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Robert Charlwood Richardson, Jr., born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 27, 1882, and was admitted as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, from that state, on 19 June 1900. His military career spanned the first half of the 20th Century. He was a veteran of the 1904 Philippine insurrection, World War I, and an outstanding field commander of World War II. He commanded the U.S. Army, Pacific (Hawaiian Department) during the height of World War II in 1943 until his retirement in 1946. During that time he was also the military governor of Hawaii (which was at that time still a US Territory) and Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific Ocean Areas.
Commissioned from the United States Military Academy in 1904, Richardson also attended the University of Grenoble, France, as well as the Army War College. During World War I he was a liaison officer in the American Expeditionary Force. Afterward he was a military attaché with the U.S. Embassy in Rome. He was the author of "West Point-An Intimate Picture of the National Military Academy".
Prior to World War II, Richardson commanded the 1st Cavalry Division from 1940-1941. He then directed the War Department Bureau of Public Relations before becoming Commanding General of the VII Corps in Alabama, moving it to setup the defense of California immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In 1943 he was made Commanding General of the Hawaiian Department, Military Governor of Hawaii, and all Army personnel in the Pacific Ocean and Mid-Pacific Areas. As Commander of all Pacific Army personnel, he had administrative or what is called UCMJ authority of all Army units, while tactical or what is called today operational Joint control fell to Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. He was responsible for all Army disciplinary, training, and tactical unit preparations. He was the first senior Army general officer to ever serve as Joint forces subordinate commander under a non-Army flag officer, Fleet Admiral Nimitz.


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2020 Addison Street / Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 644-2020 / firstname.lastname@example.com
The Box Office window is open 12:30pm-7pm and during all performances.
2020 Addison Street / Berkeley, CA 94704
The Box Office window is open 12:30pm-7pm and during all performances.
George Brooks & Kai Eckhardt's Tangential ExperiencePurchase tickets online
June 27 8:00 pm
Soulful, virtuoso saxophonist George Brooks and groove-master bassist Kai Eckhardt are two of the leading musicians of their generation. Joined by Egyptian keyboardist Osam Ezzeldin, Brazilian drummer Celso Alberti and very special guest Indian vocalist Mahesh Kale, their combined talents express a distinctly twenty-first century perspective on global music, grounded in jazz, focused on groove and informed by rhythmic and melodic traditions of the five continents of their homelands…Africa, Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
Hailed as the "leading American voice in Indian jazz fusion", saxophonist and composer, George Brooks has performed with such notable musicians as Terry Riley, John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Larry Coryell, Etta James, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, and Anthony Braxton. His original compositions combine elegant melodies with the rich harmonies of modern jazz and the driving rhythms of North India, forming a unique and wholly satisfying musical experience.
George received commissions from the American Composers Forum, Opera Piccola, the Berkeley Jazz School and The SFMOMA. His compositions have been performed by Yo-Yo Ma, The Liverpool Philharmonic and have appeared infilms by Merchant/Ivory Productions. His unique melodic voice, expressed through rich tone, technical fluency and dynamic stage presence makes him a much sought-after performer.
Kai Eckhardt is a Liberian/ German bassist and composer best known for his pioneering work with the John Mclaughlin Trio in the 80's, Billy Cobham's International Quartet in the 90's and the band Garaj Mahal in the new Millennium. Kai has also recorded and performed with musicians as varied as Trilok Gurtu, Stanley Clarke, George Benson, Wayne Shorter, Donald Byrd, Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten, Larry Coryell, Zakir Hussain, Steve Smith, John Scofield, and Bill Frisell.
North African-born Osam Ezzeldin, one of the most talented keyboardists on the horizon today, received a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music after his first U.S. appearance. He has played with such renowned musicians as Zakir Hussain, Istanbul-based percussion maestro Misirli Ahment and Steely Dan bass legend Chuck Rainey.
Drummer Celso Alberti, born in Southern Brazil, has performed professionally since the age of 17. He has toured the globe and performed with such legendary artists as Steve Winwood, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, HerbieMann, Criag Chaquico, and Michael Manring, to name just a few, when he is not in the studio producing.
Special guest Mahesh Kale is an accomplished vocalist of the new generation with a captivating stage presence that has, along with his uncommon musicality and vocal dexterity, positioned him firmly on the national and international radar of the North Indian Classical Music community. As a disciple of Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, he has illustrious pedigree, and his thrilling performances throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States bear this out.
Listen to a track from George Brooks:
Listen to sample tracks from upcoming artists.

subset: commoncrawl


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Sophisticated Finishes Metallic Surfacers
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Modern Optics Metallic Surfacers come in 4 oz. and 8 oz. bottles.
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1. Treat people you are working with as you want to be treated yourself.
2. Be professional in your daily work and fulfil commitments.
3. Consider that your colleagues' time and work are as valuable as yours.
4. Welcome new colleagues into your team by helping them Integrate.
5. Feel responsible for Devoteam's resources.
1. Give all relevant information to your teams, colleagues, and managers to offer the best view of the situation you are involved in.
2. Improve, don't just criticise. Given an issue, always offer at least one suggestion.
3. Tell what is best, highlight risks, and say if you are not qualified for a task.
4. Learn and share from positive and negative experiences.
5. Manage internal issues so that they do not impact negatively on our efficiency.
1. Bring value and new ideas, and share knowledge.
2. Be proud of your teams, your work, and the value you deliver to the customer.
3. Always act to protect, encourage, and strengthen long-term relationships.
4. Look for an opportunity in any change.
5. Help to develop Devoteam.


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Search Holah
Core Studies
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Individual Differences
- Physiological Psychology
- Social Psychology
Exam Help
A Bit More Stuff
Participants needed for New psychology research
I have twitter
Home >Welcome to holah.co.uk
Welcome to holah.co.uk
This is a web site that should be useful and enjoyable if you are studying OCR psychology.This OCR course in AS psychology will provide you with an introduction to the theories and methods of psychology.
You will have the opportunity to evaluate some of the methods that psychologists use and study 15 core studies that have been chosen to represent a range of psychological interests.
You can join in on twitter stuff if you like here www.twitter.com
The AS qualification is made up of two units which include the following:
Psychological Investigations - you will have the opportunity to try out four of the methods that psychologists use. This unit will be assessed in a 1 hour exam.
Core studies ? you will study 15 core studies and this unit will be assessed in a 2 hour exam.
There is more information on the course structure here.
Psychology gives us explanations for why we think, feel and behave the way we do. Psychology is interested in explaining individual behaviour such as what makes you different and similar to other individuals and explaining how you interact with others.
Ultimately we want to provide explanations for our behaviour, but because psychology is a science we back up our explanations with evidence. The explanations that psychologists make can be tested by carrying out studies and collecting data about people. By understanding how we arrive at explanations through carrying out research will enable you to evaluate claims about human behaviour and you will learn to distinguish between fact and opinion.


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Fairies are really cool. The tricky thing about drawing them is the wings! This tutorial will teach you how to draw fairy wings.
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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Making time for hobbies and diversions has been a challenge for me, with a toddler and a new born in the house. I've been trying to find the time to get back into it, and a friend may have given me the push I needed to get back on track.
A buddy from my weekly bible study brought up the idea of brewing, and asked if I would be interested in getting together with him and his brother for some beer making fun. Apparently they have both become disillusioned with their careers and toyed with the idea of opening a brewery or brew pub. They figured a little homebrewing might be just the thing to get their feet wet.
Ahh... The old "lets open a brewery" plan B that lives in the back of the minds of so many craft beer lovers, including mine. When our day-to-day lives slaving away at what ever we do for a living loses it's luster, visions of brew tanks dance in our heads. Sadly the plan typically includes these steps, and these steps only:
- Brew a few batches of beer
- Stumble upon the ultimate beer recipe with no real brewing training or experience
- Some how find funding to open a brewery or brewpub
- Become wildly successful with minimal effort
I'm still on step 1 myself... Oh well, no harm in dreaming and having fun while doing it. So, what's a good simple first beer to make with newbies? Any thoughts?


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Drawing on his personal experiences as a London-based artist who spent his formative years in the north of England, Mark Leckey returns frequently to the themes of desire and transformation. The artist's fascination with the affective power of images is another recurring theme. Meticulously sourced and reconfigured archival footage is a predominant feature of some of his best-known works.
Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999) is a seminal exploration of the history of underground dance culture in the UK from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. Through the brands of clothing they wear, the way they dance and the drugs they take, the clubbers depicted seek a state beyond the mundanity of their daily existence.
In the performance piece GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction (2010), Leckey looks to communicate the inner life of a 'smart' fridge - one that keeps an electronic tally of its contents - and to render audible its 'voice'. In his bid to become one with the appliance, the artist inhaled refrigerator coolant and draped himself in a green cloak that, at a certain point in the performance, allowed him to morph into the green-screen backdrop against which the fridge was set. Advancing the notion that we can be in constant communication with every aspect of our environment, that everything feels alive, Leckey's universe is mediated on multiple levels.
For BigBoxStatueAction (2003-11), Leckey places one of his sound systems 'in conversation' with a modernist sculpture. In order to elicit a response from the sculpture, Leckey serenades it with a sound piece created from sampled music and archive material. If the community of clubbers depicted in Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore share a group mentality and the 'smart' fridge of GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction is an appliance with a mind of its own, in BigBoxStatueAction Leckey attempts to coax the sculpture to reveal its thoughts.


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Lamar Odom scored a season-high 28 points and Kobe Bryant added 19 as the streak-breaking Los Angeles Lakers handed the Cleveland Cavaliers its first loss at home this season at 101-91 on Sunday.
The Cavaliers came in 23-0 at Quicken Loans Arena, but were stopped by the Lakers, who ended Boston's 19-game winning streak on Christmas Day and halted a 12-game run by the Celtics earlier this week.
James finished with 16 points on just 5-of-20 shooting for Cleveland, which hadn't lost at home since Game 5 against Washington in the first round of last season's playoffs.
Pau Gasol added 18 points with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles. The Lakers' trip started rocky with center Andruw Bynum injuring his knee against the Grizzlies, but it couldn't have ended any better.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 22 to lead Cleveland. Mo Williams, whose All-Star snub had infuriated the Cavs, scored 19 and James finished with 12 assists and eight rebounds. It was James' first game since his apparent historic triple-double at Madison Square Garden was downgraded when the league took away one of his 10 rebounds.
At Boston, Roger Mason pulled up and leaned into a 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds left and Tim Duncan scored 23 points with 13 rebounds to lead San Antonio past Boston.
Kevin Garnett scored 26 points with 12 rebounds and Paul Pierce had 19 and eight.
At Portland, Oregon, Brandon Roy scored at the final buzzer to give Portland a victory over New York.
Travis Outlaw made a jumper with 31.9 seconds left to pull Portland within one at 108-107 and Al Harrington missed a layup on the other end for New York. The Trail Blazers called a timeout with 4.3 seconds left before Roy took an inbound pass from Rudy Fernandez and drove for the winning layup.
Roy finished with 19 points and eight assists, while Outlaw led the Blazers with 23 points. Greg Oden had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season. He also added a career-high six blocked shots.
At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 30 points and 16 rebounds to lift the Magic to a victory over New Jersey, which played without Vince Carter.
Mickael Pietrus added 17 points and Hedo Turkoglu scored 15 for the Magic.
Carter missed the game with a hyperextended right elbow.
At Miami, Dwyane Wade shook off flu-like symptoms to score 22 points and regain the NBA scoring lead, while rookie Mario Chalmers scored 16 and added a career-best 13 assists to help Miami hold off Charlotte.
Daequan Cook added 16 points and Udonis Haslem scored 14 for Miami, which shot a season-best 56 percent and won for the second time in its last six games.
D.J. Augustin scored 27 points for Charlotte, Juwan Howard added 14, while Boris Diaw and Emeka Okafor each scored 10.
At Washington, Caron Butler scored 15 straight points, including a game-winning 18-foot shot at the buzzer as Washington beat Indiana.
Butler, who missed the previous two games with the flu, scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and 35 overall as Washington overcame a 110-103 deficit with 5:08 left.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 29 points, while T.J. Ford added 23 and Troy Murphy had 18 and 10 rebounds.
At New Orleans, Sean Marks dunked with 7.8 seconds left to cap a career-high 18-point effort as a short-handed New Orleans overcame the ejection of David West.


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Quote:1961, I'm glad you gave the link to this site in your post as I really needed a laugh when I got in from a shi**y day at work. I watched quite a few of the kata clips and never have I witnessed such a rampant bout of lumbago at any single club I've ever trained at. One guys even wearing a baseball cap whilst performing a kata. How cool is that. My sensei would never let me wear mine. The kata videos are all set to different classical music tracks which I found a little odd as some kind of circus music would have been more appropriate for this bunch of clowns. Very poor quality technique demonstrated in these kata's. I hope those practitioners in the videos are wearing very dark green belts and not black ones...
Quote:did you see this one of the cookout?here's the real 'irone crane'http://ironcrane.com/html/ph083102/P8310055.jpg
Artifacts from the Ryukyu Kingdom missing since WWII.
Visit www.ShisaLion.Org
to view pictures
Stun Guns
Self Defense Products-stun guns, pepper spray, tasers
and more
Complete surveillance systems for covert operations
or secure installation security
Asylum Images
Book presents photo tour of the Trans-Allegany Lunatic Asylum. A must if you're going to take a ghost tour!


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The sparky points of a taser put an end to an Eagan, Minn., man's romp on Maui at the expense of a Diamond Bluff woman he had promised to marry.
James E. Jackson, 40, now sits in a Maui correctional facility awaiting extradition to Wisconsin after being taken into custody by Maui police on Jan. 9.
"The judge in Hawaii wants him (Jackson) to face charges there first before sending him back to Wisconsin," said Lt. Dennis Sorenson of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
Jackson met Kathleen Cullen, 49, in September at Prescott Days and he then moved into her home just after Thanksgiving. The two were planning a Las Vegas wedding.
But on Dec. 23, Jackson told Cullen he had a business meeting in Grand Forks, N.D., and flew away.
However, the plane wasn't going to Grand Forks, he was on a one-way trip to Hawaii, all paid for by using Cullen's credit card information he allegedly had taken.
When she got home that night she discovered the charge on her credit card and that there were several things missing including her laptop, cell phone and other items totaling approximately $7,500, according to Lt. Doug Ducklow, a Pierce County investigator.
Ducklow said Jackson also allegedly took the woman's diamond engagement ring and a pearl necklace.
The man will face a theft charge in Hawaii for allegedly falsely using the woman's credit card. He also failed to pay his $800 bill at the Maui Prince Hotel.
According to a report in the Maui News, Jackson had met up with a woman from Azerbaijan whom he had met online. He reportedly gave that woman the diamond ring and necklace he had allegedly taken from Cullen. The pair was reported to be planning to soon leave for Russia.
Ducklow suspected that Jackson was in the Lahina area of the island because of credit card charges and he had attended a time-share presentation there.
Investigators also posed as Cullen and communicated with Jackson via e-mail.
The end of the line came when Jackson called the Cullen from his Maui Prince Hotel room and Maui officers were able to trace the call.
The Maui News reported that officers went to the room and knocked. When Jackson didn't answer they threatened to break down the door. However he opened just before they got started and let them in.
Officers told Jackson to get on the floor, but instead he turned and started walking toward the room's lanai. A taser shot made sure he didn't make it.
Court records show that Jackson has waived extradition, but he'll be enjoying the Hawaiian heat until April 6, when he is due in court there.
A Maui County court official said that a circuit court judge has signed an order requiring Jackson be sent back to Wisconsin on or before April 13.
In Wisconsin, Jackson is charged with theft and fraudulent credit card use. In the past he's been arrested in California, Minnesota, Tennessee and Mississippi for theft, credit card fraud and abuse, according to court records.


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The growing interest in local history in Baltimore provides opportunities for internships in archives, museums, historic preservation groups, and government agencies.
Students may take one internship for credit. The instructor's permission is required to enroll.
Interns work 8-10 hours per week in a history-related job, supervised by a qualified professional. They also submit papers to the internship instructor. Students enrolled in the internship course earn 3 credits. Grades are given based on the quality of the work.
For more information, contact Professor Sandler in Humanities 303, at 410-617-5479, or email@example.com.
Originally from Italy, this associate professor of history has also lived in Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, and is passionate about her scholarship in Middle Eastern and North African history


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When I saw this mascara brush I was excited…very excited…a square brush! Say it with me…
Boots No. 7's new mascara launch for August the 12th is Extravagant Lashes Mascara (in Black, Black/Brown and Blut).
The brush is interesting! This mascara promises a dramatic curling effect for up to 8 hours and volume.
Hmm the brush sure looks more exciting when its pink.
The test! My eye no mascara (I sure look tired. If anyone wants to adopt me so I can sleep in all day, I cost £3.25 a day to run, give or take a few pence)
From the side:
The brush – yah, its HUGE!
Now the brush – what I noticed is that it reduces the amount of mascara mess you get on your lids, especially for short lashes girls like me. It also deposits quite a generous coat of mascara, and isn't too bad to apply.
However since the reservoirs on the brush are wide compared to that of a bristle brush, its going to leave a thicker layer than some people are used to.
After one coat:
Ok. It didn't hold curl at all. The mascara itself is a very rich, heavy texture – reminds me of L'oreal Voluminous and YSL Faux Cils and therefore by its very nature, is not going to hold/enhance curl.
From below:
As you can see, the volume and length are dramatically different but I personally need a mascara which holds curl (and there aren't that many, Japanese or not).
Verdict: This will work best for girls that already have some curl to the lash, and longer lashed friends that don't have issues with heavy mascaras. It is very dramatic – I'd love to see the brush is a smaller, easier to control form.


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The Better Business Bureau recently released a list of the top 10 scams and rip-offs of 2010. Job hunters and those struggling to make money and get out of debt were common targets of fraudsters, hackers and deceptive businesses in this tough economy.
"With the economy still on the mend, scammers had a field day targeting struggling families who were looking for work and trying to make ends meet," said Melanie Duquesnel, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
"While some of the most popular scams are perennial problems that have always plagued consumers, some new additions to the list are signs of our tough economic times."
Following, in no particular order, is BBB's list of top scams and rip-offs that took advantage of consumers and small business owners across the U.S. in 2010:
Job hunter scams
Scams targeting job hunters vary and include attempts to gain access to personal information such as bank account or social security numbers and requirements to pay a fee in order to even be considered for the job.
Debt relief and settlement
BBB warned consumers in 2010 to seriously consider third-party assistance for getting out of debt.
These companies often require upfront fees and potentially leave the consumer drowning in even more debt.
Complaints to BBB about debt relief and settlement services increased by approximately 30 percent in 2010, according to tentative year-end estimates.
Work from home schemes
Some work from home schemes promise to teach the secrets to making money online, others claim you can make money assembling items at home or get paid to be a mystery shopper.
Some victims even found that their opportunity to work from home was a job to fence stolen goods.
The end result is that instead of getting paid, you can end up losing hundreds -- if not thousands-- of dollars
Timeshare resellers
Complaints to the BBB about the timeshare industry -- including deceptive resellers -- increased by over 40 percent according to 2010 estimates.
Timeshare owners who are desperate to get rid of their costly vacation property are being targeted by companies that claim they have an eager buyer.
The company tells the seller they just have to pay up to several thousand dollars to cover fees.
After paying the fees, the seller never hears from the company again.
Not so 'free' trial offers
Misleading free trial offers online for diet supplements, penny auctions and money making schemes blanket the internet resulting in thousands of complaints ever year.
The free trial offers seem no-risk but complainants state they were repeatedly billed every month and found it extremely difficult to cancel.
Itinerant home repair/roofers
BBBs across the country received complaints from consumers who answered a knock from a door to door salesman or itinerant worker who eventually failed to deliver on promises to fix their roof or conduct other work to the home.
Complaints to BBB about roofing companies increased by roughly 40 percent in 2010, according to tentative estimates, due in part to one company that solicited door to door, American Shingle, which received nearly 1,000 complaints nationwide after going bankrupt and not providing new roofs to angry customers.
Lottery and sweepstakes scams
The victim -- often a senior citizen -- receives a letter in the mail or phone call from someone pretending to be with Reader's Digest, Publisher's Clearing House or a phony foreign lottery.
The scammer claims that the victim has won millions but must first wire hundreds or even thousands of dollars back to the scammers to cover taxes or some other bogus fee.
The victim wires the money, but the prize never arrives.
Identity theft
There are any number of ways a person can become a victim of identity theft.
Through low-tech theft, phishing e-mails, vishing phone calls, smishing text messages, or even through no fault of your own as the result of a corporate data breach, millions fall victim to identity theft every year.
Advance Fee Loan Scams
A perennial problem, advance fee loan scams prey on consumers and business owners who are struggling financially.
Victims are told they qualify for large loans but must pay upfront fees -- often more than a thousand dollars.
The victim wires money to the scammers, but never receives the loan.
Over-payment scams
Over-payment scams typically target small business owners, landlords or individuals with rooms to rent and sellers on classifieds or sites like Craigslist.
The scammers overpay the amount for the services or products and then ask the victim to wire the extra amount back to them or to another fraudulent entity.
Ultimately though, the check is forged and the victim is out the money wired back to the scammers.
Consumers or small business owners victimized by a scam can contact their local BBB or file a complaint at bbb.org.
Always research a business with BBB before signing any contracts or handing over any money.
Published: Mon, Jan 10, 2011


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BarbaraMallires needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 87 designs submitted by 28 freelance designers.
We are looking for a unique design to initially represent a local market, but may eventually expand nationwide. The website has not yet been designed, so feel free to go where you want. This will be a site where homeowner's will "list" their homes "For sale by owner" and also be able to 'search' for other homes that are "for sale by owner'. PLEASE READ THE COMPLETE BRIEF!!!!
Buy & Sell with No Commissions.
Desired Color Scheme:
Colors can be anything....although I was thinking perhaps an orange and blue or something else unique. Feel free!
Desired Style:
should be easy to be reproducable in B& W
Accepted File Formats:
layered PSD format, vector, etc
The whole idea is to convey hope and confidence that "Yes", they can sell their homes without paying a commission and/or find a home without paying an over-inflated price due to a commission being added in from a real estate agent. It should also convey innovatation, creativity ,and yet, project professionalism and an indication that it is run by an experienced co. that understands what consumers ages 21-80 are looking for in easy to use For Sale By Owner site.
NOTE: THIS LOGO SHOULD BE STACKED...WITH "HOMES.COM" UNDERNEATH "COMFREE". IT WILL BE USED ON THE FRONT OF A 9" WIDE PORTRAIT ORIENTATED MAGAZINE COVER. iT WILL ALSO BE USED ON YARD SIGNS...SO IT SHOULD BE VERY "READABLE" FROM DOWN THE STREET!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Monday, January 30, 2012
Guess who's back...
X would soon convince me to start my own blog which I did, and two years later here we are. I met a lot of cool people through this blog but near the end of 2011, blogging felt like a chore. I'd always have to fit blogging in around spending time with my girlfriend, Falisha, as well as working and doing things I enjoyed like playing video games and watching movies. So reviewing and comic-reading just seemed more like a job and less fun. So I decided to take a quick break from blogging and I enjoyed it a lot, I didn't have to review things and I could read comics, enjoy them and move on. I didn't have to take notes, read and review at once or anything else. I'd been considering when to come back and blog again and I'd though about changing things up but I wasn't that excited about it, until a few days ago when I had a talk with X.
He offered me a chanc to write for his blog, considering his hectic posting, the fact that he's been going through some stuff lately and since I'm infinitely more awesome than him, he figured that having me post at his blog would give him a chance to relax, have a new contributor with different thoughts and views, as well as give me a way to post without the pressure of having to, as I can post what I want when I please, as well as having my reviews seen by a wider audience, as X's blog gets WAY more traffic than my own. So this worked great for myself and X, and I agreed. So as of today, I am now a contributor for X-Man's Comic Blog, and I hope anyone who reads my blog that isn't following X's will come over with me as well.
I won't be closing this blog, I put a lot of time into it and I appreciate everyone that's followed it and commented, so I'm not going to delete it and act like it's never been here. Thank you all for reading what I've posted and you guys have been great friends to me. Here's hoping things are this great over at X's blog, since I plan on adding some class to the place. Until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, JT, signing off.
7 comments:
Woooooooooo time to pack up and move on over to X's blog!!! ^_^ Get with it!ReplyDelete
Nice semi-farewell blog. :)
Aww yeah! Lol thanks babe.ReplyDelete
Hey, what are you doing over here?! Get back to work!!! :DReplyDelete
Great post, mi amigo. Although I WILL take some offense at you calling yourself "infinitely" more awesome than I am... I'd have to say it's the other way around! :P I will agree about you classing up my blog though... That blog was a pretty classless place before you arrived.
I'm sorry boss, it was my lunch break! LolReplyDelete
Thanks dude, and I'm sorry for telling the truth, but ya know. And I'm glad I took your blog from Crass Ass to Super Class.
Rats!!! I just found your blog.ReplyDelete
Haha, well i'm glad you enjoy it. I still post over at X's so feel free to join me over there.ReplyDelete
I just learnt of your blog, I will follow this one and the new one you're writing for. Keep up the good work! ^^ReplyDelete


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Hello, welcome to Mom Bloggers Club. MBC is one of the largest social network for mom bloggers. It is a place where moms who blog converge to talk about the latest trends in blogging and support each other in their blogging endeavors and a place to make new friends. I review, blog and sell children's books & gifts. My blog link is http://mymcbooks.wordpress.com. I will be stopping by your blog.
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Bendis Talks Diversity and the New ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
The news broke early Tuesday morning — or late Monday night, depending on your time zone — that the new Ultimate Spider-Man would be Miles Morales, a half-African American, half-Latino teenager.
That announcement sparked a flurry of reaction, from both fans excited about the development and detractors writing the move off as a "PC" ploy by Marvel aimed to generate mainstream media attention. All of this before the comic book introducing the character, Ultimate Fallout #4, even went on sale.
With that issue on stands (both physical and digital) today, Newsarama talked with the man at the center of it all, Ultimate Spider-Man writer Brian Michael Bendis, to learn more about Miles Morales, from the character's conception to naming to the New York City borough he calls home. We also discuss diversity in comics, the USA Today comments section, how much Community actor Donald Glover influenced the creation of Miles Morales, and why it's not Ultimate Miguel O'Hara.
Newsarama: Brian, you must be excited to have this news finally out there, since you've obviously been sitting on it for a while.
Brian Michael Bendis: What a reaction. It was announced, and then I went to bed, then I woke up saying, "Wow!"
Nrama: And the news really didn't leak — up until the USA Today article went online, people were still speculating that it would be Spider-Woman, or the Ultimate version of Miguel O'Hara, or whoever else.
Bendis: The guesses were pretty fantastic. And I'm sorry if you guessed wrong; it doesn't make me a sh*tty writer. [Laughs.] I'm always baffled by that. It's been going on for years. "It's not Ben Reilly? You suck!"
Nrama: So you've indicated that this has been in the works for a while, but when did it all start coming together? At the same time as the planning of "Death of Spider-Man"?
Bendis: No, this is a while ago. This has been the theoretical discussion —talking about different aspects of what comics are, and what they could be, and what they should be, and what they might be. We discuss that endlessly, and one of the topics was, "Wouldn't it be cool if… ?" But it's got to be more than that.Primarily Joe [Quesada] and I — this was back when Joe was editor-in-chief — would have this discussion. First you get the idea, if you really wanted to make this work, Peter's got to go. If anybody else was being Spider-Man, they're competing with Peter Parker as Spider-Man, and you just can't compete with that. Peter would have to go.
If Peter has to go, that story has to be just world-class; that has to be the greatest Spider-Man thing ever, or at least of that intent. We discussed it even around Ultimatum — "well, here's a perfect place to whack him" — but it just didn't feel right. I still had this big pile of stuff I wanted to do with him. We were just getting to a place where it was getting closer and closer, and we kind of committed that we were going to do this, and we'll find a place when it's time. I started working on the character, and everybody who knew about it — which was like four people — kept throwing ideas at me, and some of those ideas I loved, and will definitely be part of it.
While this was going on, two things happened: my family life changed dramatically, and Donald Glover stood up and said, "I want to be Spider-Man." I was like, "I would like him to be Spider-Man. Very much." I said so publicly at the time, and that came and went. We got closer and closer and closer to working on it, and then they did that hilarious bit on Community at the beginning of last season where he got out of bed and was wearing Spider-Man pajamas, and he looked fantastic! I had already written my first issue, and I was like, "Oh, I would so like to read that book!" then I was like, "I am writing that book. That's awesome!"
Now, Miles is a completely different character than Donald. He's much younger, and coming from a much different place, and is a completely different voice. But just the aspect of someone else being Spider-Man, and having a different place where they're coming from, to analyze what it means to be Spider-Man, and what it means in this world, versus the world that Spider-Man was originally created in — even the world Ultimate Spider-Man was created in was different. So, yeah. Here we are.
Nrama: And not just younger than Donald Glover, but as you said in the AP article, he's even younger than Ultimate Peter Parker, right?
Bendis: Yeah, he's young. He's like 13. He's a kid.
Nrama: So was it always the plan to go for it with a new character?
Bendis: Yes. It's funny, everyone coming at me with Miguel O'Hara jokes. We were making these jokes like two years ago, and someone at Marvel — I won't out them — but they were really mad that we weren't going with that name.
Then it becomes something else: "Oh is he from the future?" "Is the 2099 Universe now the Ultimate Universe?" It becomes this whole different thing, but it just completely confuses the story. We want to start fresh, and put some toys in the toy box. For every 10 I kill, I put one in. [Laughs.] A new character that has a completely clean slate from which to build was the way to go. It just was.
Nrama: Other than Miguel O'Hara, which was in a future timeline, and Ben Reilly, who was a clone, there really hasn't been a Spider-Man before that wasn't Peter Parker. That must have been — and must continue to be — a huge task, creating the character to fill that legacy. And probably an exciting one, too.
Bendis: Crazy exciting. So much fun to write. Sometimes it pours out of me like crazy.Here's what I'll say for people who have been reading Ultimate Spider-Man: You will be rewarded for your concentration and dedication, because this character will be entering the legacy of Peter Parker, and meeting many people from Peter Parker's life in different ways. And that will all be addressed. In the first half-of-a-year of Ultimate Spider-Man, you will see Gwen Stacy, you will see Aunt May, you will see Spider-Woman; how he got his powers. All of this will be addressed very, very quickly — in the first two issues, both of which ship in September.
Nrama: It sounds like a definite balance there — introducing a new main character, but also retaining enough "classic" elements to keep things recognizable as a Spider-Man comic.
Bendis: These elements are just important, too. A kid on a discovery, trying to figure out why to be Spider-Man. It's a big journey for him. It's a character going almost against his entire personality to do this, so a lot has to be discovered.
When it comes to quote-unquote "minorities" — and I really mean "quote-unquote" minorities, because sometimes I don't think there is such a thing anymore — everybody's experience in life is so different. And Miles' will be different, and it will be informed by who he is, and where he came from, but it's not going to be the universal experience of all African-American or Latino culture. There's a very specific road that this kid's on, and I'm excited to explore it.But I must say, as an example, I see a lot of female readers in comics who basically want to see their experience as a woman portrayed in fiction, and if they don't see it, they don't think it's real, or authentic. Whereas I have not met two women in the world who have had the same experience in the universe. Same thing with everybody.
I have so many female readers who identify with such different things in the writing, and then when I see someone stand up and say that they speak for all female readers, I'm like, "No, you don't. I've got female readers of all walks of life, who all want different things."
From the author's standpoint, I don't agree with that at all. Not everybody wants the same thing. Not any one culture or sexuality wants the same thing out of their comic books. I know that can be distressing for some, but that's what's cool, and that's why there are so many different comic books.
Nrama: What's really refreshing about Miles Morales to me is that he's actually multiracial — was that always part of the plan with the character?
Bendis: It just reflects my part of the universe. I'm surrounded by such a multiracial society, and I don't see that reflected so much. It hasn't seeped into the culture enough. This, and Takio, and other books I'm doing, and Scarlet as well — I'm not going out of my way to do it, but I just keep doing it. That's what I see in the world.
Nrama: Which is why it's disheartening when you see some of the complaints people have had about Miles Morales — "Oh, it's just being PC," and so on.
Bendis: What's PC about it? I kept seeing that.
I just got forwarded a bunch of stuff. It seemed that the comics community is pretty cool with it, all said and done, beyond the usual "You spoiled my book, you a**hole" thing, but that's OK, because I know I didn't. Nothing was spoiled; we just told you what the book's about. That's marketing, that's not spoiling.It seems that the USA Today comments section was rife with crazy people. I didn't know they had comments, someone had to show it to me: "Wow, that's something." The word PC keeps popping up. I don't get it, honestly. I guess because I live in Portland, and I live in a Utopian society where no one gives a sh*t about anyone's skin color, or sexual orientation, every time I face it I go, "Really? What? What's the problem?"
Nrama: Definitely wanted to ask about the name of the character — naming a Spider-Man other than Peter Parker is a huge responsibility in itself. Was it important to keep an alliterative name as a little bit of a nod?
Bendis: The naming of the character was a blowout war between me and Joe, for months and months and months. I named the character a few things, lists were made, debates were had. There was another name for a while.
I settled on the alliteration. First you go, "Is it too obvious, the alliteration?" Then you go, "No, do it! Come on." It was one of those, "Is it smart-stupid or stupid-smart?" You can't tell. So I just went for it.
I settled on the final name by literally just typing it into the script so everyone would stop talking about it. So there it is.
Nrama: This is kind of a weird, speculative question, but in a parallel universe where Ultimate Spider-Man was starting today, do you think you would have just made Peter Parker an ethnic minority?
Bendis: I don't know, but I don't think so. Peter Parker's Peter Parker. This is a different character.
In my opinion, for it to truly be a Spider-Man story, and not an alternative or "What If?" or something, this is way the story had to go. You really needed the 11 years of Peter Parker to build to this moment.
I know there are some people who think that this was a "stunt" or something. Story first. And if it's story first, and the marketing happens, and we happen to hit on a slow news day where no one did anything crazy so we get a lot of press, there is nothing wrong with that, especially if it's a beautiful book that you believe in — and by "beautiful" I mean [Ultimate Spider-Man artist Sara Pichelli]'s work, I'm not talking about myself. It's a gorgeous book, and we're really proud of it, and there's nothing wrong with trying to get people to take a look at it, especially getting new people to come in a comic store who aren't coming in. A lot of our retail brothers are hurting, and anything we can do to get people in a store for them to take a tour around and check out all the cool stuff, there's nothing wrong with that.
I know that sometimes things feel a little stunt-y, especially when something explodes like this, but I can tell you from my heart of hearts that it was story-first for years, and once we knew that we had something we were really proud of, absolutely we let people know, and if people want to jump on the story, great.
I have no regrets over how we went about with the original launch of Ultimate Spider-Man — obviously. Really, it's probably the most important thing I've done in comics, and other than my waves of neurosis and self-loathing that cover me like a blanket every day, I'm very proud of what we've done. But this makes me more proud of it.
Nrama: There's been a lot of talk in recent interviews that the Ultimate Universe is the place where things happen that could never happen in the mainstream Marvel Universe, and this definitely seems like one of the most concrete possible examples of that.
Bendis: Yeah, I think so. I've seen some people be dismissive of the Ultimate Universe as a whole, because they're all locked in to the "parallel universe" or "multiverse" aspect of their brain.
The Ultimate Universe is not a parallel universe, or a multiverse. That's just not how it works. It is an interpretation of the characters, to me, as legitimate as any of the movies or television shows. It's just an interpretation of the characters. For a lot of people, this is the only Spider-Man they read. This is Spider-Man. It doesn't take away from anything that's going on in Amazing — obviously I write 616 Spidey in two or three of my books. I love that character with my whole entire heart, but that is an interpretation of the character, as is the movie interpretation, as is the upcoming new movie, and the cartoons, and the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon that's coming out.
Nrama: And terms like "parallel universe" tend to conjure sci-fi connotations that don't really apply in this instance.
Bendis: And I get where it comes from. There are whole sections of the comic book world that all we do is talk about multiverse and crossovers. But I think we've proven that's not how we go about making this book. This is Spider-Man. It's not alternative Spider-Man, it is Spider-Man.
Nrama: One more thing I was curious about with Miles Morales — he's half-Latino, but what nationality?
Bendis: His mother's Puerto Rican. And for some reason the borough seems to be an issue for everybody, too: the borough is Brooklyn.
Where he's going to school, and his own cast of characters, and his parents, and his family — you're going to meet them all in the first issue, and it's all pretty interesting stuff. They live in a world that's been pummeled by Magneto. It's a different world for them than it was for Peter.Nrama: With the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon debuting next year, was there any concern that there might be brand confusion with Peter Parker in the cartoon and Miles Morales in the comic?
Bendis: I asked that very question, and it seems the answer was no.
But I notice that some people feel that Peter will be back in the comic book by the time the cartoon comes out. That is not the case. I have already written up to the issues of when the cartoon comes out. That's not happening. This is a long-term goal. This is it.Got a comment? There's lots of conversation on Newsarama's FACEBOOK and TWITTER! More on the new Ultimate Spider-Man from Newsarama:
- THE REPLACEMENTS: 10 of the Best Substitute Superheroes
- Identity of the New ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN Revealed [SPOILERS]
- Webheads? 10 Candidates For the NEW Ultimate Spider-Man
- Bendis Talks DEATH OF SPIDER-MAN, MOON KNIGHT and BRILLIANT
- Brian Michael Bendis On a New ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN #1


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Voices of Light / The Passion of Joan of Arclike
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival, with the Pacific Film Archive and the Paramount Theatre presented Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of Arc, an Oratorio with Silent Film on Thursday, December 2, 2010 at 7:30pm at Oakland's Paramount Theatre. This event combined the performance of Richard Einhorn's choral and orchestral work, Voices of Light, with Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Dreyer's depiction of the trial and execution of Joan of Arc is rightfully canonized as one of cinema's masterpieces. The film combines the actual written records of the trial with a style that draws on French Impressionism, German Expressionism, and Soviet Montage to create a visually breathtaking and emotionally intimate portrayal of the young woman's interrogation and last moments. As Joan, Maria Falconetti gives what "may be the finest performance ever recorded on film" (Pauline Kael).
The composition Voices of Light, scored by Richard Einhorn for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, "sublimely matches one of the great films of all time" (Chicago Sun-Times). Voices of Light was conducted by Dr. Mark Sumner and performed by a chorus of 200 voices and a twenty-two piece orchestra. Dr. Sumner and the University of California Alumni Chorus were joined by the women of UC Berkeley's Perfect Fifth; tenor soloist Daniel Ebbers and baritone soloist Martin Bell; and UC Men's and Women's Chorales.
The Passion of Joan of Arc (La passion de Jeanne d'Arc)
France, 1928 • Director Carl Theodor Dreyer
Cast Maria Falconetti (Jeanne d'Arc), Eugène Silvain (Bishop Pierre Cauchon), André Berley (Jean d'Estivet), Maurice Schultz (Nicolas Loyseleur), Antonin Artaud (Jean Massieu), Michel Simon (Jean Lemaître), Jean d'Yd (Guillaume Evrard), Louis Ravet (Jean Beaupère), Armand Lurville (Judge), Jacques Arnna (Judge), Alexandre Mihalesco (Judge), Léon Larive (Judge)


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A short while ago I was asked to visit my old Alma Mater San Jose State University to be featured in their Humanities and Arts Showcase event. I was more than happy to do so as it provided me yet another opportunity for a short road trip before the end of the year along with being able to support the school I owe so much of my development as an artist to. To make this trip more productive (and to try to recoup the funds that had to be spent on diesel) I also contacted SJ Institute of Contemporary Arts to see if they would like to host a tintype portrait session as part of the first Friday art walk in San Jose. They were happy to do this and so I set off toward SF Bay Area.
On the drive north I stopped for a night at the house of Lori Pond in Pasadena. Lori found me through a mutual friend and was interested in setting up the darkroom and acquiring the gear needed to start practicing wet plate photography. I was thrilled to have an opportunity to be involved in a birth of another darkroom. I spent a couple of weeks prior to the trip gathering together all the gear and when I showed up on Lori's doorsteps I was bearing all ingredients needed for her to get started. I even brought her a beautiful darkroom sink that's been in my darkroom for a while now - I'm happy that soon it will contribute to image-making once again!
The drive north was uneventful - I took my time and gave this 400mi drive a whole day rather than trying to do it all at once. This was a great decision and when I got to SJSU late at night I finally could say that a long drive didn't cost me too much pain and suffering. Luckily the parking behind the art building was reserved and so I pulled in there and went to sleep in peace.
On Friday morning I wanted to make a few plates before students and prospective students were to start coming through the bus for tours. I can't say that SJSU has the most picturesque campuses I have ever seen, but it was MY campus and so I felt strongly that I should document whatever was around me through my years as a student there. As I mentioned above, I was parked in the back of the art building and so that was where I made the following images.
At about 11am the flow of students began as a steady stream and I had quite a lot of visitors all through the afternoon. It was great to see some of my old professors too! What a marvelous time it was when I was in school - spending nights upon night in the darkroom and taking all sorts of art classes in various disciplines. If I could do it all again I would do the exact same thing with no drop of regret (well, maybe I would learn to draw before taking lithography...).
My next engagement was not until next Friday, so I was left exploring Bay Area with Gilli-the-bus as my companion. I decided to stay for a few nights with one of my ex-classmates James Pollard, who lives not to far from campus. James is a painter and came into the fine art program 'straight off the streets', meaning he never had any kind of prior experience in the area, but was compelled to be a painter via a personal revelation. Now he is pursuing it with vigor and I hope he will soon have a website where we all can see his work. For now I present to you this tintype of James in his back yard. We chose to have him wear his graduation gown and a helmet and armor that he made for one of his class projects. I think it's rather symbolic, but I will leave it to you my dear reader to read into the symbolism for yourself.
It seems like darkrooms are popping up now at a pretty incredible rate (or maybe it's just me concentrating on this, so that's all I see). An online friend of mine Chris Blevins-Morrison whom I met last time I was in Bay Area happened to have gotten an offer of picking up an entire darkroom set-up for free and was eager to do that. Unfortunately the equipment was about 250 miles away and she was not looking forward to driving that much by herself and the prospect of lugging some of the heavier pieces once she got there. I volunteered to come along and we had a great time on the road to and back from Sequoia National Forest. Chis works as a nurse, but is getting very involved with photography and I applaud her especially for working with film and alternative processes. She is working on a project about women artists and is still finalizing what process will be used in printing those images. The cool thing is that they will NOT be digital. She shoots with a Rolleiflex (another kudos from me) and now got herself a 5x7 view camera as well.
We chose to take highway 178 from Bakersfield to get to our destination. This two lane road winds rapidly at the bottom of a steep canyon. On one hand I wished I had the bus with me so I could make some tintypes, but on the other hand I was glad to be driving a much smaller vehicle. The canyon finally opens up onto Lake Isabella and here are a couple of Fuji Intax images of that.
The equipment we were to pick up at one point belonged to a photographer who lived in Wofford Heights. Recently he has developed dementia and is now living in a care facility, so his double-wide trailer home complete with a darkroom is now being cleaned up for an upcoming sale. Judging by the equipment he knew what he was doing and I wish I could see some of his images. There were lots of Linhoff 4x5 holders, Zone VI gadgets and the Omega 2D enlarger had a really nice cold light head on it. There was even a really cool old Beseler enlarger table the likes of which I have never seen - that thing took us a little while to disassemble, but it was all worth it. Chris was really happy to get all that she needed for a darkroom (and more) in one place and I could see that she really appreciated the history of this equipment as well. I hope it serves her for a long time. We drove home to Bay Area tired, but happy. The road back was once again filled with photo-talk and I couldn't have been happier. We must have gotten back around 4am....
I must say that two of my favorite things about that area are the redwood-covered hills and the coastline. With that in mind I decided to dive into Big Basin State Park to make a couple of plates. The drive west on a tiny and extremely windy highway 9 could be a challenge even for a car, but in a 35ft bus it was a serious feat. Nonetheless I made it almost to the official park entrance when I saw a place to pull over that was surrounded by scenery that I could see myself photographing. Redwoods are some of the biggest trees on the planet (in fact the tallest tree in the world is indeed a redwood), so I decided to step up from my regular 4x5 and make some 8x10 images instead. If you have ever been in a forest of tall pine you probably remember how extremely spotty the light is and how contrasty the entire scene is, so it was a bit difficult to shoot with already high-contrast wet plate emulsion... Here is Gilli surrounded by the forest and the two 8x10 plates that resulted from the shoot.
The next day I thought I should go explore the coastline above Half Moon Bay on the way to my friend Kirill Klylov's place in Pacifica. I chose the lesser of all hills that lead across the hills to the coast - highway 92. Still, the going was very slow and I had to pull off at almost every possible place to let by the traffic that quickly stacked behind me. At one of such pull-offs I was surrounded by a very cool looking forest and decided to stop for a while and shoot. I really love the way these images turned out. Oh yeah, exposure times were up to 1min 20sec at f8! It was VERY deep shade there....
I was closer than I thought to the coast and so had time to make quite a few tintypes before the sun went down. I won't bore you with all of them, but here is an image of Gilli on the beautiful California coast and a couple of my favorite plates taken by the town of Pacifica.
On Thursday I headed back to San Jose area and once again stayed the night at James Pollard's place in Campbell. The next day I had a tintype shoot scheduled at SJICA and this was to be my first real shoot using strobe lighting, so I wanted to practice one more time to nail down the exposure and all that. We waited till pretty late at night to start the shoot (which might explain the expression on James' face), but I pretty much nailed the shot from first plate (to be completely honest the very first plate was ruined by me forgetting to take the lens cap off, but the first plate that did receive light was the one that worked out, so I count that as a win). Here is James once again, but under artificial light:
Friday I pulled up to SJICA earlier than need be and parked Gilli right in front.
Because it was still light out and I thought that people won't start showing up till much later I decided to walk up 1st street to see how San Jose has changed in the past couple of years. Well, it hasn't changed too much, but imagine my surprise when I ran into Dora Lee - an old classmate of mine from back in SJSU days. We had a good time catching up and she later stopped by the shoot as well.
I got back to the bus just before 5 thinking that I'll have plenty of time to set up, test everything, wait for the light to go down and then start shooting. Well, that was not to be so - there was already a couple with two kids waiting by the bus to have their tintype made! I scrambled to set up the background (which, by the way, I have sown magnets into so now it's really quick to attach it directly to the bus and it will NEVER blow over!), the camera and chemistry. While doing all that I gave my first customers a brief overview of things pertaining to collodion and showed them my samples. After I set up the chemistry and camera it dawned on me to ask what size image they would want. I was offering 3.5x4.5, 4x6 and 8x10. To my delight they decided to go with the 8x10. That meant a quick change in the darkroom setup, but they were very patient and looked over my movements with interest. Also, by the time we were set to go the sun was still out and though the background was in the shade I still think it would have given us a ghost image if I was to do a natural light in combination with flash, so I decided to go all natural with exposure time being about 12 seconds. That is a LONG time for anyone, but especially a 4 year old boy to sit still (I think that's how old the youngest one was.... I'm not good at estimating these things). We had to do two plates in the end - in the first one both he and his sister were pretty fidgety and came out as classic collodion blurs, while during the second exposure the girl sat vary still and the boy only moved for a second, so came out much better than the first time. Here is that 8x10 after varnishing - I think it came out rather well considering the circumstances.
Next I did a couple of portraits of some of the staff of ICA and this time there was no problems with movement at all because the flashes were in use. Here they are while still in the wash.
After the shoot I went out for a beer with some of my old San Jose friends and then started to drive back south.
It was another uneventful drive I am now sitting in a coffee shop in Glendale and waiting for Lori Pond to get back home so we can start to work on her wet plate darkroom. Tomorrow we should install the vent and the sink and then we'll get a chance to test out all her gear and chemistry, that should be fun.
And so comes to the end my short trip up to the Bay Area. It was fun and I hope to do this again - I think CA is a great place to travel in the winter - it's big enough and most of it doesn't get cold enough to be prohibitive to Gilli-the-Gillig.
Anton Orlov


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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick says he is encouraging linebacker Manti Te'o to speak publicly about being the victim of a hoax involving a dead girlfriend who never existed.
Swarbrick says he believes Te'o has to explain exactly how he was duped into an online relationship with a woman whose ``death'' was then faked by the perpetrators of the hoax. Swarbrick says school officials would rather see Te'o talk about it ``sooner rather than later.''
Swarbrick says university officials understand there is more to be learned, but based on knowing Te'o he believes the linebacker is a victim. He says he will continue to believe that until given ``compelling evidence to the contrary.''
Swarbrick also says he understands why some people are skeptical about Te'o's story.


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STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) – Motorists will find the Stillwater Lift Bridge temporarily closed Wednesday.
The bridge across the St. Croix River between Minnesota and Wisconsin is scheduled to close at noon. Transportation officials say the bridge is expected to reopen to motorists by 4 p.m.
The closure is necessary as crew begin repairing cable and inspecting the bridge lift system. MnDOT was able to find a cable locally to repair the bridge.
Crews hope to have the bridge fully operational and open to water traffic by the end of the week, weather permitting.
On Sunday night, a bridge operator detected a frayed cable on the lift system of the bridge. As a precaution, the normal lift schedule was suspended, so the bridge can't be lifted for bigger boats for now.


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http://www.myriveroflife.nl/story.php?t ... re_Brennan
On the website says that music of Clannad is occult. Is that so?
I listen to Moya Brennan beatiful music. I hear her live and meet her (Drachten!)! Was amazing!
I try to translate the site:
An enchanting album, 'Whisper to the Wild Water "by Maire Brennan
Posted 1301 days ago by perfectly forgiving (self written)
Category: Reviews (books, CDs) | Keywords: maire brennan Clannad occult
A few years ago, surprised Maire Brennan (pronounce Moya Brennan) the gospel scene with her first Christian CD "Whisper to the Wild Water. Since I do appreciate Celtic music (Celtic rock bands like Iona and stoneware think), I bought this CD from this singer who also sometimes backing vocals at Iona on its behalf has taken (such as in Journey into the Morn).
The quality of this CD is nothing to be desired. Maire Brennan has a beautiful, dreamy, mysterious voice and the accompaniment, with Irish flutes and the like do not exist, there must also be sure. The achtergrondvokalen are beautiful. The compositions are clear and take you on a musical journey. Also this CD rather than happy sad. The CD is beautiful and has a completely unique style. The CD cover is nicely designed and looks good. The design also fits nicely with the music. Also, the lyrics sound interesting and this CD is not as fast "too often heard."
And yet and yet and yet I can not listen to this CD as a Christian. It will certainly be me, because even on the Internet Aanbidding.net this disc is rotated. But the Holy Spirit has shown me that I should do this CD away. In a certain time, three years ago, I listened this CD very much. Suddenly one night I had terrible nightmares and felt that it all had to do with this CD. In the morning I have this CD then thrown in the trash. A radical decision, so I slept better since then.
What grounds can there be such a CD that in God's eyes "impure" is? Of course, and I can not judge, but I think it's good to be vigilant as Christians. Maire Brennan has in the past a major contribution to the folk band Clannad. This group is not Christian, indeed, much of their music has to do with Celtic mysticism (DRUIDES and occult rituals). Of course, God's light can not tolerate such things. And this was not only the past, because even now with the band Clannad Maire stands on various stages, including a concert scheduled on November 20 in the town where I live now.
It is an 'enchanting' CD. The Bible is very clear on how to deal with sorcery in Acts we read that people are valuable magic books burned. If there is anything in your life what you performs on the straight road, take it away from your life because your life is more precious than all these things. For me, this CD is not a drop living water. Maire Brennan If I could reach her, I would like to warn and to point to Jesus' words "begin a new life."


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NEW YORK STATE — While many lease-holders in New York State may be wondering why Governor Andrew Cuomo keeps delaying the adoption of new rules on hydraulic fracturing, part of the answer may be …
NEW YORK STATE — While many lease-holders in New York State may be wondering why Governor Andrew Cuomo keeps delaying the adoption of new rules on hydraulic fracturing, part of the answer may be that even when the new rules are in place, New York State is not likely to see much in the way of new revenues from the famed shale play.
At a presentation at Cornell University on October 30, four analysts, all working on a volunteer basis and all with impressive credentials, made the case that because of various geological and market realities, the Marcellus Shale formation in New York is likely to return much less gas than the same formation in Pennsylvania. In fact, the returns may be so meager, that few wells are likely to be drilled.
Part of that analysis came from comparing the data from more than 15,000 wells in Pennsylvania with available data from New York, and projecting the probable yield of gas in various counties in the Empire State.
According to the presentation, among the most important factors determining whether there is gas suitable for extraction in the Marcellus Shale is the thickness of the shale deposit and the depth of the deposit. Given just those two parameters, there is the possibility of some wells being successfully drilled close to the Pennsylvania borders in some New York counties and even some in Sullivan County.
But there is another factor in the equation that is even more important than thickness or depth, called "thermal maturity," which is an indication of the temperature the shale experienced in the past. If the temperature was too high, the shale is said to be "over mature," and no gas will be found in the shale. Another way of saying this is that the formation is "overcooked."
When the thermal maturity parameter is added to the equation of the shale, the area of likely productive wells in New York State shrinks considerably. In this analysis, all of Sullivan County is considered to be "over mature," which means there will likely be no productive wells drilled here. This is in line with what Professor Terry Engleder, considered one of the foremost experts on the Marcellus Shale, has said in the past about Sullivan County—that there was almost no chance that any productive wells would be drilled here. This information also matches up with that obtained by a private individual who several years ago engaged independent expert analysts on the subject and spoke to The River Reporter about it.
The analysis presented at Cornell showed that there are very limited areas in the state that might produce productive wells, and they include parts of Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties, and a small part of Delaware County. Even in these locations, however, the wells would be below average in terms of the amount of gas produced, and they would not be profitable until the price of gas rises significantly.
Some analysts have said those wells would be profitable when the price of gas reaches $5 per 1,000 cubic feet (mcf), which is not expected to happen until at least 2020 because of the glut of natural gas in the United States. One of the analysts, Chip Northrup, an investor and former energy executive, said the real break-even price is closer to $7.00. Further, if the cost of all the dry and failed wells is added to the mix, including those drilled by other companies, the price of gas would have to rise to about $10 mcf before the New York wells could be considered profitable across the entire industry.
Even with that pessimistic forecast, however, one of the analysts, Louis Allstadt, a former executive vice president of Mobil Oil Corporation, expects that some wells will be drilled in the Southern Tier towns in New York. He said. "There are thousands of drilling companies, there are always some that just have to take a shot somewhere… So will there be drilling? Probably not a whole lot, but there will be companies that come around and try it. And unfortunately those can be the least reliable outfits because they will try to do the wells as cheaply as possible. I would worry about these test wells in the outlying areas."


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Gary Younge
Gary Younge was raised in Stevenage. He is a columnist for the Guardian and the Nation. His books include No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the American South, Who Are We – and Should it Matter in the 21st Century? and Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives.


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Samsher was not doing anything in particular when the phone rang. Som Prakash was on the other side.
"Be ready, we shall go together for the year end party."
"I am not going. You will go with your wife. Who will come with me?"
"Party improves visibility, boss. Khurana must know you attended his party," Som was at his persuasive best, "You may enter alone, but who stops you from leaving with someone? There will be plenty of good looking women from other departments too!"
When everyone was gathered around either Khurana or food or drinks, Sam saw this girl standing alone with a glass of wine. Sam had a feeling that he had seen her in training session in the department. Girl appeared self assured and throwing a challenge, "if you want to know me, come and talk to me."
Sam thought, 'Hell with promotion; I must know this girl."
"Hi I am Samsher,"
"Havent I seen you training at the police department, Shalini? What are you doing here?"
Read : Eagle Eye
"I am with my friend, who is somewhere there," she pointed in the vague direction of huddles around important people, "yes I am a professional coach."
"She left you alone?"
"I don't mind. Met interesting people alone. Sheep move in a herd; lion hunts alone."
This self assured girl, Sam found interesting.
"Since there is no Khurana to hog your time and attention, may I have your personal number" Sam asked, "I would like to call you."
"I told you, you are coming alone, need not have to leave alone," Sam had no idea when Som had come and joined them.
The present post is written as part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2019.
Also Read : (1) Assignment; (2) Be Like a Cactus; (3) Chauvinist; (4) Director, the Dictator;
(5) Eagle Eye


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Here is my tutorial on how to draw cookies...mmm...now that I'm on the subject of cookies,I want to eat one!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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hen Samuel J. Tilden surveyed America's most important harbor, he saw danger. "A million of soldiers," wrote New York's senior senator in 1885, "with the best equipments on the heights surrounding the harbor of New York in our present state of preparation, or rather in our total want of preparation, would be powerless to resist a small squadron of [foreign] war steamers." Nor was the threat confined to America's commercial capital: harbors from Portland, Maine, to San Francisco stood defenseless against any navy that chose to attack. Such an attack, Tilden argued, "...would inflict upon the property and business of the country an injury which can neither be foreseen nor measured."1
Many late 19th-century Americans, however, believed such dangers were remote. Europeans would never attack the U.S., they argued, and therefore money spent on stronger forts and new high-powered guns would be wasted. Existing defenses and the Atlantic Ocean provided more than adequate protection, and keeping expenditures low would both limit taxes and prevent the creation of the type of standing army Americans had traditionally feared.
This lesson uses Fort Hancock in New Jerseyone of the sites Senator Tilden hoped would defend New Yorkas a base for examining a debate that has run throughout American history. Today Fort Hancock stands silent, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park System. Although the fort is no longer part of the nation's military, its history illustrates many important issues involving American defense policy.
1Quoted in the Congressional Record, volume 17, part 7, 49th Congress, 1st session (July 1886), 7101.
About This Lesson
Getting Started: Inquiry Question
Setting the Stage: Historical Context
Locating the Site: Maps
Determining the Facts: Readings
Visual Evidence: Images
Putting It All Together: Activities
How the National Register
Gateway National Recreation Area
This lesson is based on the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.


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Scholarship America, the administrator of Dreamkeepers Emergency Financial Assistance, is committed to responsible information handling practices. You can visit most pages on our site without giving us any information about yourself, but sometimes we need information to provide services that you request. This privacy statement explains data collection and use in those situations. By visiting our Web site, you consent to the information practices described in this policy. Below are listed the answers to questions you may have.
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We may obtain personally identifiable information about you ONLY if you elect to give us that information. Types of personally identifiable information we ask you to provide may include the following:
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This information will never be shared with any third party, unless you give us explicit permission to do so. In addition, like most Web sites, Scholarship America's Web sites do automatically collect some information: your computer and browser type, and the date, time and pages visited. This is anonymous information that does not identify you personally, and is never shared outside Scholarship America.
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We are committed to properly securing the information we collect online. To help us accomplish this, we take the following steps:
- We employ internal access controls to ensure that the only people who see your information are those with a need to do so to perform their official duties;
- We train relevant personnel on our privacy and security measures;
- We physically secure the areas where we hold hard copies of the information we collect online;
- We regularly back up the information we collect online to insure against loss;
- We use technical controls to secure the information we collect online as appropriate, including firewalls and password protections; Scholarship America utilizes digital certificates issued by VeriSign, an established signer of digital certificates.
- We periodically test our security procedures to ensure personnel and technical compliance.
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Because our Web sites and businesses will continue to implement new technologies and improve the services and features we provide, this policy is subject to change. If there are changes or additions to this Privacy Policy, we will post those changes here or in other formats we deem acceptable, so that you will always know what information we collect online, how we use it and what choices you have.
Please Note:
These are Scholarship America's information privacy and security policies. For policies specific to your college or university, please consult the appropriate school Web site.


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Someday, perhaps as early as March, Maryland's striped bass may join the main ingredients of Europe's Filet-O-Fish sandwich on the list of fish known worldwide as abundant, well-managed and caught in environmentally friendly ways.
The state has spent more than $131,000 and countless hours of study in a bid for the Marine Stewardship Council's seal of approval, a symbol of sustainability held by about 10 percent of the world's fish species and fish products — including the cod, haddock, hoki and pollock sold by 7,000 McDonald's restaurants in Europe. Maryland striped bass is the only fish on the East Coast being independently measured against the council's standards.
Watermen who live on the margin of profitability are banking on the eco-label to boost their share of the striped bass market in the Mid-Atlantic states and beyond. Politicians think the seal will burnish Maryland's reputation as a green state. And scientists charged with protecting the state's natural resources hope the bipartisan effort will act as a spark for reform of fisheries policies and a buffer against lawmakers who might derail research programs or divert funding in tough economic times.
"It's not a silver bullet for all of our issues," said Tom O'Connell, fisheries director for the Department of Natural Resources. "But [certification] will say that Maryland striped bass is managed in a manner that ensures it will be here for a long time and that it is one of the best-managed fish on the East Coast."
Larry Simns, president of the Maryland Watermen's Association, said being able to put the eco-label on Maryland striped bass to get a premium price will help his members gain more control over their livelihood and ensure higher quality fish are delivered directly to upscale markets. Prices could increase their dockside take from about $2 per pound to as much as $4 for the fish, known locally as rockfish.
"Fishermen will take better care of their fish because they're worth more," Simns said.
However, not everyone is convinced that the sustainability seal is worth the effort — or the annual fees and royalties paid to the Marine Stewardship Council by individuals and businesses.
Greenpeace officials will not endorse the council's process, saying no credible certification system exists. During the assessment process, the organization's scientists have challenged a number of certification proposals, including one for Alaska pollock.
"I think it is possible for certifications to be useful, but I haven't seen that MSC is that," said John Hocevar, Greenpeace's oceans campaign manager. "The standards are too weak, and even the standards they have are not rigorously held. There have been a lot of questionable certifications. A lot."
Marine biologist Chris Pincetich of the Turtle Island Restoration Network in California called the certification "an industry-driven process … and a profit-driven marketing campaign rather than a science-based review."
Kerry Coughlin, the council's regional director, has heard the criticisms before. But, she said, the demand for sustainable seafood is driven by the industry, which wants to preserve fish populations long-term, and by consumers who want to do the right thing. Worldwide, the council's seal appears on 10,000 seafood products.
"It's not a panacea for all ills and problems," she acknowledged. "The MSC process gives people a way to be part of the solution. If people are asking for and buying it, they are rewarding those entities that have made a commitment to fish sustainably."
Consumers are increasingly drawn to products labeled sustainable and organic. The Organic Consumers Association says the eco-friendly movement fuels a $30 billion dollar industry in the United States, and grows 10 percent to 20 percent annually.
Sustaining Maryland's striped bass population hasn't been easy. The state imposed a five-year moratorium in 1985 to halt overfishing after catch numbers dropped from 14.3 million pounds in 1973 to 1.7 million pounds a decade later. Since the stock rebounded, Maryland's catch has been closely monitored by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
In 2010, watermen caught 2.15 million pounds of wild striped bass with a fair market value of about $8.6 million. (Aquaculture produces about 11 million pounds of striped bass annually that fetch a slightly higher price.)
While the federal government has set standards for what can be called organic, no definition has been established for sustainability. The Marine Stewardship Council, a nonprofit organization based in London, attempts to fill that void.
Created in 1995 by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever, the second-largest consumer-goods company in the world, the council has commitments from more than 1,800 companies, including Walmart, Target, Costco and theme parks run by Busch Entertainment, to buy sustainable seafood.
The council charges an annual fee — ranging from $250 to $2,000 — plus royalties to fishermen, wholesalers, markets and restaurants for the right to use its trademarked logo. McDonald's, for example, will pay 0.5 percent of the cost of 100 million frozen fillets to the council in return for being able to place the blue logo on its fish sandwich wrappers in Europe. Logo licensing provides more than 40 percent of the council's revenue.
However, the council doesn't actually conduct sustainability audits. It relies on third-party assessments, in Maryland's case Nova Scotia-based Intertek Moody Marine Ltd., which was paid $131,801 by the state. Moody is reviewing the striped bass management plan and commercial fishing practices against council standards to decide whether the state is worthy of the blue seal of approval.
The Ehrlich administration initiated the certification process eight years ago, a move hailed by the Maryland Watermen's Association and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as a new way to market striped bass. After a pre-assessment determined the striped bass would most likely be approved, progress stalled until the O'Malley administration decided last winter to jump-start the process.
Recreational groups, such as Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, are wary of the outcome. The group's leaders say it will be hard to justify the sustainable label, given all the problems on the Chesapeake Bay and with striped bass. Agricultural and storm runoff, rampant poaching, dead zones and diseases that have killed and weakened striped bass would seem to indicate that all is not well.
"In an ideal world, we would love to have the striped bass certified and have confidence that it's a sustainable fish. It would be good for the watermen, good for recreational anglers and good for the image of the state of Maryland," said the association's Trent Zivkovich. "But based on our experience, it's a false promise and will result in people feeling all is well when it is not."
And Greenpeace's Hocevar warns that the eco-label could backfire on state officials hoping to reform fisheries practices.
"MSC certification can be used as an excuse for not making changes to protect resources or habitat," he said. "Those who oppose change can say, 'Hey, this is already certified. We don't have to listen to you guys anymore.' They use MSC as a shield."
The uniqueness of the council logo is being undermined, too, as everyone from states to retailers jump on the sustainability bandwagon. For example, the Virginia Marine Products Board is marketing as sustainable the homely cownose ray with a new name, Chesapeake ray, and a glamorous identity, Veal of the Sea. The board's website says ray has "all the benefits of fish without the fishy taste."
Yet that sustainability claim isn't backed by an independent scientific assessment.
"The seafood industry or a state can argue, 'It's sustainable because we say it is.' Then sustainable becomes just another buzzword," Hocevar said.
Coughlin said the antidote to that is the Marine Stewardship Council, "a known commodity worldwide. If you see the MSC logo, you can have confidence in that product. If you don't see it, how do you know what you're getting?"
But that's exactly one of the unanswered questions, Zivkovich argues. He said it is still unclear how Maryland would protect the integrity of its brand and guarantee that a high-priced striped bass fillet displayed on ice in a market showcase or served in a restaurant came from a certified source.
"The bottom line is we want what's best for the fish," said Zivkovich. "Our concern is that any benefit from this isn't for the fish, it's for the benefit of MSC."