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It's no secret that women face a disproportionate amount of discrimination in the workplace. One-third of women say they have been subject to some type of workplace discrimination at some point in their careers — which can range from being paid less for the same type of work, to being denied a promotion, to being scrutinized more carefully than their male colleagues.
But the issues that women encounter on the job can run deeper than being unfairly assumed to be less competent or less valuable than their male counterparts. In many cases, women are up against very specific assumptions about their sexuality, their role as "objects" intended to be attractive to men, and their responsibility to prevent men from desiring them.
That attitude toward women's bodies becomes entrenched at an early age, as girls are told what type of clothing is or isn't appropriate to wear at school so they don't "distract" the male students. And it carries over into the workplace, too, as adult women repeatedly receive the message that they are responsible for both obscuring and leveraging their sexuality for men's purposes. Here are just five recent examples:
A New Jersey judge ruled that casino waitresses can be fired for gaining weight.
Twenty two former cocktail servers sued a popular casino in Atlantic City over a policy that forbids waitresses from gaining more than seven percent of their original body weight. The women were subject to regular weigh-ins, and the policy meant that a 130-pound woman was not allowed to gain more than 9.1 pounds. They alleged it was weight discrimination — but an Atlantic County Superior Court Judge disagreed. In July, the judge ruled that casino waitresses are essentially "sex objects," and it's okay to fire them for gaining weight because they are no longer fulfilling their contractual obligations.
A widely-used employee training manual tells women how to make sure they don't lead men on.
Earlier this week, Jezebel reported that a popular manager training guide — used as companies like Google, Groupon, and Modcloth — essentially tells women that they're responsible for preventing advances from their male co-workers. The manual tells women who are "touchy-feely or flirtatious by nature" to "dial it back," suggests women socialize in groups, and advises women to avoid "revealing clothing" or "ending statements with an upward inflection."
Women at Merrill Lynch have been instructed to seduce their way to the top.
Other employee trainings have similarly gone off the rails when it comes to guidance on women's behavior in the workplace. Female employees at Merrill Lynch allege they were made to read a book called "Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactics From a Woman at the Top" and to make use of its advice to get ahead. To get men to do their work, the book suggested "play[ing] on their masculine pride and natural instincts to protect the weaker sex." To diffuse tense situations, it pointed out that men "puff up" at being told, "Wow, you look great. Been working out?" The women also allege that they were pressured to attend female-only events on "dressing for success" and were told to be more "perky" and "bubbly."
The Iowa Supreme Court decided it's okay to fire attractive women if they pose a risk to men's marriages.
James Knight, a dentist in Iowa, didn't fire his female assistant Melissa Nelson after 10 years of working for him because of performance reasons. Instead, Nelson alleges that Knight's wife told him to do it because "she was a big threat to our marriage" given that he was sexually attracted to her. Yet in July, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court stood by an earlier decision that she wasn't improperly fired because it wasn't gender discrimination. Instead, her firing was found permissible because of the facts surrounding her relationship with Knight, such as several comments he made about her clothing and the fact that they texted each other after work hours.
Two hotel employees were fired after they complained about being photoshopped onto bikini-clad bodies.
Two sisters, Martha and Lorena Reyes, say they were fired from the Hyatt Hotel in Santa Clara, CA after they complained about photoshopped images of them. In the photos, the women's heads were photoshopped onto the bodies of women wearing bikinis. Lorena told Jezebel that they were "extremely humiliating and shameful for me" and also said she has never worn a bikini, even at home. While the company says it fired them two days after they complained about the images because they took overly long breaks, the sisters feel it was related to the incident. The Reyes sisters have filed a retaliation charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Just like when it comes to school dress codes, the issues at play in the above scenarios are ultimately a manifestation of rape culture. Many Americans think of "rape culture" specifically in the context of incidences of sexual assault, but it's actually a pervasive societal attitude about women's sexuality that runs much deeper and influences a much broader range of interactions. When women in the workplace are sexualized in these ways, they're receiving the message that their bodies have everything to do with men's reactions to them and nothing to do with their own autonomy or consent. This approach to gender roles assumes that men can't control themselves around women, and it's women's responsibility to figure out how to handle that. And ultimately, this culture contributes to high rates of sexual harassment in the workplace: One in four women report having experienced such abuse.
But once women and men internalize those messages about women's bodies, it's not hard to see why many of them may assume that women who are subject to that sexual harassment — or other types of sexual violence — probably did something to "deserve it."


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S.S. Catherine
Boutique River Cruising with S.S. Catherine
- Ship in Detail
- Facilities
- Cabins
- Deck Plans
- Statistics
Built in 2014, the S.S. Catherine is the sister ship to S.S. Antoinette, and is one of Uniworld's largest ships at 443 ft. long. The S.S. Catherine offers three full decks with elegantly appointed public areas designed with one goal in mind: delighting guests. Similar to the S.S. Antoinette, the S.S. Catherine features the whimsical Leopard Lounge with its unique leopard print furnishings, elephant-head bar rails and many other safari-themed touches.
The main restaurant features an al fresco outdoor dining terrace further enriching the dining experience as guests sail through the inspiring countryside. There is also a bistro restaurant where guests can experience dining in a cozy atmosphere. The signature touches for which Uniworld has become known - inspiring original hand-selected art, classic furnishings, old world antiques, marble, and clever use of mirrors canall be found in the various public areas along with different hues of green, brown, beige, and gold adorning the walls and floors throughout.
Swimming Pool
Food and Drink
Coffee Bar
Van Gogh Show Lounge
Hair Dryer
Laundry Service
Personal Safe
balconyLavishly appointed riverview stateroom with full open-air balcony Handcrafted Savoir® of England bed, generous built-in closets, hair dryer, individual climate-control thermostat, direct-dial telephone, flatscreen TV with infotainment center, bottled water, and safe Marble bathroom includes: L'Occitane en Provence bath and body products, plush towels, special towel warmers, backlit magnifying mirror, heated mirrors, cozy bathrobes, and slippers.
suiteOwner's Suite
Deck Plans
Year Entered Service 01/01/2010
Length 433 ft
Total Passengers 0
Total Crew 0
Ship Width 38 ft
Refurbished Date 25/06/2013

subset: commoncrawl


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system of musical instruction.' These pretensions were extravagant, but his object was good, and what he did has undoubtedly had a beneficial influence on pianoforte teaching, though his system and invention are no longer used.
[Grove as above, also ii. 161; pamphlets, &c., cited above.]
LOINGSECH (d. 704), king of Ireland, succeeded Finachta Fleadhach as ardrigh in 695. His father was Œngus, grandson of Aedh mac Ainmire, king of Ireland from 568 to 595. The first mention of him in the annals (O'Donovan, Annals of Ireland, p. 68) is in 672, when he won a battle at Tulachard over the king of Banagh, co. Donegal. In 699 there was a severe murrain, while in three subsequent years plague and famine were epidemic. The establishment of the Cain Adhamhnain, which exempted women from military service, took place in his reign, and may have been a result of these misfortunes. In 704 Loingsech led a plundering expedition into Connaught. Ceallach mac Raghallaigh, king of Connaught, an aged man whose infirmities had been satirised by the poets of Loingsech, assembled his tribes and led them to battle in his chariot with such spirit that Loingsech and his three sons were slain. The battle was fought at Corann in the north of Connaught, and was celebrated in a satirical poem beginning, 'Basa adhaigh i ccorann, basa uacht, basa omum,' of which the best version, obviously an ancient one, is in a fragment of annals preserved by Mac Firbisigh (O'Donovan, Three Fragments, pp. 106-8).
[Annala Rioghachta Eireann, i. 296-303; O'Donovan's Annals of Ireland and Three Fragments; Annala Uladh, ed. Hennessy, i. 152; Book of Ballymote, fol. 52; R. O'Flaherty's Ogygia.]
LOK, LOCK, or LOCKE, HENRY (1553?–1608?), poet, was third son of Henry Lok, a London mercer (d. 1571), by his wife Anne Vaughan. The latter is doubtless the 'A. L.,' i.e. Anne Lok or Locke, who translated into English verse Calvin's 'Sermons upon the Song that Ezechias made after he had been sick and afflicted by the Hand of God'(London, John Daye, 1550). At the close of the book a fresh title-page introduces 'A Meditation of a penitent Sinner, written in manner of a Paraphrase after the 51 Psalm of David.' A copy of the volume belonged to Bright, the book-collector, and contained the inscription 'Liber Henrici Lock ex dono Anne uxoris 1559.' Michael Lok [q. v.] the traveller was the poet's uncle, and Sir William Lok [q. v.] was his grandfather; Michael Cosworth [q. v.] was his cousin. According to Wood, Lok spent some time in Oxford between his sixteenth and twenty-first year, but does not seem to have matriculated in the university, and certainly took no degree. Wood states that on leaving Oxford he went to court and 'was received into the patronage of a noble Mæcænas.' In 1591 he contributed a sonnet to the 'Essayes of a Prentice,' by James VI of Scotland. In the years following Lok seems to have been a persistent petitioner for place about the court. Early in 1597 he was, according to his own account, encouraged by the Countess of Warwick to make application to Sir Robert Cecil for 'some pension, till an office or forfeiture may fall to my relief.' Early in 1598 he petitioned for the 'collectorship of Devon.' In 8 June 1598 he begged for the appointment of keeper of the queen's bears and mastiffs. 'It is better to be a bear herd,' he wrote, 'than to be baited daily with great exclamations for small debts.' Lok's appeals resulted in his obtaining some confidential employment. In 1599, when Cecil made him a present of a gelding, he spent the spring at Bayonne and the neigbourhood, collecting political gossip. He was skilled in cipher, but his zeal in seeking 'intelligence' exposed him to the hostile suspicions of the inhabitants, and at one time his life seems to have been in danger (State Paper MSS. Dom. Eliz. cclxxi. 91, 125, 273). A year later he was living in the Strand, and seems to have fallen into bad repute with Cecil, whom he vainly implored to employ him again in secret service in foreign ports. In March 1606 he was imprisoned as an insolvent debtor in the Westminster Gatehouse, and in May 1608 he was similarly situated in the Clink in Southwark. Piteous appeals for relief to his old protector, now Earl of Salisbury, seem to have been unavailing.
Lok married Ann Moyle of Cornwall, and had two sons, Henry, born in 1592, and Charles.
In 1593 Richard Field obtained a license to print a work entitled 'The first Parte of Christian Passions, conteyninge a hundred Sonnets of Meditation, Humiliation, and Prayer.' No copy of this book is now extant. In 1597 Richard Field printed 'Ecclesiasticus, otherwise called the Preacher, compendiously abridged, and also paraphristically dilated in English Poesie … composed by H. L., Gentleman. Whereunto are annexed sundrie Sonets of Christian Passions heretofore printed, and now corrected and augmented, with other affectionate Sonets of a feeling Conscience of the same Authors' (London, 4to).


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Category: Tenant Buyouts
Should I Propose A Buyout to My Landlord?
Correctly or not, landlords figure that a tenant offering a buyout may be ready to move voluntarily anyway–as in already found a new place and wants some quick cash to exit.
Should I Take A $40,000 Buyout Offer?
I am 65 years old. I've lived in my apartment for 22 years. I pay just under $900 for a junior one bedroom on the top floor in the San Francisco Mission district.The landlord offered me a buyout to vacate for $40,000. Should I ask for $60,000?
Are The Buyout Terms My Landlord's Offering Acceptable?
Should we sign the buyout agreement the landlords provided or renegotiate?
Tenant Buyouts: The Agreement
If you negotiated a buyout agreement with your landlord, get that agreement in writing. Any landlord who balks at this is going to screw you, end of story.
Tenant Buyouts: Strategy for Success
Like a high stakes poker game, buyouts are complicated. If you want want to get the best deal possible, you must be prepared to analyze the deal using the strategies here.


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A winter warmer that packs a punch on the health front, try this tasty take on a traditional one-pot meal
This recipe is a great wholesome midweek supper to have in your repertoire. Adding extra vegetables and beans to a casserole helps towards your five a day while also making the meat go further.
Recipe taken from Heartfelt, written by Pippa Middleton for the British Heart Foundation (£19.99)
More from Prima.co.uk...
Tangy winter slaw with dates and oranges
Sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter for more great Prima ideas!


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Bring on the Burn!
Whether you turn up the heat or let it simmer, show members how many different ways there are to get fit.
Weston Fitness in Philadelphia gets the most out of its equipment stash with Pump Slide Workout. This 30-minute class features high-intensity, low-impact interval slide training combinations with Body Bars, stability balls, light weights and resistance tubing.
Participants get an intense athletic workout with BURN! Med Ball Conditioning at Equinox in New York City. The circuit training class, which was created by Antonio Valladares, uses full- and lower-body exercises and athletic drills to integrate flexibility, balance, strength and cardiovascular elements.
Pure Fitness clubs in Washington and Arizona appeal to members' need for variety and intensity with Rhythm Kickbox. This challenging workout has a sport-specific warm-up that flows into four to six "self-reversing, linked combinations … inspired by martial arts and western boxing." The cardiovascular bonanza is followed by a core-strengthening section and a relaxing cool-down stretch.
Students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have a chance to get wet and get in shape in Aqua®Both Ends. This equipment-based class utilizes both ends of the pool—deep and shallow—and teaches multidirectional changes and movements. The "repeated bouts of exercise with intermittent rest periods" challenges muscles and gives the heart a good workout.
Mettler Center in Champaign, Illinois, offers HEAT (High Endurance Athletic Training), its "trademark class." This 45- to 60-minute fat-burner is a "no-nonsense, comprehensive approach to exercise." Instructors mix and match basic athletic strength exercises and sports drills with indoor cycling, walking, circuit training or running. Varying intensity levels accommodate a range of participants.
The schedule at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas, features Triple Mix, which introduces new members to group fitness. This moderate- to high- intensity class is easily modified and is one-third "floor aerobics," one-third step training and one-third strength conditioning.
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Check back often for more articles.
October 12, 2014
Eclipse Win The Inaugural Pennock Cup; End season on 24 Game Win Streak
Steve "Smiles" Pogue
Unionville, PA – The Eclipse Base Ball Club of Elkton came into the Pennock Cup the number one seed of an eight team tournament featuring top teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
On a cold, windy October day, the Eclipse outscored their competition 44-19 and relied on timely defensive plays to win the tournament. Led by exceptional displays of offense and defense, the Eclipse showed why they finished the season 44-5.
In the quarterfinals, the Eclipse bested the Brandywine Base Ball Club of West Chester by an 18-5 margin. After the Brandywines closed to within three in the fifth inning, the Eclipse erupted for nine runs and never looked back. The semi-finals pitted the Eclipse against a mash up of all stars from Harrisburg, Milford, Talbot, and Lewes. Led by a spectacular diving play by Steve "Smiles" Pogue and crafty first base play by Lucas "Cowboy" Penny, the Eclipse held strong defensively and after nine innings, the Eclipse walked away with a 16-4 victory.
The championship game saw the Eclipse face the number two seed Delaware Diamond States, and the match did not disappoint. The last time these two teams played, the Diamond States claimed victory in the Mid-Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League playoffs. This year however, the Eclipse would hold strong after every Diamond State push. Early on, the Eclipse established a three run lead and held until the Diamond States took the lead in the fifth, 5-4. The Eclipse stormed right back and regained a 7-5 lead on singles by Erik "Dubs" Myers and Tom "Schoolboy" Duffy.
After keeping the Diamond State rallies at bay with exceptional defensive efforts, the Eclipse came to bat tied at nine a piece in the bottom of the eighth. "Smiles" lead off with a triple and scored on an infield hit by Tim "Ones" Bower. Glyn "Hammer" Richards and "Schoolboy" followed up with a single and double to drive in the insurance runs. The Eclipse needed one of the insurance runs as the Diamond States plated one in the top of the ninth, but again, the Eclipse defense held and took home the inaugural Pennock Cup.
With 44 wins, the Eclipse set a franchise record for wins in a season, and at 24 wins, extended the longest win streak the club has ever had. The Eclipse are finished for the season, but will get back to the field in March for spring training, looking forward to another eventful vintage base ball campaign.
September 28, 2014
Eclipse Win Third Straight Maryland State Title
Steve "Smiles" Pogue
North East, MD – The Eclipse Base Ball Club of Elkton retained their Maryland Vintage Base Ball title for the third straight year defeating the Chesapeake Nine of Baltimore and the Rising Sun Base Ball Club on Sunday September 28, 2014. The Eclipse have now won seven Maryland State Vintage Base Ball Championships.
The number one seed Elkton Eclipse faced off in its first match against the Chesapeake Nine. Chesapeake tallied two runs in the first, but pitcher Jon "Killer" Kirkpatrick and the Eclipse defense would not let up a run the rest of the game. The Eclipse went on to score 33 runs from 41 hits.
The championship game saw the Eclipse face the Rising Sun Club for the second time in four weeks. Tom "Schoolboy" Duffy took the ball for the Eclipse and pitched a marvelous game only giving up one run in nine innings. Behind Schoolboy, Championship game MVP Jason "Shady" Bromley in left field led the exceptional defensive effort. From throwing out a Rising Sun player trying to stretch a single into a double to the routine fly ball, Shady accounted for twelve putouts on the game.
Offensively, the Eclipse bats woke in the fourth inning as Leslie "More" Blackburn and Shady led off with a single and walk, respectively. Ryan "Pants" Gannon and Lee "Brew" Donnelson drove them in. With pressure on and only up three runs, the Eclipse plated five in the bottom of the seventh capped by a two run double by Lucas "Cowboy" Penny. The Eclipse went on to win 8-1 in a thrilling championship game.
Up next for the state champs is the Strasburg Rail Road Tournament on Sunday October 12 where they may face off once again with Rising Sun, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg.


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Procedures/Discussion Questions
- Begin the lesson by telling students that they will be learning about the brain and what it does, then show the class a small clip from the videotape that highlights Corty. Have students watch while Corty introduces himself and explains a little about the functions of the brain. Make a class list of these different functions.
- When the video is finished, split the class into small groups. Each group will complete a body outline to work with throughout the lesson. Then, take a large piece of paper and lay it on the floor. Have one child from each group lay on a piece of paper while either parent volunteers, instructional assistants, or the other children begin making outlines of the students by tracing the body.
- When the groups have completed their body outlines, pass out the outlines of the brain. Tell them to cut it out and color it in. Then, have them put the brain outlines aside until their body outlines have been done. Students can begin looking through magazines for pictures illustrating the brain's different activities.
- When all the body outlines have been done and decorated, and all the brain outlines cut out, work with the other adults to tape the outlines around the room. Then, ask the students where they should put the outline of the brain. Most will know to put it in the head of the body outlines. Tell them to tape the brain outline where it belongs.
- Have a brief discussion with students about what the brain does. Remind students that the brain is responsible for many activities, including thinking, talking, running, jumping, breathing, digesting food, and experiencing emotions. Give students a few minutes to look for pictures in magazines illustrating these different activities.
- After the groups have found several pictures, have the students cut them out and paste them on their body outlines. Students can then draw a line from their brain to the picture, indicating that the brain plays a role in the activity shown.
- Show students the pictures of the different faces illustrating different emotions, which are found on the Limbic System Trading Card. Ask students what these pictures tell them. Help students recognize that the images show emotions, which the brain is also in charge of.
- On a separate piece of paper, ask the students to draw a face showing how they feel right now. Have them paste the face onto their body outlines. Tell students that every day, they will have a few minutes to look at their face and either keep it or change it to reflect their feelings that day. In this way, students will come to see that emotions change all the time and are an important element of who we are as individuals. Keep the body outlines for the Module 5 activity.
- The students have just completed the third mission of the NIDA Brain Power! Program.
Discussion Questions
- Ask students to name the most surprising thing they learned about the brain during the lesson. Did most students name the same thing or was there a wide range of ideas? Overall, were students surprised about everything the brain can do?
- Discuss with students what happens each day to cause their emotions to change. For example, if they have candy in their lunchboxes, they will probably be happy. But if a friend ignores them at recess, they will probably feel sad. Make a list of the different emotions students experience each day. How many emotions were on the list? Were students surprised at the number?
- Focus on the senses of taste and smell. Ask students why they are important. Discuss how they work together to give us important information.
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NIDA. (2009, September 1). Brain Power: Grades K-1. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/brain-power/brain-power-grades-k-1


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I've got a quick post for you today about a breakfast that I've really been enjoying. Granola, fruit, and yogurt parfaits assembled in a mason jar. I love the portability of it and they look pretty darn cute once assembled. It's a great way to make you look forward to a healthy breakfast and…Read More
Healthy Snacks and Substantial Salads
My husband and I are pretty active people. It seems like we are always on the go, doing something, so snacks are an integral part of our weekly food repertoire. Now that baby boy seemingly has an endless appetite as well, I snack heartily and often. I could really use a sherpa to carry the…Read More
It's Super Bowl Time – Muffulettas and Chicken Wings!
It's that time of year again–Super Bowl time! One last excuse to throw dietary caution to the wind and meal out! Two things that get the task accomplished better than the rest are chicken wings and big, meaty sandwiches. It just wouldn't be football without them! I can distinctly remember when Super Bowl chicken wings became…Read More
Winter in a Bowl – Beouf Bourguignon.
Hello everyone! It's been a while. I've been hibernating, literally. As some of you know (and some of you don't), I'm pregnant. This new development has wreaked havoc on my blogging abilities (or pretty much my abilities in general). For eating, instead of being the comforting, colorful, expressive activity of days long past is…Read More
The Great Big Apple Post
Apple Abundance! Earlier this month, we embarked upon a major weekend road trip through Tennessee and Georgia. I really think we were in the car for more hours than not. Needless to say, it was a great time visiting friends, enjoying the outdoors, and witnessing the marriage of a lovely couple. The wedding location was…Read More
FoodBlogSouth Conference
Being a Birmingham area foodie, I am super excited that there is a food blogging conference right here in town on January 27th and 28th being hosted by FoodBlogSouth. Since I've started Endless Appetite this spring I've really enjoyed sharing recipes, food stories and food photographs from my kitchen. It amazes me the variety of…Read More
THE Meatloaf
We're going old school with this post–takin' it back to that longtime comfort food, meatloaf. There are usually two camps when it comes to loaves of meat–those who love it and those who hate it. My husband happens to fall into the LOVE category. His passion for meatloaf is one I have never before witnessed. …Read More


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When you are single on Valentine's Day, all the romantic advertising can make you feel that you need a date to be happy. But, the truth is, your best Valentine's date is already greeting you at the door when you come home, he just might happen to have four legs.
10 Reasons Dogs Make The Best Valentine's Date
1. Dogs like it when you read in bed.
They'll just cozy up right next to you. Some dogs will even read in their bed. Sanchez has that one down.
2. Dogs are always happy to greet you.
No matter what, your dog is always happy to see you when you come home. It doesn't matter if you just went out to check the mail, or you've been at work all day. A dog will greet you as if you are the best thing that ever happened to him, because you are.
3. Dogs will never be late for dinner.
A dog wouldn't even think of coming home late for dinner. Are you kidding? In fact, he'll always be early for dinner.
4. It doesn't matter what you are wearing.
Don't feel like getting dressed up and wearing those uncomfortable red heels? No worries. Your dog will appreciate you just as much in your PJ's, your sweats, or your stylish clothes. It just doesn't matter. In fact, he won't even notice and think you're just as hot wearing slippers instead of red stilettos.
5. Your dog will always prefer to kiss you over a younger woman.
Are you maturing and starting to show your age? Your dog won't notice. You are still his best friend and he'd prefer to go home with you than the 30-something year old that just moved in down the street. And he didn't notice what she was wearing either.
6. Dogs are very happy watching chick flicks.
Want to watch "Thelma and Louise" one more time on Valentine's Day? No problem. Your dog will happily cuddle up next to you on the sofa and tune in. Ok, he might fall asleep. But, he won't be asking to watch The Terminator.
7. Dogs don't expect you to wash the floor or the dishes.
They wouldn't even think of asking you to clean the floor. In fact, they'll jump right in and clean it for you before you can even grab the mop. Sanchez even loves to wash the dishes as they are being loaded into the dishwasher.
8. Dogs don't want anything from you in bed.
Ok, your dog might want to sleep with you. But, once in bed, that's all he wants. Dogs are truly content just for the opportunity to snuggle with you in bed. And, he'll think you look and smell gorgeous in the morning.
9. Dogs don't care about your body type or size.
Gained a few pounds over the holidays? Your dog doesn't even notice. In fact, he might even be enjoying it if you are eating more than normal. That's more opportunity for him to sneak in a few extra dropped morsels.
10. Finding your Valentine's date is as easy as visiting your local shelter.
Don't have a date or a dog on Valentine's Day? No problem. Visit your local animal shelter or rescue organization. There will always be a dog waiting for you, ready to go to his/ her forever home. Who knows? You might just be bringing home the love of your life.
Sanchez, Gina and I wish you a heartwarming Valentine's Day filled with dog kisses and snuggles.


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"We've enjoyed working with Marcel Digital through the years because of their expertise and timeliness. They helped our site migration move along smoothly and continue to provide direction to increase our results."
Name: Rush University Medical Center
Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Founded: 1837
URL: https://www.rush.edu
Services Leveraged: Search Engine Optimization, Google Analytics
As Rush University Medical Center was in the midst of a website redesign and development project, a strategy was needed to ensure that organic traffic and overall engagement metrics would not decline when the new website went live. They would also need a more in-depth, advanced Google Analytics implementation as forms and goals on the website would be changing.
Marcel Digital's focus was to mitigate any losses in traffic due to the migration and implement a strategy for gaining back any loss in traffic over a longer period of time. As Google Certified Partners in both Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, we would also be tasked with mapping, implementing, and maintaining Rush's new Google Analytics setup.
To make this migration as seamless as possible, Marcel Digital focused on the SEO and website migration best practices set forth by search engines. Our priorities were:
Marcel Digital's comprehensive strategy and constant communication with both the Rush marketing and the website development teams ensured traffic, conversion, and key metric losses were minimal, and in most cases, maintained or improved.
Our team of Google Analytics experts worked tirelessly to implement and test Rush's new setup, creating more in-depth custom reporting and filtering to ensure that the data coming in was not only accurate, but relevant to their business goals, painting the whole picture of Rush's marketing efforts.
When all was said and done, the overall organic traffic was either minimally lost, maintained or improved. Our SEO migration efforts saw a 68% increase in organic traffic, while increasing new users by 77%. Our Google Analytics implementation was hailed by Rush University Medical Center as it helped streamline their marketing decisions and relieved teams of manual monthly reporting, now down with a few simple clicks.
A major B2B customer label client launched a new website at the end of 2014 which included all new pages for categories and products. Since it is an eCommerce website, one of the primary goals of the new site was to ensure an increase in conversions through the use of these new, detailed pages and an improved user experience.


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Roadside Garages Kia in Coleraine, Londonderry, is delighted to announce its 2016 sponsorship of top motorcycle rider and Ballymoney resident Michael Dunlop. Set to represent the leading British Superbike team, Hawk Racing, at the Isle of Man TT race, Michael will be on familiar turf, having already won this competition eleven times previously.
The Kia dealership, already well known for its involvement in road racing events, is the perfect fit to sponsor Michael as he embarks on a season of high speed biking. As part of the well-known Dunlop racing dynasty, which includes racing successes William, Robert and Joey Dunlop, it's set to be a busy summer for Michael as he tours the UK. To enable him to travel efficiently between events, the Kia garage has provided him with a top of the range all-new Kia Sorento, sure to offer style and comfort whilst traveling across the UK.
"It's brilliant to have the support of my local Kia garage, especially the use of my new Sportage, which will come in handy with all the travelling that the racing season entails," said Michael Dunlop. "The team at Roadside always cheer me on from the stands, and I hope that this year, they'll be able to see me scoop the Isle of Man TT Winner title for the 12th time."
David Boyd, Retail Operator at Roadside Garages Kia commented; "Motorbike racing is becoming increasingly popular in Northern Ireland, and particularly in the North West where we are based, so it's an honour to sponsor Michael and we look forward to this year's big race."


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Birch are charming and popular trees, notable mostly for their rapid growth and for their attractive bark. Many people are familiar with the white-barked birches, but there are serious pest problems when it comes to growing them. The native river birch is a good alternative. It also has beautiful peeling bark, but in many shades of pink, orange, tan and dark-red, making a colorful show in the garden, especially in winter and spring. However, this tree grows best in cooler areas and in damp soil. To change that, plant breeders have worked to improve the tree and they developed the Dura Heat® River Birch, which as the name suggests is much more tolerant of heat and drought, as well as having more attractive bark and being more resistant to drought, pests and diseases.
The Dura Heat® River Birch is a popular tree, and because it is so adaptable and dependable it is often in high demand. We constantly receive new stock, but shortages can arise, so order now to avoid disappointment.
Growing Dura Heat® River Birch
The Dura Heat® River Birch will quickly grow into a graceful tree with slightly pendulous branches and a unique lightness that only birch trees have. The beauty of their bark, their thin twigs and delicate hanging leaves all create a light and airy effect, quite different from denser trees like Maples. This makes it a good choice for the smaller or medium-sized garden because it will not dominate the area or create a lot of dense shade that can be hard to grow other plants in. It will not cause damage with roots, so this tree can be planted closer to buildings and sewage pipes than many other trees.
Climate and Hardiness
Most birch trees need cooler weather to do well, but the Dura Heat® River Birch is happy in hot, humid weather, making it the ideal choice if you live in a warmer area such as the South, where other birch trees will not do well. It is hardy in zone 4, all the way into zone 9, so it can be grown almost anywhere.
Appearance of the Dura Heat® River Birch
The Dura Heat® River Birch is a medium-sized tree that can reach 30 to 40 feet in height and be up to 25 feet across. The main feature of this tree is the bark, which is an attractive pinkish-brown color and peels off in a picturesque fashion, revealing new, lighter-colored bark below and giving even young trees lots of character. Older trunks eventually become ridged and dark-brown in color.
The leaves are up to 3 inches long and 2 inches wide, a triangular-oval shape and pointed toward the tip. There are tiny soft teeth along the edges of the leaves. In fall the leaves turn a wonderful shade of soft yellow, like a glowing candle in the sun. Once your tree is a little older you will see it flowering in early spring, before the leaves. The flowers are tiny, in narrow clusters called 'catkins' that hang down and are 2 to 3 inches long. These add a charm to the tree as the seasons change and spring arrives.
Planting Location and Soil Conditions
The Dura Heat® River Birch should be grown in a sunny location, and it can be planted in heavy clay soil that is often wet. It can even be planted in flooded soil, so it is an ideal choice for low-lying areas of your property, or along river banks. It will also grow in regular soil and does best in soil that is acid to neutral. Plant the Dura Heat® River Birch as a single specimen, or as a beautiful group of trees, since birch always looks lovely in a group. This tree also makes a great fast-growing boundary tree to your property, or a wind-break. Because it thrives in wet conditions it is also great for preventing river-bank erosion.
History and Origins of the Dura Heat® River Birch
The River Birch (Betula nigra) is an American native tree that grows naturally throughout the east, from New Jersey to Georgia and from Texas to Nebraska. It is usually found in swampy areas and low-lying regions subject to flooding. Although it does not occur naturally further north than zone 6, it is hardy right into zone 4, meaning that this tree will grow in gardens across the whole country except for southern Florida and southern California.
The form trademarked as 'Dura Heat' was developed by selection from seedling trees grown from seed taken from wild plants growing in Florida. These had a natural genetic resistance to heat, and the most heat and pest resistant seedlings were used to develop this variety. Seedling trees of the wild river birch will not show the same resistance, so choose the best.


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Phoronix: OpenBSD Is Now Forked As Bitrig
There's a new fork out in the wild of OpenBSD. Bitrig, this latest OpenBSD fork, plans for some ambitious features...
No announcement yet.
OpenBSD Is Now Forked As Bitrig
new posts
OpenBSD Is Now Forked As BitrigTags: None
Originally posted by hoohoo View PostNot having found the GCC toolchain arduous, or at any rate no more so than any other command line compiler, I can only take you at your word wrt ease of development.
I've always been a performance man, I care about that 10%.
When LLVM/Clang exceeds GCC in speed of generated code I will probably switch.
With the BSD's refusing to upgrade past 4.2 (the last GPL2 version) for political reasons, it makes a lot of sense for them to all switch over to LLVM quickly now.
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Originally posted by Teho View PostWell Linux isn't really GitHub project. It's developed at kernel.org and Linus shared fair bit of criticms against it when they used it as kernel.org was down. That's not to say that there aren't any interesting projects.
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It seems to work well as a hosting place, I'm less impressed with the infrastructure to help "develop" things. It's clearly way too easy to create pointless issue requests, and the "pull requests" seem to be actively designed for somebody who pulls without ever even thinking about what he does - which is against everything I believe in as a project manager.
So from the pull request it's actually hard to see *what* somebody asks you to pull. Together with making it trivial to create commits and pull requests entirely in the browser, I think it's much too easy to do bad-quality requests.
That said, it's working fairly well for the small dive log software I originally put there. For the kernel, I just wish I had a way to disable pull requests entirely, because they are so worthless - even if you disregard any code issues, we just have much higher standards even just for the process of a real kernel pull-request (much more explanation about what the pull contains etc).
That said, I did give them some feedback about the things that really don't work well. So who knows..
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Originally posted by Teho View PostMost companies that develope open source software use permissive licences like Apache and BSD. It makes developing open source software easier and therefor more compelling. So yes, it kinda makes sense.
Leave a comment:
Originally posted by crazycheese View PostHmm... Does this mean... "It protects freedom of the [content] with the cost of its freedom"... ? Yes?
WRONG. It protects freedom of the content by preventing to remove this freedom.
Because if you remove this freedom, you don't have it. At this point, BSD stops existing. This case is ignored in BSD. Which means BSD is simply public domain.
- Benjamin Franklin
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It is going to affect your sensibilities and yes, you might have a different opinion, but Patek Philippe watches are the best in the world – take our word for it. Of course, there are other great watch manufacturers with pedigrees and craftsmanship to the boot, but Patek Philippe has lodged itself as the most prestigious watch brand.
Now in its 178th year and in the hands of a fourth generation Stern family member, the watchmaker boasts of being the last family-owned independent Genevan watchmaker, so no shareholders bothered about market economics, instead the company has been able to pursue its dreams and aspirations as it deems fit. Truth is, they have done a great job at doing that, as their watches never fail to surprise.
With a Patek Philippe, it is all about the movement and then you come across complications and supercomplications that keeps even the mundane watch observer keenly interested in the process.
Here lies something fascinating about Patek Philippe, but first let me ask you a question. How many times have you heard that a watch has beat its own record? In 1999, the Henry Graves "supercomplication," credited for being the most complicated watch on the planet sold for $11 million at a Sotheby's auction. This made the brand the most expensive watch ever, but move a few years into the future. In 2014, the same watch was auctioned and fetched a hefty sum of $24 million.
Now that is just brilliant!
You should know however, that owning a Patek Philippe is not just about pedigree and craftsmanship, which to a large extent play vital roles but also the history of the brand puts you among the finest nobles in the world who are known as avid patrons of the watchmaker.
Princess Zubów of Russia, bought a minute repeater detailing her family coat of arms, Queen Victoria of England bought Prince Albert a quarter-repeating chronometer with the keyless winding system. From Kings to Popes, the name Patek Philippe spread like wildfire up to the East, tempting King Rama V to visit Geneva and carry home 56 timepieces. Not just royals, but intellectuals, writers, musicians and scientists got their watches here too, including Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Einstein and even Marie Curie.
Patek Philippe enthusiats aren't like other watch collectors. Being flashy isn't being stylish and they don't have to be. That's because Patek Philippe's understated elegance indicates pure confidence. Once you've owned a Patek Philippe, nothing else would do.
The scarcity, the DNA style of the craftsmanship, a tradition of history and of course (for some) the investment value, come together to introduce the world's most prestigious watch brand – Patek Philippe.


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Among Australians, there is a strange feeling related to Christmas! Even celebrity Chef Neil Perry too has discussed this and suggested that there is a way out! This article will explore about those opportunities. If you live in Australia, you must have enjoyed summer Christmas since you were born? If you close your eyes and think of Christmas, you'll find images of snowflakes, Santa wearing heavy woolens like the ones you have seen in movies that are celebrated in Northern hemisphere! So, if you too plan such things during Christmas, why not celebrate summer Christmas with the help from professional firms, which offer services of food catering Melbourne wide and who will manage the food items to be enjoyed during the celebration.
Yes, one cannot think of celebrating Christmas without food, whether you are celebrating it in July or December! And if you celebrate Christmas during July, you will have many unique items to savor that are not available during December; just ask your caterer who offers services of catering Melbourne eastern suburbs wide for some suggestions.
Here are certain suggestions to make the occasion special.
Christmas is all about the Spirit
So, whether it is December or July, celebrate summer Christmas with the same spirit that you have during December. Yes, you may not get the Christmas tree available but there are other decorations to make the event look and feel great. Get candles, baubles, pine cones and other decoration items to get the feel. And do not forget to serve great food. If you are planning to enjoy from morning, look for breakfast catering Melbourne firms provide, or else there are many food catering Melbourne companies who can serve you the best food to make your day great. Also make sure that music is there as that will create the environment.
Heat Up Your Drinks
You may agree or not, but July in Melbourne is not the exact time for frosty beer to be taken with lunch. For your July Christmas, you may enjoy mulled wine along with your lunch. The services of lunch catering Melbourne firms provide can help you to decide the drinks. After you complete the meal make sure that they serve coffee or tea, and of course, for those with a sweet tooth, nothing can be better than hot chocolate.
Roast, Roast, Roast
Christmas without roast! Can you think of it? The first roast that comes to mind is turkey, but you may consider other roasts too like port, pumpkin, potatoes and others. It will be totally your discretion as to whether you'll do the roast yourself or handover the job to the food catering Melbourne company. Make sure that you have discussed with them everything you want to be served in your July Christmas party. You want it to be unique, and it's they who can actually make it dashing for you and your friends.
Don't forget Santa
Just the way you cannot think of Christmas without food, your kids will miss the spirit if Santa is not present in the Christmas celebration. So, consider having Santa to make the event a successful one.
Christmas celebration is all about the enjoyment and spirit. So, while Jesus Christ was not exactly born in July, God will never feel bad if His children are enjoying and maintaining the spirit! For more details please visit this site http://www.essentialcaterer.com.au


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In 1993, after dealing with his father's death from a long illness, Gonzalo sought out to develop his spiritual potential. He explored various spiritual teachings and embarked on a path focused on the light and sound of God. Over the years he has also sought to develop his healing abilities by receiving training in Reconnective Healing, Magnified Healing, and Reiki.
Gonzalo has worked as a software engineering consultant for many years, consulting with high profile clients in the IT industry. He lives in Colorado and enjoys the many outdoor activities available there, including hiking, biking, and skiing. He also enjoys making music and playing the guitar.
It is Gonzalo's sincere wish to share his gifts of transformation and healing at the fundamental levels of our human experience.


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Getting you on the right path to education
We can help you determine your current level of skill in a subject and match you with the right Camosun course to get you started on your academic path.
Before you begin
- Are you of Indigenous ancestry? Before you book your assessment, contact an indigenous advisor for next steps.
- Is English an additional language for you? Do you need to upgrade your English skills before starting your program? Before you book your assessment, please contact English Language Development.
- Do you require an academic accommodation? Before you book your assessment, please contact the Centre for Accessible Learning for next steps.
- Do you have questions about becoming a Camosun student? Contact Admissions and Recruitment.
- Are you interested in other testing services for another organization?
Still have questions?
See the list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Ready to book?
Choose the type of assessment you need:


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Replenishment Menu
When feeling depleted
our Replenishment Treatments will nourish you naturally
mind, body, spirit…
Our bodies and minds are easily overwhelmed by stress. Fatigue and exhaustion, unprocessed memories and emotions. The stresses of everyday life are easily trapped in our bodies unless we take the time to clear and replenish them. When a person becomes sick or fatigued the Mauri (life force) of that person weakens, imbalance occurs. Mauri Ora Replenishment Menu is New Zealand Maori and Pacific Seas Inspired, it is more than a "Spa Pamper." Profound relaxation is a precondition for healing to occur, allowing Body and Mind to refuel and nourish deep down at the cell level. You will experience inner tranquillity and leave feeling a new calmness and inner peacefulness as equilibrium is restored.
The perfect gift to yourself or a loved one, is the opportunity to allow yourself the time to relax and re balance.
We will create a Replenishment packages for your unique needs. Whether you would like to Replenish for one hour or one day, is entirely up to you.
Within your Replenishment package we are able to provide light refreshments during your stay.
Please have a look at a few of our package combinations below and our list of Add ons.
Mauri Ora Healing and Rongoa
|Mauri Signature Massage and Healing
|90 mins
|Mauri Signature Massage and Healing
|120 mins
Kawa Kawa, Magnesium Crystal's, Lavender Essential Oils
Sit back and relax, centering with Ha Breath preparing to slow body and mind. You may like to sip on one of our beautiful Replenishment Teas from our Native Plant Tea Menu…close your eyes and feel your stress just melt away.
Finish with a Soothing Magnesium Foot Scrub, Coconut Oil, and essential Lavender oils
A Mauri Ora Foot Massage is a wonderful Add on
|Oranga Wae WaeFoot Massage
|$50 -$80
Relaxing and Calming Face, Neck, Head and under Body Back Massage with Oil Blend Synergy
When we are overwhelmed we wear this on our face, a relaxed open face can captivate others.
So Melt your stresses away with our amazing Organic Rejuvenating Face Serum Massage. Botanical formulations that will nourish the skin and replenish its natural vitality, leaving your face soft, supple. Its light and non-greasy, deeply nourishing and hydrating. Our beautiful blend offers, JOJBA GOLDEN ROSEHIP, AMYRIS, PETIGRAIN, GERANIUM, YLANG, SANDLEWOOD, NEROLI, BLOSSOM, AVOCADO
To further release pent up stress and tension, we combine our Hawaiian under-body back, neck, increasing circulation, moving toxins and energy. Hawaiian under-body strokes are used to help bring the body back into its correct rhythm and balance. You will leave feeling nourished and replenished you will truly radiate inner beauty outward.
|Kanohi Marino
|60 mins
|from $50
New Zealand Flower essences work at a vibration or energetic level to re-balance the whole person physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. They work on the electrical network within and surrounding the physical body to correct imbalances and to re-align our energy systems for holistic well being.
Please take a look at our variety of blends.
|Native Plant Vibe Massage
|60 mins
|from $120
The essential oils are absorbed by the skin, and the positive therapeutic effects of the essential oils will be transported to your entire body.
You may choose from any of our wonderful healing synergies – depending on your unique needs
Marino… calming oil blends, slowing down the mind and nervous system calm the mind and nervous system. Ideal aid for sleep disorders, stress, mental anxieties and nervousness.
Sensual… increase sensual delight, rediscover intimacy joy and passion of life,
Mauri Ora… wellbeing and vitality
Cellulite Blend (ask about our sugar scrub add on to enhance your treatments)
Arthritis and Pain Blend
The couple enjoys a Tandem massage amidst the romantic ambiance of candle light, using our Mauri Oil infusions – Sensual Blends. calming, and euphoric, making a well-rounded aphrodisiac synergy
or from our Native Plant Essences range ~ Sensual Support for Love and Intimacy: Passion, fulfillment; ease of emotional and physical expression
This is a non sexual massage.
Cost to be discussed.
From our Mauri infusion Oil Range… Marino (Calm), Mamae(Pain/Arthritis ), Mauri Ora (wellbeing) Range. We use therapeutic oils, creating amazing synergies that bring about profound calmness, relaxation, stress relief, pain relief. Hot towels and natural stone placement, the therapist moving energy through the body, connecting you with Papatuanuku (Earth Mother), enhances this treatment and allowing the flow of energy to nourish a weary mauri …(life force energy) …and enable balance and replenishment to occur.
|Native Oil Mauri Ora Massage
|75, 90, 120
|$125 or $195
Pacific Seas Replenishment Treatments
|Regular Rate
|Hawaiian Temple Lomi Lomi Massage
|60 mins
|Hawaiian Temple Lomi Lomi Massage
|75 mins
|Hawaiian Temple Lomi Lomi Massage
|90 mins
|Hawaiian Temple Lomi Lomi Massage
|120 mins
|4 handed massage
|60 mins
|4 handed massage
|75 mins
|4 handed massage
|90 mins
|Coconut Tropical Scrub
|Tropical Body Glow
|60 mins
Tropical Back scrubs ($35) and Foot Scrubs ($35) can be an add on to anyone of our massage treatments
Approx. 2hrs .30 with prep and shower time.
|Tandem Hawaiian Massage
|Minimum 75 mins
You may wish to add a wonderful spa with this over looking the beautiful Waitakere Ranges and Manukau Heads.
Be transported to a tropical island…our Hawaiian 1 hour full body massage will soothe and calm body and mind. It is a likened to waves moving under and over the body, feeling nurtured by the profound healing massage strokes of the Pacific.
Our Aromatherapy Facial and Neck Massage is deeply restorative, moisturising and nourishing… Our oil Serum contains; Avocado, Jojoba, Rose hip, Amyris, Petitgrain, Geranium, Ylang, Sandalwood and Neroli
After taking a shower, complete your day…. melt in the spa overlooking the beautiful Waitakere ranges…
This package treatment can be added to or changed, depending on your unique needs. You may wish to add in a wonderful Mauri Foot massage. No matter what th situation is, we can arrange a beautiful treatment for yourself or loved one.
|Unique Goddess Replenishment Package
|180 mins
You may ask for:
- A coconut and Sugar Full Body or Back or foot scrub prior to a massage ($50)
- Foot Massage ($50)
- Mauri Infused Therapuetic Raw Coco oils, Marino (calm), Aroha (sensual), Mauri Ora (viality and wellbeing) ($35)
- Mauri Ora Facial massage with or without our Aromotherapy Facial Serum
- A sauna will enhance the benefits of a massage ($40)
- Chakra Balancing ($30)
- A Spa will finish off your treatment in the most divine relaxing way ($35)
- Card or Numerology readings ($50-$100)
- Make Up Artstry
Most packages can be enjoyed with a friend or a loved one or in a small group situation depending on your chosen treatments and services. If you would like to organise a special day or unique package for yourself and others please contact us we are happy to help you arrange this, catering can be arranged.
Gifts..We are more than happy to create a beautiful gift for your loved one


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Saw Hippo Campus Again — This Time in Fargo
Posted on Thursday, April 28th, 2016 by Austin Gerth
Back in November I reviewed the first headlining show at First Avenue of a young Twin Cities band called Hippo Campus. At that time the band were coming off a summer spent touring, and the sold-out First Ave show was a pretty big milestone. A couple weeks back, I ended up making Hippo Campus one of two local artists I focused on in my COSS presentation about my work. They're not my favorite band, but they might be my favorite local band. (Well, favorite currently active local band–they get beaten out by Prince and The Replacements if we take a longer view.)
Hippo Campus have been in a state of perpetual ascendancy for two straight years, and, if they drop a debut full-length album this year as they seem to be threatening to do, then, who knows, they might become a pretty big deal on a national level. But for now they're still small enough outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that they come to Fargo and play the Aquarium, in downtown, on a Tuesday, and they sell out slowly enough that you can buy tickets at the door if you show up a little early. So, on a whim, my girlfriend and I went with a couple of our friends. The show was good. Hippo Campus are a really good live band–they play like one big instrument. They played a couple of new songs, which generally had slightly mellower vibes to them; one had a great falsetto vocal melody on the verses that made me excited to see what they do next.


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The BBC
My boss suggests I take time off—says I need it. Normally, I'd laugh this off, because really, what would I do at home? Cry while playing Scrabble on the computer, as I did last night, until 5 a.m.? Smoke, who knows how many joints? I rather bury myself in my job, reading hundreds of job applications to find one candidate to fill an insignificant position. It helps keep me sane.
On this dreary November morning, at the peak of rush hour, I score the last seat in the subway and I, 'count my blessings and ride above the misery', as Carl was fond of saying when I began to work to help cover expenses. His jovial optimism radiated then, but now, I struggle to ride above that illusion.
I glance at my watch. I smile at the gift of another blessing; I'll arrive at the office only ten minutes late. Pay won't be deducted. Squeezed into the narrow seat of the subway, I turn my phone on and bring up a new game of Scrabble.
I look down at the screen. It promises that this day will be a good one because I can use all seven letters in my virtual rack…bingo! A rush flows through my numb cells. I glance at the passengers and see bored faces, smartly bundled up suits, briefcases and lunch-bags riding the subway to work in a daze. I have to remind myself that I am one of them.
The old woman next to me is not one of us; she smells moldy. Her hair is a beehive tangle that has seen shinier days. It is wet from the storm outside. She wears sandals that expose cracked yellow toenails and she rocks her head as she scans the passengers who read, listen to music and nap.
The worn-out Medusa holds a briefcase and carries a pocketbook, but has no umbrella or coat. In a voice that seems to come from the center of the Earth, she blurts, "You dumb bastards! Why don't y'all get real jobs…why won't cha ey?"
People shuffle. Commuters notice her ruddy complexion and snigger, averting their eyes; the kids going to school laugh and point. This early in the morning, nobody wants to concern themselves with problems of the soul.
Her elbow jabs deep into my coat. "It's the bitch's fault…ain't it?" she hisses into my ear. I jerk and hit the 'submit' button before completing my seven-letter word. I put down viola--left in my rack are the letters t and e.
"Excuse me!" I say, as if it had been me committing the transgression.
"It's Elizabeth's fault, don't cha agree?" The woman cackles, reverberating a grinding clatter down the subway, completely ignoring what I said. "That is, Queen Eliza-bitch's ancestors!"
Passengers move away, forsaking their need for personal space. I hear coats wrinkle and purses crunch. The energetic cologne on the young man with pinstripes infuses with the deeper tones of the executive woman's perfume, creating a unique scent that temporarily obscures my neighbour's stench.
"She seems so nice, chu know?" Medusa talks to the stomach standing before her, "I saw her…the Fall of '57…Yeah…she was here to inaugurate Parliament…that's when we were England's slaves… her concubines, right? Right!" Her blizzard blue eyes are vacuous like the sky.
The Scrabble computer plays empires off my letter i, covering two double-word red spots.
She turns to me. "But, I ain't gonna go into Eliza-bitch's ancestors…we'd be here all night!" A few cocky commuters check their watch, 8:35 a.m. Underground, it is always night. "I blame the Queen for all this." She scans the car full of freshly-showered people, stoically putting up with the brass corners of briefcases digging into inconvenient parts of their anatomy. "What we need is to revise history. You look like a woman of words," she taps my phone's screen. "What can cha write to make England male and Canada female?" Her hands extend into the cramped space, eyes large as globes, expecting an answer. "So? How we gonna write it so that Canada rides England on top?"
I am not sure if she wants me to write something or to right it. The innuendo in the latter part of her sentence forces me to think about Carl, in bed, making love…my body covering his with my warmth. I realize how cold he must be and almost scream, not knowing if I am ecstatic or despondent, so I look down at my cell phone to quell the pain. I read 'empires violate' although I still hold the last two letters in my rack.
"Look at the men in suits," the old woman interrupts my train of thought. "They make a living, right? But, they pay for their success. I'm all about abolition. For me, it's down with the corporations and fuck the multinationals!" Trying to ignore the woman's jarring juxtapositions, I focus on my game. I pluralize viola and get my Bingo with, atoners.
"Acht…that's a good one," she croaks into my ear, pushing her heavy body closer into mine. "Chu can be a politician smoking crack or post your dick on the internet and so long you say you atone—you gonna be OK. Fuck the politicians!" This time, some passengers echo her manic laughter.
"I worked for the BBC, chu know? Yeah…the BBC. Kinda like a spy of sorts. That's when I met the bitch. You wanna see?" From her briefcase, she pulls a pile of yellowing papers. Digging through the fragile sheets, she selects a Polaroid from mid-pile. "See? That is me with Queen Eliza-bitch when she was here. See? It says: Expo '67, Montréal. The bloke is Prince Philip and the other one, my boss at the BBC."
I do not wish to enable her, but I cannot help glancing at the picture.
"I'm still with the BBC of course," Medusa shoves the Polaroid back into her briefcase. "It's just that they don't get it. I keep sending my information… Do you know how many Jews there are in China?" She torques her body and positions her ruddy face near mine.
Her eyes burn a weak, 'A few…I guess?' out of me.
"Damn right! Quite a few. Something like twenty five hundred…same number as in Morocco. But cha think the BBC cares? Me myself, I was baptized, but these things need to be known, right? You baptized?" A guttural growl rumbles in her chest.
I wish I could Google 'Jews in China.' Severed from the world above, we create our own realities as we burrow our way through Earth's umbilical cord.
"It don't matter. The Pope's as bad as the bitch!" Her manic laughter is quick to erupt and slow to descend. "But, they don't have him all over our money, do they? We now have these big-ass polymer banknotes and, will cha believe we still got Eliza-bitch's picture on them?"
She rummages through her pocketbook; I return to Scrabble. Risking a triple word, I place potent off atoners and the computer adds an, i-a-l to my word and makes potential.
"You can't deface these mothers here," she digs into my rib with one elbow while pulling a folded twenty-dollar bill from her wallet. I notice she has many more bills in there. "Not even with bloody permanent marker…it just slides off this shit." Her laugh sounds like a machine gun. "But they can't stop me! Those dumb ducks didn't think about black nail varnish. I used it to give her a moustache; a thin one, just like Duchamp's—see?"
She's got me; I turn off my phone. "Marcel Duchamp? Like the one he drew on the Mona Lisa?" I ask, wishing I had not.
The conductor announces Union Station is next. BBC Medusa shows me the banknote and, plastered over Queen Elizabeth's twenty-dollar lips is a Duchampian moustache, carefully drawn in black varnish. I get up to leave. The woman slides the defaced banknote next to the others in her wallet.
Before I exit, she rushes toward the door and shoves something into my coat's pocket. The doors open to vomit a stream of commuters onto the platform. She stays behind, waving.
"Pleasure to meet cha!" she shouts before the doors close. The train melts into the dark tunnel, drinking up her laughter.
On the escalator, I put my hand in the pocket and feel a business card. Without glasses, I will not be able to read it, but I pull it out anyway. Curious, I look at the card's empty backside and turn to read the glossy front, but there is nothing; it is a blank business card.
I trip at the top of the escalator. I skip over the polished marble floor as I examine the blank card and steady myself. The card urges me to act. To do something about my situation. I shake my head. How can a blank, 2" x 4" card force me to compare it to my life's void? The lack of anything to land my eyes on, to focus, drives me to find out who the BBC woman is, and was.
Ascending to the 25th floor, my head is in the clouds thinking about the business cards I collect at work. They represent people and their skills, their aspirations and their dreams. I can identify the serious candidates by the weight of their card. Tyros home print, intermediary job seekers Vista print and only the dedicated lash out for double glossing and embossing.
I arrive at the office at 9:14 a.m. People look at the clock before saying good morning and avoid asking how I am doing. Nobody wants to hear that I cope with Carl's accident by burying myself into this boring job.
"Don't look so gloomy," I tease the employees, "Only 7 hours and 46 minutes until home time! Well, your home times. I'm staying 'til midnight, again." People clear their throat, shuffle in their seats and tap their keyboards.
In my cubicle, papers scatter over the desk, growing into steady piles. I take my coat off and reach into the pocket to hold the blank business card; touching it makes me feel exhilarated as if its emptiness fills mine.
"Tracy!" my boss thunders into the office, "We need to talk!"
She looks for a chair to sit. Applications waiting to be processed cover my cubicle so she stands next to me, towering with authority. "I told you, if you need time, please take it. It is understandable. I hear you plan to stay late again. What are you accomplishing?"
She motions over the paper cordillera that runs through my desk. "These candidates will call to demand a status on their application. What shall we tell them? Give yourself a break and return refreshed next week."
"I'll start on them right away," I lie, clutching the blank business card in my right fist, absorbing its strength. "I'll have this desk empty by the time I leave today." My boss leaves shaking her head.
I pull off the business card from the first application and feel the raised letters with my fingertips. "Jamal Alili – IT Operations Specialist," the card informs me. I spend fifteen minutes trying to figure what that tells me about the person. For comparison, I look at Medusa's blank card. The BBC card represents a woman accomplished in street smarts, aware of world history and current events. Prominent in her youth, she has tasted life. Mr. Alili's résumé tells me he is married and has two young children.
Carl and I wanted two children.
My mind goes to that empty place where it is cozy. Where there are no thoughts, feelings, opinions or emotions, where everything is dark as a void. I go to the place where feeling insignificant, transparent and vulnerable are the status quo. I go to where everyone accepts their miserable destinies with joy, as Medusa does.
I must see her again; to ask about the significance of her card, to ask about life, her adventures, to validate my own sanity.
I place the blank business card in my coat's pocket and run to the exit. My co-workers ask if I am OK, some wish me a relaxing time off as I dash out the double glass doors, toward the stairwell. I run down 25 flights, high heels tapping against the cold concrete, echoing up the tower – spiraling my desperation.
The lunchtime crowd now fills to capacity the train station where I first saw her. Deep in the herd, I think I glimpse Medusa's knotted hair. I rush toward the subway. A pack of hungry office workers stampedes over me. I lose sight of her. I scrimmage over the wolves. I see silver hair sucked into the car next to mine. I dash through a scented wall of Eau du Officine to look through the dirty windows between cars. I see a mop of gray hair swallowed into a sea of dark suits.
The train reaches the next station and I scramble to the exit. Some people grumble, others venture obscenities quietly, after all, we are Canadians. I reach the door. I sprint in front of oncoming passengers. I get into the next car, but I lose sight of her.
I ride the subway for hours, looking for an invisible woman, trying to understand how she entered the penumbra and why she feels comfortable there. She has money, she has important files, she has her mind and her memories…which part is holding on strong, keeping the frayed threads from flying into thin air?
I muster the energy to climb another subway, looking for a woman who once stood by the Queen's side and now travels the subway to pass time, to stand beside society, to be steps away from humanity. I want to learn how to become inconsequential.
People around me start to vanish as I ride the long shiny subway by myself. I'm compelled to find out what Medusa thinks, her views on politics and current events. I had always followed Carl's political opinions. Not because I could not decide for myself, but because I never cared. I look at the empty train and cannot remember a single political view Carl and I held. We were adamant about our opinions, but they perished the moment Carl placed money above life. After his death, I discovered why he had rigged my car. He planned to collect my life insurance to pay for his gambling debts. In the end, the coward could not follow through, so instead, he drove my car into the front lawn Weeping Willow tree.
Our marriage had become mundane and we had stopped talking to one another years back. Co-habiting but sharing nothing else, we became strangers. I played Scrabble on my phone and felt comfortable with my head stooped low and hands on my lap while Carl watched TV or read the newspapers.
I remember the game I had been playing on my phone when I met Medusa this morning. In a daze, I study the board and read, 'empires … violate.' This renews my quest. I notice the maintenance crew is onboard, armed with buckets and mops ready to clean the subway car.
A young man with a strong accent yells, "Hey lady! Wake up! This train's outta service." The smell of bleach brings me back to reality.
"What time is it?" I stutter.
He eyes me with suspicion. "Ain't you got you phone with you right there missus?" and moves down the train, pushing his mop from side to side. It is past midnight.
The following morning, I pace the platform, hoping to see the BBC woman's piercing blue eyes, though I know I am too early.
"Mind where you are going!" a man wrapped in a dark scarf shouts at me. Did I bump into him? I keep moving in the dense fog of people, trying to shrink myself out of the thick wall of humanity. I crouch between a woman applying a rushed coat of lipstick and a man carrying a briefcase when I see a cracked dry foot walk into the subway car. I push to the front of the crowd and hop in the train. The doors shut.
I inch my way into the cab, stretching my neck looking for Medusa. My nose searches for her rancid scent amidst expensive perfumes. I try to hear her screechy voice above the humdrum chugga-chung-chugga-chung the train makes over the tracks. I slither further down the crowd.
The train empties at terminal station. I see a woman sitting at the back, looking out the window. It's Medusa, but there is no sparkle in her, no fire in her soul.
I rush toward her.
"Hi, remember me?" She does not move when I sit next to her. "You showed me your picture yesterday morning."
I start to doubt if this is the same woman. Her eyes have turned a cinereous gray and her complexion is ashen. "You gave me your business card, and now I am calling you!" I pull the card from my coat's pocket and show it to her. "You said you worked for the BBC."
"Ah…yes. The Bureau of Bureaucratic Crap" she says hoarsely.
"You showed me a picture of the Queen!"
I notice her briefcase is gone. Instead, she carries the wad of yellowing papers, and presumably the Polaroid, in a worn plastic bag. I do not see her purse. "I'd love to see the Duchampian moustache again!" I tease.
The sound she makes is deep and rheumy.
"You again missus?" the janitor from last night asks. "You hangin' out with this crazy ol' woman now? You don't look the type missus." He swipes his mop on the floor and wishes me a speedy recovery. "You don't wanna end up like her!" he laughs.
Medusa wiggles in her seat. "Don't listen to him," I whisper. "Who is he to judge anyway?" I notice a bruise on the side of her forehead. "What happened?"
"Got beat up again."
"Who beat you up? Have you called the police?"
For the next three full loops on the subway line, I talk to Medusa. She does not respond, does not flinch. I tell her about my job and my love of Scrabble. I tell her about Carl and how he took our SUV, cut the break line, and smashed it into our yard's 50 year-old tree. Medusa is stiff as wood. The welt on her face shines.
I get lost in thoughts of Carl; how I hate him for hating me so much, how I despise him for leaving me, how he ruined my life when he took his.
"Fuck the pigs! They'll lock me up 'cause I'm a junkie and I didn't take my meds."
"But, they can't lock you up if someone hit you! Did the thugs take your cash?"
"Nah…shot up and now it's running in my veins!" The manic laugh reverberates. "I'm good here." She smiles.
"Well, let me buy you breakfast. You must be hungry." She shows no indication of hunger.
As we ride the subway in silence, I come to realize that I do have opinions that are mine and not Carl's, that I feel passionately about certain things and that I have the will to carry on, in a meaningful manner. In this state of deep meditation, lunchtime turns into home time and then suppertime into nighttime. Neither of us eats or drinks but we don't care.
"What will you do tonight?" I ask BBC Medusa.
"Die if I'm lucky, but if I'm not, sleep until my next fix. What else did cha think? You starting to annoy me, chu know?" She buries her head into her chest and takes a nap.
At the next stop, I run out of the train and find myself in a part of town I do not frequent. I am glad it is cold out when I start to walk. I live 10 kilometers away, but I keep walking, gaining strength and resolution with each step I take. One day, Medusa will find her way, but she will have to do it on her own. I can only help myself.
Next morning on the subway, I see familiar faces, meaning I'll be ten minutes late. I wear the same bored face as my commuter neighbours do and I seem like one of them, but internally, I am renewed. I know I don't want a yellowing picture to remind me that I once mattered.
When I dash into the office, my co-workers avert their eyes, even though there is no sadness in my voice.
"You know you can take more than a day if you need, Tracy," my boss' voice is low like a priest's. "I was not expecting you back so soon."
In my cubicle, I pin the blank business card at the top of my message board and dive into the sea of applications that cover my desk.


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Modern Languages at Nottingham is a leading UK centre for research in French and Francophone Studies, German Studies, Russian and Slavonic Studies, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies and Translation Studies (European Languages, Chinese and Arabic). We have a large postgraduate community, on taught and research degrees, made up of home and international students, some of those part-time students. We offer teaching and supervision on a wide range of specialisms.
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Hi, I'm Mark, a Plymouth based photographer with a general love of most things photographic.
I spent the first part of photographic life shooting sports as I just love capturing the energy and action in a single frame. My next challenge began in 2007 when I started to photograph weddings, there are many similarities between sports and weddings as both are fast paced, exciting, fun and you have try to capture that emotion, enjoyment and love in a still photograph.
In 2010 I lived in Egypt for just under a year so that I could be closer to my fiancee (now wife). During this time I was able to learn more than I have in any other year photographically. I was taken out of my normal wedding photography comfort zone due to the very different culture, the language barrier and having to deal with heat and humidity.
Every year I try to push the standard of my work, taking time out to learn and improve whilst still maintaining the fun that I have on every shoot.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like more information about me photographing your special day.


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|Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil congratulates
Pope Tawadros II on ordination
-Photo courtesy of Mai Shaheen/Ahram Online
Cairo,30 November: Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early on Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members. The vote by the constituent assembly advanced a charter with an Islamist slant that rights experts say could give Muslim clerics oversight over legislation and bring restrictions on freedom of speech, religion, women's rights and other liberties.
The draft, which the assembly plans to deliver to the president on Saturday, must be put to a nationwide referendum within 30 days.
Vatican Radio's Olivier Bonnel spoke to the newly installed Orthodox Coptic Pope Tawadros II about the current situation in the country.
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Source: Vatican Radio


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