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For at least thirty years it seems the mortgage industry has pursued a recurring theme. The battle for market share and short-term profits has led to IT dollars pouring into systems for quickly processing and selling or securitizing loans, and servicing loans. Unfortunately, controls on data integrity have not garnered an appropriate share of IT budgets. The result is that wonderful systems are populated with less than wonderful data. The fallout is manifested in misevaluated risks, volatile bond prices, misguided collection strategies, extensive litigation and damages, and heightened government involvement, scrutiny, and fines.
Data integrity problems reportedly cost U.S. businesses $600 billion dollars annually. Recent significant losses can be traced directly to bad data quality. Prior to 2006, the industry primarily relied on enforcing lender representations and warranties. Recent widespread litigation has shown the immense costs of relying on cures. Prevention is a better solution. As a result, quality initiatives are taking place in the market, and the GSEs, investors, and regulators are demanding increased data integrity.
"Data integrity encompasses the completeness, consistency, and accuracy of captured and reported data", stated Michael Trickey, Managing Director of The Berkshire Group. "This includes data collected on loan applications, during underwriting, upon funding, in secondary and securitization activities, and during servicing and surveillance activities."
Each step or process generates a wealth of information to be either collected accurately, or perhaps inaccurately or not at all. Businesses can reap huge rewards by determining what data should be collected at each step, and putting in place electronic and human systems to ensure data integrity is achieved and maintained. They can also help avoid regulatory, legal, and reputational problems and costs by capturing the right information for maintaining controls over lending, selling, securitizing and servicing activities. Quality data supports business decisions and aids compliance.
On the business side, data supports the use of predictive models used for 1) designing products and underwriting standards, 2) pricing loans and MSRs on a risk-adjusted basis, 3) implementing marketing strategies, 4) setting collection campaigns and predictive dialer strategies, 5) developing loss mitigation criteria and contract terms, 6) setting bond levels and support requirements, and 7) performing surveillance. If the data used for building and calibrating the models does not have integrity, the models will be faulty.
On the compliance side, quality data helps to detect and head off problems. This role has taken on even greater focus with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) mortgage servicing rules effective January 10, 2014. These rules amend the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) and impose stringent compliance audits and fines for non-compliance.
The industry has little in the way of standardized data criteria, definitions, and formats. Even within firms, data integrity may be challenged by legacy systems and employees, competing department or business unit definitions, lack of focus and definition from management, failure to keep up with changing concepts and regulatory definitions, or a host of other issues.
So how can lenders accomplish a comprehensive data integrity and quality program? The solution involves not just technology, but also proper business processes and workflows. From a technology standpoint, the solution appears to be simple. Although, applying just technology becomes a little more challenging in today's heavily integrated environments.
Any solution must have a two- step workflow, 1) a system and 2) experienced analysts to revalidate the data, flag changes, identify errors and provide opportunities to fix those errors, based on confirming accuracy to the actual loan file. This means having a system and procedures in place to reconcile data throughout the loan file and recognize discrepancies and errors that may occur, and having procedure to quickly act and repair the data.
Firms often use third party testing of data integrity and overall origination, sale, servicing practices to vet out and resolve potential problems and to circumvent natural internal rivalries that could reduce effectiveness of testing.
Testing frequency is tied to the severity of known problems, although at least quarterly. Tracking mechanisms of data flows are critical and should be documented to facilitate quick corrections and to avoid repeated mistakes in the future.
In a proper data integrity review, loan files should be bookmarked and documents inventoried. A document sufficiency review ensures pertinent documents are included and that the information in the documents is consistent and logical. This review is dependent on the documents each firm requires for its ultimate portfolio, disposition, or exit strategy. If documents change, resulting in data changes, there must be systems in place to ensure the impact of those changes are appropriate and the risks associated with document changes to a loan are fully understood.
No matter what, do not underestimate the data quality problem, nor the effort required to resolve it. Get in front of data integrity problem sources before they can undermine all areas that rely on the data.


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Stargate Universe concludes its two-season run tonight, marking the end of a television franchise that's spanned three series and almost 14 years. Is "Gauntlet" a satisfactory conclusion for the series or Stargate as a whole?
"Gauntlet" serves as a conclusion to the drones arc that Stargate Universe has been following for the last few episodes. As the crew of the Destiny tries to resupply, they discover that every gateable world with provisions is occupied by drone command ships.
After a victorious but costly encounter with one of the waiting drone ships, Rush, Eli and Colonel Young conclude that further attempts to resupply will only end in disaster. Eli concocts a solution: place the crew in stasis pods and make a massive subspace jump to the next galaxy on Destiny's universal route.
This presents its own problems. First of all, they'd be going even farther away from Earth (which isn't necessarily a bad thing for all of Destiny's inhabitants) and they still need some very specialized supplies to get all the pods operational. Naturally, someone's going to have to stay behind and risk dying when the life support shuts down for the jump.
Stargate Universe has felt like the black sheep of the Stargate family since its debut two years ago. Having more than a little in common with the likes of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek Voyager, Universe has seemed less and less like a true Stargate show as it has continued. For example, the finale has only one short scene with the Stargate itself, the plot device that's supposed to anchor the franchise.
That said, the departure from established norms isn't entirely unwelcome. Stargate SG-1 definitely got long in the tooth in its later seasons and Stargate Atlantis felt in many ways like a remixed version of the original, swapping out the setting and characters but keeping an all too similar feel. Universe's gritty atmosphere and desperate characters gave us something new, even as it expanded on the Ancient lore established way back in the SG-1 pilot.
The central conflict of Stargate Universe isn't so much the alien bad guys as the motivations of the crew itself: Dr. Rush wants to explore the universe (along with Eli, to some extent) while everyone else wants to go home, or failing that, at least stay alive. There's very little of that conflict in this final episode: everyone seems resigned to their fate, which I couldn't help but see as a bit of projection on the part of the writers.
As the crew makes tearful goodbyes to their loved ones by way of the mind-swapping Ancient communication technology, Rush and Eli make the preparations for the pods and the jump. It doesn't leave the rest of the cast much to do except contemplate, with some especially expositional dialogue letting the audience know where everyone is emotionally.
In short, the episode functions more as a goodbye to the characters and Destiny as whole, and not the conclusion to the series that fans may be hoping for. There's a distinct lack of space action (just one short battle and a remote-controlled bluff) and a lot of explanation as to the ship's chances – or lack thereof – if they follow the plan.
It leaves the series surprisingly open-ended. Literally anything could happen after the lights go down on Destiny: expect a metric ton of fanfiction to flood Stargate forums in the next few months. It's not as if the series could have been properly completed; Syfy announced the cancellation during the mid-season gap. But it still feels like there's very little accomplished by the crew in the time they've had away from Earth.
The acting and production values are on par with the rest of the series, solid without being stellar. Stargate Universe has taken a lot of cinematography cues from Battlestar Galactica, a choice that clashes with SG-1 and Atlantis. I'm not opposed to shaky cameras and moody sets, but they feel as out of place in the finale as they did in the premiere.
Eli is the only character who gets some real resolution, a fact that he and the others point out with surprising bluntness. Everyone else (especially Young, Tamara and Dr. Park) is left to dangle in the semi-hopeless situation. It's definitely a downer, especially considering the bigger victories and moments in the last few episodes.
Even if Syfy hadn't moved Stargate Universe (along with the likewise doomed Caprica) to a new night in favor of professional wrestling, I doubt it could have survived more than another season. It's a disappointing end to a long-running franchise; I'll go so far as to say that with a little tweaking and some reshoots, the recent episode arc with the planet Novus would have served as a far better conclusion. As it stands, the series ends with a whisper, not a shout.
At least fans won't have to wait long to complete their Stargate collections: Season 2 of Stargate Universe hits DVD and Blu-ray on May 31st.
Follow Michael on Twitter: @MichaelCrider

subset: commoncrawl


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'Tis the season to be merry - but too much booze can impact health in countless ways. If you're concerned about overdoing it with the alcohol this Christmas, read these tips for enjoying a festive tipple sensibly.
By Abi Jackson
Whether it's sweet, steaming mulled wine, a soothing eggnog or a few cheeky glasses of sherry in time for the Queen's Speech, booze is as big a part of Christmas as mistletoe and mince pies. And why not?
There's nothing wrong with indulging in your favourite festive tipple. A nice glass of red can complete a meal, and enjoying a couple of drinks with family and friends can be one of the joys of the season.
But, as the charity Drinkaware - which promotes responsible drinking - points out, alcohol can also lead to serious consequences, including health damage and accidents.
You don't need to abstain from drinking altogether. Simply spare some time to think about how you can drink more sensibly to ensure your Christmas is merry in all the right ways.
Accidents happen
Though many of us associate alcohol with having fun, it's actually one of the leading causes of accidents. While spilling wine down your top or stumbling over a chair may be minor, and sometimes even amusing, drinking can lead to serious accidents, too.
Alcohol slows down the brain's responses, making us clumsier than usual, with slower reaction speed and impaired judgment. It can also make us more likely to take risks - not a great combination.
People who have been drinking usually suffer more serious accidents than those who haven't.
According to Drinkaware, alcohol is the single biggest cause of accidents in the home. Of the 4,000 fatal domestic accidents in the UK every year, 400 are alcohol-related.
Plus, around one in three fires are caused by people under the influence of alcohol, and two-thirds who end up admitted to hospital, or die, from burns have been drinking.
Top tipple tips
:: If you're responsible for cooking the festive feast, laying the table with candles or keeping the fire topped up with logs, take it easy on the booze and ask tipsy family members to keep out of the way until the work's done and accident hazards cleared away. Scalds can happen in a flash and a knocked candle could lead to a devastating blaze in moments.
:: On nights out and at parties, pace yourself by alternating alcohol with soft drinks or water so that you don't get as drunk, and only allow your glass to be topped up once it's empty so you can keep track of how much you've had. Keep an eye on your friends if they're behaving recklessly - dancing on the bar might raise a few laughs but a fall could be nasty.
Homeward bounds
If you've just had a good time with your friends, the last thing you want is to come to harm on your journey home. When intoxicated, you're more vulnerable to accidents on the way home - especially in the dark.
Another risk factor that can't be ignored is drink-driving. Despite hard-hitting campaigns and the fact that it's against the law, some people still can't resist getting behind the wheel after one too many. Though incidents have fallen by more than three-quarters in the last two decades, traffic accidents are still a leading cause of alcohol-related deaths among men aged 16-24. It's not just a case of the drunk driver themselves being in danger too - it puts other road users and pedestrians at risk too.
Even if you've just 'had a couple', and your house is just 10 minutes from the pub, alcohol can dramatically impair your vision and reaction times, not to mention making you more likely to speed.
Top tipple tips
:: There's safety in numbers so try to travel home with a group if you can. Ideally, you'll have planned how you're getting home in advance but it's always a good idea to make sure your phone's topped up and you have licensed taxi numbers to hand should you need them.
:: Don't drink and drive - or accept a lift with somebody who's been drinking. If you think there's a chance you could be tempted to attempt to drive home, leave the car at home, or ask your friends to confiscate your keys and call you a taxi if it comes to it.
Hangover hell
Hangovers may be temporary, but they can still make you feel awful. At worse, you'll be stuck in bed all day, unable to stand up without vomiting, your head on fast-spin, or you'll have a thumping headache, tired, bleary eyes and a sore throat. Hangovers are likely to affect your mood too and can leave you feeling gloomy, depressed and anxious. They don't always pass after 24 hours - you could feel run-down for days, or end up more prone to infections like colds, as getting drunk regularly could give your immune system a battering.
Top tipple tips
:: Prevention's better than cure - so don't knock 'em back too quickly, alternate booze with soft drinks, and slow down once you've hit the tipsy mark.
:: Many hangover symptoms are linked to dehydration. "Stay well hydrated during the day to prepare for your night out," advises Dr Emma Derbyshire, nutritionist and consultant to the Natural Hydration Council (naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk). "Quench thirst with water or juice before you have an alcoholic drink and, at the end of the evening, keep water by your bed and drink whenever you feel thirsty."
:: Avoid that hair of the dog. Instead, opt for a soluble painkiller to ease headaches and an antacid to settle your stomach.
:: Fresh air and exercise helps. "Exercise has been linked to the release of endorphins - your 'feel good' hormones that will help get you back to yourself again," says Justin Way, personal trainer at Pure Gym.
Binge drink disasters
While people who drink heavily over a very long period of time are most at risk of serious health consequences such as liver disease, as Drinkaware points out, serious health damage can be caused by short bouts of heavy boozing too.
According to Chris Day, professor of liver medicine at Newcastle University, consuming more than eight units a day if you're a man and more than five units a day if you're a woman, for two or three weeks, is enough to cause 'fatty liver' - which happens because alcohol stops the liver from sending fat around the body to be stored, instead causing it to clog up. In the short run, this can be reversed, but carry on boozing to excess and it'll get worse.
Binge drinking can also lead to heart problems, including a rapid heartbeat and, in some cases, increased risk of heart attack. There's also the risk of suffering alcohol poisoning or choking on your own vomit after a very heavy booze binge.
Top tipple tips
:: If you're concerned about binge drinking, make a plan of action at the start of the night - such as setting a sensible drinks limit and asking your friends to support you in sticking to it.
:: Abdominal discomforts, feeling sick and loss of appetite can sometimes be signs of 'fatty liver'. See your doctor if you are concerned.
:: If you or somebody else suddenly becomes severely ill during or after a night out, and you're concerned, seek medical help or even call an ambulance.
:: For more information and advice about responsible drinking visit www.drinkaware.co.uk


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Tarantulas, Piranhas and Caviar - Oh My!by Janice Wald Henderson | August 24, 2009
Silversea's Amazonian Adventures on the Amazon River from Manaus to Belémon.
I'm walking this wooden bridge strung with rope and a prayer from the river bank into the jungle. The planks are uneven, and with termites crawling on the railing, I can't hold on. I don't like heights and now I'm some eight-to-10-feet above the jungle floor. "Breathe," I tell myself. "Just breathe." Finally I reach a viewing platform and peer down at my reward. Lily pads. No ordinary lilies, because nothing in the Amazon is ordinary. The yard-wide leaves look like someone force-fed them fertilizer. Flowers, this violet, shock the senses. I'm shaky from the walk, and darn, now I'm blinking back tears. I'm such a wuss over Amazonian beauty. I march back, single file, with fellow explorers until we reach tiny motorized canoes. The brown Amazonian waters swirl around us. We pass native Indians, paddling even tinier canoes, and rickety wooden ferries. The waters are busy as the river is the highway; there are no roads in the Amazon. Distance is measured not in miles, but rather, how many days it takes to get somewhere via water.
Vultures fly overhead and small brown birds perch on wooden branches jutting out of the river. It is very hot and humid -- we are only 2 1/2 degrees from the equator -- and I am dripping sweat like a polar bear in a sauna.
That night I wiggle into a cocktail dress, slip on some bling and sip a dirty martini before deciding between fresh grouper and roast duck. A passionate sommelier and I get into a spirited conversation over the virtues of Umbrian Chardonnay and the spiciness of South African Shiraz.
It's just another day in paradise on the Silver Wind. This ship is sailing Brazil for 14 days, heading east on the Amazon River from Manaus to Belém, before entering the Atlantic Ocean and traveling south to Rio de Janeiro.
The Wind is a small ship (296 passengers), one of four sleek vessels owned by Silversea Cruises. I haven't sailed on the Silver Wind in 10 years and I forgot how small small is. I keep thinking I'm on a friend's yacht rather than a cruise ship, until I remember I don't have friends rich enough to own anything this posh.
Silversea Cruises attract travelers rather than tourists. Most passengers have seen much of the world already. They don't want to buy oil paintings or play silly games onboard. Silversea guests want to explore. To visit ports rarely accessible by other cruise ships, and, yeah, spend a week or two being spoiled rotten.
Spoiling is a Silversea activity. Like water volleyball or blackjack. Even inanimate objects, like Bulgari toiletries, spoil you. After a week or two of using stellar beauty products, you'll sigh at drugstore soap back home.
All-suite accommodations are spoilers, too. A verandah suite is a spacious 295-square-feet. Marble abounds and the richly veined wood is like some oiled guy on Muscle Beach, cut and glistening, just begging to be admired. Although it looks mighty spiffy already, the Silver Wind is undergoing a big-time refurbishment in November. Suites will have new bathrooms, plusher beds and carpets, flat-screen TVs and fancier verandahs with cool custom furniture by this edgy Spanish design firm. Public areas are also being redone, and most notably, there will be a new ocean-view spa and fitness center, and an observation lounge with 180-degree floor-to-ceiling ocean views.
So much is included in a Silversea cruise, I forget about money all-together and get flustered when someone actually wants some onshore. Wine and spirits, coffee drinks, specialty dining and all gratuities are included -- those hidden costs really add up on other cruise lines. And Silversea is generous with freebies; caviar flows and suites are stocked with favorite drinks, from fresh juices to premium vodka.
Me, I like bubbly, and I'm sipping champagne to toast Manaus before we set sail. With a population of two million, Manaus is a bustling city with nonstop traffic. Shops are narrow dark spaces teeming with goods. Streets are filled with casually dressed people wearing tees and flip-flops.
The open-air market is one giant photo op with colorful spices, freshly killed piranhas, a floor full of plantains, and squash so big they look like Food Network props. In the butchery, macho men wield long knives, expertly cutting bulls' tongues and laying them in long neat rows. Everyone is so friendly. Vendors give thumbs-up, twirl sharp knives for show, or playfully "attack" with a piranha.
Santarém, our second Amazon port, dates back to 1661 and is a local trading center. I'm taking advantage of Silversea's singular shore excursions and signing up for piranha fishing. Some guests get lucky and a guide sautés the piranhas right on the boat. (Nope, piranha doesn't taste like chicken, but rather, like trout or perch.) Then we have the sighting of the century -- the rare pink Amazonian dolphin. Two of them. Frolicking off the side of the boat. Grown people -- now this is a elegant, CEO-type crowd -- are so jazzed, they're jumping up and down like kindergartners on the playground.
That same day, I join a rain forest walk and learn about the medicinal value of trees, and how locals brew tea from bark to heal ailments. I had imagined that piranhas and snakes (remember the movie "Anaconda?") are daily dangers, but we're told natural predators have enough to eat and everyone lives in relative harmony.
Sailing Breves Narrows, a strait on the Amazon that lives up to its name, is unforgettable. (Another reason to cruise the Amazon on a small ship; most are too big to do this.) As we navigate hairpin turns through the Narrows, the banks are practically at arm's reach. Locals spot our ship and react as if the president of Brazil had arrived. They jump into teensy canoes and paddle up besides us. Kids are whooping and hollering and adults are waving. The people, many an exotic mix of Portuguese and native Indian, are called riverinhos and are so pretty. I wave back and wish we could converse. Imagine being able to talk to somebody on this planet who has never heard of Britney Spears.
We sail past wooden shacks on stilts that protect the homes from flooding. The best homes have aluminum roofs; the poor settle for thatched. Many riverinhos make money by fishing, lumbering, or selling wares on the river. (We're told that the biggest threat to the rain forest is cattle-raising, not lumbering, as the jungle is cleared versus reforested.)
The homes butt right up to dense jungle -- tall leafy trees and palms hug the houses, while ferns, vines, and plants fill the muddy shores. I spot some huts with satellite dishes powered by generators. Oops. Maybe they do know who Britney Spears is, after all.
Our next stop is Belém, an Amazonian city with a strong Portuguese influence, where we take a boat ride to a remote village. We see trees more than 400-years-old and spot termite pods (giant and otherworldly, they look not unlike the pods in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers") and a feathery beetle, called the "rooster of the jungle," perched on a tree.
Our guide whacks a pod off a Brazil nut tree and we taste the fresh nuts inside. A villager puts on a show for us, tying vines to his feet and shimmying up a tall skinny palm tree. He slides down so fast he is on the ground before anyone can snap a photo.
But perhaps the real wow-we're-in-the-Amazon moment is when we encounter a tarantula. Our guide says it's a baby (it looks mighty big to me) and that we can let it crawl on us. He might as well have asked if I wanted to lie down on the 405 at rush hour. My husband goes for it and says the tarantula feels like a feather dancing on his arm. I am proud I get close enough to take a picture.
A couple hours later, I'm in our suite, wrapped in the softest robe, having washed off the rain forest dust and smelling faintly and lusciously like Bulgari body lotion. The stewardess delivers our freshly laundered clothes, wrapped like emeralds rather than underwear.
The contrast between the present and what just past is startling. My husband and I look at each other. Were we really in a rainforest? Did a tarantula truly crawl up his arm?
Leaving Belém, we sail onto the Atlantic Ocean. Everyone is on deck, enjoying the cool ocean breezes. The water is startlingly blue. On the second sea day, it's the color of tanzanite. I wish I could scoop some up and make it into a ring. Sea days are when Silversea shines. I bet it's also when most passengers book their next cruise. They probably break out in hives just thinking these could be the last days of extreme pleasure.
Dining is definitely an exalted delight. With so few passengers, the kitchen cooks, rather than mass-produces, meals. The chef often visits local markets to buy ingredients for the evening menu. One night, I try pirarucu, a large (nearly 10-feet-long) tropical freshwater fish with sweet delicate meat. How lucky am I to try exotic local food prepared to the ship's standards. Culinary adventure without the usual bellyache.
By now the staff, who has called you by name since Day Two, knows what you love to eat and drink. Belly up to the bar, and that neat Scotch is waiting. Sit down for a poolside lunch and the waiter automatically brings extra onion rings with the crab burger. Servers are that good. There's Nina, the tall pretty Parisian who lets me practice French. Ronnie could make a killing running a school on how to be the perfect dining room waiter. Jose, in La Terazza, flashes 1,000-kilowat smiles that make you feel like a million bucks. My favorite dinners are in La Terrazza. I can't figure out how Silversea transforms a daytime buffet restaurant into a candlelit room for Italian food and romance each night. The antipasto is swoon-worthy, a feast of tiny treats like the ripest, reddest sun-dried tomatoes, perfect prosciutto and aged Parmesan scooped from a giant wheel. One night I devour osso buco so fragrant, its aroma dances around the room, making every other diner turn towards me and smile.
Silversea isn't just dining and service. The ship offers cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, dancing lessons, and lectures by a professor who knows the Amazon the way I know the Valley. Evening entertainment includes a sultry singer and an English violinist who has performed for Prince Charles. One night, we cuddle under woolen throws for a movie under the stars, while servers pour champagne and offer crystal bowls filled with fresh-popped corn.
I am happiest walking the deck, seeing the ocean from every angle. Sunset is my favorite time for solitary strolls. The sky is a blank canvas and I never know which artist will show up to paint it. Sometimes the bright expressive colors say Matisse, other times the soft dots for clouds are pure Seurat.
One evening, a trio of freighters pops up on the misty horizon, looking like cardboard cut-outs props Silversea procured for guests' pleasure. But my bliss-meter really goes berserk when I 'm on my verandah reading, my reverie broken by only by a splash of a wave reflecting a rainbow as the sun strikes the water.
When we dock in Recife, the second largest city in northeastern Brazil, I spend most of the day in Olinda, a nearby colonial town of cobblestone streets and a spectacular old Franciscan church. At one restaurant (Oficina do Sabor), I feast on a green-shelled pumpkin stuffed with big sweet lobster chunks and mango cream. I'd fly back to Recife just to eat there again.
That night Silver Wind hosts a barbecue on the pool deck and brings aboard local talent for an after-dinner show. Costumed dancers never stop moving to the hypnotic beat of the Afro-Brazilian music. Afterwards, passengers crowd the dance floor, and under the spell of the full moon, party until late in the night.
Salvador, the capital of Bahia, is our last port before we disembark in Rio. Salvador has a distinct Afro-Brazilian culture and is a colorful and vibrant city. Get-in-your-blood-and-make-you-want-to-dance music wafts from nearly every window. Sidewalk vendors flood streets with folk art painted bright Crayola colors, and restaurants cook seafood stew rich with coconut milk and dend� (red African palm oil) that deliver fireworks of flavor.
When we sail into Rio and see Sugarloaf Mountain up-close-and-personal, I am both thrilled and sad. Joyful at the sight and bummed my trip is over. I realize that what I will miss most is not the exciting sights, my cushy suite or -- surprise -- the Bulgari shampoo. It's the people.
Silversea staff, like Jose, Ronnie and Nina. Amazonian children paddling up in canoes and waving like I was their BFF. Guests from France with whom I obsess over food, and the British passengers who told hysterical tales of life in their 18th century cottage.
If there's one thing I take away from the trip, it's this: People make travel and travel makes life rich. What a neat and tidy circle in a not-so-tidy world.
FAST FACTS: Silversea sails a similar cruise from Dubai to Singapore in November, 2009. Savings are 50% off published fares. (1-800-722-9955; www.silversea.com.)


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Serve your pizza with fresh fruit and a mixed green salad garnished with red beans to balance your meal.
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients and Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Spread whole-wheat flour over working surface. Roll out dough with rolling pin to desired crust thickness.
- Coat cookie sheet with cooking spray. Transfer pizza crust to cookie sheet. Brush olive oil over crust.
- Mix the ricotta cheese with the dried basil, onion, garlic, and salt. Spread this mixture over crust.
- Sprinkle crust with mozzarella cheese. Top cheese with mushrooms and red pepper.
- Bake at 425°F for 13-15 minutes until cheese melts and crust is deep golden brown.
- Cut into 8 slices.


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Vladimir Galuzin is famed as one of the greatest tenors of the age. The
unusual nature of his voice, a blend of tenor and baritone, and his unique stage
presence have allowed him to create incredibly vivid character renditions. The
Italian and Russian opera repertoires are where Vladimir Galuzin´s skill shines
to its best advantage. He is known for his interpretations of the roles of
Herman (The Queen of Spades) and Alexei (The Gambler) as well as readings of
Puccini and Verdi characters. Music critics have referred to Vladimir Galuzin as
one of the finest Cavaradossis (Tosca) and Otellos (Otello), in addition to
acclaiming his performance as Canio (I pagliacci).Vladimir Galuzin is a
welcome guest at the world´s leading opera houses, such as the Opéra Bastille
(Paris), the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera (New York), La
Scala, (Milan), the Royal Opera House and Covent Garden (London) as well as his
"native" Mariinsky Theatre.
"The singer´s voice, with its timbre, rare in beauty and intensity, has
true magnetism that reminds one of Vladimir Atlantov. Galuzin´s other
outstanding features are his acting skills, temperament and the particular way
he immerses himself in the music, truly enchanting the
auditorium."Roman Berchenko. Nezavisimaya Gazeta
"Kind, good-hearted, with an open and manly face, Galuzin can act on the
public with truly murderous effect. It is clear that his acting nature hides
dupilcity, and certain latent dark forces go hand in hand with an open
spirituality... When Valery Gergiev came to the Mariinsky Theatre, his focus was
on several young singers, thanks to whom in the 90s the Mariinsky made such an
unprecedented dash for world fame. Under Gergiev, the first tenor roles always
went to Vladimir Galuzin — the hysterical Alexei in The Gambler, the zombified
Herman in The Queen of Spades, the ambition-filled Grishka the Pretender in
Boris Godunov, the gloomy Otello and Sadko, obsessed with dreams of forbidden
trade routes."Pyotr Pospelov. Vedomosti


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"No no, it's a bit of Elvis in Hawaii, and a bit of Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot in St.-Tropez around the late '60s and early '70s," Isabel Marant said about her spring 2013 collection. And it was indeed a super-cool, easy-chic line featuring some pretty stunning pieces that make us dream of lazy days spent on the beach. Yes, this is what tropical-inspired goodies can do! The designer opened the show with red and black Hawaiian floral prints used for one-shouldered wrap minidresses, micro-shorts, and straight-leg pants. Then, it ... Read More


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|Left: Peak of action shot of my son, Marco. Right: Basic action shot of Marco and his pal Adrian.
I am have fun getting my pictures and photo tips together for my talk on family photography at the Upper West Side Apple store on February 26th in NYC.
While I am in the family photo mood, I thought I'd post some of my favorite family photos and tips here on my blog - along with some of my travel photographs that illustrate the same basic techniques.
Today's Tip: Capture the Action - and shoot for the peak of action.
Sports pictures that capture the peak of action are often more impressive than sports pictures that simply capture the action.
To capture the peak of action:
To capture the peak of action:
• Try to anticipate the action and be ready to shoot at that moment.
• Set your camera on rapid frame advance.
• Set your camera to AI Servo focus (focus tracking).
As you can see in the photographs above and below, capturing action also works when photographing animals.
Explore the light,


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The Ryder Cup Matches, as they're officially known, are a biennial golf competition between the United States and Europe.
The competition debuted in 1927 and is named after Samuel Ryder, an English businessman, golf enthusiast and golf promoter, who donated a solid gold trophy.
The three-day matches alternate between locales in the U.S. and Europe. The 2012 Ryder Cup, at Medinah Country Club, will be the first-ever played in Illinois.
The Ryder Cup involves a series of match-play competitions between players selected from two teams of 12. Each team has a captain who is tasked with choosing which players on the team will compete in the foursome, fourball and singles matches.
- In foursomes, the teammates play one ball, taking alternate shots until the hole is completed. They also alternate tee shots; one tees off on odd-numbered holes, while the other tees off on even-numbered holes.
- In fourball competition, each golfer plays their own ball. The team whose player has the lowest score wins the hole, which is worth one point. If there's a tie, the teams split the point.
- In single competition, players compete in match play head-to-head. The player who wins earns a point for the team. Ties are split between the teams.
There are 28 total points possible in the Ryder Cup, which the championship going to whichever team earns the most points. In the event of a 14-14 tie, the team that won the last tournament keeps the Ryder Cup trophy. Europe won the 2010 Ryder Cup, which was played at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales.
The competition takes place over three days. On the first two days, Friday and Saturday, there are four foursomes matches and four fourball matches. The third day, Sunday, consists of 12 singles matches, ensuring single play for each member of a team.


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The kitchen reno is coming together, but we still have another 6-8 weeks before we get our counter top and cabinets. We manged to prime all the walls, with help from the #1 kid in the world :) Thanks O.
I have to admit I have not been cooking all that much, I make dinner every night, but it usually a pasta dish, soup, or some kind of veggie dog/burger. Nothing spectacular.
If you are looking for some yummy vegan recipes to make....go visit findingvegan.com , a vegan food photography site linking to lots of amazing recipes and cooks!


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The short paper "How Much of the Web is Archived?" (Scott G. Ainsworth, Ahmed AlSum, Hany SalahEldeen, Michele C. Weigle, and Michael L. Nelson), published at JCDL 2011, is our first step at determining to what extent the web is being archived and by which archives.
To address this question, we sampled URIs from four sources to estimate the percentage of archived URIs and the number and frequency of archived versions. We chose 1000 URIs from each of the following sources:
- Open Directory Project (DMOZ) - sampled from all URIs (July 2000 - Oct 2010)
- Delicious - random URIs from the Recent Bookmarks list
- Bitly - random hash values generated and dereferenced
- search engine caches (Google, Bing, Yahoo!) - random sample of URIs from queries of 5-grams (using Google's N-gram data)
We categorize the archives as Internet Archive (using the classic Wayback Machine), search engine caches (Google, Bing, and Yahoo!), and other (e.g., Diigo, Archive-It, UK National Archives, WebCite).
Our first set of graphs (click on each graph for a larger version) shows the mementos discovered for each URI, ordered by the first observation date. These are separated by sample set, so the y-axis on each graph runs from 0-1000. Brown dots indicate mementos discovered at the Internet Archive, blue dots indicate those found in search engine caches, and red dots indicate mementos found at other archives.
|Search engines
There are a few interesting observations:
- DMOZ URIs are well-represented, especially in the Internet Archive. There are two likely reasons for this: DMOZ is the primary source for seed URIs for the Internet Archive and the DMOZ sample contains more old URIs than the other sources.
- Bitly URIs are very poorly represented. The majority of Bitly URIs are not found in any archive. This is currently under further investigation.
- There is a large gap in mementos found in the Internet Archive, starting in 2008. We suspect this is because of the use of the classic version of the Wayback Machine.
|Search engines
From these graphs, we make the following observations:
- Many of the DMOZ URIs are archived at least once every 2 months.
- Older Delicious URIs have many mementos.
- A few Bitly URIs have many mementos, but most URIs have 0-10 mementos.
Ahmed presented this work at JCDL 2011. His presentation slides are below:
This work supported in part by the Library of Congress and NSF IIS 1009392.
2012-12-27 Update: The long version of this paper has been posted to arXiv, along with the URI datasets described in the paper.


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Here you can find addresses from hotels you can stay at during the race week:
Hotel Seepark
The Hotel Seepark is the official race hotel of IRONMAN Austria-Kärnten. Located right next to the transition area and the swim exit the hotel Seepark is your ideal hotel to enjoy the IRONMAN Austria-Kärnten. Special offers are available for the participants of the IRONMAN Austria-Kärnten and their families. For further information click HERE >>
Nirvana Europe is the Official Travel Agency for IRONMAN Austria
Each Year Nirvana Europe offers late entry slots for IRONMAN Austria after the Race has been sold out. The slots are offered in a package including travel, accommodation and a Race Cancellation Insurance!
For further information click HERE >>
Contact details:
e-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: +44 191 257 1750
Klagenfurt Information:
Tourismus Region Klagenfurt am Wörthersee GmbH
Neuer Platz 5
A-9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
fon: +43 463 287 463
fax: +43 463 537 6218
eMail: [email protected]
web: http://www.visitklagenfurt.at


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- 4 cups cubed potatoes
- 1 cup chopped leeks, both green and white portions
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
- 1 cup fat-free sour cream
Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cover and bring to boil, cooking until just tender. Drain, transfer to a large mixing bowl, and chill. Stir in chopped leeks and capers, and add white pepper. Fold mayonnaise into sour cream and add mixture to potatoes, stirring until well blended. Chill until serving time.
Yield: 11 servings.
Serving size: 1/2 cup.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving:
Calories: 83 calories, Carbohydrates: 18 g, Protein: 2 g, Fat: 1 g, Saturated Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 131 mg, Fiber: 1 g
Exchanges per serving: 1 starch. Carbohydrate choices: 1.
This recipe was developed by Sharon Palmer, a registered dietitian and freelance writer in Southern California.


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The happy story of Max Factor, as enthusiastically told by Fred E. Basten in "Max Factor: The Man Who Changed the Faces of the World" (Arcade; $24.95), begins, like a movie, at a high-energy moment of extreme peril:
On a winter night in February 1904, twenty-seven-year-old Max Faktor huddled with his wife and three young children in a Russian forest, frightened more for the family he had kept secret for nearly five years than of the wind and snow or even the approaching czar's men calling his name. Only days earlier, Max Faktor was a favorite of the royal family and was esteemed by the royal court. Now he was being hunted as a fugitive.
The little ("barely five feet tall") Polish Jew's involvement with the czar had advanced with the quick progressions of a fairy tale. One of ten children born to a worker in the textile mills of Lodz, he was reared by his siblings and had scant formal education. At the age of seven, he was set to selling oranges, peanuts, and candy in the lobby of Lodz's Czarina Theatre; he later called this his "introduction to the world of make-believe." At the age of eight, he worked as an apothecary's assistant, learning some chemistry; at just nine, he became an apprentice to the city's leading wigmaker and cosmetician. Within four years, he was proficient enough to join the staff of the Berlin hair stylist Anton, and by the age of fourteen he had moved on to Moscow, where he worked for Korpo, the cosmetician to the Imperial Russian Grand Opera. At his eighteenth birthday, Faktor was obliged to serve four years in the Russian Army; he was picked for the Hospital Corps, and took up nurse's duties. "I did not like it but I learned much," he later said.
Discharged at twenty-two, he opened a small shop in the Moscow suburb of R'azan, "making and selling his own creams, rouges, fragrances, and wigs." According to Basten, a member of a passing theatrical troupe stopped in on the way to a performance before the imperial family, and, "within weeks, Max's business took a royal upswing in sales and he was adopted by the summer court." The courtiers adopted him so thoroughly that he had little time left for his own shop—"All my attention," he remembered, "went to their individual needs by showing them how to enhance their good points and conceal the less good." The aristocrats paid well and introduced him to their luxurious world but were possessive: he could not leave the court unescorted and was limited to brief weekly visits to his shop; he had to marry on the sly, and fathered three children in five years. Meanwhile, anti-Semitism was on the rise in Russia; in 1903, Czar Nicholas II "ordered a siege on the Jews he so feared and hated, and burned down their villages." Max longed for America, where a brother and an uncle had settled in St. Louis, with its impending World's Fair.
A friendly general noticed the court beautician's downcast mood and, being told of Max's secret family, arranged for his escape. Before an interview with the general's personal physician, Max covered himself with yellowish makeup—an especially fairy-tale touch. His sickly appearance won him an official recommendation for three recuperative months in Karlsbad, a spa in far-off Bohemia to which court members often repaired. Russian guards accompanied him, however, so he continually faked a limp; as he hobbled into the main square of Karlsbad, whom should he find huddled at the fountain but his wife, Esther, and their three children! In a twinkling, they disappeared into the Bohemian (not Russian, as in the opening paragraph) forest and, walking mostly at night, travelled "seemingly endless miles"—hundreds and hundreds, it must have been, to the nearest seacoast—"until they reached a clearing in the woods. Ahead was a seaport where the steamship Molka III was boarding for America. Max happily paid the fare. Money was not a problem. Over the years, he had saved nearly $40,000, which he carried with him in a pouch." No passports were required then, in the flood tide of immigration. A customs official misspelled "Faktor" as "Factor." America was not without difficulties for Max and his magic pouch: his English was nonexistent at first, and remained heavily accented; an English-speaking partner who helped him set up shop at the fair in St. Louis absconded with the funds; his wife, less than two years after giving birth to their fourth child, dropped dead on a sidewalk; he sent to Russia for a second wife, and she, Helen, after bearing him his fifth off-spring, proved to be so temperamental that he had to divorce her. However, he had opened a barbershop in St. Louis, and it prospered; in 1908, he married a neighbor, Jennie Cook, and headed to California to try his luck supplying cosmetics and hairpieces to a new brand of entertainment, the motion pictures. In those days, one-reelers were being shot all over Los Angeles, under tirelessly blue skies, and Max, from his little shop on the edge of downtown ("Max Factor's Antiseptic Hair Store. Toupees made-to-order. High-grade work"), spotted some "ghoulish" people passing by. He followed them to an empty lot where a bar brawl was being staged and filmed. Max was curious about what they had on their faces:
Some were using stage make-up, while others wore concoctions they had made themselves: odd mixtures of Vaseline and flour, lard and cornstarch, or cold cream and paprika. The more adventurous had even tried ground brick dust mixed with Vaseline or lard to get a flesh-colored look.
Such pastes, applied an eighth of an inch thick, formed a mask that cracked under the stress of facial expression; this didn't matter at the distances of a live theatre, but in film closeups even hairline cracks showed. In 1914, working in his shop's laboratory, Factor created "a greasepaint in cream rather than stick form, ultrathin in consistency, completely flexible on the skin, and produced in twelve precisely graduated shades." The silent-film comedians—Chaplin, Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle—were the first to try it, and "returned not only to give Max their enthusiastic approval but to have him personally apply the new make-up."
Then, there were wigs. Max persuaded Cecil B. De Mille, in town to direct the large-scale Western "The Squaw Man," that wigs and hairpieces painstakingly formed of real human hair (135,168 individually knotted strands went into an average Max Factor wig, with sixty thousand in a full beard and a mere seven thousand in a false mustache) were more photogenic than "clumsy substitutes such as straw, mattress stuffing, excelsior, Spanish moss, wool, tobacco leaves, even mohair stuffing from Model-T Fords!" De Mille admired Factor's wigs but said he couldn't afford them, and suggested renting them. The deposit needed to safeguard the costly wigs posed a sticking point, which Factor, resorting not for the last time to his brood of useful children, circumvented by waiving the deposit and having De Mille hire his three sons as Indian extras, paying them three dollars a day; at the end of each day, they collected their father's wigs or had their pay docked. By 1916, Max Factor & Company was booming enough to move to larger quarters, in the prestigious Pantages Building, "at the center of it all."
Triumph followed triumph. As Basten—a former assistant in the company's public-relations department—tells it, Max devised false eyelashes for Phyllis Haver, who was tired of having pies smashed in her face and wanted to move up to vamp roles. He created a yellow makeup to lighten Rudolph Valentino's skin so that the actor, who ground pigments to help speed up the process, could escape bit parts as a swarthy villain. Max brought the tempestuous Pola Negri to heel by shouting back at her in their native Polish. When he outgrew his space in the Pantages Building, he moved to a new store, on South Hill Street, and called it the House of Make-Up. The theatrical term "make-up"—Max always insisted on the hyphen—had been considered risqué, but at the urging of his son Frank he began applying it to his products, and it swept the world. Snubbed when he visited the German offices of Leichner, for whose stick greasepaint he had been a longtime American distributor, he cabled his sons, "Start selling greasepaint in tubes," and the tubes were, of course, another triumph. For Douglas Fairbanks's sweaty exertions, Max invented "the first perspiration-proof body make-up" and then "devised the reverse—cinematic sweat—by simply combining equal parts of water with mineral oil." For M-G-M's production of "Ben-Hur," he and his staff conjured up more than six hundred gallons of light-olive makeup to match the army of pale local extras to the darker extras already filmed in Italy. He conquered the persistent problem of lip pomade's melting under the hot studio lights by firmly pressing two thumbprints onto the actress's upper lip and then one thumbprint on her lower lip, thus single-handedly creating the sensational new look of "bee-stung" lips. For Joan Crawford, he created "the smear."There seemed no limit to the labors that Hollywood could set before this diminutive Hercules. Each technical advance in cinematic art posed a fresh problem in makeup. When, in the late twenties, sound came in, the microphones "picked up the noisy sputter of the carbon arc lights—the standard film lighting used . . . for fifteen years." The new tungsten lamps were quiet but also much hotter, and provided a softer light. "The old Orthochromatic film, which had been used since the birth of the film industry, was not sensitive enough to properly record faces under the new lighting." And so:
The old film was replaced by super-sensitive, faster Panchromatic film, but it made faces appear noticeably darker, as if in shadow. The new film made every item in the Max Factor make-up line for motion pictures instantly obsolete. Max to his own rescue! He and Frank labored for months
to test and perfect an entirely new formulation in a wider-than-ever range of shades that reflected the correct degree of light required by the sensitive new film. It had only one drawback. Because it was designed for black-and-white film, it looked bizarre in real life. For example, actresses wore dark brown lipstick, which photographed as red on film.
This new Panchromatic makeup was, Frank admitted, "horrifying to look at" in daylight. For its invention, Max Factor was presented with a special certificate by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in recognition of his contribution to "Incandescent Illumination Research." Frank recalled, "I had never seen my father simultaneously so happy and so on the verge of tears." Dr. Herbert Kalmus, an M.I.T. graduate, had been developing Technicolor film since 1912; its first successful two-color (red and green) version was employed throughout the Douglas Fairbanks feature "The Black Pirate," in 1926, and its full three-color form was displayed in Disney cartoons of the early thirties and an otherwise undistinguished live-action two-reeler, "La Cucaracha," in 1934. Everybody who viewed Technicolor, including Kalmus and Max, "realized something was wrong":
Filmmakers were using Max Factor's Panchromatic make-up, created for black-and-white film. . . . Although thin and transparent, its grease-paint base left a slight sheen on the skin, which reflected surrounding colors. If an actor was standing near red drapes, for example, his face would have a red cast. Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, and Claudette Colbert were among the stars who refused to appear in so unflattering a light. It may have been while brooding upon this rebellion that Max stepped from a curb and was hit by a delivery truck. While he was laid up, Frank hustled back and forth between the Factor labs and the Technicolor company, and, by the time his father was back, walking with a cane, had the reflective problem nearly licked. Basten relates:
Together, they improved the original formula until the make-up was more porous, allowing air to penetrate it and the skin to breathe. They also overcame its slight tendency toward flakiness, so that no particles were shed after the make-up was applied. . . . The new make-up, which the Factors called the "T-D" series, was in a solid cake form. When applied with a damp sponge, it offered a transparent matte finish while concealing small skin blemishes and imperfections. The project was enormously complex, as Max admitted in a press release.
The fully refined preparation, its name changed to Pan-Cake, for its panlike container and its cakelike form, was perhaps Max Factor's greatest invention; not only did it make Technicolor visually palatable but women on the set kept stealing it off the shelves for personal use. Based upon the spectroscopic perception that skin holds a multitude of tints yet is "essentially a translucent covering with relatively little color of its own," Pan-Cake was too dark to successfully wear at night. Max at first resisted the popular demand that it be produced in lighter shades, saying that it was made for the movies and there was only enough of it for them, but Frank saw to its wide commercial release; it "immediately became the fastest- and largest-selling single make-up item in the history of cosmetics," outselling all sixty-five of the imitations advertising themselves with the now magic word "cake."
It was not long after this that Max, in Europe with his son Davis pursuing some of the possibilities that his company's international success had created, received a death threat (modestly demanding two hundred dollars, or else) that unnerved him and prompted his return home; he died in his bed in 1938, at the early age of sixty-one. Max Factor & Company did not die with him; Frank even legally changed his name to Max to smooth over the transition. Under its new Max, the company supplied the copper-green makeup that Margaret Hamilton wore as the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz," as well as the color of the Munchkins and the six that flash by in the Horse of a Different Color sequence. For the masses, it produced Tru-Color, "the world's first perfect lipstick . . . non-drying but indelible," its mettle proved in many an ordeal at the Kissing Machine—a device with rubber lips, a crank, and a pressure gauge. But Basten's idolizing tome loses steam once its dapper, ambidextrous (he could apply makeup with either hand), chemically resourceful hero passes from its narrative.
The company survived to develop makeup for television, but its glory days were with the golden age of the movie studios, when the stars used to provide product endorsements for as little as a dollar. Their glamour rubbed off on Max Factor, and vice versa. As the nation's cinema palaces emptied and the fading studios cut their costs, Factors started to drift out of the executive ranks of what had been, ever since Max's boys became "Jewish Indians" to protect hired wigs, a family firm. Its stock began to trade on the New York Stock Exchange in the early sixties, shortly after it acquired the French company of Parfums Corday; in 1973, it was itself acquired, by the Norton Simon conglomerate, which ten years later was taken over by Esmark, which a year later merged with Beatrice Companies, which made Max Factor part of its International Playtex division and moved its headquarters to Stamford, Connecticut. This left high and dry in Hollywood the Max Factor Make-Up Studio, a palatial Art Deco showpiece with offices and labs and makeup rooms (for brunettes, blondes, redheads, and "brownettes"), whose opening, in 1935, as floodlights probed the skies and stars from Betty Grable to Bela Lugosi signed a parchment Scroll of Fame, had been the crowning glory of Max Factor's ascent. Now the building, restored after some thin times, survives as Donelle Dadigan's Hollywood History Museum, Ms. Dadigan being a "Beverly Hills real estate developer and passionate Hollywood memorabilia collector." But of course all the memorabilia in the world won't bring back Max Factor's Hollywood or—and who would mourn?—the innocence of a cultural climate where makeup was a shameful secret, associated with sexual prostitution and stage performers.
This biography foregrounds its central figure in almost total isolation from the history of cosmetics and the beauty industry—topics of lively interest to contemporary social historians, almost all of them female, as it happens. In the slim and frivolously titled "Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick," by Meg Cohen Ragas and Karen Kozlowski (1998), we learn that an ancient Egyptian papyrus shows a woman applying lip rouge. "Inventing Beauty," by Teresa Riordan (2004), points out that as photography became, from 1870 to 1900, more popular so, too, did cosmetics, and that, "as the Depression deepened, cosmetics sales climbed steadily," and that, in the nineteen-fifties and sixties, the proliferation of synthetic compounds freed cosmetics from the drawbacks of naturally viscid and odorous oils and solvents. Riordan illustrates her text with patent applications of beauty enhancers right out of a torturer's manual. "Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture," by Kathy Peiss (1998), counters arguments, raised with special vehemence in the countercultural sixties, against the beauty industry's manipulation and trivialization of women by pointing out that it gave multitudes of needy women respectable employment as beauticians, manicurists, and saleswomen, as well as enabling some entrepreneurs, like Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, and the African-American Annie Turnbo Malone and Madam C. J. Walker, who manufactured hair-care products, to head up successful corporations. Max Factor, Peiss asserts, became a factor in this female-dominated industry by shunning the air of foppish effeminacy that since the eighteenth century had attached to male hairdressers: "Photographs of Factor show him simultaneously as makeup artist, chemist, and father figure." To preserve this solemn image his publicists discouraged him from giving, in his comically strong accent, interviews.
Sally Pointer's "The Artifice of Beauty: A History and Practical Guide to Perfumes and Cosmetics" (2005) offers a thorough and harrowing history of cosmetics, going back to the first prehistoric traces of red ochre found in graves. The reader puts the book down convinced of the incorrigible human, and particularly feminine, appetite for beauty aids. Pointer quotes eight apt lines by George Gascoigne, in his blank-verse satire of 1576, "The Steele Glas":
Behold, behold, they neuer stande
With God, with kinde, with any helpe of
But curle their locks, with bodkins and
with braids,
But dye their heare, with sundry subtill
But paint and slicke, til fayrest face be
But bumbast, bolster, frisle, and
They marre with muske, the balme
which nature made,
And dig for death, in dellicatest dishes.
Even as Gascoigne wrote, his monarch, Elizabeth I, was poisoning her complexion with ceruse, a lead-based skin whitener used in ancient Rome and revived in the Renaissance. Ceruse persisted into the eighteenth century as an ingredient in potent "washballs," long after many a woman of fashion had died of such toxins. The contemporary barbarism of piercing (eyebrow, tongue, navel) was preceded in the eighteen-nineties by a craze for nipple rings; a contemporary wearer wrote that "many ladies are ready to bear the passing pain for the sake of love."
For the sake of love, broadly speaking, American women in the early twentieth century, overcoming Puritan scruples enforced by male employers, husbands, editorial writers, and legislators (in Kansas in 1915 a law was proposed making it illegal for women under the age of forty-four to wear cosmetics "for the purpose of creating a false impression"), began to paint themselves. Movies enhanced by Max Factor makeup were not alone to blame, but they did help legitimatize artifice and its false impressions. Their heightened images spoke to women of an attainable better self. As I remember it, years ago a scientific study, which electronically tracked eyeball movement, demonstrated that, during the showing of a motion picture, the eyes of the men in the audience followed the woman on the screen. But so did the eyes of the women. ♦


text: The Miami Heat's LeBron James and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder (shown during an April game) will match up again tonight in the first game of the NBA Finals. J Pat Carter/AP hide caption toggle caption J Pat Carter/AP The Two-Way Five Keys To The NBA's Elemental Finals: Thunder Vs. Heat June 12, 2012 It sounds like a battle between graphic-novel superheroes, but the NBA's championship matchup, which starts tonight, pits two teams that couldn't be more different against each other. Starting with the marquee tilt, LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant, here's a look at five stellar storylines.


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Ragnar Dan wrote:All my machines have been getting those 921 point P6701 WU's lately, except my Opty 165 which got an A1 core P5102 (3340 points).
The problem: my old X2-3800 running at stock, now, won't make the deadline. If I'd ever had success transferring SMP WU's from one machine to another and back again, I might consider moving it to another machine temporarily and then moving it back for the final 1% and upload, but I've usually gotten a checkpoint error and a restart from 0% after 2 transfers. Bah. I could quickly buy a mobo for my old C2D 6400 and move it to that thing, and it might make it. But I'd have to get the thing within the next 2 days, and even then it might not make it (as of this typing under 55⅔ hours until bonus runs out and the WU is re-issued by Stanford, and after less than 21.25 hours it's already ~3⅓ hours behind).
Stanford has basically eliminated any possibility of sneaker netting on nearly all of the newer work units. I blame some paranoid IT twit for fixing a problem (duplicated WUs) that was already detectable, but maybe now they think they don't even need to check for them. A secondary downside for we the contributers is the server issuing duplicate WUs that might not be noticed by us and thus wasting a full work unit processing cycle. I've heard that sneaker netting is still possible as long as the Stanford issued system id numbers are identical (move the entire folding folder?), but I have not bothered to try it.
--- edit 2 --- "Bonus points" constantly decline and then finally expire completely at the Preferred deadline (WU reissued), but the basic (listed) points are still fully available until the Final deadline.


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Definition from Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary
To enter into a lawsuit that has already started between other parties, because a claim exists that is related to the existing case. Example: A grocery store sues a dairy producer for providing sub-par butter. A second grocery chain has been buying from the same producer, so the second chain asks to intervene in the lawsuit.


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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offer a program strategy for encouraging comprehensive home energy improvements for existing homes called Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. This innovative program goes beyond providing product incentives to homeowners to help capture the significant savings potential of improving whole-house performance in the existing housing market.
Energy Star is a voluntary government program that gives people the power to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases through energy efficiency without sacrificing comfort or quality.
The California Home Performance program is the first in the Western U.S. to be granted ENERGY STAR recognition. We earned it by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines.
The Zenergy house demonstrates how easily green design can be accomplished by using current proven technologies.
It is an example of how you can create a healthier home; one that is more durable, more energy efficient, more respectful of the environment while improving your properties value in a precarious market.


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OAKLAND — The East Bay Regional Park District is considering 16 potential park sites in a blueprint for expansion into new areas along the hills, valleys and shorelines of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
The park board will vote Tuesday afternoon on its master plan, a set of long-term goals and policies.
The plan positions EBRPD to continue an aggressive land buying program fueled by voter-approved bond measures of $225 million in 1988 and $500 million in 2008.
Before the district can acquire or lease any land for a new park, it must be listed in the master plan.
"We are trying to stay ahead of development to preserve these open spaces for public recreation and for protection of habitats so there are wildlife corridors for wild animals," said Mike Anderson, a park district assistant general manager.
The largest regional park system in America, EBRPD has 113,000 acres in 65 regional parks for hiking, swimming, fishing, mountain biking and camping.
Among possible park sites are the Alvarado Wetlands, one-time salt ponds restored by the state into wetlands near Fremont; the Dumbarton quarry site that would become a park and campground near Fremont; and the Concord Hills on a closed part of the Naval Weapons station.
The district also is looking at sites at Alameda Point on the old Alameda Naval Air Station and a Pleasanton chain of lakes park to be developed — like Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area — when they close.
Also being considered is a multi-agency East Gateway Park at the Oakland side of the new east span of the Bay Bridge.
The district also listed a portion of the old Point Molate military fuel depot in Richmond, a Delta recreation park on Jersey Island north of Oakley and the site of the old Tesla town site east of Livermore — where the state park system is planning to expand the Carnegie off-road vehicle recreation area.
Nine of the 16 sites are at or near the shoreline, in keeping with the district's focus on acquiring land near San Francisco Bay and the Delta.
"The shoreline areas are often near dense urban population," Anderson said, "and yet opening up the shoreline is connecting the people to the bay, which conveys the sense of large open spaces."
Back on land, some off-road motorists are unhappy with the district for expressing interest in the Tesla site, where dirt bike owners want an expansion of the Carnegie off-road vehicle park.
Anderson said his agency isn't out to take over the land and stop the vehicle park expansion.
However, if it turns out that some environmentally sensitive lands in the area are going to be protected, the district is willing to talk with the state and playing a role, he said.
Anderson also defended his agency against critics' long-standing assertion that the park district should slow or halt land buying and devote more resources to open all its existing lands for public use as quickly as possible.
About 25 percent of the district's land is not open yet but held in a land bank status until visitor facilities are developed.
"Our plan is to put these lands under public ownership now, so they're not lost to development forever," Anderson said. "We open new parks but with a measured and fiscally conservative approach."
In other parts of the master plan, the park district stresses that it will provide trails to all kinds of users, including the young, the old, disabled and those who prefer shorter and flatter trails to steep ones.
The master plan also opens the door to developing narrow trails to be used by mountain bicyclists — if park officials decide it's safe to do so. The district has largely barred bikers from narrow trails.
Contact Denis Cuff at 925-943-8267. Follow him at Twitter.com/deniscuff.


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Error & Status Code Search
If you've encountered an error or status code, enter it exactly as shown.
Examples: "E12" or "0x87df2ee7."
Note Error and status codes can be generated by service outages. To save time, check the Xbox Live service status for alerts before searching for your code.
Tips for trying again:
- If the error code begins with the letter "E", try searching on the first part of the code.
Example For "E305 00000000 80000001", search for "E305".
- If the error code is 24 digits long, try searching on the last 8 digits.
Example For "Error 417f-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-8007-2746" (where the letter "x" can be any number), search for "80072746".
You can also report this problem using the Xbox Insider Hub app so we can investigate it further:
- On your console, install the Xbox Insider Hub app (if you don't already have it).
- Hold down the Xbox button on the controller.
- On the power menu, select Report a problem.
- Describe the problem in detail, including when it happened, if you saw any specific error codes or messages, and if you were using any specific games, software, hardware, or accessories when you encountered the problem.
If you'd like to ask for more help from the community, go to the Xbox Forums.
If you've tried these and still aren't getting results, check out the top forum results (listed below).
If you've tried these and still aren't getting results, try posting to the forums.
Post to the Xbox support forums
The Xbox Support forums are a great place to get answers to your questions from a community of Xbox experts. Since these forums are public, make sure you don't include redemption codes or tokens in your post. Also, be aware that although the forums community is an excellent resource, community members are not Xbox Support agents and provide informational assistance only. To get help in the Xbox Support forums, go to http://xbx.lv/suppforum and choose the one that fits your issue.
On what device are you getting the error?
Error code:
- Xbox One
- Xbox 360
- Xbox on other devices
- Xbox.com web site
Please tell us, in as much detail as possible, what you were doing and what app or game was open when you got the error code:


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September 2020
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Ruth Guild
Sewing Group Meeting The Immanuel Ruth Guild has been active for decades, meeting on Wednesday mornings to complete various sewing and quilting tasks. Some bring their own projects to work on. Others spend time making quilts and other handmade items to share with those in need. Would you enjoy being a part of the Ruth Guild? Join the ladies this week on Wednesday! They would love to have you.
LifeLight Bible Study
Join a LifeLight Bible Study The LifeLight Bible Study Program includes directed individual study, group sessions and review materials. Its purpose is to help you spend time in God's Word and to apply His Word to life today. Three opportunities are available each week: Monday Evenings at 6:30 pm with Pastor Mech in the Church Building Fellowship Hall Wednesday mornings at 9:30 am with Pastor Mech in the Youth Building Sunday mornings at 9:15 am with Bill Ideker in the…
Youth Night
Wednesdays Are For Youth Join us each Wednesday for Youth Night! Students in grades 6-12 are invited to Immanuel's Youth Center, located just behind the School Building. Junior and senior high students and their friends enjoy a weekly feast and more, beginning at 5:45 pm. Food, Friends, Faith. Join us! 5:45 Food is served, followed by an organized activity in the gym or field. 6:45 Younger students head off to Midweek Confirmation Classes, while high schoolers feed their faith with…
Prayer Group
How Can We Pray for You? A small Prayer Group gathers weekly to pray for the needs of our church, school and community. Prayer requests are gathered from the church bulletin, and from folks contacting the church office throughout the week. Do you need prayer? Contact us, and this faithful group will lift you up in prayer to the One who hears and answers—Jesus Christ.
Sunday Services
Join Us Sunday Immanuel has two Sunday Services for your convenience, at 8:00 am and 10:30 am. Worship lasts about an hour, and is held in a traditional worship space with organ-led hymns and liturgies as well as bold Bible-based preaching from our pastor, Rev. Greg Mech. Projected readings, lyrics and more are a helpful modern convenience. What to Expect Have you been to Immanuel before? If not, check out What To Expect and get answers to your questions about…
Fellowship Bible Study
Join Pastor Mech in the Church Fellowship Hall each Sunday morning for the Fellowship Bible Study. This group of nearly 50 adults enjoy learning together about a variety of topics throughout the year. The class is open to all adults, and is held between the two Sunday services from 9:20 to 10:20 am. Bring a Bible along if you like, pour a cup of coffee and have a seat! Details of the current topic are found below. Christians And Social…
Kids Ministry
Listen! God is Calling Come to Sunday Morning Kids Ministry at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin, and get your whole family growing in Christ as we explore the Bible together. Kids Ministry at Immanuel is so much more than Sunday School! Listen! Listen, God is calling, Through the Word inviting, Offering forgiveness, Comfort, and joy. Tanzanian Hymn Children from 2 years through 8th grade are welcomed every Sunday morning, beginning at 9:15 am with great snacks, activities, crafts, and fun…
Young Adults Study
Sharing And Growing Together Young Adult Bible Study | Sundays at Panera Bread | 9:20 to 10:20 am Be a part of Immanuel's Young Adult Small Group! We gather for fellowship and Bible study each week at Panera Bread on 32nd Street in Joplin, then head to Immanuel Lutheran Church a few blocks away to worship together. Led by two of our young teachers from Martin Luther School, any young adult from their late teens through 20s and early 30s…
LifeLight Bible Study
Join a LifeLight Bible Study The LifeLight Bible Study Program includes directed individual study, group sessions and review materials. Its purpose is to help you spend time in God's Word and to apply His Word to life today. Three opportunities are available each week: Monday Evenings at 6:30 pm with Pastor Mech in the Church Building Fellowship Hall Wednesday mornings at 9:30 am with Pastor Mech in the Youth Building Sunday mornings at 9:15 am with Bill Ideker in the…
Ministry Staff Meeting
The full-time Ministry Leadership Staff meets weekly to plan, coordinate, evaluate and encourage. Our pastor, principal, director of Christian education and other office staff may be unavailable for phone calls or office visits during this important hour each week.
Assimilation Meeting
Assimilation Board Monthly Meeting Immanuel's Board of Assimilation meets monthly to plan ministry and activities designed to welcome newcomers, connecting them to our mission, ministry and church family. Are you interested in learning more about Assimilation at Immanuel? Contact the head of the Assimilation Board, Janet Dowell (417-850-6775).
Elders Meeting
Caring For People, Faithfully Serving The Elders of Immanuel Lutheran Church assist the pastor in providing for the spiritual welfare of the congregation and also in assuring that the whole Word of God is faithfully proclaimed, and that the Sacraments are rightly administered. The Board of Elders meets monthly to discuss matters related to worship, the mission of the congregation, and to provide support for the pastor, ministry staff and other workers in the church. The regular Elders Meeting is held…
MLS School Board Meeting
The MLS School Board meets monthly to plan and oversee the operation of Immanuel's mission outreach, Martin Luther School. MLS is a fully-accredited Christian Day School, serving students and their families from preschool through 8th grade. The school board consists of the board chairperson and school principal, plus several others from our church, school, and community. If you would like to learn more about the MLS School Board or Martin Luther School, please contact our principal, Mr. Jeremy Schamber at…
Christian Education Meeting
The Board of Christian Education meets on the second Tuesday of each month to plan and coordinate various Christian education opportunities. These ministries include: Sunday School and Children's Ministry Vacation Bible School Trunk-or-Treat Youth Classes Adult Classes Want to learn more about the Board of Christian Education? Contact the board chairperson, Mr. Kurt Kollmeier or contact the church office at (417) 624-0333.
Church Council Meeting
Coordinating Mission and Ministry Immanuel's Church Council works to coordinate the programs and activities of the various departments of the Congregation, with representatives from the Boards of Assimilation, Christian Day School, Christian Education, Elders, Evangelism, Finance, Property Maintenance, Stewardship, and Youth. The Council's regular meetings are on the third Tuesday of each month. If you have questions or comments for the Immanuel Lutheran Church Council, please contact our congregational president, Mr. Ron Repplinger.


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Stores race to sell strawberries
Supermarkets are racing each other to get the first English strawberries of the season on to their shelves.
Waitrose has declared itself the winner with its produce grown in glasshouses in Chichester arriving in-store today but Tesco is close on its heels with its strawberries, also grown in West Sussex, arriving tomorrow.
The growers are putting the early ripening down to the mild winter, meaning the fruit is ready for sale a week earlier than last year, coinciding with the predicted warmer weather this weekend.
Waitrose's strawberry buyer Nicki Baggott said: "English strawberries are an inherent part of spring and summertime celebrations so it's a real treat to be tucking into them earlier than usual.
"If the milder temperatures continue as predicted, we're set to see a bumper harvest so make sure you've got your cream at the ready in preparation."
Simon Mandelbaum, Tesco's strawberry buyer, said: "We are a nation of strawberry-lovers who cannot get our hands on the English crop quick enough and this year will be no exception - we are expecting a mad rush.
"Good levels of sunshine and unseasonably warm weather so far in March have been key for our growers, giving them an early crop."
A spokeswoman for Morrisons said it would have English strawberries in store by next weekend.
PA Media


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The Echo report: A BBC farmer spent the day at a top south Essex spot, promoting healthy eating to youngsters.
Adam Henson, presenter of BBC's Countryfile, was hand-picked to officially open the new polytunnel at Barleylands, in Billericay.
The polytunnel, also known as a hoop greenhouse or hoophouse, is made from polythylene. It functions like a green house, using the sun to extend growing times, enabling fruit and vegetables to be grown all year round. School children are invited to plant crops in the polytunnel, before being taught to cook with the freshly-picked produce.
Mr Henson, who runs a similar farm park in the Cotswolds, enjoyed a tour of Barleylands, before meeting youngsters and officially opening the polytunnel.
[quote width="auto" align="none" border="#0066cc" color="#0066cc" title="Quoted by Karen Watson, education officer"]The polytunnel is a great addition to our education programme and visiting schools have enjoyed harvesting vegetables and using them to top their healthy pizzas, made during their visit to the farm. It is a really useful tool as it extends the growing season of crops, meaning we can grow crops outside during the summer months and broadens the range of food, farming and cookery demonstrations we provide to children each year. It was a pleasure to showAdam a typical day at Barleylands, where we aim to help children make the connection from field to fork.[/quote]
The polytunnel was funded by a grant from Edible Essex, and green token nominations by shoppers at Waitrose, in High Street, Billericay.
Barleylands welcomes 12,000 schoolchildren for education visits each year, and also runs a programme in schools.
In 2013, the park and craft village was named as Educational Farm of the Year, by the National Farm Attraction Network.
Article and image sourced from the Echo.


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Email is one of the first things checked by professional people before they start their work every day. While their inbox's are stuffed full, you can bet not all their emails are opened.
If your business emails are not getting a good response, find out what you are missing.
How To Write A Business Email
Below are 10 important characteristics of a professional email.
1. A good subject line is an important characteristic of a professional email
Providing a good and precise subject line for your email is very important as this is the first thing read by the person.You should always provide a subject line that shows the main point of the email.
Business owners don't have time to mess around with emails that have "spammy" subjects or unrelated ones. Make sure the subject line is offering a benefit or the major feature to the reader of what they can expect to read about when opened.
2. The characteristic of a good professional email is to be brief
One of the major characteristics of a professional email is to write it briefly and stick to the point. Writing long sentences and paragraphs can make the reader skip a few lines or may even prompt them to delete it.
The opening sentence or paragraph should have the main point that you have to convey. Avoid using lengthy sentences and paragraphs by using bullet points and shorter points of interest. People are busy and only want to read relevant information…not a book.
This applies both to direct client-service provider emails or any kind of business promotion emails. You should not be 'pushy' or 'loud.'
3. Being formal and polite is important
Using polite words like 'thank you' and 'please' will increase the professional touch to your email. However, you should mean it when you say these pleasing words and use where you think it's necessary. Don't over do it.
Tip: You can start the email by addressing the person by his or her name to personalize it or to make it formal, use Dear Mr. or Mrs..
4. An email with no spelling and grammatical errors is the characteristic of a good professional email
The use of correct grammar and spelling is a must to follow while writing a professional email. Make sure you spell-check and proof read the email before hitting the send button. Anything short of that will look very unprofessional and you won't be taken very seriously.
5. Follow one font and color throughout the email
In a professional email, you should completely avoid writing in all capital letters as it is considered to be shouting or yelling at the person even though that is not your intention. Also, an email should not be written either in very large or small fonts that can make it hard to read. You should not use different colors for this just distracts the reader and takes away from the message. Compose the entire email with a single font and color that can be readable for any normal person.
6. Using email and chatting abbreviations is not a good characteristic
Avoid using the language used for chatting or texting such as abbreviations. This is not professional and it may confuse the reader. Also, avoid using smiley icons in a professional email. It should be written in a formal and pleasing manner.
7. A good characteristic of a professional email is to read it before you send it
After you have composed an email, read it yourself and check whether you have included all the points that you have to convey before you send it. If you did forgot to mention something important, send a follow up and do not forget to say 'sorry' for your mistake.
8. Using Bcc field to add different email addresses is a good characteristic
When you are sending an email to more than one person, do not type their address in the Cc field. Most people would not like to expose their email address to others. You cannot provide their email address to others unless you have their permission to do so. You can add them in the Bcc field so that others cannot see.
9. Always use an email signature
The email should end with your signature and contact information. It should be added after the closing line like Regards, Sincerely and so on. This is necessary to add in a professional email.
If you are running a business you can provide your full name, phone number, business address and your website's URL. If your company has a logo, you can add it along with the contact information.
10. Try to give prompt replies
Everyone expects their emails to be replied to in a quick manner. Replying to the email promptly, especially to the important emails, is a good practice. Not every time is it possible for a person to reply immediately. If you want some time to think before replying to the email, let them know politely you will contact them asap.
If you are upset or angry about something, it is better that you avoid replying at that moment. You may not be able to be polite and professional. You can wait until you come out of the present situation and reply when you think you are ready to present a professional one.
Compose a good professional email by following the simple characteristics mentioned above. Time is very precious for everyone so prepare a good email that is easy to read and attracts the reader's attention and respect.


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United Kingdom: Llanelli sailor's WW1 letter home takes 98 years
A World War One letter by a sailor stationed in Orkney is to be picked up by his family – 98 years after it should have been posted home to Wales.
Signed "Your Blue Jacket Boy" and dated December 1916, it was found behind a fireplace in the island's capital of Kirkwall more than 60 years later.
The letter was handed into a local archive, where it emerged the author was Llanelli sailor Dai Phillips. … (Read more)
New Zeland: Auckland woman lands 411kg tuna
An Auckland woman landed a potentially world-record size Pacific bluefin tuna this morning.
Donna Pascoe reeled in the 411.6kg tuna off the coast of the Far North following a four-hour battle with the monster fish. …
Ms Pascoe – who has a history of catching big fish, after landing a 243.5kg blue marlin last year – used a 60kg line to reel in her catch today. … (Read more)
The New Zeland Herald
Sweden: Swedes need to ditch their Abba obsession
It's time to move on from Abba and to embrace other stars from the past forty years of Swedish music, argues The Local's music contributor Paul Connolly.
It really is time that Sweden ditched its Abba obsession. 40 years on from their victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo and 33 years since the release of their last album, Abba were recently the most high profile inductees into the new Swedish Music Hall of Fame, an honour which was thoroughly merited – they really did change pop music. … (Read more)
The Local
Australia: Rediscovering Lost Melbourne
Jason Henderson, a BMW spare parts executive, has turned his passion for local history into the non-profit cult Facebook page Lost Melbourne, on which people post and share photos and stories from buildings, streets, parks, objects, and events from the city's past. … (Read more)
The Sydney Morning Herald
Switzerland: Iconic Swiss train station clocks lose second hand
The sweeping second hand on Swiss railway clocks with its distinctive red disc will disappear from some stations because the part is too costly to repair when it breaks down, according to a report.
The motor driving the second hand wears out quickly and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) is balking at the replacement charges, of around 3,250 francs for each motor, the Zurich-based newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported on Wednesday. … (Read more)
The Local
France: How France Still Pays For Bad City Planning In The Middle Ages
The English chose to build their towns next to rivers. The French instead built on the ruins of Roman cities. A look at how these centuries-old decisions have impacted today's economy.
What if all of France's current economic and social problems were the fault of Julius Caesar? Could the nation be suffering from weaknesses that have been concealed for two millenniums? … (Read more)
Les Echos via WorldCrunch
India: With no laws to protect them, India's maids are 'invisible'…
New Delhi: Millions of maids working in middle class Indian homes are part of up an informal and "invisible" workforce where they are abused and exploited due to a lack of legislation to protect them, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday.
Economic reforms that began in the early 1990s have transformed the lifestyles of many Indian families, and as people get wealthier and more women go to work, there has been a voracious demand for domestic workers in urban households. … (Read more)
The Times of India


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Stefanie Schwaiger to continue career with new partner
Vienna, Austria, June 18, 2014 - Last year's Beach Volleyball European champion Stefanie Schwaiger will not follow in the footsteps of her sister Doris who shocked thousands of fans last May 30 by announcing her retirement from competitive sport.
Stefanie took a short break to think more thoroughly about her future and finally came up with the decision of continuing her beach volleyball career with another partner. Stefanie's partner has not been disclosed yet.
Together with her coaches Martin Laciga and Kersten Holthausen, Stefanie is currently scouting a few potential partners. Some had spontaneously submitted their candidature, whereas others were directly contacted by the 2013 European champion. She hopes to return very soon to the World Tour; the ultimate goal remains participation in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
"The Austrian Volleyball Federation was very much hoping that Stefanie would continue," President Peter Kleinmann says. "We are of course very happy with this news and with her decision."


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How to Use the Images
Drawing 1
Drawing 1
Photo 1: Huggins' Folly.
Photo 1 depicts the house prior to occupancy by the Saint-Gaudenses, when it was called "Huggins' Folly." Photo 2 shows the house after it restoration by the National Park Service in 1980.
Questions for Photos 1 & 2
1. Does the first photo look the way you thought it would based on the description in Reading 2? Why or why not?
2. Do you agree with Saint-Gaudens that the house as it appears in Photo 1 looks "bleak, gaunt, austere and forbidding"? Why or why not? What does Saint-Gaudens' opinion tell you about expectations for the lifestyle of successful people during the Gilded Age?
3. What are the major changes that have taken place with the structure between Photos 1 and 2? Why would a friend of Saint-Gaudens have said that the house looked like it had false teeth?
4. Do you think these changes accomplished what Saint-Gaudens wanted? What can these photos tell you about the taste of the Saint-Gaudenses?
5. Does Photo 2 look like the home of an important artist? What would have been your reaction as a client driving up to this house?
* The photos on this screen have a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Photo 1 and Photo 2, but be aware that each file will take as much as 30 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.


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Josephine Press is a fully equipped printmaking facility offering custom edition printing, platemaking instruction and workshops for established and emerging artists.
Josephine Press is located just two miles from the beach and in the heart of beautiful Santa Monica, CA. With the custom designed American French Etching Press and Wright Combination Press, the shop is equipped to work with intaglio, lithography, monotype, relief printing and non-toxic photo printmaking techniques up to 36" x 54". The staff also works in "tradigital" (not Giclee) processes, combining traditional printmaking with digital work.
Christopher John Gallery specializes in contemporary fine art prints and works on paper. With work of over fifty artists in its archives, the gallery offers the collector, art consultant or designer an extensive range of styles and techniques.
To be added to our newsletter, go here.


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Since I haven't been blogging for a while, here is a list of some Chrome extensions you can't miss.
- AdBlock Plus – I'm not sure how anyone can use a web browser without AdBlock. It'll make sure you don't see ads, anywhere.
- Pocket – If you have a tablet, this is the extension you need. Save interesting reads so you can access them later from your computer, smartphone or tablet. It also nicely extracts the text from the page, leaving it free of clutter.
- Google Tasks – Who doesn't want to be able to save TODO items just by typing "t whatever" into the omnibox? I haven't tried it, but some may prefer Better Google Tasks.
- Rapportive – Adds a sidebar with information from Linkedin, Twitter, etc. on the sender. Great when receiving e-mails from people you don't know, or for keeping up to date.
- Google Dictionary – Lets you double-click on any word to look up its definition.
- HTTPS Everywhere – Protect your privacy when using insecure networks. This extension forces many popular sites to always encrypt communications.
- DoNotTrackMe – If you're using AdBlock you won't see ads, so what does it matter whether they are customized to your interests? Use this extension to stop ad networks from tracking you.
- Extra: Facebook Link Rewriter, Unsocial Reader for Facebook.
- Rapportive – For GMail users, this extension adds a sidebar with information about who you're talking to (LinkedIn profile, etc).
- Google +1 Button – Add a "+1" button to Chrome.
What extensions do you use? Let me know about your favorite one.


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#1 Fancy Nancy Pelosi: only GOP Congress is Responsible for High Gas Prices
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Posts
- 22,889
Pelosi: Congress is responsible for high gas prices only if GOP controls Congress .
"Congress Of Liberal Worms !"
Michelle Malkin has a great post reminding people of San Fancy Fran Nans words when campaigning against the then-GOP controlled Congress:
With skyrocketing gas prices, it is clear that the American people can no longer afford the Republican Rubber Stamp Congress and its failure to stand up to Republican big oil and gas company cronies. Americans this week are paying $2.91 a gallon on average for regular gasoline 33 cents higher than last month, and double the price than when President Bush first came to office.
With record gas prices, record CEO pay packages, and record oil company profits, Speaker Hastert and the Majority Congress continue to give the American people empty rhetoric rather than join Democrats who are working to lower gas prices now.
Hows that working out for us?
Michelle also has a chart up that shows the fluctuation of gas prices since 2005, broken down by a Republican Congress and the current Democrat Congress. If you dont feel like looking at the chart, heres the condensed version:
Gas prices when Bush took office under a GOP-controlled Congress in January 2001: $1.49
Gas prices when Dems took control of Congress in January 2007: $2.10
Percent increase from Jan. 2001 to Jan. 2007: 41%
Gas prices today (July 2008): $4.11
Percent increase from Jan. 2007 to today (July 2008): 95%
In other words, its taken the Dems only 18 months to do what Bush and the GOP couldnt do in six years: nearly double the price of gas! But in Fantasy World, the 41% gas price increase under Bush and Friends counts, but the 95% gas price increase under the Dems doesnt count. Got that?
Look, Im not blaming Pe-loco for the high gas prices because in essence, whether she knows it or not, shes blaming herself! But what I am saying is that if shes going to blame Congressional Republicans for the high prices under their watch, then she is going to have to take ownership of the high prices under her watch.
|« Previous Thread | Next Thread »


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"Harry Brown" has more than its share of gunfighting, but star Emily Mortimer is thankful she is not the one behind the firepower in the Michael Caine revenge drama.
As a London police inspector - like most police officers in the UK -- she does not carry a gun.
"I wasn't tempted either," she tells PopcornBiz. "Guns really frighten me, I really don't want to go near them. Even movie guns. There's something so intense about them."
She did spend time with the only female detective in gritty East London to gather insight into her character. The two worked the tough housing projects in the area with no sign of firearms most Americans take for granted with their police force.
Her only past with firearms onscreen was the 2001 action project "51st State" with Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle.
"I was sorely miscast as the most dangerous woman in the universe," she laughs. "And I was this leather-clad assassin motorbike rider. I had to wield these AK-47s or whatever they area."
It was not a convincing performance. "I couldn't even hold the gun up for the length of time to shoot the scene," she admits. "Whenever they cut to me I was always resting it on a piece of furniture."