text: The Urban Outfitters brand is well known for its hipster connections and there are many ironically amusing and cutting edge looks that feature prominently in its lines of homewares, shoes and clothing. However, the brand is unique and eclectic with a very broad range of styles, including retro and luxe. The line of bracelets from Urban Outfitters includes statement hand chains, peace charm tattoo bracelets and delicate silver friendship bracelets that also make wonderful gifts. You can give any outfit a contemporary update with a geometric cuff, from your office wear through to a glamorous evening gown. The line also includes wish and charm bracelets, many of which come in multi packs.


text:
Time Spent: 4 hours
This morning I loaded up the Jetta with our new shop vac — more power! — and began cleaning up the dust from the floor replacement. Here's what was all over every surface, nook, and cranny of my classroom (even behind closed cupboards – this stuff goes everywhere).
Cleanup meant first sucking all the dust with the shop vac and then wet mopping it with paper towels and cleaner — sometimes twice. It was nasty stuff. The floor installers left some panels off and the floor vents took a major beating as well as one of the built in metal shelves. That'll all need fixing by the pros.
By the end of the four hours, The room was cleaned up and all the decorating that I plan to do completed. We are a Responsive Classroom school and one of the things we do to build community is to decorate (reference charts, etc.) together. The only exception I made for myself this year is the alphabet chart. Due to a shoulder injury, I didn't take that down — but if the students have some preferred spot, I will and with help put it up according to the consensus. So here are a couple of shots of the classroom configuration right now:
Meeting Area Rug: The classroom library and a large bulletin board abut this area. I have put the easel at one corner (my coat closet and 2 storage closets are beyond that) and I keep the snapcubes for our math investigations in a crate under the easel. Also against the wall I have shelves that hold supplies for Writing Workshop (editing/revising pencils, forms, paper, art supplies), a listening center CD player, and a crate of cushions and 2 large beanbags.
Here's a second view from the front of the room. My desk area, 2 clipboard crates, and my collections baskets are to the right. The table barely visible in the foreground is a round table which I use for conducting small group reading or reading/writing conferences.
My current thinking (I love that phrase!) is that I will have students keep all reading materials — independent
book selections, reading binders and any small group materials in the recycled cardboard magazine files (why are the recycled? See the Leveled Library Organization Project) you see on the window shelf. I also will have students keep a reading supply bag in that box – highlighter, stickynotes (cutting a 1/2 pad of 3×2 notes should be enough), bookmark, pencil) – things that take time to locate when moving around the room for Reading Workshop. We create our own Reading Binders using floppy vinyl (red) binders and dividers (more on that later); I'm proud that my students have been very conscientious about taking care of the binders and with one or two exceptions, these are the very same binders I purchased new three years ago. Because there's a very important air flow vent built into the counter directly behind those boxes, I will lay masking tape to mark where the front of the box needs to line up. The blue space behind those boxes is where we generally put a word/vocabulary wall.
The front of the room looks the most bare at the moment. Usually on one end of the white board we record homework assignments and on the other we keep a magnetic chart tracking where students are in the writing process. I also hang a daily poster of our Reading Workshop Schedule at the front of the room. I do use an overhead a lot. Storing it at the end of the second reading/conference table and rolling it into position works for me. I have a rack of frequently used materials (Venn diagrams, blank story maps) on this table so that students can take them independently.
When I moved from the Bailey School to the Lincoln School I was excited because of the shelves! The Lincoln was constructed one year after the Bailey and the architect apparently didn't think shelf units over the sink area would be all that useful. Luckily, when the Lincoln was constructed a revision was made and the shelves are well used! In fact, I wish there were more of them — but then that would just encourage teachers like me to hold on to more STUFF. I have a rolling "art cart" in which I keep a minimal amount of construction paper and lots of composition and math paper. On top of that cart, I have a 24-section sorting file that is used as student mailboxes.
This final shot is a closeup of the coat/storage closet area. Over the first 2 doors are pocket folders from Really Good Stuff. The first one holds reading and spelling/Word Study materials so that the students can help themselves. The second holds math game and other such materials for our math program (Investigations). Door Number 3, however, is the prize winner. One of my former colleagues, Patty Myers, shared how she kept the little "stuff" she always needed in a clear plastic over-the-door shoe hanger. This has been the coolest tip ever!
So now the room is clean, minimally set up, and ready for the first day. Now all we need are the students!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Girls and Bulletproof coffee?
Created March 21, 2013 at 7:07 PM
Ok. I must admit I am intrigued with this bulletproof coffee idea.I understand the science behind the grass fed cow butter and the coconut oil. But I have not full committed to it yet though. The concept behind drinking this coffee is that I don't eat breakfast? This concerns me for a few reasons:
- Won't I be starving by noon?
- I don't think I have eaten that amount of fat in the last 10 years of my life?
- What if I did this instead of lunch? I'm a morning person, its the afternoons that kill me.
Every person or site I see that gives instructions about this is a man. I'm a 5'5 woman with 20% Body fat who would like to get it down to at least 17%. Are there any girls out there who have tried this and found success with it or not? Thanks!
on March 25, 2013
at 03:39 PM
Thanks. I should have articulated better that although I eat paleo, I don't eat as much fat as it says. A weird fear of fat thing. I'm getting better though. Thanks for your answer.
on March 21, 2013
at 07:23 PM
BP was a massive fail for me. Totally stalled my weight loss.
on March 21, 2013
at 07:17 PM
17% for a female, eh? Have you considered just being healthy instead?
on March 21, 2013
at 07:14 PM
Thank you Paul!
on March 21, 2013
at 07:13 PM
I suggest you go to a blog titled, "The Paleo Mama." She has a posting about Bulletproof Coffee. And strike up a conversation with her. She can give you the womanly perspective. You can also catch up with her on Twitter @thepaleomama
asked byFinley_ (35)
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7 Answers
on March 21, 2013
at 09:55 PM
I've been doing Intermittent Fasting with Bulletproof Coffee on the weekends. Here are my answers:
1) Skipping breakfast has nothing to do with Bulletproof Coffee unless you are doing Intermittent Fasting as prescribed by Dave Asprey. Go ahead and eat your breakfast. Have your BC in addition to your normal breakfast. If you are trying to do Intermittent Fasting, you might be hungry at first, but once your body becomes fat adapted, you shouldn't have the intense hunger that you'd have from sugar crashes. Unless you're new to Paleo, I'm surprised you are even "starving" anymore.
2) Bulletproof Coffee is 1 TB of grass-fed butter and MCT oil per cup of coffee. How are you Paleo and have not had that much fat. You should have WAY more fat in your diet than that. 1 TB of butter is 100 calories. You should be getter several hundred calories at least of fat per day.
3) Try it whenever you have your cup of coffee.
Look, Paleo is about self-experimentation. The problem with a lot people following Paleo is they think they have to follow a strict formula. What might work for some people (hello, safe starches) might not work for other people. I suggest you give it a try one day and see how you like it.
For me, since I do IF, I have it on the weekends and then go to the gym fasted. I have amazing workouts on BC. During the week I just add in the MCT oil which is supposed to help you get into ketosis faster.
Oh, and while it might sound gross, it's actually delicious. Make sure you put it in a blender. It tastes like a creamy cappuccino.
on March 25, 2013
at 03:39 PM
Thanks. I should have articulated better that although I eat paleo, I don't eat as much fat as it says. A weird fear of fat thing. I'm getting better though. Thanks for your answer.
on March 21, 2013
at 07:57 PM
Trying out Bullet Proof coffee helped me realize that coconut oil makes me nauseated. If I got around to buying put MCT oil, I'd be willing to try again.
on April 14, 2014
at 11:41 AM
Bulletproof coffee includes Coffee, grass fed butter with MCT Oil Blended in it. It may include coconut butter MCT Oil, coconut milk or coconut oil as a substitute. Bulletproof coffee helps in providing lasting energy and fuels weight loss.
You mentioned that you don't want to have breakfast i.e intermittent fasting which as a whole called as "bulletproof fasting". This Bulletproof fasting helps in burning fat and build muscle at a faster rate then that of plain fasting. This bulletproof coffee is so filling you doesn't feel like eating until mid afternoon.
on April 14, 2014
at 12:45 AM
The above answers are all really good and I generally agree with them. I'm female, 5 ft 5 in, about 19% bf (and happy to stay right where I am). I also am a morning person. Now that I'm fat adapted I've found that I don't get those intense hunger issues that I used to have on a carb heavy diet. I have personally found that I prefer to eat a high protein breakfast, high protein lunch and then do my BP coffee (or tea) at 2 pm.
Also, I agree that the amount of fat isn't really much for someone living paleo. Heck, this morning I fried my paleo pancakes in three tablespoons of coconut oil and then drowned them in ghee and I didn't get hungry for 8 hours! Also, the stuff tastes freaking awesome. All frothy and smooth, I love it. Just drink it relatively fast--my sister tried it, but she sips her coffee so after about fifteen minutes she had an oily mess. I don't have this problem because I make it and suck it down pretty quick.
on April 12, 2014
at 01:45 PM
I've lived paleo about two years now. Tried BP coffee for many months during year two, was very nauseated by MCT, even after few weeks to see if I "would get used to it". Using 2 Tbs. of Kerrygold alone kept me full until lunch. However, months into it and I was getting more general fatigue, malaise, workouts felt harder, started feeling "cold" when I had not been previously and started getting headaches. Labs showed adrenal fatigue and start of thyroid problems. So, I quit coffee altogether and started eating food for breakfast with at least 25gm of protein and 25gm of carbs. Couple weeks of this and my energy went back up, "coldness" gone, moood better and six months later, labs all back to normal. I seem to need protein and at least 25 - 50 gms of carbs with each meal and not more than about 50gms of fat a day or I start feeling slugish.
on April 12, 2014
at 10:38 AM
I know this question is older but I've been having a lot of success with bulletproof coffee. I've lost about 7 lbs this week! I've only been doing it for about 7 days and I can't seen to lose any other way. I basically am eating in a 3 hour window in the afternoon. I learned to keep my carbs up to about 60-80 grams and I feel amazing!
on March 21, 2013
at 07:16 PM
I have had great success with BP coffee. It took about a week for my body to adjust. In the beginning, I was "starving," but it was my brain knowing the time and not a true hunger signal. I would drink a BP coffee at 6AM and go until anywhere between 2 and 4PM before I would get hungry, depending upon my activity level that day. A quick snack would tide me over until I got dinner on the table for the family around 6. My energy was constant all day. I never felt deprived. Once I deliver next month, I will return to my BP coffee every morning. While pregnant, I switched to BP tea and just used butter because the coffee and coconut oil didn't taste right. I only do it once or twice a week right now.


text:
Dubway engineer Adrian Thorstensen recently recorded voice-over narration with actor Johnny Lancaster for Puppies Vs. The World.
Produced by LION TV, Puppies Vs. The World is a new special to be aired on the National Geographic channel.
Dubway engineer Adrian Thorstensen recently recorded voice-over narration with actor Johnny Lancaster for Puppies Vs. The World.
Produced by LION TV, Puppies Vs. The World is a new special to be aired on the National Geographic channel.
One of the services we offer at Dubway Studios is the option to record in collaboration with remote studios. We do this by using Source Connect, an industry-standard remote-recording solution for audio recording and monitoring needs. With Source Connect, Dubway is able to access thousands of studios and talent world-wide with secure, reliable connections over the internet.
This week, engineer Adrian Thorstensen had an ADR session with post-production studio Piste Rouge in Paris, France, with the voice talent in our New York City studio. Piste Rouge is tasked with audio post for this project, a web series destined for television.
Earlier this fall, Dubway facilitated the VO audio recording for an Elijah Craig Bourbon spot with XenoPsi ad agency. Engineer Sam Palumbo connected with voice-over talent Mike Doran, in St. Louis, via Source Connect.
Elijah Craig is a premium brand of bourbon whiskey produced by the Heaven Hill Distillery company.
This fall, Dubway engineer Zac Suskevich recorded audio on set of Investigation Discovery's Six Degrees of Murder. Dubway is also providing the voice-over recordings for the program in studio.
Produced by LION TV, Six Degrees of Murder is a true-crime series that explores "a closer look at murder investigations that required law enforcement to untangle a complicated web of relationships in order to uncover the truth." The television program is broadcast on the network Investigation Discovery, with new episodes on Wednesdays at 10/9c.
This week, Dubway worked on voice-over recordings for The Polos, the new children's short-form series by kids media company MarcoPolo Learning.
The show is based on MarcoPolo's game characters, now starring in a new medium of video shorts for mobile platforms. Aimed for kids 3-7 years old, the shorts star "four familiar characters — Willow the bunny, Chester the deer, Nash the baby ram and Gorby the hippo — along with newcomers Marco the bear and Lily the Tiger as they emerge from their mobile devices to see the real versions of the things they've learned about in the app games. The quirky group of friends, just as relatable and flawed as real kids, are on an epic road trip to learn all they can about the natural world. The series blends animation and HD live footage."
This week, Dubway engineer Zac Suskevich worked with producers from Eventbox to record voice-overs for Tom & Jerry: Live!
Eventbox, based in Dubai, produces live children's shows for theaters in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. With guidance from Warner Bros., their latest show Tom & Jerry Live, is a global collaboration with its creative producer from London (Lianne Bruce), costume designer in Australia (Johnathon Gowlland/Sparklight), musical director in Lebanon (Walid Sarouh), sound engineer in Serbia (Stefan Djinovic) and Antoinette DiPietropolo directing the voice talent here in NYC.
Zac has been working closely with Antoinette and her lively cast of actors and actresses, Skyping in with the other members of this production, working remotely from across the globe.
Tom & Jerry Live is a stage adaptation of Warner Bros.' classic TV show, Tom & Jerry, about two kids who bicker and fight, after playing a Tom & Jerry video game, enter the game and find themselves in the world of the crazy characters.
There are lots of ways and lots of reasons to synchronize audio/video workstations. No matter if you're syncing two Pro Tools systems, Logic to Ableton Live, or an old-fashioned video deck and Nuendo, the concepts are the same. Clock reference determines how fast everything is going. You can get clock from an AES/EBU signal, a video signal, or even an optical audio signal. Clock keeps systems from drifting. Positional reference tells the systems where they are. System A says "I'm at 1 hour, 12 minutes, 3 seconds and 19 frames... NOW!" And in each case you need to have a master and a slave.
Today, I sent old-fashioned LTC (longitudinal timecode) from Pro Tools on my laptop (the master) to the SYNC I/O connected to our desktop Pro Tools system (the slave). As long as the desktop system was online (flashing clock in the transport), it responded as the slave.
But there was an important oversight: I didn't connect the word clock output of the laptop/Ensemble to the word clock input of the SYNC I/O, so my demonstration was lacking a common clock reference. Next time, I promise!
Reading the manual on the train tonight, I was happy to discover that our old SYNC does support the HD video frame rate of 23.976: "The 24 fps LED flashes to indicate 23.976 fps." Which is exactly what we saw went I sent 23.976 LTC.
Homework: I've been reading up on RTS (Remote Transport Sync), which is a proprietary method of synchronizing two Source Connect systems over the internet. To make it work, you must instanciate the "Se ReWire" plug-in in Pro Tools so SC and PT can speak positional reference.
We had the pleasure of welcoming actor Linus Roache into the studio to record audio commentary for two episodes of Vikings. Joining him in the commentary was Michael Hirst, creator/writer of the HISTORY Channel series, who recorded remotely from London. Dubway engineer Sam Palumbo facilitated the remote collaboration with Hirst via Source Connect with video sync. Producer of the commentaries, Mike Brosnan of Space150 in Los Angeles, participated via Skype.
Linus Roache is an English actor widely known for his roles as Dr. Thomas Wayne in Batman Begins, as Mike Cutter in Law & Order, and most recently as King Ecbert of Wessex in the HISTORY Channel's hit original series Vikings.
Vikings is an Irish-Canadian historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst that "transports us to the brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok, a Viking warrior and farmer who yearns to explore—and raid—the distant shores across the ocean." New episodes air on Wednesdays at 9/8c on HISTORY.
Mike Colter, famously known for his role as Marvel's Luke Cage on Netflix, stopped by the studios last week to record voice-over to video for National Geographic's series, "Breakthrough."
Our stellar production audio team recently went on location for the shoot of a horror film (working title The Haunting Of) from executive producers James Franco and Jay Davis.
Inspired by a selection of stories written by Edgar Allen Poe and Decameron, The Haunting Of is a "psychological thriller [that] follows a group of young filmmakers as they compete in a film festival held by the wayward heir of a late cinema auteur. As alliances form between the filmmakers, a mysterious figure begins to emerge - could this land be haunted, or are the filmmakers becoming their own worst nightmares?"
Stay tuned for a 2017 release.
Michelle de Swarte Came in this month to record VO for the TV show "World of Weird". "World of Weird" is a show that spans the globe in a bid to bring you its strangest, weirdest and most bizarre people and stories. From Australian artists who paint solely with their penis to Japanese agencies that specialise in getting your workforce together for a good organised cry, via real American Vampires to German dominatrixes whom men pay to crush them half to death between their thighs - if it's out there and a little (or a lot) weird, it's in the show.
Michelle de Swarte is a talented model and television personality. She currently resides in New York where we remote recorded with her for the show.
This month Mark Duplass and Issa Rae came in to the studio to be recorded for the Modern Love Podcast. Modern Love is a collaborative podcast between Boston's WBUR and New York's NPR. It features the popular New York Times column, with readings by notable personalities and updates from the essayists themselves. Join host Meghna Chakrabarti and Modern Love editor Daniel Jones.
Mark Duplass is an American film director, film producer, actor, musician, and screenwriter. He is a founder of the film production company Duplass Brothers Productions and has directed films such as The Puffy Chair (2005), Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), and The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (2012).
Issa Rae is an American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator. She is known as the creator of the YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl. Issa is the creator, co-writer and star of the HBO series Insecure, which is partially based on Awkward Black Girl. Insecure airs on HBO Sunday's at 10pmEST.
Mastered for iTunes (MFiT) is less complex than it seems. Click here for Apple's documents and droplets for diving deep. I recommend reading them all. But here's the short version:
Apple figured out a way to make AAC encoding sound better in some ways than CD. To do it, Apple has to feed the encoder mixes that are at least 44.1Khz/24-bit. 96Khz is preferred, but 44.1 is tolerated. Must be at least 24-bits. When you're close to done mastering, you run your mix through afclip in the Terminal app, which will tell you if your mix will clip on AAC decode (the decode happens when users are listening to iTunes or their iPhones).
After some experimentation, I found that I needed to leave at least -0.7dbfs headroom on my mixes, and sometimes even more (I did -1.5dbfs recently which is a lot). This is contrary to the old CD-mixing advice which was to push the mix way up to the ceiling, like -0.3dbfs. Those mixes will fail MFiT.
You can also "round-trip" your mix by using the AAC>WAV droplet and sending the file back into Pro Tools. This will let you A/B the process. There you can cancel the two mixes and then really hear what AAC is (AAC always sounds like a swishy fish tank to me when I do this, but a good swishy fish tank).
Check out the docs and let me know if you have any questions.
Adrian and I are marking down the listening level for mix sessions. This can be really helpful to you and to clients when you're working on the same project over multiple sessions. Everyone gets accustomed to what "loud" sounds like in the room, and as you get used to it, you can take your eyes off the meters and your ears will tell you if you're in spec.
To do it, download the calibration files from the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee). Put "MidRngPinkNoise_-20dB.wav" on a new track in your session, and set the fader for unity gain (make sure the master fader is also at unity gain). Then pan it hard to one speaker and play it in loop mode. Get an SPL meter, set it to C weighting, slow mode, and hold it at the listening position, but pointed to the loudspeaker. Turn the gain knob on your monitor up and down. You might find that working on a mix for the web, or on a music mix that you're in the 65db range. I discovered that our television clients like to mix at 73db, some of our film clients like it at 77db. Crazy-dynamic film mixes in bigger rooms than ours can be set to 85db.
Keep in mind that calibrated levels are not terribly important for tracking. But they're great for mixing. And if you're disciplined, you can set the level at the start of a project and never change it. This will result in more consistent mixes without any guesswork.
This month, Dubway engineer Sam Palumbo got to work with Lauren Miller Rogen, recording ADR for "Bun in the Oven".
"Bun in the Oven" is Twisted Short's third film in The Fluid Trilogy, a series of twisted, subversive & delightfully disgusting short comedies.
The first film in the series, "Bloody Mary", has been accepted into more than 20 festivals all over the world, winning "Best NYC Film" at the NYC Downtown International Short Film Festival; "Best Screenplay" (shorts category) at the Macabre Faire Film Festival in Long Island, NY; "Single Funniest Moment" at the Austin Comedy Short Film Festival; and runner-up for "Best Comedy" at the Rugged Phoenix Underground Film Festival. Twisted Short's follow-up film "Sucklepump" is just starting the festival rounds and has been accepted into 6 festivals. Cast members have included Lauren Miller Rogen (For a Good Time Call), Trace Lysette (Transparent and Blunt Talk), Joel Marsh Garland (Orange Is The New Black), and Pat Squire (Orange is the New Black).
I've often wished that every time an engineer created a new Pro Tools session that a big window popped-up and asked "Plug-In Controls Default to Auto-Enabled?" This preference box is unchecked by default, but is absolutely essential for modern mixing workflows.
Let's imagine Al is mixing dialog, with maybe an EQ, de-esser and compressor in the chain, and then he gives me the session. I keep mixing, but then I notice that the de-esser threshold is too high for one line, but everything before it sounds fine. If I pull the threshold down, it will affect everything before it, so it must be automated. But just looking at the plug-in, I have no way of knowing whether or not the threshold parameter has been auto-enabled!
To keep from going insane, I auto-enable absolutely everything in a session, but start a mix in auto-suspend mode. In auto-suspend, you can tweak, fiddle and play for hours, and then when it starts to sound good, use write-to-all-enabled for all tracks and turn off auto-suspend. This will lock your mix in, and give you the freedom to make moment-to-moment tweaks.
I've been reading about AVB, Dante, AES67 for a while, but didn't really understand what was going on until now. Here's what I discovered over the last few days:
AES67 is a standard for pushing hundreds of channels of totally pro audio over Ethernet. Dante is a commercial implementation, and AVB is a related implementation (which MOTU and Avid are deep into). I downloaded the Dante Via demo software, which lets you send audio between applications on a Mac. It's very cool. Pro Tools can use Dante as a playback engine.
You can also test Dante Virtual Soundcard. This lets you plug your Mac's ethernet cable directly into all of these zillion devices without using USB, Firewire, Thunderbolt or PCI cards! There's no doubt in my mind that all the young engineers will need to understand it in the years to come.
From Toronto, Treehouse TV's producers remotely directed Emmy award nominated voice actor, Dwayne Hill, for the upcoming season of their show Ranger Rob.
Ranger Rob is Treehouse's enthusiastic, adventurous hero, and he's all about getting outside to play and explore! Ranger Rob zip-lines, vine-swings and even snowboards his way around, discovering new and exciting places in his own big backyard – Big Sky Park, the coolest outdoor adventure park ever!
Sam Palumbo has pleasure of working with Trish Nelson for the new BanterGirl Live Podcast. BanterGirl Live features intelligent, multi-cultural women, comedians and icons who have been inspirations for women in the entertainment industry and beyond.
Trish and her company BanterGirl are the recipient of the "2016 Public Theater "Pub Club Award," a program that focuses on helping emerging and established artists develop a particular project. Through her company, Trish is committed to creating work that focuses on women, while helping to lift and launch diverse female talent and shine a light on the female voice.
You can find Trish Nelson and BanterGirl on Twitter, Facebook, and the BanterGirl website.
Rashid Ramkissoon was on set this past week recording location audio for the new documentary on Cakes Da Killa. The documentary features interviews and performances by Cakes where he explains what it is like to be a black homosexual rapper in our culture. The Documentary is sponsored by ATTN and the interview and performance were tracked at Aviv Club in Brooklyn, NY.
Recording artist and raunchy rapper Cakes Da Killa is a 24-year-old with three critically-acclaimed mixtapes to his name. His unique sound is a mix of various musical influences, cinema and underground experiences.


text:
August threw all kinds of challenges at stocks, and stocks retreated from them. Lackluster economic indicators, resignation that the Federal Reserve might soon taper its stimulus, rising yields on the 10-year note, a bit of cooling in the red-hot housing market, and the threat of U.S. military involvement in Syria all combined to keep the S&P 500 in check. The index slipped 3.13% during the poorest month for U.S. equities since May 2012; gold, silver, oil and the dollar fared much better.1
Most of August's best economic indicators arrived in the first half of the month. The unemployment rate fell to 7.4% in July, with hiring at a decent pace (payrolls expanding by 162,000 new jobs). The Institute for Supply Management's July manufacturing PMI showed a reading of 55.4, its service sector PMI a reading of 56.0. Retail sales were up 0.2% in July, with core retail sales (minus volatile car, gas and home improvement purchases) up 0.5%. Toward the end of the month, the Commerce Department revised Q2 GDP up to 2.5% from the initial estimate of 1.7%, a big change from 1.1% growth in Q1 and 0.1% growth in Q4 2012.2,3,4,5
Consumer spending, however, had nudged up just 0.1% in July – economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.3% rise. Consumer sentiment fell to 82.1 in the final August University of Michigan survey (though the August Conference Board poll showed a 1.4% gain to 81.5). Hard goods orders plunged 7.3% in July after a 3.9% setback in June.1,6
Inflation pressure moderated, however – the overall Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% for July, and so did the core CPI. Year-over-year, the headline CPI advance was 2.0%. The Producer Price Index went flat for July with the core PPI up 0.1%; annualized wholesale inflation was running at 2.1%.7,8
President Obama called for the phase-out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in August, proposing their replacement in the coming years with a new system reliant on private sector purchases of mortgages from lenders, with private capital bearing the bulk of any losses. According to White House officials, new federal government guarantees would help to preserve the fixed-rate 30-year home loan under these circumstances. The Obama administration's idea of giving private capital a greater role in mortgage lending has bipartisan support – legislation sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is already making its way through Congress – but no real timeline for change has emerged.9
The NASDAQ exchange suffered a "flash freeze" in late August, with a software malfunction interrupting all trades for three hours. NASDAQ took full blame for the snafu, which revived an old debate about the risks of computer-driven trading.10
On August 26, Secretary of State John Kerry stated that Syria's government had used chemical weapons against its own people. On August 27, the U.S. and other nations were publicly considering a military response and global markets were beset by volatility – on that day, NYMEX crude topped $109 a barrel, the Dow fell 170 points, the CBOE VIX rose 12%, gold went back into a bull market and emerging market stocks hit a 7-week low. Fears of $150 oil emerged. President Obama requested a vote in Congress authorizing an attack on Syria; House and Senate leaders intend to vote on the matter in the week of September 9-13.11,12
August also saw the slide of India's benchmark currency, the rupee. It had its worst month in 21 years, dropping 8.1% versus the dollar as a $2.2 billion exodus occurred from India's stock and bond markets over fears of an economic slowdown. Worries about Syria and the related jump in oil prices simply made things worse. How much worse? The rupee's August decline widened the Indian government's account deficit so badly (to nearly $90 billion) that the Reserve Bank of India said it would supply dollars directly to local oil importers. Reuters reported that the RBI was seriously considering directing commercial banks to buy gold from private citizens. In better news from the Asia-Pacific region, the official China factory PMI rose to 51.0 in August, a 16-month peak.13,14,15
There were a few notable August advances – TSX Composite, +1.34%; Shanghai Composite, +5.25%; Bovespa, +3.68%. Retreats were more numerous – Hang Seng, -0.70%; Nikkei 225, -2.04%; IPC All-Share, -3.29%; Sensex, -3.75%; DAX, -2.09%; CAC 40, -1.48%; FTSE 100, -3.14%. Multi-country indices also pulled back: the Global Dow lost 2.33% for August, the Asia Dow 1.87%, the MSCI World Index 2.33% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index 1.90%.16,17i COmposite : the TSX Composite (-2.30%), the gan'
Investors certainly renewed their appetites for precious metals in August. When it was all said and done, the month saw major gains for silver (19.02%), platinum (6.85%) and gold (4.54%), with gold settling August 30 at $1,396.10 an ounce. Copper, too, gained 4.20% on the month. NYMEX crude finished August at $107.65 per barrel, a 2.32% monthly gain. Natural gas futures advanced 5.80%. In contrast, unleaded gasoline prices managed to fall 0.61%. Soybeans rose 3.97% in August, and cocoa 4.44%; their fortunes were not mirrored by corn (-1.95%), cotton (-2.37%) or wheat (-3.42%). The 7.12% single-month jump in the U.S. Dollar Index was hardly surprising; it finished August at 82.03.18,19
Home buying statistics seemed to show the influence of rising mortgage rates. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales went +6.5% in July with the sales rate stronger than at any time since March 2007 – but the Census Bureau had new home sales down 13.4% in that month. New home buyers faced higher mortgage rates as they assumed loans for housing yet to be completed. For the record, NAR also noted a 1.3% drop in pending home sales in July.6,20
June's overall S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index had home values rising 12.1% in 12 months, as opposed to 12.2% in the May edition. The Census Bureau said both building permits (+2.7%) and housing starts (+5.9%) increased for July.6,21
Where were mortgage rates at as August ended? Well, between August 1 and August 29, the average interest rate on the 30-year FRM went from 4.39% to 4.51%. As for other loan types across that interval, average rates on 15-year FRMs rose to 3.54% from 3.43%; 5/1-year ARMs saw average rates move from 3.18% to 3.24%. Average rates on the 1-year ARM were at 2.64% in both surveys.22
The Dow also had its worst month since May 2012, ending August at 14,810.31. The NASDAQ concluded the month at 3,589.87, the S&P 500 at 1,632.97, and the Russell 2000 at 1,010.90 (going -3.29% in August). The CBOE VIX rose 26.10% to 16.96.1
Sources: cnbc.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 8/30/131,23,24
are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly.
returns do not include dividends.
The Syria crisis has brought the potential for severe volatility back to Wall Street. Will its impact on stocks be brief and less significant than assumed? Will it prompt a short-term pause in the bull market? Or could things escalate, and rattle investor confidence to the point where YTD gains are severely threatened? This could be the biggest test of the year for equities, and yet stateside there is still a prevalent optimism that the economy is on the way back and that the recovery can continue with less help from the Fed. The current bull market has held up through four years of challenges; let's hope that it can weather this one and celebrate a fifth anniversary next March.
September's roster of key economic announcements looks like this: the August ISM manufacturing index (9/3), a new Federal Reserve Beige Book (9/4), the August ISM non-manufacturing index, the August Challenger job-cut and ADP employment reports and July factory orders (9/5), the Labor Department's August jobs report (9/6), July wholesale inventories (9/11), the University of Michigan's initial September consumer sentiment index, August retail sales, July business inventories and the August PPI (9/13), August industrial output (9/16), the August CPI and the September NAHB housing market index (9/17), the September Fed policy announcement and August housing starts and building permits (9/18), August existing home sales and the Conference Board's August index of leading indicators (9/19), July's Case-Shiller home price index, the Conference Board's September consumer confidence survey and the August FHFA housing price index (9/24), August new home sales and durable goods orders (9/25), August pending home sales and the federal government's final take on Q2 GDP (9/26), and then the Commerce Department's report on August consumer spending and the final September University of Michigan consumer sentiment index (9/27).
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This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. Marketing Library.Net Inc. is not affiliated with any broker or brokerage firm that may be providing this information to you.
This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is not a solicitation or recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks.
The NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System.
The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services.
The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index is an index of the stock (equity) prices of the largest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) as measured by market capitalization.
The SSE Composite Index is an index of all stocks (A shares and B shares) that are traded at the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The Bovespa Index is a gross total return index weighted by traded volume & is comprised of the most liquid stocks traded on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
The Hang Seng Index is a freefloat-adjusted market capitalization-weighted stock market index that is the main indicator of the overall market performance in Hong Kong.
Nikkei 225 (Ticker: ^N225) is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). The Nikkei average is the most watched index of Asian stocks.
The Mexican IPC index (Indice de Precios y Cotizaciones) is a major stock market index which tracks the performance of leading companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. It is made up of a selection of shares that are representative of all the shares listed on the exchange from various sectors across the economy.
The BSE SENSEX (Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index), also-called the BSE 30 (BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE) or simply the SENSEX, is a free-float market capitalization-weighted stock market index of 30 well-established and financially sound companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The DAX 30 is a Blue Chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The CAC-40 Index is a narrow-based, modified capitalization-weighted index of 40 companies listed on the Paris Bourse.
The FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization.
The Asia Dow measures the Asia equity markets by tracking 30 leading blue-chip companies in the region.
The Global Dow is a 150-stock index of corporations from around the world created by Dow Jones & Company.
The MSCI World Index is a free-float weighted equity index that includes developed world markets, and does not include emerging markets. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization index consisting of indices in more than 25 emerging economies.
The US Dollar Index measures the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of six currencies.
Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. Market indices discussed are unmanaged. Investors cannot invest in unmanaged indices. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.
1 – tinyurl.com/p4put9e [8/30/13]
2 – ncsl.org/issues-research/labor/national-employment-monthly-update.aspx [8/2/13]
3 – ism.ws/ISMReport/NonMfgROB.cfm [8/5/13]
4 – marketwatch.com/story/us-second-quarter-growth-boosted-to-25-2013-08-29 [8/29/13]
5 – nytimes.com/2013/08/14/business/economy/july-retail-sales-rose-0-2-despite-a-drop-in-auto-sales.html [8/14/13]
6 – marketwatch.com/Economy-Politics/Calendars/Economic [9/1/13]
7 – marketwatch.com/story/us-consumer-price-index-rises-02-in-july-2013-08-15-8913010 [8/15/13]
8 – nasdaq.com/article/us-ppi-flat-in-july-core-ppi-up-01-cm267531 [8/14/13]
9 – dailyfinance.com/2013/08/06/obama-shuttdown-freddie-mac-fannie-mae-mortgages/ [8/6/13]
10 – investorplace.com/2013/08/nasdaq-accepts-blame-for-flash-freeze/ [8/30/13]
11 – marketwatch.com/story/syria-intervention-fears-hit-global-markets-2013-08-27 [8/27/13]
12 – tinyurl.com/lexe8vw [9/1/13]
13 – bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-30/india-s-rupee-set-for-worst-month-since-1992-on-slowdown-concern.html [8/30/13]
14 – reuters.com/article/2013/08/29/us-india-economy-gold-idUSBRE97S0IW20130829 [9/1/13]
15 – reuters.com/article/2013/09/01/us-china-economy-pmi-idUSBRE98000H20130901 [9/1/13]
16 – online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3024-m_globalstockindexes.html [9/1/13]
17 – mscibarra.com/products/indices/international_equity_indices/gimi/stdindex/performance.html [8/30/13]
18 – money.cnn.com/data/commodities/ [9/1/13]
19 – online.wsj.com/mdc/public/npage/2_3050.html?mod=mdc_curr_dtabnk&symb=DXY [9/1/13]
20 – blog.comerica.com/2013/08/23/july-new-and-existing-home-sales/ [8/23/13]
21 – census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst.pdf [8/16/13]
22 – freddiemac.com/pmms [9/1/13]
23 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=8%2F30%2F12&x=0&y=0 [8/30/13]
23 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=8%2F30%2F12&x=0&y=0 [8/30/13]
23 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=8%2F30%2F12&x=0&y=0 [8/30/13]
23 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=8%2F29%2F03&x=0&y=0 [8/30/13]
23 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=8%2F29%2F03&x=0&y=0 [8/30/13]
23 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=8%2F29%2F03&x=0&y=0 [8/30/13]
24 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldYear&year=2013 [9/1/13]


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Ronnie Montrose Death Ruled Suicide (Top 12 of April 2012)
"By now, the devastating truth of Ronnie's death is public knowledge. We hope you can understand why we wanted to keep this news a private family matter for as long as possible. We can only hope that you will choose to celebrate Ronnie's life, and what his music meant to you, rather than mourn his passing. Ronnie would have wanted it that way. He loved being a guitarist, a composer, a producer, and a creator of magic. He fully understood his gifts, and yet he constantly pushed himself to evolve, improve, and make better music. He did this for himself, and he did this for you, because he adored and appreciated his fans. Please keep his energy, his joy, and his love in your hearts.
"Please note that there will be no more statements from the Montrose family at this time. We ask that you respect the family's privacy." more on this story
Gibson.com is an official news provider for the antiMusic.com.


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2013 Women's Water Polo News
Elise Molnar Earns CWPA Divison I/II Varsity Scholar-Athlete of the Year AwardJuly 30, 2013Elise Molnar was named the CWPA Women's Division I/II Varsity Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Harvard 2012-13 Accolades - An Infographic VideoJuly 23, 2013Check out some major accomplishments that Harvard Athletics produced during the 2012-13 year.
Women's Water Polo Team's GPA Ranks Seventh in the NationJuly 19, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team posted the No. 7 ranked grade-point average in the nation in 2013, while seven members of the squad garnered All-Academic honors from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches.
Women's Water Polo's Aisha Price Named Honorable Mention All-AmericanJuly 03, 2013Aisha Price of the Harvard women's water polo team became the program's third student-athlete to be designated as an All-American.
Senior Letterwinners' Dinner: Impact of CoachesJune 07, 2013
13 Harvard Teams Receive NCAA Public Recognition AwardJune 05, 2013
Season Recap: 2013 Women's Water PoloJune 05, 2013
USA Today Previews NCAA Water Polo Championships at HarvardMay 10, 2013This morning, USA Today released its preview of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships, which is being played at Harvard University May 10-12.
Water Polo Holds Youth Clinic at Local YMCAMay 09, 2013The Harvard men's and women's water polo coaching staff recently held a youth clinic at the Charles River YMCA.
Harvard Announces Water Polo Head Coach EndowmentMay 09, 2013Bob Scalise, The Nichols Family Director of Athletics, and Harvard University are pleased to announce the endowment of the 16th head coach position: The Friends of Harvard Water Polo Head Coach.
Harvard SAAC Hosts Bench Press for Breast CancerMay 08, 2013The Harvard University Student Athlete Advisory Committee hosted its annual Bench Press for Breast Cancer fundraiser on May 2 at the Palmer Dixon Strength and Conditioning Center.
Women's Water Polo Holds Annual Awards BanquetMay 07, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team officially concluded its 2013 season with the team's annual awards banquet Monday night inside the Murr Center's Lee Family Hall of History.
Team USA Captain Brenda Villa to Speak at NCAA Water Polo BanquetMay 01, 2013Brenda Villa will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship Banquet Thursday, May 9 at Harvard University's Murr Center.
Bracket Announced for NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship Hosted at Harvard's Blodgett PoolApril 29, 2013Southern California will be the No. 1 seed at the NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship hosted by Harvard University at Blodgett Pool May 10-12
Brown Tops Women's Water Polo in CWPA Eastern Championships Fifth-Place GameApril 28, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team hung with Brown for a quarter, but the Bears started to pull away in the second, and the Crimson could never recover in an 18-9 loss in the fifth-place game of the Collegiate Water Polo Association Championships at Michigan's Canham Natatorium Sunday afternoon.
Women's Water Polo Holds Off George Washington, 11-9, at CWPA Eastern ChampionshipsApril 27, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team withstood a furious comeback attempt by George Washington to prevail over the Colonials, 11-9, and advance to the Collegiate Water Polo Association fifth-place game Sunday afternoon at Canham Natatorium.
Women's Water Polo Goes 1-1 on Opening Day of CWPA Eastern ChampionshipsApril 26, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team opened the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championship with a dominant performance against Notre Dame (Ohio).
Price Named to CWPA First Team; Andersen and Dukes Named Second-Team All ConferenceApril 25, 2013Senior co-captain Aisha Price was named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division first team, and sophomore Ariel Dukes and freshman Yoshi Andersen were both picked to the second team, the league office announced Thursday.
Harvard Women's Water Polo Heads to CWPA Easterns with NCAA Berth Up for GrabsApril 25, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team heads to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Tournament with a berth in the NCAA Championships on the line. The sixth-seeded Crimson begin the tournament against No. 11 Notre Dame (Ohio) at 12:40 p.m. Friday.
Yoshi Andersen Earns Second CWPA Southern Division Rookie of the Week AwardApril 18, 2013Freshman Yoshi Andersen has been named the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division Co-Rookie of the Week, the league office announced Thursday.
Fast Start Carries Women's Water Polo Past George Washington, 15-11, in CWPA Southern Division Third-Place GameApril 14, 2013Harvard jumped on George Washington in the first quarter before holding off a late comeback attempt by the Colonials to claim third place, 15-11, at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division tournament at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center Sunday morning.
Harvard Women's Water Polo Tops Mercyhurst, 17-8, Falls to Brown, 16-12April 13, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team erupted for 11 goals in the second half to pull away from Mercyhurst, 17-8, Saturday in pool play of the CWPA Southern Division tournament.
Postseason Play Begins for Women's Water Polo at the CWPA Southern Division ChampionshipsApril 11, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team begins postseason play at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division tournament at Brown's Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center. The Crimson faces Mercyhurst (4:30 p.m.) and Brown (8:30 p.m.) Saturday before playing a to-be-determined opponent Sunday, depending on Saturday's results.
Dukes Named CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week; Hendrix Gets Rookie of the Week NodApril 10, 2013Sophomore goaltender Ariel Dukes was named the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Defensive Player of the Week and freshman attacker Charlotte Hendrix garnered her first CWPA Southern Division Rookie of the Week award, the league office announced Tuesday.
Crimson Women's Water Polo Falls Twice to Conclude Regular SeasonApril 07, 2013Charlotte Hendrix totaled a career-high 10 points, but it wasnâââ‰â¢t enough, as the Harvard womenâââ‰â¢s water polo team dropped a 17-12 decision to Cal State Bakersfield.
Women's Water Polo Pulls Away from George Washington, Falls to PrincetonApril 06, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team split its Saturday contests at Princeton's Denunzio Pool Saturday.
Women's Water Polo Concludes Regular Season with Trips to Princeton, BrownApril 04, 2013The Harvard women's water polo team visits Princeton to face George Washington (12 p.m.) and the Tigers (7 p.m.) Saturday before heading to Providence, R.I., to play Cal State Bakersfield (8 a.m.) and Arizona State (12:30 p.m.) Sunday at Brown to conclude regular season play.


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Why Me?
My training and work history in the sciences allow me to take complex material and make it accessible to anyone. While your content may not be as difficult to comprehend as wave-particle duality, I will aim to make it as easy to read as Feynman's Quantum Electrodynamics.
My education and resume in the performing arts, as well as my lifelong love of writing, help keep my clients' work--even the most technical stuff--engaging. My goal is to keep readers glued to whatever material you present to them.
I've been paid to write in different fields for over 30 years, and in the last five years, I've composed thousands of articles and blog posts. I've been the ghostwriter on nine books in the health and wellness field and have been published in the Huffington Post, Retired Racehorse Today, Fatherly, Pryme Magazine, The Baja Times, The Baja Review, Wisconsin State Journal, and Wisconsin Trails magazine, as well as countless websites. I cover World Cup and other international equestrian events for the FEI. That means I know how to meet tight deadlines, deal with edits, and keep coming up with fresh ideas--a track record you can rely on and read about in my Testimonials.
Having lived as an American expat living in Mexico, I know what it's like to meet big life challenges head on and navigate tricky life transitions. Whether you're trying to attract sponsors at the Olympic level, boost your small business, or settle in your new OTTB, wouldn't you rather hire a writer with the tenacity to get back in the saddle time after time to help you weather the unique hurdles in front of you?
Key Points
You can read a more comprehensive version of my resume on LinkedIn, but I'll give you the high points here:
Please take a look at my writing portfolio, check out the diverse array of services I can offer you, and get in touch to let me know how I can help your equine business.


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Bodegas Breca Garnacha de Fuego Old Vines 2015
- wa89
|Red Wine
|Spain, Calatayud
|Bodegas Breca
- wa89
Wine AdvocateTwo gorgeous reds from Breca include the generic 2015 Garnacha De Fuego from Aragon. This comes from a large regional vineyard spread over many different terroirs. The vines are respectably old, all having been planted between the end of World War II (1945) and 1976. The wine is 100% Grenache from the oldest clone of Grenache in the world and the one that was adopted by France in the Rhône Valley and the Languedoc-Roussillon. The wine spent its entire life in cement and stainless-steel tanks before being bottled unfiltered. A lovely sleeper from Jorge Ordoñez Selections, this wine show loads of black raspberry, cherry, liqueur notes, licorice, a lush medium-bodied mouthfeel, beautiful purity and a juicy texture. Drink it over the next several years. It is a remarkable wine value!


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Have a Question or Want to Share Your Experience?
Thank you for this. You know, there used to be a time when I didn't worry about ANYTHING. I got a bill the mail I couldn't pay, I would thank the Lord for taking care of it, toss it aside and go on about my day…the bill got paid. Getting ready to get evicted (three different times in my life), turn it over to God and He'd take care of it – once it was the day before I was scheduled to have my rent money in full when He came through for me.
Some time during me living my life, I lost sight of that ability.
I am working with God and my guardian angel, Steve, to get back to that place. I have come a long way and am a lot happier and faithful to God's mercy and timeliness than I was yesterday. I plan to surpass where I used to be in my faith in times of old.
And have fun while I'm doing it.
"Focus on the present, do the most I can within it and let God take care of the rest." (My motto)Reply
Melanie Thank You
My Dear Thank You !
This is Something I have Had a Problem With All my Life, and Now You Have Given Me
The Answer to What Has Stopped Me in my Tracks all my Life! I Am Or lets Say Was a Worrier .
Thank You , This Will Change My Entire Life From This Day Forward ! I was in Shock when i started Reading About Your Story , That was Me And Now Not Me ! I LOVE YOU


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Contact Us
Phone: (719) 884-6100
Mailing Address: 219 E Bijou St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903
- Lead Pastor Dr. Tim McConnell
This video introduces nine stories (among dozens!) of how the generosity of the First Pres family is making a difference in Colorado Springs and around the world:
Marian House Soup Kitchen - We partner with Marian House in a multi-organization effort to minister to homeless people, and ultimately to end chronic homelessness in Colorado Springs. Marian House serves hot, nutritious meals to anyone who is hungry in our city, 365 days per year. A team from First Pres has been serving Tuesday lunch at Marian House every week for 28 years. And First Pres giving provides 5,000 of the meals served every year.
Springs Rescue Mission - Another key player in the effort to end chronic homelessness in Colorado Springs, Springs Rescue Mission provides hot meals and a winter overnight shelter for the homeless, a residential addiction recovery program and access to social services.
Part of First Pres' 2016 Give Back the Blessing Offering (Palm Sunday's special offering) supported SRM in their current campus expansion, which will grow the Mission's offerings from a 63-bed winter shelter to a 150-bed year-round shelter, and from 70 dining room seats to 200. The campus expansion will also add a day center—the first of its kind in the region—offering case management, health and mental health support, access to computers for job searches, laundry and shower facilities.
Refugee English Classes in partnership with Lutheran Family Services - Lutheran Family Services of Colorado is dedicated to helping vulnerable refugee and asylum-seeking families rebuild their lives by equipping them to achieve self-sufficiency within their first year in the United States and fostering integration into their new communities. During the summer of 2016, First Pres partnered with LFS to offer English as a Second Language classes on our campus at no cost to refugees. While parents studied, their children were lovingly cared for in our nursery.
Aswan Evangelical Church is one of two Egyptian churches with whom we partner. First Pres' 2015 Give Back the Blessing offering helped to rebuild their crumbling, century-old building, and now they have a brand new worship center that serves as home-base for a vibrant outreach to their primarily Muslim community.
Thrive partners with First Pres in our efforts to bring renewal to the struggling southeast region of Colorado Springs. Believing that entrepreneurship is one one of the best ways not only to stimulate the economy, but also to revitalize hurting communities, Thrive provides potential entrepreneurs with a one year intensive program of education and access to connections, mentors and scholarships. First Pres giving provided scholarships for an entire class of students, and through those entrepreneurs' success, all of the scholarships have been paid back, allowing another class to continue their education and begin to thrive.
Mongolia Partnership - First Pres' ministry in Mongolia goes back to the very first days of the Mongolian church's existence. The gospel took root in that country for the first time in the 1990s, and we have had the privilege of bringing Bible teaching to young believers who have never had the chance to study Scripture before.
Don Wallace, the speaker in the video, has led a Bible teaching retreat called Solo for military officers, police officers and other public servants, placing the truths of Scripture into the hands and hearts of Mongolia's cultural influencers.
Panorama Middle School - A partner in renewing Colorado Spring's Southeast region. Our longstanding relationship with Panorama Middle School was strengthened during Loving Our City (now CityServe) weekend 2015. Because of the no-strings-attached offer of help, Principal Elizabeth Domangue was deeply encouraged in her efforts to overcome significant financial and environmental challenges and provide a first-class learning experience for her students. First Pres was also able to make a donation to start a fund for a new technology lab at Panorama.
Cuba Prison Ministry - Through First Pres's partnership with First Pres Havana, mission teams have been able to train Cuban Prison chaplains to listen and minster to prisoners in some of the world's darkest prisons. Several prisoners have declared faith in Christ and have been baptized.
Family Promise - Formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network, Family Promise shelters families who would otherwise be homeless in churches around Colorado Springs and is part of the multi-organization effort to end chronic homelessness in our city.
First Pres hosts Family Promise families at least four weeks per year. Our next opportunity to offer warm, safe beds and hot meals to these neighbors is coming up November 27 to December 4. Sign up to Volunteer here.
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Logitech has officially presented their new series of speakers designed for the home, three of them, with a very nice-looking design, excellent materials and incredible sound quality. Unlike previous speakers from this brand, the new models not only feature incredible specs, but also an excellent design.
We talked about it yesterday in our article "The best speakers for 150 Euros or less", where we reviewed the Logitech UE Mobile Boombox, a device that, while being designed with a different public in mind, shows what Logitech is capable of in this regard.
The first one, the Logitech z200, will be available in black and white, has a power of 10 watts and great bass; while it's very well-designed, it's nothing too uncommon. The two 2.5-inch speakers are powerful enough for the sound to reach every corner of even the biggest room. You can also connect your Smartphone or any other device thanks to its 3.5-mm plug.
The Logitech z150, on the other hand, is a mid-level speaker with a maximum power of 6 watts, more than enough to enjoy our games and movies, the company said.
The Logitech z50 offers and excellent design and a great performance despite its size, with a power of 10 watts, a single 2.25-inch speaker and the usual 3.5-millimeter port.
These multimedia speakers will hit the market in a few more weeks in Europe and they will cost 29.99, 19.99 and 19.99 dollars, respectively, not bad for a brand new series of speakers. The mid-level model is, in our opinion, the weakest of the three, since it doesn't have the great specs of the high-end model or the affordable price of the low-end one.


text: I am on a mission to spin clichés into a whole new context right before your eyes. Spin them finer than a web made by Charlotte. Spin them tighter than a track laid down by Drake. Be a better human-Hannah BrencherJanuary 19, 2011basket at pier one, be the change, cliches, dont listen, little red riding hood, naysayers, pass a smile, people should smile more, she thought she could and so she did, smile, smile more, smile today, you wont make a difference Comments


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I was unable to follow #minecraftED's chat tonight when I was keeping up with #wvedchat. I just didn't have the energy to do so. This is one of those times that the Twitter transcript will come in very handy. I look forward to reading how to use the program effectively with special education students.
#MinecraftED meets every Tuesday at 8 PM. Mark Grundel (@mgrundel) and Garrett.Z (@PBJellyGames) are the founders of the chat, and ones to follow for notices about the chat itself.


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I'm still in the woodshed on independence, but popping my head out from time to time to see what's happening in the big, wide, new Scotland.
The winners - let's not avoid the word - fall into two broad groups, those who are part of the new Parliament and those who put them there. Those in the Parliament are savouring their triumph today, enjoying the ritual, experiencing the warm feeling that comes from being part of a team that won against what at times seemed overwhelming odds against them. They have a right to enjoy these historical moments, because they worked very hard for them, and in many cases made personal sacrifices and took career risks that no one outside of the political process can ever fully understand.
Those who put them there fall into two sub-groups, the first being those who tirelessly gave of their time and energies to support the campaign on the ground - the canvassers, the leafleters, the envelope stuffers, the telephone teams -with no expectation of reward, no salaried post to look forward to, no expenses, no trappings of status.
I am not a part of that sub-group, but they have my unqualified respect, admiration and gratitude - they won this historic election for me and for Scotland. I am one of the other sub-group, which of course, since it embraces every member of the electorate who voted SNP, isn't really a sub-group at all. (A Venn diagram is needed!)
And this total group, the group that put the winners into Holyrood, watches, rejoices - but waits …
I have experienced this moment before, as a ten-year old in 1945, when a war-weary generation threw out the hero of the nation, Winston Churchill, and elected a Labour Government - the Attlee Government - to the incredulity and terror of the British Establishment. While the privileged inhabitants of countless Downton Abbey's muttered fearfully around their dinner tables and looked suspiciously at their servants, the rest of the nation, exhausted physically and emotionally from the long conflict, rejoiced briefly - then waited …
That government did not betray them but it did not deliver the revolution that some expected - the destruction of a privileged establishment - but it did deliver better housing, the NHS, the welfare state, nationalisation, and it ushered in a period of unparalleled prosperity - the 1950s. It used its mandate and its power to revolutionise British society.
The Attlee Government did not betray the people, but the people betrayed them in 1951. Their failure to destroy the British Establishment left them vulnerable to that pernicious web of privilege and influence - it re-grouped and destroyed them.
Clement Attlee was the greatest Prime Minister of the 20th century, and his Government was a Labour government. Its demise marked the end of the Labour Party as it was conceived by its founders, and the Labour Governments that followed were Labour in name only - the insidious decline in values and morality that led to the thing that the Labour Party became under Blair and Brown began.
Today, Scotland has its bright new day, and its elected representatives have their moment in the sunshine - the Scottish spring has begun, but so has the testing time. The eyes of Scotland are upon you, Holyrood - don't disappoint us …


text: The T10 4WD has hydraulic drive as standard with two drive modes - forwards and backwards. The power in the trailer's 4WD is among the market's best. The drive is extremely useful in difficult driving conditions on soft ground and in hilly areas. It is also an advantage when unloading at stacking areas because you drive shorter distances between different ranges without needing to use anything more than the trailer's drive.


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Journey to Jaffna – Part 1
From 1989 onwards, I never got the opportunity to visit the Northern Peninsula even though I am a native Sri Lankan Born in Jaffna. During the war, the place was off limits whereby the area was controlled by the Tamil Tigers until May 2009. However, the A9 road to Jaffna, a city of lush landscapes, beautiful lagoons, and amazing Hindu Temples was opened first time after 30 years giving opportunity for Sri Lankans from the other parts of the island to plan their visit to the city. In fact, this as a result enabled many locals as well as foreigners to travel Jaffna to see what they've been missing.
Yet, many of my colleagues advised me not to travel Jaffna repeatedly mentioning that "It's still not safe". Where else, some told that "It's perfectly fine "since many soldiers were been there all around the streets. From what I learnt, I found that both of the comments about Jaffna were totally wrong. In fact, it was a very fascinating town with its own unique charm, and full of people who are just trying to get back to a normal life after 30 years of strife. The marketplaces and restaurants were bustling with people. Based on these magnificent factors by keeping its politics situation aside, I decided to make arrangements to travel to the beautiful city of Jaffna.
The weather was extremely hot by the time we reached the Jaffna Town at 03:30 pm. amazingly, none of us showed any signs of tiredness although we had been travelling continuously for 09 hours from Vavuniya. The first Restaurant we came across was "Malayan Cafe", where we enjoyed a Sprite served in stainless steel cups with crushed ice. For our stay, we booked three nights at the Green Grass Hotel which is known as one of the famous Jaffna hotel offering authentic Jaffna dishes prepared by the experienced chefs.
Basically, it was like a dream coming true to set foot upon at the Northern peninsula whose roads were closed for a long period for most of my generation. Hence, we made the best out of our vacation on the first evening itself by driving past the Chelvanayagam Memorial Column, the Jaffna library, the Duriappa stadium and the Dutch Fort. Nonetheless, walking around the active town packed with people like Colombo was interesting and entertaining and you will definitely notice that you would able to purchase similar goods and products available in the capital city , Colombo. Hence, it is obvious that Jaffna had nowadays become a common sight for tourists from other parts of the island and Tamil expats from foreign countries.
To celebrate our arrival, I decided to dine with my friends at a popular restaurant called "Rolex". That night we enjoyed one of the best meals in our lives with traditional Jaffna cuisine consisting of string hoppers, prawn curry and coconut sambol. I recalled that when I inquired from a Jaffna Tamil friend living in Colombo asking him what he would like me to bring back for him from Jaffna, he had stated that anything from Jaffna would never taste the same outside Jaffna. In fact, he recommended me to taste the delicious prawn curry prepared with prawns caught around the Jaffna seas and cooked in Jaffna water and coconut milk. Our short stay in Jaffna hosted us to loads of appetizing sea foods like prawns and crabs done in the typical Jaffna preparation and the Jaffna milk hoppers and thosai along with the mouth watering Jaffna ice cream.
We also visited the Cathedral of St. Mary which is the largest church in the Island. A plaque on the wall stated that construction of the present Cathedral had begun in 1939 and was completed in 1982. Except for the Bishop's throne made of delicate timber work which had been presented in 1921 by the Catholics of Jaffna residing in Colombo and a granite altar, the building was bare of the trappings befitting a cathedral. When we entered its holy precincts, the window panes which had stood shattered due to war were being replaced. However, the un-shattered spirit and faith of its congregation were evident at the Sunday morning mass, when young and old, dressed in their Sunday's best, joined as one voice in fervent prayer and the singing of lively hymns. We also visited the famous Nallur Temple which is said to commemorate the arrival of King Bhuvaneka Bahu VI of Kotte better known as Sapumal Kumaraya and here again we were aware of the same faith and holiness in the people taking part in the poojas.
The following day, armed with maps and camera, we set out in search of the controversial Buddhist ruins at Kantharodai which have been identified as the Kadurugoda vihara mentioned in Sinhala historical literature. According to the said book, 2nd edition Pg. 391, upon excavation by the Archeological Department, the remains of 50 small votive dagobas were exposed. The earliest date that could be assigned to this site is circa 2nd century AD. A little sign board with a picture of a dagoba pointed towards this land mark. There are few humble homes in the vicinity and the nearest town is Chunnakam which is one of the big cities in Jaffna peninsula situated in the famous KKS Road.
To be Continued....


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As usual it was an AWESOME weekend! I'm going to tell you all about each day and share lots of photos!
Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) where we spend much of the weekend dodging bikers! This year there were around 450 walkers and 200 crew members.
Cape Cod Sea Camps sign gets into eye shot it is always very exciting! It means that massages and wine our just around the corner!
MAAV, with this photo of her and many of my fellow Board members! The message included a generous donation. It was such a nice surprise and made me so happy to know they were all cheering me on!
By the way Jenn and I rocked it on Day 1. We got back in the top 50 walkers!! We both felt good at the end of Day 1 which was nice. I didn't even take any Advil which is a miracle in itself. I did rub essential oils all over my legs that night and that was amazing!
Day 2 to follow. . .


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Map of Kyrgyzstan Regions
You can easily create a map of Kyrgyzstan regions using Mapline. Formerly known as "Kirghizia,"Kyrgyzstan is a country in Central Asia which shares borders with China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The country was part of the now defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until it gained its independence on 1991. Its land area can be compared to that of the US state of Nebraska. Its natural resources include gold and rare earth metals.
Using Mapline, you can easily create a map of Kyrgyzstan regions. Kyrgyzstan is divided into 7 regions, which are further divided into districts.
Steps to Create a Map of Kyrgyzstan Regions
- Create a Mapline account and login.
- Click "New Map" to create a new map.
- Give your map a name and click "Create Map."
- Click the orange "Add Data Layers" button from the left sidebar.
- Select the "Add Territories" option.
- Select "Kyrgyzstan Regions" as the territory type.
- Give this territory overlay a Name and select the coloring option.
- Click "Continue."
That's how easy it is to create a map of Kyrgyzstan regions! Once you have your map, you can create a map of Excel spreadsheet locations to overlay on top. Mapline also makes it simple to see summary information about the locations inside each region just by clicking on them! Sign up now to create a map of Kyrgyzstan regions.


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- You can use any apple you like. Doesn't have to be granny smith. I wouldn't pick something overly sweet.
- I used 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon even though she doesn't specify.
- Next time I will skip the Mountain Dew and instead use ginger ale. Much better choice.
- Try swapping some of the white sugar for brown.
- You must serve it with vanilla ice cream.
By: The Pioneer Woman (and probably a lot of people before her)
Printable Version
2 whole apples
2 8-ounce cans of crescent rolls, triangles separated
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1.5 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 ounces of Mountain Dew, ginger ale, Sierra Mist, etc.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9X13 pan and set aside.
Peel and core your apples. Cut them into 8 - 10 wedges. Place apple slice on the pointy end of the crescent triangle and roll it up. Tightly seal it around the wedge. Place the dumpling into the buttered dish and continue until you have used all of the crescent rolls.
Over medium-low heat melt the butter. Add the sugar and gently stir. Mix in the vanilla and remove from heat. Pour the mixture over the dumplings. Pour the soda around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle dumplings with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop or two or three of vanilla ice cream.


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You don't have to battle to get your kids to wear a scarf in cooler weather thanks to these quirky polarfleece scarves by Sly + Tiny. Pick your child's favourite shape, then wrap it 'round and pull the end through the hole to secure. Necks are toasty warm, and scarves stay on!
Available from Babatude Boutique – $24.86


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Two lawsuits this year are threatening to cost Johnson & Johnson a total of $127 million. The 130-year-old healthcare consumer products company looks set to appeal both verdicts - but even as it prepares to do so, more plaintiffs are coming forward with lawsuits of their own.
In fact, the company has stated that it currently faces more than 1,400 similar cases, each alleging that talc in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder can cause ovarian cancer when applied to the genital area. Perhaps even more serious, many of these lawsuits also declare that the multinational company has failed to warn its customers of the risks associated with talc for decades.
Johnson & Johnson has faced these kinds of claims for years, but it wasn't until earlier this year that they gained credibility. A groundbreaking study published in the journal Epidemiology showed that regularly applying talc-based baby powder to the genitals could increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer by almost 40 percent.
If you are a regular user of baby powder and you were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, contact a personal-injury lawyer at The Finnell Firm. Robert Finnell is a Johnson & Johnson cancer claim attorney in Rome, Georgia who will evaluate your case in a free initial consultation. Call 866-464-4017 to get started.
Let's take a closer look at the case against Johnson & Johnson:
What Is in Baby Powder?
Baby powder is a dry powder regularly used on the skin to absorb moisture and reduce friction and odor. It is most often composed of corn starch or talc, in which case it is known as talcum powder.
Until a few decades ago, talcum powder generally contained asbestos, a hazardous substance known to cause cancer. Federal guidelines were drafted in the 1970s to ensure talc-based products marketed to the general public were asbestos-free.
That measure went a long way for keeping people safe from cancer. However, studies show it didn't completely solve the problem; talc itself, though it no longer contains asbestos, could be almost as risky to use on a regular basis.
Did Johnson & Johnson Mislead Its Customers?
This question was at the center of both of the lawsuits the company lost earlier this year. Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay a combined $127 million in damages to plaintiffs who blamed their ovarian cancer on the use of talcum powder as a feminine hygiene product.
In both cases, juries agreed with the argument that Johnson & Johnson had a responsibility to inform the public of the risks associated with regular use of its talc-based Baby Powder, and failed to do so. And in both cases, the damages associated with that negligence were substantial.
The company, meanwhile, has continued to deny there may be risks associated with using its products. In an official statement, Johnson & Johnson said the verdict "goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc."
Should You Sue Johnson & Johnson for Damages?
Bringing a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson is not as simple as claiming that you have been made ill or injured by one of the company's products. To succeed in such a claim you or your personal-injury lawyer must prove the company was negligent.
There are four elements to making a successful medical product liability claim. You or your Johnson & Johnson cancer claim lawyer will have to show that:
● The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care;
● The defendant breached its duty of care;
● The plaintiff suffered injuries; and
● The breach of the defendant's duty of care was the cause of the plaintiff's injuries.
If you were diagnosed with cancer after using Johnson & Johnson's talc-based Baby Powder, contact The Finnell Firm. A Rome personal-injury lawyer will review your case and help you proceed in making a claim.
Personal-injury attorney Robert Finnell has been successful in representing injured clients in cases involving medical product liability, workers' compensation, catastrophic injuries such as brain and
burn injuries, and other types of claims. Call 866-464-4017 to schedule a free initial consultation.


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I didn't really have high hopes for The Maze Runner (2014). Sure, I looked forward to seeing it on the off chance that it would be a lot of fun, but I didn't expect it to be a particularly "good" movie. And it's not, but neither is it "bad." The Maze Runner is just another entry in a long line of YA dystopia adaptations, one which never seems to escape the confines of a cinematic formula.
At its most basic, The Maze Runner can be summed up as follows:
Thomas wakes up in a mysterious elevator cage without any memory of who or where he is, only to be thrust into the company of a ragtag group of boys who have learned to survive in the Glade, which rests at the center of a massive, murderous maze. But Thomas isn't as willing to accept the status quo as the rest. Desperate to understand why they are in the Maze and who designed it, Thomas tries to piece together his fragmented memories and find a way out of the Maze. Doing so, however, may threaten the entire community…
The premise of the film is fairly standard YA dystopia stuff, although what apparently separates Thomas from the rest of the boys is his curiosity, which sounds less like a magic skill than some kind of behavioral conditioning that the film barely acknowledges. Fans of the books have been raving about this film, as to be expected, which might explain why it has earned nearly $200mil worldwide as of Oct. 5th, 2014. But I'm not convinced that The Maze Runner will have a lasting impact.
Clearly, I'm less enthusiastic about this movie than fans of the book. First, the film ends on a massive cliffhanger that is only barely foreshadowed in the handful of clues offered to us throughout the story. Though I generally loathe cliffhangers, I did at least expect this one because I had read the novel. However, what the film doesn't do is provide a cogent motion from "we know absolutely nothing about what is going on, except some vague speculation" to "oh, now we have the whole story because [spoilers]." The ending is so abrupt that it shatters any semblance of logic the audience had pieced together throughout the rest of the film, leaving a kind of cold, detached sensation that I'm not convinced was intentional — and if it was, not in the way I mean. There are likewise numerous gaps in the film's logic, such as why the stingers on the Grievers (the monsters of the maze) have the effect they do or what the Maze has to do with what has happened in the real world (I still don't understand how that part works).
Second, the film's pacing is either stilted or simply "off." In one important scene, Thomas is attacked by a Runner (folks who map the maze in order to find a way out) who has been stung, but this scene comes out of nowhere without any real buildup, and it ends in a remarkably anticlimactic way. There are likewise moments in the film which arise in such a hackneyed fashion that I could see the "character development time" coding on the figurative wrapping paper. These types of scenes jump back and forth in a way that limits the buildup to the climax; for me, this meant that those final moments lacked the impact that they needed to escape the bonds of the cliffhanger. I almost want to blame this on the script, but I think there is a deeper problem here.
That problem might be that The Maze Runner is utterly forgettable. The direction, while serviceable, falls short of delivering something that would separate this film from its contemporaries. There is tension here, but it is lackluster, simple. Take this scene, for example:
This is the first time we hear the sound of the Maze or witness the doors closing, and it is clear that what we're supposed to feel is not dissimilar to what Thomas' face conveys: fear and confusion. But what the scene evoked for me was less tension, fear, or confusion, but rather the activity of producing those feelings. I should feel chilled by that howling wind or the sudden realization that something weird is going on. A shift of sound or a manipulation of perspective shots could do the trick, but what this clip does — and what much of The Maze Runner does — is give me the feeling of a feeling, but rarely the feeling itself. Simulacrum, if you will.
This became apparent to me upon rewatching Gareth Edwards' Godzilla (2014). Though an imperfect film, there's a clear sense in Godzilla that Edwards understood the scale of a world at the mercy of giant monsters. Thus, we end up with scenes like this:
The above clip is the first time we see Godzilla "in full," though he remains too larger for the film's frame. The entire scene is built on tension, moving from the almost ant-like motion of humanity and its devices to the slow, deliberate crush of Godzilla's foot, which severs the massive wall of sound, as if suggesting that everything has simply stopped. And then the roar. That roar. The buildup to it is gorgeous, with the discordant choir building to crescendo. It's beauty incarnate.
To be fair to The Maze Runner, perhaps I should point to a genre-related example: The Hunger Games (2012). In doing so, however, I hope it will become apparent what I mean when I suggest that The Maze Runner manages to be serviceable, but never seems to use the various regions of the filmic space to convey the feelings it intends the audience to receive, just as its characters, as I'll discuss later, so often lack those same emotions (even Thomas seems less scared than utterly confused in the clip provided above). Take the Cornucopia sequence from The Hunger Games as an example:
As in the Godzilla clip, this sequence uses sound to enhance the tension of the scene, rolling in and out from the discordant music to Katniss' footfalls and back again. Additionally, the scene uses light to give that sense of confusion and disorientation, albeit somewhat unsuccessfully because it doesn't maintain the POV shot long enough in my opinion. Basically, there's depth here. Certainly, neither The Hunger Games nor Godzilla are as well-crafted as, say, 12 Years a Slave (2013) or the low-key science fiction "comedy, Her (2013), but they do make use of the filmic space at least in a simplistically "deep" way to enhance the spectacle of what we're seeing. But The Maze Runner is saturated, simplistic, and thin.
This also comes down the film's inability to present characters with much in the way of actual character or development. The lone tragic villain, Gally (played by Will Poulter), is one of the only characters with any real arc, moving from stern toughy to violent overlord who wants to preserve the existing order out of fear. But even he is an archetype of sorts, never rising above the scripted narrative we should have all seen coming from the first fifteen minutes of the film. The same could be said of Chuck (Blake Cooper), the adorable chubby kid who thinks about the parents he's never met — my friend and I knew exactly what would happen to him in the end.[1] But the rest of the characters are simplistic and, sadly, dull. The lead, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), spends most of the film with a confused look on his face, which would be fine for the first twenty minutes, but quickly becomes irritating as you realize this is the only emotion he seems to have: confused fear with a side of confused yelling. There's little else to him, and that can't be explained away by his initial amnesia, unless we're assuming (and falsely, given how the narrative progresses) that the builders of the Maze stripped everyone of their personalities before leaving them to their own devices. Instead, we just have to assume Thomas was as dull before the Maze.
This is doubly true of the only main female character in the novel — Teresa (Kaya Scodelario). At no point do we learn anything about her that would suggest that she is anything other than a female anomaly. What little we do learn is filtered through Thomas, who remains the focal point for the conspiracy underlying the construction of the Maze. The result: Teresa becomes an object, not in the sense of a "sex object," but in the most literal sense of the term. She's just this thing that exists in the movie to serve the plot. Her gender is incidental. Meaningless. In fact, the only reason Teresa must be female is so that the boys can comment on the fact that they don't know anything about women — though, in fairness, the jokes are had at the expense of the boys and are less about sex than about their supreme ignorance about what women are like as people.[2] Otherwise, Teresa's sex is completely irrelevant to the plot. This wouldn't be a problem if not for the fact that she is the only girl for most of the film, and there's no way to ignore that fact when so much of the story that precedes her entry is coded as irredeemably "male" (tribal man fights, drinking alcohol to put fuzz on your whatsits, and so on).
All of the characters suffer from this dull, archetypal mindlessness. Given that the bulk of the film focuses on life in the Maze, this dullness allowed me to wander to the Maze itself. Rather than the environmental horror it was meant to be, it became the one true character in the entire novel, adapting and shifting from start to finish to accommodate the plot changes. That the Maze was more memorable than the people is telling of the film's lackluster performance in most other respects.
On so many levels, The Maze Runner is simply "present." It never rises up to offer anything beyond the models on which it is clearly based, nor does it ever totally fail at imitation. Even an ambitious failure would have been notable, but Wes Ball's directorial debut (at the feature length level) aims for comfort. While I'm sure fans of the books will enjoy the film, I'm convinced that The Maze Runner will be forgotten because it isn't bold enough to transcend its genre.[3] I started to forget the movie mere days after seeing it, not because I thought it was a bad film, but because it seemed to me to be a film without a purpose other than mere entertainment — and even on that mission, it was fleeting. Perhaps I am becoming bored with the YA dystopian model in film in the same way that I have become bored with it in literature: imitation that barely meets the burden of original take. Here, though, I think the problem has less to do with the narratives than it does with their presentation. The Maze Runner was an OK book, but I always thought it would make a better movie; unfortunately, I may have been wrong.
[1]: Cooper does give one hell of a final performance, though.[2]: Honestly, I don't think the film relays a sexist message here. There is only one noticeable joke about Teresa's gender, which occurs after she has hidden herself away in a watchtower and begun chucking rocks at the boys in an effort to get them to go away (mostly because she has no idea what is going on and they're trying to help her through the transition period). One of the boys comments, "Is this what girls are like?," indicating to the audience that a) he's never seen a girl in his entire life, and b) he has no idea what to expect from a girl given that his daily experiences involve boys. [3]: Granted, The Maze Runner is a modified form of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth myth from ancient Greece.


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LOL! Thankyou for the rep.
Are those your kids in the album? Whoever they are, they the cutests little boys!
You are welcome.
How will I fail?
it is a great discovery... your arguments are great... what isn't there to respect?
they are honest man... not to say them would be to lie by omission...
I'm wondering what everyone else is viewing to see if I'm likely to get a response to one of my threads. Apparently I'm not the only stalker you were on my profile as well, besides I have about 9 ODN topics open at the top, you could be in any one of those. Spooky eh?
damn, figgy, you are a sexy beast.....
Still looking forward to your rebuttal on my existence, I feel so confident in my post I am actually hoping you can take me down a peg or two.
Also, if i win you SO have to prove god exists next.
I appreciate that, if you get done with your rebuttal and still feel the need to write, a critique of my post would be appreciated (on my presentation rather than content)
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Best Pick Today: April 03, 2018
Today's Pick is: SORL
Today's Forecast: Near Term Up
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