text:
Trends in sociodemographic and health-related indicators in Bangladesh, 1993–2007: will inequities persist?
Md Mobarak Hossain Khan a, Alexander Krämer a, Aklimunnessa Khandoker a, Luise Prüfer-Krämer b & Anwar Islam c
a. School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, PO Box 100131, D-33501, Bielefeld, Germany.
b. Travel Clinic, Bielefeld, Germany.
c. International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research – Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Correspondence to Md Mobarak Hossain Khan (e-mail: email@example.com).
(Submitted: 17 February 2011 – Revised version received: 06 May 2011 – Accepted: 11 May 2011 – Published online: 26 May 2011.)
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2011;89:583-593. doi: 10.2471/BLT.11.087429
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated and disaster-prone countries in the world. The country's low-lying deltaic topography, frequent natural disasters and low financial and adaptive capacity undermine the national economy and greatly impact on human lives.1,2 In spite of this, Bangladesh has made impressive progress in health and human development since its emergence as an independent nation in 1971.3–5 Human rights are recognized as fundamental in the constitution and health and education are prioritized. Moreover, Bangladesh has ratified most international treaties and declarations, including the Alma-Ata Declaration, the International Conference on Population and Development and the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).6 Health services have received special attention since the Alma-Ata conference in 1978.7
Over the last three decades Bangladesh has made strides in many areas. For example, mortality in children under 5 years of age has declined sharply – from 140 to 65 per 1000 live births between the 1970s and 2007 – and life expectancy at birth increased from 45 years in 1972 to 64 in 2007. The rate of absolute poverty has declined from 59% in 1991–92 to 40% in 2007.5 The maternal mortality ratio dropped from 724 per 100 000 live births in 1990 to 338 in 2008.8 Bangladesh has already achieved MDG 34 and is on track to achieving MDGs 1, 2 and 4 by 2015.4,5 Such developments have been achieved as a result of several key factors, including a strong commitment by the government to promote and protect civil and political rights; a growing network of health-care providers from the local to the national level;6 an increasing national effort to reduce gross inequities;3 the timely implementation of public health interventions; and rising and steady economic growth supported by good economic and social strategies.5 The human development index in Bangladesh has also improved substantially over the years. By 2003 Bangladesh had moved from a low- to a medium-level human development index country.9
Despite much progress, social inequalities persist. In Bangladesh wealth and power are highly concentrated and the poorer and more disadvantaged segments of the population reap few of the benefits of development, yet relevant public policies to redress the situation are rarely implemented. Poverty is higher in rural areas than in urban areas,5 the health system caters to the rich, urban elite4,6 and the poor have less access to health care than the rich.10 As in the rest of southern Asia, widespread gender discrimination contributes to disparities in health, sex-specific abortions, the neglect of female children and poor access to health care, especially for girls and women.11,12 Although absolute poverty has declined in all of southern Asia, including Bangladesh, the gap between the rich and poor within and between countries has widened in recent years.13,14 Consequently, significant inequity between the rich and poor remains in access to health-care services and their utilization.7,14–18 Although Bangladesh is likely to achieve several of the health-related MDGs at the national or aggregate level, the critical question is whether it can substantially narrow the internal gaps between the rich and poor.
Health inequities are ubiquitous;7,15,17 they exist in both developed and developing societies.17,18 Most development advocates, planners and practitioners view them as unacceptable, unfair7,11,19 and rooted in broader social injustice.15,20 Such inequities pose critical challenges across countries and cultures15 and are becoming an important social concern.7 Inequities and poverty systematically exacerbate the disadvantaged position of the poor with respect to health and health care utilization,19,20 undermine population health, and seriously hinder equitable, sustainable development.13,14 Therefore, reducing health inequities should be an integral part of the ongoing fight against poverty and ill health21 and a core goal of contemporary development paradigms.16 Unless the needs of the poorest segments of the population are effectively addressed, equity in health and overall socioeconomic development will be difficult to achieve.14
All of the above-mentioned points draw attention to the fact that in Bangladesh the overall development process has favoured the rich and powerful and has generated gross inequity across socioeconomic groups. The main objective of this study was to quantify existing inequity across a set of selected health and human development indicators. These pertain to socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, fertility control measures, antenatal care practices, childhood vaccination coverage, the prevalence of common childhood diseases, the prevalence of underweight and overweight and knowledge about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The study focused on women of reproductive age belonging to the poorest and the richest population quintiles. The gap between these two wealth quintiles was calculated for each survey by subtracting the value of the poorest quintile from that of the richest quintile. Changes over time were also calculated by subtracting the value obtained from the first survey (depending on data availability) from the value obtained from the last survey (not shown). The focus was on women because multiple layers of gender-based discrimination and inequality have rendered them more vulnerable than men to poverty-linked health outcomes. Women are over-represented among the world's poor and are grossly deprived of the benefits of economic, political and social gains.11,13 Unless development indicators are disaggregated by population subgroups and carefully analysed, improvements in national averages may conceal persisting or worsening inequalities within a society.16 This study is intended to help better understand and address the needs of the poorest groups and develop effective strategies to reduce existing gaps and accelerate progress towards greater equality and social justice in Bangladesh.
The study is based on five data sets of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) carried out in 1993–94, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2004 and 2007. These surveys were conducted by the National Institute of Population Research and Training with financial and technical support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The study design, informed consent form and methods of data collection were described in detail in the country-specific reports.22 All DHS are nationally representative and apply a common methodology across countries.23 More than 170 countries routinely conduct such surveys under the DHS programme with financial and technical support from USAID.22 All the analyses were performed for women selected through multistage stratified cluster sampling. The sample sizes varied from 9127 in 1996–1997 to 11 440 in 2004. For the first three surveys, relevant data on women were merged with the file containing the DHS wealth index (WI) variable. Increases in the sample from urban areas (15.2% in 1993–1994 and 37.8% in 2007) have gradually improved the representativeness of the samples because Bangladesh has experienced rapid urbanization. Similarly, decreases in the sample from the poorest quintile along with increases in the sample from the highest quintile have improved representativeness because of the socioeconomic development that Bangladesh has experienced. We report the non-response rate for each survey only for the total sample considered eligible for interview.
The DHS WI is an asset-based index that reflects the relative socioeconomic status of the household19,23,24 and is widely used in low- and middle-income countries to quantify inequalities and to control the confounding effect of socioeconomic variables.23 Variables that have been used to calculate the WI included ownership of durable assets (e.g. car, refrigerator, television), housing characteristics (e.g. materials of the floor, roof, walls) and access to services (e.g. availability of electricity and drinking water source). This index is constructed using the principal component analysis procedure of the SPSS factor analysis (SPSS Inc., Chicago, United States of America).24–26 In this procedure, the indicator variables are first standardized, the factor loadings are then calculated and, finally, the indicator values are multiplied by the loadings and summed up to produce the household's index value. Only the first factor (first principal component) is used to represent the WI.24,25
Selected factors
In this study we considered a group of indicators reflecting socioeconomic status (e.g. education, access to improved sanitation), demographic conditions (e.g. age at marriage, total number of children ever born) and fertility control behaviour (e.g. history and type of contraceptive use). Other selected factors pertain to the antenatal care received during the last childbirth (e.g. at least one antenatal care visit, delivery at home), vaccination coverage of the last child (e.g. measles vaccine, bacille Calmette-Guérin [BCG], first dose of diphtheria–pertussis–tetanus [DPT1] vaccine), important symptoms/diseases of the last child (e.g. diarrhoea, cough) and other health-related conditions of the women (e.g. underweight, overweight). Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, fertility control behaviour and practices and some health-related conditions were based on the entire sample, whereas other variables were based on subsamples. Infant mortality and other information such as vaccination coverage, prevalence of tuberculosis, access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities were obtained from published sources.22,27
In this section we report on selected macro-level indicators obtained from national reports22 and official United Nations data27. The prevalence of underweight among children under 5 years of age declined from 67.4% in 1992 to 41% in 2007. The infant mortality rate declined by 40%: from 87 per l000 live births in 1989–93 to 52 in 2002–2006. Measles vaccination coverage among infants (i.e. children aged 12 months or less) increased from 55.0% in 1989–1993 to 77.2% in 2002–2006 – a rise of more than 40% within a decade. The proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel increased from 8% in 1996–97 to 18% in 2007. The prevalence of tuberculosis decreased from 638.6 per 100 000 population in 1990 to 386.8 in 2007. However, access to safe drinking water (adjusted for arsenic contamination) improved only marginally – from 78% in 1990 to 80% in 2006. On the other hand, the availability and use of improved sanitation facilities rose from 26% in 1990 to 36% in 2006. Most of these health- and development-related indicators are also used to assess progress towards attaining the MDGs endorsed by Bangladesh.
The following sections present all results based on an extensive analysis of relevant data extracted from the DHS surveys. Some figures illustrate the results very clearly. The findings suggest that some of the gains attained by Bangladesh in health and development over the past 30 years may be undermining other gains. For instance, rapid and unplanned urbanization leading to the growth of slums could endanger the progress attained in access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. Similarly, the low rate of condom use may lead to an increased prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections.
Socioeconomic factors
In the richest quintile, the percentage of women living in urban areas increased rapidly, from 45.5% in 1993–94 to 76.5% in 2007. In contrast, the poorest quintile experienced only sporadic urbanization. Moreover, the gap in urbanization between the poorest and richest quintiles also increased (Fig. 1, part a). Illiteracy rates declined among all women, but those in the poorest quintile experienced a more rapid decline than those in the richest quintile (Fig. 1, part b). Gaps in television watching increased slightly during 1996–2007 (Fig. 1, part c). The percentage of households with electricity also increased, but primarily in the richest quintile (Fig. 1, part d).
Fig. 1. Socioeconomic indicators: levels, trends and gaps between ever-married women in the poorest and richest quintiles, Bangladesh, 1993–2007
Demographic factors
Most of the demographic variables analysed showed improvement in both the poorest and the richest quintiles, although noteworthy gaps continue to exist. For some variables such as age at first marriage (Fig. 2, part a) and total number of children ever born (Fig. 2, part b), positive changes occurred at a faster pace in the richest quintile than in the poorest one. Very little change was observed in the poorest quintile in the total number of children ever born and the number of living children. Gaps widened in age at first marriage, age at first birth, total number of children ever born and number of living children. The gaps in other variables remained almost unchanged.
Fig. 2. Demographic indicators: levels, trends and gaps between ever-married women in the poorest and richest quintiles, Bangladesh, 1993–2007
Fertility-control practices
Some results related to fertility control practices are displayed in Fig. 3. The study found gradual improvement and narrowing gaps between the richest and the poorest women in the use of any contraceptive method ever (Fig. 3, part a) and in the use of a modern method at the time the survey was conducted (Fig. 3, part b). Condom use increased faster in the richest quintile than in the poorest one (not shown) and therefore the gap between the two groups gradually widened (Fig. 3, part c). An increasing gap was also seen in considering condoms the preferred future method of contraception (not shown). Among the modern contraceptive methods, the pill was found to be more popular than condoms or sterilization (not shown). However, women in the poorest quintile shifted to using the pill faster than women in the richest quintile (not shown). Although sterilization was more popular among the poorest women, its frequency among them seems to have decreased sharply in recent years (Fig. 3, part d).
Fig. 3. Contraception-related indicators: levels, trends and gaps between ever-married women in the poorest and richest quintiles, Bangladesh, 1993–2007
Antenatal-care practices
The gap between the richest and the poorest quintiles decreased for one of the six antenatal care indicators: receipt of tetanus immunization before the last birth (Fig. 4, part a). The gaps remained almost unchanged for having made at least one visit to antenatal care (Fig. 4, part b) but increased for three indicators: a visit to a physician (Fig. 4, part c), a visit to a nurse or midwife (not shown) and delivery at home (Fig. 4, part d). A visit to a family welfare visitor during the antenatal period showed an increase among the richest quintile but no discernible trend was seen among the poorest quintile (not shown). Gaps widened mainly because change occurred faster in the richest quintile than in the poorest quintile.
Fig. 4. Antenatal care indicators (related to most recent birth): levels, trends and gaps between ever-married women in the poorest and richest quintiles, Bangladesh, 1993–2007
Child vaccination-related factors
Factors related to child vaccination (Fig. 5 part a, part b, part c and part d) registered a steady improvement. Although the poorest quintile had lower coverage than the richest, change occurred relatively faster in the poorest quintile, and the gaps gradually narrowed as a result. The sole exception was measles vaccination, since both the rich and poor seem to avoid immunizing their children against measles, perhaps because in Bangladesh the incidence of measles has declined over the last three decades. The complacency that has set in surrounding measles vaccination needs to be addressed by the health-care system.
Fig. 5. Child vaccination indicators (for last child): levels, trends and gaps between ever-married women in the poorest and richest quintiles, Bangladesh, 1993–2007
Other health-related factors
Other indicators are presented in Fig. 6. In both the richest and the poorest quintiles the prevalence of underweight, defined as a body mass index (BMI, or weight in kg divided by height in m2) < 18.5, decreased slowly, although the gap was still large and change took place a little faster in the poorest quintile (Fig. 6, part a). In contrast, the prevalence of overweight increased sharply in the richest quintile (Fig. 6, part b). Knowledge about AIDS prevention improved overall, but at a relatively faster rate in the richest quintile (Fig. 6, part c). The prevalence of children having common conditions such as diarrhoea (Fig. 6, part d) was notably higher in the poorest than in the richest quintile. Increasing gaps were observed for factors such as overweight and knowledge of the role of condoms in preventing HIV infection.
Fig. 6. Other health-related indicators: levels, trends and gaps between ever-married women in the poorest and richest quintiles, Bangladesh, 1993–2007
The study demonstrated huge disparities between the poorest and the richest quintiles. Other studies have also reported huge socioeconomic and health-related disparities in developing countries.17–19,28 Of 49 factors considered, 16 show increasing inequity, whereas 22 show a decrease in the rich-poor gap. Inequity has remained almost unchanged over the years in 11 areas. Inequity has declined in areas such as literacy among women and their partners, improved sanitation, current use of modern contraceptive methods and child vaccination. The decrease in inequity may reflect the fact that change occurred faster in the poorest than in the richest quintile, given that the poor had much lower levels of sanitation, electricity, antenatal care and vaccination coverage and much higher rates of illiteracy. Increasing gaps were identified in areas such as urbanization, access to television and electricity, respondents' age at first birth and subsequent fertility-related behaviour, access to skilled antenatal care, condom use, overweight and knowledge of the role of condoms in preventing HIV infection. According to the present study, progress in these areas occurred much more slowly in the poorest than in the richest quintile, and the poor are at a greater disadvantage than the rest of the population. Some of our findings are also in line with those of other studies.29,30 Although one usually expects everyone in the richest population quintile to live in a house with electricity, this is not the case in Bangladesh because not all regions of the country have electricity infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
Reducing poverty and health inequalities is crucial for overall sustainable socioeconomic development.31,32 Several actions or interventions have been proposed to minimize the gaps between the rich and poor.6,18,31 Policy-makers and planners must implement measures to provide everyone with equal access to health-care facilities and other ancillary services.6 Three broad strategic approaches built on the principles of equity and quality could minimize and gradually eliminate health gaps between the poor and rich: (i) focusing on the most disadvantaged groups through specific interventions; (ii) setting realistic targets to improve the health of the poorest groups; and (iii) forcefully addressing the social determinants of health inequities. Concerted efforts are needed to give voice to the voiceless. Public health services should be made accessible to all people in accordance with their needs and must not be influenced by their ability to pay or by profit-seeking. High-quality public health services must be available and accessible to all people, irrespective of their socioeconomic status.31
According to a World Bank report, Bangladesh could make greater progress and achieve more sustainable and equitable development if it: (i) improved accountability and the transparency of public services, (ii) removed key barriers to sustainable growth (e.g. institutional inadequacy, lack of urban governance, lack of tenurial rights of slum dwellers, deteriorating environmental conditions in urban slums, limited access to safe drinking water and good sanitation), and (iii) built on and strengthened its already successful urban programmes (e.g. female secondary scholarship). At the same time, public–private partnerships should be fostered and expanded.5 Recipient and donor governments should take an integrated approach to the entire health system and prioritize primary health care and the strengthening of the system's institutional and technical capacity.32 National health policy must also focus on developing and strengthening the health system. Strategies to effectively address the barriers to achieving and sustaining equity within and outside the health system should be implemented. Policy-makers, planners, service providers and health service managers should be made more aware of the magnitude of existing inequities, the trends currently observed and the most affected subgroups.18 Moreover, development and private sector partners should explore every opportunity to make legislation flexible enough to allow greater access to low-cost medicines and other treatments in developing countries.32
Policy implications
Despite progress over the years, gross inequities in health and socioeconomic development continue to persist. Bridging the gaps between the rich and poor must consequently be the central goal of all development strategies. As our findings show, to minimize these gaps health programmes and interventions will need to focus on the poorest and most vulnerable subpopulations. These are so often marginalized and socially excluded from health, welfare and environmental protection.21 Programme statistics based on national averages are misleading because they often conceal gross inequities within and between different segments of the population and between regions and districts. Since population averages do not capture social disparities, they often result in an under- or an overestimation of certain health outcomes in some groups (e.g. among the poorest segments, communicable disease outcomes are often overestimated, whereas non-communicable disease outcomes are underestimated). Our findings also illustrate the complexities of designing and effectively implementing interventions to tackle inequity. Policies and programmes implemented to improve the socioeconomic conditions of poor and marginalized populations will reduce their burden of communicable diseases, but their burden of non-communicable diseases will probably continue to increase as a result of the demographic and epidemiological transitions.29
Strengths and limitations of the study
One strength of the study is the in-depth analysis of data from large and representative data sets covering a long period. Another strength is the use of many development indicators to illustrate long-term trends and critically examine socioeconomic and health-related inequities between the rich and poor in a developing country.
Among the study's most important limitations is the use of the wealth index,24–26 which does not take into account household size or composition or fluctuations in the price of assets. Its appropriateness varies depending on the population subgroup (e.g. rural versus urban) and on geographical region.25 It only reflects long-term household wealth and fails to include short-run financial shocks or interruptions. Despite these limitations, the wealth index is a useful and pragmatic tool that can help overcome research survey weaknesses such as recall bias and seasonality.26
Many of the indicators used in this study to reflect sustainable and equitable health and development show marked differences between Bangladeshi women belonging to the poorest and the richest quintiles. Policy-makers and planners must therefore use segregated data to formulate better policies and programmes for promoting and protecting equitable health and development. To reduce disparities between the rich and poor, efforts should focus on promoting equitable access to health and to the benefits of social development. Progress towards achieving national and international health goals will only be accelerated by mainstreaming equity in health policies and programmes.18 In short, Bangladesh needs concerted, integrated and holistic efforts based on the fundamental principle of equity to bridge the gaps between the rich and the poor and usher in an era of more progressive, equitable and sustainable socioeconomic development.
We thank Erich Wehmeyer for his help with improving the English in the manuscript.
Competing interests:
None declared.
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- Chowdhury AMR. Rethinking interventions for women's health. Lancet 2007; 370: 1292-3 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61554-2 pmid: 17933634.
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subset: commoncrawl


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1. a bloom or blossom on a plant
2. a plant that bears blooms or blossoms
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Ambulatory Surgery Centers
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- October 3, 2014
Ambulatory surgery centers have become a popular alternative for surgical and other procedures that traditionally have been performed in hospital settings. The advance of technology, development of less invasive procedures, and new faster and more effective anesthetics have allowed for the cost-effective, safe delivery of these procedures outside of traditional settings.As ambulatory surgery centers have evolved, increased regulatory oversight has followed. Infection prevention and control program infrastructure and compliance with nationally recognized guidelines are now required for ambulatory surgery centers by regulatory agencies.


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Richard Shahan tried to get on a flight to Germany but was stopped--and now faces charges he shot and killed his wife. He resigned from the First Baptist Church of Birmingham on Tuesday. WVTM-TV has a video report.
WVTM-TV: News, Weather, and Sports for Birmingham, AL
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Atheism's 10 defining moments
Atheism found its way into the headlines several times this year. One of the writers for Religious News Service has put together a list of 10 of "atheism's defining moments and trends from the last year." This includes congregations of nonbelievers meeting, atheists becoming more visible in the U.S. military and the rise of "compassionate atheism." Read more from Religious News Service.
Labels: Atheists
Monday, December 30, 2013
Mennonites to license first openly gay pastor
|from First Mennonite Church of Denver
Labels: Gay Clergy, Mennonites
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Katy Perry says she's left her childhood faith
Katy Perry says she is no longer a Christian. The pop star told Marie Claire Magazine she no longer believes in Heaven or Hell either--just a "higher power bigger than me because that keeps me accountable... I'm not Buddhist, I'm not Hindu, I'm not Christian, but I still feel like I have a deep connection with God." Perry's parents are evangelists and she started out as a Christian singer.
Labels: Music
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It can be our duty to satisfy your preferences and successfully serve you. Your pleasure is our best reward. We have been looking forward to the go to for joint expansion for
Pvc Coated Gabion Mesh, We'd like to invite customers from abroad to discuss business with us. We can present our clients with high quality products and excellent service. We're sure that we'll have good cooperative relationships and make a brilliant future for both parties.


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Much has been written about how 2010 was a milestone year for social media as a truly meaningful channel for businesses to communicate with their customers and audiences. Our customers have echoed that sentiment with their increasing investments (both money and resources) in social efforts as channels for driving web traffic and sales.
We're excited for 2011 and wanted to share some things we learned last year.
Looking back
One of the things that has guided SocialFlow since we started the company is our belief that there are real ways that conversation on the social web can be improved and that it can be achieved through science and math. We began by researching how people were using and sharing language to understand the flow of conversations and associated actions on the social web. We wanted to understand how people were engaging with content and each other and what that would mean for businesses.
What you say and when you say it matters
It became very clear to us early on that just because you think you should say something, when you think you should say it, does not mean that people will care about it and do something with it. In practical terms, there has to be a better way publishing Tweets than just guessing at what you should post and when. Why not look for when the intent to consume your content and take an action is high?
In early November we released a new insights feature that shows the hourly distribution of clicks on links in Tweets sent out by SocialFlow. What's interesting in this view is that you can see that while time of day matters, what matters more is time of day AND relevance and resonance when it comes to clicks and actions.
Here we've compared two Wednesdays (only two weeks apart):
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
In other words, we may all log on at 9AM each morning (or at anytime for that matter) to check our newsfeeds, but we're only clicking, retweeting or paying attention when we come across things that we care about. If there's nothing that stands out, we're moving on. Quickly.
Getting this right is a more audience-centric approach for communicating with customers and audience. The results that we've seen with customers prove this out. In tests that we've performed with customers, we've found that SocialFlow produces anywhere from 20-60% higher click-throughs and RTs, and as a result more and more engaged Followers.


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CLOSED Information and Communications Technology: call in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (OC05R15P0266)
Call to run a project enhancing access to, and use and quality of, Information and Communications Technology in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
This call is now closed. Please do not submit an application for this call. The information provided on this page is for reference purposes only.
This call is looking to develop Information and Communications Technology products and services, e-commerce, and enhancing demand for Information and Communications Technology and specifically extending broadband deployment and the roll-out of high-speed networks and supporting the adoption of emerging technologies and networks for the digital economy
For more information, download the call specification.
The project must cover the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership area.
Up to £9,000,000 of funding is available through this call. A minimum value of £500,000 of funding can be applied for.
Outline application deadline: 31 March 2016.
Completion date
It is anticipated that funding from this call will be awarded for up to 3 years.
How to apply
To apply for funding under this call you will need to complete and send the Outline Application form to the email address provided in the call document. The guidance provides information to help you complete the form. The form and guidance can be found here.
You are also advised to read the details in the call documents in order to produce an application that complies with the requirements and meets the needs set out in the Operational Programme. All this information, the related guidance and the European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme can be found from our home page.
What happens next
If your outline application is successful, we'll contact you and ask you to make a full application.
Contact details
If you have a question, contact firstname.lastname@example.com.
Call reference number: OC05R15P0266
Last updated 1 April 2016 + show all updates
- This call is now closed
- First published.


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At school I was careful not to look like I watched everything, but I did. The fat girl fell into step beside me. She had a handful of gumdrops and sugar on her chin.
"There are all kinds of anger," she said. "Some kinds are just more useful than others."
A locker slammed behind us. I tried not to speak too loudly, because no one except me saw her. "I'm not angry," I whispered.
"Saying you're not angry is one kind," she said. "Not very useful at all, though."
I ignored her and brushed hair out of my eyes. There were days when she was a comfort and days when she was a nightmare. I had yet to determine what kind of day this would be.
We made our way outside. The fat girl had stringy brown hair and wore a blue blouse that was spotted and stained. She sucked on a Fudgsicle as though the autumn day was blissful and warm, but I was freezing. We pressed ourselves against the courtyard wall to watch the crowd file by. When I turned my head she followed my gaze and patted my shoulder.
"Don't get your hopes up, Faith," she said. "Sweetie, I'm telling you, that is never going to work out."
She was talking about Tony Giobambera, who had dark curly hair all over his body and smiled with his mouth but not with his eyes; who walked slowly, like a man with a secret.
I said, "You never know."
She said, "Actually, I do know." Then she sucked off a big piece of chocolate.
Tony Giobambera settled on his rock and lit a cigarette. I followed the fat girl to a place where we could watch him. He smoked like the cigarette was an extension of his ropey arm and rough hand. When he leaned back and blew a stream into the sky, I watched the pout of his lips, the black curl that fell over one eye. Then Tony Giobambera smiled in our direction and I wanted to disappear.
"Nothing like a little attention to send you over the edge," the fat girl said.
"What would you do?" I said. "I mean I don't think you'd do anything different."
"I'd think about getting even," she said. "I'd think about making something happen."
Instead I found a better place on the grass where I could see him but pretend to stare off into space, thinking about more important things than how much I would give up just to have Tony Giobambera run his finger along my cheek and my throat again.
It was after what I did, the long summer after I'd shed myself completely and was prepared to come back to school like a whole new person, only inside it was still me. It was at an end-of-the-summer party a week before school started. I'd walked there from my house and the Carolina night was humid and heavy. I sang softly to myself, thinking of how different I looked, of what it would be like to walk into a party in normal-person clothes bought from a normal store.
I smoothed the front of my new sleeveless green blouse. I could hear the party behind the big white door. I took a deep breath and rang the bell, but nothing happened.
I leaned over a little and through the windows I saw people draped over couches and moving in the dark. I rang the bell again, then tried the door. It was open.
Inside, Led Zeppelin blasted from the stereo. A guy and a girl curled up together in the corner of the foyer. In the living room, people stood in clumps along the wall or splayed themselves over couches and chairs. The house rang with noise. I walked down a hallway. I put my hands in my pockets, then took them out again.
In the kitchen I found a beer but didn't open it. The smell of pot drifted up the stairs from the basement. A few muscled guys and a pale, fragile-looking girl sat around the kitchen table flipping quarters into a glass. They slurred their words, laughing loudly and hitting each other in the back of the head when a quarter missed the cup. Drink, drink, drink! they chanted. The girl smoked a cigarette with a glazed smile. One guy glanced up at me, but looked away quickly. I blushed anyway.
I wandered downstairs to the basement, where I recognized a few people from last year's English class. They sat in a circle around a reedy guy with long blond hair and a red bong, hanging on every word he had to say. He told a complicated story, something involving a car and the police, but I couldn't follow it. Every so often one of the girls shook her head. "Fuck," she said, and ran her tongue over her braces. "Holy fuck."
I went back upstairs and walked from room to room waiting for someone to notice the new me, but no one seemed to. Disappointment pushed me outside. I tripped my way down wooden stairs, away from the bright lights of the house toward the small latticed huddle of a gazebo. Inside there was a bench and I sat, slapping away mosquitoes, with a tightness in my chest that made me want to scream. How could everything change so much and stay exactly the same?
I'd lost forty-eight pounds and my skin had mostly cleared up. I'd missed a whole semester of school and disappeared for seven months. It seemed like no one had even noticed I was gone.
I pulled my knees to my chest and picked at the vines that climbed the trellis overhead, ripping off leaves and stripping them down to their veins. I was wondering how I would possibly survive the whole next year, when Andrea Dutton came stumbling out of the trees.
< back


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|home | INFORMATION | EVENTS | GALLERY | members
Home Page: News and updates of what's happening at the garden.
Info: An overview of our history, who we are, our purpose, etc.
Board of Directors Duties: ...plus Committees' duties, too.
By-Laws: Our basic structure and operation.
Directions: Map and driving directions, plus a link to Mapquest if you need it.
Forms: Everything you need to read and sign to join us. Please do!
General Meeting Minutes: Posted after approval by the members.
Links: Lots of information about gardening and more.
Parcel Map: See which parcel could be producing great organic veggies for you.
Rules: Just so you know what to expect from us and visa versa.
Press: OPCG in the news.
Garden Dirt: OPCG's monthly column written for two Oak Park websites.
Events: Click a highlighted date to see an event.
OPCG Update: What we do at the garden, meetings, and for the community.
Gallery: Our garden in pictures (or movies or sound). Start here for the tour.
Critters: Furry, crawly, etc. and various ways we deal with them.
Flowers: Some great pictures of things that bloom here.
Fruits & Veggies: See the reason most of us have decided to join the garden.
The Shed: Tools and equipment for use in the garden.
Special Projects: Stuff that goes above and beyond digging in the dirt.
Work Days: Truly a community effort.
Members: Special pages just for members.
home | INFORMATION | EVENTS | GALLERY | members


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Website Quora
The vast majority of the world's knowledge is still locked in peoples' heads, inaccessible to the internet. Quora's mission is to share and grow the world's knowledge, so people can make smarter decisions, find their dream jobs, raise their families better, and much more. We think Quora will have an enormous long-term impact on the world.
As a member of the Product Design team, you'll build products that enable people to share knowledge in ways that have never been possible: Give writers the tools to share their expertise, and create network incentives that encourage creation of high quality content; Help people discover the topics they care about, and create a feed of interesting, personalized content that is delightful to read; Grow our user base through rigorous A/B tests that affect on signup, retention, and virality; Explore how our iOS and Android apps can empower new forms of knowledge sharing made possible by mobile technology.
Product Design Interns work on meaningful projects in user-facing areas of the product. Our previous interns have led a complete redesign of Quora's onboarding experience, and built Reading List (https://blog.quora.com/Reading-List-%E2%80%94-A-New-Way-to-Save-Content-to-Read-Later). Each intern is paired with a mentor, who works closely with the intern to give detailed guidance on their projects, and help develop key design skills.
- Work on a product team focused on a major user-facing area of Quora. Identify high impact features that achieve goals, and be able to explain rationale for your decisions.
- Collaborate with engineers to define features and functionality, with other designers for feedback and critique, and with data scientists and user researchers to evaluate the impact of your work.
- Design interactions for new features, applying existing design patterns and creating new ones, across our web and mobile platforms.
- Build what you design using a custom web framework developed by Quora that makes front-end development easy and efficient.
- Work quickly and effectively on significant projects. Ship new features, bug fixes, and small improvements multiple times a week.
- Ability to think at a high level about a complex, social product, and explain the rationale for new features and changes.
- Experience building clear, effective interactions to accomplish product or business goals.
- Experience with visual design, especially in the construction of visual hierarchies on layouts, and attention to detail on typography, spacing, and colors.
- Experience with with common front-end technologies (e.g. HTML, CSS, Javascript). Experience with server-side languages like Python is a plus.
To apply for this job please visit the following URL: https://www.quora.com/careers/product_design_intern →


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by Jacquelin
Edward Scissorhands Costume
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Edward Scissorhands
|Costume type:
|Costumes for Boys
This homemade costume for boys entered our 2014 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Kelly, the 'Edward Scissorhands' costume creator:
This is Ryder Schmidt, he's 4 years old, and he loves Edward Scissorhands! Luckily he has a crafty mom, so it was perfect for a Halloween costume, and unique :)
Similar costumes:


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Contact Brownsville Accident Lawyer
It's not too early to contact a Brownsville accident lawyer if you've been in an accident. In fact, once you are medically stable, one of your first steps should be to contact us. If your loved one has been injured or killed in a south Texas accident, contact us right away. While you will have many things on your mind, including healing, you are also vulnerable and may be pressured to settle your claim quickly by the other party. Even if the other party has good intentions, having an accident attorney look over the settlement offer before you do anything is a smart move. It's easy to contact a Brownsville accident attorney – and your consultation is free.
If you need help with a past accident, we want to hear from you, too. Texas has a two-year statute of limitations for accidents. If time is running out, let us help you file the lawsuit before the time limit expires. Contact us ASAP so that you can file your paperwork with the court before the statute of limitations is up.
Whether the accident just happened or happened within the two-year limit, consult with an experienced Brownsville accident attorney and explore your legal options. You may be entitled to far more than you realize – even if you were partially to blame. Contact us today and learn more about your options.


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Jack Straw said the letter "expressed concern" on behalf of all EU countries and he was waiting for a response.
He spoke after human rights group Liberty urged police to probe allegations that the flights called at British airports.
The US government has said its laws have not been broken.
But it has refused to confirm or deny the existence of "secret prisons" in third countries.
Liberty has called for action within 14 days - or, it has said, it will go to court claiming police aided and abetted kidnap and torture.
'Appropriate steps'
The Foreign Office has said it had no evidence of such use of UK territory.
At a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, who is visiting the UK, Mr Straw said his letter "had gone".
He said he was waiting for a response from the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and he would circulate the reply to all his foreign minister colleagues.
"Meanwhile, let me say, I think there is no purpose in speculating on allegations that are made on this side or the other side of the Atlantic," he said.
"These are allegations about a foreign government. We have taken the appropriate steps, which is to ask for clarification by that government."
The Guardian in September reported claims that at least 210 CIA flights had landed in the UK since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.
It is alleged at least 12 airports in England and Scotland have been used, with the busiest being Prestwick in Ayrshire where CIA aircraft landed more than 75 times.
Shami Chakrabarti, Liberty's director, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The allegations, the suspicions, the circumstantial evidence if you like, gives serious enough concern that we should ask chief constables to do their duty.
"They have positive obligations under international law and under our human rights act to investigate, and that's what we ask them to do."
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell told Today: "We need full disclosure by the government.
"If in fact people are being moved from a jurisdiction where torture is illegal to a jurisdiction where torture is permissible, that seems to me to be wholly contrary to international law.
"If we are allowing facilities for aircraft carrying out those actions, then we are at the very least facilitating it; we may even be complicit in it."
Police letters
Liberty has written to the chief constables of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, the Metropolitan Police, the Ministry of Defence police, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands forces.
Because of the possibility of court action if police fail to respond, Scottish police operating under a different legal system have not been contacted, Liberty says.
The airports allegedly involved include Biggin Hill in Kent, Birmingham, Bournemouth, RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, Farnborough, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Mildenhall in Suffolk, RAF Northolt in north London, Stansted and Prestwick.


text: Frame set 3 cavity mould £8.75 Quantity: at £8.75 each Frame set Manufactured from non stick flexible silicone rubber. These moulds do not require the use of any release agent before use. Suitable for use with any of the following materials. Sugarpatse/flowerpaste/modelling paste/marzipan/cold porcelain salt dough/sugar dough/chocolate/fimo. Paste should be rolled into a crease free ball using the palms of the hands, pressing paste firmly into the mould use a plastic marzipan knife to remove any excess paste and avoid irreparable damage to the mould.For deep undercuts place in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes Squeeze the sides of the mould gently and flex to assist removal. The moulds are easy to use and produce a high quality finish. The overall size of the finished items are from left to right outside size 55mmx40mm inside size 38mmx25mm.outside size 55mmx45mm inside size 33mmx33mm outside size 52mmx39mm inside size 41mmx28mm.


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A film by Sandrine Bonnaire
After ten years, Jacques comes back to France to handle his father's succession. He had left France to live in the USA to escape a painful past he shared with Mado, his former wife, who in the meantime, built a new life with Stéphane and their 7 year old son, Paul. Upon his return, Jacques and Mado meet again; he asks to meet her son Paul; Mado hesitates, then accepts but hides it from her husband. Soon Paul and Jacques get close and they start to see each other secretly.
A film by Gilles Jacob
As president of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob conceived and directed this 52' film. Using archive material and official footage, Jacob follows 35 renown directors in their special day in Cannes during the 60th anniversary of the festival: their arrival, photo call, glamorous walk on the Croisette, press conference and dinner lit by fireworks. This film will be presented and shown for the first time during the 2012 Cannes edition and broadcasted simultaneously on Canal on May 20th 2012.
A film by Pierre Jolivet
Lucas is 46 years old. A high-profile cop. The Marseilles' weapons trafficking boss.Maya is 25 years' old. She's a young narco cop in Paris.As it so often happens, weapons and drugs mingle.And Lucas and Maya will meet. Maybe not coincidentally.Flag, heists, informants... their investigations overlap.Their lives too.Because their story started long before they met...
A film by Eytan Fox
Dr. Yossi Hoffman has become a valued and dedicated cardiologist, often using his work as a way to escape from dealing with his anguished life. He lives alone, still closeted, unable to break through the walls and defenses built around him since the death of his lover. Even his co-workers - a recently divorced doctor, who tries to sweep Yossi into his world of women and drugs, and a lonely nurse, who is secretly in love with him - find it almost impossible to get close to him. His daily routine at the hospital is shaken up by the arrival of a mysterious woman. He follows her, and through the surprising connection that they make, receives a rare opportunity to deal with his trauma. Yossi then travels to the southern city of Eilat. Surrounded by sea and sand dunes he meets a group of young Israeli IDF officers, among them Tom, a handsome and self confident openly gay man, who represents a new world, different from the one that shaped Yossi.
A film by Ciaran Foy
The dilapidated suburbia of Edenstown casts a shadow over Tommy Cowley's life. Trapped there by his agoraphobia since his wife was fatally attacked by twisted feral children, he now finds himself terrorized by the same mysterious hooded gang, who seem intent on taking his baby daughter.
Torn between the help of an understanding nurse and a vigilante priest, he discovers that to be free of his fears, he must finally face the demons of his past and enter the one place that he fears the most...the abandoned tower block known as the "CITADEL".
A film by Alexis Lloyd
"New York City, in the heart of summer: a heat wave transforms the city into a tropical zone. Ten characters are drawn, one after the other, into a ring of love and desire, each one caught beyond his or her control in a chain reaction of seduction, impulses and self-discovery. 30 BEATS is freely inspired by Arthur Schnitzler's play La Ronde".
A film by Kim Nguyen
Somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, in a small isolated village, Komona, a twelve-year-old girl, lived peacefully with her parents until the day the rebels came. They pillaged the village, captured Komona and forced her to commit an irreparable act: slay her parents.
In the rebels' camp, the training is merciless: Komona is hungry, scared, and the Rebel Leader, who has no pity for her tears, repeatedly beats her if she cries. She quickly learns to endure, to fight and above all, to survive. During a battle waged against the government's army, only Komona is spared. The rebels chief sees this as a sign and declares she is the new sorceress. She is soon brought to Great Tiger, the supreme leader of all the rebels, who makes her his war witch.
Only one person is willing to help and listen to her, a 15 year-old-boy named Magician. With the passing months, Magician and Komona fall in love. They experience an all too brief moment of what happiness can be. The war catches up with them.
Time passes... Komona is now 14 and pregnant. She wishes to forget the past, but her parents' ghosts keep reappearing. She soon realizes that if she doesn't want her parents' ghosts to haunt her baby, she must undertake the long journey that will lead her back to her birthplace.
WAR WITCH is a life lesson, a story of human resilience.
A film by Brillante Ma Mendoza
Thérèse Bourgoine is a French volunteer humanitarian-social
worker for an NGO on the island of Palawan, Philippines. While
transporting supplies to the NGO, Thérèse, her fellow volunteer
and a group of tourists are kidnapped by an extremist group
of Muslim "Abu Sayyaf Group". The group finds refuge in
Mindanao and the chase by the Filipino army begins.
A film by Nic Balthazar
They were young and Thomas and Mario are friends for life. Lynn is the girl they both love, Speck the loose cannon who's the fourth wheel to their wagon. Mario is a fiercely ambitious and combative young man, with a loud mouth, and big theatrical plans for an exciting future, great in every way. Just when his political career is about to get under steam, he is suddenly diagnosed with MS. Thomas, who has become a doctor, is the silent hero of the story, who will have to witness the degradation of his best friend.
At first, Mario is really courageous about it. He tries to take it all with courage under sense of humor that is his. But pretty soon he finds out the aggressive nature of his disease. Very early on he is clear on one thing: he plans to go on for as long as his body will carry him. And for as long as it's fun.
When the fun ends somebody has to help him to the emergency exit. But is this the kind of question you can ask your best friend?
Confronted with the prospect of a very slowly decaying body, and even worse a faltering mind, Mario starts his quest to try and get euthanasia out of the penal system.
A film by Lucas Belvaux
Louise returns home to discover that while she was away on business in China her street was the scene of a crime. There were no witnesses. Everybody was asleep. Apparently.Pierre, Louise's husband, was at work. Apparently.As days go by, Louise learns that thirty-eight people saw or heard something.That Pierre was home that night. He heard. He saw. One of thirty-eight, keeping silent, lying...One of thirty-eight, her husband.
A film by Cédric Jimenez
Paris. One day before the presidential elections
A bomb attack in Gare d'Austerlitz: the government accuses Islamic groups, but a computer hacker, an anonymous upholder of the law, finds images of the bombing and tracks down a young couple responsible for it.
With the help of the video surveillance cameras in the city, he starts spying on them and manipulating them, meanwhile realizing that truth can have many faces...
A film by Laura Morante
Amanda has a complex relationship with men.Florence, her best friend, would really like to see her settle down in a stable and harmonious relationship but Hubert, Florence's husband who works as an analyst, is very pessimistic. For him, the diagnosis is clear: Amanda suffers from androphobia, a genuine fear of men that causes her to systematically destroy any relationship that could become serious.Events seem to prove Hubert right. After all, on Christmas Eve, Amanda doesn't think twice about splitting up with Bertrand after he carelessly devours the cherry on top of the cake that they had decided to share.When Florence insists that Amanda shouldn't stay alone at home on New Year's Eve, she only manages to persuade her to spend the evening with them after promising that all the other guests will be couples, except for a colleague who will not be a threat because he's gay.The trouble is that Maxime, the colleague in question, leaves for Amsterdam at the last minute to join his lover and that Antoine, another colleague, abandoned by his wife, comes to the party alone...


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Marketing Strategy
Accelerate your growth.
Turn your marketing department into a growth engine.
Are you spending a lot of money on marketing programs while your sales numbers stay flat? Are your marketing and sales teams working together to meet your business objectives? Is your marketing team equipped to deliver what the C-Suite is asking for?
Our marketing consultants help organizations achieve their growth goals by tying all marketing efforts directly to revenue. We'll show you how to break down silos between marketing and sales, and get everyone working towards shared business goals.
Using a growth marketing approach, we'll gather insight into your prospects' purchasing decisions and develop plans to engage them. And, we'll continually test the effectiveness and fine-tune programs to maximize ROI. This approach to marketing, known as growth marketing, can propel your company to a whole new level.
From choosing the right tech tools to building a digital-savvy team, our marketing consultants will transform your marketing infrastructure to help you achieve outstanding results.
Our Services
Work towards shared business objectives.
Marketing & Sales Alignment
Sales cycles – and the cost of doing business shrink when your marketing and sales departments row in the same direction. We help you break down silos, and realign both teams towards common revenue and business goals.Learn More
Look for change makers and technology enthusiasts.
Building a Marketing Team
Marketing results depend a lot on who's on the team, and whether they're set up for success. We help you assemble a high-performance marketing department that consistently delivers what's needed every time.Learn More
Delight customers at every touch.
Buyer's Journey Mapping
Do you know the steps a prospect goes through before deciding to buy your product? We help you identify the information buyers find helpful, and map out communications that take them quickly through each phase.Learn More
Understand what's important to each influencer.
Persona Development
Most sales are complex. One person controls the budget, another oversees the programs, and yet another makes the final purchase decision. We'll help you build a profile for each influencer, and develop messaging that gets them to "yes".
Know what's delivering your biggest return on investment.
Marketing Analytics
What's driving conversions for your organization? We'll figure out what metrics to keep an eye on, which attribution model to use, and show you how to prove marketing's contribution to the bottom line.
Put your content to work.
Content Strategy
You've mapped out your personas and the buyer's journey, but do you have the right content for each audience and stage? We help you figure what to say and how to say it, and create guidelines to ensure that all your communications happens in lock step.Learn More
Track leads from engagement through acquisition and retention.
CRM Effectiveness
Can your CRM system tell you what happened to your leads, and who your best clients are? Together, we'll mine the data for answers, and create processes that give sales and marketing the insight needed to succeed.
Fill the sales pipeline with high quality leads.
Lead Generation
What channels deliver leads that convert to sales? We'll craft a lead generation strategy that optimizes web, inbound, content, social and nurture programs, and aligns sales and marketing for growth.
Related Client Results
We thrive in situations where we can help solve complicated challenges for clients in complex industries, like agriculture, health care, education, industrial and B2B.
Change Management, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Transformation, Strategic Planning, Team Alignment
Setting the Marketing Team – and the Organization – Up For SuccessTHE CHALLENGE A national health and retirement benefits organization was experiencing declining sales of one of its core products. While…
Corporate Communications, Marketing Strategy
Successful Product Launch and Marketing Plan Drives Company GrowthThe Challenge: While the initial soft launch of a new product for poultry had some success in one specific poultry…
Marketing Strategy
Driving Demand Through Product Launch CommunicationsTHE CHALLENGE: While the initial soft launch of the new product for poultry achieved some success within one market segment,…
Marketing Strategy
A Community Health Center NetworkTHE CHALLENGE: A local community health center network collaborates with hospitals, community health centers and other institutions to increase access to…
Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategy
Boosting Student Enrollment for a Charter SchoolTHE CHALLENGE Over the past few years, the school had experienced declining enrollment of students interested in a bilingual education.…
What Clients Say
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Show 32 starts with Bill explaining his recent accident and the effects of falling on your face.
At 4:20, Bill and Stig discuss the changes with moving the Pride Parade and surrounding activities downtown, including routes and logistics.
At 12:33, Stig and Bill continue talking about the US Women's National Soccer Team. Media coverage and graphic mistakes are pointed out. Stig then turns his attention to the Houston Dash. Bill wraps up the segment with some Goggle and Yahoo Sports fails and the Austin Aztexs.
At 24:41, Bill and Stig talk a little Astros insights. Bill then tell about a few problems with ethics reform bills in the past state legislation session. Stig discovers Strava's data on most used paths for running and biking in your town.
At 32:49, Bill runs into DPS regulations in trying to procure his pain meds! The show ends with a little summertime musical selection.
Music featured in this episode:
- "Down The Old Plank Road" – The Chieftains (iTunes)
- "Let's Have a Kiki" – Scissor Sisters (iTunes)
- "Treme Song" – John Boutte (iTunes)
- "Summertime" – Asylum Street Spankers (Amazon)


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I Press On
Romans 8:18-25 A clear understanding and constant focus upon the Kingdom are essential because in this age we endure suffering.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Psalm 73:25-28 When our focus is on the task and not the goal, life can become difficult and wearing; likewise, focus on the things seen rather than the things not seen causes weariness.
Philippians 3:7-16 To move forward, we must forget the things that are behind whether positive or negative.
Burnout, lassitude, disillusionment, apathy are commonplace when our focus is on self, others, or the world around us; whereas, refreshment, rejuvenation, and revitalization come from focus upon God, our Lord, and our hope.
1 Timothy 6:6-12 Lusting for gain in this world will also drain you. Ours is a fight but not one we do on our own. God is with us and so is Jesus.
Hebrews 6:1-8 We move forward or back but never stay the same.
Hebrews 12:1-3 Jesus is our example.
1 Peter 1:3 and 13-25 Press on. Do not give up. The reward at the end is too great, and the life we have now is rich.
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When I finished my Super King Size quilt last year, I said to myself – 'I will never make a quilt, EVER AGAIN!!'. Or for a long time at least….
Well – that was until my boss became pregnant and suddenly my work colleagues (who until this point were completely non plussed about my sewing abilities) suddenly thought something nice and homemade would be just the right ticket for her baby shower (alternatively they may have been thinking it would be super cheap too!). I didn't help the cause by casually saying something along the lines of 'oh, a baby quilt, that's so easy, that wouldn't take me too long' despite having pretty much no free time to take on projects like this at the moment!
Actually, the making of the quilt didn't take too long. But the choosing of the fabrics and the planning of the pattern did. I 'ummed' and 'ahhed' for ages. After googling baby quilts, I came across a really easy and quick pattern – the disappearing 9 patch quilt. Essentially, it's a block of 3 squares by 3 squares sewn together which you then cut back into 4 squares. These squares then form the blocks of your quilts and you can assemble them any which way you want.
The quilting was super easy, I just machined straight lines using my walking foot on my machine. It's only taken me about 3 years to work out how to use this thing and now that I do, I'm a convert! I chose a natural cotton batting for the quilting as I always choose something 100% natural like bamboo or cotton.
I started off trying to use fabrics from my stash and not buy much more, however I didn't seem to have many 'baby' appropriate shades & fabrics. So in the end I was forced to go looking in the shops where I found FAR too many naff fabrics for children!
As my boss didn't know what the sex of her baby was going to be, my design brief was unisex but not neutral. Even when I finished it, apparently it was still deemed too girly. Seriously, you can never please people! (Although luckily, my boss has just delivered a healthy beautiful baby girl called Ella! :-)).
My favourite part of the quilt, which you can't see very clearly unfortunately is the pale green polka dot binding. The backing is white cotton drill that has been in my stash for years (Hooray! finally something I used from my stash!)
Ultimately, the only person that mattered was my boss and she absolutely adored it! Job done 🙂 She was so touched that I had spent the time to hand make her something – you know, that's when it really is rewarding making things for other people.
And finally we ate cake! 🙂 My boss treated us to a Rainbow cake from Hummingbird Bakery. Which was truly scrumptious!
It got demolished pretty quickly….


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Thursday, May 31, 2007
Atomic Age Cinema
here's a picture from the last time The Kick was at Atomic Age Cinema. I was working on a 3 panel comic for today, but I took a break from it and when I came back i realized how ugly it was.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monster Flyer
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Last night I went to see They Live at The State at midnight. It was real nice to see a midnight movie again. This was no Atomic Age Cinema, none of the stuff that makes Atomic Age Cinema unique, gifts, live hosting, humor, just plain enthusiam. Anyway, it was still fun. Before the movie began I overheard people talking about Rocky Horror and that it would be cool if this was something like it. Oh man, if only they knew about Atomic Age.
excellent lines from They Live, starring Rowdy Roddy Piper
"I came here to do two things, kick ass and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of bubble gum"
"Life's a bitch, and she's back in heat"
"White line is in the middle of the road, that's the worst place to drive"
"You look like you fell into the cheese dip way back in '57"
I did these on photoshop. I don't know why, but when I uploaded the pictures to blogger the colors got reversed. Oh well.
sundays anthology
here's the first tier of my contribution to the Sundays Anthology. Check out the Sundays Blog and others from the school who are contributing for more info. and buy it at MOCCA this year.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
First Post
Hey, this is Denis. I'm a student at The Center for Cartoon Studies. I'm going to be using this blog to post samples of my comic books, illustrations, writings, etc.
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I thought I would share this recipe that I received at a recent MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting for today's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday. This makes a very generous serving of chocolate cake that could be split between two people. But, what fun is that? Go ahead, eat the whole thing! :)
Here's what you'll need:
1 large coffee mug
4 T flour
4 T sugar
2 T cocoa powder
1 egg
3 T milk
3 T oil
3 T chocolate chips
Splash of vanilla
Mix all ingredients well in large coffee mug. Microwave 3 minutes on high.
ENJOY! Oh, and if you're feeling extra indulgent, add a bit of ice cream on top.
Check out Blessed With Grace for other great recipes!


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Share the Road in London
Transport for London has launched "Share the Road", an integrated advertising campaign addressing the challenges of using London's busy streets. The campaign calls for people to change their mind-set from a competitive to a considerate one, and aims to help them rethink their attitudes towards each other. "The Voice of Reason", shot in black and white, focuses on Londoner Nadine Marshall asking rhetorically why we get so angry with each other when different forms of transport and people clash. As the video unfolds, and the melancholic music begins to play, the film cuts to different scenes of conflict on the streets; from the anger and frustration of a cyclist and motorcyclist, to the simmering rage between a car driver and a group of youths. The campaign is being rolled out across TV, Online, VOD, Social and Mobile platforms, stimulating a shared conversation amongst Londoners.
The Voice of Reason commercial shows a vivid, authentic London – gritty, edgy, yet at the same time possessing a real beauty. As close encounters of a raging kind roll out the narrator advises viewers to "breathe in, breath out, the moment has gone, it's time to move on," showcasing the need for London travellers to be more considerate towards one another.
"What is it about these streets that we pound from day to day? They reveal sides of us we barely recognise. Living in London can be stimulating and fun but as with any major city it has its challenges – one of those is travelling around on our busy roads. We all compete for space and as our population grows, the roads get busier and there's less space to be had. All road users – motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists – are affected by the issues we face today: the pace of traffic and the pace of London life. Sometimes it gets to us all and we lose our cool. But what if we let it go? And leave it behind?"
Chris Macleod, Marketing Director at Transport for London, said: "Since the range and type of road users has grown over the years, we wanted to engage all of London's travellers to make them stop and think. This campaign, with its different elements, should resonate personally with all individual road users and encourage them to 'Share the Road' not to compete for it."
Elspeth Lynn, Executive Creative Director at M&C Saatchi Group, added: "I didn't want us to just do an "ad" I wanted us to create a film that truly changes road users' attitudes. This film is driven by genuine human interaction, and the absurdity of it. It is only by seeing how futile our hostility is on the road, that we'll realise the need to change it."
Jungle's sound designer Jim Griffin was briefed with designing the sound to be "real world" before morphing into an "otherworldly" style – and to compliment the 100 fps shooting style. He achieved this by making the sound indistinct – the viewer sees the aggression on the screen but the audio is muffled and treated, which creates a detachment from the real world. The process of syncing dialogue with this style of visual also lent itself to the sound design – with voices slowed down and then blended with traffic noises to create a particularly edgy atmosphere. This acted as a counterpoint to the poignancy of the music and zen-like delivery of the voice-over.
Share The Road Credits
The Share The Road campaign was developed at M&C Saatchi London by creative director Elspeth Lynn, copywriter Dan McCormack, art director Luke Boggins, creative director for social Michael Jason Hobbs, agency producer Estella Alvares, planners/CSU directors Cressida O'Shea and Stuart Harrison, senior account director Michael Wilton, digital account director Neil Young, working with TFL marketing director Chris MacLeod.
Media was handled at MEC.
Filming was shot by director Yann Demange via Stink with producer Sue Cooke. Editor was Sam Sneade at Speade. Sound was designed by Jim Griffin at Jungle Studios. Post production was done at Framestore.
Filed under: Commercials, Road safety, Transport for London
Tagged: Dan McCormack, Elspeth Lynn, Framestore, Jungle Studios, Luke Boggins, M&C Saatchi, MEC, Sam Sneade, Speade, Stink, Yann Demange
Location: UK


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Custom screen print on 36 Gildan 5200 Adult Heavy Cotton Tank Tops
- 5.3 oz, 100%
- Heather colors, Safety colors, 50% cotton/50% polyester
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- Shirt Colors: Please see color chart in item photos.
- Shirt Sizes: Adult sizes S – XL. Please reference size when choosing sizes. Sizes 2x-3x are available for an additional $2-$3 per shirt. Please use our PLUS SIZE FEE LISTING to pay additional fees for plus size shirts.
- Customer image file (types of files accepted: AI, EPS, JPEG, PSD, TIFF, PDF). Please provide vector files whenever possible. No design? No Problem. We design for you! Just give us a description of the desired graphics and text in the product options area. We will create a design for you using graphics and fonts from our image libraries at no extra charge. Complete custom graphics services are also available. Contact us for more information.
Print Information & Image Requirements: Direct screen print using plastisol inks. Text and graphics only, no photographs. Maximum print size 12″ x 14″
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永利皇宫官方网址:2018 preview: Epic mission to Mercury will unravel its mysteries
来源:未知 作者:戎乒 时间:2019-03-07 07:20:01
Airbus By Andy Coghlan It should be signposted "Welcome to hell". Mercury, the sun's closest neighbour, sees blasts of radiation and extreme temperatures – and it's where we're headed next. In October 2018, a probe called BepiColombo will set off on an epic seven-year voyage to orbit the scorched world. Provided it can withstand the unforgiving 永利皇宫官方网址C after it arrives in 2025, the craft will try to unravel some of the enigmas left after observations by two previous missions to the planet. Mariner 10 swept past Mercury in 1974 and found, to everyone's surprise, that it had a magnetic field,


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Dorset Field Club celebrates 130th anniversary
DORSET >> This year, the Dorset Field Club, Dorset, VT, is celebrating its 130th Anniversary with a series of special commemorative events. The Club traces its origin to the Sunday afternoon of September 12, 1886, when its first President, Arvin Harrington, of Troy, N.Y., along with Frank Holley of NYC, and William Kent of Dorset, laid out a nine hole golf course, assigning a name to each hole. The original map of the course was attested to by Ransom Gillett, also from Troy, with a notation that Harrington's course design effort was "assisted by a crowd of thugs, touts and loafers." While it is highly likely that these men had been playing for some time prior to laying out a measured course with named golf holes, the Dorset Field Club looks to that occasion as its official founding date. Interestingly, the men initially chose to call their new club the Dorset Golf Links, consistent with Scottish naming tradition. However, when the clubhouse was completed in 1896, members changed the name to Dorset Field Club to more accurately reflect the variety of recreational activities they enjoyed.
The State of Vermont has posted an historic marker on the highway near the ninth green with the heading "Dorset Field Club: Oldest Continually Operated Golf Course in the United States." Other clubs such as St. Andrews Golf Club, originally in Yonkers and now in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York (1888), and Foxburg County Club, Pa. (1887) have often been recognized by golf historians as the oldest golf clubs in the US. However there is ample proof that a form of golf was played much earlier for a short time in the low country of Charleston and Savannah. What makes the Dorset Field Club truly unique in the annals of American golf history is that the game has been continually played on the same grounds for over 130 years. In addition to the golf course map dated 1886, the club possesses several archival photos also dated 1886 bearing the caption Dorset Golf Links.
On the tennis front there are also archival photos dated 1886 with members holding flat top tennis racquets which were typically used in that time frame. They were also wearing tennis attire that was unique to that period. Again it is highly probable that tennis was being played on the grounds of the Dorset Field Club much earlier than 1886. These photos serve to corroborate the Clubs founding date, 1886.
Originally the Club President, Arvin Harrington, offered his home which adjoins the club grounds to serve as the clubhouse. However, as the summer crowds grew and Harrington could no longer accommodate the growth the members decided to build a clubhouse. Work began in 1895, and the building was completed in August 1896. Henry Woodruff provided significant funding for the project but unfortunately suffered a fatal accident while working on the building. The clubhouse still bears his name, Woodruff Hall, and has undergone several renovations, serving the membership for 120 years. It is believed that only the clubhouse of The Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southhampton, N.Y. built in 1891 predates Woodruff Hall as a standing clubhouse still in use.
The Dorset Field Club has retained Daniel Beck, an accomplished freelance writer who specializes in club histories, to write and publish an authoritative club history which will be available in Fall 2016. He addresses the matter of "The Oldest Golf Club" and will produce a pictorial book with rich visual imagery. It will be an essential addition to every golf library.
The Dorset Field Club is planning an exciting series of historic activities to commemorate this special occasion. A hickory golf tournament will be held on the July 4th weekend along with a putting contest using nine different styles of hickory putters on a uniquely challenging green. In a throwback to former times there will be a scavenger hunt, horseshoes, a hayride, a tennis tournament, a speaker's night, a gala dinner, and several other activities.
For further information please contact the Club's General Manager, Patrick Maguire, at 802-867-5539.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) plans to recognize and commemorate the Dorset Field Club's 130th celebration of its founding by presenting a proclamation to the Club.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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By CHEN MAY YEE
The last time I was around for a Malaysian election was 1999.
Anwar Ibrahim had been sacked and was proving a major thorn in Umno's side, rallying young people, awakening the politically passive, and other inconvenient things. The economy was in trouble. Chinese Malaysians were worried about racial riots. Mahathir was on the warpath.
This time around, everything's different. Oh, wait…actually….nevermind.
Living in the US for a decade, I missed the 2004 and 2008 elections. On election day in 2008, my family and I were having dinner with friends at a Vietnamese restaurant in St Paul, Minnesota. Immersed in our American life, I'd not kept up with news from home. After all, there was a pretty exciting election in the US that year too, if you remember.
It was our American friend, a college professor – who, of all things, once interned at the Star newspaper in PJ – who checked his cellphone just before the beef pho arrived and excitedly told me a political tsunami had hit my country. (Hi, Tom.)
We moved back to KL in 2011. It's been heartwarming, happy, frustrating and depressing all at the same time.
So much has happened in the world. The United States elected a black president – twice. China overtook Japan to become the world's second biggest economy. India was opening up. Myanmar held its first election.
Yet Malaysia seemed frozen in time, or sliding backwards. Our schools, our newspapers, our roads and a government that's been in power since independence from the British in 1957.
We waited, in suspended animation, for an election that never seemed to come.
Now it's here.
Campaigning is in full swing for a vote on May 5. In towns and villages around the country, people are thronging political rallies, waiting hours in fields under the stars to hear a vision of an alternate Malaysia. In affluent Bangsar, they're gathering to sip wine and discuss corruption and illicit capital outflows, salon-style.
Malaysians abroad, from Sydney to Singapore to Shanghai, who left for better careers and a better future for their children, are getting on planes, trains and buses and carpooling to make it home to vote.
Everywhere, there are fluttering blue, green and red flags and a feeling that maybe this time, things may change.
(Pic by Kean Wong of a Bangsar roundabout where landscape architect Ng Seksan and friends planted thousands of "flowers" to signify a Malaysian spring. A few hours after they went in the ground, DBKL (City Hall) officers drove up in a van and started removing them. Residents ran out to save their flowers. DBKL relented and gave them back. Residents replanted them. April 2013.)


text: Posted on February 19, 2016 by admin 'Ordinary to Extraordinary' Mrs. Pushpavati belongs to the village of Bandalli in Yadgir district of Karnataka. She has 3 children, one girl and two boys. She looked after the family by doing some odd jobs in the nearby agricultural fields and as domestic help while her husband worked as an agricultural labourer. When the SPED project was started in 2007 by Don Bosco Yadgir, she joined one of the self-help groups as a member. She actively participated in the programmes, awareness classes and also attended the leadership & entrepreneurship development trainings organized by Don Bosco Social Action Centre Yadgir under SPED project. It helped her realize her innate potential and leadership qualities and she became confident of her entrepreneurship skills. She became the leader of the group and took initiatives to visit banks and other government department offices for financial and project development support for her group members. Later she was chosen the president of the federation of 24 SHG groups in her village


text: Main Content Senate Bill 0228 (2019) rss? friendly link printer friendly Friendly Link: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2019-SB-0228 Sponsors Jim Runestad (district 15)Paul Wojno, Peter Lucido, Jeff Irwin, Michael MacDonald, Ruth Johnson, Adam Hollier, Betty Jean Alexander, Rosemary Bayer, Curtis Hertel (click name to see bills sponsored by that person) Categories Health: suicide; Legislature: legislative agencies; State agencies (existing): health and human services; State agencies (existing): state police; State agencies (existing): military and veterans affairs; Health; suicide; suicide prevention commission; provide for. Creates new act. Bill Documents Bill Document Formatting Information [x] The following bill formatting applies to the 2019-2020 session:- New language in an amendatory bill will be shown in BOLD AND UPPERCASE.- Language to be removed will be stricken.- Amendments made by the House will be blue with square brackets, such as: [House amended text].- Amendments made by the Senate will be red with double greater/lesser than symbols, such as: <<Senate amended text>>. (gray icons indicate that the action did not occur or that the document is not available) Documents Senate Introduced Bill Introduced bills appear as they were introduced and reflect no subsequent amendments or changes. As Passed by the Senate As Passed by the Senate is the bill, as introduced, that includes any adopted Senate amendments. As Passed by the House As Passed by the House is the bill, as received from the Senate, that includes any adopted House amendments. Senate Enrolled Bill Enrolled bill is the version passed in identical form by both houses of the Legislature. Bill Analysis House Fiscal Agency Analysis Summary as Passed By The Senate (6/19/2019)This document analyzes: SB228 Summary of Proposed H-1 Substitute (9/4/2019)This document analyzes: SB228 Analysis as Referred to Second House Committee (9/16/2019)This document analyzes: SB228 Analysis as Reported From House Committee (9/17/2019)This document analyzes: SB228 Senate Fiscal Analysis SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL IN COMMITTEE (Date Completed: 4-5-19)This document analyzes: SB0228 SUMMARY OF BILL REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE (Date Completed: 4-30-19)This document analyzes: SB0228 ANALYSIS AS PASSED BY THE SENATE (Date Completed: 6-11-19)This document analyzes: SB0228 History (House actions in lowercase, Senate actions in UPPERCASE) Date JournalAction 3/19/2019SJ 28 Pg. 245INTRODUCED BY SENATOR JIM RUNESTAD 3/19/2019SJ 28 Pg. 245REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH POLICY AND HUMAN SERVICES 4/30/2019SJ 40 Pg. 396REPORTED FAVORABLY WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1) 4/30/2019SJ 40 Pg. 396COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED IMMEDIATE EFFECT 4/30/2019SJ 40 Pg. 396REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1) 5/2/2019SJ 42 Pg. 414REPORTED BY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FAVORABLY WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1) 5/2/2019SJ 42 Pg. 414SUBSTITUTE (S-1) CONCURRED IN 5/2/2019SJ 42 Pg. 414PLACED ON ORDER OF THIRD READING WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1) 5/7/2019SJ 43 Pg. 426PASSED ROLL CALL # 57 YEAS 38 NAYS 0 EXCUSED 0 NOT VOTING 0 5/7/2019HJ 43 Pg. 511received on 05/08/2019 5/7/2019HJ 43 Pg. 511read a first time 5/7/2019HJ 43 Pg. 511referred to Committee on Health Policy 9/5/2019HJ 82 Pg. 1002referred to Committee on Ways and Means, with substitute (H-1) 9/17/2019HJ 86 Pg. 1199reported with recommendation with substitute (H-1) 9/17/2019HJ 86 Pg. 1199referred to second reading 9/19/2019HJ 88 Pg. 1338read a second time 9/19/2019HJ 88 Pg. 1338substitute (H-1) adopted 9/19/2019HJ 88 Pg. 1338substitute (H-2) adopted and amended 9/19/2019HJ 88 Pg. 1338placed on third reading 9/24/2019HJ 89 Pg. 1391read a third time 9/19/2019HJ 88 Pg. 1338substitute (H-3) adopted 9/24/2019HJ 89 Pg. 1392passed; given immediate effect Roll Call # 234 Yeas 97 Nays 11 Excused 0 Not Voting 2 9/24/2019HJ 89 Pg. 1392title amended 9/24/2019HJ 89 Pg. 1330returned to Senate 10/2/2019SJ 92 Pg. 1434LAID OVER ONE DAY UNDER THE RULES


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