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Sunday, April 8, 2007
Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley Go All Bel Air
LOCATION: Stratford Circle, Bel Air, CA
PRICE: around $9,500,000
SIZE: 12,184 square feet, 8 bedrooms, 10 full and 2 half bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Over 12,000 square feet, plus garages for 10-plus cars. Large grass yard, solar heated pool, spa, views. Some of the features are; state-of-the-art kitchen, large family room, formal dining room, office, elevator, wine cellar, media room, play room, exercise room, sauna. There are 8 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms plus 2 powder rooms. The fabulous master suite has his and her bathrooms, fireplaces and closets. All the family bedrooms have their own marble bathrooms and walk in closets.
YOUR MAMAS UPDATE: Your Mama was able to confirm through an unimpeachable source that yes indeedy, The Spitter and her huzband have purchased the former home of Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler.
It seems like such an odd purchase to Your Mama. Why would a gurl who has such a terrible relationship with the press go and buy a house with that has had that sort of history and publicity? Surely they must have known all us gossips would be talking about it, right? Or maybe that was the point. Hmm.
YOUR MAMAS UPDATE: Children, you all are correct. The photos above are indeed the house that Travis and Trashy Shanna lived in while filming their alarming reality program. Your Mama was half asleep when we posted that this morning and we'ren't thinking clearly so we appreciate all of your comments and emails on the subject. We are still looking for confirmation that this is in fact the house The Spitter and her huzband purchased.
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: This morning we woke up to Ruth Ryon over at the LA Times Hot Properties column reporting that The Spitter and her huzband purchased a new home in Bel Air, even before getting their Beverly Hills Mullholland Estates home into contract. Those are some impressive finances for a young "lady" and her alterna-huzband, right?
So of course, while Your Mama drinks a huge cup of coffee and pries our morning eyes open, we went a-searching for the property. And we are quite sure we've located the correct property. The public property records have not cleared yet, so rather than be able to confirm the purchase with legal documents, we had to match Miz Ryon's description in her column with the listing information for sold properties in gated Bel Air communities.
There are a couple of obvious discrepancies in the listing we found for this house and Miz Ryon's description in the newspaper. The differences include the number of bathrooms and the purchase price. Miz Ryon states the faux punkers paid "around $9,500,000" for their new house, and the expired listing we found for this house shows an asking price of $8,500,000. Your Mama actually found an expired listing for this property and suspect the price was jacked when it was put back on the market. Also, Miz Ryon reports the house has 10.5 bathrooms, and the listing for this property states there are 10 full and 2 half baths, but that's a tiny difference really.
Here's why we think we've got the right house: right location up in guard gated Bel Air Crest, same square footage, right amenities including the 10 car underground garage, right style of house, and the listing agents are the same as are noted in Miz Ryon's column. And based on the house The Spitter and her huzband are selling in Beverly Hills, this looks exactly like what we'd expect the couple would purchase.
Ordinarily Your Mama does not post properties about which we don't have solid confirmations, but since this is Easter, we figured Jeezis was on our side today and decided to go ahead and post our hunch for the children to read. Your Mama will be sure to let all the children know if we're able to dig up an confirmation so that y'all may sleep easier at night knowing exactly where The Spitter and her huzband are bedding themselves down at night.
As for the house? Ack. It's a huge mansion with a lot of upscale and lavish amenities, but ultimately it's just a tract home in a development where the house two doors down has the exact same layout. Not our cup of tea, but for a couple of fake punk rock celebrity newlyweds known for copping a 'tude with the paparrazi, it makes a strange sort of sense.
What Your Mama wants to know is, what in the devil do a couple of youngsters like this need with 10 bedrooms? Ten! Seriously. And already we're feeling badly for the hired help who have to clean all those terlits with moody Avril breathing down their necks.
Maybe in person she's a really nice person who treats everyone with kindness and light, but Your Mama finds her public persona and the way she handles interviews and fans leaves a lot for her handlers to clean up and explain. Just look at this little gem that Perez Hilton posted the other day. Granted the interviewer was asking stoopid questions, but did she really need to be such an unresponsive turd?
Anyhoo, we wish these two all the happiness in the world in their monstrous new Tuscan style abode. But Avril, please don't spit on us when our carts collide at Whole Foods.
Sources: LA Times, Dream Homes Magazine
12 comments:
This was Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler's home until the dee-vorce.
- April 8, 2007 at 6:48 AM
All the homes up there are very similar so I would doubt it was actually 'The Barkers'. It's not really
Bel-Air either. - April 8, 2007 at 7:07 AM
i was gonna say the same thing. i'm pretty sure this is travis and shanna's house, or at least near by if, in fact, all the houses are similar.
- April 8, 2007 at 7:30 AM
That is Shanna & Travis's houses. I recognize that staircase from when she fell down it on MTV.
- April 8, 2007 at 8:06 AM
you can see avril's house on the market in Mulholland Estates--6.2mil listed by an agent with Windermere Properties/Sunset Strip.
- April 8, 2007 at 9:01 AM
We know that you turd! Mama already made a posting about that article! You obviously don't read this blog religiously!
- April 8, 2007 at 9:11 AM
For the person who doubts it's Travis and Shanna's. Well, it doesn't look similar. More like IDENTICAL. But that's probably because IT IS the same house....and also, though I will agree it is odd, the neighborhood just east of the 405 but west of Chalon is considered Brentwood, but if you get closer to Mulholland and the reservoir, where this home is located, it is considered Bel Air. Boo yah!
http://guests.themls.com/view_photo.cfm?mlsnum=06-100007 - April 8, 2007 at 12:16 PM
Anon 12:16
I know it's Bel-Air but NOT Bel-Air proper. Bel-Air proper is around the country club close to Sunset. This property is up close to Mulholland just off the 405 & in no way can be compared to the area around Bellagio, St Pierre, St Cloud, Nimes etc .. It's the Bel-Air equivelent of B.H.P.O. - April 8, 2007 at 1:45 PM
"Bel-Air" proper would really be "Bel Air" proper, wouldn't it? I do agree that it does not even come close to lower Bel Air near UCLA. That is as good as it gets! My two favorite houses in LA are in this section...one on lower Bel Air Rd, the other slightly west on Chalon at Sarbonne.
- April 8, 2007 at 2:09 PM
Kitchen is ugly. Too big, too expensive, and lacking charm.
- April 9, 2007 at 6:18 PM
I am a realtor in Beverly Hills and I know that this was indeed Travis' former house, but it WAS NOT purchased by Avril Lavigne.
- May 19, 2007 at 10:57 AM
this is Avril`s house they live there , deryck has been filming for sum41 , road to ruin in the back garden ,watch no 6 and compare the clip with the steps to the photos from the air of the house and garden
- June 10, 2007 at 3:27 AM


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Wow! Check out the November 2011 issue of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. This is their BEST IN THE WORLD Readers Choice Awards Issue.
There is it on page 139…Rabbit Hill Inn ranked #8 TOP SMALL RESORT in the United States. We found out as a result of someone leaving us a congratulatory message on our answering machine. You can't imagine how thrilled we are about this. Thank you Conde Nast and all those who shared their glowing opinions about RHI. The press release below shows all the details:
Conde Nast Traveler Magazine just announced the results of its 23rd Annual 2011 World's Best Readers Choice Awards. Vermont's Rabbit Hill Inn scored an impressive 91.6 points making it the No. 8 Top Small Resort in America. The rankings were based on approximately eight million votes submitted by more than 28,000 readers from across the globe. In addition to rating resorts, they also rated hotels, properties, cities, and islands all over the world. A full list of winners in every category can be found in the current November issue or on the Conde Nast website.
"We're elated to learn of our very high placement and honored to be in such good company with the most distinctive hotels, resorts, and inns in the world" said Leslie Mulcahy, co-owner of the Rabbit Hill Inn. "We, along with our stellar staff, do our personal best every single day to make each Guest's visit to Rabbit Hill a memorable experience. It is humbling that our Guests and Conde Nast readers regard us so highly and feel so strongly about Rabbit Hill to include us in this prestigious list. It's also exciting to know that it shines a bright light on Vermont's Northeast Kingdom" finished Mulcahy.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hot air, maybe. But it's Edward Snowden, so it's news.
Pavel Durov, the 28-year-old Russian CEO of social network site VKontakte, has offered Snowden a job as a security software developer. VKontakte is akin to Facebook and has 100 million active users, mostly from Eastern Europe.
Last week, Russia granted Snowden, who had been holed up in a Moscow airport, temporary asylum.
Snowden has been mum about the job offer. He is keeping a low profile, period, with his series of leaks about National Security Agency surveillance having riled U.S. authorities, who are pursuing an extradition.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is slated to have a meeting with Barack Obama in Washington this week.
[Source: CNN]
Thailand Threatens Jail for Misplaced Likes
In Thailand, an investigator threatened to jail anyone found to have Liked Facebook posts claiming that a military coup had taken place.
Thai police are investigating four people who allegedly caused a bit of a ruckus by posting rumors of a military coup on Facebook. That woke up the nation's censors, who are extra wary ahead of an upcoming bill related to a 2006 coup. Some say the bill could allow former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose sister is currently in charge of the government, to return to power.
He was ousted by… a military coup.
The original quartet accused of spreading the coup rumors — along with advice to hoard food and water — could face up to five years in prison and a US$3,200 fine. One of the accused is the political editor for a public television station.
Despite his ouster, Shinawatra has reportedly been intimately involved in Thailand's affairs. While living in exile, he has used Skype and other electronic communications to advise his sis on what to do.
[Source: The Associated Press]
Australian Electoral Commission's Hacked Twitter Account Goes Phishing
Hackers commandeered the Twitter account of the Australian Electoral Commission on Tuesday, shooting out direct messages to users in an attempt to gain login information.
"I found a funny pic of you!" some of the messages read, offering a link to a fake Twitter page on which users could plug in their login details.
The commission said it will now change its Twitter password daily to avoid any future problems.
Australia has a federal election coming up next month.
[Source: The Age]
App-Controlled Toilet Vulnerable
A $5,500-plus, smartphone-controlled toilet is susceptible to attack, according to security experts at Trustwave's Spiderlabs.
The "Satis" toilet, manufactured by Japanese firm Lixil, provides music, fragrance release and automatic flushing. It connects to mobile devices via Bluetooth and is controlled by an Android app called "My Satis," but a hardware flaw means the toilets can be activated by any phone that has the app installed.
The problem is that the initial pin code for every model is 0000, allowing it to be reset and activated by anyone with the app.
The downside, as Spiderlabs explains, is that an attacker could repeatedly flush a toilet or activate the "air-dry functions, causing discomfort or distress… ."
Of course, Bluetooth only goes so far, so any covert toilet-hacking would have to take place from close range.
[Source: BBC, Spiderlabs]
South Korea Concerned About Apple Pardon
South Korean officials are concerned about Barack Obama's reversal of a trade ban against Apple's iPhone 4 and 3G-capable iPad 2.
Samsung was awarded the ban by the U.S. International Trade Commission. Obama's reversal is the first veto of an ITC ban since 1987.
There are concerns that Samsung is not offering reasonable deals for its standards-essential patents for 3G systems. The European Commission has also hinted that Samsung is abusing its standards-essential patents by incessantly seeking sales bans.
[Source: The Guardian]


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As British Columbia's Mounties welcomed their incoming commanding officer, they honoured their outgoing one, Brenda Butterworth-Carr, Canada's first Indigenous woman to command an RCMP division.
Butterworth-Carr has retired from the RCMP after 30 years of service, the last two as head of the B.C. RCMP. Since March, she has been working in her new role as B.C.'s assistant deputy minister and director of police services.
At a change of command ceremony in Surrey on Thursday, Jennifer Strachan was officially welcomed as the head of the RCMP's E division, the largest in Canada. Strachan is the deputy commissioner of specialized policing services for the RCMP, and left her previous appointment as Ontario's commanding officer in April.
Strachan has also served in the RCMP for 30 years, 14 of those in front-line policing roles in B.C. She was born and raised in the Okanagan valley.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said Strachan is an accomplished leader with unparalleled experience.
"I have no doubt she will continue serve our employees and the residents of British Columbia with dedication and compassion as their new Commanding Officer," Lucki said.
Lucki also recognized Butterworth-Carr for her time as commanding officer.
"She energized and united people across the division, made time to meet with frontline employees face-to-face—recognizing their accomplishments, hearing their concerns, and advocating for their needs. She made sure employees had the support and resources they needed to do their jobs safely and effectively."
Strachan said it felt good to be home.
"Having the chance to come home to British Columbia, to where I began my career with the RCMP, is an amazing opportunity," she said. "I am looking forward to working closely with all B.C. RCMP employees, to meeting and collaborating with our stakeholders and partners, and continuing to build on the strong legacy and foundation that Deputy Commissioner Butterworth-Carr created in her time as the commanding officer of the B.C. RCMP."


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Cupcakes for Tea!
An afternoon spent baking in the kitchen with your toddler or pre-schooler will give you the chance to bond and create warm memories! At the end of it, you'll both be deliciously rewarded for your efforts!
Whether your child is two or five, there's plenty of age-appropriate ways to involve him in the kitchen fun. But no matter what the age, introduce a few basic rules to ensure that you both get the most out of the experience:
- Only mummy / daddy can touch the stove, oven and kitchen knives
- If you can't reach something, ask for help - don't try and get it on your own
- Always ask before doing if you're not sure
- If you burn yourself, tell mummy / daddy straight away
As parents, you can make the kitchen safer:
- Turn pot handles inwards - don't leave them sticking out where tiny fingers can grab them
- Keep an eye on hot pots and burners. Do not leave them unattended.
- Make sure everyone practises good hygiene - wash hands throughly with soap and dry well
- Coil up loose electrical cords
- Supervise your child at all times
When preparing for a cooking project with your child, a good strategy is to read the recipe in advance and figure out how your child can help. Look for simeple recipes that can withstand a little inaccuracy - think cupcakes and muffins, not chiffon cakes. Quick breads such as banana bread or carrot cake are also very forgiving - it won't matter if you use three bananas or four, or if your child eats half the amount of nuts (please ensure that your child does not have any nut allergies) meant for the recipe.
Here are a few ideas for involving your toddler or pre-schooler - pick the ones that seem best suited to his level of development and interest.
- MEASURING INGREDIENTS: Younger kids can help count or measure cups of ingredients such as flour or milk. Older children can be taught more precise measuring techniques, such as levelling a cup of flour or sugar.
- MIXING INGREDIENTS: Children love mixing - measure out the ingredients, hand them a wooden spoon and leave them to it! Use as big a bowl as you can to avoid spills, and put the bowl on a folded tea towel to stop it from sliding around.
- CRACKING EGGS: Older children can be taught to crack eggs, separate the yolks from the whites, beat eggs for omelettes and quiches, and more!
- LEARNING ABOUT LIMITS: Ask your child to count to 10 (or 20, or 30) while doing the activity. At the end of the count, swap tasks and start the count again. It's a great way to teach your child about limits, and also ensures that he/she doesn't get stuck on one step in the recipe for too long.
Above all, have a sense of humour and more importantly, make it a fun experience! Things may get messy, especially when there are 'fun' ingredients like flour and eggs. Don't be obsessed with keeping your kitchen spotless, just clean up at the end. Older children can help with the clean-up too!
(makes 12 regular sized cupcakes)
200g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk
- Preheat oven to 180C and line muffin pan with paper cases.
- Cream butter, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, mix well. Your mixture might separate at this point, but don't worry.
- Add milk, and then fold in flour. Mix until just combined.
- If using regular muffin pans, put about 2 tablespoons of batter into each case. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until cupcakes are golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of one comes out clear.
- If using mini muffin pans, use about one tablespoon per cupcake instead. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
- Decorate/ frost as desired.
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
Beat butter and sugar together until smooth. Frosting should be stiff enough to hold its shape. This frosting can be flavoured or coloured -- add a half cup of strawberry jam for strawberry cream frosting or a half cup of peanut butter for peanut buttercream frosting.
150ml whipping cream
225g semi-sweet chocolate, grated
Heat cream until scalding (but do not let it come to a boil), and pour over grated chocolate. Stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
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text: www.tennistips365.com Now we have created a new movie - "The Extreme Makover - Forehand" In this movie you will be able to follow a players development from "old school" technique to "modern" technique. After 8 hours of practise with trainingsystem develop by tennistips365.com Josefine, 11 years old, plays like a pro. "Playing with a good, basic tennis technique is one of the key components if a player is to attain his or her maximum potential. Once a player has mastered the fundamentals, she or he can consistently produce the most efficient, effective, and successful strokes while minimizing the risk of injury. These fundamentals can be taught at all ages and levels of play. It all comes down to the individual's attitude to learning." /Fredrik Lindstrom - Swedish Tennis Coach You can also Do IT! Regards, Fredrik Lindstrom Founder www.tennistips365.com info at tennistips365.com ------------------------------------ Karlavagen 12 114 30 Stockholm SWEDEN ----------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-gpe-maintainers/attachments/20091126/4952e1b3/attachment.htm>


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Description (from the publisher): Mary's second adventure as an undercover agent forces her to relive some harrowing childhood experiences as she seeks the identity of a murderer. Mary Quinn is back, now a trusted member of the Agency, the all-female detective unit operating out of Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls. Her new assignment sends her into the grimy underbelly of Victorian London dressed as a poor boy, evoking her own childhood memories of fear, hunger, and constant want. As she insinuates herself into the confidence of several persons of interest, she encounters others in desperate situations and struggles to make a difference without exposing -or losing -her identity. Mary's adventure, which takes place on the building site of the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, offers a fictional window into a fascinating historical time and place.
Review: After passing her first trial case, Mary Quinn begins her real assignment with The Agency, a secret all-female detective agency in Victorian London. Her latest case requires her of disguising as a male while quietly gathering information about issues impeding the progress on building the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. The mysterious death of a workman seems to be the impetus of the delay; however, there have been rumors of widespread corruption. Once again Mary is forced to confront her less than stellar past as her disguise brings memories of her difficult childhood to the forefront. While tries to battle her own personal demons she is also trying to sort out an intricate web of theft that may have led to murder. Adding an additional layer of complication is the delectable James Easton, who caught Mary's eye during her first case. Mary and Jame's roads cross as James turns out to be the safety inspector for the building site. James has returned from India, weakened by a bout with malaria but still attracted to Mary. Like the first book in the series, Lee's attention to the lifestyle of Victorian England is impeccable. We are put in the shoes of poor workers who barely are making ends meet. Mary is a reflective and admirable character, who grapples many issues yet seems to keep her head straight. Though she routinely finds herself in hard places and doesn't make the right choices, you can't help but root for her.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is some language and crude humor. There are scenes of beatings and punishments. Recommended for Grades 7 and up.
If you like this book try: Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman, Enola Holmes mysteries by Nancy Springer, Secret Letters by Leah Scheier
Description (from the publisher): Mary Quinn is assigned to the Queen's case and sets out to identify a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace and finds herself fending off the advances of a feckless prince, but a larger scandal looms when the prince witnesses the murder of a friend in an opium den.
Review: In the first two books of the Agency series, we've seen Mary take part of the upper middle class and the low, poor, working class. This time Mary finds herself at the upper crust, solving a mystery at the Buckingham Palace. Unlike the first two books, there is more of an emphasis on Mary's personal storyline. We get more details about her past including her mixed ethnicity. The mystery, which evolves from a simple case of thievery turns to a much more personable one as the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, witnesses a murder at an opium den. The switch of the case was a bit abrupt. Lee flirts with the idea of racial tensions in this book, but I wished it was explored a bit more. It comes off kind of haphazardly. In this book Mary is forced to make some serious, life changing decisions which will put her comfort, trust, and heart at risk.
I love the chemistry between Mary and James, which I think gets stronger with each book. Both characters complement each other really well and they both mutually admire, respect, and love one another. Though there is no cliffhanger per se in this book, there are many questions left wide open as to where Mary will head to next. Despite the minor flaws and the uneven pacing, I had a big smile on my face when I finished it and enjoyed it enough to recommend it to others.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: Opium and alcohol use is mentioned. There is some language and a few, brief sexual suggestions mentioned. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.
If you like this book try: Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman, Enola Holmes mysteries by Nancy Springer, Secret Letters by Leah Scheier, And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander, Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn.


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Challenging Pre-Conceptions
Students carry into class pre-conceptions based on stories they've heard, articles they've read and experiences they've had. One of the best opportunities to teach metacognition is at a 'gotcha' moment when they come to realize their pre-conception is amiss.
Learning Goals
Context for Use
Just as students walk into class with pre-conceived understandings about the content in the class, likewise they enter class with pre-conceived systems for learning. The phrase "science doesn't come easy to me" is a euphemism for "my established study strategies don't work in science." This exercise aims to present potential differences in strategies needed for learning science versus the strategies they may employ successfully in other disciplines.
Description and Teaching Materials
Issues to address with this activity:
- Some students have not had to work hard to learn in other disciplines where they have confidence in their learning strategies.
- First year students in college were, by definition, high achievers in high school. Now they will need to modify their strategies to learn effectively in a more competitive environment.
- Students often believe learning science is an innate, not an acquired skill.
In the field of meteorology one sure-fire misconception is to challenge students to choose which air is heavier:
(a) air at 90 degrees F and muggyWrap that content question with a metacognitive question that asks them to state on what they base their response. Invariably students will pick the muggy air based on their experience of discomfort on a muggy day. Now ask them to justify alone or in groups how they arrived at their answer. In the midst of this debate provide the basic data of the atomic weights of hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen and ask them to use that information in their response.
(b) air at 90 degrees F and bone dry.
In time the hope would be that students would look at the different molecular weights of N2 and O2, the dominate ingredients of dry air, versus the molecular weight of water vapor, H2O and come to realize that replacing N2 and O2 with H2O yields a lower net weight. Hence the muggy air is lighter (a fact that plays an important role in formation of "dry lines" that trigger tornadoes). As students realize their preconception was wrong it is valuable to point out that they probably have other pre-conceptions that are wrong and that their are methods for assessing whether a concept is correct. This is an excellent time to discuss how learning is aided through self-regulated assessment and adaptation. How do they know what they know? How can they test whether their 'knowledge' is correct?
Teaching Notes and Tips
This mini-lecture probably isn't going to come easy. You are often teaching concepts that you yourself have never been exposed to in class. Nonetheless it is likely that a poorly led discussion on the topic is still better than ignoring the topic. Students will use their strategies from other courses and experiences. You need to challenge them to reflect on whether those strategies will work in your class.
Assessment of this activity is probably best achieved through surveys later in the semester that ask whether students use the same or different learning stategies in your science course from their other courses. If so, you should also ask what factors affected the change (i.e. the mini-lecture from this activity, the grade they received on exams/papers, discussions with peers, etc.).


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- Nail polish in two contrasting colors
(used here Wet 'n Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint and French White Creme) - Ziplock bag
- Scissors
- Cuticle Nipper
- Using white nail polish, paint a rectangle about 1.5x larger than your nail on the ziplock bag.
- Apply a second coat if needed to reach full opacity.
- Allow to dry completely (I usually let this dry overnight) - Peel the sheet of nail polish off the ziplock bag. Sometimes it helps to use tweezers to get it started, but it should peel off easily once a corner is lifted.
- Using scissors, cut out the decals as shown above
- The cutout decals should look approximately as shown in Step 4.
- Apply desired number of base color coats.
- When the polish is still slightly tacky, but not wet, apply the decals to the nail as shown above.
- If you are starting out with an existing manicure that is already dry, apply a coat of clear polish and allow it to get tacky for decal application...
(Please excuse the extra large decals I created... they certainly don't have to be this big :) ) - Using cuticle nippers, clip the decals as close to the cuticles as possible
- Clean up the edges as needed. If you didn't clip as perfectly as you wanted, take a look at the cleanup tutorial on how to get a clean line near the cuticle. Since the decals are made of nail polish, they should easily dissolve and clean up with acetone/nail polish remover...
- Apply a top coat and enjoy :)
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I would love to know what you think of it...
As always, if you try this or any of my other tutorials/manicures, I would love to see your creations :)
Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


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Finding Insights from Data for over 25 years..
Data Analytics is a passion and skill at Drake Direct. Our strategic consulting services result from years of industry experience from some of the best marketers and pioneers. We help our clients achieve the best and most profitable relationship with their customers both on and off line by customizing, creating and delivering customer information management systems. We provide support in the areas of customer segmentation, response and attrition modeling, lifetime value analysis, ROI analysis, campaign strategy and management, web analytics including Google Analytics and Omniture, social analytics and marketing test design and analysis.
View More »
The data scientists at Drake Direct average 25 years of experience in the management and usage of customer data in the corporate sector. This small and boutique agency, located in the heart of New York City has worked with some of the world's largest direct marketing firms. View More »
Web Analytics Highlighted as Best by TONY.
Perry Drake's NYU "Web Analytics" class was listed in August of 2011 by Time Out Magazine as one of the top four classes to take in the "online learning space. More »
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Perry Drake receives the "Award for Outstanding Service" on February 9, 2011 from NYU in appreciation for effective and continuing contributions to the goals and purposes of the School and University. To learn more about our NYU programs click here
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Drake creates a unique INFOGRAPHIC dashboard for the 2012 presidential election featuring Obama vs. Romney using all the lastest social media monitoring tools inlcuding Lithium, Netbase and others. Click here to view.
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A Whitepaper by Drake Direct written prior the IPO seeking to determine the value of Facebook based on pst and future trends. You can download this 20 page report in pdf file format by clicking here
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We offer plenty of free resources to industry professionals including white papers, presentations, articles, analysis writeups, how to videos and free software. Take a look at just a few.
In this 5 minute Webinar Perry discusses how to effectively and safely use metrics from Alexa and other tools to do competitive analysis. Other how to videos can be found on his YouTube Channel.
The definitive marketing data analytics books available today. Used throughout many universities within marketing data analytics programs including NYU. This book also discusses multivariate and factorial test design.


text:
Refund Policy
Class Cancellation
The College reserves the right to cancel a course when registrations are fewer than the minimum required. When the College cancels a course, your class tuition is refunded in full.
The College also reserves the right to change time and/or instructors. The College will notify you of any changes to your course.
Refund Policy
Refunds for noncredit workshops will be granted if the class is canceled or if the student withdraws no later than the day before the first class meeting.
We cannot refund any fees from our on-demand third-party online learning providers.


text: Snowden told The Washington Post in a story published online Monday night he has "already won" because journalists have been able to tell the story of the government's collection of bulk Internet and phone records.Snowden says he didn't want to change society but he wanted people "to have a say in how they are governed."President Barack Obama hinted Friday that he would consider some changes to NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records to address the public's concern about privacy. His comments came in a week in which a federal judge declared the NSA's collection program probably was unconstitutional. Snowden was interviewed in Moscow.AP


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Read the magazine story to find out more. |
Tapping Sorghum's Potential for Cold Tolerance
By Dennis O'BrienOctober 17, 2012
Sorghum was originally a tropical plant, but U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Lubbock, Texas, are looking to Asia to increase sorghum's cold tolerance and expand its production range.
Agricultural Service Research (ARS) plant physiologist Gloria Burow and her colleagues at the agency's Cropping Systems Research Laboratory in Lubbock have found cold-tolerance genes in Chinese cultivars and are using them to develop lines that breeders can use to produce hardy commercial varieties. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.
Sorghum is part of the human diet in India, Africa and parts of Japan. It is used in the United States primarily in animal feed, but it is a major U.S. export and is sold domestically to make gluten-free flour. By increasing its cold tolerance, Burow and her colleagues hope to extend its range in the Midwest beyond the sorghum belt that now stretches from Texas to Kansas and includes parts of Nebraska. They want to extend it into the Dakotas and west to Colorado.
Extending sorghum's range also would benefit growers overseas. Burow works with Cleve Franks, a scientist at DuPont Pioneer, and with ARS colleagues John J. Burke, Zhanguo Xin, Halee Hughes and Charlie Woodfin in Lubbock.
The researchers crossed one of the most promising cold-tolerant lines from China, called PI610727, with a cold-sensitive sorghum variety, and produced 171 inbred lines. They raised those lines at sites in Texas where they recorded soil and air temperatures to assess the cold-tolerance capabilities for each plant. They also extracted DNA from the leaves and used molecular markers to genotype them, essentially matching DNA markers in plants with their cold hardiness, ability to germinate early, and ability to produce robust seedlings under cold conditions. They also evaluated each line in Petri dishes at cold temperatures and at optimal temperatures for seed germination.
The scientists have released the 171 inbred lines to breeders and research groups through the ARS Germplasm Resources Information Network, and at least two research groups have requested additional information on that population so far. They also published a genetic map of 141 genetic markers in Molecular Breeding that will make it easier for breeders to identify cold tolerance.
Sorghum germplasm also is being evaluated at four locations in Texas, Kansas and South Dakota. The effort could lead to higher yields and crops that can be planted earlier in the spring so that they tap more moisture from the soil.
Read more about this research in the October 2012 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.


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Updated 3x
I'm using FILESTREAM, but am having an issue with garbage collection. The FILESTREAM files are not being cleaned up when I set the column to null.
In the event log, there is an enormous number of this error:
Internal FILESTREAM error: failed to access the garbage collection table.
It is error number 5571 on this page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645602.aspx
Using this blog post I've confirmed that a 'tombstone' table exists, but I cannot query it (
Invalid object name 'sys.filestream_tombstone_xxxxxxx'.
)I'm not deleting rows, I'm setting the FILESTREAM column to null, as per this msdn article: "When a FILESTREAM field is set to NULL, the BLOB data associated with the field is deleted."
The database is on a local drive.
The database is using Simple Recovery.
I have executed a number of
s when activity was very low. This seems to have done nothing. The error message seems to indicate the FILESTREAM garbage collector is trying to garbage collect, but cannot access the table to find out what to do.SQL Server 2008 (10.0.2531.0, SP1, Enterprise Edition
There are no other errors preceding the 5571 errors that I can see in the SQL Server Log or Event Log.
There was an error detected. What do I do about this?
DBCC results for 'sys.filestream_tombstone_1819153526'.
Msg 8951, Level 16, State 1, Line 1
Table error: table 'sys.filestream_tombstone_1819153526' (ID 1819153526). Data row does not have a matching index row in the index 'FSTSNCIdx' (ID 2). Possible missing or invalid keys for the index row matching:
Msg 8955, Level 16, State 1, Line 1
Data row (4:4712151:3) identified by (oplsn_fseqno = 62856 and oplsn_bOffset = 82647 and oplsn_slotid = 2) with index values 'file_id = 65537 and rowset_guid = '3F972309-9B0B-4C4F-939A-5618897050B4' and column_guid = '4A143C0D-B877-494E-B1E6-B70B0A834BB6' and oplsn_fseqno = 62856 and oplsn_bOffset = 82647 and oplsn_slotid = 2'.
There are 209624 rows in 3382 pages for object "sys.filestream_tombstone_1819153526".
How should permissions be set up for FILESTREAM to work? Other people have access to this server, and this database may have been restored from a backup at some point.
How do I check FILESTREAM (Windows) share/container account permissions and account under which SQL Server runs?
Thanks to @vgv8 for prompting for more info and ideas.


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The amount of data created and held by companies is increasing exponentially, and keeping it safe continues to be a major cause for concern. At the same time, cloud computing, rather than remaining a theoretical concept, is now a reality for many organizations. Data loss continues to be a huge problem for companies across North America that are looking to cloud-based platforms for a solution, according to a survey commissioned by CA Technologies, Insights: Data Protection and the Cloud.
The study of 300 companies across North America (200 in the U.S., 100 in Canada), which was conducted by Coleman Parkes Research, found that 55 percent of U.S. organizations expect their use of the cloud to increase as part of their business-continuity strategy over the next year. The study is a follow-up to a previous CA Technologies survey, The Avoidable Cost of Downtime, which found that the cost of outages to a company over a year is in the range of $160,000.
Disaster recovery incidents are a significant problem for Northern American organizations; every single one surveyed admitted to data or application loss over the previous year. There were numerous causes, but at 76 percent, IT systems failures, such as a network or software failure emerged as the most prevalent. That cause was followed by employee or human error (41 percent) and external attacks on IT (35 percent). Of the U.S. companies surveyed, 49 percent have increased their expenditure on data protection solutions, compared with last year and 36 percent have sustained investment, while only 14 percent have decreased it.
The proportion of businesses assured of their datas safety in the public cloud stood at 73 percent, suggesting confidence in cloud storage is growing. More than four out of five (84 percent) U.S. and Canadian organizations that have data residing in a private cloud said they are confident that it is adequately protected. Moreover, 36 percent of organizations in the U.S. said they have data stored in a public cloud, with 76 percent storing data in a private cloud.
When quizzed on the key barriers to better data protection and disaster recovery operations, businesses pointed to inadequate training of IT personnel (reported by 62 percent of U.S. organizations) and lack of budget (54 percent). Just 26 percent of organizations in the U.S. have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, although the majority of them reported they would implement one within the next year, the survey found. Another significant challenge was lack of employee understanding of procedures in the disaster recovery plan, which was reported by 40 percent of companies in the United States.
It is broadly acknowledged that cloud computing can offer many benefits to organizations that require more agile and cost-effective ways of delivering IT services, Bill Mann, senior vice president of data management at CA said in a statement. This survey reveals that one of those benefits is improved data protectionwhich remains a huge challenge in conventional, noncloud environments.


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DC Confidential: The controversial memoirs of Britain's ambassador to the U.S. at the time of 9/11 and the Iraq War
DC Confidential: The controversial memoirs of Britain's ambassador to the U.S. at the time of 9/11 and the Iraq War.
Diplomacy and Journalism in the Victorian era: Charles Dickens, the Roving Englishman and the "white gloved cousinocracy"
Theatre of Power: The Art of Signaling
The Blair Years: Extracts from the Alastair Campbell diaries
Until his resignation amid huge controversy in August 2003, Alastair Campbell was Tony Blair's official spokesman and director of communications and strategy – ace spin doctor, closest confidante, and constant travelling companion. His diaries have probably been mined chiefly for their astonishing revelations about the internal machinations of his government and the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. However, they should also be read for the sharp and often amusing light they throw on certain aspects of diplomacy.
Under the Wire: How the Telegraph Changed Diplomacy
Review by Geoff Berridge
The Professional Diplomat
Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, 3rd edn
What Diplomats Do: The Life and Work of Diplomats
Sir Brian Barder's book What Diplomats Do offers comprehensive insight into the life and work of diplomats. It deserves to be read by practitioners and aspiring practitioners of diplomacy, by students and teachers of diplomacy, and by anyone interested in what diplomats actually do. It crosses genres as easily as it addresses and holds the attention of a broad audience.
DiploDialogue – Metaphors for Diplomats
On Diplo's blog, in Diplo's classrooms, and at Diplo's events, dialogues stretch over a series of entries, comments, and exchanges and may even linger. DiploDialogue summarises. It's like in sports events: DiploDialogue aims to bring focus by deleting what, in hindsight, is less relevant. In this first DiploDialogue, Katharina Höne and Aldo Matteucci discuss the usefulness of analogies and metaphors for understanding international relations and diplomacy.
Diplomacy and the American Democracy
Diplomacy, Force & Leadership: Essays In Honor of Alexander L. George
Language and Diplomacy: Preface
Part of Language and Diplomacy (2001): In the preface below, Jovan Kurbalija and Hannah Slavik introduce the chapters in the book, and extract the general themes covered by the various authors.
The 21st Century Ambassador: Plenipotentiary to Chief Executive
Ambassador Kishan Rana, a diplomatist for four decades, is now a noted scholar and theorist of international relations and the new diplomacy that has evolved.
Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, Fifth Edition
In 2005, I reviewed the third edition of Diplomacy: Theory and Practice by G.R. Berridge as essential reading for Robinson Crusoe, had he been a student of diplomacy. We all know that eventually Crusoe ended his assignment on the foreign island and returned to his native country where he found himself a wealthy man for whom bibliography no longer had a role to play … unlike the rest of us, who have continued to practise diplomacy and read books about it.
Blundering Into Disaster: Surviving the First Century of the Nuclear Age
The British Diplomatic Service 1815-1914
Diplomacy for the New Century
Preventive Diplomacy in Southeast Asia: Redefining the ASEAN Way
British Envoys to Germany 1816-1866
Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy
Internet Guide for Diplomats
The Internet Guide for Diplomats is the first guide specifically conceived and realised to assist diplomats and others involved in international affairs to use the Internet in their work. The book includes both basic technical information about the Internet and specific issues related to the use of the Internet in diplomacy. Examples and illustrations address many common questions including web-management for diplomatic services, knowledge management and distance learning.
Renaissance Diplomacy and the Reformation
We invite you to continue our walk along timeline of Evolution of diplomacy and technology. In May, our next stop is Renaissance diplomacy and the impact of the invention of the printing press on diplomacy in the Reformation period.
The Office of Ambassador in the Middle Ages
The Summer Capitals of Europe, 1814-1919
This is an original work, meticulously researched, rich in detail, and written in a clear and – here and there – refreshingly pungent style. Soroka is a Russian scholar but at ease in English.
Why Persuasion? Reflections after 50 years of practising, teaching and studying diplomacy
From the faraway days when representatives of fighting tribes tried to arrange for a truce, thereby risking their head, to the often derided endless discussions within present day international frameworks, the common aim of diplomacy has remained persuasion. The better a diplomat is at persuading, the more successful he will be in furthering the cause he represents.
The Beijing-Washington Back-Channel and Henry Kissinger's Secret Trip to China
Diplomacy with a Difference: The Commonwealth Office of High Commissioner, 1880-2006
Book review by Geoff Berridge
Texts in diplomacy
Part of Language and Diplomacy (2001): Professor Dietrich Kappeler provides an overview of the various types of formal written documents used in diplomacy, pointing out where the practices surrounding these documents have changed in recent years. He also discusses multi-language treaties, including the difficulties of translation and interpretation.
How do you know what you think you know?
In his paper, J. Thomas Converse focuses on four records-related areas where the issues of knowledge management and diplomacy come together and provide the greatest challenges to archivists, diplomats, historians and technology providers: validation, trustworthiness, context and longevity. He also explores some of the changes and challenges brought about by technology, and urges for a continued embrace of technology, while at the same time demanding the validating and relational functions which give archives their trustworthiness.
Diplomatic security and the birth of the compound system
British Heads of Mission at Constantinople, 1583-1922
The Blair Years: Extracts from the Alastair Campbell Diaries
Reveiw by Geoff Berridge
A Selection of New diplomatic memoirs
I have just written a review article on these six books of British diplomatic memoirs for the English Historical Journal, so here I shall just provide some notes on those that I believe to be most valuable to students of diplomacy.
A Diplomat's Handbook of International Law and Practice
A must-have for German-speaking students of Swiss diplomacy (and diplomacy generally) since the Second World War is Dr. Max Schweizer's recently published Diplomatenleben.
A weak diplomatic hybrid: U.S. Special Mission Benghazi, 2011-12
In the widespread coverage of the brutal murder of US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and others in the US mission in Benghazi on 11 September 2012, there has been much confusion over the character of the post. It has been repeatedly described in the media as the American 'consulate' but the official position, recently stated emphatically by the Report of the Accountability Review Board for Benghazi (ARB) convened by secretary of state Hillary Clinton, is that 'the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi was never a consulate and never formally notified [in any character] to the Libyan ...
Yes, (Saudi) Minister! A Life in Administration
After a brilliant ministerial career in Riyadh, Algosaibi fell from grace at the Ministry of Health in 1984. This was the start of his diplomatic life, which commenced in Bahrain and continued in London. This is a shrewd and lively book.
Diplomacy: The world of the honest spy
Twentieth-Century Diplomacy: A Case Study of British Practice, 1963-1976
Some years ago, John Young, Professor of International History at the University of Nottingham and long-serving Chair of the British International History Group, turned his thoughts and research in the direction of diplomatic procedure. This is the first monograph to be the product of his shift in direction and it is to be most warmly welcomed. It is original in focus, impeccably researched (private papers and oral history transcripts have been sifted as well official documents in The National Archives), crisply written, and altogether a major contribution to the contemporary history of diplom...
Cursed is the Peacemaker: The American Diplomat [Philip Habib] Versus the Israeli General, Beirut 1982
Diplomatic Notebooks 1, 1958-1960: The view from Ankara
Zeki Kuneralp (1914-1998) was one of Turkey's most gifted, well-liked and influential diplomats of the second half of the twentieth century. This book, dispassionately edited, introduced and annotated by his son, the scholar-publisher Sinan Kuneralp, is the first of a promised series of six volumes. Beginning in January 1958 and ending in August 1960, when Zeki Kuneralp became ambassador to Switzerland, it covers all but the first seven or eight months of the period when he was assistant secretary-general for political affairs in the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara (in May 1960 he was ele...
DC Confidential: The controversial memoirs of Britain's ambassador to the U.S. at the time of 9/11 and the Iraq War
The publication of these memoirs in autumn 2005 caused a public furore in Britain so I shall not waste time giving any background on Sir Christopher Meyer. (Just punch his name into Google, which will enable you in the blink of an eye even to find out from the BBC website which records he chose when he appeared on Desert Island Discs.)
Diplomats at War: British and Commonwealth diplomacy in wartime
In their Preface, the editors of Diplomats at War say that the two world wars in the twentieth century had a "catalytic impact upon the practice of diplomacy"; among other things, they continue, this produced "an unprecedented revolution" in the way heads of mission conducted their business.
Diplomacy and Power: Studies in Modern Diplomatic Practice
Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, 2nd edn
The Consular Dimension of Diplomacy
Twitter for Diplomats
Twitter for Diplomats is not a manual, or a list of what to do or not to do. It is rather a collection of information, anecdotes, and experiences. It recounts a few episodes involving foreign ministers and ambassadors, as well as their ways of interacting with the tool and exploring its great potential. It wants to inspire ambassadors and diplomats to open and nurture their accounts – and it wants to inspire all of us to use Twitter to also listen and open our minds.
Language, signaling and diplomacy
Part of Language and Diplomacy (2001): Ambassador Kishan Rana introduces the dimension of diplomatic signalling. Beginning with a reference to the Bhagwad Gita, one of the sacred texts of the Hindus, Rana outlines the qualities of good diplomatic dialogue: not causing distress to the listener, precision and good use of language, and truthfulness.
Quick Diplomatic Response
In the increasingly interdependent world, diplomacy is our only alternative. Wars do not provide solutions for modern problems, whether these are regional crises, environmental challenges, such as climate change, or the risk of global pandemics. Compromise and consensus are not only the most ethical approach, but necessity. This interesting comic presents one day in life of an e-diplomat.
Diplomatic Persuasion: An Under-Investigated Process
The under-investigation in diplomatic studies of processes of persuasion in explaining diplomatic outcomes needs to be addressed in the interests of better scholarly explanations and diplomatic practice. Although such processes are implicit in nearly all concepts and practice of diplomacy, neither scholars nor practitioners explicitly investigate them. Yet other related fields of study and disciplines examine persuasion and demonstrate its explanatory value.
Managing the Cold War: A view from the front line
Michael Alexander, a Russian-speaking senior British diplomat who died in 2002, was a major behind-the-scenes figure in what he calls the 'management' of the cold war to a peaceful conclusion.
Diplomacy for a Crowded World
The origins, use and development of hot line diplomacy
Diplomatic Classics: Selected texts from Commynes to Vattel
The New Diplomacy
Essence of Diplomacy
Christer Jönsson is Professor of Political Science at Lund University in Sweden, where Martin Hall is a Researcher. Their book is described as an exercise in 'theorizing' diplomacy, that is, an attempt to provide a general account of its causes and consequences. (The authors are thus severe in denying the title of 'theory' to the 'prescriptive tracts' which scholar-diplomats have written about their art over hundreds of years, though I notice that they are more indulgent to the use of the term 'political theory' as in, for example, 'liberal political theory'.)
Backstabbing for Beginners: My Crash Course in International Diplomacy
On 21 April 2004, the Security Council adopted resolution 1538(2004), the most embarrassing resolution in the history of the United Nations. The resolution appointed an independent high-level inquiry whose mandate was to 'collect and examine information relating to the administration and management of the Oil-for-Food Programme, including allegations of fraud and corruption on the part of United Nations officials, personnel and agents, as well as contractors, including entities that have entered into contracts with the United Nations or with Iraq under the Programme.'
A Diplomat in Japan
The first portion of this book was written at intervals between 1885 and 1887, during my tenure of the post of Her Majesty's minister at Bangkok. I had but recently left Japan after a residence extending, with two seasons of home leave, from September 1862 to the last days of December 1882, and my recollection of what had occurred during any part of those twenty years was still quite fresh. A diary kept almost uninterruptedly from the day I quitted home in November 1861 constituted the foundation, while my memory enabled me to supply additional details. It had never been my purpose to...
All Fall Down: America's fateful encounter with Iran
All Fall Down is the definitive chronicle of Americas experience with the Iranian revolution and the hostage crisis of 1978-81. Drawing on internal government documents, it recounts the controversies, decisions and uncertainties that made this a unique chapter in modern American history. From his personal experiences, the author draws revealing portraits of the people who engaged in this test of wills with an Islamic revolutionary regime.
True Brits: Inside the Foreign Office
Bilateral Diplomacy
Bilateral Diplomacy is the first of the DiploHandbooks, a new series on practical diplomacy. The book breaks new ground in the role ascribed to bilateral diplomacy, and its importance in international affairs today. It also covers the de facto "empowerment" of the embassy that flows from its new responsibility for relationship management.
Diplomatic Security under a Comparative Lens – Or Not?
"Diplomatic security" is the term now usually preferred to "diplomatic protection" for the steps taken by states to safeguard the fabric of their diplomatic and consular missions, the lives of their diplomatic and consular officers, and the integrity of their communications; it has the advantage of avoiding confusion with the controversial legal doctrine of diplomatic protection.
Public diplomacy: Taxonomies and histories
Diplomatic Education
Diplomatic Education' was published as Chapter 11 in: An Anthology Celebrating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Higher Colleges of Technology, ed. Tayeb A Kamali, (HCT Press, UAE, 2007).
The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Diplomacy
Book by Geoff Berridge
Preventive Diplomacy: Stopping Wars Before they Start
Leaders' rhetoric and preventive diplomacy – issues we are ignorant about
In this paper, Drazen Pehar analyses the argumentation made by George Lakoff of the University of California at Berkeley in his seminal paper on 'Metaphor and War', in which he tried to deconstruct the rhetoric U.S. president George Bush used to justify the war in the Gulf. He also analyses a reading by psycho-historian Lloyd deMause, whose theory differs from Lakoff's. Throughout his analysis, Pehar describes the role of rhetoric in diplomatic prevention of armed conflicts, and its several functions, and concludes that the methods of preventive diplomacy depend heavily on the theory of...
The Diplomats, 1919-1939
The Cinderella Service: British Consuls since 1825
Diplo: Effective and inclusive diplomacy
Diplo is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development.
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text:
"This card is stacked with huge superstars in this sport. I've been
watching these guys since I started and before I started, and that's
another bonus." - Michael Johnson
At the start of the year, Michael Johnson likened the UFC lightweight division to the massively addictive '90s arcade fighting game series Mortal Kombat.
Just as anyone hoping to best Goro and Shang Tsung would first have to fight their way through the likes of Sub Zero and Johnny Cage, making the climb to the top of the most talent-rich division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is a treacherous journey with a new dangerous opponent awaiting your arrival inside the cage.
Johnson's goal at the start of the year was not to complete the game. Instead, he wanted to put himself in a position where only a few opponents stood between him and ultimate victory. Rather than setting an unreachable goal of being champion, Johnson set his sights on ending the year as a top-10 lightweight, and making 2012 "The Year of The Menace."
In January, he slid a quarter into the machine. Three wins and 11 months later, Johnson is still playing on that original quarter, and he's a win away from doing what he set out to do at the start of the year.
"Everything is going good, like everyone can see," Johnson said confidently. "It means a lot to have some goals set and being on my way to accomplishing them. I've had three tough fights, and three big wins, so everything is working good. Everything is lined up in order, and if I don't get into the top 10, I'm going to be pretty damn close, and I'm definitely going to be ready for next year."
The 26-year-old lightweight hasn't coasted through the year unscathed, piling up a string of "Flawless Victories" as he prepares to take on unbeaten prospect Myles Jury at UFC 155 later this month. Johnson has taken a few lumps, and survived a couple tense moments on the way to earning three consecutive wins this year.
In his first bout of the year against Shane Roller, Johnson spent the majority of the third round defending a choke with the three-time All-American wrestler on his back, hooks in, looking to finish. He endured, and earned a unanimous decision, advancing to the next stage of his personal lightweight tournament.
Johnson surprised many by besting former Ultimate Fighter winner Tony Ferguson on short notice in May. "El Cucuy" had beaten a pair of veterans after beating Ramsey Nijem to close out Season 13 of the long-running reality TV competition, but that night, it was "The Menace" who had showed the better footwork and hand speed, earning a clean sweep of the scorecards to take another step up the lightweight ladder.
Two months ago, Johnson's climb through the division was nearly brought to an abrupt halt.
Heavy-handed Team Alpha Male member Danny Castillo dropped Johnson early in the first round of their October encounter, and looked poised to put away the confident and charismatic member of the South Florida-based fight team known as "The Blackzilians." But just as he did against Roller, Johnson pushed through the rough patch, and survived the round.
A minute and change into the second, the fight was over, and "The Menace" was taking another step forward in his journey towards contention.
"I wouldn't go so far as saying I have to put another quarter in the machine," Johnson laughed, reflecting on his first-round struggles against Castillo. "It's more like I lost that first matchup, but it's the best of three for fighting games. I lost that first matchup, and then I came back, and he wasn't able to continue to a best of three. That's how I'm looking at that one.
"Overcoming those adversity points – the Shane Roller fight where he was on my back for the whole third round, and me having to defend, and then having a pretty intense first round where I had to get out of some things with Danny – it definitely makes it more enjoyable to come out of those positions and come out on top in those fights. It's made it extremely satisfying.
"Like I've always said – first round knockouts are great, but I'm not the type of guy that wants to just go in there and finish fights quickly. I want to fight for a while, and let people actually see the growth and improvement that is coming along with me as a fighter."
Looking back over his first six UFC appearances, Johnson's development is obvious. While the athleticism that made him Georges St-Pierre's first pick and the early favorite on Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter remains, his footwork, conditioning, and overall striking skills are all vastly improved. His three wins this year have already delivered Johnson to where he wanted to be when "The Year of The Menace" began against Roller, but that isn't causing him to press pause on his journey.
"They offered me a fight, and I wanted to get four in before the end of the year, so I wasn't going to turn it down," Johnson said of his decision to face-off with the undefeated, but relatively unknown Jury next weekend in Las Vegas. "Myles is a good guy; he's very well rounded, and undefeated. Me beating him might not boost me up in the rankings as much as I want, but that's okay. I don't turn fights down. If they offer me a fight, I'm going to take it regardless of whether it's the best thing for me moving up in the rankings or not.
"I'm just going to go in there and fight because I'm honored to be on a card like this. A New Year's Eve card in Vegas is huge, and it's my first pay-per-view, so I definitely wasn't going to pass that up."
The bout with Jury allows Johnson to cross "fight on a pay-per-view event" off his personal Bucket List, but the surging lightweight is competing on the preliminary portion of the card. Rather than stew on what some would perceive as a snub, Johnson is proud to be fighting on one of the biggest events of the year alongside some of the organization's premier athletes, and intends to maximize his airtime by putting on a show against "The Fury" on December 29th.
"This card is stacked with huge superstars in this sport. I've been watching these guys since I started and before I started, and that's another bonus. It's a privilege to fight with these guys. I'm not on the main card, but I'm going to make sure that my fight gets shown twice; I definitely want to make the pay-per-view as one of the extra fights. It's added motivation to go in there and prove to the UFC and our fans that I'm serious and really looking to make a run for this title (in 2013).
"I feel like I deserve to be on a main card," admitted Johnson. "That's a huge chip I have on my shoulder, and I'm going to keep fighting to get my fight televised twice. If that's the case, I'll stay on the undercard if they're going to show my fight twice because that means it's getting seen that much more than the others. It's just going to have to play out until they have to put me on the main card."
A win over Jury completes the task Johnson set out to accomplish at the start of the year. With a number of pivotal lightweight matchups already scheduled – and a few recognizable names relocating to the featherweight ranks – earning a fourth consecutive victory to close out the year should put Johnson in a position to share the cage with the best the division has to offer in early 2013.
It's a scenario Johnson has admittedly already started thinking about, and one that he's unsure how to tackle.
"I want to fight as much as possible, but I also understand that gym time is way more important that fight time. I feel that's where you've got to go learn, but if I can get four fights again next year, that'd be great. I'm just going to stay grounded, continue to work on my weaknesses, fight every guy they offer me, and see how that goes.
"Next year has to be bigger than this year," continued Johnson. "I'm going to get bigger name opponents, and tougher opponents. Not saying that these other guys weren't tough – I think every guy in the lightweight division is tough, and has the potential to beat anybody. That being said, whoever they give me, whatever kind of year the UFC wants me to have, that's the kind of year I'm going to have. As many fights as they offer me, I would never say no to a fight. We'll see what 2013 has for me, but first I have to get through Myles."
Just as every interview we have done this year has revolved around Mortal Kombat and carried the title "The Year of The Menace," each one has also come with the same predicted outcome, and neither one of us are ready to break from the pattern and potentially jinx things now.
"It never changes," Johnson laughed when prompted for a breakdown on how his fight with Jury would play out. "It's never going to change no matter who I'm fighting – I'm always going to go in here and try to get a knockout. In my mind, I think I can knock out anybody and everybody I fight; that's always going to be the same. If you ask me this question and hear me say, `I'm going to take him down and submit him,' we can start wondering what's happening.
"I've been working extremely hard in this training camp, and I just want to go in there and fight – put on an extremely entertaining fight for the fans, and go in there and get another bonus check. I'm just going to fight hard and look for the knockout.
"Whether it comes early or it comes late, at any time in this fight if I hurt Myles, I'm not letting him off the hook – I'm going to get him out of there."
Jamahal Hill Talks UFC 300 Main Event
Hall Of Fame