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Hello, welcome to Virtual Assistant Agency – we are Nicola and Ian Liggins.
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A Virtual Assistant is basically your very own PA, someone who works virtually, on a freelance basis from where ever they plug in their laptop. A V.A. will carry out many admin based activities for people who don't have the time, ability or inclination to do them themselves. This then frees them up to get on with doing what they do best, and focus on the areas of their business which bring in their income.
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We work on a freelance, self-employed basis, virtually, from where ever we plug in our laptops.
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July beer and wings would be on the last day of the month - the 31st.
If we go back to the normal rotation (Morgantown / Fairmont / Clarksburg) it should be in Fairmont.
But then we get into the "Where in Fairmont?" issue which leads to the ever popular discussion of "Do we just skip Fairmont?".
At any rate, I'll leave it to the rest of you to hash out the logistics. I'm going to be gone for most of the rest of July, so I won't be here to nag about finding a place. It's all up to you. Godspeed.

subset: commoncrawl


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URPG Educational Video Series
URPG's focus is to help individuals realize their dreams. It begins with educating our clients. Since everyone's retirement is unique, so is each person's method of learning. Our Educational Video Series may be something that is unique to you! It continues to be very popular with our client base.
To supplement these topics, we also offer a complimentary social security and healthcare / long term care cost analysis, as well as a comprehensive retirement income planning analysis.
Contact our office if you wish to explore any of these topics further.


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Slot machines are the most playing games at online casinos. Gambling industry is very wide where anyone can play anytime and anywhere. I mostly play these events at home where I can be played in peace. There so many website available on the net who offers the best gaming deals to the gamers which you cannot find at land based places and even there you will get only limited slots. I have already played many one but some I liked very much and flos diner is one of them. Here in this article I will tell you about it and I hope this will help you in playing.
It's a three reel and 1 payline, based on the diner theme which is designed by the microgaming company, where gambler can bet on each spin is 3 coins. The max betting range which you can bet on this is $5. But the drawback of this pokie is there are no wild symbols and special bonuses, only with some free symbols you can play in this. This is a single payline machine so you can only play with two or three coins at a time only. In order to make money you will only need to do spins the reels and match the symbols across the payline, because it's a 1 payline so you can match only one row on the screen with the limited symbols.
The theme and the presentation of the slot machine was very good, the symbols which it uses are based on the diner, waitress and food. Graphics are really amazing when you will play you will get the feel like you are at the hotel and many waitress are serving many varieties to you. Over all it is a good time pass machine which you can play with free and real money as well.


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Pastor.Don't you worry about Toulimen; He is a diehard, he...
Jean Pierre Alexandre - April 19 2011, 2:37 PM
Pastor.Don't you worry about Toulimen;
He is a diehard, he cannot stop doing what is doing, and i am sure he's somewhere Thinking with his head hot like a light bulb, his heart burning with desire to continue his works.
I learn alot from him.
Response to:
Toulimen, this is one of you all, Pastor Rivel...
Michel Martelly Emergency press conference Sunday April 10th 2011
We have an emerging political situation in Tomazo,Haiti that required rapid intervention of Sweet Micky.See reportage...
Direct replies to this message:
Eh my friend, I am not going nowhere unless they can...Return to Message List


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|Rediff India Abroad Home | All the sections
Discuss | Email | Print | Get latest news on your desktop
Trust vote: TRS plays tough with Centre
July 13, 2008 21:28 IST
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti on Sunday said it will vote against the government in the Lok Sabha in the confidence vote if a resolution is not passed on formation of separate Telengana state.
Numbers game clearly favours nobody
TRS President K Chandrasekhar Rao, whose party has three MPs and has been campaigning for a separate Telangana state, on Sunday reiterated its demand for a resolution by the Union Cabinet in favour of Telangana.
He accused the Congress of betraying the people of Telangana for the last five decades. Rao said his party had not decided on aligning with any political party for the trust vote.
Analysis: Options before the UPA
The TRS chief was critical of the state Congress leadership over the Telangana issue saying said 'they are misleading and deceiving Telangana people and TRS will not keep quite till it achieved the statehood for Telangana'.
The TRS has drawn up an agitational programme from Tuesday, which includes all religion prayer meetings, road blockades, protests at Congress MPs' houses and college boycotts.
Email | Print | Get latest news on your desktop


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Frank Van Passel's adaptation of William Elsschot's novella Villa des Roses stars Julie Delpy. Delpy is a French maid who works at a home for the poor and unfortunate. She becomes pregnant, and is forced to risk a dangerous abortion. The director employed digital effects to help create the elaborate visual design of...more
All Villa des Roses cast + crew photos
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2019 FANDANGO MOVIES.


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CVS: Deals for the week of July 1-7, 2012
Here are the best deals at CVS this week, with a big thanks to Passionate Penny Pincher for her help in compiling them:
In most areas, CVS will have a 3 day sale that runs 7/1/12 – 7/3/12, and a separate shorter 4 day ad that runs 7/4/12 – 7/7/12. (If your ad receives one ad for the full week, you'll get all the deals below for the entire week.)
- CVS is offering a $10 gas gift card that will print immediately on your receipt when you purchase $30 in participating items. Between 7/1/12 – 7/3/12 ALL the items listed under the "gas gift card" in the match-ups will work towards your $30, however on 7/4/12 – 7/7/12 only the P&G items will go towards your $30 total.
ECB Deals (valid 7/1/12 – 7/3/12)
Buy 1 Tampax Pearl, Always Infinity, or Radiant Pads at $3.99, Get $1 ECB (Limit 1)
Use $1/1 coupon from the 7/1 P&G insert
$1.99 after coupon and ECB
Buy 1 Raid Max Bug Barrier, Off Clip On, Off Deep Woods Dry, Off Backyard, or Off Citronella Tabletop (prices start at $5.99), Get $2 ECBs
Use $2/1 printable
Or use $1.50/1 coupon from the 6/24 SmartSource insert
As low as $1.99 after coupons and ECBs
Buy 1 Clairol Nice'n Easy Color at $7.99, Get $2 ECB (Limit 1)
Use $3/1 coupon from the 7/1 P&G insert
$2.99 after coupon and ECBs
Buy 1 Schick Hydro Silk, Hydro 5 or Hydro Power Razor at $9.49, Get $3 ECBs (Limit 1)
Use $4/1 coupon from the 6/10 SmartSource insert
$2.49 after coupon and ECBs
Gas Card Deal
Buy $30 in select products at CVS, Get $10 Gas Gift Card (note dates on specific items)
Spend $30 on participating Olay, Pantene, Crest, Cover Girls, Pampers, Bounty, Dawn, Charmin, Bounty, Tide, Gain, or Duracell, Get $10 Gas Gift Card (valid 7/1/12 – 7/7/12)
*Deal Idea*
Buy 3 Tide Detergents – $5.97 each
Buy 4 Pantene Shampoos or Conditioners – $3.25 each
Use 3 $1/1 coupon from the 7/1 P&G insert
And use 2 $3/2 coupon from the 6/25 SmartSource insert
Pay $21.91 out of pocket, Get $10 Gas Gift Card
Physicians Formula Cosmetics retailing over $7, Save $7 (estimated prices starting at $7.99) included in Gas Card Offer 7/1/12 – 7/3/12 only
Use $1/1 coupon from the 4/15 SmartSource (regional coupon)
As low as free after coupon
New to shopping at CVS? Be sure to check out my CVS 101 post that gives you the full scoop on how to get the best bargains at CVS. See the full list of deals at CVS this week here.
Do you have your shopping trip planned or did you come up with a great deal scenario/idea? Just post about it on your blog and leave your link below. To make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your CVS deals post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your CVS deals post will be deleted.
Subscribe for free email updates from Money Saving Mom® and get my Guide to Freezer Cooking for free!
4 Comments
I left the FREE Razors, Shampoo and MakeUp. Looks like a good week at CVS and Rite Aid! Bonus
Quarterly Extra Bucks are printing this week!
Great shopping trip at CVS today. Thanks for the match-ups!
.99 nivea tin get 2 dollars extra bucks back the plastic ones too then you can turn around and use the bucks to buy more and more
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We love comments from readers, so chime in with your thoughts below! We do our best to keep this blog upbeat and encouraging, so please keep your comments cordial and kind. Read more information on our comment policy.


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Priyanka Boghani
Priyanka Boghani is a journalist at FRONTLINE, where she reports, writes and tweets about foreign policy. She previously worked at GlobalPost, an international news site, Patch.com, and The Huffington Post, in addition to freelancing. Priyanka earned her M.S. in Journalism from Boston University with a focus on foreign reporting. She writes mostly about conflicts and humanitarian crises in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.


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Instant Bacteria Testing
Instant Bacteria Testing
ATP/AMP Testing:
What is ATP Testing?
All cells contain ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) which when combined with the firefly substrate enzyme system (Luciferin-Luciferase) generates light in direct proportion to the amount of cells present. This allows for rapid detection of microbial contamination in water, products or surfaces. ATP systems can be used for rapid monitoring of microbial contamination in water, cosmetics, fruit juices, foodstuffs, saunas and swimming pools, food surfaces, restaurants, kitchens, hospitals, nursing homes and hotels.
In order to help customers to improve monitoring and microbial control AquaChem have launched the new Lumitester 20 system which measures bacteria levels in 10 seconds. No more long drawn out swabbing or waiting 2 to 3 days for Plate Count or Dipslide Results. No more problems trying to work out if the count is 10,000 or 100,000 colony forming units (cfu's).
The Lumitester PD20 system also offers many advantages when compared to other ATP systems on the market such as:
- Patented procedure to measure both ATP and AMP. AMP or adenosine monophosphate is produced from ATP in bacteria in their resting stage. In heat treated foodstuffs the heating of ATP and the impact of enzymes breaks it down to AMP which cannot be detected by ATP alone. This means that the Lumitester PD20 gives a truer reflection of the levels of potential microbial contamination of liquids and surfaces.
- It produces results in just 10 seconds.
- The LuciPac sample Pens which are used to collect samples of microbial organisms can be used for measuring levels in both liquids and on surfaces.
- The system is self calibrating.
- It has an in-built facility for data transfer via a USB port on a PC.
- It can be set up to provide trend graphs of results.
- It can store up to 2000 results.
- It comes with a two year guarantee.
- It is very competitively priced.


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+381-21-6-350-672 +381-21-454-065
email@example.com www.dh.uns.ac.rs
The Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Environmental Protection was established in 1962. Over its more than half a century long history, it has become a recognisable institution in the country and abroad, famous for its accomplished students, scientists and their results.
There is a constant need for well-educated scientific experts in a contemporary society so science and technology have been growing with the special emphasis on chemistry, biochemistry and environmental protection.
- Chair of Analytical Chemistry
- Chair of Biochemistry and Chemistry of Natural Products
- Chair of Chemical Technology and Environmental Protection
- Chair of Chemistry Education and Teaching Methodology
- Chair of General and Inorganic Chemistry
- Chair of Organic Chemistry
- Chair of Physical Chemistry
The studies at the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Environmental Protection are organised at all levels of tertiary education:
Bachelor of Science Degrees
Master of Science Degrees
Academic Specialization Degrees
PhD Degrees
An important part of each course comprises experimental, practice hours when students work independently and gain a necessary routine in laboratory work. The Department is well-equipped with the basic, as well as advanced equipment indispensable for modern laboratory work. This enables students to become highly educated experts in chemistry, biochemistry or environmental protection.
Fundamental and applied research in chemistry, biochemistry, environmental protection and similar disciplines are conducted at the Department. Scientific activity is carried out through numerous national and international projects. A large number of accredited laboratories contribute to a better co-operation with the industry and transfer of scientific results into practice.
Various employment opportunities arise upon the completion of bachelor or master academic studies depending on the completed study programme. Experts of such profiles are needed in various chemical laboratories in all branches of the industry, as well as in development, control, service, research laboratories, etc. Students may continue their personal development through specialised and/or doctoral studies.


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It was a banner week for senior guard Jeremy Morgan.
As a team, the Northern Iowa Panthers have had their ups and downs over the first month of the 2016-17 season. They opened the year with three straight wins, including a victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Then, they followed that up with four straight losses, including a pair to the Xavier Musketeers on back-to-back occasions.
Their losing stretch brought them into the first week of December at 3-4 overall. Many picked the Panthers to be the team that would pose the greatest challenge to the Wichita State Shockers in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
After their two games this week, it seems as though the Panthers may have found their groove.
Northern Iowa went a perfect 2-0 this week, knocking off two high-calibre programs at home. A big reason for their two wins was the play of senior guard Jeremy Morgan.
After averaging 27.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over the Panthers' two victories, Jeremy Morgan has been tabbed the College Court Report Co-Fan Voted Player of the Week for December 5 – 11, 2016!
Albany Great Danes' guard Joe Cremo was also named Co-Fan Voted Player of the Week, as voted on by basketball fans via Twitter.
In their first game of the week, the Panthers welcomed the South Dakota State Jackrabbits to town on Wednesday evening. Led by sophomore forward Mike Daum, the game was expected to be a close affair, given how the Panthers had played in their previous four games.
Close, it was not.
Morgan recorded 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in the Panthers' 86-58 drubbing of the Jackrabbits. He was 6-of-11 from the field, and 5-of-8 from three point range on the night.
While that was a strong performance all around, Morgan's best was yet to come.
On Saturday night, the Panthers took on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, who looked to follow up their win over the North Dakota State Bison and make it back-to-back impressive victories.
In the first half, Morgan was held scoreless, and the Panthers trailed 33-29. Something clicked in the second half, and Morgan took full control of the game.
He would score a career-high 38 points in the second half to lead Northern Iowa to the come-from-behind win over North Dakota, 78-70. Morgan outscored the entire North Dakota roster in the second half, 38-37.
Morgan finished the game with 38 points, on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor, and 16-of-22 from the free throw line. He also added 11 rebounds and 2 assists. It was his third double-double of the year.
Over the two games, Morgan averaged 27.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per contest, while helping the Panthers end their four-game skid and improve their overall record to 5-4 on the year.
For the season, Morgan is now averaging team-highs in both points (18.1 ppg) and rebounds (7.3 rpg), while also chipping in with 3.2 assists, 3.0 steals, and 1.7 blocks per contest.
He is filling up the stat sheet on a nightly basis, and the Panthers are a scary team because of his ability to take over full control of a game, like he did against the Fighting Hawks.
For his efforts over the past seven days, senior Jeremy Morgan was selected by the fans as the College Court Report Co-Fan Voted Player of the Week for December 5 – 11, 2016!
– T. Bennett
Previous Winners
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4, 2016: LaVell Boyd, UMKC Kangaroos
Nov. 20 – 27, 2016: Egor Koulechov, Rice Owls
Nov. 14 – 20, 2016: Josh Robinson, Austin Peay Governors
Nov. 11 – 13, 2016: Alize Johnson, Missouri State Bears
**College Court Report Player of the Week recipients are selected from teams in the following conferences:
America East, Atlantic Sun, Atlantic 10, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern, Southland, Summit League, SWAC, Sun Belt, West Coast, and WAC


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Tagged: Fanfest
Time for the Mad Sosh's Lineup Card Party to Wind Down
I was going to bite my tongue and just post my photos from Sunday's Fan Fest and ensuing disappointing game. I was going to refrain from ranting and just see how things worked out for a little while longer, really I was. And then, this evening. Yuck!!! …only, I didn't say yuck.
< rant >
Yes, Ervin Santana gave up five runs, four of them solo homeruns. Yes, the team was facing David Price. But five runs should not be an insurmountable deficit, especially with these bats in the lineup. The offense needs to find their swings, find their chemistry and start producing and, although it's only April, they need to do it quickly before we fall too much farther in the hole. But one thing that would seriously help is a having a set lineup.
Look, I love Mike Scioscia and am absolutely not part of the crowd calling for his head, but the another day, another lineup thing has got to stop. 15 different lineups in the first 17 games is Lewis Carroll levels of ridiculous without any of Lewis Carroll's awesomeness to me…hence my rusty attempts at cartooning. (Be kind. This is the first time I've put pencil to drawing pad with any greater cartooning intent than amusing my niece and nephew in years. *nervous giggle*)
Think about it, 15 lineups and none of them have worked? How do we really know that? I mean, did they really not work, or did they just not work that day? Because expecting to be able to assess a lineup accurately after just one game is kind of like going speed dating and expecting a marriage proposal from someone by the end of the evening. And if all Scioscia is trying to do is find a lineup that produces, why didn't he stick with any of the lineups he used in games the Angels won? Clearly I'm not a baseball manager, but does this make sense to anyone?
We have pitchers with radically different styles and, apparently, way more depth than is good for us. I understand this. So if Scioscia can't come up with just one lineup to stick with – and I do get that – than how about one lineup for fly ball pitchers and one lineup for ground ball pitchers or something like that? Restricting the crazy lineup roulette to two or three in some sort of regular rotation would surely be an improvement.
Again, I have no delusions of grandeur that I am some sort of baseball managing genius but certain things just seem obvious, especially after a few games. Albert Pujols should not be DHing, at least not this year, next year or any year so long as keeps making those outrageous defensive plays. Good God damn, that man can move. Young guys like Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar and Peter Bourjos, who have a set position they aren't experimenting with or trying out for should not sit out a game to "rest" unless there are legitimate reasons they need to rest and by that I mean illness and injuries. And they should have a static position in the lineup to go with their regular playtime. Howie was hitting! He was hitting a ton. Then he sat out a day and now he's not hitting anymore. Yes, he should do his best to maintain his own rhythm but shouldn't the lineup support him in this endeavor?
Also, Mark Trumbo needs to be in the lineup as often as possible, and Kendrys Morales needs to be in it more often than not. And leave Torii Hunter in right. Yes, I realize that doesn't leave a whole lot of wiggle room. Scioscia is left with flopping Trumbo, Maicer Izturis and Alberto Callaspo at third; Trumbo and Vernon Wells in left; and Kendrys and Bobby Abreu at DH, because let's be honest here, neither of them should be playing anywhere on the field right now. But he doesn't need a whole lot of wiggle room with only two or three lineups on a regular schedule, now does he?
</ rant >
Am I sure the Angels will turn it around eventually? Absolutely. Am I sure it will happen in enough time to matter? Not completely, no. Especially not with the rate at which Texas is tearing through the opposition. I'm not giving up by any means – Hello, it's April! – but something needs to change and fast…seriously guys. Don't make me turn this blog around and start cartooning again. 😉
And, while we're at it, Torii and Vernon (Because, yes, of course the Angels read this blog. Why do you ask? ;)), quit messing with Peter Bourjos' walk. I don't know for certain that that is what's messing with his swing, but something sure is so you might as well cool it just in case.
Okay. Now </ rant >
Enough! Time for the Regular Season!
Last week the Major League Giants beat up on the baby Angels, but this week the Major League Angels beat up on the Major League Giants – make that, the Major League, World Champion Giants – and shut them out 8 to 0. It was pretty exciting, almost exciting enough to get me excited about Spring Training again…almost. I was thrilled to see that Santana had both his nasty stuff and control. That Mark Trumbo hit a nice solid double off a tough major league pitcher – Matt Cain no less. That Bobby homered, Torii successfully stole a base (just not third Torii, no more trying for third please) and that last season's weaker bats are continuing to swing strong through March. But, I want to see all of this for real!
Yeah, I know. I was so excited when Spring Training started – It's live baseball! and all that. What happened? Well…and, yes, I already made this analogy on Jane Heller's blog, but I like it…Spring Training was fantastic when it was our first taste of baseball after the winter, rather like how delicious a plain chicken soup might taste after you've been sick for a long time. But eventually you're feeling even better, tire of the chicken soup and start craving something more substantial. Bring on the meat and potatoes of the regular season!!
Enough match-ups that don't count and often aren't real major league match-ups. Enough of the regular players departing after the 4th inning. Enough of having a new pitcher every inning or three. The whole 100 pitch count, no more than 7 innings thing annoys me as it is. Spring Training pitch counts drive me absolutely batty. And enough with the day games already! I agree that day game baseball is baseball as it's meant to b watched, but it's also baseball at it most unwatchable if you have a job with traditional-ish hours. I want to be able to watch a game live on more than just the weekends again. Spring Training was a great tide me over until the season started, but enough…yeah, okay, enough whining already. Opening Day is only a week away. Now that's something to get excited about.
Other exciting things? It sounds like Joel Piniero won't miss any regular season starts over the back pain that took him out of a game on Sunday. This is great news and I hope it continues to be true. That DL was getting more than a little crowded. Oh, and there is rain pounding my roof right now! Why is this a good thing – other than for strategic water table purposes, of course? The rain was supposed to hit us in three separate storms every other day from today through Sunday, Fanfest day. Now it looks like the three separate storms are bunching in to one longer rainy period ending Friday evening. This is good because, while I was going to Fanfest no matter what, few things smell worse than wet Rally Monkey. This also means that I will see live baseball before my very own eyes on Sunday as well. Yes, it's another Spring Training-ish game, the exhibition game against the Padres, but I think I can muster up some excitement for this one. Being at the ballpark never fails to do that to me.
Happy St. Patrick's Day + Bats, Injuries & the Countdown to Opening Day
Your fielders successful in whatever they do,
May your rookies play well, and your veterans all shine,
Except, of course, for when your teams are playing mine. 😉
Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone out there in the 'Sphere!
It is definitely spring in California! We have a couple more rainy days coming up in the forecast – and we still need that rain even after last month's deluge, so no complaints here – but the temperatures are slowly trending upwards. With the occasionally 70s weather and the beginning of daylight saving time it's finally starting to feel like Opening Day is less than two weeks away!
Catching snippets of games here and there – there hasn't been an Angels game on TV since the 8th – I have been thrilled to see that our bats are continuing to wake up. I actually went to lunch on Tuesday just in time to catch that great 4th inning against the Padres. Torri homered. Vernon Wells homered off the very next pitch. (By the way, I like this one-upmanship, gentlemen. Please keep this up in the regular season.) Then Howie got a hit, Aybar struck out and Mark Trumbo homered again. Nice! And almost everyone else is hitting too. There are now a lot of averages at or over .300 and I am much happier.
Of course, I was not happy to see that the injury bug, which seems unusually prevalent this Spring Training, struck the Angels too. Scott Downs broke his big toe and will start the season on the DL and Mark Trumbo sat out part of today with groin tightness, though that move was only precautionary. Speaking of the DL, If Kendry Morales isn't healthy enough to start playing in this week, he will start the season there as well. As much as I want him with the team for the whole season, I really want Kendry and the Angels to take this slow. March 20th, this Sunday, is his drop dead date, as we say in Marketing. If he can't play in that game, he won't be ready for Opening Day. He just started running base to base though and I don't want him to play before his body can handle it. Suffice to say I'll be listening to Sunday's game with even more interest than usual – that one's not televised either.
Even with the bad news, it's hard not to be excited with the regular season just around the corner. And one week from Sunday, I get to go see live baseball! We have tickets to the exhibition game against the Padres at the Big A on the 27th and to Angels Fanfest that morning. Yes, Fanfest is back after a three year absence, and I am really looking forward to it. I've never actually been able to smell the grass from the stands, even from the front row, but the crack of the bat, the sound of the ball smacking leather? It's. Almost. Time!


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Experience one of the world's most scenic coastal drives, along the south-west coast of Victoria.
By Ellie Schneider
Take a drive on the spectacular Great Ocean Road, which winds alongside the wild and windswept Southern Ocean. Home to the world-class surf at Bells Beach and the craggy limestone spires of the 12 Apostles, this diverse and dramatic region is best explored over the course of a few days.
Don't miss
- Stay at beachside villages
- Soak up breathtaking clifftop views
- Immerse yourself in the nature and wildlife
How to get there
The Great Ocean Road begins a 90-minute drive from Melbourne's city centre. It spans 400 kilometres (249 miles) from the town of Torquay to Nelson on the South Australian border.
Things to do and top attractions on the Great Ocean Road
Take in the scenery
Victoria's dramatic south-west coastline covers an incredible range of scenery. See the world-famous waves at Bells Beach or laze on the sand at Anglesea. Visit the charming old fishing village of Port Fairy and get among the buzzing arts community in Lorne. Of course, you can't miss the 12 Apostles. These craggy limestone stacks rising majestically from the Southern Ocean are a must-see. Join a scenic flight with 12 Apostles Helicopters to see the Bay of Islands, London Bridge or the entire Shipwreck Coast all the way to Australia's oldest lighthouse at Cape Otway.
Get into nature
From rainforests and rivers to old volcanoes and rugged coastlines, the Great Ocean Road showcases nature at its most diverse. In Great Otway National Park you'll see thundering waterfalls and sparkling gorges and walk through the tops of ancient, mossy trees. The Otway Fly Treetop Walk is a 600-metre (0.4-mile) long elevated treetop walk that ascends at a gentle grade through a magnificent stand of cool temperate rainforest. Thrill seekers can choose the Otway Fly Zipline Tour and zip between "cloud stations" 30 metres (98 feet) above the forest floor. Need to stretch your legs? See deserted sandy beaches, thick forests and some of Australia's highest sea cliffs on the 91-kilometre (57-mile) Great Ocean Walk.
Sample the local produce
The Great Ocean Road will tempt your tastebuds with sumptuous local produce, great dining and excellent wineries. For seafood, visit the Lorne Fisheries Co-Op to taste the local fishermen's morning catch (the freshly shucked oysters are a must) or the Apollo Bay Fishermen's Co-Op for delicious flake and chips. Pick your own raspberries and blackberries from the Pennyroyal Raspberry Farm and blueberries from Shoebridge Blueberry Farm. Or get into the gourmet cheeses at delicatessens in Allansford, Timboon and Cooriemungle. Cool climate wineries stretch the length of the Great Ocean Road. Stop off at a cellar door, such as the Basalt Vineyard in the Henty wine region, or Bellbrae Estate near Bells Beach. Book well in advance for dinner at upmarket restaurant Brae, which serves a set menu created from the highest quality local ingredients.
Meet the wildlife
The Great Ocean Road is home to an abundance of native wildlife. At Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, near Warrnambool, you can take a 60-minute tour with an Aboriginal guide who will explain the history of this unique area as you spot emus, kangaroos, koalas and lizards. At nearby Logans Beach you can watch southern right whales calve in a nursery close to shore between May and September. Join a Seals by Sea tour to see hundreds of fur seals at Cape Bridgewater, or swim with dolphins at Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula. See koalas in the wild at Kennett River and in the Great Otway National Park, and enjoy a game of golf alongside grazing kangaroos at Anglesea. For something completely different, canoe alongside platypus on Lake Elizabeth on a guided tour at dawn.
Experience Australia's Aboriginal culture
Aboriginal stories connect the landscapes of the Great Ocean Road from Wathaurong country in Geelong to the Gunditjmara region of the west. Taste bush tucker, learn about ancient remedies and hear didgeridoo playing at the Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Geelong. Visit the Brambuk centre in Halls Gap to see fascinating displays of art and artefacts and join a tour to visit some of rock art sites dating back 22,000 years in the Grampians National Park.
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Access 2007 Tutorial
Access 2007 Query
Access Queries Process Data
If you have been following the previous lessons in this tutorial, you will have created a table with five records. In this lesson we are going to create an Access 2007 QUERY, which will process the data below which you have entered into your table.
What we want Access to do is extract all the records in the above table where the persons age is greater than or equal to 35. Access Queries can do far more than this, of course, but this simple task should serve as a useful learning exercise.
Open the Query Design Grid
The first stage is to select the CREATE TAB and then go to the OTHER group on the far right of the ribbon. Then click on the QUERY DESIGN ICON to bring up the query design grid.
Select Table for Query
The next stage is to select which table you are going to use in this query. When the query design grid opened, the SHOW TABLE pop up window should also have opened. If necessary you can open this window manually by clicking the SHOW TABLE icon in the QUERY SET UP group on the Access Ribbon.
So far there is only one table in your database - TABLE1. This should be highlighted when the window opens, but if not, just click on it once. Next click ADD. When you close the pop-up window by clicking x,you should see a box labelled TABLE1 above the query design grid.
Select fields from Table
In the table1 box, you will see a list of its field names. We are going to use all the fields in this query, so select each one individually by double clicking on their names. You will now see the field names at the top of each column in the Query Design Grid.
Enter query criteria
As you may remember, the purpose of our query is to extract records where the persons name is greater than or equal to 35. To do this we enter the criteria into the appropriate cell of the query design grid. In this case you need to go to the AGE column of the CRITERIA row, and enter the formula >=35.
Save and Run Query
Click the save icon above the Access Ribbon. When prompted for the query name, just use the default QUERY1. To run your query, click the RUN icon in the RESULTS GROUP of the Access Ribbon. You should now be presented with a datasheet displaying your query results - JOHN JONES 35 and JOE BROWN 39.
You have now created and run your first query. The next lesson in the tutorial is about Access 2007 Reports.
|Web design by Justin Farrell


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How to Write a Branded Biography
A branded biography is a narrative of your personal brand story. It tells the story of your unique promise value to your target audience. Your bio needs to emotionally connect with your readers and be written in a way that engages them.
It positions you for how you want to be known going forward while giving relevant confirmation of your experience and qualifications. It expresses who you are, what you offer, and what is important to you.
Bios are most frequently written for people in the workforce who want to emphasize their professional accomplishments. However, you can write a bio during any stage in your life. A bio tells your story to an identified audience that is important to you.
If you're looking for work after an absence from the workplace, for example, that story could focus on your achievements in raising a family, performing community service, serving in the military, or completing your new college degree.
Here are some other specific situations when a bio can be very useful:
If you write a work proposal, a bio offers insight into who will be working on the assignment.
On your website, you likely want to include a bio in the "About Us" section.
If you plan to give a speech, you want to give your host a bio so that you can be properly introduced.
When you're looking for a job, a bio offers potential employers and network contacts an overview of who you are that is more personal than a resume.
If you have the opportunity to serve as a committee chair, your bio can be shared with constituents of the committee so that they understand your qualifications.
Boy Scouts write bios to present themselves at an Eagle Court of Honor.
Authors write short bios that appear in their books.
Biographies are especially powerful when your resume looks disjointed or when your experience doesn't follow a traditional path. A bio can weave the threads of your work experience and your personal brand message into a meaningful story that makes sense to the reader.
You want to include your interests, strengths, personal descriptors, unique promise of value, and personal brand statement. The bio should effectively complete these statements:
People recognize my expertise in …
I know I am in my element when …
In other words, what are you really good at? And what things do you do related to this target audience that you have enthusiasm for?
Tell one or two shortened versions of those same stories in your bio to show your accomplishments through an interesting narrative.
To find out more about crafting an excellent professional biography, try reading Be Sharp (CreateSpace Publishing), by Paula Asinof and Mina Brown. If you need additional help with the writing process, you can always hire a professional resume writer to write your biography for you.
Check out this branded biography. Note how the biography catches your attention with the first sentence. Not only does his bio tell you what he does — a creative strategic marketing leader — but also it tells you how he does it — with a love of life and a passion for excellence.
Both what he does and how he does it are important elements of his brand. Read his bio to discover how the language used paints a picture of his skill set and his personality. His bio ends with some keywords that remind the reader of his key knowledge and show his personal brand's leadership style.


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Welcome back, guten Rutsch, & xin nian kuai le!
Trendlines seem stable now. CO2 output is steadily rising. The arctic melt is spiraling towards permanent summer thaw. Freak weather is not yet usual but also not unusual anymore either; whether in Jena or Tampa, temps are swinging more freely. Munich Re pegs 2011 as the costliest year in recent history due to natural disasters. Bad news keep coming in. Last one I've heard is that CO2-enriched water may collapse fish stocks even before acidification will dissolve sea shells.
Culturally the trends toward chokepoint and crisis continue as before. Climate change is an emerging reality the likes of which civilization have not yet seen, hence year after year policy responses remain inadequate. U.S. politicians keep acting irresponsibly, and the more conservative they are, the more foolishly they behave. U.S. media give steadily less coverage to climate news. The culture is now so disconnected from biospherical reality that the U.S. president can make remarks and give a speech after the destruction of Joplin, Mo., without once mentioning the word 'climate'. And get away with it. Come to think of it, had Obama linked the multiple-vortex EF5 tornado to climate change, it might have led to a public outcry. In the U.S., thou shalt not connect the dots!
Internationally, COP-15 in Durban was a tiny step in the right direction but failed to make a difference. Copenhagen and Cancun had been failures due to intransigence; everything got stuck. Problem, from Copenhagen to Durban, has been that Kyoto is increasingly obsolete. The protocol was a good idea at the time, but its design does not match current realities, and so the whole effort at a follow-up protocol needs to be rethought. Kyoto's emission caps had been insufficient from the start and look simply ludicrous now. Plus, the caps had obligated only the rich nations while letting developing countries off the hook. This doesn't work anymore because China has developed to the world's largest GHG emitter. At COP-13 and -14, China's refusal was backed up by other poor countries; consensus was that it would be unfair for the new kid on the carbon block to take one for the team. Since GHG emissions matter in cumulative terms, it's the older rich nations that had messed up. So they must foot the bill. At COP-15, this move didn't cut any ice with the Alliance of Small Island States, since they'll go under regardless whether sea level rise is America's or China's doing. So in Durban China took some heat from its own former allies.
A more pragmatic consensus, it seems, will eventually happen: everybody's got to help, regardless of who's done the most harm in the past. But until this consensus becomes political reality, chances are that the problems will worsen, for the speed difference between nature and culture is glaring: Gaia is moving ever faster, and politicians are moving ever slower.
So the trends in the Earth System and in humankind continue as before, and the new realities are solidifying. Climate Action Tracker tells us that even if all current climate
treaties are scrupulously followed, the world 'continues to be on a
pathway of over 3 C warming with likely extremely severe impacts".
So ... THIS IS KIND OF BORING, and we can leave it at that. For the blog, this means a tweak. From now on, I'd like to ignore the daily social grind (unless something awesome happens, of course), and instead focus more on civil evolution and the conceptual level of climate change.
One thing on the to-do-list this semester is to post the new Climate Philosophy Newsletter, meanwhile the fifth of its kind. Vol 5, a retrospective of 2011, may be even larger than the outsize 2010 volume. The big news in 2010 was the arrival of Climate Ethics as a new branch on the Tree of Philosophy. The big complaint in my 2011 Environmental Ethics Seminar was that Climate Ethics is narrow-minded--it's a scholastic exercise in utilitarian applications for legal-minded analytics. If this is philosophy's ultimate response to climate change, then I'm gonna cry. There's no vision. Thinking remains trapped in a conventional box, and a really tiny one at that. Vision and outside-the-box thinking would be what Climate Philosophy is for. But where is Climate Philosophy? So far it's the same as Climate Ethics, which sucks.
Well then: do we already have a new creative philosophy, or does it remain just a newsletter title and promissory note?
Another thing to do, which I'd like to pursue in future posts here, is to discuss the problem of Climate Reductionism. The history of science research annual Osiris published in 2011 an issue on klima, with a stellar introduction by J R Fleming and V Jankovic, but with a somewhat annoying final essay by M Hulme (East Anglia), titled "Reducing the future to climate: a story of climate determinism and reductionism" (pp. 245-266). It's well-written, well-researched, well-considered, very professorial, very scholarly, very English ... and set my B.S. detector ringing. Loudly. More about it next time.
Fifty-nine months left.


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Covering an area from Burrendong Dam (near Wellington) to the Macquarie Marshes, MRFF represents over 500 irrigated food and fibre producers, and is supported by a number of local businesses and service providers through sponsorship and associate membership.
MRFF aims to further the interests of our members by:
Promoting sustainable irrigation in the Macquarie Valley
Promoting and enhancing the positive image of irrigated agriculture in the broader community
Formulating guidelines and policy on all matters relevant to the irrigation industry
Developing and implementing the Association's role in the management, delivery and regulation of bulk irrigation water
Making representation, when necessary, to appropriate Commonwealth, State and Local Government authorities on matters relevant to the irrigation industry
Liaising with, and where appropriate, supporting other bodies, institutions or authorities representing or affecting the interests of all irrigators
Educating irrigators and all industry participants to observe and maintain proper practices
The direction of MRFF is overseen by a Committee of Management and our day-to-day operations undertaken by our Executive Officer.
MRFF is a member of peak bodies the NSW Irrigators' Council and the National Irrigators' Council.
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Blocks of the Month
When you sign up for any BOM program, the entire year's worth of patterns, fabric and/or supply purchases by our shop is allocated to you. That means we have already incurred the expense. There are no cancellations! Your card on file will be charged each month. Credit cards will be held in a secure file. Please be sure the card you give us has an expiration date beyond the end of your program, or call us with a new number when needed. No blocks will be available to pick up early nor will they be mailed out early before the first Saturday.
All members are expected to review their packets each month to be sure they have received everything they should have. We do sometimes make an error in cutting, and while we will make every effort to correct the mistake, we cannot promise to have the exact same fabric months after the fact. Please review your packet BEFORE the next BOM meeting, or before the next shipment to let us know a mistake was made. If your notification occurs after that, we cannot guarantee an exact replacement will be available. If we become aware of an error that has occurred in everyone's packets, we will mail out corrections or replacements immediately.
Block of the Month meets on published days of each month (unless otherwise noted). We have Show and Tell, and go over the construction of the block for that month. In Store participants earn BOMBs, or Block of the Month Bucks. They are used a few times throughout the year as cash, so the more you collect the better! Earn BOMBs by attending the meeting, completing your monthly packets timely, and participating in show and tell and challenges.
Your credit card will be charged at some point during the week your BOM is scheduled for.
An additional fee ranging from $2.50 minimum to $6.00 for a flat rate domestic envelope will be added to your monthly fee. Cost depends on distance and weight of items being mailed. We're happy to combine shipping to save you money, so talk a friend into joining you! You always have the option of adding from our online catalog to fill your packets.
Packets are mailed out the week FOLLOWING the demo/pick up day each month. Your credit card will be charged when your packet is ready to mail, generally the same day or the night before we send it.
Please purchase the first and last month kits when you purchase online. We use Paypal and are unable to view your credit card information. We will contact you after sign-up for payment information.


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Item # LGN0339Item # LGN0339
Simple, but effective.
Stuff the Louis Garneau Clean Imper Jacket in your jersey pocket when the clouds look a little menacing. The Clean Imper will keep the rain off you until you get home, and, thanks to a little mesh under the arms, you won't get off the bike feeling like you just rode a century in a steam room.
California Proposition 65
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Reviews & Community
Avoid it
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
I bought this because I wanted a lighter, more packable, more slim fitting raincoat than the Home Depot contractors' vinyl coat I'd been wearing on rainy commute rides and winter "event" rides. The material feels flimsy like a thick plastic bag. This is fine: it's very light, and it's truly waterproof. What kills this product is the mesh vents on the arms and the sides, which let in a lot of rain and soaked my business shirt on a rainy ride to downtown this morning. I arrived with wet arms and sides. Worthless coat. If the jacket didn't have these mesh rain intakes, I might use it again, the rest seems acceptable. I am 5'-11" and slim with long arms: the Small fits well. But buy something else if you want to stay dry. It feels like I've tried everything and I'm still looking for a decent cycling raincoat.
It is not so bad after all
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
- Fit: True to size
- Size Bought: xxl
I used this jacket a few times and I think that is really nice, the yellow color is great for visibility in rainy days, the price matches with every aspect of the jacket, I do not now if is going to last for so long but I am really happy until now
DO NOT BUY-Garbage construction
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
- Fit: True to size
- Size Bought: Medium
The velcro fastener has failed on two of these. I ordered one a month ago, and the velcro failed. Between ordering and the failure, I decided this product was good and ordered one for my father. The first failed while the second was on the way. I sent the first in for a warranty return(thanks Backcountry), then the second arrived and just failed this morning. I don't ride heavily, just a 4 mile commute three or four times a week. This failed after a week of use. I may just tape the seam at this point, because I don't feel like submitting another return, and I don't want to have to buy another jacket.
decent protection
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
after a few used the velcro separated and i had to glue it back, i would prefer a little tighter fit on arms but has been nice to just take when i think the sky is going to open up. it's pretty easy to pack up and carry.
Seam Ripped Apart Second Time I Wore It
- Familiarity: I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions
The title says it all. I commute by bike daily and bought this jacket for rainy days. It looked nice out of the box but fit a little baggier than expected. Then, the second day I wore it, I went to take the jacket off and as I pulled the Velcro apart, the entire front seam tore apart. The jacket is completely ruined. Clearly cheap construction and destined to self-destruct. Avoid at all costs.
OK for the price
I'm a 2XL guy, and I got size 2XL. When I first tried it on, I thought it was too tight and the (velcro) zipper would come undone the first time I was straining to go up a hill. So far it hasn't come unzipped.
Be sure of your sizing...
This thing sizes out waaay big. I ordered a large, and it was giant. I could have used it as a tent fly. I re-ordered a medium, so when it arrives, I'll amend this review. When you order, size down!
Initial thoughts? Very nice, high quality piece. Better quality and fit than comparable PVC rain jackets. Reflective bits are a nice touch as well.
Ok...finally got around to getting the medium. It fits very well. I'm 6'1 and 180-185 and it fits as a lightweight rain jacket should. It's close fitting, yet not overly tight. The sleeves are plenty long as well.
New rating is a solid 4 to 4.25 out of five. We'll see how it performs in the rain...


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Published on October 25th, 2012 | by John I.2
iPad mini and iPad 4 officially announced
At Apple's recent event titled "We've got a little more to show you" the new iPad mini tablet from was announced and finally putting an end to the long lasting rumours. At the live event, Apple surprisingly also announced an upgraded 4th generation iPad!
Let's have a closer look at both these new devices.
iPad Mini
The new iPad mini with a 7.9 inch screen and 1024 × 768 resolution and 163ppi (pixels per inch), as opposed to the iPad 2 which had 132ppi. The iPad mini will have a height of 200 mm, width 134,7 mm, thickness 7.2 mm and will weigh 308 grams for the WiFi version and 312gr for the WiFi + Cellular. It will be released in two colours, white and black.
The iPad mini will include a dual core A5 processor, as found on the iPad 2. Also worth mentioning is the new type of lightning connector that will be integrated in the iPad mini like the iPhone 5, iPad mini will also support the new card types Nano-SIM.
iPad 4rth Generation
As mentioned above an iPad 4 was announced coming to replace the current model only 7 months after the release of the iPad 3.
The new 4th generation iPad incorporates impressive technical specifications, apart from the excellent Retina display (introduced also on the iPad 3), the upgraded version will include the A6X an impressive powerful processor almost two times faster than the previous iPad processor. It is also known that the integrated graphics card will be most powerful than any other tablets else on the market. The new lightning connector and global operation of LTE will also be included!
The design will be more or less the same with a height of 24.1 mm a width of 185.7 mm and will weight 652 gr.
Official Prices by Location Announced
Below you can have a first look at the retail prices of the iPad 4 and iPad mini for America and the largest European countries. Both models can be pre-ordered.
|iPad mini USA
|iPad mini Wi-Fi 16GB: 329$
|iPad mini Wi-Fi 32GB: 429$
|iPad mini Wi-Fi 64GB: 529$
|iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular 16GB: 459$
|iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular 32GB: 559$
|iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular 64GB: 659$
|iPad mini UK
|iPad mini Wi-Fi 16GB: £269
|iPad mini Wi-Fi 32GB: £349
|iPad mini France – Germany
|iPad mini Wi-Fi 16GB: €329
|iPad mini Wi-Fi 32GB: €429
|iPad 4 USA
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi 16GB: 499$
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi 32GB: 599$
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi 64GB: 699$
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi + Cellular 16GB: 629$
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi + Cellular 32GB: 729$
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi + Cellular 64GB: 829$
|iPad 4 UK
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi 16GB: £399
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi 32GB: £479
|iPad 4 France – Germany
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi 16GB: €499
|iPad 4 Wi-Fi 32GB: €599
2 Responses to iPad mini and iPad 4 officially announced
269 Pounds for the mini? are you serious? firstly if i had bought the ipad 3 I would feel incredibly disappointed and secondly why would I buy a mini when I can buy a new nexus for half that?
Pingback: Apple's new iPad Mini


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by M. Pulliam
In an email update, Evangelicals for Social Action quotes the director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture who is disappointed in the Senate Republicans' decision to stop investigating the use of torture.
As federal FY 2010 begins, ESA encourages people to be prayerful about justice for the poor and asks individuals to take action by writing to their elected leaders and expressing their concern for those in poverty.
ESA says the church should stand in solidarity with those in need of a second chances, specifically the formerly incarcerated. They support the Prison Re-entry Initiative and the Second Chance Act of 2007.
Regarding climate change, ESA applauds Obama's climate change speech, notes the report about the six different types of Americans, and calls for people to be educated and committed in battling misinformation.
ESA reports on civil disobedience acts in Philadelphia where faith leaders collaborated to shut down a gun shop that had been linked to many violent crimes.
Filed under: Evangelicals for Social Action | Tagged: civil disobedience, climate change, environment, legislation, poverty, President Obama, prisoners, torture | Leave a comment »


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Oct 25, 2011 | ISBN 9780307588951
"It is important that parents and professionals have up to date information on how to understand and help someone who has Asperger's syndrome. This book will provide an explanation of the latest theories and practical strategies. This book should be in every home library of every family that has a son or daughter with a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome."
–Dr. Tony Attwood, author of the The Complete Guide to Asperger Syndrome
"Bookstore shelves are lined with tomes on the history, symptomology and manifestations of this puzzling disorder. Concerned parents have appreciated and devoured these books. They now understand the scope and complexity of the syndrome. And they collectively ask, 'Now what?' Enter Patricia Romanowski Bashe. Patty uses her decades of experience as a parent and professional to design a book that meets the needs of the 'second generation' of parents who understand the disorder….and are searching for solutions, ideas, techniques and strategies. She expands on her groundbreaking classic, The OASIS Guide, by providing parents and caregivers with practical, field-tested advice aimed at teaching kids the basic life skills that will enhance their independence and their ability to face and solve everyday social and interactional problems."
–Richard D. Lavoie, M.A., M.Ed.
"Patty Romanowski Bashe has written a superbly crafted and forward-looking book for anyone who lives or works with individuals with Asperger syndrome and related disorders. Her style is practical, chock full of helpful tools. She dispels the oft-held notion that ABA is just discrete trials training. The "Tools for teaching" chapter is one of the best I have ever read! If you are a parent, run right out and buy this book! It will help you through harrowing moments. And if you are a professional, place it in your collaboration toolkit."
–Teresa Bolick, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Author of Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence; Getting Ready For the Real World and Asperger Syndrome and Young Children: Building Skills For the Real World
"This is a tool for families to help explain how they can build teaching systems within their home to foster their child's continued growth. The information is practical and down to earth. With both language based explanations and visuals to encourage systematic data collection and charting; parents will find this book very helpful."
–Michelle Garcia Winner, Founder of Social Thinking®, Speech Language Pathologist, MA-CCC


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Hitman 2 Collector's Edition (PS4) - £62.48
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Free P&P with Prime / Free Prime Trial / Orders over £20
Amazon take payment for pre-orders on dispatch(more info)
Product Description
The World is Your Weapon
Only in HITMAN can you use everything in your environment to help plan and execute the perfect assassination use stealth, sabotage, and everything in-between to turn your creativity into a deadly weapon.
A World of Assassination
HITMAN not only includes a brand new campaign, but also new missions, the high-stakes Elusive Targets, and more free live content that gives you new ways to test your killer creativity.
The Best HITMAN experience to date
HITMAN streamlines the assassination experience including all the previous games improvement, HITMAN 2 adds enhanced player progression and several augmentations to the HUD/UI to help make you an even deadlier assassin.
New Ways to Hit
Introducing new modes and new ways to play HITMAN with your friends play co-op with a friend in Sniper Assassin or compete for the highest score in the 16-player synchronous Assassination Race.
Notifications can be used to alert you when a product is availiable below a certain value. You can request notifications for a product from its page.
Log in to request notifications.


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|A Proposed Algorithm Predictive for Cytotoxic T Cell Alloreactivity.
MedLine Citation:
|PMID: 22262656 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher
|Previously, we showed that with an increasing number of amino acid differences in single HLA class I-mismatched molecules, the probability of T cell alloreactivity decreases. It is unlikely that every amino acid difference will affect T cell alloreactivity in a similar way; we hypothesized that the effect of an amino acid difference may be dependent on its position and/or physicochemical properties. We selected 131 patient/donor pairs with either a single HLA-A or -C mismatch in the graft-versus-host direction and that were compatible for HLA-B, -DRB1, and -DQB1. The alloreactive CTL precursor (CTLp) frequency was determined and associated with the amino acid differences between the single HLA class I mismatches. In the β sheet, only amino acids that are noncompatible in their physicochemical properties affect T cell alloreactivity, whereas in the α helices, both compatible and noncompatible amino acids affect CTLp outcome. Positions 62, 63, 73, 76, 77, 80, 99, 116, 138, 144, 147, and 163 were bivariately associated with CTLp outcome, irrespective of the total number of amino acid differences. In multivariate analysis, positions 62, 63, 73, 80, 116, 138, 144, and 163 were found to be most predictive for negative CTLp outcome. These results formed the basis for a weighted predictive mismatch score; pairs with the highest mismatch scores are estimated to be 13 times more likely to have a negative CTLp. This new algorithm may be a tool in donor selection for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
|Monique M Jöris; Jon J van Rood; Dave L Roelen; Machteld Oudshoorn; Frans H J Claas
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Publication Detail:
|Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-1-18
Journal Detail:
|Title: Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) Volume: - ISSN: 1550-6606 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2012 Jan
Date Detail:
|Created Date: 2012-1-20 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
Medline Journal Info:
|Nlm Unique ID: 2985117R Medline TA: J Immunol Country: -
Other Details:
|Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: -
|Europdonor Foundation, Leiden 2333 BZ, The Netherlands.
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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People Are Saying
WHAT SALON PROFESSIONALS ARE SAYING ABOUT iFABULOUS SALON SUCCESS
Carlos' impact....powerful, deep, and long lasting.
As an owner/stylist for the better part of 35plus years, I have been a consultant for iFabulous since its inception and witnessed Carlos deliver it to students multiple times. I can tell you the impact Carlos has had on schools and students is powerful, deep and long lasting. If you can get him into your school, do so!
-Rick Ramirez, Owner/Stylist 977Hair
iFabulous has had a dramatic impact...
iFabulous has had a dramatic impact on our students and school. It has generated a great deal of excitement and most importantly it has produced results. Students are able to produce more customer impact as well as giving them a foundation for the real salon world.
-Jim Butenschoen, President Career Academy of Hair Design
iFabulous is going great!
iFabulous is going great! The instructors are incorporating your lesson plans on a regular basis. It has proved to be a great addition to our curriculum. Holly and I have altered our curriculum so that the students receive hands-on work from the first day of class. Almost all of the students have created a business page and we have been holding contests with them for the highest number of likes on their page. I cannot thank you enough for visiting our campuses and introducing I-Fabulous to our students and instructors.
-Krissy Reilly, Ridley-Lowell Binghamton Cosmetology School
Bringing technology into the classroom has awakened a passion...
We have used the iFabulous program over the past year and have found that in using it the students have refined their skills. The biggest and most exciting change in our schools' dynamics is the use of social media. Thank you Carlos and Jeff! Bringing technology into the classroom has awakened a passion within our students and staff that was missing before.
-Marcia Livesay, Vocational Director Career Academy of Hair Design
iFabulous Salon Success gets students thinking like stylists
iFabulous salon success gets students thinking like stylists BEFORE they graduate from beauty school. I wish all of my employees had had the opportunity to experience iFabulous
-Aaron Hatch, Educator, Stylist, and Partner at Oona's Salon
LISTEN TO CARLOS...he knows!!
Hey Carlos Valenzuela!! Congratulations on your iFabulous video series and initiative for the schools. It is outstanding and a win/win/win all around. It's got it all ... a fresh perspective, an action plan and a wonderful outcome for those students/teachers/school owners who refuse to settle for the status quo. There is only good here. LISTEN TO CARLOS ...he knows!!
-Jody Byrne, President of Trends & Sources International
iFABULOUS 2015 TOUR:
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text:
How to Make a Conference Call with Your iPhone
On an iPhone, you can make conference calls in which you and the people you're speaking to can all hear and be heard. Setting up a conference call might seem like a daunting task, but the iPhone makes it easy.
1Call one of the people with whom you want to have the conference call.
You can manually input the phone number or find the person in your list of contacts.
2Place that call on hold.
How you place a call on hold depends on the phone you're using. If you're on an iPhone 4, touch and hold the Mute button. On older devices, just tap Hold.
4Call the next person on the list.
You can enter the number manually or choose from your Contacts list.
5Tap Merge Calls so the people you have on the line can chitchat.
At first, the phone number of each caller will scroll at the top of your screen like a rolling ticker. A few seconds later, the ticker is replaced by the word Conference with a circled right-pointing arrow to its immediate right.
6Repeat Steps 2 to 5 for each additional person whom you want in on the conference call.
You can merge up to five calls at a time.
7If you want to drop a call from a conference, tap Conference, tap the red circle, and tap End Call.
The red circle has a little picture of the phone in it and appears next to the call.


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It is Sunday evening in Damansara Heights in KL and I am having a beer with a couple of friends. Though this beer was arranged some weeks ago, it now seems very timely. These friends, you see, are old schoolmates of Harith Iskander, the man I am scheduled to interview tomorrow.
I've met Harith a few times, and know his wife, Jezamine Lim, well. The perfect assignment, then, you might think. A coffee and a chat with old friends, and all in the name of 'work'. Yet there is one problem: the visual concept we had decided upon for Harith was quite dark, suggesting the interview needed to be equally dark, perhaps uncovering some until-now hidden truths about Malaysia's original funny man. Again, no big deal. And then you consider that Harith is the nicest man in the world, and that nobody has a bad word to say about him.
"So," I say to his old schoolmates, "I'm interviewing Harith tomorrow [for his level of fame is such that only his first name is needed], tell me something about him that nobody knows."
They smile—a usual reaction when you mention Harith's name—and start to reminisce about their school days. After a while, one of them remembers the question I posed and answers: "No, he's just a really nice fella. Always was. And he was always funny."
Kim Mun
This prompts the other one: "I remember something! When he was young, his mum always called him 'Ali'". Hardly dark, but it was something.
"It wasn't just my mum—everyone called me Ali when I was young," says the man himself the following day. "My mum was English of Scottish descent and so I was called Iskander, which is the Malay version of 'Alexander'. My mum started by calling me 'Alex' but my Malay grandmother couldn't pronounce that, so it became 'Ali'. Everyone called me that until I was around 17."
At the photo shoot, Harith is, as you would expect, perfectly professional. He is in hair and make-up—or, more accurately, make-up—for no more than minutes, his wife a little longer (the make-up artist has the job of polishing the frame on the Mona Lisa). We take his individual pictures quickly. The photographer tells him what to do, he does it, always asking if we are happy with what we've got.
As Harith is busy taking another round of shots, Jezamine whispers: "Come, let's go outside and have a cigarette." I'm amazed. She is a medical doctor, has just had her third baby and was always a non-smoker. "Not me, lah, you! You smoke, I watch, we catch up. Aiyoo!" She laughs and punches my arm. Same old Jez.
I first met Dr Jezamine Lim nine years ago. I was working for a different men's magazine and she had just been crowned the Girl Next Door. Previous winners of this award had used their victory as a launch pad for a glamorous career; some had become TV stars, others internationally known models. Not so Jezamine. A newly-qualified doctor, she had a medical career to build.
And then she won that award, became the cover star of the magazine, and found herself splashed all over its Facebook page.
Somewhere, a dashing young bachelor named Harith saw those pictures, liked what he saw and got in touch. They met for coffee and eight years later they are still happily ever after.
I haven't seen Jez in four years, yet we are straight back into it. Who's doing what to who, and where. As for her, she has had three children, is just finishing a PhD and is working in the field of genetic engineering (one of only five people in the country). Oh, and she is managing Harith Iskander, arguably the biggest name in Malaysian showbiz.
"We seriously don't sleep," she tells me. "We are just so busy."
I ask her how her father is. She knows what I mean. Though Jez is of Chinese and Indian parentage, her father was against her marriage to Harith and refused to go to their wedding. "As soon as I had a child, his heart melted. He loves his grandkids, and really spoils them."
And Harith? "Ha! He loves Harith now."
The irony of her father's initial reaction isn't lost on me. Harith, himself a Malay/English mix, has made his resistance to categorising, and judging people, by race known over and over. Indeed, it has been a feature of his stage show, asking why on official forms it asks you to tick a box, either Malay, Chinese, Indian or Other. "I draw a fifth box, write 'Malaysian' and tick that."
"Why on official forms it asks you to tick a box, either Malay, Chinese, Indian or Other? I draw a fifth box, write 'Malaysian' and tick that."
It's a theme he returns to now. He turned 50 in August, has three young children and, I wonder, what his hopes are for when his kids turn 50 themselves. "That's a question I ask all the guests on my show.
"I grew up in a local government school, which is fine and perfect. Look how we turned out. I would love my kids to have that experience, but it is no longer the same. I get that and understand that. So we are looking at alternatives to government schools.
"I find that a shame because I would rather everyone have that so we can all grow together.
"When I went back to my old school, it was so heavily populated by one race of students. Only because schools are now clustered by area, so if the school is here and you live around the school, you go to that school.
"If you live in a predominantly Malay area, you go to a predominantly Malay school, as opposed to previously, when everybody just drove in on a bus.
"My best friends in classes were Don Benjamin, Kenny Chong, Pani de Silva, and I was Harith Iskander, which was not an issue back in the day. When I look back on it now, I think 'Wow! Christmas, we'll be going to Don's house. Chinese New Year we'll go to Kenny's house. Deepavali we'll go to Pani's house, and for Raya, they'll all come to my house.
"But it wasn't a 'wow' then. That's just how it was. It was normal."
In truth, his children could be the poster boys and girls of Malaysian integration: four perfect quarters of Malay, Chinese, Indian and English. They are beautiful and he is immensely proud of them. "And he's a real hands-on dad—he even changes diapers!" says Jez.
"Were you there at the births?" I ask. "Of course," says Harith, no puns, no anecdotes. Like most comedians, off stage he is intelligent, articulate and, most importantly, off duty.
Yet, it strikes me that when you are Harith Iskander you are always on-duty. As we walked into the coffee house after the photoshoot, every head turned and smiled, elbows were nudged and neighbours whispered to. He must be aware of that. Does it bother him? "No, but that's 26 years in the making. Frankly speaking, I would say for the first 10 years, I could not deal with it. I didn't deal with it. I just couldn't handle it… I was irritated by it.
Kim Mun
"I'd stop at the traffic light, and I'd see people pointing and I'd be thinking 'What are people looking at? What's the big deal?' I'd just stew in that irritation. But somewhere along the line, it just clicked: You know what? This person is just excited, that's all. And all it takes is for you to return the excitement, as opposed to being irritated by something that is well within your control. Embrace it, respond to it, and you will move on.
"I pity the reality show stars who have emerged in Malaysia, from the likes of Akademi Fantasia. They walk in as a dispatch rider and three months later they win the competition and are recognisable overnight. It took me 10 years to get used to it. So I can imagine the struggle it is for them."
The longevity of Harith's career is incredible, not only still being within the industry but remaining at the very top of it for over two decades. Now known as the Godfather of Malaysian Comedy, he's fast becoming a national treasure. However, he is humble about that, as he is about most things.
"For the first 15 years, I was literally alone, on my own. There was the Instant Café Theatre, there was a guy called Razik Rashid, there was Comedy Court, but I was the only stand-up comedian.
"Then Douglas Lim came along and we became friends, and it was him and me. Then, ten years ago, broadband hit Malaysia and YouTube became accessible and the first wave of younger ones started doing stand-up. Time Out KL launched an open-mic night, and a scene started developing.
"That's when they started calling me the Godfather, because before that there were no children for me to be a father or godfather to."
While he admits, and revels in, younger comics coming through and snapping at his heels, speak to people in the comedy world and they will tell you how generous Harith is with his time and his advice.
"Competition can only make you better," he says. "I was getting complacent. I was sailing on clear waters, the wind was blowing, nothing could stop me. Then I could see these [new, young] guys in five, six, seven or eight years are going to be in the centre; they're going to be competing for my pie."
"Someone once told me that if you are stingy with your ideas, what you are intrinsically saying is you have no ideas."
Those comics will get better with or without his help, he tells me, so why not help them out? "Someone once told me that if you are stingy with your ideas, what you are intrinsically saying is you have no ideas. If you give away your ideas, it means you believe you have more ideas." He also believes that he can keep improving and getting better: "Let's hone the craft, let's be relevant. Deep down inside I still want everyone to say 'He's good. He's the best'. That's narcissistic, but I want to maintain that. But I know it won't last forever."
Kim Mun
Remaining relevant over such a long period of time is no easy task. One way he has had to change is via social media. He now has a healthy online following, and is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram constantly, a curious thing for someone who values his privacy. "I am a very private guy. The idea of uploading something five, six, eight times a day telling everyone 'Hey, here's what I'm doing'… well, five years ago that was completely alien to me. Why would people want to know what I'm doing eight times a day? How arrogant of me!
"But in the last five years I've come to see that that's just the way of the world now. Social media I used to think was just… [pauses] wanking. It's still wanking now, but everybody wanks. And wanking gets you forward." A motto we can all believe in.
And then there's his new TV show, Obviously Harith Iskander. While it is a tried and tested format, Harith does believe that it allows him to show people another side of him. "With the TV show I'm now getting a different portfolio and a different type of recognition. In the last two to three months more people are calling out to me 'Obviously! Hey Obviously!' rather than 'Oh, you're the funny fella'. I think it has opened up the market. Some people know me as a comedian, some people just know me as a talk show host. It gives me something else. I can create more wares on the table, more heads to feed."
While he acknowledges that it is a tried and tested format, from Johnny Carson, to David Letterman to Jimmy Fallon, he is keen to point out that, unlike his American counterparts, he doesn't just have celebrities on his show. "We try to fit in personalities, corporates, politicians, business people… people who have an interesting story to tell. So that's where the show is different. That's what has got the attention. If you look at the people appearing on the show, most of them you've never actually heard speak.
"We've had Nazir Razak, chairman of CIMB, Rafidah Aziz, former iron lady of Malaysia, Tun Musa Hitam, former deputy prime minister, Nurul Izzah, the leaders of the opposition. It's just been a strong, strong show with something for everyone.
Deep down inside I still want everyone to say 'He's good. He's the best'. That's narcissistic, but I want to maintain that.
"You would think that we would have just put stars on the show to get the audience, but no: we've had people like Wahid Omar, ex-chairman of Maybank, and the viewers have responded
to the show brilliantly. There's a real interest in real personalities."
Following in the footsteps of Jerry Seinfeld (Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee) and, more recently, James Corden, Harith's show also sees him driving the interviewee to the show. "That came out of the first episode because I asked Tony [Fernandez] if he would like to do this scene in the car with me as a one-off thing.
"Once we saw it we were like 'Hey, this could be something.' So we did it with Nazir, then Rafidah, and it became a thing. So that's a lot of fun as well. But it is a week's worth of work. Shows are on Saturday, on Monday we have a post-mortem and then we're already planning.
"In between there are shoots, schedule changes, joke-writing, game ideas, it is a full-time job."
Interestingly, the success or failure of the show will have a real impact on Harith the businessperson, not just Harith the performer. "My company is co-producing with Awani. We are 50-50 down the line. I have my team, and in my team there are people on research, there are writers, so we meet once a week and throw ideas around.
"The writers are lovely, lovely young guys who are smart boys. There is a lot of give and take, and they are very generous with their humour. We've become like a family, really. Everyone on the team is like family."
And there he goes again, Harith being lovely. Never a bad word to say about anyone, nobody saying a bad word about him.
Knowing that he needs to rush off to speak to someone about the show, and knowing that I still don't have anything dark to illustrate the seriousness of the images, I decide to ask him directly if he has a dark side. He pauses and gives it genuine thought. "Well, I'm very quiet," he eventually says.
"But dark? Hmm… I do procrastinate a lot. Is that dark? No, that's not dark," he says, answering his own question and illustrating his perceived weakness.
"I tell you what, I wish I did have a dark side. If you look at all the best comedians, like Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, you just know there is a real dark side to them and they push themselves right to the edge. And Richard Pryor too.
"So yeah, maybe I'm never going to be world famous, because I just don't have that angst in me."
But maybe that is why we love him, why he has remained at the top of his profession for a quarter of a century. What you see is what you get. A good husband, a loving father, a funny fella. He is just Harith Iskander, obviously.
The second season of Obviously Harith Iskander is due to air on Astro Awani, channel 501, next month. Check out obviouslyharith.com for further details.
Styling by Sarah Chong. Art direction by Rebecca Chew
First published in Esquire Malaysia October 2016 Issue.


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In what will surely be the last sub-par weekend of the year, with the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story set to breathe new life into the box office on December 16, Moana managed to come out on top for the third weekend in a row. Only one new release hit theaters this weekend, the outrageous R-rated comedy Office Christmas Party, but it couldn't manage to top the current box office champ, Disney's Moana, which won for the third week in a row with $18.8 million. It was expected that Office Christmas Party wouldn't be too far behind, which was an accurate prediction, with the comedy coming in second place with $17.5 million in second place.
Between December 16 and Christmas Day, seven new movies hit theaters in wide release, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Collateral Beauty, Assassin's Creed, Sing, Passengers, Why Him? and Fences. Between the upcoming December 9 frame and last weekend, only two new movies arrive in wide releae, Incarnate, which opened in ninth place with $2.6 million and this weekend's sole newcomer, the holiday comedy from Paramount, Office Christmas Party. This weekend will also see an expansion into roughly 1,600 theaters for Miss Sloane, which opened over Thanksgiving in limited release, but it failed to crack the top 10, taking 11th place with $1.9 million from 1,648 theaters, for a paltry $1,153 per-screen average. Two more expanding films did make the top 10 though, with Nocturnal Animals and Manchester-by-the-Sea faring well, while La La Land set a new box office record in limited release.
Box Office Mojo reports that the R-rated comedy Office Christmas Party opened in 3,210 theaters with a decent $5,452 per-screen average. It was estimated that the comedy would only open in 2,800 theaters, which is still far less than Moana's 3,875 rollout. Moana dropped almost exactly half of its $56.6 million opening weekend tally last weekend, by coming out on top with $28.2 million, but this weekend, it only dropped 33.4%, with a solid $4,862 per-screen average from 3,875 theaters. Office Christmas Party only cost $45 million to produce, so it will likely fare well throughout its run, barring a steep drop next weekend.
Moana has taken in $145 million domestically through its first thrree weekends in theaters, although it hasn't fared quite as well internationally. The film has only earned $93.8 million in foreign markets for a worldwide total of $238.8 million. Moana is set in the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania, where a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore. Dwayne Johnson leads the voice cast as Maui, with newcomer Auli'i Cravalho voicing the title character. The supporting voice cast is rounded out by Alan Tudyk as Heihei, Nicole Scherzinger as Sina and Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa.
In Office Christmas Party, when the CEO (Jennifer Aniston) tries to close her hard-partying brother's branch, he (T.J. Miller) and his Chief Technical Officer (Jason Bateman) must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs. The latest comedy from directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory) co-stars Kate McKinnon, Olivia Munn, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, Sam Richardson, Jamie Chung, and Courtney B. Vance in the funniest movie of the holiday season.
Miss Sloane is set in the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. Known equally for her cunning and her track record of success, she has always done whatever is required to win. But when she takes on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds that winning may come at too high a price.
The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in third place with $10.7 million, Arrival in fourth place with $5.6 million and Doctor Strange rounding out the top 5 with $4.6 million. The top 10 will be rounded out by Allied ($4 million), Nocturnal Animals ($3.19 million) Manchester-by-the-Sea ($3.15 million), Trolls ($3.11 million) and Hacksaw Ridge ($2.3 million). In a weekend that didn't make too many waves among wide releases, a limited-release musical may have been the real big winner.
Lionsgate debutd critically-acclaimed musical La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, in just five theaters, but it came in 15th place with an astounding $855,000, for an incredible $171,000 per-screen average, the best per-screen average of the year. This musical bested Moonlight, whose $100,519 per-screen average in October was previously the best this year. The film will expand to 200 theaters in 40 markets next weekend, with a further expansion set for Christmas Day. No box ofice data was released for Magnolia's documentary Harry Benson: Shoot First, Screen Media's thriller Sugar Mountain, Viva Pictures Distribution's romantic comedy The Bounce Back and Yash Raj's drama Bekfire. The Bounce Back is actually opening in roughly 600 theaters, but that won't likely be enough to have it crack the top 10.
Looking ahead to next weekend, the crowded holiday frame gets started with the highly-anticipated Star Wars spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opens against Warner Bros.' Collateral Beauty, with Will Smith leading an ensemble cast including Edward Norton, Helen Mirren and more. Paramount will also debut Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in New York and Los Angeles before expanding nationwide on Christmas Day. Also opening in limited release is The Orchard's Neruda, Indican's The Grace of Jake, Independent's Hollow Point and Lionsgate Premiere's Solace. Take a look at our projected top 10 for the weekend of December 9.
|Office Christmas Party
|Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
|Doctor Strange
|Nocturnal Animals
|Hacksaw Ridge


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As readers of Fresh[water] Ideas for a Thirsty Planet we have been globe-trotting around the world looking at freshwater issues and the looming crisis of freshwater resources for a crowded planet. You are more informed than the vast majority of people and in a couple of weeks the National Geographic Society is going to release to newsstands their edition devoted solely to freshwater issues: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater
As National Geographic says: By 2050 a third of the people on Earth may lack a clean, secure source of water. Join National Geographic in exploring the local stories and global trends that define the world's water crisis. Learn about freshwater resources and how they are used to feed, power, and sustain all life. See how the forces of technology, climate, human nature, and policy create challenges and drive solutions for a sustainable planet.
But you already know this…so spread the word. NGS is pouring its vast resources into this issue, from beautiful photography, video, and a website…it should be a tremendous lift to increasing global awareness and the development of grassroots political will to address these issues.
Meanwhile, Fresh[water] Ideas for a Thirsty Planet will continue our globetrotting wrapping up the Tibetan plateau series for now and moving on to other continents. As you know by now, and others will be catching on to, no matter where you go in this world we are all connected-whether we want to be or not. The hydrologic cycle is blind to man's political boundaries and cultures and it is up to us, not nature, to adapt and work out our resource needs. No water, no civility, no civilization…


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"The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: joy." Galations 5:22 NLT
I would consider myself kind, but not sweet…..pleasant, but not typically "happy". But joy is deep and constant. And I do feel I have it. For instance, I love my children, but I'm not a fan of "parenting". Not because of the emotional exhaustion, the busyness of it all or even the self-sacrifice……it's mainly because I know the magnitude of the responsibility and it overwhelms me at times. But I know I'm a good parent because I see it that way and choose it anyway.
I was recently asked by my children's music school director to write an article for the school's newsletter. This is what I shared. And for me, it is evidenced that the Spirit of God has been gracious to give me great joy.
I recently read a blog where a mother compared her parenting young children to hiking Mt. Everest. No greater truth has been written lately! You may feel a sense of amazement and accomplishment later, but in the midst, it's difficult to see past life's greatest challenge. With pressure to do it all and varying opinions of how it's all done, I know I have felt very overwhelmed at times. But a statement I heard a long time ago was to "connect children to their strengths." Pretty simple I thought…or is it? With limited time, finances and possible resources, how do I create an environment in which my children will connect to their purpose in life? Now, I guess it may not be so simple.
I once took a leadership class where the instructor was discussing the subject of "Emotional Intelligence" and a particular case study in which 3rd graders were each given a piece of candy. They were told that they could eat it right away, but if they saved it, they would get another piece the next day. The researchers followed these students into adulthood and the half or so who waited for their added reward later were found to have higher education, more successful careers, better marriages and a more fulfilling life, while those who did not wait were found to have met many of life's terrible challenges legally, financially and relationally. How could this be all from a piece of candy? Well, I learned one main differing aspect was the attribute of being able to see today's decisions with tomorrow's benefit….that is what separated the success. Those who just saw immediate gratification didn't receive life's rewards then or later. I never forgot that story and even though I heard it long before I had children, I was affected by it for my own life and now for their lives.
So taking care of children – spirit, soul and body – is not for the faint of heart. As I try my best to take care of their bodies with healthy food and good rest, their minds with creative stimulation and outlets such as academics, language and music and most importantly, their spirits with love…love….love and lots of it, I often wonder if I'm doing the right thing. I think of the discipline it takes to have vision for your life, even at a young age…..to connect our children with their strengths, to foster creative environments and to see today's decisions with tomorrow's rewards….how is it done? In reading about this topic and speaking to several parents recently, here's what I've learned so far:
- Turn off the TV/computer/phones as often as you can. I love technology and it's such a great aspect of efficiency in our lives….but it can disconnect us with the person right next to us!
- Delight in your children's presence. It's not always easy to do as toys overtake the house or the 100th question of the day is being asked, but I want my eyes to light up when I see them walk into the room. I want to enjoy being with them and them with me. So even when having a "work hour," have them do their homework while you do your work or a hobby like art, knitting or reading at the same table.
- Listen to all kinds of music. My son's favorites range from classical violin to rock to hip hop. He has no idea he has eclectic taste. He just likes what he likes.
- Reward the journey, not just the destination! Sometimes, things may come easily to a child and that's wonderful, but the reward is in the work put forth….what gets rewarded gets repeated!
- At the end of the day, talk about your favorite highlights; it will teach an attitude of gratitude. We teach our children why and how to pray, and depending on your spiritual beliefs, teaching your children to be in tuned spiritually is life directing.
- Ask them open-ended questions about their day. For teenagers, I've learned that walking side-by-side on the beach or somewhere else peaceful helps in discussing the day. For younger children, getting answers besides "good" or "nothing" may require asking them to draw a picture of their day.
- Read aloud together. My husband often reads in an "enchanted" voice and my children love it! And sometimes we take turns acting out scenes. It's so much fun to see them interpret stories. Children's Charades has been made popular in our home.
- Tell them a funny story from their younger days, tell them a funny story from your own childhood……in fact, tell them any story you can think of telling……lots and lots of story-telling.
- Ask them to teach you how to do something. This is big….very big. The art of giving lessons is an amazing skill that I've learned from my son's Montessori School.
- Love People….find creative ways to give in your community such as taking a bag of clothes to the shelter, writing a letter to a family member, caring for a neighbor, or making cookies for a friend for no reason. We have a friend we visit in an elderly care center. He has become part of our lives and like family. My little girl will sit herself down right by some of the elderly ladies there and have a full conversation. Once it was all about birds and candy. I don't know who had the better time. I think most individuals who have a passion to make a life better are those who are most successful.
I know each parent has some unique ways for their children and each list will grow and evolve. But lessons learned and stories told are how we support one another! I wish you well my fellow musical families, and may all our children connect with their strength and find their purpose!