flutes), Silver Flute Soprano and Alto Saxophone, Dilruba (bowed and plucked), Santoor, Swarmandal, Tamboura, Voice, Percussion.
Tablas: Manish Vyas
Acc. Guitar: Adarsha (Dancing River) Miten (Land of the Buddhas, Ocean Monsoon Night)
Keyboards: Karunesh, Sandhan, Ravi
Percussion: Punya (Dance of the Desrt People), Ravi (Thumri, The Bridge)
Congas: Homen (The Bridge)
Voice: Neera (Land of the Buddhas)
All music composed, produced and mixed by Prem Joshua Recorded in Siena (Italy), Munich (Germany) and Poona (India) 1992 Nature sounds recorded in India
Cover Art and Design: Prem Joshua
Photos: Unmani, Niten
My special thanks to all the musicians for their enthusiasm and inspiration, to my sitar teacher Ustad Usman Khan for his heart and incredible musical depth and to Amito, Vasudha, Niten, Waduda, Bhikkhu, Sambodhi Prem and Unmani for their love and support.
This album is dedicated with gratitude to Osho.
Life is just a river, al Ong River – Each river, small or big, dissolves into the ocean, finds its way without any guide, without any sutras, without any masters.
It may go astray, zigzag, but finally it reaches to the ocean. And that reaching to the ocean. And that reaching to the ocean is becoming the ocean. That is the rebirth. That’s what we mean by meditation. That’s what we mean by meditation. That’s what we mean by the Zen Manifesto. Every river is destined to disappear one day into the ocean. Go dancingly, go joyfully. There is no need to be worried, there is no need to be hurried. The ocean is waiting – you can take your time, but take your time with joy, not with tensions and anxieties.
Rejoice and dance and sing and love, and finally you are going to disappear into the ocean. The ocean is always waiting for you. Even though you are far away from the ocean you are part of it, always reaching, always coming closer to the ocean. Everybody is going to become a Buddha today or tomorrow – and there are only seven days in a week, so you can choose…!
On this album Prem Joshua combines the magical atmosphere of a great variety of Eastern instruments (sitar, bamboo – flutes, santoor etc.) with the sounds of soprano saxophone and keyboards to take the listener on an adventurous and harmonious musical journey along a “Dancing River” from its source, to the ocean.
Kafi – The Mountain Stream
The Rains have come
Land of the Buddhas
Dance of the Desert People
Moon at Noon
Dancing River Part 1
Still Life (flowing)
Dancing River Part 2
Thumri (Ferryman’s Party)
Ocean Monsoon Night
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend | <urn:uuid:9fecc52e-e22c-48b2-b915-7914af744101> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://m.exoticindia.com/product/audiovideo/prem-joshua-tales-of-dancing-river-audio-cd-icr129/ | 2023-06-08T22:02:39Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224655143.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20230608204017-20230608234017-00744.warc.gz | en | 0.902391 | 721 |
There is a very old and odd saying that when a woman is with child and it’s a baby girl, she ‘steals her mothers beauty,’ but this can’t be the case with the Kobi Levi ‘Mother & Daughter’ shoe because its gorgeousness is not divided, but rather, multiplied.
The pump has a skin-colored base that looks as if it is the protective matriarch to the smaller identical heel, crafted with the same features but facing in different directions. The straps wrap around to join the two opposing parts looking as though they could even be clasped hands.
The Kobi Levi ‘Mother & Daughter’ design is a strange shoe structure but manages to mimic a mom and child relationship splendidly as a unique family-inspired installation made with heart and sole.
Maternal Shoe Sculptures (UPDATE)
More Stats +/-
Wearable Sculpture Shoes
Peculiar Playground Footwear (UPDATE)
Kitchen Appliance Stilettos | <urn:uuid:1710aa2f-7bbe-45f0-9774-37c496e07a20> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kobi-levi-mother-daughter | 2017-03-26T20:58:10Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189252.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00206-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930481 | 213 |
http://news.soc.mil/releases/News Archive/2009/March/090313-01.html FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, March 13, 2009) - Seasoned Green Berets are once again able to purchase a tangible, and serial numbered, connection to the Special Forces regiment. Soldiers graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course have been presented a Green Beret, and as part of a tradition since August 2002, a knife. Not just any knife, but the Yarborough knife, a combat field knife specifically designed by renowned knife maker William Harsey – which serves as a link to the brotherhood of unconventional warriors. Beginning March 15, current and former Soldiers who can prove their membership in the Special Forces Regiment will be able to once again buy their Yarborough knife through the JFK Special Warfare museum here. “We are thrilled that we can again provide our brothers in the Special Forces Regiment the ability to purchase the Yarborough knife,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School commander. “This isn’t just a well-made knife; it’s an outward expression of the uniqueness of being a Green Beret and the warrior-spirit that we embody.” The new batch of knives will start with serial number SF-0001. Lt. Gen. Bryan D. Brown, then commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command originated the idea in 2002, naming the knife for Lt. Gen. William P. Yarborough , the “father of modern Special Forces.” Yarborough championed the need for a knife that would continue the tradition of Special Operations units using, and being identified with, effective edged weapons. In World War II, the First Special Service Force, a joint American-Canadian unit, was equipped with the V-42 knife and the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner to Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency, made use of the Fairbairn-Sykes knife. Made by Chris Reeve Knives of Boise, Idaho, the serial-numbered Yarborough knife is available for purchase only by qualified members of the Special Forces Regiment including active duty, reserve, National Guard, honorably separated or retirees. Requests for authorization to purchase the knife should be addressed to Commander, USAJFKSWCS, ATTN: AOJK-CS-Y (Yarborough Knife), Fort Bragg, NC 28310 or can be dropped off at drop boxes located at JFK Museum or Bryant Hall lobby. Applications can also be faxed to 910-432-4062 or emailed to email@example.com. Each request must be accompanied by a copy of photo identification and at least one of the following qualifying documents: Copy of orders awarding an 18 series military occupational specialty Copy of orders awarding the Special Forces Tab Copy of diploma indicating successful graduation from the Special Forces Qualification Course Copy of orders or an affidavit establishing successful completion of standard or nonstandard training or former wartime service for which a retroactive award of the Special Forces Tab would be authorized Copy of Special Forces Association membership card showing they are a Decade or a General member in good standing Copy of an Enlisted Records Brief or Officer Records Brief annotating the awarding of the Special Forces Tab Copy of DD214 showing service, and, after 1952, the qualifying suffix of (3) or (S). When a request has been verified, a letter of approval will be sent to the requestor noting the total purchase price, including the cost for shipping. The letter of approval must then be mailed, with payment, to the JFK Special Warfare Museum gift shop at PO Box 70060, Fort Bragg, N.C., 28307. The Yarborough knife will then be mailed within 4-6 weeks via certified mail. Requests from Family members or estates of deceased, qualified Special Forces Regiment members who can prove their Soldier’s qualification will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Special Forces Soldiers who have been previously issued the knife as a result of graduating the SFQC, have already purchased a knife under the previous resale program, or those who have had their Special Forces Tab revoked, are not eligible to purchase the knife. A version of the Yarborough knife, marketed as the ‘Green Beret’, is available for purchase by the general public. | <urn:uuid:2fb0d0ce-17a4-4e7a-be43-d20e4ee1f39b> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://www.shadowspear.com/vb/threads/yarborough-knife-again-available-for-purchase-by-qualified-special-forces-soldiers.3601/ | 2016-12-09T19:13:02Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698542765.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170902-00218-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935183 | 901 |
What kind of teaching style can I expect? Though there is some typical lecture in CAST courses, we depend largely on experiential learning models. We even have a federal grant to disseminate Problem Based Learning-Simulations to other CAST communities across the United States. Several of our courses make use of our “mock house” to increase student learning, and guest speakers are also frequently included. All instructors for CAST courses are active professionals from Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis.
How will a CAST minor or certificate help me? We try to gather data every year from former CAST certificate graduates to more accurately answer this question. As it is a unique program with growing national recognition, some of how it will help you is dependent on your ability to advocate for the skills you developed independently. However, in several surveys employers across a range of child-serving professions expressed that they were likely to give preferential hiring to someone with such a focused trauma-informed education background. The CAST program is designed to equip you with practical knowledge and trauma-informed experiential and reasoning skills to make you more effective in any setting working with families and children with trauma histories. Given the growing recognition of the importance of trauma-informed care throughout a range of sectors, this training is likely to set you apart from other job applicants.
I have a full-time job. Can I complete this certificate during the evening? Yes, the schedule is designed to make this a possibility.
I already have my degree, can I still get the certificate? Yes, the certificate can be taken independently, regardless of what level of education you completed previously. To enroll this way, please complete a non-degree seeking student application. Please note that financial aid is not available for people only pursuing the certificate. The minor can only be completed while pursuing an undergraduate degree as an UMSL student.
Are all of the classes offered every semester? Not yet, though as demand grows, we are able to offer more sections. Our minimal schedule commitment is the following:
- Traumatic Stress in Childhood and Adolescence (Spring and Fall)
- Child Maltreatment: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Spring and Fall)
- Forensic Investigation of Child Abuse and Neglect (Spring)
- Assessment and Intervention of Child Abuse and Neglect (Fall)
- Internship in Child Advocacy Studies and the associated Seminar (Spring and Fall) | <urn:uuid:f459d307-2b87-47d9-ab64-54f0bbce3702> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://www.umsl.edu/services/weinman/Professional%20Development/cast%20faq%20page.html | 2018-05-24T13:43:48Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794866326.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20180524131721-20180524151721-00414.warc.gz | en | 0.95895 | 498 |
Unfortunately, American citizens aren’t ready for those who could do some real good. It would be a shock to the core of the system. A change for the better means facing the reality that the country we live in is not what we think it is and has changed drastically since the start of the 21st century. We have lost our rights. We could be killed in our own homes by our own government without due process… forget being framed and thrown into jail… now you just die. #realtalk
The question is… what now? What do we do? How can we hold our government accountable? Is it even possible to challenge our government without being called a traitor? | <urn:uuid:542aa354-2831-4c9a-b1e4-25d080f64c5c> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://livingbyday.tumblr.com/tagged/government | 2014-03-08T04:20:15Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999653077/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060733-00079-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974922 | 139 |
Tears of the Raven Queen
Paladin of the Raven Queen
Dae’Onel AthrightPaladin of the Raven Queen, Protector
- Has been known to lift a near 200lb dwarf over his head in jest and bend bars once in a score of tries.
- Is hale and hearty enough to endure a week long pursuit of a monster across several leagues of rough terrain with little rest.
- Has typical reflexes
- Described by his peers as being a few sparks shy of full torchlight, DaeOnel knows his verses of the Raven Queens doctrine by rote.
- Wis: 14 (+2)
- Dae’Onel is magnetic. Cheerful, overpowering at times
Max HP 33 (includes Toughness)
Surge Value: 8
Surges/Day: 13 (includes Durable)
Armor: Plate (50 lb) and Large Shield (15 lb)
Armor Class: 20 = 10 + 8 [plate] + 2 [if carrying heavy shield]
Fortitude Defense: 14 = 10 + 1 [Human] + 1 [paladin] + 2 [strength]
Reflex Defense: 14 = 10 + 1 [Human] + 1 [paladin] + 2 [if carrying heavy shield]
Will Defense: 16 = 10 + 1 [Human] + 1 [paladin] + 4 [charisma]
Hair: Blond; Wavy; Light Beard
Speed: 5 squares [includes armor penalty]
Base Strength Attack: 1d20 +2 = + 2 [strength]
Base Dexterity Attack: 1d20 +0 = + 0 [dexterity]
Base Constitution Attack: 1d20 +1 = + 1 [constitution]
Base Intelligence Attack: 1d20 -1 = -1 [intelligence]
Base Wisdom Attack: 1d20 +2 = + 2 [wisdom]
Base Charisma Attack: 1d20 +4 = + 4 [charisma]
- Unarmed Melee: +2 [base strength attack] vs AC; damage 1[W]=1d4+2 [strength bonus]
- Longsword(v): +5 vs AC +2 strength attack; damage 1[W]=1d8+2 [strength bonus] 4 lb (Heavy blade) versatile
- Bolstering Strike +4w [base charisma attack] vs AC
- Enfeebling Strike +4w [base charisma attack] vs AC
- Ardent Strike +4w [base charisma attack] vs AC
- Radiant Smite +2w [base strength attack] vs AC
- On Pain of Death +4i [base charisma attack] vs will
v Versatile weapon. Add +1 to damage if using two-handed
w Weapon-based power. Apply adjustments for proficiency, situation, feats, magic, etc.
i Implement-usable power. Apply a bonus as appropriate for magic, any implement expertises, etc.
- Normal Load: 140 lb.
- Heavy Load: 280 lb.
- Maximum Drag Load 700 lb
Languages: Common; Elven;Supernal
- Acrobatics: -4 = 0 [dexterity] -2 [armor]-2 [shield]
- Arcana: -1 = -1 [intelligence]
- Athletics: -2 = 2 [strength] -2 [armor]-2 [shield]
- Bluff: +4 = 4 [charisma]
- Diplomacy: +9 = 4 [charisma] + 5 [class training]
- Dungeoneering:+2 = 2 [wisdom]
- Endurance: +2 = 1 [constitution] + 5 [class training]-2 [armor]-2 [shield]
- Heal: +7 = 2 [wisdom] + 5 [class training]
- History: +4 = -1 [intelligence] + 5 [class training]
- Insight: +2 = 2 [wisdom]
- Intimidate: +4 = 4 [charisma]
- Nature: +2 = 2 [wisdom]
- Perception: +2 = 2 [wisdom]
- Religion: +4 = -1 [intelligence] + 5 [class training]
- Stealth: -4 = 0 [dexterity] -2 [armor]-2 [shield]
- Streetwise: +4 = 4 [charisma]
- Thievery: -4 = 0 [dexterity] -2 [armor]-2 [shield]
- Basic Melee Attack: By weapon, damage 1[W]+2 strength bonus
- Basic Ranged Attack: By weapon, damage 1W
- Bull Rush: +2 [base strength attack] vs fortitude [standard action]
- Grab: +2 [base strength attack] vs reflex [standard action]
- Move grabbed target: +2 [base strength attack] vs fortitude [standard action]
- Escape: -4 [acrobatics] vs reflex / -2 [athletics] vs fortitude [move action]
- Divine Challenge Paladin
- Bolstering Strike [Level 1]
- Enfeebling Strike [Level 1]
- Ardent Strike [DP; Level 1]
- Second Wind
- Spend an Action Point [free action, not in surprise round]
- Channel Divinity
Divine Mettle [minor action]
Divine Strength [minor action]
- Radiant Smite [Level 1]
- Daily Powers:
- Lay On Hands Paladin[2/day]
- On Pain of Death [Level 1]
One extra at-will power from your class (already included)
One bonus feat at 1st level (already included)
One bonus skill from the skill class list (already included)
+1 to fortitude, reflex, and will defenses
Channel Divinity—Divine Strength (add your strength modifier to damage on your next attack)
Channel Divinity—Divine Mettle (target makes saving throw with your charisma modifier as a bonus)
Divine Challenge (mark target)
Lay On Hands (sacrifice one of your healing surges to enable another to heal as if they had spent a surge)
Dae’Onel Athright’s Equipment:
69 lb Weapons / Armor / Shield (from above)
2 lb Backpack
5 lb Bedroll
Flint and steel
1 lb Pouch (belt) x1
10 lb Rations (1 day) x10
10 lb Rope (50’, hempen) x1
2 lb Sunrods x2
4 lb Waterskins x1
1 lb Holy symbol (silver)
Dae’Onel’s a bastard Princeling (so, has a title, but no lands, no money, no
usable family connections). His mother was a Royal Princess, who had him and his
twin sister out of wedlock with another Royal Prince (a very distant
cousin). She was a Priestess for the Raven Queen
She was also notable for having several jilted lovers, and being a very devoted priest for the Raven Queen.
His father, I don’t have very much information other than he was known for his temper.
His mother died in childbirth, which was occurred in a prison cell.
Despite the royal linage, his family only had a comfortable (middle class) amount of wealth, so he has no servants.
The Raven Queen is wound around and around in Dae’Onel’s life it seems.
When Dae-Onel was a child of 5 he was chased into an alley by some thugs/bullies. He fell, there was a bright flash of light and the thugs all ran away. His protector was a spirit of an adventurer (a warrior or paladin) of some local renown. From that point on Dae-Onel had an ‘invisible friend’ that he could speak to, get answers from, but no one could see.
(the boy is odd, always talks in 3rd person, or in the plural)
He had a religious experience when he was 8, with the Raven Queen
speaking to him.
At 12 he was apprenticed as a Paladin’s squire (a year younger than
At 16 he had another religious experience, where the Raven Queen
requested that he accomplish a dangerous task
Always speaks in the plural of himself Phobia of being buried alive (maybe why he’s not a priest—doesn’t have to spend time underground) Obsessive heraldry hobbyist (as in spending about a 1/3 of his earnings on books, scrolls, paints, parchement) Devoted lute player | <urn:uuid:3f3f2b32-80c0-4746-86d7-de09b78fe7e3> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | https://tears-of-the-raven-queen.obsidianportal.com/characters/daeonel | 2017-05-23T07:03:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607591.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20170523064440-20170523084440-00365.warc.gz | en | 0.896914 | 1,835 |
Spartans Fall at No. 3/8 Notre Dame
Sept. 14, 2012
East Lansing, Mich. -- - No. 3/8 Notre Dame scored in each half and posted a 2-0 victory over Michigan State on Friday evening in South Bend, Ind. The Spartans suffer their fourth shutout loss of the season and fall to 2-4-1 overall, and turn their attention to a home contest with Marquette on Sunday to complete the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge. Bryce Dobbins finished with two saves on the evening.
"Theres certainly positives that we're taking from our recent games, and there's progress being made even though we aren't being rewarded on the scoreboard," said head coach Damon Rensing, who's seen his team complete toe-to-toe with a pair of top-five teams over the last three weeks. "Today, a couple bounces didn't go our way, but our guys kept going. The real difference today is that they had a bit more quality in final third, and complete credit to Notre Dame for that. Their goals came on two really great shots for them.
"I was happy to see that our guys stayed with it, and kept going when we went down 2-0," continued Rensing. " We were a little unlucky - Domenic [Barone] hit the crossbar early in the second half, which would have made it 1-1 at the time, and would have changed the complexion of the game there. We were unfortunate not to get on the board.
"We really have, as a team, been making strides," concluded the head coach. "Now, it's time for us to get over this quickly and get ready for a good Marquette team on Sunday."
The Spartans had not lost a game by more than one goal since Oct. 24, 2010, when they fell at home to Indiana, 3-0. MSU had its run of 21 consecutive games overall settled by a goal or less snapped, dating back to a 3-0 Spartan victory over New Hampshire in East Lansing last September.
Harrison Shipp gave the home team a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute. He chipped a shot from just beyond the 18-yard box that sailed just past the outstretched arms of a diving Bryce Dobbins.
The continuing story for the Spartans have been the ability to create scoring chances, but watching those chances come up just short. On the evening, the disparity on the stat sheet was slim - Notre Dame held a 17-14 edge overall in shots, with each team firing off 10 in the second half. The Irish had two more corner kicks (8-6) and the two additional shots on net they recorded (the Irish held a 4-2 edge in that category) accounted for their two tallies.
Early in the second half, Barone's shot caromed off the crossbar, denying the Spartans an equalizing tally. MSU had several chances on the evening - a pair of Luke Norman offerings sailed just over the crossbar, and a couple of other chances skitted just wide - futher extending MSU's struggles with getting the ball into the net.
In the 53rd minute, the Irish got an insurance goal from Patrick Hodan off a corner play. He finished off a shot from 20 yards, depositing it in the bottom right corner of the net.
MSU will host Marquette on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 to complete the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge. The women's team hosts Purdue in its Big Ten opener at noon, followed by the men's game as the nightcap of the doubleheader. The two programs will welcome back all 2012 Spartan Soccer Camp participants as a part of their Camper Appreciation Day. All campers who wear their camp-issue Tshirt will be admitted with one parent free of charge to either game of Sunday's doubleheader.
at the official | <urn:uuid:17600901-41ed-48cc-9f8c-541ecf7834ab> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-soccer/recaps/091412aaa.html | 2014-09-01T21:08:38Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535920694.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909044014-00117-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977385 | 809 |
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Rocket Raccoon for the win!
Hmmm..Iron Man, Thor, Nova, Wolverine, and Jean …all in dark blue and Yellow…
Hmmm…Jean as Marvel Girl…nope, not interested. MG always did seem lame to me. And since the Phoenix Force is now possessing any and everybody in the Marvel ‘verse, I’m having a hard time getting excited at the idea of Jean coming back. Until Jean Grey-Summers comes out of the White Hot Room as the one and only Phoenix, I’ll pass on this one.
And yeah, I hope Rocket Raccoon whumps ‘em all. He looks capable.
this is the jean of the past coming to the future. the present jean is still dead.
whats the deal with the Roadkill holding the massive gun? never heard of him. i am so out of the loop. i am much more knowledgeable with golden and silver age comics. doesn’t the whole idea of a vermin holding weapons just make everything seem a bit kiddish.
Not trying to be negative, just asking.
That Roadkill is Rocket Raccoon, part of the Guardians of the Galaxy-team, they’re getting a movie in 2014 so they’re trying to get the team members more in the mainstream comics!
If want to read some background info check: http://screencrush.com/who-are-the-guardians-of-the-galaxy/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_26948
Why the hell would the hulk put on armor …. -_-
I like that Captain America has a baby arm
nova,iron mans black and gold armor sooo cool,and thor have the best new outfit rehauls no doubt!,the hulk with armor is retarded!, wolverine and spidey wit same ole 90′s duds blahhh,cyclops looks ridiculous they shudda kept his avx visor design concept,they shud make nova a guardian of the galaxy now as well as wraith | <urn:uuid:a91d0653-9d6f-4c3c-bc6b-b15163b710a6> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://screenrant.com/marvel-comics-now-uncanny-xmen-avengers-kofi-184503/marvel-now-comic-con-2012/ | 2014-10-20T21:20:04Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507443438.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005723-00362-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909392 | 535 |
New Crops, Old Fields: (Re)Imagining Irish Folklore (5-7 September 2013)
Keynote Speaker :
Prof. Diarmuid Ó Giolláin (University of Notre-Dame)
From our homes to our houses of government, from our schoolyards to our stadia, from our galleries to our gable walls, folklore is being re-imagined in all aspects of everyday life in Ireland. Today, with globalised, media-centric culture, the folk traditions take on new lives in music, literature, theatre, radio, film and television, advertising and tourist industries. The ancient stories and characters still find a place within the new multicultural Ireland and their depiction continues to evolve. Irish folklore has been made new again, in a regenerating of the tradition, where the old and the new, the oral, the textual and the visual intermingle.
This conference aims at exploring the rich traditions of Irish folklore, and looking at the various ways it is being, has been or indeed was, re-purposed and reinvented. We hope to bring together researchers at various stages of their careers, both professional and postgraduate, working on any and every aspect of the folklore of Ireland, its reappropriation and dissemination up to the present day or indeed the reuse of traditions. We welcome proposals from researchers in the fields of Agriculture, Anthropology, Archaeology, Architecture, Dance, Drama, Ecology, Film Studies, Folklore, Geography, History, History of Art, Languages, Literature, Media Studies, Music, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology and Theology, Tourism Studies.
Topics may include (but are not limited to) the reuse of legends,
myths, beliefs, folktales, songs, rhymes and riddles, music, dance, sayings and proverbs, customs, oral history, etc in:
- the Visual Arts (paintings, sculptures, dance, etc) and iconography
- Film, Television and Radio
- Advertising, tourism, the diaspora and folklore around the world
- Literature, in English or as Gaeilge
- Children's Literature
- Food and drink
- Theatre and performance
- comparative approaches of the reuse of Irish folklore and international folklore
- urban folklore
Please submit proposals of 300 words and a short biography to email@example.com by 1st May 2013. | <urn:uuid:faae4cbb-c9cc-4034-8fb3-4b4f287a3cd1> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/node/50147 | 2018-05-27T13:55:56Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794868316.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20180527131037-20180527151037-00055.warc.gz | en | 0.908745 | 499 |
Prefer to talk ? Let's Talk 1300 734 410
Mon - Fri 9 am to 5 pm | website enquiry 24/7
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Islamic law, or Shariah, requires that interest forms no part of any transaction, meaning that the vast majority of loan products available in Australia do not conform.
Let's forget for a moment that politics, religion and money are the big three no-go topics for polite conversation, and tackle all three at once. When the Financial Systems Inquiry kicked off, there were calls for Joe Hockey to include Islamic finance in its scope. While it was not included, it is important to clarify the sometimes sensational headlines regarding Islamic finance, by breaking down exactly what it is, why it exists and how it works. Approximately two per cent of the Australian population seek banking, loan, investment and insurance products that conform to Islamic law (or the Shariah). Depending on the extent to which someone complies with Shariah, this means they may only participate in transactions that represent tangible assets. They may also seek loan and investment products that do not charge or earn interest, do not present uncertainty, and do not finance products, services or activities banned under Islamic law, such as alcohol, gambling, pork or pornography. Yield generally arises from profit sharing, while risk is also shared, which can present some complications when it comes to insurance.
Islamic finance, investment and insurance products that are designed to work within Islamic law are available in Australia. For those that allow people to purchase property and commercial equipment, at least, the end result is very similar to what you would expect to see with any other loan product. Examples of Shariah-compliant loan products include:
• The lender, an Islamic finance institution, purchases an asset and
• Sells it to a client, with payment by instalments over an agreed period. The sale price is higher than the purchase price to account for the profit that the lender would usually earn from interest.
• An investor provides finance to an entrepreneur for a commercial enterprise. Risk is carried by the investor, and the partners determine the share of profits.
• Both partners contribute capital for a commercial enterprise, which may be run by one or both of the investors, or by another party, agreed by the investors. The partners determine the share of profits, but risk is shared according to the original capital investment.
One notable difference between Islamic finance and other common loan types in Australia is the treatment of stamp duty.
"As I understand it, the financier must pay stamp duty on the purchase. The property is then 'leased' to the 'lessee' who must, in most states and territories, pay stamp duty (again) when the property is transferred to them at the end of the payment cycle," explains Peter Kennedy, MFAA Compliance Manager.
The two transactions are clear in the first example above: one at the start, when the financier purchases the property, and another at the end of the payment period, when the property is transferred to the client.
The only Australian state that charges stamp duty on such transactions only once is Victoria. This removes a significant impediment to property purchase and makes participation in wealth building within Australia more accessible for followers of Islamic law.
You are welcome to email us too
Source: The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) | <urn:uuid:08f3347a-9c30-4fe3-8807-35cf87b033bc> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://www.propertyfinanceonline.com.au/pro-news/islamic-finance-property-purchase-and-stamp-duty | 2017-08-21T08:24:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886107744.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821080132-20170821100132-00046.warc.gz | en | 0.955781 | 687 |
After their last great effort “A View From The End Of The World” in 2010 it is time again for Machinae Supremacy to release a new record called “Rise Of A Digital Nation”. Machinae Supremacy was always a band difficult to categorize as they blend together many styles from the melancholy of goth metal to speed of power metal to elements which remind you videogames. It’s a weird combination of sounds but they
mixed it nicely and make it sound good and are improving from album to album. Their signature sound comes from their use of the Elektron SidStation, a rare synthesizer that incorporates the sound chip from the Commodore 64 computer. For those too young to have beheld this now classic gaming PC, the SID chip creates audio typical of the 8-bit games of the ’80s, and it gives the band an entirely unique sound in a metal world where non-organic sounds are generally frowned upon (excluding keyboards in Power Metal and synthesizers in Industrial Metal).
Given the meteoric rise of the Chiptune scene in recent years (with bands using everything from ancient PCs to Game Boys to make 8-bit music), it would appear that they were ahead of the curve when they made their professional debut in 2004. It’s nice to see how far the band has gone and how much they have improved since their ”Rise Of A Digital Nation” is by far the band’s fastest and heaviest album to date, but interestingly, it’s also their tightest, catchiest, and most creative. 2008’s “Overworld” was fast and heavy but occasionally muddy, and 2010’s “A View From The End Of The World” was slick and
melodic but occasionally slow and boring, but “Rise Of A Digital Nation” has all the positive traits of both albums and few of their deficiencies. Fast tracks like “All Of My Angels” and “Laser Speed Force”
grab your attention early on, building up an adrenaline reserve for the anthemic cyber-generation tracks like “Republic Of Gamers” and the title track. We’re even treated a Pop-Punk track in “Pieces” and almost ten full seconds of dubstep in “Battlecry.
One of the greatest elements of the new album are the lyrics. Plenty of songs about kids “lost in the cyberspace” when they “should be outside.” On the other hand lyrics in other songs also recognize the magic of the internet giving the opportunity to people to connect from all over the world and about how social media and online gaming have created a sense of togetherness among the world’s youth. “Rise Of A Digital Nation” is a paean to the power of the Internet and the generation that turned it into the immutable social and cultural force that it is today. Every new release of the band is better than the previous one, so it’s no surprise that “Rise Of A Digital Nation” is the band’s best album to date. The more I think about this album, the less likely it seems like it should work; the dark, melancholy sound should contrast with the energetic, rebellious punk message, but instead, they’re perfectly balanced. The only complaint somebody can have from this album is the small length, the album is over before you know it!!!
|Track List||Line Up||
01. All Of My Angels
02. Laser Speed Force
04. Rise Of A Digital Nation
06. Cyber Warfare
07. Republic Of Gamers
Gibli – Guitars (lead)
Gaz – Guitars (rhythm), Vocals
Gordon – Keyboards, Bass
Nicky – Drums | <urn:uuid:167f16be-5506-4cd6-aad7-e069b86e20c3> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.metalpaths.com/reviews/2013/01/04/machinae-supremacy-a-view-from-the-end-of-the-world/ | 2023-02-05T17:43:14Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500273.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20230205161658-20230205191658-00839.warc.gz | en | 0.933754 | 829 |
Dazed from the heat and humidity, and a 10 hour trip (plus afternoon rums in the Koru lounge in Auckland and Merlot with dinner), I ticked ‘sport’ on the immigration card. When questioned I said, business and sport. The rugby. The Blues and Reds. The referees? The giant official smiled from behind his tiny desk, amended the card, and handed me back my passport.
We picked up our rental and drove to the resort by the airport ‘turn right, drive a few minutes… bump!… first right’. The directions were spot on. The gates to Aggie Grey’s Sheraton Resort were indeed right after a sudden bump.
In my room I fiddled with the telly, trying to decide if I needed food. But it was 10pm. I was exhausted and needed sleep.
I woke with my throat raw. Two flights. Sleeping with air-con. I walked out my patio to the white sands, took a dazed selfie to post on Facebook then joined my workmate for breakfast in the Apolima Fale. It was paradise eating with no walls and such beauty.
Unlike everyone else working on the first Super Rugby game in Samoa we weren’t staying in town, so we had a one hour drive along the coast through village after village, ramshackle and pristine, proud of famous sons The village of David Tua, The village of Joseph Parker etc. I took passing photo after passing photo of open fales, little family stores and concrete swimming holes, all obliterated by bad light or my reflection.
It was as I remembered from 1999, but much tidier. The rubbish scattered everywhere was now all absent. There are stands all along the road where rubbish is left so roaming dogs can’t get at it. Some are homemade. Some are engineered metal with labels saying ‘Australian Aid’.
As we got closer to Apia bunting and flags lined the road. For rugby? Apia was jammed with people. Markets and stalls everywhere. We were funnelled away from our destination by closed roads and police. It was Independence Day. Samoa was celebrating throwing off its New Zealand overlord. NZ likes to think it was a benign ‘administrator’ who liberated Samoa from Germany at the start of WWI. But we didn’t let go and our officials mowed down peaceful marchers when they asked for freedom.
There’s a wonderful Samoan song that remembers that atrocity. I learned it years ago when acting in a Samoan play. I sometimes sing it in the shower, delighting in the onomatopoeic sound of the Samoan word for machine gun. Fanata’avilli. Rat-a-tat-tat.
It was hot and humid at the stadium. With four road cases to carry up the steep concrete steps to our booth at the top of the stand we took it slow, but it was hard going and my colleague soon began to feel faint and unwell. There was an air con unit but no remote control. It took forever to find someone who understood what we needed.
Heat and lack of water aside, it was an easy rig. I had to clamber onto a dodgy rusty, dusty, roof to rig aerials; a challenge with the grade-2 muscle tear I gave myself when I slipped on some rocks last weekend. But I was strapped from crotch to knee with purple tape so I was reasonably mobile. From the breezy, shaded cool of the roof I looked down to the two fullahs mowing the field. With t-shirts tied over their heads to shield them from the sun, they pushed two domestic lawn mowers across the entire pitch; slowly doing a job done by ride-on mowers in NZ. The average hourly rate is $1.50 over here.
By 2pm we were done. I’ve never been so thirsty. Though it seemed wrong we couldn’t face the bustle and heat of Apia in celebration. We weren’t here to tourist, so headed to Frankie Hypermarket to pick up bottled water and drive back to the resort.
After inhaling the plate of fruit left in my room I lay down on the bed to sleep. But as soon as I closed my eyes I felt bad. What a waste. I couldn’t hide in the air-con, no matter how tired I felt, so I put on my togs and headed to the pool. The water was stunning but I couldn’t swim with my torn thigh so I floated about in the empty pool (where was everyone?) before grabbing a sun longer on the beach to watch the ocean breaking on the distant reef.
Four Australians turned up with drinks on the chairs beside me. The pool bar was unattended so I went up the main bar in my wet togs, trying not to feel self-conscious. It was happy hour. For the next 90 minutes! Alone in paradise I slowly made my way through the NZ$8 cocktails. Apolima Sunrise, Midori Splice and Blue Lagoon. Tequila, Midori, Vodka, Malibu, Blue Curacao and Orange Liqueur all went down easy as I skited on Facebook and listened to the Aussies mither about wedding fails.
So I put on a smile and put on the shitty dress. It’s what bridesmaids do. She wanted to arrive in a helicopter. A helicopter. I said, if you do that my hair will be all to shit. To shit. I literally bit my tongue for two weeks. So she dicked the best man to get back at him. Well you would, wouldn’t you? They’re still together. Toronto. Toronto for fuck’s sake.
The man drank beer in silence as his three bikinied companions competitively relived each horror. I guess he had never been to a bad wedding. | <urn:uuid:55f39c52-80fe-4494-a298-da7033ec85be> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://zildchurch.com/tag/eavesdropping/ | 2019-12-12T18:39:05Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540545146.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20191212181310-20191212205310-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.972901 | 1,241 |
Thank you for visiting our website. Please take time to look around as we have ministries and organisations that cover a lot of interests and appeal to all age groups.
We are followers of Jesus Christ who meet regularly to receive teaching from God’s word, to pray, and to benefit from fellowship and mutual support and care. At the heart of our community is a growing desire to know God, and serve Him with our everyday lives as we care for each other and share the Gospel with people who are not yet part of our community.
Although we have an active programme throughout the week our main priority is our gatherings on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. The format of our services on Sunday at 10:30am and 6:30pm include time to praise God in song, seek Him in prayer and hear from Him as His Word is read and preached. We also enjoy the warmth of fellowship together as we meet with friends, family and visitors.
After each service we serve refreshments in our cafeteria – you would be made very welcome. If you’d like to talk with someone about a particular issue in your life or would like to have someone pray with we always have people on hand to offer help and hope whatever your circumstances.
We’re so glad you’ve decided to check us out! You’ll find a list of commonly asked questions. Please don’t hesitate to send us an email, give us a call or even pop in if you have any other questions!
Find our contact details here.
You can find our location on the map.
We have a large car park at the back of the church. If you turn into the church someone will direct you to a space!
Our church has a “come as you are” atmosphere. You will see some dressed up; some dressed casual. We have no expectations for attire. | <urn:uuid:9e98c510-cdf4-474d-bff0-77410d7ea8df> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | http://www.ballynahinchbaptist.org/about-us/i-am-new/ | 2020-01-20T06:38:53Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250597458.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20200120052454-20200120080454-00314.warc.gz | en | 0.974007 | 382 |
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For many Newton Park Board members, there has been a major issue with lack of communication. The last board director, Denny Slings, did not get along well with members, and at Thursday afternoon’s park board meeting, Newton’s Mayor Mike Hansen was in attendance and addressed the concern.
“You guys are in charge of the parks,” Hansen said. “Citizens can come to you and suggest things. If there is something that is on your mind about the park facility, you’re in charge of bringing those issues and discussing them among yourselves on what you believe is best for our park system.”
Board member Bruce Showalter was concerned about what power the board actually has, noting that, in the past, they felt very unguided.
“The parks director, at that time, was not happy with that situation,” Showalter said in reference to the board being formed in years past. “The first year (that) we were in existence we only met six times, because we couldn’t figure out when we were going to meet. A lot of it was (that) the former parks director did not want anything to do with us.”
Showalter said, at one point, the city administrator ran a few meetings just to keep the board active. He felt the board had no direction and the former director did not care about them, and he hopes that this year things will change.
“We felt that we had no power, no money (and) no authority,” Showalter said. “All we did was show up at meetings, and talk about stuff and ask for things to happen without any real input. That was frustrating. I just think that we were the red-headed stepchild.”
Mayor Hansen was quick to respond to his concern.
“Let me assure you (the board) that you are not,” Hansen said. “You are an important part of the public works organization. You are an important piece. You are valued in your work as it pertains to the park program.”
Showalter and past members went out to the streets to raise money for events since Slings denied them request for funding. Members even resorted to cold calling. This year, Showalter hopes to make the Fourth of July fireworks show an all-day event, including live entertainment, rather than solely a fireworks display.
Board Chairman Nathan Unsworth brought concerns to light for the mayor, such as the fireworks display.
“I understand we had some growing pains, and we had a little confusion on where our role was,” Unsworth said. “We were kind of given the fireworks display. With no budget to market anything for that, it was very difficult to get the money for that.”
Unsworth is hoping to see some money set aside for the parks. One of the park board’s most recent projects was the disc golf course, which has seen success. Even Hansen complimented the project.
In addition, the board welcomed new member Amanda Price, who is also president of the Young Professionals of Jasper County.
“I lived here my whole life, and I am really excited to be on this board, and hopefully provide some good ideas for the parks and some fun things to do in town,” Price said. “I’m anxious to get started.” | <urn:uuid:d68ecabd-6a53-43e9-8c2b-6e42b266cabb> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://www.newtondailynews.com/2013/01/03/park-board-addresses-communication-issues-with-mayor-hansen/a5wf4na/?list-comments=1 | 2015-11-29T01:41:13Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398455135.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205415-00312-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986643 | 711 |
Lebanese media mirror the country’s political, economic, and social ambiance, to the detriment of accuracy, fairness and balance in many instances, Magda Abu-Fadil told a Cairo seminar in November 2015.
Moroccan Professor Mohamed Allali and Magda Abu-Fadil at AUC hate speech seminar
The Media Unlimited director listed a number of adjectives, descriptions, stereotypes and ethnic or sectarian slurs that often creep into the public sphere and translate into hate speech, augmented by biased media coverage, she said.
Participants at Cairo hate speech and ethics seminar
It’s also common for politicians from opposing factions to engage in mudslinging through the media, although laws and regulations, not to mention basic media ethics, should act as a deterrent, she added.
Conferees discuss the role of press councils
The two-day seminar, held at the American University in Cairo, was a collaborative effort by the Ethical Journalism Network, the Norwegian Institute of Journalism, the Egyptian Editors Association and the Egypt Media Development Program.
The seminar dealt with the definition of hate speech, how to counter hate speech, case studies from the participants’ respective countries, group discussions with prominent media personalities, and efforts to establish a regional center for hate speech monitoring.
It grouped participants from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Britain, and the United States and is a follow-up to an earlier event in Beirut in 2014. | <urn:uuid:3c184612-dae2-4751-8897-403afe99b68d> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | http://media-unlimited.info/topics/american-university-in-cairo/ | 2020-06-05T03:20:37Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590348492427.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20200605014501-20200605044501-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.923011 | 305 |
Phoenix police discovered the apparent reason that 29-year-old Jeremy West hopped on a school bus with a gun and took a ride to an elementary school last week.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, West told police he got on the bus -- which transports special-education students -- because he "was hearing voices" and thought people were trying to kill him.
That doesn't really explain the whole series of events last week, though, which started with West approaching a 14-year-old kid who was dropped off at his house near Georgia Avenue and 27th Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.
The kid later told police that this guy, whom he didn't know, approached him near his house and asked him if he wanted "a cigarette or a fix." The kid told West to leave him alone and went home, according to police.
Thursday morning, the kid got on the bus to go to Simpson Elementary School, and West got on the bus right behind him, and they sat down at the back of the bus.
Both the bus driver an adult "bus assistant" asked West what he was doing, and he said he was helping out the kid he'd followed on to the bus.
This explanation apparently worked until they arrived at the school, which is on the east side of I-17. At that point, West asked where the nearest church was, and walked away from the school.
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old kid on the bus found a fully loaded magazine on the seat where West was sitting.
West was identified, thanks to cameras on school buses, and tracked down to an apartment, not far from the school, and even closer to the home of the kid he'd allegedly approached the day before.
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West directed police to his loaded Ruger handgun, and although West admitted to getting on the bus, and leaving the loaded magazine there, he denied bringing the rest of the gun on the bus.
Somehow, the children on the bus were able to describe what West's gun looked like, since it was sticking out of his pocket, according to court documents.
West told police he hopped on the bus because he was hearing the voices and "feared for his life." West believed people were trying to kill him, but he didn't know who, according to the documents.
According to court paperwork, West was being held in isolation in jail as his bond was set at $45,000 on a felony endangerment charge. | <urn:uuid:5da7ca6a-dcb0-4b84-b92f-f8fe2614ffe1> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/jeremy-west-man-who-rode-phoenix-school-bus-with-a-gun-says-he-was-hearing-voices-6635923 | 2018-10-20T14:36:52Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583512836.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20181020142647-20181020164147-00048.warc.gz | en | 0.991273 | 552 |
Sun Pool Service was started as combination of small businesses combining together to provide all of your backyard and pool remodeling needs in one company. We have all of the right people in place to complete those projects that you have been putting off because you didn’t have the time to make calls to get bids from 4 or 5 different contractors.
At Sun Pool Services, LLC, we specialize in swimming pool tile & coping replacement, waterblasting pool surfaces for replastering, acid wash and polishing of existing pool surfaces, complete backyard landscaping, lighting and sprinkler systems.
Regardless of your needs, Sun Pool Service, LLC professionals can help. We are committed to an enjoyable experience for you throughout the entire project. With over 40 years of experience in the swimming pool industry, we know what it takes to do the job right and within budget. | <urn:uuid:3a836a6e-c1a9-4bc7-ae10-e6ab66ca7799> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | http://sunpoolstl.com/about-us/ | 2021-02-27T00:56:37Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178358033.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20210226234926-20210227024926-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.949376 | 172 |
Many people understand that obstetric fistula is a childbirth injury caused by prolonged and unrelieved obstructed labor, that when left untreated leaves women incontinent. But, there is often confusion about what exactly produces an obstetric fistula. Contrary to a common misconception, the injury is not due to ripping and tearing of tissue, rather it is due to pressure of the baby’s head being pushed against the mother’s pelvic bone by uterine contractions during labor. This pressure can cut off the supply of oxygenated blood, and the tissue, deprived of oxygen becomes “necrotic” or dead. It is the dead tissue that when it falls away creates the holes in the vagina, bladder and sometimes the rectum, which allow bodily waste to leak uncontrollably. Those holes are literally called “fistulas”; in layman’s terms a hole between an internal organ and the outside world that should not exist.
The World Health Organization has labeled obstetric fistula the most devastating and serious of all childbirth injuries. It was eradicated in the United States more than 100 years ago. In fact, the site of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City is the location of a fistula hospital that closed in the 1890s.
Unfortunately, in the world’s poorest countries and most rural areas, a majority of mothers are delivering babies at home without medical help. That sad truth is one of the reasons that complications from pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of death and disability for women of reproductive age in the developing world. The good news is, in the hands of a trained surgeon, most women with obstetric fistula can be cured through surgery.
This article originally appeared in Fistula Foundation’s Spring 2014 newsletter. Click here to view a PDF of the entire newsletter. | <urn:uuid:a2393927-ab7f-4007-888e-e18547dd55b9> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://www.fistulafoundation.org/understanding-obstetric-fistula/ | 2018-03-23T11:02:22Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257648207.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180323102828-20180323122828-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.954166 | 376 |
Car rentals in Havertown: What you need to know
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is full of fascinating neighborhoods like Havertown. It's in these communities where you can get a true sense for a region like Philadelphia. But after you're done exploring all the wonderful restaurants and shops in Havertown, you'll need a vehicle to check out all that Philadelphia offers.
Grabbing the bus is a cheap way to get around Havertown and the surrounding neighborhoods, but then you have to follow a tight schedule. Taxis and rideshares are more convenient, but little trips here and there can add up. Plus, they may not be readily available when you need them. A Havertown rental car is the best method, so you can experience the entirety of the neighborhood and other parts of Philadelphia on your getaway. Read below to find everything you need to know about car rentals in Havertown.
Frequently asked questions
How can I get a cheap car rental in Havertown?
Seeking the lowest rates on a car rental? You're in the right spot. To get the most savings when you travel to Havertown you can do a few things:
- Compare and contrast all the deals available
- Book as far in advance as possible. You will usually save more and get the car of your choice
- Be aware of any cost for a mileage limits, fuel policy, and additional drivers. That way you will know the total cost before you rent
- Decide the vehicle you'll need for your vacation. Don't get more car then you need
Make sure you read the rental policy before you book.
What kind of vehicle should I rent while in Havertown?
With a number of types of vehicles to select from, it can be tough to figure out what vehicle is ideal for your trip. Nevertheless, keep in mind the amount of driving and the number of you're traveling with. Our table below can help you decide the best car for you.
|Car Type||Best for||Category includes|
|Luxury||When you really want to treat yourself on your vacation to Havertown||Infiniti, Mercedes Benz, or similar|
|SUV||Families with a lot of suitcases and a need for space||Ford Escape, Chrysler Town & Country, or similar|
|Economy or Compact Car||Great for maneuvering through congested cities||Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Spark, or similar|
How old do I have to be to rent a car in Havertown?
The minimum age to rent an automobile in most cities like Philadelphia is 21. However, there is normally an additional charge if you or the added driver are under 25. Take time to review the supplier's policy to find out if there is an additional cost for you.
Does the U.S. of A. require car insurance?
Many countries require driver's insurance. You may be able to buy temporary insurance through the car rental company. Otherwise, as a United States citizen, you can also add on Collision Damage Coverage through CarRentals.com at checkout.
Although many of the major card issuers, like Visa or American Express, give some coverage, there are usually restrictions. For example, you may not be covered if you book a luxury or larger vehicle. Make sure to check the supplier's policy before you decide.
Should I return my rental car with a full tank?
Most suppliers provide you a full tank of gas. We recommend returning it with a full tank of gas. For a cheaper rate, you should fill up your tank before you bring your car back to the supplier.
Do most providers offer one-way rentals in Havertown?
Most car rental companies offer one-way rentals. You may find it simpler to drop off your vehicle at another location. However, there is generally an extra fee for one-way drop offs. Make sure to read the rental car company's policy to know exactly how much it may cost you.
Can I book with unlimited mileage when renting a car in Havertown?
The majority of suppliers offer unlimited miles, but you need to make sure it is part of your bundle. It's helpful to know how far you want to drive and plan your trips in advance. Although most rental car providers offer unlimited mileage, if it isn't part of your package you could face additional cost. You may want to have unlimited miles if you are hitting the highway to explore everything that is in Philadelphia.
What is there to do around Havertown?
Once you've checked out Havertown, you'll be happy that you have your own vehicle. There are some worthwhile stops around Philadelphia that are just a drive away. There is a lot of history in and around communities like Havertown. You'll find 68 historical sites and monuments in nearby Philadelphia. If you are a history fan, then you can't miss places like:
- USS BECUNA (SS-319) on Penn's Landing and Delaware Ave. & Spruce St. in Philadelphia
- Reynolds-Morris House located at 225 S. 8th St.
- John Johnson House found at 6306 Germantown Ave.
- Thomas Sully Residence at 530 Spruce St. in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania is full of things to do for tourist and locals alike. You may just have to jump into your rental car and find what is else is out there.
Reserve a Havertown, Philadelphia Rental Car
Has a museum on the other side of Havertown intrigued you? Do you need to meet a client at their hotel or office? Don't miss out on one of Philadelphia must-sees or be late to an important meeting. When you have access to your own vehicle, you can make sure your trip is following your schedule, and not have to adhere a metro schedule.
Peruse our selection of cars from some of the top-rated car rental companies in the nation and select the perfect auto for your Havertown getaway. The perfect ride is only a few clicks away. | <urn:uuid:98f01b89-9592-4a0c-8f6f-19e2dc89087b> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://www.carrentals.com/havertown-car-rentals-philadelphia.g-ne/ | 2018-12-18T22:59:17Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376829997.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20181218225003-20181219011003-00091.warc.gz | en | 0.943196 | 1,250 |
A popular ridesharing app will offer free rides to and from treatments for Las Vegas cancer patients in June.
Lyft will partner with the American Cancer Society to provide the rides as part of a pilot program that may later be expanded if enough people use it.
To sign up, patients should call the American Cancer Society at 800-227-2345. After that, receptionists at health care providers should be able to schedule rides for patients when appointments are set up.
Yacob Girma, general manager of Lyft Las Vegas, said patients will receive an alert about ride arrivals through the app if they have it on their smartphone. If not, an agent will contact them to let them know a driver is coming. Text message alerts will also let patients know the driver is ready to pick up.
Rides will not be available to pick up medications.
The company said a private donation from Las Vegas plastic surgeon Dr. Paul Lanfranchi helped Lyft offer the program.
Members of the public who are new Lyft users can enter the code “ACSVEGAS” in the app to receive up to $20 in ride credits and have the company contribute $10 to the ACS.
Contact Blake Apgar at firstname.lastname@example.org or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:50d7251a-4355-4cdd-af7f-729d9dfadbf4> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/lyft-offering-free-rides-for-las-vegas-cancer-patients/ | 2018-01-21T22:31:24Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084890893.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20180121214857-20180121234857-00426.warc.gz | en | 0.9291 | 278 |
By Karen Landles
Our economic trends since Brexit have been better than expected. Consumers are spending, seemingly fed up of austerity. So why then is the market holding back, showing such uncertainty? Since Brexit we have seen a falling pound, a resilient pound, a Pound fighting back. From the time results started to come through on the night of the referendum sterling has come under pressure, falling 10% in the immediate aftermath. The markets who bet on the economy are betting against. Economic theory tells us that a lower rate of exchange will aid exports, and thus our manufacturing, but this is not the whole picture. Our fluctuating Pound is not part of a carefully thought out economic strategy; the weakened state of the Pound is an indication of just how anxious investors are about the future of our economy.
If we have a weaker pound, we are told, then exporting becomes easier as our relative prices overseas comes down, but that doesn’t chime with reality on the ground. According to the CBI, assessing the market in October 2016, the majority of exporting manufacturing firms said that “the fall in the Pound since June had a negative impact on their business”. In a supplementary question, 47% of manufacturing firms cited sterling’s depreciation as having a negative impact, against 32% citing a positive impact.
What we are seeing is that it costs us more to buy raw material. I was talking just this week with a business structuring expert who told me of a small manufacturer of high quality chocolate who has seen the cost of raw materials rocket by 15%. That is a hefty increase to hope to make back selling abroad and it also hits the domestic market hard. And it isn’t just a threat to SMEs, Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Economist, said:
“Manufacturers are optimistic about export prospects and export orders are growing, following the fall in Sterling. However, the weaker Pound is also feeding through to costs, which are rising briskly and may well spill over into higher consumer prices in the months ahead”.
A weaker Pound, an indication of a weakened economy, is a threat to our exports and our domestic market – I can barely bring myself to address the higher costs of prosecco.
I am leaving aside the question of exactly who we expect to be exporting to in the near future with the complications of additional tariffs, since it isn’t part of this debate, but it is worth mentioning since it is the fear of Brexit that is at the heart of the current problem. I don’t see Nissan confident about its future here, or the future of the 7,000 employees in Sunderland, despite the falling pound. The weak Pound is a symptom of the deeper problem as well as causing problems of its own.
These rising costs of course are not just for manufacturers. The CBI economist talked about increases spilling over, a fear echoed by Mark Carney who this month warned that living costs are expected to rise and consumption costs outpace earnings growth.
Brexit has been an act of self-harm; a weakened Pound feels a bit like medieval bloodletting with an already fragile patient rather than a thought through strategy for healing our economy. | <urn:uuid:db53fa95-8464-4f45-9fe4-291d9dd94a66> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://labourbusiness.org/the-cost-of-uncertainty/ | 2022-05-21T05:23:04Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662538646.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521045616-20220521075616-00765.warc.gz | en | 0.96869 | 649 |
Talk about recycling.
A coalition of Yukon environmental groups sent all three parties a questionnaire asking for commitments on environmental issues.
This week, they received responses from the NDP and Liberals.
The Yukon Party recycled its news releases.
“They’re all old press releases and they’re not telling us what they’re going to do,” Jim Pojar, executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Yukon, told a news conference in the CPAWS office Wednesday.
“All the other parties seemed to get it,” said Pojar.
The Keep it Clean, Keep it Green, Keep it Wild coalition — made up of CPAWS, Bringing Youth Towards Equality, Yukon Conservation Society, Raven Recycling and others — asked the parties for commitments on six environmental policies and 19 specific issues before the election.
The NDP and the Liberals answered “yes” to creating new protected areas, land use and conservation planning, diversifying the Yukon’s economy, concrete action on climate change, protection of watersheds and product-stewardship programs for products like oil or car batteries.
But they provided the coalition with few specific commitments and, instead, gave conditional responses, or none at all.
The Yukon Party scored “no response” across the board.
“We’re simply recording what the parties did respond to,” said Mac Hislop, CPAWS campaign co-ordinator, while representatives from the coalition’s groups stood by.
“It’s certainly a positive thing they’re prepared to make, in some cases, strong environmental commitments,” said Hislop.
“We have to assume that since the parties have made commitments to these issues, and taken steps forward, that we take them seriously.”
The coalition is prepared to work with any governing party to help make the commitments reality, said Pojar.
But it has not priced them, assuming if the parties commit to something they will find ways to pay for it.
Yukoners feel strongly about the environment, and they will bring that passion to the polling place, said Pojar.
But he wouldn’t endorse any one campaign.
The coalition is made up of non-profit organizations that must remain apolitical in election campaigns.
“We can’t go beyond that; we’re non-partisan organizations, it’s not something we’re in a position to do,” said Hislop.
Given good information, rather than explicit instructions, Yukoners are capable of making good decisions, said Karen Baltgailis, the Yukon Conservation Society’s executive director.
“What we’ve done is provide information,” she said.
Party answers on issues that transcend the ‘environmental’ label are revealing.
For example, take the protection of the Porcupine caribou herd’s habitat.
The NDP gave a conditional yes to the idea, while the Liberals and Yukon Party gave no response.
Designing subdivisions that limit urban sprawl and limiting land released to development is another: the NDP supported the idea, while both the Yukon Party and the Liberals said nothing.
“As I am sure you can understand, conservation and environmental issues … can sometimes be difficult to reduce to a simple ‘yes or no’ answer,” wrote Liberal leader Arthur Mitchell, in his response to the coalition.
“We … trust that you will not judge a ‘no answer’ response to specific questions … as a negative response.”
The Yukon Party’s letter to the coalition followed a familiar pattern — highlighting the party’s accomplishments, including development of mine-closure policies, establishing the Old Crow Flats protected area and the Chisana caribou recovery project.
The accompanying press releases sent to the coalition, “more fully reflects the Yukon Party’s commitment to Yukoners and our environment,” wrote leader Dennis Fentie.
The coalition’s campaign is anchored in a recent Strategic Communications study conducted for CPAWS, which found a high percentage of Yukoners care about environmental issues.
The survey’s results contrast somewhat with the questionnaire’s results.
“The public may be further ahead of the political parties in their comfort with some of these issues,” said Hislop.
And, though no one said it, that’s probably why none of the parties have received unbridled support from the coalition.
Nobody met the coalition’s expectations, said Pojar, when pressed.
“They haven’t fully incorporated it into their platforms, no,” he said.
But they still could, said Baltgailis.
“If Yukon people ask their politicians the right questions, there’s no reason political parties can’t incorporate more and more of these things,” she said.
The coalition’s website is: www.thinkgreenandvote.com. | <urn:uuid:a84546de-953a-430b-bcfb-39604c76abe5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.yukon-news.com/news/ndp-libs-appease-greenies-yp-sends-compost/ | 2022-08-08T16:44:24Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00254.warc.gz | en | 0.921116 | 1,080 |
How many times have I heard, "it's not what you know; it's who you know" in the past couple of years? I'll tell you- more than I could possibly keep track of. In most cases, I have ignored it and continued to think that I would be able to be selected without having someone else being the reason I'm there. Well, I was wrong.
I submitted my application for one of the Islanders' Spring Internships along with a countless number of other people hoping to be selected. After my mom heard about it, she decided that it would be a good idea to get someone to put a good word in on my behalf. Apparently, my mom's coworker's mother works with the New Jersey Devils. She personally called the Islanders' owner and got a copy of my resume sent into HR.
What do I know, the next day I get a call from someone with the Islanders asking me to come into an interview. Of course, my excitement at this point was off the charts, and I agreed to come in. Shortly after the conversation, I received an e-mail with the details regarding where to go for the interview. It was then that I noticed the subject for the interview said "Fan Photo Internship" and my heart sunk- this was not the perfect internship that I signed up for. | <urn:uuid:d59845d5-9ac7-4b64-a491-d1a42ea6e1db> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | http://nyiintern.blogspot.com/2011/01/connections-and-disappointment.html | 2017-11-20T01:58:23Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934805894.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20171120013853-20171120033853-00180.warc.gz | en | 0.986891 | 272 |
Commercial & Residential Developments
Commercial premises, multi-unit residential developments, including townhouses, are large-scale, specialised projects that need a builder who has an equal measure of experience in complex project management, financial planning and budget control.
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Rejecters of rigidity, all of our fitout designs are customisable and we can modify our services to suit your exact need for any project. Thorough, responsive and adaptable means that time blowouts are rare. When combined with our tailored communication strategies, we avoid many of the common drawbacks such as miscommunication and unexpected costs.
From commercial joinery, painting, architectural design, project management and more, in simple terms, whatever you need, we can build it.
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To ensure the creation of a truly stunning residential development, Trusted Building Group brings a wide range of value-added solutions to you. This includes full multi-unit/townhouse designs, construction, labour and contractor management.
Unlock Your Property’s True Potential
Contact us Today
We thrill in the ability to provide our clients with a truly stress-free building process from start to finish including design, documentation and construction.
Our detailed design process covers planning, feasibility and market analysis to ensure a truly unique design that delivers.
Emergency arrangements and flexibility to fit the build requirements of the project.
Highest standard of integrity, experience and workmanship.
To discuss your future development projects, please get in touch with our experts.
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