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Big data is all the rage at the moment. Vendors talk about it and there are a seemingly endless series of events, articles and, yes, columns about it. Everyone, it seems, is doing big data. But many of us are going about big data all wrong.
Consider the three V's of big data that Doug Laney of Gartner first discussed way back in 2001 volume, variety and velocity. Each of these poses a challenge for us as we try to use big data:
- Increasing volume undermines our ability to simply display the data. Once we might reasonably have packaged up and displayed all the data that might be relevant to a decision-maker. Now there is simply too much data to do this; if we try we will simply drown people in data.
- Increasing velocity data arriving more quickly is driving us to increasingly faster analysis and faster action. We have to analyze the data more quickly, give ourselves time to act on this analysis by pushing our analysis into the future, and we have to act on our analysis more quickly. This means more automated analysis, more use of predictive analytic techniques and more automated decision-making systems.
- Increasing variety of data means we have to break ourselves of the 360-degree habit. Where once we might reasonably have aimed to assemble all the data there is about a customer into a 360-degree view, now this is simply impractical. There is always going to be another data source, more data that we could bring to bear. Waiting until we have assembled such a view means waiting forever.
The solution to these challenges is found in a six letter acronym BWTDIM: Begin With The Decision In Mind. This re-working of the late Stephen Covey's maxim to begin with the end in mind is a critical thinking tool for anyone trying to succeed with big data.
BWTDIM means identifying the decisions that matter to your organization, the decisions that make the difference between hitting your targets and missing them, the decisions that "move the dial." These decisions may be strategic or tactical decisions but are also often operational, day-to-day decisions that must be made at the front lines of your organization like the call center, the branch or the warehouse. BWTDIM means understanding how you must make these decisions, and how you might make those decisions to more effectively hit those objectives. It means beginning with a model of decision-making and only then moving on to identify the analytics and data, big or little, that will be required.
Focusing on the decision first "pulls" the analytics we need. We can see what might help us make the decision more profitably and more effectively and use this to drive analytic requirements: "If only we knew how likely a supplier was to miss the ship date we could pick the right supplier."Once we know the right analytics to use, we can see what data might help us build those analytics. Instead of assembling all the data and hoping it will improve decision-making, we assemble the data that will improve our decision-making. This decisions-first approach also broadens our view of what data to consider, helping us step outside our data warehouse by asking what data would help not what data is available.
Once we understand the decision, we can see what options might exist to automate some or all of it. It's easy to say that a decision must involve a person because it's too difficult to fully automate it. With a focus on the decision and a model of how that decision should be made, we can see if there are pieces of the decision that can be automated. We can move from presenting data to decision-makers to presenting answers and recommendations.
A focus on using analytics to make decisions rather than on presenting data for analysis means we don't have to display all the data. Instead of making it all available for a decision-maker to use the best he or she can to deliver a decision, we can at least present a strongly decision-centric analysis instead. And this focus also makes it clear what the role of data mining and predictive analytics will be. Understanding how we would like to make a decision and what it would take to improve it allows us to identify clear roles and value propositions for these more advanced analytics.
BWTDIM Begin With The Decision In Mind offers a clear approach to the challenges of big data. After all, we know that big data and analytics are all about improving decision-making. If we really want to improve decision-making we should begin by defining the decisions we want to improve.
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Albert Jeffries IV (ALJ) was born with a heart disease called Dillated Cardiomyopathy.
Albert Jeffries IV (ALJ) in a very serious condition and currently under intensive care receiving treatment
ALJ is 13 years old and has been in and out of hospitals his entire life. ALJ got the news that a heart was available for transplant.
ALJ finally made it out of surgery… ALJ's mother said he is currently accepting the new heart. His mother while chatting with her son lying on the hospital bed said: how do you feel baby?
Her son replied: I feel like a new person… What a touching REPLY!
Albert Jeffries IV (ALJ) finally responding to treatment.. Looking much stronger than before
ALJ is currently struggling with his kidney function but continues to fight to be fully healthy.
ALJ's mother said they are so grateful to the donors who graciously gave them that gift. She said its a gift of life and that they appreciate it so much.
Albert Jeffries IV (ALJ) with his mum looking happy
Albert Jeffries IV (ALJ) chilling with a doctor at the hospital
Watch the reaction of ALJ's mother after he successfully made it out of surgery. Video below:

subset: commoncrawl


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In an announcement called both "off-base" and "promising" by substance abuse professionals, a Towson doctor stated that treating alcoholic patients with a combination of two appetite suppressants can halt their craving for alcohol.
Dr. Pietr Hitzig, an internist in private practice, said yesterday at a news conference that he has treated 18 alcoholic patients for a period of up to 3 1/2 months and that the patients report having lost their compulsion to drink alcohol. His findings are published in the current issue of the Maryland Medical Journal.
The two drugs, phentermine and fenfluramine, are related to amphetamines and have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for short-term use as appetite suppressants. When used together, the drugs increase dopamine and serotonin. The chemicals are neurotransmitters, serving as message carriers in the brain. Levels of dopamine and serotonin also increase with use of alcohol or drugs and with sex or addictive behavior.


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Aaradhya Birthday Bash. Bollywood Celebrities join the Party with thei kids Like Abram Khan, Azad Rao Khan and Anya Kunder and other Celebrity Kids attend Aaradhya Birthday Party. Stay tuned to Meenu's Gossip Corner for more Celebrity Latest Updates.
Aiswarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan hosted a grand birthday bash for daughter Aaradhya at their residence Aamir Khan with son Azad Rao Khan to Shilpa Shetty Kundra and son Viaan Raj, Aaradhya's birthday party had our favourite stars, and, of course Aaradhya's best friends. Aaradhya and Aishwarya were twinning in beautiful gowns. Aaradhya looked cute as a button in a pink frock paired with a silver headband while mom Ash was pretty in a peach ensemble. Abhishek Bachchan posed with the mother-daughter two and we got lucky enough to capture a beautiful family portrait.


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Search Results for "genetic anamolies"
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Wednesday November 15,
Tags #genetic anamolies, #genetic engineering, #grow on, #hand growing on head, #new temp, #temp agnecy, #wear goggles
Dogbert: The Dogbert temp agency uses genetic engineering to grow our own workers. The Boss: Isn't that dangerous? Dogbert: I wear safety goggles. Temp: Im the new temp. Alice: Um Im alice.
Tuesday August 23,
Tags #genetic research, #clone, #obedient slaves, #conquer, #world dominion, #living things, #work on giant cucumbers, #arms and legs
Genetic research Dogbert: Id like you to clone an army of obedient slaves for me, I plan to conquer the world and have dominion over all living things. scientist: I mostly work on giant cucumbers. Dogbert: Mix in some arms and legs and give me two packages of seeds.
Wednesday August 24,
Tags #boot camp, #conquer the earth, #genetic mutations, #half man, #sea monkeys, #half cucumber
"What are you planting?" "I'm growing an army of genetic mutants to do my bidding." "Half man, half giant cucumber, these unthinking brutes will help me conquer the Earth!" "Didn't you try this with sea monkeys last year?" "None of them survived boot camp."
Friday March 03,
Tags #dna smaple, #fatal genetic problems, #hurt productivity, #project dealine
The Boss holds a syringe. He says to Dilbert, "Drop your trousers and turn around. I need a DNA sample." Dilbert bends over looking angry. As draws Dilbert's blood, the Boss says, "We're scanning for any fatal genetic problems that could hurt productivity." Dilbert sits at his desk. The Boss enters holding the test results and says, "Uh . . . we decided to move your project deadline up a week." Dilbert's hair stands up straight.
Sunday May 18,
Tags #discriminating, #genetic reason, #idiot, #intolerance, #turned down for raise, #maximum raise, #learning problem, #desparation, #money
The Boss: Alice, I can't give you the maximum raise because you don't respect other people's differences. Alice says, Why are you discriminating against me for my intolerance? If I am intolerant for some genetic reason, then I can't help it. Alice says, "And if I'm intolerant because I can't learn to be otherwise, then obviously I have a learning problem. Alice says, "Why is it acceptable for you to be an idiot but not acceptable for me to notice it? You need to start appreciating me for my intolerance! Alice says, And while I'm at it, allow my to mention that a monkeys seat cushion has better views than what I'm looking at right now. The Boss says, "I'm not quite sure where to go with this." Alice says, "Ooh! Oooh! I have a suggestion."
Wednesday August 07,
Tags #apathy, #children & adults, #genetic makeup, #success, #upbringing, #warm thermos, #curious type, #mother, #coffee, #Family
Asok: Do you think success is mostly a function of your genetic makeup or your upbringing? Wally: My mom raised me by putting a warm thermos of coffee in my crib and going out for the day. And I turned out great. Asok: I have no follow-up questions, in case you wondered. Wally: I'm not the curious type.
Tuesday October 15,
Tags #10 thousand hours, #genetic makeup, #laziness, #million hours, #become an expert
Alice: People used to think it took 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert. But now people think the amount of practice you need depends on your genetic makeup. So you'd be good to go after a million or so hours. Wally: See why I don't bother?
Monday May 25,
Dilbert sits at the table working with test tubes and lab equipment. Dilbert says to Dogbert, "Sometimes I wonder if it's ethical to do these genetic experiments." Dilbert continues, "But I rationalize it because it will help improve the quality of life." Dogbert asks, "What are you making?" Dilbert replies, "Skunkopotamus."
Tuesday May 26,
Dogbert stands at a lab table and says, "I'll use Dilbert's genetic lab to make a man with the wisdom of Ghandi and the strength of Wilt Chamberlain." Dogbert thinks, "Or vice versa." A man wearing an Indian pancha says to Dilbert, "Gimme your car keys. I'm gonna find us some babes." Dilbert replies, "Not in MY sheet."
Wednesday May 27,
A short man wearing an Indian pancha says to two women in a bar, "Hello, ladies." The man says, "I'm Wilt Ghandi. I'm the product of a genetic experiment combining the wisdom of Wilt Chamberlain and the body of Ghandi." One woman says, "That's the best line tonight. I'm going for it." The other woman says, "Hey, I saw him first."


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- Affordable, fully programmable mono synth with a 100% analog signal path
- Classic, real analog sound — including legendary Curtis analog low-pass filter
- Full-sized keys with velocity and aftertouch
- USB connectivity
- Measures approximately 18.65" L x 11.1" W x 3.6" H (47.4 cm x 28.2 cm x 9.1 cm) and weighs under 10 pounds (~4.5 kg)
- Free editor for Mac OS and Windows
Mopho is a compact and affordable—but powerful—monophonic analog synthesizer. The voice architecture is identical to a single voice of the Prophet '08, but with a couple of unique twists to distinguish it from its award-winning sibling. We have added two sub-octave generators—one per oscillator—for additional girth and crushing basses. It also has an audio input that lets you process external audio and mix Mopho's own audio output back in pre-filter for feedback effects that can range from subtle distortion to extreme skronk. The Push It button is a manual trigger that lets you play a specific note or latch notes and sequences on. It can also step through a sequence to play short melodic lines without a keyboard. Of course, Mopho can also be used with a MIDI controller or external sequencer.
Mopho is fully programmable and all the parameters can be tweaked from the front panel. The four Assignable Parameters controls are assignable per program for optimum performance control. A free editor is available for Mac OS and Windows to facilitate programming. (And, if you already have a Prophet '08, most of Mopho's parameters can be controlled from the Prophet's front panel via MIDI!)
Mopho is perfect for people who want to learn the ins and outs of real analog synthesis without spending a bundle, DJs looking to add some old school sonic spice to their setups, and musicians who will appreciate a great-sounding, very portable mono synth.
- Monophonic analog synthesizer
- 100% analog signal path>
- Two oscillators capable of producing sawtooth, triangle, saw/triangle, and variable pulse width square waves, with hard sync
- One classic Curtis low-pass filter (switchable 2- or 4-pole) with audio rate modulation, self-oscillating in 4-pole mode
- Analog VCAs
- Three envelope generators (ADSR plus delay)
- Two sub-octave generators (one octave down and two octaves down)
- Feedback loop with programmable level and gain
- White noise generator
- 4 LFOs
- Gated 16 x 4 step sequencer (one sequence per program)
- Arpeggiator
- Glide (portamento): separate rates per oscillator
- 32-note (F to C) semi-weighted keyboard action with velocity and aftertouch
- Spring-loaded pitch wheel
- Fully programmable with three banks of 128 programs (384 total)
- Free downloadable software editor for Mac OS and Windows
- Dimensions: approximately 18.65" L x 11.1" W x 3.6" H (47.4 cm x 28.2 cm x 9.1 cm)
- Weight: 9.4 lb. (4.25 kg)
Read the Sound On Sound review (of the Mopho Desktop version) here.
*Please note, the most recent Sound On Sound reviews require a subscription to view.


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Climb Mt Takao and refresh yourself in the beautiful natureVoyagin 品质保证添加到心愿单
Mt. Takao attracts 2.6 million people every year, thus being the most popular mountain in the world. Hike the mountain and stop at several power spots (spiritual spots). Get fresh energy and luck from Mt. Takao while enjoying the beautiful nature.


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¿This is an enchanting tale of love: a man dreams of a woman, while she dreams of a man who is dreaming of her¿Soft and poetic, like music in a Turkish garden¿
On a golden autumn afternoon in Paris, Casimir de Châteauneuf, a successful vintner, wanders through the hollow arcades of the Palais Royal. He stops to browse in an Oriental shop, and past the hookahs, turbans and daggers his eyes are drawn to a miniature portrait of an enchanting woman, skin like ivory, with one eye blue and one yellow. That night, the painting by his bedside, Casimir dreams he is lost in a city of domes and slim minarets. Alone in a shadowy courtyard a woman sits sobbing, her tears filling an empty fountain.
A man possessed, Casimir abandons his wife, family, country, everything, to journey across the sea and desert in search of his vision, a journey that finally leads him to Constantinople. As East meets West, two people whose worlds are impossibly far apart are destined to meet and discover a love beyond even their wildest dreams.
¿A tale of dreams, magic, forbidden passion and enchantment in 1860s Istanbul. Setting her story in this ancient city of mystery and secrets allows Croutier to explore the inexplicable rules of love with language as rich and evocative as frankincense. Each chapter glows like a precious jewel¿
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Malaysia's Astro to build next generation communication network
KUALA LUMPUR, 16 SEPTEMBER 2009 A subsidiary of Malaysia's satellite TV firm Astro, Measat Broadcast Network Systems (BMNS) has chosen mobile services provider Maxis Communications (Maxis) to design and manage its next generation communication services infrastructure.
In this project, Maxis will essentially be integrating data, voice and video services in Astro's network infrastructure at 35 sites nationwide, said Astro information technology director, Phuah Aik Chong, adding that the value of the contract is US$23.09 million (RM81 million) over a period of five years.
"The project scope entails the deployment of a nationwide secured data network using IP MPLS [Internet protocol/multi-protocol label switching] technology to support corporate data and voice, and Internet traffic, as well as mission-critical business applications with quality of service (QOS) levels built-in, said Phuah.
Maxis will refresh the network equipment of Astro's current voice and data nationwide infrastructure, with VoIP technology to be deployed for the voice architecture, he said. In terms of increasing service levels, Maxis will be working with other service providers to supply redundant circuits for key Astro sites. To further complement the end-to-end deployment, a dedicated team will be created to monitor the entire network's health 24 x 7.
Astro TV (Astro All Asia Networks) is Malaysia's multimedia broadcaster and producer of Malay, Chinese, Indian and English-language programming content. It owns and operates the only direct-to-home satellite TV service with access to some 12 million viewers in more than 2.72 million homes, representing 46 per cent of TV homes in Malaysia.
Enhancing customer experience is critical
"Customer service and enhancing the customer experience are critical to Astro's business and remain a key focus for the group, said Phuah. To better fulfill our customer expectations, we are working with Maxis to migrate to the next-generation network infrastructure. This is aimed at providing Astro with an integrated framework to rapidly launch new offerings and deliver highly personalised service to our customers, while helping us streamline operations and optimise costs."
We at Maxis are excited to be collaborating with Astro in this managed communication services (MCS) project to deploy next-generation network technologies, and manage the end-to-end Astro network from a total managed services perspective, said Maxis' vice president and head of enterprise and carrier business, Fitri Abdullah.
Maxis' solution and integration team comprising professional project managers and solution designers will work closely with technology and integration partners Hewlett- Packard (HP) and Cisco in the MCS project deployment, said Abdullah. We will also be working with other service providers to provide redundant links for Astro's key sites to ensure higher service levels for Astro.
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The potters, involved in the clay craft are known as "kumhars" in India. The potters of Himachal Pradesh originally belong to Jammu, Rajasthan, and Punjab and are concentrated mainly in the villages of Kangra, Mandi, Kulu, Chamba, and Shimla. Their place of origin distinguishes their style of working.
In Himachal Pradesh, potters enjoy a relatively higher standard of living. This is because there is still a demand for earthenware vessels and there is a strong tradition of using clay figures and vessels for ritual occasions. The artisans are adept at creating clay items like pots, toys, money banks, pitchers, bowls, platters, cups, and lamps, flower vases of different shapes and sizes that are praised among the local people. Apart from these, figurines of gods and goddesses are also made by potters. Work of pottery in Himachal Pradesh is seasonal and stops in the winter months of mid-November to January and during summer from mid-May to July.
The various types of pots which are prepared in Himachal Pradesh are Gharra for containing water, Muggi for carrying water to the fields, Gharau, Dhunnu and Tudhunu for boiling milk, Muggru to carry milk for sale, Kawradu and Dhialu for yoghurt, Girriya for ghee (clarified butter), Parru for general use, Katori for vegetables, Girya for pickles and ghee, Kanatu for water drained from rice (then given to the animals), Handi for cooking, Kangri charcoal burning heater used in the winter, Hooka and Chillum for tobacco smoking, Goluk (money box), Auli ritual pot for marriage, plus other ritual pots for death and birth.
Kangra district is well-known for its distinct red and black pottery. The pots are embellished by painting on them with the traditional white and black colors or by inscribing popular linear and circular patterns with a knife mainly before firing. The products made are mainly for domestic use: gidya jugs for milk or ghee, patri bowl for curd or butter, and nareles or tobacco-smoking pots.
In Kangra, the barter system is still in operation for potters, wherein they are bound to exchange vessels with the landowners, for grain. The village potter makes pots that he distributes freely to village members. Later he collects his share of the harvest.
Barter system practice, also known as "Jajmani" system or Yardman system was an important element of the Indian economic system wherein occupational castes (potters, weavers, leather workers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, barbers, washer men) performed various functions for upper castes and received grain in return.
Otherwise he receives cash for his pots selling at local "melas" (festivals). These melas provide an important source of income for potters. Pots are made in preparation for forthcoming melas, mostly held at springtime. Many potters display their wares (normally the same range of pots, though decoration will be distinctive) and it is traditional for people to buy their pots there. The potter may also sell from a home shop, or if he is lucky he may be contracted to make many pots for someone.
Potters from Dheera village in the Kangra valley are the most popular. Their pottery is renowned throughout the valley. They make the usual range of domestic pottery, "ghada" (water-pot) "kadai" (cooking-pot), "chenari" (kitchen pot), "mughi" (lassi pot), "dhertari" (excellent for brewing rice beer), "buglai" (moneyboxes), "therlossi" (oil pot for massaging the baby), "martban" (pickle storage pot), "pari" (for the cow's milk), "chillums" (for smoking) "diya" (oil-lamp), and more. The Dheera potters are proud of their reputation and they are the only Kangra potters that use their own seal to distinguish their pots. According to these potters (and this is true) water is cool and sweet from a ghada, mughis make better curd, and food generally tastes better if prepared in clay pots. Dheera potters are specialists in making oil-lamps, chillums, and kadai, which they impress with their symbol, a flower. A special puja (religious ritual) called "Vishava Karma puja" is performed by all craftspeople once a year. On this day, they clean all their equipment and tools and do no work. Their tools are offered to God in recognition of the gift bestowed on them.
Volunteers will get an opportunity to observe and interact with the local pottery community.
A 20-minute drive from Palampur in the Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh, lies Andretta, a quaint artist village, which is a hub for art lovers. It is said to be established by an Irish theatre artiste and environmentalist Norah Richards (1876-1971), who lived there during the Partition. Richards arrived in Andretta in the 1920s and built a traditional Kangra-style mud house with a small outdoor theatre, which in no time became a centre for creative arts. Every year, in the month of March, Norah organized a weeklong festival in which students and villagers enacted her plays in an open-air theatre constructed on the premises of her estate. Among the guests, Prithvi Raj Kapoor and Balraj Sahni were the most regular ones. B C Sanyal, who played a key role in setting up the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi was a frequent visitor.
Andretta village is home to the Andretta Pottery & Craft Society set up in 1983 by Mansimran "Mini" Singh, son of famous potter Gurcharan Singh (who set up Delhi Blue Art Pottery in 1952, inspired by blue Persian glaze), and his British wife Mary Singh. Equipped with a production studio, the facility provides three month courses for aspiring potters. Norah Richard's home is a 10-minute walk from the pottery society.


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Why Voice Matters
Culture and Politics After Neoliberalism
- Nick Couldry - London School of Economics, UK
Media & Politics | Media & Society | Political Sociology | Sociology of Culture |
For more than thirty years neoliberalism has declared that market functioning trumps all other social, political, and economic values. In this book, Nick Couldry passionately argues for voice, the effective opportunity for people to speak and be heard on what affects their lives, as the only value that can truly challenge neoliberal politics. But having voice is not enough: we need to know our voice matters. Insisting that the answer goes much deeper than simply calling for 'more voices', whether on the streets or in the media, Couldry presents a dazzling range of analysis from the real world of Blair and Obama to the social theory of Judith Butler and Amartya Sen.
Why Voice Matters breaks open the contradictions in neoliberal thought and shows how the mainstream media not only fails to provide the means for people to give an account of themselves, but also reinforces neoliberal values. Moving beyond the despair common to much of today's analysis, Couldry shows us a vision of a democracy based on social cooperation and offers the resources we need to build a new post-neoliberal politics.
Nick Couldry has emerged as one of the most brilliant critics we have of neoliberalism and its assault on almost every aspect of public life. What is unique about this book is that it not only understands neoliberalism as an economic discourse but also, if not more importantly, as a profound and powerful mode of cultural politics. This is one of the best books I have read in years about what it means to engage neoliberalism through a critical framework that highlights those narratives and stories that affirm both our humanity and our longing for justice. This book should be read by everyone concerned with what it might mean to not only dream about democracy but to engage it as a lived experience and political possibility
An important and original book that offers a fresh critique of neoliberalism and its contribution to the contemporary crisis of 'voice'. Couldry's own voice is clear and impassioned - an urgent 'must-read'.
Nick Couldry sets out a provocative critique of the democratic shortcomings of the neoliberal social order, while offering some compellingly radical arguments for the role of the media in creating new spaces of citizen-government relations.
This is an important book... In focusing our attention on the importance of voice, in putting it at the heart of contemporary political and economic change, and in summoning an array of contrasting services, Couldry has done us a very valuable service.
A valuable contribution to the field... Resisting a familiar tendency of scholarship in which a critique of neoliberalism is paired either with Utopian thought experiments [or] with an ennui toward practical action, Couldry's work is refreshingly productive in its scope. The author not only skilfully outlines the problems that are present in the age of neoliberalism, but offers a platform to discuss how scholars and citizens can spur shifts in values in order to move forward towards a more democratic post-neoliberal world today and into the future... Why Voice Matters is a grounded, imaginative and valuable piece of writing that will appeal to a broad-based audience of scholars in the field of communication and beyond.
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Car Stereo Wiring Diagrams
On this website we recommend many images about Car Stereo Wiring Diagrams that we have collected from various sites of Wiring Diagrams, and of course what we recommend is the most excellent of images for Car Stereo Wiring Diagrams. If you like the images on our website, please do not hesitate to visit again and get inspiration from all Wiring Diagrams of our images collection.
And if you want to see more images more we recommend the gallery below, you can see the picture as a reference images from your Car Stereo Wiring Diagrams.
Thank you for seeing gallery of Car Stereo Wiring Diagrams, we would be very happy if you come back.
Wiring Diagrams Car Speaker Harness Stereo Cords Within. Car Stereo Wiring Diagrams Free And. Wiring Diagram 2002 Nissan Frontier Radio Within And Car Stereo Diagrams. MAZDA Car Radio Stereo Audio Wiring Diagram Autoradio Connector Throughout Diagrams.


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The Neuro-Oncology program is a multidisciplinary program including members of the Divisions of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Departments of Radiation and Medical Oncology. Its goals are to provide comprehensive care for patients with CNS malignancies and establish both clinical and translational research programs in Neuro-Oncology.
Clinical Activities
The BCCA Neuro-Oncology Site group has developed a business model of brain tumour research and care, titled BrainCare BC. This model has been the driving force to develop a new multidisciplinary clinic involving neurosurgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, nursing, and counseling and rehabilitation services.
Research Activities
The Brain Tumour Clinical Trials Unit continues to support ongoing clinical trials. The clinical trials unit has just completed accrual to a successful phase III trail in Glioblastoma multiforme. Ongoing accrual to 2 other GBM trials continues.
Under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Yip, the brain tumour tissue bank continues to accrue specimen for molecular and genomic research endeavors.
- Dr. Yip


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Talking about lenses
Some time ago I bought a successor for kit Canon EF-S 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM lens (see St-Petersburg photographs) — Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens (as everyday all-purpose lens) (often seen in 5D Mark III kit). As heaven from earth, really.
Next stop — Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM for concerts and neighbors peeping.


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Location shoot.
fishnet glamour home legs stockings
love the shoes and cracked lino – very retro feel to this image!
Hey…that's what I wear when I do house work! :]
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CORRECTION – Police appeal for Fairlight crash witnesses
Tuesday, 3 January 2017 - 10:58pm
The crash occurred at 1.40pm, not 2.45pm as previously reported.
Police in Lumsden are investigating a serious crash which occurred at 1.40pm on the Kingston Garston Highway at the intersection of Cairnard Road in Fairlight.
The crash involved a southbound Subaru station wagon and a blue Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle.
A 35-year-old woman who was riding pillion was flown by helicopter to Southland Hospital with serious leg injuries.
Police wish to speak to witnesses who saw the crash or who may have observed the two vehicles in the lead up to the crash.
In particular, Police would like to view any dashcam footage that may have captured the vehicles.
Information can be reported to Invercargill Police Station on (03) 211 0400.
Issued by Police Media Centre.


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How to Finish Your Florida Virtual School (FLVS) Classes Faster
Florida Virtual School
FLVS is great for students who might need to make up credits or would rather attend school online, but even though the courses aren't that long compared to in-school ones, sometimes it feels like the courses can really drag themselves out.
Because of this, many students who are taking classes with Florida Virtual School classes end up not submitting enough work, in turn getting kicked out, or worse... dropping out of the course willingly.
A lot of students search the web for ways to get ahead in their classes, be it by finding the answers to their assignments on Yahoo! Answers, or by finding someone to do their work in return for payment. Whichever way they go, it's not very academically ethical, and they should know that there is another option: Working smart!
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Okay, well the paragraph title may be a bit misleading since it's always a good idea to work hard when it comes to your studies, but that doesn't mean you have to drain yourself and spend countless hours staring at your computer unable to focus, stressing yourself out.
I've taken a lot of classes with Florida Virtual School and I've found, over time, a few tips for finishing your classes faster... sometimes as fast as in 2 months or less!
Since I know it can be a real pain to have a huge load of work to do for 18 weeks (according to the standard pace chart for most FLVS courses), I figured I should share my tips with other FLVS students who might benefit from them.
Tips for Finishing Your Classes Faster
Following these tips and hints will (hopefully) allow you to finish your classes faster than it would normally take. Not only are they useful, but they're also academically ethical, so you don't have to worry about using them!
Choose Easy Classes
If you're just looking to make up electives on Florida Virtual School, don't stress yourself out with a coursework-heavy class! Instead, don't be afraid to find and take much easier elective classes. Don't know which ones would be quick and easy to finish? You can check out a list of some of the easiest elective classes that you can finish as fast as possible here.
Examine Your Pace Chart
The pace chart is one of the first pieces of information that you're required to look over when you're placed into your chosen course. Usually, each semester has about 18 weeks worth of work (16 weeks with 2 weeks vacation).
Take your pace chart and create your own new pace chart -- it's important to submit at least the minimum amount of work per week, but you're more than welcome (and encouraged) to submit even more. Instead of an 18 week plan, try taking the pace chart and compacting it into a 9 week plan! Most pace charts require 3 to 5 assignments per week... just bump that up to 8 to 10 assignments per week, and you'll be finished in no time!
Got a really easy class? You can finish even faster if you'd like, but be sure not to burn yourself out! Doing too much too fast is a surefire way to wear yourself out.
Set Dates to Do Work
A good thing to do is to have specific days each week that you'll work on your classes instead of just doing them at random, whenever you feel like it. Having specific days will help you stay focused on what you need to do. Try to keep the days as close together as possible since this will help you remember what you learned previously. Going to long without logging in and submitting work could have you forgetting what you learned, which is not fun at all.
It's not easy to stick to this schedule, especially when you've got a pretty demanding social life and with regular school if you attend it, but it's very manageable if you don't try to work 5 days straight for 5 hours each day. Try just submitting work Wednesdays and Thursdays for 5 hours. You might be surprised how much you're able to accomplish!
Listen to Music
For a lot of people, dead silence sucks. Music can help a lot of kids focus and finish their work, but it's a good idea to not get too carried away. For example, it might not be too easy to work when you're listening to heavy metal or upbeat pop, or if the music is too loud. Try to go with something a bit calmer or slower, and keep the music low.
While music may be a good idea, I don't recommend having the television on in the background, or doing work while watching a movie since it's very distracting and you'll end up taking 10x longer than normal to submit a simple assignment.
Hint: Using an online music streaming service is a great idea. Also, try to listen to music that you already know and have heard before. While it might seem like a good time to listen to that brand new album you have, it's not -- since you've never heard the songs before, you'll feel compelled to focus more on them than your actual work.
Do Your Assignments While Reading Through the Material
Most of the time, the answers to your assignments are in the material that you're required to read through. Instead of going through the module's material and then working on your assignment, look over the assignment first and then fill it out while going through the module's material. It'll be much easier and so much faster!
Hint: If you're taking one of the new courses introduced in early 2012, at the end of each module there is a text file with a "review." This isn't exactly a review at all, and is instead the whole module on one page! By setting aside an hour or two, you can easily finish a whole module worth of assignments by using this page instead of going through each individual page in the module for your assignments
Set Up Your DBA's Early
You're not the only one in the course... actually, there often upwards of 60+ other students, so it's a good idea to keep on top of your DBA's and set them up ahead of time. If your teacher is going on a week vacation soon, be sure to get our DBA date made before they leave to beat the rush, because if you wait until they come back from their vacation, you'll find it's not easy to complete that DBA you needed to since the instructor will be swamped with other students and their DBA's.
Pay Attention to the Announcements Page
This is possibly the biggest tip I can give you, and it's important you actually use it! Oftentimes, instructors will hold collaborations and workshops where students can log in and complete a whole module in one session, which usually range from 1 to 2 hours. This is great, especially for students who might have some trouble with certain assignments that would be covered in the workshop. Make sure you attend these if there are any!
I hope that my tips and hints are able to help you out with your online classes! If you have any tips that you use and aren't listed here, please feel free to add them in the comments below so others can read. Good luck!
Questions & Answers
So i'm doing flvs for the first time i started last year and im doomed, In my algebra class im over my week pace by a lot and my next assignment is a dba, i tried doing it but the teacher was being a bit difficult cause we i thought i did the dba she told me it wasnt it. im very bad at math a have a mental breakdown literally everyday because idk what im gonna do.
I have a question I wanna do geometry and biology online during the summer. To get a jump start and advance. My question is how fast can I finish tthose cases if I spend 7 hours a day.
Listen to music! Classical is the best. Put my headphones on and boom the time flies by. Just pick a random classical station for anywhere. Local or national. I have two feeds, both from where I used to live. CPR (Colorado) and WNIU (Illinoise). Thanks for the tips!
nice tips thanks


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Clay Pigeon Shooting Essington, WolverhamptonMin. Age 12
Please select a venue to view availability
- Available
- Limited
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Venue Details
Submerge yourself in the enchanting Midlands countryside as you take part in the prestigious sport of Clay Pigeon Shooting at our spectacular shooting range! Accommodating those of all shooting abilities, everyone is guaranteed to taste the satisfying thrills of cracking clays as they receive full expert tuition from our qualified instructors. Since we're so beginner-friendly, this is the perfect social event for any occasion, including stag/hen do's, birthday parties or corporate events!
When you arrive at our state of the art Clay Pigeon Shooting ground, you'll be equipped with all the necessary safety gear whilst being presented with a full safety briefing from our qualified instructors.
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- Essington
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Maps and directions used on our website are for guide purposes only. Please use the directions supplied with your booking confirmation when making travel arrangements.
Latest Reviews
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She has loads of patience , and really was outstanding."
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"Our instructor for the day was Stella, she was confident, assertive and coached us all to a point where we felt confident and improved throughout our shoot. Was one of the best Stag Doo events I have ever had the pleasure of organising. "
"Darren who was our coach was superb so patient with all of us . Very enthusiastic you would think we were the first group of the day not one of his last ones he was so energetic and couldn't do enough.
He really made the whole event special and a great experience. Such an advacate for the event. "
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They all said they would recommend anyone to go along and have a go,and how much fun it all was. Thankyou.?"
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"Gwyn was a fabulous instructor. Patient and calm and had a nice way of teaching us. He was very knowledgeable and I really enjoyed my day. Thanks"
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"Excellent day enjoyed by all"


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I run my pool with a CYA of 30 and keep the FC around 3 or so. On a day like today with heavy swimmer load and lots of sun, I will check the pool at 8AM and it will have 3 FC but by 4PM it's down to 0 FC.
If I load back up the clorine to 4 - 5 FC, what's the best guess of running into a problem with algea? Wouldn't it would take more than a few hours of time before it would take root? I have no issues with the water, it's crystal clear and 80 degrees. Just curious what my risks would be as I've only shocked the pool once this year after a heavy rain storm. This situation of 0 FC happens maybe 1 a month.
Based on these types of days, I'm thinking I will be boosting my CYA up into the 50-60 range to help buffer a little more.


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Top Day Trader Alerts (AMSC, BIDU, CTIC, ISSI, JSDA, MEE, ONTY, SQNM, SOMX)Posted in pre-market
We have many stocks on the move this morning. Some are secondary offerings and many are on news and analyst calls. Below is a snapshot on each with the news, the move, relative price and average daily volume and other pertinent color where applicable.
American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) is launching after the company was raised to Buy at Jefferies. At 8:40 there have only been about 26,000 shares traded, but the stock is up 6.6% at $27.88. The 52-week range is $15.80 to $43.95 and the average volume is almost 1.2 million shares.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is rising yet again, this time on a very late upgrade from Kaufman Bros to Buy from Hold. Shares closed at $579.72 and are up 2.5% at $594.53 on about 100,000 shares as of 8:40 AM EST. We have the 52-week now at $628.50.
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is seeinga surprise bounce this morning after yesterday's news that an FDA Panel at the planned meeting rejected its Pixantrone to fight non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. There seemed to be a major sentiment change yesterday, but this morning at 8:41 AM EST we have seen already over 4 million shares trade hands and the stock is up 34% at $0.63. Keep in mind that this was at $0.91 on Friday, and that was after a late day sell-off. Shares closed at $0.471 yesterday.
Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISSI) closed at $7.49 and at 8:40 AM EST we have shares up about 15% at $8.65 on almost 25,000 shares. This is after the company raised guidance and noted that it has experienced better than expected end market demand and pricing, primarily for its DRAM products.
Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA) is indicated higher this morning after it ended the exclusivity provision of its potential merger deal with Reed's (REED) . The company will now explore an unsolicited bid by a third party to avoid the silly take-under. No volume has been seen but the stock is indicated at $0.60 after a $0.52 close Monday.
Massey Energy Company (NYSE: MEE) filed last night to sell 8.5 million shares of common stock in a public secondary offering to fund a portion of the cash consideration related to its recently announced $960 million combined cash and stock acquisition of Cumberland Resources Corporation and affiliated companies. At 8:42 AM EST we have seen only about 12,000 shares trade but the stock is down 3% at $49.29. The 52-week range is $9.80 to $54.09 and the average volume is 4.6 million shares.
Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTY) is getting whacked. The company announced the temporary suspension of Stimuvax clinical trials by Merck Serono for Stimuvax as a result of a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction in a patient with multiple myeloma participating in an exploratory clinical trial. Shares had been halted and they had been down over 40% after the resumption of trading. At 8:42 AM EST shares are down 37% at $3.00 on 62,000 shares. The average volume here is only about 160,00 shares and the 52-week range is $1.18 to $7.77.
Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is soaring after the stock was raised to Buy from Hold at Lazard. At 8:43 AM EST we have seen some 500,000 shares trade hands and the stock is up 11% at $6.15.
Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX) has been very active and is taking advantage of strength to raise capital, which is no surprise at all. After the close it announced that it would sell up to 4,000,000 shares of its common stock a public secondary offering. Traders seem to be endorsing this sale because the stock is up 3% at $8.55 on over 200,000 shares as of 8:44 AM EST.
You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.


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Market Analysis
School systems are the primary providers of rehabilitative as well as educational services for students with brain injuries. For example, after a severe brain injury at age 10, a child/youth may receive three months of acute services in a medical/rehabilitation center, but will receive eight years of services in the school system—a ratio of 1 to 32. Yet, most in-school services are delivered by paraprofessionals with limited knowledge of the complex rehabilitative, medical, social and behavioral needs of students post-injury. Over 25,000 students with "mild" brain injuries/concussions are served within the NYC public school system during any given school year.
There are currently no nonpublic school programs in NYC specifically addressing children with brain injuries from Early Intervention through High School. Families must either choose generalist programs that serve students with a wide range of disabilities, or select a school that is well outside the city. It is important to note that brain injury is a highly distinct condition that does not mirror developmental disabilities or most other disabilities in its presentation or treatment. Effective instruction and treatment require specialized training and expertise.


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*NEW TIME* 8:30PM-9:15PM Blues Dance Class
Class included in cover
*NEW TIME* 9:15PM-1AM Blues Dance
DJ'd Music
Fred Astaire Dance Studio
740 E. Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
Need to know where to park? See our Parking Guide below.
*This is the cash discount price. Full price (using Credit/Debit) for entry is $11. No Bills Larger Than $20 Accepted.
Do NOT park in lot directly connected to Fred Astaire. They tow.
Street Parking There are many metered and unmetered spaces surrounding the studio, including residential streets. Some, if not all (?), of the meters are off by the start of the blues dance class and dance. Read all parking signs and follow all parking restrictions.
Nearby Parking Lots $5-7. Exact change only. Make sure you pay. They tow.
Note: There is NO street parking allowed in Pasadena between 2am and 6am except where posted otherwise. Though the dance ends at 1am we just want to make sure that you know to move your car before 2am if you're parked on the street otherwise it could get towed.
-CLICK HERE- for a printable version of the Parking Guide below.
Birthmonth Registration
Register your birthmonth with do Something Blue by 11PM the Wednesday before the blues dance and get in FREE!
After completing the Birthmonth Registration form (link provided), you will receive an email at the address provided. You MUST REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. This allows us to verify your contact information for our mailing list*.
NOTE: You MUST REPLY to this email by 11PM the Wednesday before that month's blues dance (assuming that is the month of your birth) to be placed on our guest list (free entry).
If you are submitting a few months before your birthmonth, great! You're planning ahead! Just don't forget to REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.
Replies received after this deadline are welcome to join the birthmonth steal dance but will NOT get in for free.
Special Engagements Excluded. If your birthmonth is a month for which this applies, at dSB's discretion, either a discounted cover will be offered or you will be emailed with the replacement offer.
*By signing up for the birthmonth list you have agreed to be on our mailing list. If you unsubscribe from our mailing list you will also be permanently removed from our birthmonth list. Anyone found to make fraudulent birthmonth claims will no longer have the opportunity to be on any month's birthmonth list.
If you have already submitted your birthmonth a previous year, there is NO NEED TO RESUBMIT. Again, you only need to SUBMIT ONCE. There is NO NEED TO EVER RESUBMIT!
We can't wait to celebrate your birthmonth with you!
Animal Shelter Wish List & Donations
dSB Founder and Organizer, Tracy, loves animals. As a volunteer at LA Animal Services from 2009-2015 and currently at the NKLA Adoption Center. She invites you to bring donations for the shelter to any of the monthly blues dances. Even the smallest item means a lot to the animals, especially your old (but clean) towels and bedding. Here are a few different ways (she'll drop off the items at the shelter for you!) you can help:
1) Bring in your old (but clean) towels/bedding or any other item from LA Animal Services' North Central Shelter's Wish List to any of dSB's monthly blues dances. Towels/bedding make nice soft surfaces for the animals at the shelter..and we go through A LOT of them (for sanitary reasons, they are often discarded when a new animal occupies the kennel)!
2) Choose Home Dog LA as the Non-Profit you support when making a purchase on Amazon (Smile). .05% of every qualifying purchase completed using Amazon Smile will benefit this life-saving organization that runs the Intervention Program at North Central Shelter. Find out more at http://smile.amazon.com/about and http://www.homedogla.org/
Also, if you're interested in adopting a pet, please feel free to talk to Tracy about your options (adopt, rescue, foster, etc) at the blues dance!


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Farm girl chic is the inspiration for this brown, green, coral and cream color palette – perfect for a rustic, farm, barn, ranch or vineyard wedding. Imagine centerpieces of pretty peonies and greenery in glass bowls, adding a feminine flair to the natural earth tones of a rustic setting. Decorative items in green and coral, like streamers and table runners, nicely dress up hay bales, horseshoes and barrels, making them fun and festive.
Highlighting the contrasting moods of girly and down-to-earth, this color palette is an ideal match for our Horseshoe Wedding Invitation, which is full of country charm. This invitation comes with brown paper bag envelopes as pictured, but can be 100% customized to your style preferences.


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On Thursday night, after traveling through the desert all day, we arrived in Simi Valley. We had reserved a room in a Best Western, a brief respite in our journey up to Paso Robles. It's a very long drive from Tucson and while we do it as Thanksgiving, we decided for this trip that it would be nice to break it up a bit. Even then, it was still 8 hours to the hotel.
I am a hotel snob as most who know me know well. I go away so seldom that when I do, and when it's vacation, I want nice. If it's just a place to lay my head, I don't need five star. But I do want decent; I want clean. I don't want to walk into a hotel room and feel like I can't take my shoes off for fear of what lives in the carpet. The Best Western we stayed at was actually quite lovely. We arrived and they were serving wine and cheese in the lobby. We helped ourselves to a glass of wine each and walked to find our room. It was in the back, off of the main road and away from the pool so it was relatively quiet.
After we inspected the room and sipped a bit of wine, we went back to get the car. The spot we found near the room was right next to a very old, turquoise-colored station wagon, something from before station wagons were all the rage in the 1970s. This was probably from the 50s, maybe the 60s.
It was very low to the ground, like it had been lowered no doubt for an enhanced cool factor. But the paint was dull, and there was rust along with wheel wells. A small visor jutted out over the the front windshield and another over the back window. It had four doors, bench seats in the front and the back, and white wall tires. It was fascinating. Not necessarily attractive but definitely distinct. I made brief mention of it. Something along the lines of "look at that car." This usually leads to a bit of an education from my husband as to what it is. While I'm a car person, and know quite a bit about current cars, or at least cars from the 70s forward, I know little about anything preceding. I know what I like – the big gangster like cars from the 40s, with the big wheel covers and lots of chrome – but I don't usually know what they are until I'm right on top of them and can see an emblem. Kevin knows what they are from a far.
We took our stuff and went inside for the night. The next morning, the car was gone, and I didn't give it a second thought.
Today, we were on our way back down the 101 from Paso Robles, heading south and then east into the inferno. The traffic started to bunch up right outside of Santa Barbara and down into Ventura. There were sporadic pockets of not bad, but then it came to a screeching halt. We were close to the 126 east so we made a fast decision to jump on that to avoid the traffic that would no doubt get worse the closer we got to LA. Because LA.
So there we were, cruising along the 126, through Santa Paula, heading toward Fillmore, and there it was, putting along. The same turquoise car, with the same white wall tires.
"Hey!" I said. "Isn't that they same car from Thursday night?"
"It is," my husband concurred. "I think it's an international travelall."
There was a youngish couple inside, sitting very low to the ground. The windows were down – I'm sure they didn't have air conditioning and if the car ever did, it ceased to work a long time ago. This was not not one of those old cars that's been kept in pristine condition. This was a car that is all original, save the tires. It had character.
I laughed. What are the odds of seeing the exact same car again – because there can't possibly be two – within days? In Los Angeles. There was something weirdly serendipitous about it. Perhaps it was us in a former life. Or us in a future life. Regardless, we waved as we went by and they waved back.
I smiled as they faded to a speck in the side view mirror. It was, somehow, a perfect way to end the weekend, seeing the same old car we'd seen at the beginning of our trip. It was a sign, of what I don't know, but it had to be something to celebrate.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, Kevin Michel, Paso Robles
live out loud
We took our coffee, the first of the morning, and went to sit. The trees were rustling in the breeze, birds were arguing good-naturedly, somewhere a tractor did what tractors do. I heard a dog bark. From inside the house, music. It might have been Eva Cassidy. I found out later it was someone named Lisa Tingle. Roy has a great collection of music. He is our designated disc jockey. A lizard squirted by, black and scaly, a miniature version of an alligator. 1:100 in scale. Probably more. Or less. Kevin was walking in the field below though it wasn't much of a field anymore. It's been plowed and staked. New vines will be going in soon. Ever the would-be vintner, he was looking for tips, maybe for validation. He had a cup of coffee with him. A hawk soared above. Roy was off somewhere taking pictures. Bobbi was still in bed. I was sitting in the back. I had turned one of the old, weathered and nearly broken Adirondack chairs toward the sun, feeling it warm my legs.
This is a different house for us. The past two trips, we've stayed in a two-bedroom guest house in the J & J Vineyards. We fell in love with the space, with sitting out on the porch in the morning, having coffee, overlooking the vineyards. Kevin and I often were up before Roy and Bobbi and we'd go for a walk. Last November, it was cold. We walked anyway, crunching through the vineyard, finding passed-over clusters of grapes. Cold. But that house, for whatever reason, isn't available anymore. We had to find something new, equally interesting and obviously different. When you get used to a place and really like it, it's harder to change. Bobbi and I want back and forth, comparing places, locations, amenities, and finally decided on Homestead Hill off of Kiler Canyon. We arrived last night near 6 pm. It's definitely different, atop a hill rather than snuggled in and amongst vines. I didn't like it at first; I was disappointed. I don't know why. I think just because it's new and different. We made dinner; we relaxed. We went to bed. The windows were open in our rooms. We listened to the crickets and the quiet of the night. We felt the cool air drift over us. We woke up to the birds and the rustling leaves. I sat with my coffee in my Adirondack chair, my feet on the edge of the dormant fire pit, peering out at the world through my Maui Jims. It had been cool when I came out but the sun started to warm the day. A heat wave starting. It will be all over the west.
The house is growing on me. The sun was comforting, comfortable, the day just beginning; beckoning. The vineyards glistened next to the dried brush. It was glorious. A perfect morning beginning a perfect day. Sitting in an Adirondack chair.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, wine tasting, Paso Robles, Kevin Michel, Bobbi Jankovich, Roy Guzman
Our lives here on the hill are somewhat reclusive which is not to say lonely. We work and have near constant interaction with others even if it's only on the phone or via email. We do have constant interaction with each other and we're just fine with that. We're very simpatico, the husband-unit and I. Which is not to say that we don't sometimes argue. We do. But that's not the point. The point is that we live up here, far removed from those we love most, even from some of our new friends here in Tucson, and yet I rarely feel alone or even far away.
Once upon a time when someone moved away, it was forever. Then, as the 20th century became more transportation oriented, moving away no longer meant people wouldn't see each other again. It simply meant that they wouldn't see each other as often. Kids began to go to college in other states; families moved because of jobs in other cities. We became separated, transient, and connected via telephone and letters.
These days, in this time, we still stay connected via phone though not always as often. Mostly it's via email and text. With the advent of video phones and now Apple's Facetime, we can talk to each other, even see each other, share a glass of wine across the miles. It's almost like being together.
When we decided to move, we never really thought that we'd be alone. We knew we'd miss our West coast family, our Roy and Bobbi, our Diane and Gene, our Maryann, and so many others but we weren't chastened by it. When we actually did move, three years ago, we were more chastened especially as we had our farewell Fritini and then when Roy and Bobbi came the night we were packing, to help us, it became harder. The knowledge of what we were about to do became heavy, scary. We did it anyway. We scattered.
Since our move, some of our other people have scattered, too. Maryann moved to Florida, to The Villages and she's happy as she can be. Diane and Gene moved to Medford, Oregon and they are absolutely thrilled. We have other friends who either have moved or are thinking about moving. Roy and Bobbi would like to move out of LA; our friend Dave and his girlfriend are also going to move out of LA. They're scattering, too.
Even when you scatter, moving from place to place, state to state, away from friends and family, everyone remains near. They're in our hearts and our minds, they're within reach via phone or Facetime, email or text; even old-fashioned letters. It's impossible to feel too far away even when you are. Even when I am.
I moved away from the East coast in 1984 when I was 22. I got into my 1979 Toyota Celica a week to the day after I graduated from college. I was ready. My mom went with me, softening the blow of leaving everything I had ever known behind. But I left my dad, my brother, my sister. Even my dog. I've written before about how, when my mother got on a plane, some three weeks to a month later, heading back to New England, I had never felt so alone in my life. I had scattered all by myself and I was alone in the wind.
But I made friends, I grew as a person, I made new roots. I found Kevin and Justin and Maguire and Roy and Bobbi and Diane and Gene and everyone else who became so integral to our lives; to my life. So permanent. So real.
Scattered doesn't mean away, not anymore. Scattered is the new hi, how are you, what's happening, let's have a glass of wine. Facetime on Sunday? Perfect. Scattered is the new way to celebrate and I'm embracing it, always and every day, from up here on the hill.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, Kevin Michel
friendly celebrations | live out loud
Kevin cleaned the windows yesterday. In any house, this is considered a big job. A time consuming endeavor. In this house, it's herculean. We have huge windows in virtual every room save the guest bath and the ¾ bath on the west side of the house. Even the laundry room has nice windows. The garage has three smallish windows at the back of the extended middle stall where Kevin's shop is located.
When it rains, a phenomenon that is rarely polite, we get sheets of water that blast against the windows. Because of the dust, the rain makes for nice streaks and spots on the glass. We're heading into monsoon season. The official start of the season is June 15 and it goes through September 30. The skies can swirl to life at any time, moisture collecting in dark green clouds that begin to rumble and spark, and then the deluge comes. Temperatures drop 30º in 20 minutes. The glass drips.
And the windows get dirty.
Several weeks ago, I bought some supposedly amazing window washing stuff. But in order to use it, Kevin needed to have some special bucket type thing that we couldn't find anywhere. He finally ordered one online. It came last week. So yesterday, since it was so blisteringly hot, and since Saturday's tend to be do-stuff-around-the-house-day, he decided it was time to wash the windows.
While he did that, I put the new bed together. I changed the sheets on Justin's bed. I did laundry. I cleaned our bathroom, which normally would be considered just a regular job but with our shower it, too, is herculean. It takes me an hour to clean that monstrosity. Justin cleaned his bathroom, and then spent the afternoon researching Phoenix resorts for him and Kelsey to stay in for part of her visit. Riley napped.
For hours, Kevin squeegeed the outside windows, all around the house, with the exception of the windows in the garage. They're nearly impossible to reach. And, garage. Then he moved to the inside.
Because there isn't rain inside, and because we live fairly cleanly, you wouldn't think there would be much on the interior windows. You would think that. You would also be wrong. Because Riley.
We purposely didn't put floor to ceiling windows in because they're expensive and because when you have floor to ceiling windows and the storms happen there is more danger of water somehow leaking in. So our windows stop about two and half feet above the floor, and we have window sills. This is everywhere in the house, save for the guest bath, the ¾ bath, the laundry room, the kitchen, and the garage. But across the back of the house, in the dining room, in all four of the bedrooms and in the master bath, the windows stop and the sills take over. The sills make a great place for Riley to rest his head while he watches out the window. It's the perfect height, he doesn't have to stretch or lean. He simply rests his weary head so that he can watch the birds or the lizards or the toads or whatever else happens to come his way. And he makes nose art.
Riley, today, nosing.
Nose art is the fine art of a dog applying his wet nose to glass. It can take on various abstract shapes and when it dries, there are lovely reminders that Riley was once here. Or there. All of our windows with sills and the front door with glass to the floor all display nose art. The house is like a gallery devoted to Riley. This nose art appears from about six inches above the sill down to the sill and decorates the glass for all to see. When it's just Kevin and I, we don't clean it every day, but occasionally, we need to do something.
The problem is, nose art, much like graffiti, doesn't remove easily. Simple Windex won't do it. So yesterday, with his super-duper window washing fluid, his new bucket, his squeegee and a little old-fashioned elbow grease, Kevin managed to dislodge the nose art and for a brief time, the windows were so clear it was as if they weren't there at all.
Unfortunately, like graffiti, the tagger returned. And the fine art of nose art has once again begun to appear. We had less than 24 hours of clarity. But who are we to question the talent and perseverance and beauty shared by our illustrious puppy? You know. The one nosing it out loud all over the house.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, Riley Michel, Kevin Michel, Justin Michel
There is a saying that some say originated with Benjamin Franklin because it appeared in the Poor Richard Almanack, as a derivative of "Old boys have their playthings as well as young ones; the difference is only in the price." The saying everyone knows actually has no known author and it's a nice little ditty that goes like this: The only difference between men and boys is the size and the price of their toys.
I would like to amend that to say that the only difference between men and boys and their wives are the toys needed to make them both thrive(s).
OK. It's not as good and not as rhym-y, but you get the idea.
Kevin and I love toys. We have a fun Porsche, a toy that is totally unpractical and fast as hell. We have a motorcycle, our fourth, and it's big and bad and takes us to all kinds of fun places. We have great bicycles. We have a terrific sound system in the house. We have a Range Rover. When Tammy was here several weeks ago, she and Kevin went up to Mount Lemmon on the motorcycle with me following in the Porsche. We had breakfast and then we came back down the mountain in the same way. When we got to the house, and she stood shaking her hair out of the helmet, she had the biggest smile on her face.
"You guys have the greatest toys," she said.
We do. And we've talked about getting more. We're not necessarily talking seriously about getting more, but we've talked about it. Or them. I've written here about my obsession with Airstream. Now there's a toy. And the new Nest travel trailer that Airstream just purchased that is my newest obsession. Luckily those aren't even available for at least another year so I don't really have to think about that until then.
But today, we started talking about acquiring another new toy that's not so much a toy as something really almost practical. Kevin needs a vehicle that he can haul a bunch of stuff around in, go to Lowes or Home Depot to get wood and mortar and whatever else he happens to need for a weekend of working in the yard. Now with his vineyard, that he is threatening to grow, he's going to need a truck. Or the equivalent of a truck. Yes, we have a Range Rover but it's a really nice vehicle and we paid a lot of money for it. It's not meant for trashing and hauling.
So we started looking at what we might want to get and have zeroed in on a couple of different maybes. One is going back to an old Toyota Land Cruiser. Once upon a time we had an FJ60 from 1990 before they changed to the big body style. We loved it but the ride was very rough. So we sold it and got our first Land Rover. Now we're looking at something from the 1970s, like a FJ55 or maybe even an FJ45, a two door type of Jeep.
We're also thinking about another Land Rover, maybe a Range Rover Classic also from the 1970s and also a two door. Again, something that he can haul stuff around in and not have to worry about damaging. We'd have his and hers.
Which brings me back to my original premise. The only difference between men and their wives are the toys they need to make them both thrive(s).
I know. It's a stretch. But it's my blog and I'll bad-rhyme if I want to, celebrating the whole time.
Tags: celebrate something, live it out loud, Kevin Michel, range rover sport, range rover
These words were spoken by Justin last night as we were on the deck at sunset, listening to jazz flow from the speakers above. The song we were listening to was a jazz instrumental of Hotel California. The station is on Pandora and it's something like Jazz Does Pop or something like that. I swore I wouldn't do Pandora because I wanted to support the little guys but the little guys are getting harder and harder to find. They keep drifting away.
I used to pay a monthly fee to Live365 so that I could listen to everything I wanted, commercial free. But the government stepped in, something about licensing. The big players like Spotify and Pandora managed to get through it all relatively unscathed. Most of these stations, including Pandora, play commercials but that doesn't really bother me, especially since it's usually only one or two. It's that I really want the small guys, the entrepreneurs to succeed.
Anyway, we were on the deck, listening to Hotel California done with saxophones and pianos. Justin said what a cool version of the song it was. He took a sip of his wine. And then he said:
"My generation doesn't make good music." He said it with introspection, and insight. He was also right. This led to a discussion about some of the groups that he grew up with, most of whom aren't really making music anymore and if they are, they're not making memorable music and they're touring in obscure locations throughout the world. Blink 182. Linkin Park. Nickelback. The boy bands that don't even exist.
We then went on to discuss the music he was raised with, which is the music he compares his generation's lack-of-depth music to, people like Eric Clapton – he loves the Unplugged album specifically and Layla – and Sting – he's a big fan of Fields of Gold. He likes U2, and he even had praise for the hair bands of the 80s like Bon Jovi. All before he was born. It was interesting to listen to him.
He told us about a guy he works with who made a comment about Paul McCartney. Evidently the once-Beatle recently collaborated with Kanye West whom Justin affectionately calls a douche-canoe. It made both Kevin and I laugh. Justin's friend heard the song they did together and made the following comment: "how cool is it that Kanye's giving that old guy this opportunity. Must be the highlight of his life."
Justin nearly spit out whatever he was drinking at the time.
My generation doesn't make good music and then they make comments like that.
Justin is part of the Millennial Generation, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y. These are the people who were born between the early 1980s and the year 2000. Justin was born in 1991. They're civic minded, they're highly educated, upbeat and optimistic. They're more open-minded than their parents on issues like same-sex marriage. They don't tend to care about racial identity either, and they're the least overtly religious generation. They were raised on the internet. They're an interesting group. Smart, focused, non-judgmental. Opinionated. Fascinating.
But lacking in the music of his parent's generation. The Rolling Stones. Elton John. Bruce Springsteen. Eric Clapton. Rod Stewart. Sting and the Police. He listens to all of this music because we listened to all of this music.
As jazz drifted from above, we all sipped wine, and enjoyed the fact that our generation, thankfully, did make that kind of music. Good. Classic. Lasting. And something to celebrate.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, Justin Michel, Kevin Michel
By the time Friday arrives, the amount of food in the house has dwindled. This is because I usually go shopping on Saturday and I stock up for the week. By the time Friday arrives, there is usually a blackening banana in the fruit bowl and one mushroom left in the vegetable drawer. There's a swish of half and half left in the carton, a couple of sheets of paper towel on the roll. We're usually down a jar of Raos pasta sauce and a box of pasta, the bags of cheese are nearly empty, as is the carton of eggs. Dwindled. This Friday is no exception.
This is the situation I find myself in today. With nothing to eat and of what I do have, nothing I want to cook.
I entertained going to the grocery store today instead of my usual Saturday morning but opted against it for no reason other than I simply wasn't in the mood. I'm tired. And I've been working all day, and it's the start of a long holiday weekend, the first of the summer, and like I said, I just wasn't in the mood. It would be very busy out there, traffic wise, and the grocery store would be overflowing with people stocking up for the weekend, for camping trips and barbecues, parties and whatever else people do on three-day weekends.
So I'll go tomorrow. And I'll stock up on mushrooms and bananas and eggs and orange juice and toilet paper and whatever else I need to keep the house running for the next week. With Justin here, I have to get more than usual and I have to remember to do that. I've been so used to shopping for just two; it's been a long time since I shopped for three.
I'll go to Petco, too, to stock up on Riley's food. I buy a 30-pound bag of dog food, Natural Balance, each month. Our boy eats a lot. Three and a half cups a day.
He'll also get a bath tomorrow, our boy. I gave him a bath last week, but I think he might be allergic to the shampoo I used. He's been itchy and he has a bit of a rash under his fur, near his tail. He keeps trying to bite it, to make the itch stop. It'll be warm tomorrow, too, so he'll be dry in no time, fur flying, shedding like a big dog, happy as he can be, clean and sparkly. With fresh dog food.
It's Friday. No one has any food. And that means pizza for dinner.
We have a great place not too far from here. I'll order it and then drive in to pick it up. I haven't been out of the house all week. I'll climb into the Range Rover and drive down Catalina Highway. I'll open the sunroof and crank the music. I love to drive at night when the air is cool and there's little traffic. I'll pull up to Rosati's and get our pizza, or maybe our two pizzas, perhaps a Caesar salad. I'll get back into the car, fire up the lights and take off, flying toward home. The smell of pizza will flood the car. And I will be free …
… of groceries, of dog food, of chores at least until tomorrow. As an added bonus, I'll be able to feed my family. Or, in the immortal words of George W. Bush, I'll be able to "put food on my family."
Because I don't have any food in the house, or at least no food I want to make, and I'm tired, and wasn't in the mood for the grocery store. And so, in pizza, I must trust.
There are some days that give meaning to life, that make you glad to be alive in this time, in this moment. They don't occur often. Sometimes these moments involve a changing event, like the birth of a child, the acquiring of a puppy, a marriage. More often, these moments are attached to nothing but the universe. It's a feeling, and it happens without warning. You're driving along with the top out and the windows down, the music blasting. The road is a series of curves, long and winding, easy. You downshift and then you upshift, moving up toward the sky. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the trees impossibly green.
And it hits you. This is joy. Unencumbered, unemotional. It simply is life defined. At its most pure. There is no one that's responsible. Your joy isn't contingent on another person being involved. There isn't a situation that needs to develop. There isn't a relationship that needs to start. It is already there. You are the person that's involved; you are the situation. You are the relationship. And you're here.
I know. I'm being cryptic. I don't mean to be. Our friend Tammy was here this weekend. She came in yesterday morning and we did nothing but hang out and enjoy. We went to this fabulous Mexican restaurant yesterday afternoon and had table-made fresh salsa and appetizers. We had dinner on the deck last night with a fire in the fireplace. It was cool, not cold, and the fire was more for ambiance than heat. It was lovely. We had wine, we talked; we laughed.
This morning, we decided to head up to Mount Lemmon for breakfast. Kevin asked Tammy if she'd like to go on the motorcycle. She grinned. I said I'd follow in the Porsche. I showed Tammy how to get up on the bike (it takes a bit of a contortionist move to do so); I helped her hook up the strap on her helmet. Off they went. I pulled the Porsche out of the garage and followed.
It was a beautiful morning, just after 9. The sky was clear, the temperature was hovering in the upper 70s. I put both windows down; the roof still out. I grabbed my Patriots baseball hat, popped a CD into the stereo since I don't have satellite in this car.
We climbed and climbed and climbed. I watched the bike in front of me, carrying my husband and my good friend. To either side, the green of the desert. The cactus gave way to trees which gave way to pine. Up we went, until it seemed we had entered into a forest. The temperature had dropped at least 20 degrees. The air coming in through the open windows was cool. The pine trees were dense. The greenery was heavy. The rock formations glowed. I felt complete, whole. Overjoyed. I rounded a corner and the green completely obscured any other view. Through my Maui Jim's, the colors came alive. Deeper blues, richer greens, clearer air. I breathed it all in, I watched it all.
And it occurred to me, this is what life is all about. The clarify of beauty. The reality of nothing special and yet everything … special.
Several weeks ago, I wrote about listening to Al Jarreau in the Porsche. I thought of his music today, of the purity of it, of how it has always made me feel. Happy and in the moment. I thought about one song: Never gonna give it up.
I'll never give it up, never gonna give it up, even when this life is over Never give it up, never gonna give it up, even when this life is over Never give it up, never gonna give it up, even when this life is over I'll be content in time
I'll never give up this feeling, this moment, this complete purity. Not now, not ever. It's what living it out loud is all about.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, Catalina highway, Catalina, Tucson, Old Pueblo, Kevin Michel, Tammy Kranzo
Years ago, we would often turn on the television on a Sunday morning and surf a bit until we found something mindless we wanted to watch. Often times it involved a Law & Order episode. It's also the way we discovered Longmire. Every once in a while it was a movie.
This morning, I was feeling lazy. Kevin had gone to take Riley out and to make coffee. There were clouds outside, so a cool breeze was drifting through the open windows. It won't be long before those windows will be closed for months as the air conditioning goes on full-time, so we're taking advantage while we can. The remote, which is usually tucked under the TV that is tucked into the tile above the fireplace, was on the night stand. I had done some surfing last night before going to sleep. I reached for it and turned the TV on. As I was running through the usual channels, Kevin came back with coffee, Riley following. The dog immediately curly up on his bed. Kevin climbed back in next to me.
I stopped on Turner Classic Movies. I often watch TCM because I'm a big fan of old movies. Sometimes they're playing something I have no interest in; other times they're playing something I've seen too many times. But they never fail to play history. Today, they were running several station promos and they were really good. We found ourselves intrigued. We had never seen TCM do such elaborate promotions for themselves. Then Ben Mankiewicz came on, and was talking about their Mother's Day lineup featuring some good mothers, some bad, some crazy busy. First up: Doris Day.
Now I don't like Doris Day. Not personally; I don't know the woman, who is still alive and kicking at 92. I just never particularly cared for her brand of film and definitely not her singing. I remember seeing films with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, stupid comedies, when I was a kid. I remember seeing one with Doris Day and James Garner. I didn't like that either.
Doris Day was always too sugary for me. The one thing I remember sort of liking her in was the Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much, where she played James Stewart's wife. It was a supporting role. In many of her films, she sang. I'm not big of musicals in general, as I've mentioned before. She's also too vanilla; too saccharine. I know that she's a big animal-rights advocate so I appreciate that. I know, too, that the home her son lived in became the site of the infamous Manson murders in 1969.
The film this morning was Please Don't Eat The Daisies. We left it on; I have no idea why. Within minutes we were sort of enjoying it. The dialogue was surprisingly snappy and sophisticated. It wasn't sappy and slapstick. It was more real life, for the time. It also stars David Niven and I've always loved David Niven. He brought gravitas to any role he played, certainly more so than Rock Hudson who was overrated in my opinion, and James Garner, who I actually liked as he got older.
The film was released in 1960, before I was even born, and takes place predominantly in New York with a brief sojourn to a place called Hooton. Day and Niven play Kate and Larry MacKay. They have four boys, three of whom seem to be the same age. They're a handful and horribly misbehaved. They also have a younger boy that they keep in a kennel type contraption that is never fully explained. Obviously this was before child services would investigate such things. They also have a dog named Hobo – cue the politically correct police – who is afraid of everything and has a habit of needing to be carried. He's a sheep dog though, not a purse dog. The vet puts him on tranquilizers. So many things that are considered so wrong today.
The cast is smart and while it's predictable, the story is also mostly fun. The ending was a bit of a disappointment. It seemed to end too easily and even too quickly. We watched the whole thing and couldn't believe we stayed in bed on a Sunday morning to watch a Doris Day movie.
The title is never fully explained save for one of the horrible boys, who is old enough to know better, eating an entire bouquet of daisies, for no reason whatsoever. I guess a certain suspension of belief was required when it was made, and to watch it now. We happily suspended, for the 112 minutes that was needed.
When I finally got up and made my way to the kitchen, I found a beautiful vase of double hybrid tulips, a gift from my husband on this mother's day. Riley gave me a card; I got a sweet text from Justin who was working several shows today before loading out to move to the next city. It was a day for daisies and then tulips and, evidently, Doris Day. It was a day worth celebrating.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, Kevin Michel, Riley Michel, Doris Day, Please don't eat the daisies
Time flies. Sometimes it's when you're having fun, but it flies, too, even when you're not. Time flying is not a new concept. No matter what we do, we can't stop time from continuing. Each day passes, each week, month, year, decade. It flies by. One minute we're in kindergarten, the next we're graduating from college. We make friends, we get married, we get divorced, friendships drift away. We lose people, we lose pets. And still time flies.
We've had Riley for a year today. We're amazed that it's been that long, that over a year ago we lost Cooper. Over a year ago we moved in. Over a year ago was Roy's gallery show and the party. Over a year ago when our lives changed again. I look back at the past year that has positively flown, and I can see moments hanging in the air, memory clouds. The day we moved in when I blew out my knee. That same night, Roy and Bobbi arriving. Cooper being so sick and there was nothing anyone could do for him. Taking him to the hospital on Friday in the middle of the night, having a party – to celebrate Roy – here Saturday night after hastily arranging furniture to make it look like we sort of lived here after three days. Getting the call on Sunday morning that Cooper was gone.
And then it was April and we were lonely. Going to the Adopt Love Adopt Local event and meeting Jackson, a beautiful Border Collie mix but he was over 10 and we didn't think it was right to bring him up here on the hill at his age. In hind sight, he probably would have been fine. He seemed so easy going.
We looked into adopting a special needs dog, a deaf Lethal White Australian Shepherd named Finn. But we didn't pass the home inspection. They didn't like that we didn't have a fenced in yard and were concerned that he might jump over the railing on the deck and into the desert below.
But if we'd taken Jackson or been approved for Finn, we wouldn't have gotten our Riley.
Southern Arizona Golden Retriever Rescue came to do a home visit and we passed, even though we didn't have a yard. We didn't even have the dog area fenced in yet, but they seemed to trust us, and they liked the fact that we kept our toilet seats down. Several weeks later, "Bernie" arrived. He quickly became Riley.
A year later, the three of us are living happily up here on the hill.
Time flies.
I wonder if it would fly as quickly if we had to pay airfare, though in some ways we do. The one-way tickets would undoubtedly be astronomical.
I have a theory that life's airfare involves coach, business and first class, and that whatever one-way ticket we had to buy would somehow be split between all. Think about it. We start out in coach, then, once we're working, we get to fly business and then, finally, we're bumped to first class for our older years. If we're lucky. It's life's version of airfare. Because time flies, and that fliage is what I'm celebrating today.
Tags: live it out loud, celebrate something, Riley Michel, Kevin Michel
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Starting with a kickoff luncheon Friday, the 13th annual Women! A Weeklong Celebration will give women of all ages a platform to talk about things that matter to them, said Teresa Taylor, who last week was putting the finishing touches on plans for the big event.
"Events," Taylor said to clarify. "We've got 150 separate activities happening all over the city. There's a lot of variety and a wide range of topics, so there will be something to appeal to everyone," she said.
It's so big that it has stretched from a week to 10 days — Sept. 19-28 — said Taylor, who earns her living as a professional organizer, headed the committee that began in January.
The week is a project of the Women's Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Taylor said, an organization that is celebrating its 20th year of focusing on issues that matter to women, and many of the activities this year will concentrate on women's health and wellness.
In 2010 study of factors affecting women's health, the National Women's Law Center gave Louisiana a failing grade, using parameters like access to health services, rates of screening and other preventative services, smoking and binge-drinking rates, and many other disease statistics. In a by-state ranking, the state came in 50th out of 51, including each state and Washington D.C.
"It was part of a sort of 'state of the state' report," Taylor said. That report sparked a conversation that led to this year's mission — to talk about ways to improve those numbers.
"That's one of the reasons we chose Holly Clegg as our keynote speaker at the kickoff," Taylor said. Clegg, a Louisiana chef, is author of several popular cookbooks that focus on practical ways to cook tasty meals that make eating healthy easier for busy families.
But nutrition and physical fitness is a small part of a much bigger picture when it comes to wellness.
Topics to be addressed range from Ayurveda to yoga, organizing, from starting a new career to retiring from one, art and performance, to mental and physical health issues.
"We want these events to be a safe forum to start a discussion about these issues," she said. "This is just the beginning."
Many of the workshops, seminars and activities will be run by other organizations as part of Women!, the WCG has compiled a comprehensive list of all of them.
The program booklets are available at area BREC facilities, at YMCA branches, and at East Baton Rouge libraries, and are also available in electronic form on the Women's Week website.
Not all of the activities are being organized directly by the WCG, so Taylor suggested reading carefully when choosing the events.
"Each event will have an address and contact number, and I urge women to call before they come. Many of these events require registration and have limited seating," she said.
For a complete list of programs, visit www.womensweekbr.org.


text:
Look Inside
Feb 11, 1997
| 258 Pages
Aug 08, 2018
| 256 Pages
Feb 11, 1997
| 258 Pages
Aug 08, 2018
| 256 Pages
Firozsha Baag is an apartment building in Bombay. Its ceilings need plastering and some of the toilets leak appallingly, but its residents are far from desperate, though sometimes contentious and unforgiving. In these witty, poignant stories, Mistry charts the intersecting lives of Firozsha Baag, yielding a delightful collective portrait of a middle-class Indian community poised between the old ways and the new."A fine collection…the volume is informed by a tone of gentle compassion for seemingly insignificant lives."–Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
Rohinton Mistry is the author of a collection of short stories, Tale from Firozsha Baag (1987), and two internationally acclaimed novels. Such a Long Journey (1991) was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Governor General's Award, the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best… More about Rohinton Mistry
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NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Nearly two dozen New Rochelle students fell ill on a field trip to Washington, D.C., this week, forcing them to be treated at a local hospital in the nation's capital.
After departing on Wednesday for the D.C., 22 of 68 Isaac E. Young Middle School students that were on the trip suffered from a stomach illness, reportedly the result of a potential nanovirus.
The 22 students were hospitalized as a precautionary measure, with 10 of the eighth-grade students treated for dehydration. The exact cause of the illnesses remains unclear, but students were expected to return home to New Rochelle on Friday afternoon.
In a statement, the district said that throughout the week, parents have been informed "every step of the way" and that students were in no immediate danger.
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