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Urban Yeti Director's Corner
The Great Improv Debate
There was a lot going through my mind heading into the season premiere of 2 Player last night. We had a quick turnaround after getting back from Austin to get out promotional material and we were running our show off of our typical first Saturday cycle. Some say I did this because I like to promote conflict with our friends over at Scriptless, but that is certainly not the case. With Labor Day and Out of Bounds, there was no way to do a first Saturday show this month and I really wanted to have a three show season for 2 Player to get a full exploration of the format. I'm also not a big fan of standard Friday performances. But let's be honest, I don't owe anyone an explanation. More live theater is better for the community, even if it sometimes runs against one another. Let's also be honest, Anchorage was all about Pirate Pub Crawl. Huge thanks to the audience who came out last night for the premiere, to get around 40 for each show with the crawl was flattering and we enjoyed the intimate experience.
The Yeti's can also attest I took this format down to the wire, which is a bit unusual for me. 2 Player was first conceived back in June as a concept tipping our hat to a lot of duo work we have been seeing in the festival community. Duo improv intrigues me because it is a true challenge in the art form. By limiting improvisation to two players, you strip away all of the typical safety nets and conservative tendancies and you are forced to look your flaws in the face. We ran several rehearsals this summer running this concept. We stripped away the team safety net and stared at ourselves in the mirror. There was even a rehearsal where I gave some direct notes to our players in context of their 'tendancies' that might have shaken the group a bit. I don't regret my decisions to explore duo work or give direct commentary, but I do wish I could get to a bit more stable place in my exploration and rehearsal structure. Although I saw some great talent and content from the Yeti's in our summer rehearsals, I wasn't satisfied with the product of limiting world building to two players for long periods of time. Let me be clear, from what I have seen out of our Yeti's, they can do it and put up some really solid work. The format I ultimately opted for was a modification to allow transition from the team into one of the two player spots to help expand the story. The reason? Nothing to do with capability, all to do with what I consider a great debate consistently discussed in the improv community. A debate reinforced by our networking with others in New York and Austin. What does an improvisor want to perform vs. what does an audience full of non-improvisors want to see?
Full disclosure, I performed in our 2 Player format last night, so I'll do the best I can in a director-player role. I really enjoyed playing in the show and I'm excited about the rest of the season. I think the first 20 minutes of the set demonstrated where we want to go. It was a good combination of faster paced character exploration while still allowing players to slow down and have fun with their ideas. Whether it be spiders in the dark or trying to make a cut in baseball, there was serious fun going down on stage. The last 10 - 15 minutes, although full of a fun gimmick of using the theater to transition FBI information, was an example of getting lost in plot and explorations failing to yield a coherent story line. I personally had some contribution issues in these last two adventures, my mind desparately trying to balance the desire to straight up plot the course out. I know the entire team felt a bit uncomfortable in the last world exploring the term 'bamboozle', but I will say I was happy to see performers attempting to move away from what wasn't working by expanding their exploration to other content like education and spelling bee's. This reinforces a concept I very much believe in: if something isn't working, don't feel nervous to throw that content away and explore something else. I am proud to see examples of this in the show. I loved the format and I'm excited to hit it again. I would like to focus our next couple of rehearsals by getting some good object work into our scene introductions to spice things up. I want some of our fun to be environment driven rather than only relying on dialogue. A strong relationship is awesome and makes great improv. A strong relationship wrapped in an environment the audience can see is hitting it out of the park. Thank you to the Yeti team for allowing a director to explore a concept down to the wire of opening performance. Thank you for a lot more than that.
I typically don't spend a lot of time in the blog on our After Dark performances. Yeti has our short form in check and this is capped by a team willing to play games they don't have a lot of experience or rehearsal in and still tearing it up. Plus most of our troupe gets plenty of short form work through other performance avenues. However, it is worth noting we had a bit of a wild ride for Mallory's 30th birthday. To the players and audience, thanks for hanging in their with us. There were some things I tried to do as a host towards the end of the show that I don't feel worked out very well and were portraying a little too much 'inside information'. Overall, it was a nice celebration, but I have a rule to never bring personal information on the stage that might leave some of the audience out of the loop. I feel it was limited to the end of the show and I'll take the hit on the slip. The improv throughout, however, was solid.
Hey, come next level with me for a second.
If I'm an improviser who spends a lot of time exploring long form comedy, I love the feeling of starting with a completely open mind and building off of something as subtle as a movement, a character attribute, a slight noise. From there, with great trust in my scene partners, we build a beautiful relationship and weave a storyline together. Sometimes we find a game, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we build this really full laughter in the audience and it is worth it. Sometime we aren't able to get there and are forced to wipe the scene away and try again. The risk has a reward, but what makes it a risk is sometimes there is failure. But that's okay, because the audience should have a basic respect and understanding of what improvisation is, the same way no one expects a major league baseball player to have a batting average of 1.000.
If I'm a typical audience member taking a chance on improv comedy, not an improviser myself, I love seeing something funny and laughing. I get that anyone who gets on the stage deserves respect. After all, I'm certainly not up there. But at the same time I paid $10 for a live theater performance, so I get the right to hold standards for how I spend my time. I'm totally in to short form because it involves the audience quite a bit and I feel more connected to the show. If something didn't go so well, we quickly move on and see something new. But when it comes to longer form comedy, I don't quite get it as much. Sometimes a set can go a long time lacking the energy I crave. I can see the performers are exploring, but sometimes they spend a long time exploring. I don't see enough long form to know what good looks like, so I'm left to my previous experiences to judge. Sometimes I don't laugh as hard, sometimes I just don't get it.
Are you picking up what I am putting down? Both views are a bit simplified, but I use this to draw out the struggle ultimately leading to the current 2 Player format we are practicing today. In fact, this great debate in my mind can be found throughout our Debauchery, Love is Blind, even Harold formats. I even experience this when I play with others. My version of 'in my head' is when I make a choice based on my desire to drive the story forward through plot. Some players will come out of that scene with me waiting for some high fives and ass slaps. Others will come out neutral and I find myself concerned that I disappointed someone who wants to go next level in their exploration of the scene. For others, it boils down to the simple challenge of getting laughter out of the audience. Some players crave the energy, others can bask in the silence to experience something greater when the scene clicks. Back and forth, back and forth. We are truly lucky here in Anchorage to get such a large non-improviser audience to support live comedy. From our adventures, we get a sense this doesn't happen in a lot of places. Another distinct adventage: It allows us to explore what improv can and should be. I feel we become well rounded when we don't surround ourselves with audience immersed in the game with us. You, whether you're a Yeti, an improviser or just a fan, I want to know what you think. Stop me when you see me next time and let's discuss.
Speed it up, slow it down. Do what's necessary, play nice with others. Be skilled, be funny. Almost all workshops these days teach you the rules of improv are meaningless as rules. So it goes with trying to find the best product. Ultimately the diversity of perspective coming from every player in your ensemble brings it's own distinct voice to be applauded. In this I find the stability I've been searching for: Work with me to strip away the insecurity and find a true passion for play.
The Yeti was Out of Bounds
I roll my sleeves up all the time. If I'm not wearing a t-shirt, you might as well pin those bad boys up permanently cause they aren't coming down unless I got a suit jacket going over them and Alaska is not the type of place that gives you the excuse often. I've done this for as long as I can remember and I think this gives me a certain style, sometimes even a certain voice. Yeah, not a big deal worthy of a blog but it gets kind of fun to start recognizing the style of others. Bright shoes, crazy long socks, custom tee's, accenting tattoos or belts, pure flannel, you name it. It's funny because with such diversity in play, whenever you see something you like, you rarely go out and immediately buy it and incorporate it into your wardrobe. You really just notice, like it, even love it sometimes and continue to use it as motivation to find your own expressive voice.
You'll recall my last blog post was describing a wonderful experience at the Del Close Marathon in New York City. To this day I still recommend going to DCM for exposure to one of the biggest comedy houses in the world (Upright Citizen's Brigade) and the industry of comedy. However, after our recent adventure to Austin I realized I was really exposed to a distinct, single styling at DCM. We saw over 30 long form sets and a lot of them done by people taking classes or previously trained in the UCB system.
But let me tell you something: The diversity of comedy can be so much sweeter. I feel I came away from our recent journey having seen much more of the comedy spectrum.
The Yeti has just returned from the experience known as the Out of Bounds (OoB) Comedy Festival, which took place this month in Austin, Texas. We saw different improv, sketch, stand-up and play experiences over our five night adventure, performed our own short form product and took a variety of workshops. I worked duo scene strategy with Sean Cooley out of iO in Chicago, audited an object course put on by Rich Talarico of iO and Annoyance Theatre notoriety and finished big with a master class from Mick Napier himself. I don't name drop for my sake, I name drop for the festival to give you a picture of what OoB brings to the table. On top of it all, we truly experienced Austin, the Portland of the South, a haven of artistic perspective nestled in a very traditional part of the country. It was hot, it was humid, and I weigh more from all the BBQ I ate. We also came back with more than just experiences, but with new friends in the ever growing improv community.
It's the diversity that sells it, and I'm not just going to spend all my time in this entry cheerleading the Yeti experience or spending pages on building the Out of Bounds mythos. I'll do the direct recap succinctly:
- OoB was amazing and a strong thank you goes out to the Austin community, including theatres, tech, volunteers, publicists, photographers, and most of all producers who made it happen. I can put it no more simply than go to this festival and have an amazing time like us.
- Urban Yeti had a great set. We had fun, it was a great space, full crowd and we had a lot of engagement. I am proud of our ensemble for being able to put up such quality in such new and diverse environments.
- Thank you to family and friends who came to see us so far away from home. You know who you are, we know who you are and we won't forget.
But I think a true testament of this experience is how much it got me thinking about our place in the comedy world, finding Yeti's style, it's voice, but even more questioning how much time I was spending on my personal development.
I was challenged a bit by the social aspects of the after parties and networking with folks around the festival. OoB gave us plenty of opportunity and went above and beyond, but it is difficult for someone outside of a vibrant arts community like Austin to find out where to pick up and keep people's interest. We got better and looser as the festival went on and we met a lot of awesome people with the added bi-product of a solidified strong reputation. But imagine my surprise, as the Yeti's converge on a patio picnic table to talk about their festival experience, when Mick Napier comes over, plops down and spends 30 minutes getting to know us. Don't worry, if you don't know who he is, this story is satisfied by the simple fact I specifically named him and he was nice enough to get to know us. Something I have been very proud of this year is the Yeti team taking a lot of workshops together and coming out with kind performance remarks from instructors, but even more importantly with other workshops participants continually saying we are really fun to play with. Mick capped this feeling off by telling us he was surprised by our talent and thought Alaska improv was doing just fine. I endeavoured in the conversation with him to ask how to find resources for better improv in a community as far away as Anchorage. His message was very unique and unexpected: Take advantage of the fact you are in a market outside of Chicago or New York because it allows you to find your own voice, the machine can often be a lot of bull shit. There was no name dropping, workshop selling or book pushing. There was only a simple message to carve out a piece of that comedy world for yourself. You, out there, I want to tell you I'm a guilty man. I am quick to judge good or bad and label an improv show strong and weak, question the ability of players to put up products worthy of an audience. Art is judgement, this will never go away. But comedy is about style and just because I perceive a struggling set, it does not mean there isn't an amazing voice to it.
There were several styles I loved at Out of Bounds. My favourite overall experiences were seeing original plays through 'Everything is Established' and the New York Neo-Futurists. Just absolutely outstanding, unique and well done with superb acting. Remember those names and go endeavour to see them in your life. I don't think anyone walked away from Coldtowne theatre on Saturday night without fawning over the style of Whiskey Tango from Portland. I have a close friend in the ensemble from the college improv years and it was my first time seeing this group. I would love to Tango again someday soon. I saw a clown called Honeybuns take an audience to the edge of their seat in beautiful discomfort, I saw some inspiring talent run through the gauntlet of All Star Maestro (competitive short form improv) and I even got a chance to appreciate the growing style of musical improv. Finally, I want to give a shout out to a set by Mark Kendall from Dad's Garage in Atlanta. I give him my top honors because he took on a tough New Movement venue and won an audience over with personal sketches that he poured his heart and soul into. He worked hard and earned his keep. I hope to travel to see him and the rest of Dad's Garage some day because I am seeing and hearing great things coming out of this theatre. Festivals allow you to bank styles you like and I will cherish these moments, but I will also be careful not to emulate. We still need to work every day to find our own creation and voice.
Something else unexpected emerged from our social extravaganza catalogued above: I started to question if I was in too deep. I try to keep up appearances, I try to be the rock if improv and spend my time deep in the trenches of bringing a diverse comedy experience to Urban Yeti and Anchorage. I try to be the most knowledgeable, the most prepared, put up the best product, get people to the table, give the audience a unique experience and keep a diverse set of projects going that interest our performers. I am, however, starting to see a different person emerge, someone I'm having a hard time tempering as of late, someone that is too vulnerable. I get nervous in workshops and sometimes I overcome to put up some impressive scenes and other times I let it pull me down into a jumble of confusion. I am constantly looking for some sort of reinforcement after performances, which have to be rare if I want to maintain a distinct director/ensemble atmosphere. I keep having conversations with people about wanting more time to get a better improv product out of Yeti when I just need to realize I am projecting my own desire for more of MY time to find a voice where someone would walk away from a show saying I like John Hanus' style. Why am I spinning this blog so inward? Regardless of vulnerabilities, I don't seek pity but instead believe there is some learning here. This blog is about bringing you along in our development and even these type of threads can lead to some important lessons. Directing requires you to sacrifice personal voice to find the style of others for showcase and the OoB festival is so awesome and diverse it turns your vulnerabilities into a desire to lean in and figure it out. You, you out there, you and I are going to keep pushing ourselves to be uncomfortable because the diversity is so much sweeter.
Thanks for the renewed passion OoB. I hope we can return and continue the party. Most of all, thank you to Mallory Hanus, John Parsi, Mary Jo Mrochinski, Aneliese Palmer and Erik Dahl for traveling down this road together and working with me to find our path. Let's keep going, I hear there is always something better ahead…
Here are 10 things I think I know to close out my musings for you:
- Whoever came up with the concept of trading cards at a festival is a damn genius. OoB offers trading card packs for purchase with all the acts of the festival on them. It gets people wanting to collect their own cards and sets they enjoyed. Great social icebreaker as well as we met a bunch of people just from wanting to trade cards.
- Thank you Eric Caldwell for helping us navigate Austin. There were several times when I was having a drink and Mr. Caldwell would bring a friend up and say 'I really wanted you to get a chance to meet the Yeti's.' That helped a lot and you are a true gentleman and scholar. Seriously, thanks for being you.
- I'm getting itchy to go to Chicago to experience more Annoyance Theatre and check out some of the other big schools. Trigger Happy was a unique experience. I thought the format was downright insane and refreshing to see. Each member of the group understood a secret language in their set that caused them to transition scenes, which they did about 50 times in a 45 minute set. I'm happy to pocket this experience for when my players tell me I put too much structure into some of our show ideas.
- OoB used to be a mini golf and improv festival back in the early 2000's when things were a bit less popular. They continue the tradition today by playing a mini golf tournament. The person on the winning team who lives furthest away gets to take the 1st place jacket home with them, add something unique to it and return it for the next year's tournament. Mallory took home the jacket and you know something Alaskan and Yeti is getting sewed on to that bad boy.
- Saw a silent improv set with soundtrack called Golden. Loved their style and product.
- Don't walk into a festival and question a small theatre. A lot of the times if it only seats 40-60, you're going to enjoy your experience more.
- If you do improv, do Maestro, it's like eating your vegetables. I did it for the 2nd time and it takes a lot of maturity and can easily get out of hand given the competitive nature of it. But that's not what it's about nor is it why I emphasize it. Do it purely for the fact that you have to stand in front of an audience full of people and not have the slightest idea of what you are going to be asked to do.
- If you're out there 'Ball and Chain', you get the award for my hardest laugh at the festival. Your scene about training for the Olympic shooting competition and who you imagine when you fire the gun was top notch.
- 6th Street in downtown Austin. What a shit show. I've never seen anything like it.
- We missed Erik and Josh on this trip. Let's not make this a recurring theme gentlemen.
The Most Urban of Yeti's - DCM 2015
Don't be a douche Hanus.
We have returned from the 17th annual Del Close Marathon (DCM) with an awesome experience to remember and a lot of perspective gained. But before you prepare your submission for DCM18, read on and hear how Alaska's own Urban Yeti journeyed to the Alpha ++ city of New York with their passion of improv comedy. I aim for the truth and steer from the sugar coating, so enjoy the account.
Don't know DCM? Don't worry, we don't expect you to nerd out on this stuff like we do. Let me bring you up to speed. Improv started with folks like Viola Spolin and Paul Sills, but was ultimately guided by a gentleman named Del Close, who started out directing at the main power house of improv and sketch: The Second City in Chicago. But after ten years with Second City, there was a difference of opinion on whether improv in itself was a marketable art form, which led him to develop long form and the Harold format with Charna Halpern at Improv Olympic (iO). Sure, Del Close discovered the Harold with his improv team 'The Committee' a lot earlier, but it really wasn't refined until this point. This training ground yielded other improv organizations, including what is arguably the biggest in the business today: The Upright Citizen's Brigade (UCB). Del Close mentored a lot of people, but four of his students came together, learned from his teaching and took the product to New York City. These individuals, Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh, became the notorious 'UCB Four' and created an improv empire and methodology which has become a force in comedy. Every year, the UCB theatre in New York (they now have two theatres in New York and one in LA), celebrate their late mentor Del Close through the Del Close Marathon, which brings troupes together from across the nation to perform improv comedy in a 52 hour marathon in 7 different spaces throughout the city. Amongst so many people, improv sets, press conferences, celebrity sightings I think it is important to remember the main purpose of this festival is to celebrate the legacy of Del Close and his refinement of long form. Any other intent of networking, exposure and learning is a secondary benefit and a little harder to achieve in this festival format.
There are three types of show at the Del Close Marathon:
- The Marathon Shows: These shows run at spaces which include the actual UCB theatres in Chelsea and the East Village and include sets from around the country. Our Urban Yeti set took place at the original Chelsea theatre as part of this category.
- The Premium Shows: Each evening between 7 pm - 1 am, tickets are sold to shows which include some of the biggest names in the industry. We saw sets with the 'UCB Four' and other performers like Broad City, Ellie Kemper, Zach Woods, Thomas Middleditch and writers from successful shows like Daily Show and Key and Peele.
- The Bit Shows: Two theatres run sets all night long and from 1 am - 7 am, bit shows are accepted and include formats that push the boundaries. It's hard to describe these shows, but let's just say people have very creative minds. More on this category of show later.
A few words on our set for those who have not experienced the festival. We had a 20 minute time slot at 9 am on Sunday morning at the original UCB Chelsea theatre. We arrived at 6 am to support the other morning sets and got acquainted with the space. We went to the green room 30 minutes prior, warmed up and walked on to stage. 20 minutes is 20 minutes at DCM. The lights go up as the previous set performers are leaving, the lights go down right at 20 minutes and the next group goes on. It is that fast and I thought we did great! The audience in the seats enjoyed the Alaskan themed suggestions. Performers got some energy out of the system with some quick cuts at the beginning and then settled into developing some great games. We were cut at the right moment with some good energy. But I also don't want to bull shit you either. We don't know many people in New York and we went on at 9 am, so we had an audience of around 30 people and a couple were sleepers in the back trying to brute force the marathon. Don't misunderstand me here. The UCB gave us a great experience and treated us well, they owe us nothing, but this leads me to the bigger message of our festival experience. Apply to DCM and go to experience the INDUSTRY of improv, don't go because you think you are going to have a life changing set. Don't over-analyse what you put up. Be realistic about what others can provide for you, especially in a city like New York. Our DCM experience gives us great appreciation for people like Eric Caldwell and his ASIF festival and hopefully what we will see in Austin with Out of Bounds.
Onto the rest of the festival. So we got a little star crazy, but can you really blame us? Wouldn't you have done the same? The Del Close marathon was full of UCB performers who are now working full time in the comedy industry. Don't worry, we try not to be pretentious idiots. Watching famous improvisers and taking quick pictures in the lobby after a show doesn't mean we are any more special than other improvisers out there, but what it does demonstrate is experiencing the wider community of improv comedy and getting a bigger picture view of the INDUSTRY. You can see a wide range of people from those who are working and famous in the craft, those who are obviously trying to reach that status and putting up some great stuff, those who are trying to reach that status but struggling to put up great stuff and the hobbyist just happy to be there. Personally, I will always regard myself in that hobbyist category. We had an opportunity to listen to a 'UCB Four' interview at the 92Y institute prior to the festival beginning. One of my favourite moments of the trip was listening to Ian Roberts and Matt Besser discuss a defining moment in UCB history being when the group switched from one rehearsal a week to three. I think a lot of people take for granted the improv art form and don't put as much emphasis on rehearsals as other scripted stage performances. But I believe the UCB history supports the notion that if you want to get better and take your hobby to the next level, you have to be as fully committed to a rehearsal process just like any other show, if not more. I have now helmed three improv organizations to date and I continue to struggle with balancing a desire to be better and working with what we have, settling into the hobbyist mentality. If I had my way I would rehearse with our ensemble weekly and put up more shows, travel to more festivals and spread the Yeti brand. But this just isn't reasonable with family, career and performer availability. The DCM taste is sweet, but don't let it poison the well. Be happy with the opportunities afforded and make the best with what you have. The most important thing will always be just to have fun with a group of friends committed to the craft.
Let me expand on the use of the term INDUSTRY a bit. I encourage all people out there to attend this festival at least once in their improv careers. Come out and experience New York City. Experience your ensemble being meshed together with 500 or more shows, each with their own sets of expectations and dreams. See what other people are doing. Some of the best parts of the festival for me was experiencing the work of Harold teams put on by UCB students. Some were great, some were not so great, but it gave you great perspective on the types of people paying to participate in the UCB institution. In Anchorage, we don't have the luxury of established comedy/improv training programs. We have to make do with the talent and curiosity of the director's willing to do a bit of study to lead their teams. But what I found particularly remarkable is it seems everyone experiences the same things we do. That awkward moment at the beginning of the set when someone has to step forward and bring along an audience not knowing what is going to take place. Those moments when plot is controlling rather than pure instinct. That time when a performer reverses the direction of the team with an unsure audience and the team has to commit 150% to make something from nothing. It was a liberating experience to see that all teams experience what we do, whether they are trained by the machine or not. For those out there who wonder how Alaska stacks up in the improv world, we come back to tell you we stack up well and we have the talent. Don't let anyone tell you different. With over 500 shows, don't just go to watch amazing improv, go to watch struggling improv and realize there are people out there trying to navigate the waters of 'Yes, And' and 'If, Then' with similar difficulties.
What were some of my other learnings? An Alaskan in New York, a director in a sea of professionals, the hobby vs. the career:
- This art form is worthy of its own platform. Premium shows were worth it, improv groups traveling from their homes across the country are worth their ticket price. Comedy from truth and scene work is a show worth supporting. Sure, there are groups out there that do it better than others, but never tie it to a thought that the art form of improv comedy can't stand on its own. Although Del Close was a complicated man, he did the right thing by leaving an institution that didn't appreciate the beauty of improv.
- Watch good sets and professional sets and you see a common theme you should try to develop in your own product: slow down, let the scene initiators develop something to work with and figure out how you can elevate / contribute appropriately. Watching marathon shows, there were a lot of groups prone to people walking all over each other. Watching those who have been established in industry, they are much more likely to let their partners establish a scene reality, really listen to the scene foundation and find the appropriate place to contribute and elevate. Put more simply: slowing it down is the key to success.
- I'm very excited to keep this party going in Alaska. The more we see and perform, the stronger our art becomes. We are going to take the rehearsal and show opportunities we have and improv the shit out of them. You get to benefit Anchorage, we'll see you in the fall.
As the festival winds to an end and you walk out from your set, up the stairs of the legendary UCB Chelsea theatre's box office, you can turn around and look at a prominent picture displayed of the UCB Four in one of their first shows 'Virtual Reality'. I look at that picture, in that space and have a different feeling than a lot of other people. I suspect a lot of folks look at it as something to aspire to, a devotion to art and the desire to make a career out of it. I don't fool myself. Perhaps life will take a weird turn, but it's more likely I'll continue building a life with my wife and kid(s) and developing as an engineer. I look at that picture and I'm just thankful, for a moment, that I got a chance to intersect my hobby with a piece of entertainment history. I'll remember it fondly and I know those in Yeti will share my sentiment. This is the core of my recommendation for other improviser's to submit to this festival. Go share in this moment with me.
There are a couple of thoughts that I couldn't successfully weave into the themes of this blog that I still want you to know. I'm going to take a page out of my favourite sports writer, Peter King, and tell you a couple things I think I know:
- We heard a lot about the bit shows prior to attending the festival. After watching a couple throughout the festival, I thought I was going to leave DCM without the promised experience of crazy improv that pushed the boundaries. Instead, I saw a lot of performers taking for granted free stage time to do sets confused with dozens of performers and lack of story building. But then came ProvCore to save my festival. ProvCore, the penultimate bit show. Short improv scenes interspersed between heavy metal music with positive messages of humanity like 'Have safe sex' and 'Recycle'. If by some random chance you are reading this and you were in ProvCore, thank you, thank you for saving my DCM bit show experience, thank you for being awesome and keep on being you.
- We did not participate in any workshops during the festival because we were loaded up in Juneau and feel we will see better opportunities with Out of Bounds. We also spent a lot of money to get to New York and it was tough justifying more expense and less opportunity to watch other groups perform. Could this be a DCM gold mine untapped? Yup, but you'll have to talk to someone else who knows more.
- You could convince me right now the best improviser in the world is Zach Woods of Silicon Valley fame. Between watching some of his material in the Del Close documentary and seeing him perform live in an ASSSCAT performance, he has so many skills to aspire to, at the foremost having an intelligence that comes from a masterful ability to listen and internalize.
- I think the UCB Chelsea theatre and the SVA Beatrice theatre were the most beautiful spaces I have ever seen to perform improv comedy. Seeing Fwand in the Beatrice was awesome. Gives me chills thinking about other cool things you could do in that space.
- I feel like my desire to produce hosted sets makes better improv comedy. I watched over 30 shows during the festival and I felt a lot of them could have benefited from a host controlling the pace and the energy. Yeah, I get it, the experts can do it themselves, but I hope our performers feel like hosting makes life a bit easier for them.
- The human condition teaches us to compare experiences and I need to work on settling down and enjoying what I have in front of me. Who went to the best set? Who went to the best show? Who went to the best restaurant? I need to work on enjoying the moment and get out of the curse of comparisons, because it quickly becomes apparent that your opportunities, no matter how perceived, are a lot more than others have.
- Improvised podcasts are becoming a big thing and it was fun to see the Hooray Show and Improv4Humans in action. Think about listening in sometime, the art form translates well.
- Go to New York to experience the beauty of scripted theatre as well. We saw an immersive theatre experience called Sleep No More and Broadway spectacles like Book of Mormon and Something Rotten. Every production in New York is so much more intimate of an experience, just absolutely amazing.
- We missed Josh on this trip...


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North America dominates the global health IT outsourcing market as CIOs piece off revenue cycle management and security to third-party firms.
Our article series on health IT outsourcing anecdotally revealed where many healthcare providers are spending budget on third-party services. Two new reports quantify the trend with stats and show the specific reasons providers are signing on with outsourcing firms for clinical and operational services.
The global health IT outsourcing market will grow from $35 billion in 2013 to $50.4 billion in 2018, according to analysts at MarketsandMarkets.com. The United States and Canada will continue to account for the largest slice of the $50.4 billion pie, they contended, thanks to several drivers. Those include growing pressure to cut healthcare costs, the rise in demand for application management services, application development, the need for additional infrastructure, a growing population of insured patients, a lack of in-house IT experts and ICD-10 implementation.
The researchers found that outsourced staff can be more nimble than in-house staff who are already spread thin. Instead of expanding IT departments, healthcare providers are choosing to outsource because it can help reduce operating costs, offers access to skilled resources, speeds up technology deployments and brings flexibility in the choice of technology and modules. Choosing the right outsourcing partners can improve cash flow and enable risk sharing.
There are specific health IT pieces providers are outsourcing, including EHRs, laboratory information management systems, pharmacy information systems and revenue cycle management (RCM) systems on the clinical side. On the operations side, providers look to outsourcing firms for supply chain management and business process management. Straddling both are ICD-10 conversion services, which the report sees as a growth sector between now and 2018.
Erik Westerlindresearch director, KLAS
In a separate report titled "Revenue Cycle Outsourcing 2013: Tools, Expertise and Resources Key to Improved Collections," KLAS found that 38 healthcare organizations spanning a total of 460 hospitals use RCM outsourcing firms. Large integrated delivery networks such as Catholic Health Initiatives, LifePoint Hospitals and Catholic Health Partners are leading the way in this category, citing improved collections, greater efficiency and better accuracy as reasons for going out-of-house for RCM.
"Providers are continuously being asked to do more with less," said Erik Westerlind, report author and research director at KLAS, in a press release. "Revenue cycle outsourcing is an area where that is possible. Providers are looking for long-term impacts and are optimistic that outsourcing their revenue cycle services is going to deliver just that."
Let us know what you think about the story; email Don Fluckinger, news director, or contact @DonFluckinger on Twitter.
Next Steps
HIT Squad talks tech with vendors selling into health IT market

subset: commoncrawl


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If you are already signed up with Avaaz, all you have to do to sign the petition is enter your email and hit Send. If you're not signed up yet, it's just 4 fields to complete. The Internet is our real media, we need it. ~~ Start ~~ Dear friends, Right now, over 100 Members of the US Congress are trying to sneak through a bill that … [Read more...]
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McDonald said at the start there were two key goals: "When we set this up [we wanted] a one-stop centre that would answer all the questions an airline would warrant…from engineering to operations, to the commercial side, the legal side, to the sales side in one organisation.
"The other point…was how to move at the pace of an airline and not the pace of an OEM. There is quite a difference in that pace…they require answers much quicker usually than OEMs can answer. So, we set out [to create] a very agile lean organisation that would run at the pace of the airline and I'm really glad to say that we're getting there."
He said the service centre in Singapore responds 50% faster than the company did previously and added, "The thing that really brings it home to me is when I go out and meet CEOs of airlines and I talk about how their performance is these days, and they say to me,
'Well, you know things have really changed since you opened up the service centre in Singapore' and that's actually much better than a metric – the customer is actually saying that it's made a difference."
The pilot service centre in Singapore proved the model and the value to airlines and the company, so Rolls-Royce replicated the approach in other regions. McDonald said, "Today we have a customer service centre in Beijing, and Abu Dhabi, in Washington [D.C], and also in Derby [UK] supporting Europe.
"So we now have the whole world covered and we're doing exactly the same thing. We're bringing that pace of business – answering the questions locally with the team who has the accountability to deliver those answers to all these different regions. So not only is Asia Pacific benefiting, but the whole world."


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Hello everyone, I am very excited to be starting my own blog. I have decided to write this blog to do three things:
1. Share my story that explains how how I became who I am
2. Share my experiences in being true to myself in a world that consist of societies that have very limited views on what people can or should be.
3. To give my opinions on things concerning being authentic.
I will be starting my story in a series of post. It will start of like a typical in the closet gay and religious kid, but I will tell you it will get very different when you get to the part where I come out of the closet and then I run into the LDS church and join it as on out gay person.
I hope to get real with all of you!
This blog is about the story of a gay mormon who strives to live his life authentically while learning more about himself and works to make a world where others may as well.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
7 comments:
Thanks for starting up this blog - so important to have the authentic voices out there. You'll never know who you may touch - you can make a difference.ReplyDelete
Welcome to the family! I look forward to hearing what you have to share. Take care!ReplyDelete
First gay Mormon blog of the new year for me. Welcome.ReplyDelete
Welcome to the Blogsphere!ReplyDelete
yes, welcome. i look forward to reading your posts.ReplyDelete
So excited about your blog. Miss you and hope everything's going well! Gonna share this with my friend right now :)ReplyDelete
Thank you Callie it is great to hear from you!!ReplyDelete
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Search for tag: "open library of the humanities"
What are some potential impacts of OAP, and what role can institutions play?
What are some considerations for locating and using Open Access Publications?
What are some potential impacts of OAP, and what role can institutions play?
How open access publications impact teaching and learning, and how insitutions can support the use of open access publications.
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What are some considerations for locating and using Open Access Publications?
How to find open access publications, and evaluate their effectiveness.
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Carleton University Media Portal | Support Documents


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For this week's assignment, we were challenged to design a seat-back experience for ordering food on a screen. The scenario is as follows: An airline has introduced a new system for ordering and paying for food from the screen behind each seat. There are several different types of food and drink offered, but there are also extras like condiments that can be added to an order.
From our initial flow diagram, Annie, Daniel and I determined that it was important that the user have the ability to call an attendant if there were any questions about the ordering system. We grouped food items together to ease the user experience. Inspired by the Seamless experience, we also decided that it would be beneficial if the user could see his or her cart on every page. Here is what our diagram looked like:
After sitting down with my flow diagram, I started brainstorming some ideas for the wireframes. I thought about the user in this scenario. Everyone flies on airplanes, so the app would need to be accessible to users from a range of ages and backgrounds. Many people are unfamiliar with the iPad app interface altogether and so it would be important to make the experience as intuitive as possible.
One method to make the app more intuitive is to make the pictures very large. Visual cues help us identify options more quickly, so I decided to overlay the text on large images of the food.
First, the user is asked if she would like to order something. If not, then the screen powers down so she won't be bothered.Once the user touches the type of food/drink she would like to order, the available options in that category will appear in a horizontal scroll that you can browse. The user always has the option of going backwards and changing her order.
It was important to me that the user was able to add extras like salad dressing or condiments without having to click around. As you can see, she can quickly check the appropriate boxes when she is adding a food item.
When she is ready to pay, the user clicks the "checkout" cart in the top right-hand corner. The app will guide her through the payment process. There is the option of adding special instructions or paying with either card or cash.
If the user is confused and needs help, she is directed to a page to call an attendant. If the order was placed successfully, she'll receive a completion page.
Flying on an airplane is not a pleasant experience. With this design, I aimed to make one aspect of the airline experience a little more comforting, with large images and a simple, minimalist design.


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|is a culmination of happenings that span my life, all begging to be put together in one place, that has been the inspiration for this Ghost Mama project. Like putting together the pieces of a puzzle, perhaps in some way bringing a closer understanding to what lies ahead for all of us. The photos and stories shared here are real accounts of my own or of those close to me. What you will experience here will be yours to interpret and conclude. This is not a place for false or altered evidence which I believe to be a discredit to the paranormal community and much more importantly a great disrespect to those who have passed, who by whatever power, try and do communicate with us. With a degree in Psychology I have interests in the amazing capabilities of the human spirit and the powers we all have in us. It is my hope to in some way contribute to the field of paranormal research. I know what I know to be true and those truths have been validated in the most amazing ways. We are all made up of energy and in my experience I have come face to face with energies beyond this life. Hopefully you will leave here with at least the curiosity to be more open to the possibility that coincidence is not always the explanation. For me, there is no question to what exists.
Bear with us as we build


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What is the admission Criteria , the exams that i have to give & the Cut-offs ? are there any other special requirements for admission.If you could also tell me about the fee structure in this college. It will be big help.
Did Not Get The Answer?
Contact students of JU-Jadavpur University directly from here


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Whether you simply must have your morning cup of coffee every single day or you can't wait for pumpkin spice latte season, there are plenty of reasons to drink coffee besides the caffeine jolt.
Not only does coffee lower your risk of diabetes, liver cancer, Alzheimer's and skin cancer, but a new study has shown that there's even more benefits in every cup.
Coffee Boosts Your Blood Flow
In a study, those who drank caffeinated coffee boosted their blood flow compared to those who drank decaf. If your body has poor function of the inner lining of your blood vessels, your risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke all increase. Coffee has the ability to improve your blood flow and keep you healthy.
Coffee Improves Your Outlook On Life
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that coffee can actually make you happier. They found that the risk of suicide in adults who drank two to four cups of caffeinated coffee per day was half that of those who only drank decaf or none at all.
Coffee Cuts Down Your Risk Of Oral Cancer
Those who drink at least one cup of caffeinated coffee a day cut down their risk of developing throat or mouth cancer compared to those who don't drink coffee.
Coffee Prevents Tinnitus
New studies have found that women who drink caffeinated drinks actually have a less likely chance of developing tinnitus, the steady ringing or buzzing in the ears. Most of the women in the study were drinking coffee as opposed to soda, or any other caffeinated drink.
With all the benefits coffee provides, feel free to indulge in a cup every morning. For those of you who are susceptible to the jittery effects of caffeine, consider pouring yourself a cup of half regular and half decaf. Happy #NationalCoffeeDay!


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I'll be using a Macbook Pro 11,2 as a development machine at work. I have the freedom to set it up as I wish to, so I'll be setting up a fresh installation of Arch with KDE on it. I had been using Macbook Pro 8 ...
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My blog was too dormant. It's hard to take out time to write nowadays but this had to be done.
On 19th January 2013, MozCamp Delhi was help at Amity Noida. Here's a much better account of the day. And another by Archit (arcolife ...
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After more than 4 months of finishing and fine-tuning, my Google Summer of Code work for KStars is now merge worthy. An hour ago, I merged the gsoc2012-spacetime branch to master.
While I am certainly delighted that my work is finally merged I am watchful of any bugs that might ...read more
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AUSkey is the single secure online credential (or 'key') for business-to-government transactions. It provides access to government online services, and is common to all the government agencies providing support for SBR-enabled reporting.
Over time, your AUSkey will allow you to log in to a range of other business to government websites and services.
Get more information about AUSkey including features and benefits, and help with registration and technical support by visiting https://abr.gov.au/
You can use your AUSkey to access http://www.tro.tas.gov.au.
AUSkey can also be used to lodge Payroll Tax Periodic Returns and Annual Adjustment Returns through (Standard Business Reporting) SBR-enabled software.
Before you can use your AUSkey for either of these purposes, you need to link your AUSkey to the State Revenue Office systems.


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In a mid-century apartment in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, as we snuggle up on embroidered floor pillows, a warm cup of matcha in our hands, Shauna Faulisi's eyes glisten and a calmness washes over us. After a packed week of launch parties and photoshoots, it's a relief to be sitting in a new friend's sun-lit living room to chat about our passions and progress. With the 1-year anniversary launch of her holistic nutrition practice and site, Soul Wellness Method, Shauna Faulisi has a lot to share.
The Moment: We are so happy to be here!
Shauna: I'm so happy to have you here!
The Moment: Can you start by telling us a little background on you?
Shauna: My name is Shauna Faulisi, I am the founder of South Wellness Method, which is my holistic nutrition practice and lifestyle blog and community… and all-around-goodness, love, and inspiration. It's just now turned a year old, so I feel like things are really starting to happen. In fact, I just named my Le Labo candle, "It's Happening."
The Moment: We love that! "It's Happening." So where are we right now?
Shauna: We're home, we have paleo granola and paleo coconut chips and matcha. We're in Hancock Park, sitting by the window with my roommate's puppy Jacks.
The Moment: Are you on the paleo diet?
Shauna: No, I'm not on any label diet per-say, but I love a plant-based lifestyle and I love a vegan lifestyle. But I do eat eggs and I will occasionally have meat that is raised well and is healthy. Eating grain free just makes me feel amazing. But its not like a dogmatic thing everyday for any of those things.
The Moment: Since this story is going to be part of our Tea Time series, can you tell us a little about the tea we're drinking? It's delicious.
Shauna: I made, matcha from Matcha Bar which is a Brooklyn based company and they just opened in Silver Lake. I had to support them. I love them. They're doing really cool things. They support working millennials. Their whole thing is, 'good things come to those who hustle.' So it's just a modern approach to a traditional matcha. And then I was like, 'you know what, lets Soul Wellness Method this up a little bit,' so, I've never done this before, but I steeped some roses in water, sweetened it with about 2 teaspoons of organic stevia. I added a little bit of Renew Pearl Powder, which is amazing for skin. It's filled with minerals, which most of them I'm very deficient in.
The Moment: We're big fans of Renew Juicery, love their pantry items.
Shauna: They're the best!
The Moment: We wanted to interview you because we are really inspired by your confidence and how you inspire others to have to same confidence and choose healthier options, not only choosing healthy food, but you really stand behind the whole message. You exercise, workout, and have this lifestyle that is very inspirational. We all want to obtain what you are providing and giving out to the universe. Let's get into Soul Wellness Method. How did you come up with the name?
Shauna: Thank you so much! That's so sweet. It's a journey. I didn't just get this way over night. It's been a lot of work and definitely a lot of self work and learning self love and taking time for myself and slowing down. I'm still the master procrastinator, but I've gotten a lot better. Just slow living a little bit more, which feels so much better. I think LA is very conducive to that.
The Moment: Exactly! It's like now in our life, in our society, we have all this pressure to multi-task and do a million things at once. When did you get to the point of… 'this is actually not working for me, I need to slow down.'
Shauna: I think we can all get to a point where we are just so overwhelmed. I think the biggest thing for me was learning "no" as a complete sentence. If it doesn't feel good, just say "no". Actually there's something that says, 'if it's a hell-yes answer, than it's actually a hell-yes. If it's a no, it's actually like a fuck-no.' If there is any part of "no"… Sometimes for black and white things, but if it's gray, like 'I should do that,' or 'I'm tired but I shouldn't'… anything that's kind of gray, I'll just be "yes" or "no' and pick a side.
The Moment: Are there any mindful practices or meditations you do to get that clear answer? A lot of people are in that gray zone a lot.
Shauna: Meditation, mindfulness, and working out. I love working out. I'm the modelFIT resident nutritionist. That really brings me in. Yoga brings me inward. I have The Den Meditation down the street, so that's awesome. I'll go sit in on meditations. It's strictly a meditating studio. Again, that time that I've taken over the last 2 years; a year when I was in school to become a health coach and nutritionist and the past year building my business. I think the biggest thing I've learned in building this business is patience. I've become so much more patient with myself and patient with the process and learning more to be in the moment.
The Moment: What type of patience have you had to deal with?
Shauna: When I started my business I was very eager, very driven. I still am, but I've learned to sift through the bullshit with people I'm meeting or events that are not worth my time or dates that are not worth my time. At one point, I was going on dates with people I wasn't really interested in, but I thought, let me just go. But now my time is too valuable. I think owning a business and having that drive that I have and knowing where I want to be, I have to be willing to give up my life to have it. So if that means just being here and doing work or just going to meeting after meeting and event after event, I'll do it. That's fine. As long as it's in line with how I'm feeling.
The Moment: And it's either a "hell-yes" or a "fuck-no".
Shauna: Yeah! The seeds that I have been planting over the past 10 months are starting to bloom and knowing that these things don't happen over night. I thought I could launch my website and have a full schedule of clients. So just learning that that's' not the case…
The Moment: What have you done because you don't have a full schedule of clients yet. Maybe that's not the lifestyle you want to have, as you're probably learning. Maybe you enjoy having only certain times blocked out for clients, what else do you do?
Shauna: I work with a lot of brands and I love working with them. I was able to meet a ton of faces behind the brands at Expo West. It was awesome. I'll write for blogs, we'll collaborate. I'm also starting to guest write for other types of blogs, for other products' websites. I've learned that I have this love of photography. It's iPhoneography. I also just recently bought a manual camera from the flea market so I've been teaching myself photography. I love capturing time in a slow living way. I have to wait to get it developed. With this new love, I'm starting to help brands build their Instagrams and take photos for them.
The Moment: That's interesting that at the moment you started to slow down, you discovered something new you really enjoy as well.
Shauna: Photography is so cool. The other day it was foggy and I thought, let me go get my camera. Now I have this photo on film that's going to be of that foggy morning. It's really cool.
The Moment: So cool! What's a typical 'day in the life' for you?
Shauna: It's so different, I have so many things going on and so many irons in the fire. Some mornings I'm up at 6 and I'm at ModelFIT at the front desk and I'm doing work for clients that I'm seeing there. Those mornings, it would be ideal if I was up meditating and then going, but it's just so damn early. I just go straight there. I'll hop in a class if I'm there. Sometimes I'll see Soul Wellness Method clients right after, or I'll have meetings. I'm also working with a lot of doctors' offices because I have a background in dermatology, so I feel very comfortable in that atmosphere to start working with their patients and staff members to give them 5-day meal plans and just giving them ideas on how they can sustain their energy through their day.
The Moment: You worked in a dermatologist office! What did you do there? How did that beauty influence tie in with food and lifestyle?
Shauna: I was always a beauty junky and my mother is the biggest glamour woman, like 'more is more.' So I grew up with that. I started working as a rep for a dermatologist in New York. I would go to other types of offices, like OBGYN, plastics, PC, and if their patients needed a derm, they would send them to us. So when I moved out here, I was selling skincare products to doctors in Los Angeles. So I was going to offices as a rep for products or for the doctor I was repping for, getting his products into the practices. I would do trade shows and that whole rep deal.
The Moment: What does beauty mean to you now?
Shauna: It's interesting because the past 4 months I really haven't been wearing a lot of makeup. I'll always put a tinted SPF and that's kind of it. Curl my lashes and use some chapstick. But I've been very in the zone with a lot of things with work. Now I'm starting to wear a little bit more makeup, but I really love that period of time where I wasn't wearing a lot of makeup because it forced me to be me without using an outward appearance that I'm constantly thinking about, like mascara to make you look at my eyes or my lips. I could radiate from the inside out.
I think that period I wasn't wearing makeup, I was subconsciously telling people not to look at me. Now I'm feeling a flux. Maybe it's the summer, or just where I'm at in life. I want to be out and about and maybe meet a guy and represent myself in a different way.
The Moment: Well cheers to that. It's all about recognizing the moment right?
Shauna: Right.
Special thanks to Shauna Faulisi!
Photo by Kristine Lo


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Our research helps us to better understand FSL programs and student needs, determine gaps in access or effectiveness, establish why official bilingualism is a valuable life skill, and provide evidence-based reasoning for the advocacy and promotion that helps drive Canada's youth on the path toward bilingualism.
Research Bibliographies - FSL education.
These bibliographies contain references to and findings from selected research studies addressing current issues in FSL education and second-language acquisition. The bibliographies are for the use of parent advocates, educators, school districts and FSL researchers. Academically-Challenged Students and French-Second-Language Education Addressing Charges of Social Class Elitism Benefits of FSL Education - Bibliography Comparison of Student Attitudes and Performance in Immersion Centres…
Fact Sheets
The following fact sheets are available for download: Academically-Challenged Students: Parents Academically-Challenged Students: Advocates Academically-Challenged Students: Educators Academically-Challenged Students: Media Immigrant Students and FSL Programs French Second Language & Bilingualism in Canada: By the Numbers Students Reap the Employment Benefits of Bilingualism Through Post-Secondary Studies in French French Immersion Program Implementation Costs: A Fact…
Enrolment Trends
Statistics on Enrolment Across Canada
CPF gathers data from ministries of education and presents enrolment figures by province/territory, by year, and by type of FSL program. All ministries divide enrolment into core French and immersion, while some are able to differentiate enrolment into early, middle and late immersion and into regular and alternate core French.
See also:
Research Database (CPF members only)


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In a world where social media reigns king and reality TV reigns queen, its easy to give our attention to people and situations that don't really matter. Let's put our critical thinking skills and abilities to serve others to good use, because TALK IS STILL CHEAP!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Christmas Love Story with the Obamas
Yesterday Oprah debuted a Primetime Special, Christmas with the Obamas. Oprah sat down with the first couple to sit down and discuss their experience thus far as the First Couple of the United States. Below is a snippet of the interview, where President and First Lady Obama discuss their marriage and family life before they were famous, compared to now.
Watching these two definitely brings me joy and aspiration, exactly what the holidays are about. It gives me great joy to witness the bond they share in this day and age as the first African-American first family. It gives me aspiration that true love still exists. Its not sugarcoated and its not surreal, their union, their bond, their relationship before and now, is REAL, and when its GENUINE, you know for sure its Real.
I think I can watch just this snippet from time to time, whenever I may seem to feel tired and hopeless. Just as the Obamas said, where they are now did not come easily, there was struggle. It just comes to show, how are not defined by our tribulations, but how they are meant to make us stronger. Although, we may not all be the President of the United States of America in our lifetime, we do have a defined destiny of our own that will eventually manifest itself. Lets take hold of the joy this holiday season and use it to power our dreams and go forward to live out our destiny!
Happy Holidays!!
Please share your thoughts and comments, by clicking on the comment link below. How did you feel upon watching this video clip? Are you now just as joyous as I?
3 comments:
I love the interview. It helped me to get in the holiday spirit even in the mist of all that is sround me :)ReplyDelete
I tuned in last night to watch and loved it. I love watching the President and First Lady interacting on a more personal level....they make you want what they have :) The gingerbread White House was amazing too!!!ReplyDelete
You betta say that Relle... I just LOVE the Obama's. They are a beautiful couple and Michelle is the PERFECT woman for Barack and she compliments him well. Love it! I'm about to see if I can find the full interview somewhere!! ;-)ReplyDelete


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Use this form to apply for financing. Fields marked with an * are required.
This is a Secure Form and is submitted using an HTTPS form action. All sensitive data is encrypted before transmission and is never sent as clear-text. Why didn't my browser show the lock?
I certify that I have provided true and accurate information in this form and that I have read and understand the dealership's privacy policy. By submitting this form, I authorize the dealer to begin a credit investigation, to process my application, and to forward my application to lenders, financial institutions, or other third parties in order to process my application.
This is a Secure Form. Why didn't my browser show the lock?


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Try out these steps to set up the same…..
Open your Zimbra Collaboration Suite with userID and pass.
Goto Preferences > Mail, now goto the bottom to the "Junk Mail Options" section and type / add full addresses that you want to allow / block. (in your case choose Allow)
Remember, most probably it allows up to 100 addresses.
Please see here for Screen shot and more info.
Register Hereor login if you are already a member


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Star Wars Decoration Ideas
Some parents often want to add to the party by decorating for a Star Wars themed party . Here are some ideas that I have come across in my travels.
If buying balloons Consider buying white and black balloons to signify the dark and light side of the force.
If there is going to be a food table consider making labels for each item like, Ewok treats, Jedi juice, Wookie water, Han burgers, Corellian cakes, Yoda Soda, Leia's buns, Panawan popcorn, Pizza the Hut, Chewbacca chips and Vadder Veggies.
Some easy signs to make on your door. "Welcome to Jedi Training" "Enter and Join us in a galaxy far far away" " Welcome to Jessy's birthday invited to come in you are"
Other signs you can consider making. "Jedi Nutritional Support Area" "Jedi Council Parking"
"Lightsaber training area" "Dogobah Training Facility" "X-wing Landing Area"
Party Bazzar in Vancouver and Langley have lots of Star Wars supplies like cups,plates and napkins.
I have also noticed they have Darth Vader piñata heads and lifesize cut outs of a few Star Wars characters. It's best to call them first to see what items they currently have in stock.
Harry Potter Decorations
White balloons are popular for Hogwarts parties. You can draw an owls face on them with a black marker for a neat effect.
Food item labels you may consider: snitch truffles, chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, Licorice wands, Flubberworm juice, Pumpkin juice, Potter pizza, Hagrid's garden veggies.
Creating a paper brick wall with a slit down the middle with a sign saying "Platform 9 ¾" always makes for a neat entrance.
If you are really ambitious you can tie little LED votive candles to a fishing line and hang them across your living room to make the Great Hall. Most dollar stores have both these items. I did this for my daughter's birthday and it has a beautiful effect. Another quicker way to do this is to just pin up a bunch of foot long white steamers all over your roof and have them drape down .
Old books, candles, spider webs, old fashioned brooms and potion bottles all make really good decorations. During the Halloween season all these can be found quite easy.
Instead of goodie bags try giving each child a small animal stuffy to keep as their Hogwarts animal! Dragons, cats and owls super popular!
I hope this helps for themed birthday you chose to have, there is plenty of other ideas online. These are mainly the most popular I've seen.
Kids Party Decoration ideas Vancouver


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Project: Minuet
Designer: Rosalie Wakefield
Type of needlework: Brazilian embroidery
Photos: 2
Free projects here
Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery International Guild: http://www.brazilian-dimensional-embroidery.org/
Comments: This is the second of the free projects that I tried at the time and also finished it as a little ornament. Not much I could think of doing with it once stitched as it is rather small but seems ideal as ornaments.
I have a couple of Brazilian embroidery projects in my UFO pile, so if I am consistent with my goal of finishing lots of UFOs, then they should be completed sometimes this year, perhaps sooner than expected as I may even surprise myself.


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Volume 85 St Andrew, Bethnal Green
Baptism Registers 1843-1876
760 entries
These are transcribed entries, not scanned images. You can generally expect to find:
Entry No, Birth Date, Baptism Date, Firstnames, Father, Mother, Surname, Address, Occupation of the Father, Source Ref and any notes in the margin.
Easily searchable CD-ROM in Adobe Acrobat format(supplied)Transcribed by Beryl Powell
Published by Dockland Ancestors Ltd


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§ Mr. Rooker
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out figures for revenue spending for the Birmingham health authorities in 1982–83 at 1985–86 values together with the figure for 1985–86; and what account these figures take of demographic changes in addition to inflation.
§ Mrs. Currie
I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.


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Enough Already
July 16, 2007
I am reaching a level of frustration that I doubt I have ever reached before in my life. The stress and frustration created by the Benoit tragedy and the resulting media coverage has reached dangerous proportions for me and I feel I need to vent now in an attempt to not explode later. I believe I have managed to put behind me the stress and anxiety of the actual events, but am ready to explode with frustration over what is being done after the fact, by both the business and the media as a whole.


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Totally bummed that I only got a snippet of this song as I was recovering from a small seizure: it's a great audience participation song!
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It turned out the ankle was broken and dislocated, and that required surgery to insert a metal rod and to cinch some bones together. I had this surgery myself a few years ago, as an inpatient with IV pain relievers, but for Robbie they did it on an outpatient basis. They gave him a nerve block which didn't wear off until long after we were home. That way they were able to get rid of him before he knew how much it would hurt. It was his right leg, so recovery was long before he was able to get out on his own, driving, walking up and down the stairs and the hills where we live.
The in August my youngest daughter's boyfriend's car was stolen from in front of our house. The next day, they were out driving in my daughter's car and got in an accident. Fortunately, the kids were fine, but the car they hit was much bigger and the impact missed the bumper entirely and instead completely smashed in the hood, damaging the parts that make the car work. It was towed to our street, and then while waiting to go to the body shop, someone else hit it while it was parked!
All told, we were okay. It was unfortunate that Robbie broke his ankle, but that meant that he couldn't drive his car, so while Johnna's car couldn't be driven I drove his and she drove mine. And finally Johnna's car was fixed, as good as or better than new. Amazingly enough, Johnna's boyfriend's car was found also, undamaged! Robbie can now walk, and drive, and he is going back to work tomorrow. So, no permanent damage. (Well, except for medical bills...) We got through it all and life is back to normal, and now of course I think that it probably wasn't necessary to get so stressed out about it all. And yet I did.
|Zelda, the baby.
There were so many dogs in the shelter, so many that I could have taken home. I honestly wasn't looking for the cutest dog. If anything, I wanted to find a dog who needed me. There was a little girl chihuahua in the second kennel who still haunts me, just because she was so scared. But then in one kennel came the fatal stroke -- a baby. She's listed as a chihuahua, but perhaps a chi mix. Short legs, long body, dear head rather than apple head, big ears, big eyes. She is blonde, with an angel wing pattern on her shoulders in lighter blonde, with big brown eyes. She is so soft, with that puppy floppiness when you pick her up. I really honestly didn't want a puppy, for many reasons, but we couldn't help it. We fell in love.
|Sophia (also known as Sophie, and mama dog)
|Robbie had lots of company while he
was recovering from surgery.
Of course, it's been hard work integrating two new dogs into a household. They each had to be spayed, and they had to be kept separated because the mommy and baby play really hard with each other, and they couldn't do that while they were healing. Having to separate them while trying to integrate them both into our home was not easy. I was so thankful when that was over. Housebreaking has been ... well, unsuccessful. It seems pretty obvious to me that Sophie was not an indoor dog, both from the fact that she is not housebroken and the fact that she had this fear of going out in the back yard, and then also a fear of coming back into the house once she was out. I'm sure it's partly my fault as well, because when they look up at me with their bright eyes and wag their tails ... well, you get the picture.
|Puppy Love
As far as Michaela's case goes, we are all still suffering from the impact of that bone that was found last year. And I mean we ALL are. Honestly, that lead should have been investigated by the police, and they should have told me when it was all over what the results were. Being raked over hot coals for months waiting for the answer was pure torture. So for me, I have left the investigators alone since then. I haven't asked too many questions, because I don't know if I can stand another episode like the last one. I still take leads and pass them along, but I figure if there is something I need to know they will tell me. Of course, if I ask, I know they will tell me. I just don't really want to ask. That may be a bad thing, I don't know, but I just don't have the emotional energy for it right now.
The really bad thing is that is apparently isn't just me this has impacted. I asked recently if I could use the little office at the police department that had all of Michaela's files and evidence in it, and I was told that it had been closed. Apparently after that bone turned out not to be Michaela's some higher up or the other at the police department informed our investigator that he couldn't use it anymore. Apparently there was no immediate need of the room for anything else. As it was put to me, that whole thing with the bone and the speed freak killers also took a lot out of the police department. There is also a kind of musical chairs that goes on with the leadership at Hayward PD. This is a great thing is you happen to be stuck with a leader who is not good, but it also means you lose those who are, and it means that there are always new people coming in who don't really know what's going on. Probably most cases are opened and closed within the span of a lieutenant or captain's tenure in a department. With cases that last for years, like Michaela's, it is very difficult having the case be subject to scrutiny and changes in procedure every time the watch changes.
|Zelda and Spike
Oh Michaela, if you are out there somewhere, could you please just let me know? Or if you know what happened to her, would you please just tell me? We really do not need leads about people who looked like the abductor. We have lots of prime suspects for the abductor and don't have the resources to thoroughly investigate them at this point. We need hard facts, evidence, truth. We need it desperately, please, please, please!
|Zelda, Spike and Sophia out for a walk.
Again, thank you for bearing with me, through better and worse, and even in silence. I do so appreciate all your love and support, for Michaela, for our family.
And Michaela, wherever you are, I love you forever. I like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.
mom <3 p="">


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After you have read the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, it's time for a craft project. This cute little caterpillar is exactly what you need.
If you add some magnetic tape, you can easily make this into a fridge magnet.
PDF file (2 pages)
The downloadable document contains the list of materials, illustrated instructions, and a sample picture.
This is a free document.
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text:
Rollin' In It Coin Purse
Sorry, this product has been archived…meaning it's currently out of stock and may or may not make a return. If you'd like to know *if* we are able to restock this product feel free to send us an email to email@example.com and we'll let you know if we might be able to get it back. Thanks!
This coin purse is like if a Jackson Pollock painting fell in love with the Sex Pistols and they had a puppy. What I'm saying is that it's awesome. Art by Marc Rosenthal. 95% post consumer recycled material.
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Everyone knows the feeling: you're sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's car, with your eyes clamped shut and palms sweating, careening down the road. No, your friend isn't drunk — they just can't drive.
Now, you have a chance to get them some serious help.
The Discovery Channel's hit show, Canada's Worst Driver, is coming to Whistler to recruit.
The program, which is based on a British series, is entering its fourth season and producers need to find the worst of the worst to showcase. Once selected, the successful candidates are taken to the Drivers' Rehabilitation Centre to undergo a series of challenges designed to improve their driving technique.
And this isn't your typical driving school — the centre offers extreme driving courses on a closed course.
"It is proven to be the most effective in the past few seasons," said associate producer of the show, Meredith Veats.
While the concept of the show is initially quite amusing, Veats says they really hope to rehabilitate some of Canada's worst drivers.
"The real idea behind the show is to help the bad drivers in Canada get better and make the roads safer, and of course there's humour involved, but it really is to help these drivers," Veats explained.
In past seasons, participants have come from all over the country, but Veats says British Columbia seems to be something of a goldmine.
"British Columbia, overall, has had a lot of bad drivers, I don't know why," Veats said, "but never any from Whistler or Pemberton."
In fact, the worst driver they've seen on the show, so far, was Jason Zhang, of Vancouver. He took home the title of Canada's Worst Driver last year.
"He was one of the few who I would say wasn't necessarily rehabilitated," Veats said with a laugh. "We saw some huge transformations from most of the participants on the show, but he was one of the few cases where he was just kind of stuck with the title of Canada's Worst Driver at the end, and decided he would stick to public transportation."
This season, producers decided to come to the Sea to Sky region to see what we have to offer in terms of bad drivers. While Veats says they hadn't heard drivers in this region are particularly bad, they had heard that there are a lot of perilous roads to deal with in the area.
"I do know that the roads are incredibly dangerous there, so we figure it's a good place to include in our search to help the drivers," said Veats.
Cameron Machan is the owner and operator of Young Drivers of Canada in Squamish, and has been in the business of training drivers for almost 10 years. While he has never actually watched Canada's Worst Driver, he says a lot of his students have mentioned it to him.
"I've often thought if I did watch it, I'd feel more frustrated than entertained," Machan said with a chuckle.
He doesn't think producers will have a hard time finding suitable candidates for their show in the Sea to Sky region.
"From what I've seen, there's no shortage of people that would fall into that category, I just certainly hope not to see any of my ex-students on the show."
And how do Whistler's drivers stack up to those down in the city?
"Well, it's a tough comparison, because so many of the drivers that are in Whistler aren't actually from Whistler, but in my experience, you've got the bad ones everywhere you go," said Machan. "I wouldn't crucify Whistler drivers by labeling them worse than other regions or better than other regions."
There are, however, a few unique challenges to driving in the area.
"Well, there's the simple fact that so many people there aren't from there, so you've got the people that make last minute lane changes, and you have to expect the unexpected a little bit more than in other areas," Machan explained, adding that there are also a few tricky turns to make, especially in some areas where you have to turn directly onto the highway.
Each season, producers receive hundreds of nominations for the show, and they follow up on each and every one, so if you're thinking of recommending someone you know for the show, you might want to give them a heads-up, first.
People can nominate themselves or someone they know through their toll-free number, 1-866-598-2591, or online at firstname.lastname@example.com.
And Veats says not to worry too much about insulting your friend or family member with your nomination.
"I think initially, in the first season, people were a bit offended, but now they've seen how much the show can really help and it's a lot of fun."
January 27, 2020, 3:58 PM
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It Is also encouraging to learn that in the horse shows at Mukatsar held by Punjab Govt., a large number of Marwari Horses participated, similarly in the State of Gujarat; the Gujarat Equestrian Association held a Marwari Horse show at Anand and entries for Judging numbered over four hundred. In Rajasthan the famous traditional Puskhar, Tilwara and Nagaur fairs have even larger numbers and have a high standard of horses participating.
- The breeders of Marwari Horses have formed more number of Marwari Horse Studs. The quality of horses bred now is of good standard. The good breeding and interest of breeders in producing the high quality true to breed Marwari Horse Stock in the country has enhanced the popularity of Marwari Horses to a new level. The breeders are more enlightened and are adopting advanced technology in breeding.
- The breed characters of Marwari Horses Standardised in the National Seminar in 2002 at Umaid Bhawan Palace and later confirmed in seminar on 25.11.2006 at NRCE Hisar is a great milestone to defining the standard breed characteristics of Marwari Horse.
- The scientist at NRCE have completed the genotypic characterization of Marwari Horse (genetic mapping), I congratulate them for their efforts in bringing out the genotypic data characteristics. I hope they will also soon come out with parentage testing of prestigious Marwari Horses.
Another land mark achievement is the Marwari Horse Stud Book Registration Society of India. A good number of horses have been registered in the Marwari Horse Stud Book from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Maharastra. With the launching of All India Marwari Horse Society website the objectives, activities, available Marwari Stock for sale, and other information will be readily available to the breeders, and anyone interested in Marwari Horses.
My best wishes for preservation, and promotion and welfare of Marwari Horses and to the breeders.


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As promised earlier this week on their Twitter account, One Direction have released their second single from Made In The A.M. with Perfect and things are getting a bit shady.
A team of songwriters penned the track alongside Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, with the latter 1D member making some waves. Many fans are speculating that the lyrics are pointing towards Styles' famous ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift. Perhaps you've heard of her?
Most notably, the lyrics "And if you like midnight driving with the windows down / And if you like going places we can't even pronounce" and "But if you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms / And if you like having secret little rendezvous" seem to be pointing to Swift. More specifically, Perfect looks to be pointing to Swift's songs I Knew You Were Trouble ("Flew me to places I'd never been"), Out of the Woods ("Remember when you hit the brakes too soon?") and I Know Places ("Baby, I know places we won't be found / And they'll be chasing their tails tryin' to track us down").
Styles finishes the song by singing "And if you're looking for someone to write your breakup songs about / Baby, I'm perfect / Baby, we're perfect." Well, no one can accuse the British singer of not being self-aware.
Shade-throwing aside, the new song is another catchy pop track from the foursome that has us sadly counting down the days until the band's March hiatus. Until then, we'll just have to enjoy the fab four as much as we can.
The band also released the tracklist for Made In The A.M. this week, which includes 17 new songs and a bonus track for those who pre-order. There's alllllways a bonus track.
One Direction's Made In The A.M. is set to released on November 13.
1. Hey Angel
2. Drag Me Down
3. Perfect
4. Infinity
5. End of the Day
6. If I Could Fly
7. Long Way Down
8. Never Enough
9. Olivia
10. What a Feeling
11. Love You, Goodbye
12. I Want to Write You a Song
13. History
14. Temporary Fix
15. Walking in the Wind
16. Wolves


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My grandfather's shed was a mysterious place. Tools I didn't recognize lined the walls over shelves of coffee cans filled with rusty hardware. Most interesting to me were the dozens of blue glass jars tucked carefully toward the back of each shelf, with seeds of every color and shape imaginable tightly sealed inside.
Seed saving seems to have gone the way of horse-drawn plows. Many gardeners opt for the convenience of buying new seed every year, and some fear that saving their own seed is involves more skill than they wish to acquire. True, there is an art to seed saving, but with a little effort, most gardeners could save a significant amount of money by doing so, and experience a few more of the rewards of self-sufficiency.
Which Seeds to Save
One of the rumors that keeps some gardeners from saving their own seeds is that "homegrown" seed stock will produce plants that are inferior to the original parent plants. This is one of those cases in which generalizations are misleading. As a rule, most seeds will produce a crop that is similar to, and just as good as, the parent crop. These user-friendly varieties are called "open-pollinated" crops and have been the mainstay of agriculture for centuries. Open-pollinated varieties usually have very consistent genetics (geneticists might use the term homozygous for all traits). In addition, many of these cultivars self-pollinate, which further ensures that different crops don't mix.
Having stated this generalization, however, let's look at two exceptions that you might encounter. Some open-pollinated crops that cross-pollinate easily (meaning that pollen from one plant is transferred to another plant of that species) may cross with each other to produce offspring (seeds) that are mixtures of the two parent plants. This is not a problem if there is only one variety of that crop within pollinating distance.
For example, in a field of 'Golden Bantam' corn, it doesn't matter whether pollen from one plant fertilizes another. Since the plants are all genetically the same, the seeds will all be the same. However, if a neighbor plants a crop of multicolored Indian corn next door, the pollen will mix between the two crops, and the resulting seeds may exhibit millions of possible genetic combinations. Future crops grown from these seeds will be very unpredictable with regard to the corn characteristics expressed.
Another exception to the rule occurs when growing hybrid plants. Plant breeders produce hybrid seed by crossing parent stock from two different varieties of a certain crop. This is done for the purpose of creating a new mixed variety that expresses a trait known as "hybrid vigor." This new variety is typically larger, heartier, healthier or otherwise more robust than non-hybrid crops.
The problem for the seed saver is that the seeds produced by hybrids will now contain the same variable mixtures of genetics as discussed previously, even when self-pollinated. Crops produced from seeds collected from hybrid plants will produce a multitude of different characteristics. Although this may make an interesting experiment for the curious gardener, consistent, predictable crops are not likely.
Harvesting Seeds
Seeds are living organisms, carrying the genetic information from their parent plants. Collect seeds from only healthy, mature fruit. Remove any residual fruit tissue before drying and storing seeds.
You have a great deal of power as a seed saver. The seed that you select for next year's crop will determine the traits passed to that crop. So, harvest seed stock from plants that display the characteristics you want. If your parent crop is variable in some way, such as plant height, then seeds from tall plants will likely produce taller offspring. Or if the fruit on some plants is better than others, by all means try to save seeds from those plants. If, however, you want to maintain the variability in the crop, be sure to collect seed from as many different plants as possible.
The fruit you collect seed from should be mature and even overripe, if possible. Seed from immature fruit may not be viable. In most cases, pods that are drying, fruits that are changing color or stems that are shriveling are good indicators of full maturity. Some crops such as beans, corn and okra may be allowed to dry on the plant before harvesting. Also, be sure to harvest from healthy plants. Many plant diseases are transmitted on or in seeds.
Processing Seeds
This step is generally easier than it sounds. Try to remove as much fruit or pod material as possible. Spread the seed in a well-ventilated area to dry. An old window screen makes a good drying surface. Drying time may vary, but in summer heat, about two weeks will usually give good results.
Storing Seeds
A seed is a living organism. Although in its dehydrated state it is dormant, its life is still limited. If processed properly, most garden and flower seeds will remain viable from one to five years, however, germination rates will continue to decrease the longer they are stored.
For the best results and the longest viability, try to keep the humidity, temperature and light levels as low as possible. Airtight containers, such as jars or plastic bags, are best, but paper containers are usually acceptable. Label the containers and place them in the coolest, driest and darkest place you can find.
Insect pests may become a problem. If you see weevils, moths, droppings, powdery residue or other signs of infestation, it's probably best to destroy that particular lot before it spreads. Sometimes, freezing the seeds for a couple of weeks before final storage will kill hidden insect eggs and larvae. Rodents can also destroy an entire seed collection in a few hours, so consider this when choosing storage sites.
Tips for Specific Crops
Tomatoes: Set mature fruits aside for a few weeks until they begin to spoil. This ensures that the seeds are fully mature and helps decrease disease transfer.
Melons, squash, cucumbers, gourds: Since these crops cross-pollinate easily, you may have to cover a few unopened blossoms with a paper sack. Shake the sacks daily to ensure self-pollination. Tag the fruit from these flowers and harvest when they are very mature. Clean the seeds well before drying.
Corn: If there are other corn varieties around, you may need to cover several very young ears with paper sacks to avoid cross-pollination. When silks appear, cut off the tassel from a plant and shake it onto the silks inside the sack. Tag these ears for seed saving. Let the seed dry on the stalk.
Pepper: Remove seeds when fruit ripens. Dry them for a day or two before storage.
Beans and peas: The easiest seeds to save. Let the pods dry on the plant, then shell out and store.
A version of this article appeared in print in Arkansas Gardener Volume VI Issue VIII. Photos by John McWilliams.


text: Settle in this festive season with a feast fit for kings when you head over to the Pacific Regency Hotel Suites for a Juadah Warisan buffet! Headed by Chef Firdaus Mat Yusoff, the team of experienced and award-winning chefs are set to prepare a sumptuous spread of extravagant flavours with a delicious combination of authentic and traditional Malaysian fare to please every palate. Feast on a wide range of delicious, lip-smacking cuisines featuring local selections, seafood on ice, pasta selections, Chinese and Indian choices and more.


text: Same-sex sexual behaviour is widespread across taxa and is particularly common in insects, in which up to 50% of copulation attempts by males are directed towards other males in some species. Research effort has focused on male-male same-sex behaviour and the prevailing theory is that benefits of high mating rate combined with poor sex discrimination explain the high incidence of male-male mounting. However, the evolution of female-female mounting is more enigmatic, since females typically do not mount males in order to mate. Using a full-sib design, we found an intersexual correlation for same-sex mounting in the beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Variation in male-male mounting across families explained over 20% of variation in female-female mounting. Moreover, we found no evidence that same-sex behaviour was related to general activity level in either sex or carried a fitness cost to females. Taken together, our results suggest that female-female mounting is a relatively low-cost behaviour that may be maintained in the population via selection on males.