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Background - a few things to remember
1) When BFdestroying you walk a tightrope between evoking too many bad feelings and having them anchoured to you, and getting the chick to want to dump her BF. Don't forget that your end goal is to f-close, not to break her up for some other dude to enjoy.
2) It is preferable that you don't make it appear that you want her to dump her boyfriend. Rather, make the idea appear to be something from within her (more of a Socratic thing, than a direct thing).
3) While BFdestroying, you must direct the convo. to make her prompt you to tell her how you would treat a woman. Make her work it out of you, because she's worked up, and wants to know if she's got a fair deal or not.
4) You must REFRAME all behaviour to appear like insecure nice guy behaviour.
Even behaviour that -WE- as ASFers would use on girls (such as not agreeing to LTR) is to be REFRAMED as being nice guy behaviour, as someone who is too afraid to be decisive and go for what they really want, since they are too afraid that they will lose it once they've been emotionally vulnerable (as will be explained below). All behaviour can be REFRAMED.
5) By making the guy look like a "NICE GUY", you are making him the most sexually unappealing guy conceivable. Once you've done this, there is NOTHING that he can do to get back into her good books, as you've put him into a predicament where anything that he does will be interpreted by his GF as being insecure. So, if he's too distant, and he makes up for it by buying her flowers -> he's insecure. If he's too needy, and he makes up for it by getting a life -> he's insecure. You are trying to DIFFUSE his outer glossy shell, and give the girl a window into his inner workings, so that he no longer appears "mysterious" in any way. You make her understand him so well, that she likes him more as a person, but no longer has any sexual desire for him.
6) Rather than re-explaining EVing, I'll just quote some MrSEX4uNYC archive, to give the basic frame that you're working with WHILE you are using the stuff that I'm mentioning. Without using this at the same time, my shit is USELESS:
"A major point though is that if her relationship to her boyfriend was so good, what is she doing sitting out for coffee with you? This does not need to be stated by you. It is obvious. Your job is to find out what SHE wants from you and how you plan to demonstrate that you can provide it to her through your stories about yourself. Of course you need lots of stories about yourself dealing with women in the same fashion that she likes to be handles herself. This stuff seeps in and makes her think of you as "her type" without you even complimenting her once." (MrSEX4uNYC)
The Tactic
What you're looking to do here is tear the guy down to a NICE GUY, while making it look like you're actually STICKING UP FOR HIM! Your goal is to make him one of those guys that a girl would go out on a date with, like as a person, and feel bad for having to LJBF at the end of the night when he tries to kiss her at the door.
So how do you do that? Almost invariably, LTRs have certain problems (which any of you who've had LTRs are morbidly familiar with):
-jealousy related spats (KEY)
-failure to commit or being too distant
-abusive behaviour (be it physical or mental)
-psychological withdrawal, to gain certainty in the relationship (ie: in LTRs each party will withdraw to see if the other will pursue periodically, to assure themselves that the LTR is solid.. this is dimestore psychology, and easily observable in any relationship)
-being irresponsible (not holding up share of chores, etc.)
-not being assertive in bed (KEY)
-being into S&M and other stuff in bed, that the girl thinks is too far out
-getting angry/frustrated when he initiates sex, and girl is not in the mood
-being too predictable, not passionate
OK, there are some basic ones. I will now break these down to show you how I would roughly respond to any of these complaints, in a way that I appear to be sticking up for the BF, but am inadvertantly BFdestroying him. This is not the sum total of the routine, but simply the raw fuel that you are employing, while using standard *** kino/bodylanguage/tonality etc. Remember, that you may not necessarily want to start escalating your sexual state, until she is convinced that her BF is lame-ass, otherwise she may potentially realize that you are trying to pull one over on her. This is not the rule, but simply something to be considered based on your evaluation of the circumstance.
"You have to understand that this guy really appreciates you, because you're probably the best girl that he ever got, or ever will get. I know that...you care about this guy (maybe sp)... but there's just a certain equilibrium where if you've done this guy a favour by being with him and he's not equipped to handle it, since he knows that he'll never get a girl like you again if he walks out, that he's just constantly frustrated and panicked that you'll leave. It's not his fault."
"You've got to understand that for this guy you are his entire world. He cares about you so much, that everything else in the world is meaningless to him. You are his only source of pleasure, and without you he knows that...he's nothing. You can't blame him, he just doesn't have anything else going for him, so he needs you."
Failure to commit:
"It's not that this guy doesn't love you. He does. Its just that deep down he has a fear that... you're too good for him... and that you'll realize it and be like, you know....you just have to dump this guy.... and then he'll be left emotionally destroyed because he made himself vulnerable. Yes yes I know that you wouldn't do that to him, but its just that with (x,y,z into consideration - bring up imbalance struck earlier in the convo) he knows that you could get other guys (SP)...like me...I just think that he's not an emotionally secure person, and you've gotta cut him some slack."
Abusive behaviour:
"It's not that this guy doesn't love you. Its that he loves you too much, and just can't handle it. He's not emotionally available, and because he knows that you're the best he's ever had, he can't handle all of these things that he's going through emotionally. All his life he probably wasn't very good with women, and women weren't interested in him.. So now that he's got this girl, he doesn't know how to handle it. (plus use the he doesn't want to be emotionally vulnerable, because he's such a loser ass that he can't handle it as per above etc.)
Periodic Psychological Withdrawal:
"(use combinations from material I've written.. Rather than downplaying it for the perfectly normal behaviour that it is, magnify it by making it appear to be a sign of insecurity, that is typically displayed when nice guys who can't get girls get stuck into a relationship with a girl that is too good for them)"
Being Irresponsible:
"Its not that this guy doesn't -want- to do these things. Its just that he's so overwhelmed by all of the things that are going on, that he just can't keep up these responsibilities. Yes yes, I know that x,y,z aren't that much, but he's not in an emotionally healthy place right now, and he just can't handle it (you mirror this against yourself, the image of a REAL/STRONG/COMPETENT man, basically trying to make him seem like a little boy)"
Not being assertive in bed (THIS IS KEY, AND IS VERY OFTEN THE BEST ONE TO USE - VERY COMMON)
"It's not that he doesn't want to excite you. It's just that he's so overwhelmed being with a girl like you, that he's not equipped to handle your sexual needs. It's like the typical case of the rich daughter who marries the labourer. At first the labourer is so exstatic to have this gorgeous girl (point to her) wanting him.. But in the end, he cheats on her with some white trash mullet haired girl, because he knows that that's who he really belongs with, and that's who makes him feel good about himself. You shouldn't hold his lack of assertiveness in bed against him, because its just a reflection of his insecurity. With the right girl, any guy can be a stud in the sack .. its not hard, you just have to take CONTROL (perhaps show some controlling kino here, to get her turned on)." then transition to some HOT sex talk, where you inadvertantly spill how much you need to take control in bed.
Guy into weird stuff in bed (S&M etc) when she hates it:
"It's not that this guy doesn't love you.. Its just that he uses these things to objectify you, because he knows that he's never had a girl like you, and probably never will once you're gone.. so he doesn't want to "make love", because he doesn't want to make himself emotionally vulnerable to you.. but he still wants sex, so he has to turn it into a perverse game, to keep his insecurities from overwhelming him"
Guy gets angry when he initiates sex and she's not interested (ANOTHER KEY ONE TO PECK AT..VERY COMMON)
"The thing is, that this guy loves you, and he's just exasperated that.... he's completely impotent to turn you on.. he just can't turn you on, and he knows that, so he gets frustrated.. Its like when you want to have sex...with me.....its like, I know that its your job to get the girl turned on. Girls need a man who knows that they want, and how to get it. When a girl says 'no', but at the same time she loves this guy (sp), it often means please turn me on more.. please, I want you to be more attentive to me.. (this totally mindfucks the girl, as it is an EXTREMELY COMMON part of the LTR cycle, that once sex becomes stagnant -> foreplay nearly ceases. Because chemically women are addicted to OXITOCINS which are released by touch, and it is more testosterone that they get from sex, most women will hate sex once it degrades to a lack of foreplay. However, most LTRs have this problem, so you must exploit it.. I'm ceasely amazed by how much girls in LTRs PERK RIGHT UP the second that you imply that you're attentive even in LTRs)
Being too predictable, not passionate:
"Its not that this guy doesn't love you. He does. Its just that he's so comfortable with you now.. and feels so close to you, that you're more like a sister to him.. Like a special sister, but someone who he doesn't feel that he has to do all these things for anymore, because your relationship is so secure and so predictable.. there's no need for all that excitement, because he knows that nothing will change.. Some guys deal with true love that way.. I dunno, for me, I think that if you really love someone, you have to do x,y,z (established earlier in convo) to keep it fresh. Like if you are really a real man who loves his woman, you have to do x,y,z to keep it fresh. But really, its not that he doesn't love you, its just that he loves you so much that he doesn't see the need."
***So, remember that you are focusing on destroying the guy's sexual appeal, by making him seem too familiar, and easy to understand. People generally get 'one-itis' for those who are challenging and hard to understand. By making the BF seem both easy to understand, and very insecure/nice/beta in the meantime, the relationship will likely not last the week.
Just remember not to be the LJBF who counsels her on her problems. Instead, you are constantly getting her worked up by doing the EVing that MrSEX4uNYC discusses in his archive. Ideally, she must be getting both turned off the guy by what you're doing, and getting turned on by YOU, and the conversation NATURALLY LEADS TO HOW YOU ARE DIFFERENT, AND -IDEAL- FOR WHAT SHE WANTS. The natural flow of conversation must indirectly lead to exposing your highly desirable qualities.
She is getting turned on by the DIRECT CONTRAST between you and her boyfriend.
You do not offer your qualities directly, but highlight them by pointing out that you understand where her BFs negative qualities are insecure. Getting her to beg you to tell her how you treat women is all the better, and if it is going well can likely be expected. Act reluctant to tell her if necessary, though not to the extent that you are sending an SOI that her getting with you is not a program that you're down with.
Once you have her worked up, use standard *** material to move in, and its a done deal.
Tyler Durden
Free RSD Attraction E-Course And Free 112 Min Audio Seminar With Tyler Durden.
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DSCS Heritage
A1 Patch
A1 Satellite was launched with a DSCS II on a Titan 34D on 30 Oct 82. This launch was a triple-first success. It was the first successful Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) launch, first successful DSCS III launch and the first successful launch of a DSCS II/ DSCS III pair.
The DSCS III satellite is three-axis stabilized vs the spin stabilized DSCS II. The DSCS III also includes three waveguide lens multiple beam antennas (MBA). The DSCS III satellite also carries a second payload called the
Single Channel Transponder (SCT) for AFSATCOM communications.

subset: commoncrawl


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I am doing my kitchen over and I am at the point where I need to lay tile. It is a small galley kitchen so I am wondering if larger sized tile (18"x18") makes the kitchen appear larger or if smaller tile (12" x 12" or smaller) makes the kitchen appear bigger.
Small room = small tile.
You wanna make sure that you can see a decent number of tiles in each direction. If its only 3ft wide, with an 18" tile you'd only be able to get two tiles across, thats not going to look very good.
Sometimes laying the tile on a 45 makes narrow small square or rectangle fields look bigger. Experiment with placement dry and see if that might work for you.
Agree that small areas look better with smaller tile - perhaps select a tile design which breaks up the visual even further making the patern even smaller or using mosaic sheets.
You can decide for yourself when you look at a picture of my kitchen.
I have large tile in my galley kitchen. It's been here about 5 years, it was laid the month the previous owners accepted a job in Wyoming and left the house empty for 2 years before we bought it.
The tiles are 13"
Smaller tiles make it appear larger, but you must be careful not to make them to small or they just make you dizzy.


text:
1. Theme from The Bob Hope Show
2. Harry Chapin: Sunday Morning Sunshine
3. John Cale: Buffalo Ballet
4. Linda Ronstadt: It's So Easy
5. Richie Valens: La Bamba
6. The Byrds: Mr. Spaceman
7. Otis Redding: Rock Me Baby
8. Depeche Mode: Enjoy the Silence
9. Richard Harris: Paper Chase
10. Spandau Ballet: True
1. An interesting opener. Thanks for the memories...
2. The opening track from Sniper & Other Love Songs. I love all of Chapin's albums.
3. Cale's prettiest song. I personally don't think he put out anything better than his first five or so albums, especially the three he did for Island Records.
4. Rocking Buddy Holly cover. I have this off the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack.
5. Always a pleaser. Interesting, considering we just passed the anniversary of the Day the Music Died.
6. One of my favorite Byrds tunes. God, I love the Byrds.
7. Otis is always great, too. I love soul music. If you don't love soul music, you don't have one.
8. When I was in high school, my art teacher used to play the radio. It was around the time Violator came out, Depeche Mode was on all the time. The students used to complain and ask her to turn the channel. Even then I found it ironic that a bunch of art students hated Depeche Mode, one of the big art student bands.
9. I know it's supposed to be cheesy, but I unabashedly, unreservedly, and unashamedly love Richard Harris's album A Tramp Shining.
10. Not a bad way to close. I've been making my 1980s playlists, and I'm through 1984, so hearing any 80s music is awesome for me. As an aside, my mom hates this song.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Saturday Playlist
1. Theme from The Bob Hope Show
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 7:36 PM 2 comments
Labels: Saturday Playlist
A, I'm Adorable
Mark Evanier did this and it just looked like fun. The idea is that each answer has to begin with the first letter of your first name. No repeats allowed.
1. What is your name: Aaron
2. A four letter word: Ankh
3. A boy's name: Adam
4. A girl's name: Andrea
5. An occupation: Anthropologist
6. A color: Aquamarine
7. Something you wear: Ascot (though not me personally; I can't carry the Fred Jones look)
8. A food: Almonds
9. Something found in the bathroom: Apricot facial scrub (Becks used to use it)
10. A place: Argentina
11. A reason for being late: Alarm not going off
12. Something you shout: "Ai, popi!"
13. A movie title: The Adventures of Robin Hood
14. Something you drink: Apple juice
15. A musical group: The Animals
16. An animal: Aardvark
17. A street name: Anderson Street
18. A type of car: Audi
19. A song title: "At Last"
20. A verb: Atomize
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 7:12 PM 2 comments
Labels: Words Words Words
James Whitmore 1921-2009
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 6:56 PM 2 comments
Labels: Tributes
Friday, February 06, 2009
Throwdown 2/6
Random thoughts, questions, and observations for the week.
1. Michael Phelps was hitting a bong… does anyone really give a shit? I think the real lesson young people should learn today is to stop living their lives on camera. They're not as interesting as they think they are.
2. Best quote ever: "…for those of you who aren't gamers, Xbox Live is an online homophobia club for pre-teen Tourette's sufferers."
3. Gwyneth Paltrow finally realized how many people in the world just don't like her, and asked "How could people hate me, my intentions or what I'm trying to do? I'm a good person and I'm trying to put good things into the world?" Someone just jumped the shark on detached pretension there. Gwyneth, seriously, the worst thing to do would be to respond with "how could people hate me, I'm so wonderful and good." It just makes you look weak. And like you live in your own asshole.
4. Etta James is mad at Beyonce for singing "At Last" for President and First Lady Obama at the inauguration. She doesn't like Beyonce singing "her" song. I wonder if she's also mad at Nat "King" Cole for recording the song in 1957, three years before Etta recorded her own version. Or if she's mad at Glenn Miller, who first hit the charts with "At Last" in 1942. After he performed it in the film Orchestra Wives in 1941. The song was written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, But, you know, it's "her" song. (Seriously, though, Etta's At Last! is a great album you should all own.) Etta James now says she was only kidding, and that she was just being a comedian, but that Beyonce still didn't do the song justice. Now that's a diva; she just apologized to Beyonce and insulted her at the same time. Awesome.
5. The silly feud between Faye Dunaway and Hilary Duff deepens. Duffster responded to Faye's "Couldn't they at least cast a real actress?" with "I think that my fans that are going to see the movie don't even know who Dunaway is. I think it was a little unnecessary, but I might be mad if I looked like that now, too." I'd call it a draw. Duff could easily have stopped with suggesting that Faye Dunaway was irrelevant to her generation of fans (unless they're carrying a torch for the epic Dunston Checks In or have watched too many of Showtime's late night airings of Cougar Club), but she did find the right insecurity button on Faye Dunaway's looks. Ouch. Still, I mostly think Faye Dunaway deserves it. You criticize, you get it back. Still, I'm sure Faye Dunaway likes the attention. She's probably missed it the last 30 years.
6. Scientists cloned an extinct species, the Pyrenean ibex. It died soon after birth because of a lung defect, but this is the first time an extinct species has been cloned. Are dinosaurs far behind?
7. Okay, I like this one better than the zombie one.
8. The DVD industry is once again complaining that rentals are eating into DVD sales. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that they insisted on an average $25 sale price when the Supreme Court ruled that the industry could set price minimums.
9. Well, Daschle's gone, which is encouraging. And it was nice to see President Obama admit he made a mistake. Bush never admitted his mistakes, and he had many to choose from. A president who believes in accountability is going to take some getting used to. And one who puts principle above loyalty.
10. Are you buying this CEO executive compensation cap? It's hard to feel sorry for these whiners coming forward and claiming that $500,000 "isn't very much money" (it's still over five times the median salary in this country), and it is nice to see the government demanding something of these companies that took the bailout money, but how is it going to help fix the economy? (Actually, I've just read that Goldman Sachs wants to avoid restrictions the government is placing on it by paying back their $10 billion in bailout funds as soon as possible. So maybe it will work.)
11. Eric Holder was confirmed as Attorney General. 21 Republicans voted against him. Some did so, get this, because Holder wouldn't promise not to prosecute CIA operatives who tortured detainees. Imagine that, an Attorney General who gives a shit about the law.
12. I think it's hilarious that Michael Steele was named head of the RNC. I see him on Real Time once a year, and he's not exactly the sharpest pencil in the jar. A lot of people cried "tokenism" right away, while David Duke went the opposite way and decried Steele as a racist (and believe me, if anyone knows racism, it's Grand Wizard Duke). I don't know, Steele is pretty unremarkable as a politician; just because he criticized the government's mishandling of Katrina and Iraq does not make him a "moderate" or a "maverick" or anything I've been reading. The Republican Party is just to the left of the Nazi Party when it comes to enforcing lockstep loyalty; they're not going to put anyone in charge who will shake them up (or defy the great god Rush). And for his part, Steele has said he's not a moderate. It really does look like an attempt on the part of the GOP to say "Forget the McCain campaign! We're not racists! See, we've got a black guy, too!" He also says the government has never created a single job. You mean, like, Lt. Governor of Maryland, which he once was? (Credit where credit is due: at least Steele acknowledges that the GOP needs to reach out to gay and pro-choice voters. It's ridiculous, since party ideology will strike down any attempt to concede on gay rights or abortion rights, but at least Steele is trying. He's also another role model for anyone who failed out of college, failed the bar, but made it into a figurehead position, anyway.)
13. I think when you've got Republican governors and mayors coming forward and telling the GOP to stop screwing around and pass the recovery bill, it's time to just give up and admit you've lost on this one. These governors and mayors have to deal with these problems in reality; problems that the Republicans in Congress just have to talk about and theorize on with the usual deep thoughts they have ("Grrr! Tax cuts! Tax cuts solve all!"). Anyone pushing tax cuts these days has no clue what they're talking about. I don't know what the answer is, but we've had tax cuts for most of the decade now and they haven't helped at all; we had an idiot man-child in charge who thought you could reduce the stream of money available for government spending, and then spend more than any president ever had. Christ, Republicans, even St. Reagan raised taxes. Like I said, I don't know what the answer is; I'm not sure anyone does. But doing nothing is worse than doing something.
14. That said, the recovery bill is being parsed in the media with nothing but Republican talking points. Why aren't there more people out there explaining this to me? Where are these economists who support it? Why aren't they on the news explaining what this bill does? Why isn't Obama talking about specifics in an attempt to gain support? Hell, he has that gigantic email list. Try giving that a whirl for something other than donations, huh? The Washington Post editorial was a step in the right direction. Is Obama finally done dicking around on this and going on the offensive to win this stupid PR war?
15. My favorite story about the recovery bill, though, is the one about Governor Rick Perry of Texas. He's been an extremely outspoken opponent of the bill. When asked if he intends to live up to his principles and not accept the recovery money if the bill passes, he made it clear that he intended to take the money. Conservatism is a massive fraud. For eight years, Republicans presided over the largest deficit spending increase in American history. Any claim they had to fiscal conservatism (or even responsibility) is long gone. (Side note: Sarah Palin, who is apparently involved in Texas politics now, is urging voters to support Perry over Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson in 2010; Palin once said there was a special place in hell reserved for women who don't support other women.)
16. This is the best the GOP can offer now? Whining about the Fairness Doctrine, which no one has made an attempt to revive? Bitching about Obama not wearing a jacket to work? (Took about 3 seconds to find a picture of Bush not wearing a jacket; how about Andrew Card apologizes for yet another misplaced outrage distraction?) Dick Cheney being his usual America-hating self? And attempting to show up Obama as some kind of liar because he's allowed the CIA to keep renditions by conflating rendition with torture? (If he hadn't, they'd be calling him weak on terror and law enforcement.) I've been thinking a lot about Republicans and bipartisanship this week. I think Obama needs to stop reaching out to the Right for now and let them sink their own ship. They need it. They need to be destroyed in order to rebuild into something thoughtful (or at least reasonable). Democrats, give it up: "bipartisanship" does not mean that Republicans are automatically going to cave in on every issue. That's unrealistic. And Republicans, "bipartisanship" does not mean that you get everything you want no matter what. That's equally stupid. I don't care about bipartisanship; I care about genuine thought and solving problems. Bipartisanship is an idealist fantasy we shouldn't be wasting our time on. I'm not a Democrat or a Republican because I don't care to put ideology before thinking. If you're in Washington right now and you're playing the partisanship game because you want your "side" to "win," then you have no business in the job you're in. I want solutions, not petty games and window dressing compromises. Do your job. Attempting to be obstructionist just because you think you're losing is like a toddler stamping their feet: the impotent, meaningless gesture of someone with no power. We should really be ignoring them until they have solutions to offer that don't amount to "investing in America is the wrong thing to do." Are they seriously trying to just continue the same policies of the last 8 years? Look around, guys, it didn't work.
17. Oh, wait… the GOP has even better to offer: Joe the Plumber is now a GOP advisor. A time of major economic crisis and the GOP is turning to an unlicensed plumber for financial advice? To a guy who doesn't pay his taxes? I'm sure he's got a lot of thoughts on how President Obama might tax his non-existent fantasy business, but what qualifies him as a serious political advisor? His big advice this week on the recovery was that the government should "just cut its bills like other people do." I guess when you're a tax dodger, that makes more sense. He also posited "I don't know if the American people deserve me." The American people deserve a lot, pal, but certainly not you. And certainly not Republicans relying on a campaign prop, a token black man, populist idiot Sarah Palin, and cryptofascist blowhard Rush Limbaugh to make it look like they give a damn what Middle America has to say. I can only assume the GOP loves its new found and well-deserved obsolescence and wants more of it.
18. I'm adding this one in at the last minute: I'm reading now that scientists have succeeded in teleportation. The science is very complicated for a dilettante like me, so I'd recommend the article, but the short of it is that scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute have made a milestone in quantum information processing by teleporting information from one atom to another at a distance of about one meter. It's a significant step. And friggin' awesome.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 11:04 AM 7 comments
Labels: Throwdown
Neat Italian Ads for SCI FI Channel Are More Fun Than Watching the Actual SCI FI Channel
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 8:35 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Film Week
A review of the films I've seen this past week.
Well, it's cute. I like Selena Gomez; I think she's one of the more talented Disney girls. And I'm pleased to see that dancing is starting to look more like dancing and less like having an aneurism to music; geez, you lazy kids, you can move your legs, too. (Chris Brown excepted; not a fan of his music, but that kid can dance.) A cute time-waster, and I was surprised to see Katherine Isabelle from Ginger Snaps as one of the evil stepsisters. But am I the only one who doesn't think Jane Lynch is funny? **1/2 stars.
Stupid, reactionary fantasy about teenagers who have sex. Ridiculous. And released on video as Havoc 2. Don't bother unless, like me, you're extremely bored. * star.
Man, this movie just took me by surprise. I was expecting one of those painfully earnest, bad-but-fun Lifetime movies. And there I was, sobbing like mad several times. This movie struck a real chord with me. It's emotionally genuine. This is a true story about Mary Griffith, the gay rights crusader, and her son, Bobby, who came out to her while he was still in high school in the early eighties. Mary, a devout woman, pushes religion as the "cure" for homosexuality, and refuses to see Bobby any other way but sick and in need of more God. Bobby, becoming more desperate and adrift, kills himself, and it's only then that Mary finally makes an effort to understand her son's feelings and that homosexuality is not a sin and not an illness. I identified a lot with this movie. I'm not going to get all pretentious and say I know what it's like to be gay, but I do know what it's like to be made to feel like there's something wrong with you, like you're not a real person because of something people don't like about you. And I know what it's like to try to get your parents to understand it and, when they don't get it, to stop trying and feel shut out. A surprisingly powerful, mostly sensitive film. Sigourney Weaver is excellent (of course) as Mary, and Ryan Kelley is sympathetic and likable as Bobby. Henry Czerny plays Mary's husband; it's always nice to see him. ***1/2 stars.
Oh, holy shit. A terrible Mexican film terribly dubbed into English and painfully narrated with the kind of earnestness usually reserved for films about the coming atomic wars. So, Santa Claus lives on a cloud in heaven, has children of all races building his toys for him (are they kidnapped slaves?), has a creepy telescope with an eye and a mouth that can see into childrens' dreams, and has his best friend, Merlin, make potions for him. His sleigh is drawn by four creepy wind-up reindeer. And there's a demon, Pitch, who is under Satan's orders to try and stop Santa as he makes his intricate, seemingly-in-real-time way through Mexico City. The scenes of the devils camping about in hell is like some kind of fucked-up parody of Kenneth Anger. This movie is unbearable. For about ten minutes it seems like an unintentionally hilarious camp classic that's going to be a lot of fun to rip on; after that, it is unbelievably tedious. Seriously, this may be the longest 90 minutes of your life. What a piece of shit. Apparently there's a Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of this movie. I wonder if they had more fun with it. This movie has made me hate Christmas, hate movies, and kind of hate being alive. Tread carefully; this is the kind of movie you can't un-see. The worst piece of happiness-killing awfulness you could ever look for. No stars.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 8:47 AM 0 comments
Labels: Film Week
Kristen Bell at the Fanboys Premiere
They had a premiere. So they can't take it back, right? Bad enough they went all limited-release on us. Is America suffering from a sudden lack of geeky Star Wars fans so that no one would go see this movie?
Oh, yeah. She's a keeper. It's always wonderful when two things you love cross paths.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 7:46 AM 4 comments
Labels: Films
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
50 Years
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 6:21 PM 0 comments
The Health Report, Year 3: Week 8
So, I've been doing the South Beach Diet for the last week.
I like the idea of a diet application that actually plans for how you can deal with a future time when you're off the diet. And I like the language. And it's astounding to me that I've made it this far into it without caving and at least having a piece of toast or something. I think this may be the first time in my life that I've ever gone for a week without something made from bread.
I haven't lost any weight yet, which is only a bummer in relation to Becca, who's doing this with me, and who has lost almost 10 pounds in a week. Damn. I've had some slight size reduction, but I the weight is all still there. She's losing weight, I've got diarrhea and leg cramps. Huzzah.
The diet isn't bad. It's basically all food that I already love to eat (lean meats, light cheeses, salads), just none of the bread and sugars that are foundation stones of my diet.
But I'm anxious a lot. I'm not sure why. Am I really hungry or is it some other sensation to do with the dieting? I've accepted it, and chewing gum a lot helps the hunger issues (sugarless, minty), but I do miss some foods and I want them more now than I hoped I would. (My kingdom for a plate of nachos.)
I can't wait for phase two of South Beach. I can have wheat bread again. I'm sticking with this, but I can't wait until this next week is over and I can start adding things back without going insane.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 12:22 PM 3 comments
Labels: Health Report
Exactly the Kind of Stupid Thing I Wonder About
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 10:34 AM 2 comments
Labels: Smiley Miley
TV Report: The Heroes Do-Over
From what I've read, this new chapter is make-or-break time for Heroes. This new half-season story arc, "Fugitives," could prove to be the nail in the coffin if the show doesn't start picking up viewers again. Imagine that, science fiction in trouble on NBC...
I watched Heroes last night and I really enjoyed it. It's a really good idea for the show to move from a full-season arc to two half-season arcs. It cuts down on the filler. Last night's episode didn't suffer from the problems Heroes usually suffers from at the beginning of a storyline: all the characters were brought together immediately, we got to see some regular life instead of fake intensity, and the action started right off. It was a good sort of introductory episode to what feels like a slightly re-tooled show.
Is it going to be enough to save the show? Probably not, if this morning's reviews are any indication. I think people are tired of giving Heroes chances, and that's mostly what I've seen: that this episode was better than the show has been, but it's just too late to care now. Obviously, I disagree. It's been a rocky road with Heroes--I dismissed it at first, then fell in love with it, then hated the second season and waited for the DVD to finish it, then loved the second half of the second season and have been faithfully watching it ever since. Personally, I think the key is patience; I'm willing to wait to see how it unfolds instead of demanding answers immediately. It doesn't frustrate me. (Side note: I do find it interesting how this is a frustration on Heroes, but apparently one of the wondrous virtues of the getting-worse-with-each-new-season Lost.)
Either way, I'm still really into it. I think they may have finally found their balance; enough that I'm willing to forgive them the silly lapses in the first half of this season and the stupid killing off of Elle (thus rendering her storyline a pointless distraction). I like this show a lot and I'd hate to see it get canceled. But that's usually the way these things go.
At least I've got one more half-season to enjoy.
(But in case the show does get renewed for next season... sorry, Hayden, you're still not allowed to leave the show.)
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 9:53 AM 1 comments
Monday, February 02, 2009
Seventies Television Looks Cooler Than I Remember It
Two great pieces from Dusty Abell @ deviantART. They're huge, but worth it.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 10:50 AM 2 comments
Labels: Geekery, Illustration Art, Skiffy
Les Folies Dalique
Thanks, John, for this awesome image.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 10:35 AM 0 comments
Labels: Geekery, My Bloggaz
My Nitpick on the G.I. Joe Teaser
I see a lot of nitpicking going on re: the new G.I. Joe teaser trailer. I thought it looked pretty good, and most of the complaints are silly and dismissible: most people seem to be butt hurt that grown men and women leaping about in spandex can't look more realistic. Which makes me wonder how those people deal with seeing movies in the first place. But anyway...
My annoyance in the trailer stems from a character (Duke, I think) saying something along the lines of "Officially, we don't exist." Cut to scenes of characters causing millions of dollars in property damage in broad daylight. Most of these movies come down to big fight scenes in big cities (I don't remember G.I. Joe being so urban-set; I remember a lot of deserts and mountain ranges, but my memory of the show is admittedly scattered), but the idea of G.I. Joe being top secret is completely ridiculous if the movie is going to have a lot of boys and girls in spandex causing traffic jams.
Anyway, it's probably a nitpick, and it doesn't dim my mounting enthusiasm for the movie. I thought the trailer looked good. Especially Sienna Miller...
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 10:14 AM 3 comments
Labels: Films
TV Report: The Post-Superbowl Episode of The Office
Not quite a shark-jumping episode, but still kind of a bummer.
It felt like the episode was designed to be a showpiece to hook people who might have been watching the Superbowl but who haven't really given The Office a try. For some reason, the first 15 or so minutes felt like a sales pitch, what with the incredibly wacky opening chaos, the new opening credits, and the attempts to squeeze a big character moment out of every character. I don't know if I can explain it, but something felt weirdly cynical about the first chunk of the show.
The second half at least felt like an Office episode, but it wasn't as strong as the show is normally capable of.
It bummed me out. It made me think that the show might be at that point where it's peaked in quality and is going to slide down the opposite side of the hill. I know that point is coming. It comes on every show that lasts longer than three years; at some point, they get repetitive and lazy. Last night's episode of The Office... kind of lazy.
The unfortunate part is, I'll still watch it either way. I like the characters.
Here's hoping for the best.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 10:03 AM 5 comments
Labels: TV Report
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Song of the Week: "Word Up"
It's cheesy and the video's terrible, but I completely love this song. LeVar Burton looks extremely uncomfortable in this one. 1986, by Cameo. They ain't got the time for psychological romance.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 11:16 AM 5 comments
Labels: Song of the Week


text:
|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute
Lise Orville
This unit proposes narrowing the scope of student environmental investigation to one small stream in New Haven, namely the Mill River. This outdoor laboratory will enable my students to be real scientists. They will be able to take the tests that they have learned in the school lab, such as dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity, and run them on the Mill River waters. Testing will take place throughout the year and at various locations. By the end students should have a good idea of what is happening in the Mill River based on their own hands-on activities. Once they understand local conditions, they will be much more able to extrapolate their findings to global phenomena.
Another aim of this unit, besides training high school students in the techniques of environmental science, is to have them appreciate the local nature in New Haven. Too often, city students are afraid of "wilderness," but if they are up to their knees (in boots) in the Mill River, collecting specimens, they probably will learn to enjoy their surroundings.
The next step after appreciation is activism. If the Mill River turns out to be polluted, is there anything that students can do to change the situation? At the very least they can educate themselves about the causes of the pollution. After that they should learn about Clean Water legislation and the role of the Department of Environmental Protection.
The wonderful thing about starting with a very specific project, such as surveying the Mill River, is that it will lead to all sorts of other interests, such as politics, law, history, and art. The direction taken can be determined by the students as well as the teacher. The part of the Mill River that we will study, both because it is the most interesting and also the most accessible, lies between the dam at the Eli Whitney Museum site and the tide water located under Interstate 91 where it crosses State Street. The total length of river between these two points is no more than 1.5 miles.
Students need to know that this stretch of the Mill River has had a most interesting history. Originally, before John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton and their band of Puritan settlers arrived, there was a Quinnipiac Indian camp or village where the present-day Ranger station is located (at the intersection of Orange and Cold Spring Streets). Many artifacts have been found in this area: arrowheads, chisels, and knife blades among others. There was no dam on Lake Whitney then, of course, and the Mill River was tidal along much of its length. Salt marshes of Spartina grass were washed by nutrient brackish waters twice a day, resulting in abundant ousters, crabs, and fish. In addition to these excellent food sources, the Indian tribes also had access to fresh water springs at the base of East Rock.
With the advent of the settlers. things began to change. The original Quinnipiac occupants were driven out and a low dam was built in 1640 (at the location of the present dam) by Sergeant William Fowler in order to power a grist mill. This mill burned and was rebuilt in 1665 by William Bradley and Christopher Todd. However, since the dam was quite low (no more than six feet) there was sometimes not enough water power during a drought to grind the corn. The huge mill stones from this grist mill can still be seen leaning against the present day dam on Whitney Avenue.
The next name that arises in connection with the dam on the Mill River is that of Eli Whitney. In 1798 he purchased the old Todd Mill with all the land around in order to build a factory to manufacture muskets for the government. Instead of using artisans to construct each individual musket from scratch, he proposed using water- powered specialized tools that would make interchangeable parts that could then be fitted together by unskilled help. The so-called Whitney Mill area must have been a beehive of industrial activity: rushing water, turning machines,. forges,. barges bringing materials up the Mill River, and wagons loaded with charcoal rumbling alone the east side of the river. Interestingly enough, the wooden dam that provided all this power was still only six feet high.
Even as late as 1854, the citizens of New Haven were still dependent on wells and springs for their drinking water: there was no public water supply. Fires were a real hazard. Since there were no fire hydrants, fire fighters had to form bucket brigades from the nearest well. Often the buildings burned to the ground. As a result of all of this, several concerned leaders saw the need to form a water company for their ever-expanding metropolis. These men decided that the Mill River would be an ideal location for a water supply and they approached Eli Whitney's son. Eli Whitney II, who had taken over his father's gun manufacture, with the proposal that a high dam be built on the site of the original six-foot dam. The timing was opportune: Whitney was worried about his competitor Samuel Colt in Hartford and this increased power capacity would keep him in business.
Several other companies have occupied the Whitney site in the last century including the Heany Industries who made a pink industrial ceramic that could be found in great quantities in the river. Now the Eli Whitney Museum and the Whitney Water Center run by the Regional Water Authority are the two peaceful surviving tenants of this beautiful spot.
At this point a description of the present-day Mill River would be in order, as it flows from the Whitney Dam south to the tide gates under I-91, a distance of about 1.5 miles. The obvious markers on the river are the four bridges that cross it: going from north to south, the covered bridge at the Eli Whitney Museum, the footbridge in the marsh, the East Rock Road bridge, and the Orange Street bridge. The tide gates mark the southern boundary of the section of river to be studied.
The flow of Lake Whitney water over the dam is quite variable, depending on the season, rainfall, and the needs of the Regional Water Authority. Sometimes there is no flow at all, while at other times, a raging torrent pours over the dam. This clearly affects the amount of water in the Mill River below. The stream is normally quite shallow between the dam and the covered bridge and the water flows swiftly with ripples over the rocky bottom. It's a good place to look for macroinvertebrates.
Between the covered bridge and the footbridge the stream enters East Rock Part, moving slowly between densely vegetated banks. Here one can often see great blue herons or black-crowned night herons, as well as numerous ducks. The water may be as deep as 6 to 8 feet at the footbridge and is much darker in color than by the dam. Fishing is the pastime of choice here: carp, sunfish, silversides, and even eel are commonly caught.
From the footbridge the Mill River moves slowly towards East Rock Road where a storm sewer empties under the bridge. From there it flows past a large marsh on the west bank to the Orange Street bridge. At this point the vegetation changes: much of the shore is composed of fill and Phraemites, a tall invasive reed, has taken over.
Between Orange Street and the tide gates the river seems to be more influenced by man than by natural forces. Its original meanders have been straightened out (due to highway construction in the 1960s). Phraemites lines the banks and the water looks murky. Finally the river now enclosed in a man-made channel reaches the tide gates. The ostensible reason for these sates, which were installed in the 1970s, is to prevent polluted waters from moving up into East Rock Park from the lower industrial reaches of the river and also from the New Haven Harbor. At low tide the fourteen small gates open to let the downstream flow of the river pass through. At high tide ( the tides in New Haven Harbor have a mean range of 6.2 feet) the gates are forced closed by incoming seawater. This means that the fresh water backs up on the other side of the gates and floods the marshes to a certain extent. However, the tide gates don't function perfectly so that saline polluted water can move up into the marshes at high tide.
The Mill River between the dam and the tide gates is like a long mixing bowl: fresh water flows southward over the dam and salt water leaks northward through the gates and they probably mix somewhere around the Orange Street Bridge.
The South Central Regional Water Authority has expressed an interest in seeing the results of our sampling: this should make students realize that their scientific work is taken seriously. Students should complete the unit with a feeling of accomplishment and empowerment.
Even though the unit is very specific — it deals with the Mill River in New Haven, Conn. — it can be used by other science teachers, with modifications, in their own local situations. One important consideration is that any teacher planning an ecological stud should have a good working relationship with local institutions. We will be able to borrow equipment from the Geology Department at Yale University and also from the Regional Water Authority. The advice of the scientists at these institutions will also be invaluable. I also hope to get graduate school volunteers from the Urban Resources Initiative at the Yale Forestry School to work with students in the field.
The unit is designed with modifications both for ninth grade Physical Science students as well as for 11-12th grade chemistry students. Obviously these classes will not be able to visit the Mill River site more than once or twice each marking period because of transportation and scheduling problems, but there will be an on-going group, namely the Science Club. which will be able to go out every Friday afternoon throughout the year, weather permitting. Science Club is a voluntary activity and attracts mostly younger. enthusiastic students who will provide the continuity that this project needs. Since there are fewer of them than in a class, they are also easier to transport and manage.
However, I feel that it is very important for all my students to have the benefit of sampling a "real" river. Before they ever set foot in the field though, they will need to develop a good background both theoretical and practical in the classroom. They will understand and maybe also retain the knowledge if it is developed slowly and from several different angles. including a lot of hands-on activities.
The unit will start with a section on water and its properties. The physical science classes will have several simple labs on surface tension and solubility. The more hands-on activities the better since many ninth graders have not had much experience working in the lab (although more middle schools seem to be emphasizing it now). They need to learn about lab techniques, equipment, and safety. They also need to think clearly about setting up experiments: formulating questions: stating a hypothesis, controlling their variables, and reporting their results.
One simple lab on surface tension is described in the classroom activities section of this unit. It is open-ended allowing students to try their own variations. It also requires graphing the results.
Chemistry students can approach the subject of water on a slightly higher plane than physical science students. They should learn the following: the fact that the bent shape of the water molecule gives it its polar nature; hydrogen bonding and surface tension; and also the solubility of polar and nonpolar substances in water.
Now it's time to study a hypothetical river — a river with a mysterious fish kill. The American Chemical Society has published an excellent high school text called ChemCom. The first section of the book, which was written by a team of high school chemistry teachers, presents the students with a problem: a massive fish kill has been discovered in the mythical Snake River near the town of Riverwood. Students read "newspaper articles" (they look genuine) about the fish kill and the ensuing anxiety of the townspeople who are dependent on the river for their drinking water.
Interspersed with the newspaper articles in the book are lots of labs and activities for the students so that they can help solve the mystery of the fish kill. This year I modified this unit for the ninth grade Physical Science classes who were quite enthusiastic about solving the problem. I really think that more classroom units should be presented as mysteries. because students love learning in this way.
Among other topics covered in the unit were personal water use, water purification, testing for ions, pH, and dissolved gases. (Although I didn't use the whole Snake River unit with the chemistry classes, we did do some of the labs.) Finally, the cause of the fish kill was revealed (excess air in the water under the dam had caused air bubbles in the fish gills).
Students then had a town meeting to decide who was responsible for the fish kill and who should pay for the drinking water that Riverwood had to import. They played the roles of the various interest groups in the town such as officials of the power plant at the dam, motel owners, and the Chamber of Commerce, as well as engineers and scientists. The presentations were quite passionate (everyone blamed someone else), but there were also quite a few dispassionate speeches based on the evidence.
At this point my science classes will be ready to visit the Whitney Water Center at the Lake Whitney dam (run by the South Central Regional Water Authority) and learn to sample the waters of the nonmythical Mill River. Education specialists at the Center show students how to test for pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and alkalinity, using various chemical kits and instruments. For most students this will be their first opportunity to work in a real river: it should be an exciting experience for them. They will record all data on the Whitney Water Center data sheets and we will then discuss it.
The Whitney Water Center visit is an excellent introduction to the unit on the Mill River. Students have now seen a small part of the river ( at the dam) and have done a little water sampling. What is needed now is to have them sort out facts from inferences. They will again form small groups and fill out a sheet labeled THE MILL RIVER that has three headings: FACTS, INFERENCES, and QUESTIONS WE WOULD LIKE TO SOLVE. Then each group will report to the rest of the class who will critique them. A fact might be. "The Mill River is shallow at the dam." A possible inference is. "The Mill River is polluted." It is important for students to learn to differentiate between facts and inferences.
Having students think about question they would like to solve helps focus them and directs their thinking. After studying the Snake River unit in ChemCom they will probably want to know if the Mill River fish are healthy and whether there is too much air in the water coming over the dam. They might also want to know what ions are dissolved in the river and whether the water is polluted.
Before we take another Mill River field trip students should learn some map skills. There will be a class set of the U.S. Geological Survey New Haven Quadrangle maps available. After they have learned some basic facts about symbols, scale, and topography, they will locate their homes, the Coop High School, and the downtown Green. Now we will look at the Harbor: how deep is it? Which rivers empty into it?
Then students will focus on the Mill River on the map. Between the Harbor and the dam. how long is it in miles? Which roads cross it? How high are the tides and would salt water move into the river at high tide? Are there marshes? What are meanders? Finally they will make a sketch of the river between the dam and the State Street tide gates, labeling all the parts. The art teacher at the Coop High School will show them how to enlarge a drawing using graph paper. Students also need to know the difference between QUALITATIVE and QUANTITATIVE experiments at this point. Up to now when testing for dissolved ions ( such as chloride and iron) in the lab we have only stated whether they were present or absent — in other words, the results were qualitative. However when we test in the field we will be using instruments which measure results in parts per million (ppm). In water solutions this is the same as milligrams per liter (mg/L). In order to understand the magnitude of these numbers, I will do a dilution series beforehand using food color on the overhead projector, showing that even though the eve can't detect one ppm. the chemical is present.
Which factors are we going to measure in the Mill River? The following would seem to be the most pertinent (and are also the easiest to detect: dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and conductivity. The Geology Department at Yale University will lend us a dissolved oxygen meter; a conductivity meter will come from the Regional Water Authority.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) is probably the most important parameter in measuring the health of river waters. Most fish need a minimum of 4 to 5 ppm of dissolved oxygen to survive, while some fish like trout need about 9 ppm. There is usually more oxygen in a swiftly moving stream than a slowly moving stream because the water mixes with the air. The Mill River below the dam flows rapidly over the cobbles. and, as expected, there is more DO than farther south where it slows down.
So that they will be comfortable doing the DO testing in the field, students will first need to learn how to sample dissolved oxygen in different waters in the lab using both chemical tests and an oxygen meter. Does fresh tap water contain more DO than boiled water? Do the chemical tests correlate with the DO meter results? They should also understand how a dissolved oxygen meter works and how to take care of it (keeping the probe moist).
The dissolved oxygen meter also measures the water temperature in degrees Celsius. Students can then figure out the percent saturation of oxygen if they know the temperature and the DO in ppm. 90 percent dissolved oxygen saturation or better means that the stream is probably healthy. Since students are much more familiar with the Fahrenheit scale than the Celsius scale we will always take the Fahrenheit reading first and let them estimate what it would be in Celsius.
The Snake River unit allowed students to stud the pH of various substances, but this is a good time to go more deeply into the subject. Students should understand that the scale is logarithmic so that each number on the scale represents a ten-fold change in the hydrogen ion concentration. For instance, pH 5 is 10 times more acid than pH 6 and it's 100 times more acid than pH 7. Normal rain has a pH of 5.0— 5.6 but the average reading for acid rain in the northeastern United States is about 4.3 (Mitchell and Stapp, 1992).
The pH in streams can vary greatly depending on several factors including the bedrock in the watershed. (A limestone bedrock can buffer the acid rain, making it less acid) But the Mill River runs through primarily sandstone and traprock which have less buffering capacity. Will we find that the pH of the river is toward the acid side? Fish and invertebrates have quite specific pH requirements but any river water that has a pH more than 9 or less than 4 will not have a lot of living things.
Students will have already learned to use Universal Indicator paper to test substances, but for the Mill River we will use a portable pH meter which they will quickly discover is much more accurate.
A conductivity meter measures the total amount of dissolved ions in water. The more ions, the greater the flow of electricity and the higher the reading. Distilled water has no dissolved ions and therefore the meter will register 0 ppm because there is no flow of electricity. Seawater, on the other hand, contains a high percent of dissolved sodium chloride as well as other ions so that the conductivity meter readings will be very high. The average salinity of ocean water is about 35 parts per thousand (or 35.000 parts per million).
Long Island Sound is an estuary with many rivers emptying into it: therefore the salinity is not as high as in the open sea. We will first test the conductivity of the New Haven Harbor waters and then move on to the Mill River which is a tidal stream whose lower reaches are flooded twice a day by waters of the Sound. The tide gates at the intersection of State Street and I-91 keep much of the saline water out but some still flows north into the river by East Rock Park. How far does it go? To the Orange Street bridge? Or farther? Students should be able to make predictions based on the tides before they use the conductivity meter at various locations.
Students should also learn to ask themselves about the methodology of sampling: is it better to sample water on the banks of the river or from a bridge? How many samples should we take in each location?
The final question to be asked is "Is the Mill River a healthy river or is it polluted?" To answer this we will look at the animals that live in the water. The absence or presence of these animals, called macroinvertebrates, indicates the environmental quality of any stream. The Izaak Walton League of America, which is dedicated to sports fishing and the improvement of stream quality, has started a program called Save Our Streams (SOS). This program shows volunteers how to survey the biota in a stream in order to rate the water quality. For instance, if stonefly and caddisfly larvae are plentiful the stream is probably healthy: on the other hand, worms and midge larvae indicate polluted conditions.
The students will get to use kick seine nets in the river: they will dislodge bottom dwellers for a distance of three feet upstream. Then we will spread the net on the bank and, using magnifying glasses and tweezers, we will sort the "critters" into groups, using the SOS identification card. This procedure will be repeated at different points along the river.
All this data — dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, conductivity, and invertebrate populations — needs to be combined into one report. Students can work in groups on this. They should also write down their recommendations and further questions that they have. We will then present the reports to the Regional Water Authority
Materials needed: plastic cups, pennies (lots), water, and Ivory liquid detergent.
Fill a cup to the very top with water, ask the class how many pennies they can slide in before the meniscus breaks. They can work in pairs. Have them do the lab three times and then average. Why?
Now ask them what would happen if they added 5 drops of Ivory liquid to a full cup of water and then dropped in the pennies. (The soap reduces the surface tension of the water so that only a few pennies can be dropped in before the meniscus breaks.
Have them make a chart of their results. and then a bar graph.
1. Why do we repeat the experiment and then average the results?
2. Is this a qualitative or a quantitative experiment? Why?
3. What does it mean in this lab by controlling the variables?
Finding the direction will be easy: just throw a stick in the river and see whether it floats upstream or down. Then check the New Haven Register for the daily tide schedule.
Finding the velocity will give students a chance to use some math. Students will mark off a length along the river bank with string — at least 20 meters. Then they will drop in an orange and take the time in seconds that it takes to float from one end of the string to the other. The answer will be in meters/second. This should be run three times and the answers averaged.
- DEPTH OF RIVER (in meters) _____
- VELOCITY OF RIVER FLOW (in meters/second) _____ (do three times and average) _____
- TIDES (check the New Haven Register) Time of nearest HIGH TIDE _____ Time of nearest LOW TIDE _____
- DESCRIPTION OF WATER (color, odor, objects floating?) _____
- WATER TESTS (sample from bridges if possible)
- DISSOLVED OXYGEN (ppm) _____
- SATURATION OF OXYGEN (percent) _____
- pH _____
- CONDUCTIVITY (ppm) _____
- 1. U.S. Geological Survey Quadrangle maps of the New Haven Quadrangle (order from the Department of Environmental Protection in Hartford). There should be 24 of these maps so that each person in a class can have their own.
- 2. Water sampling bottle. (Can be made or ordered).
- 3. Kick-seine net. (Can be made or ordered).
- 4. Dissolved oxygen meter. Borrow from the Geology Department at Yale .
- 5. Conductivity meter. Borrow from the Regional Water Authority.
- 6. pH meter. Borrow from the Coop High School.
- 7. Clip boards (for student surveys in the field). Borrow from the Art Department at the Coop High School.
- 8. Magnifying glasses. To identify the invertebrates in the river.
Cooper, Carolyn and Lindsay, Merrill. Eli Whitney and the Whitney Armory. Eli Whitney Museum: Whitneyville, Ct., 1980. A comprehensive study of Whitney and his gun factory on the Mill River.
East Rock Neighborhood Association. Exploring East Rock Park. The Advocate Press: New Haven, 1973. A general survey of all aspects of the park from fish to flowers.
Flatow, Ira. Rainbows, Curveballs and Other Wonders of the Natural Universe Explored, Harper and Row: New York, 1989. One of the best science writers. Students will enjoy the chapter "The Big Burp" about the origin of water on earth.
Hartley, Rachel M.. The History of Hamden, Connecticut. The Shoestring Press: Hamden, 1959. A complete account of the early days of the Mill River.
Horne, R.A. The Chemistry of Our Environment. John Wiley: New York, 1978. A technical text. Chapter 7 on Fresh Water Chemistry covers both lakes and rivers.
Hotchkiss, Lee B. and Stern, Beverly. The Mill River Water Unit in Geology and Industry. History of Connecticut, Volume 6. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: New Haven, 1984. Covers history of the Mill River as well as math, geology, and biology.
Izaak Walton League of America. Save Our Streams. 1401 Wilson Blvd., Level B, Arlington, VA 22209. A packet of information on how citizens can monitor their local streams for pollution.
Jacobson, Cliff. Water, Water Everywhere. Hach Company: Loveland. Colorado, 1991. There is both a teacher's and student's version with good lessons on water chemistry.
Legett, Jeremy. Troubled Waters, Marshall Cavendish Corporation: New York, 1991. A student book with lots of diagrams.
Meyerson, A. Lee. Seawater, A Delicate Balance, Enslow Publications: Hillside, New Jersey, 1988. A juvenile book that is written by a scientist. Excellent on the chemistry of seawater.
Mitchell, Mark K. and Stapp, William B. Field Manual for Water Quality Monitoring, Thomson-Shore: Ann Arbor, 1992. The most useful book on the whole list for anyone who wants to monitor a stream.
Naar, Jon. Design for a Livable Planet, Harper and Row: New York, 1990. Up to date chapter on water pollution with resources and agencies listed.
Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb's Wildlife Guide. Little. Brown and Company: Boston, 1977. By following a simple number formula you can identify almost any plant.
Osterweis, Rollin G. Three Centuries of New Haven, 1638-1938, Yale University Press: New Haven, 1953. Everything you would ever want to know about New Haven's history.
Regional Water Authority, New Haven. Connecticut. A guide to an exhibit at the Eli Whitney Museum.
Reid, George. K. Pond Life. Golden Press: New York, 1967. Excellent for identifying river critters and plants as well.
Renn, Charles. E.. A Study of Water Quality. LaMotte Chemical Corporation: Chestertown. MD. 1968. A basic description of water testing.
Ed. Shumway, Floyd and Heoel, Richard. New Haven: An Illustrated History, Windsor Publications: New Haven, 1987. Lots of pictures; an easy way to learn New Haven history.
Woods, Geraldine and Harold. Pollution. Franklin Watts: New York, 1985. A good student book. Explains the Clean Water Act of 1972.
Zim, Herbert and Cottam, Clarence. Insects, A Golden Nature Guide. Golden Press: New York, 1956. Includes aquatic insects.
Contents of 1993 Volume V | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute


text:
We are very pleased to invite you to the 34th "Football Player's" Awards Banquet, honoring the Best in Football for the 2014-2015 season.
The Banquet is a 2 hour event, organized by the PanHellenic Professional Football Players Association (also celebrating its 40th anniversary) in which the Best Football Player, the Best Football Coach and other similar awards will be presented.
The Banquet will be covered live (NOVA Sports) and, in addition to a large number of professional athletes, other media, dignitaries and government officials will be present.
Date & Time :
Monday February 1, 2016 @18:45
Venue :
The Theater at ACS Athens


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Rich colors pop so beautifully in photography like this jewel toned elopement photo session in Temecula, California [a place both rich and beautiful in its own right!). We hope you enjoy this lovely shoot featuring real life couple Tiffany & Keith Jones (whose happy faces say it all!). We are crazy about the styling here especially the tablescapes with those rich florals, that outdoor fireplace mantle and those adorable individually styled little cakes!
Lorena of Rustic Vintage who generated the shoot says, "When I first started to plan the design for this styled shoot, I knew I needed to include one of my favorite colors, Marsala. This rich wine shade adds elegance to any surroundings and to rustic or vintage décor! To soften the color a bit, I incorporated blush pinks, ivory and pops of gold. This color combination is perfect for the brides wishing to have a fall or winter wedding! And for the furniture and prop selection I chose to bring in lots of wood textures mixed color fabrics and vintage décor."
Photography: Kristina Adams Photography
Planning + Design: Rustic Vintage Events
Venue: Great Oak Estates Temecula, California
Florals: The Flower Story
Videography: Classic Film Works
Wedding dress: Adina's Bridal
Groom's attire: Friar Tux Shop
Makeup: Sheila's Makeup Artistry
Hair: Nancy Vestal Bridal Hair
Cakes: Little Hunny Cakery
Macarons: Pennys Custom Cookies
Stationery: Pirouette Paper
Specialty details: Jenn and Jules Designs
Wood signage: Wood If You Could
Vintage china + farm tables: Rustic Vintage Events
Specialty pink glassware: Touch of Glass Rentals
Vintage props: CC Vintage Rentals
Real Couple Models: Tiffany & Keith Jones


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Mark Heard
John Mark Heard (1951-1992) was a record producer, singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia.
Mark Heard released 13 studio albums in his lifetime (as Mark Heard & Ideola) also 1 album with Infinity Plus Three), and produced and performed with many other artists as well, such as Daniel Amos, Sam Phillips, Pierce Pettis, Phil Keaggy, Vigilantes of Love, Peter Buck of R.E.M., John Austin, The Choir, Randy Stonehill and Michael Been of The Call. Heard produced part of Olivia Newton John's The Rumour, which also included a cover of Heard's "Big and Strong".
On July 4, 1992, Heard suffered a heart attack on stage while performing with Pierce Pettis and Kate Miner, at the Cornerstone Festival, near Chicago, Illinois. Heard finished his set and went to the hospital immediately afterwards. Two weeks after being released from the hospital, Heard had a cardiac arrest and died in August of 1992. Sadly, this happened at a time when Heard's musical career never looked brighter. Not only had he just released three albums (Dry Bones Dance in 1990, Second Hand in 1991, and Satellite Sky in 1992) that many hailed as his best work to date, but he had also just been included on a sampler from Windham Hill's High Street label.
Heard's early work was often marked by strong, poetic lyrics; but musically he lingered in a generic folk/folk-rock style. But Heard continued to experiment musically; his most extreme was perhaps the elaborately-produced electronic rock on the album Tribal Opera, which he released under the name iDEoLA. With Dry Bones Dance, however, Heard's music blossomed into an intense folk-rock fusion, marked by driving rhythms, virtuosic instrumentals, passionate vocals, and interwoven elements borrowed from styles such as Appalachian folk, zydeco, bluegrass, and country (though Heard's music is none of those). Second Hand returned to a more acoustic guitar-based folk sound, but retained the energy and creativity discovered through Dry Bones Dance. His final official album, Satellite Sky, was again more like the latter.
Mark Heard's lyrics are deeply grounded in a Christian view of the world, though explicitly so only half the time. He was often critical and had an eye for emotional pain and spiritual desolation, yet he remarkably avoided cynicism. When his lyrics turned to expressing hope or joy, they were powerful. As a poetic lyricist, Heard cultivated verbal sound (e.g. with internal rhyme), strong images and elaborate personae, while avoiding the cheap punch-line metaphors popular in much contemporary folk music. Some of his images, most notably "bones," can be found repeated and richly varied in their meaning across years of songwriting.
In 1994, many artists came together to record a tribute album called Strong Hand of Love. Artists lending their talents to the project included Victoria Williams, Chagall Guevara, Buddy Miller, Julie Miller, Daniel Amos, The Choir, Rich Mullins, Bruce Cockburn, and the Vigilantes of Love. The project was later reissued as a 2 CD set with additional tracks and retitled Orphans of God.


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If you are receiving solidarity tax credit payments, you must promptly notify Revenu Québec of your change of address, as it might affect the amount to which you are entitled.
To notify Revenu Québec of your change of address, use the Service québécois de changement d'adresse. The Service québécois de changement d'adresse allows you to notify six governement departments and bodies of your change of address in a single operation.
If you wish to communicate your new address to Revenu Québec only, other options are also available.
The solidarity tax credit has 3 components:
One can receive the credit even if he or she is not eligible for all 3 components.
The solidarity tax credit may be claimed with your personal income tax return. It is paid from July of the year after the tax year concerned by the tax return until the following June. Recipients of the tax credit must notify Revenu Québec if their address in Québec changes. Change of Situation Recipients are not required to notify Revenu Québec of other changes in their situation, since the tax credit is now calculated on the basis of the recipient's situation on December 31 of the tax year covered by the tax return in which they claimed the credit. However, Revenu Québec must be infomed if
A person who is married to or in a civil union with another person, or who is his or her de facto spouse. In the event of breakup, the person can still be considered a spouse if the partners are separated for less than 90 days.
A de facto spouse is a person who :
Clientele The solidarity tax credit is meant for the following:
ConditionsA person can claim the solidarity tax credit if, on December 31 of the tax year concerned by the tax return (e.g. for December 31 in the personal income tax return for 2015), he or she meets the following requirements:
NoteThe requirements have been changed since January 1st, 2016. Contact Revenu Québec to learn the requirements for 2014 and earlier tax years. RestrictionsThe following are not eligible for the solidarity tax credit:
Loss of Eligibility for 1 Month A person becomes ineligible for the solidarity tax credit for 1 month if, immediately before the beginning of that month, the person is not resident in Québec or is confined to a prison or similar institution.
The solidarity tax credit is calculated by adding the different recipient's entitled amounts for these 3 parts (QST credit, property tax refund and credit for individuals living in northern villages). The amount available could be reduced according to the family income.
The solidarity tax credit is paid, by direct deposit, once a month in the 5 first days. The payment frequency depends on the recipient's entitled total amount.
To find out the amount awarded for the tax credit, see the notice of determination, which is usually sent in May or June of each year.
The solidarity tax credit took effect in July 2011.


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Enter the account name of the Source-Live 2.0 studio you wish to listen to in real-time, HD quality. If the host is online and broadcasting you will be listening in immediately.
Source-Live enables instant world-wide access to your studio. A complement to Source-Connect, Source-Live sits in your audio session and sends your mix directly to your clients. Email them your Live link, and they can log on to this Gateway - or open the stream directly in QuickTime - and listen immediately.
Ready for something new? Check out Source-Live Pro 3.0 with HD video streaming with industry-strength security features and full client support across all browsers and updated iOS app. No plug-ins required.


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Across hemisphere, once-fiery Chinese dragon now looks anemic
Over the past decade, the China dragon has stampeded into the hemisphere, buying up ore, crude oil and soybeans, building dams and railways and breathing fire into the region's economies.
But that wandering dragon now looks weary, anemic, even feeble, hobbled by an economic slowdown back home. China's rising influence in the hemisphere seems more modest today than it did only six months ago.
It takes only a quick look at the massive Baha Mar resort and casino complex to see how far off the rails the Chinese dream has gone. Bahamian authorities once believed the dazzling 2,200-room gaming and entertainment complex would account for one-eighth of the island nation's economy and create thousands of jobs.
A Chinese export-import bank and construction company bankrolled much of Baha Mar, and thousands of Chinese laborers toiled around the clock to build what was touted as an ultra-chic resort with four world-class luxury hotels and 40 restaurants. But money ran out earlier this year, and the project, said to be 97 percent complete, is at a standstill.
A chain-link fence surrounds the unfinished $3.5 billion complex. Grand openings were postponed twice this year as Baha Mar fell into bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings. Some 2,000 employees were laid off last month.
Now, amid reports that the plumbing system is not functional, top business leaders ponder what was once unthinkable – that the project may become a blight.
"We do not want to see it turn into an eyesore because of lack of maintenance," said Edison Sumner, chief executive of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers' Confederation. "As in the case of any building, if it sits for too long without live bodies in it, without proper levels of maintenance and care, it can become a deteriorated project."
"It really is a storybook disaster," said Leonard Sands, head of the Bahamas Contractors' Association. Workers from local firms hired by a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corp. said "they were looking at stuff on site and saying, 'How is this going to pass code?' . . . You could flush something on the ground floor and on the first floor it would back up."
Baha Mar is not the only Chinese-backed plan under a cloud in the hemisphere.
While China's economy has been cooling for several years, signs of real trouble arose in mid-June with gyrations on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Within a month, a third of the value of its leading shares evaporated. Aftershocks hit in late July and late August. China in the last quarter posted its slowest growth in six years.
Among those hit by the turmoil was Wang Jing, a telecommunications tycoon whose Hong Kong company in 2013 won a 50-year concession to build and operate a canal across Nicaragua to rival the Panama Canal. In June, Wang's net worth peaked at $10.2 billion according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. But the plunge of the Chinese markets squeezed Wang hard. Forbes lists his net worth today at $3.1 billion.
Whether Wang can raise the money to finance the cost of a canal that has a $50 billion price tag is in doubt. Wang has close ties with the People's Liberation Army but Beijing asserts that it has nothing to do with the project. Only a symbolic ground breaking has taken place.
Everyone knows how important China is now for South America, and for Peru, specifically.
José Tam Pérez, Peru-China Chamber of Commerce
Shock waves from China's slowdown now ripple across South America, where dependence on Beijing's once gargantuan appetite for commodities has left the region with a severe hangover. Eight nations of South America list China as their No. 1 or No. 2 destination for exports. Brazil saw its trade with China climb from $1 billion in 2000 to $40 billion last year, only to watch it head off a cliff.
The Chinese slowdown has undercut prices for copper, iron ore and other metals. Every single month so far this year, China has posted a decline in its imports, leaving South American economies wincing.
The commodities shock is a big reason why the International Monetary Fund sees Latin America and the Caribbean falling into recession this year, shrinking region-wide by 0.3 percent.
Current economic travails only bring into sharper relief the inroads that China has made in the hemisphere over the past decade. Chinese state-owned companies have snapped up oil and mining concessions, built dams and highways, locked up resources and played banker to the region. In July, Chinese banks rescued Brazil's scandal-tainted Petrobras oil giant with $7 billion in loans. China now provides more loans to Latin American than multilateral entities like the World Bank.
Political ties to Beijing run deeper than ever. Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela all have declared some form of strategic alliance with China. In Argentina's remote Patagonia, Chinese workers put the finishing touches on a satellite tracking facility, China's first overseas space station. China has launched satellites for Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela.
In places like Colombia, where trade with China is not so high, Chinese diplomats avidly court politicians of all ideologies, pragmatically seeking to build influence.
"They are regularly inviting senators, party leaders, academics and others from all the spectrum of Colombian politics to China," said Benjamin Creutzfeldt, a sinologist at the CESA School of Business in Colombia's capital, Bogota.
Nowhere else in Latin America is there a greater open door to China than in Peru, home to the region's largest ethnic Chinese population. At least 1.3 million of Peru's 30 million citizens boast Chinese ancestry, and some say it may be as high as 3 million.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made Peru one of his three stops on a swing through South America in May. Li said that China had begun a "new historical period" with Latin America in which it would not only buy raw materials but also build infrastructure. He offered $10 billion to support construction of a transcontinental railway to traverse Brazil and Peru, the first such east-west route across vast South America.
"Everyone knows how important China is now for South America, and for Peru specifically," said José Tam Pérez, president of the Peru-China Chamber of Commerce.
The trade is far from balanced, however. Eighty percent of South America's exports to China are commodities, while most imports are autos, electronics and manufactured goods.
Nearly a dozen Chinese brands of vehicles cruise Peru's roads and highways. Drive for an hour and one can see Geely, BYD, Great Wall, Chery, Lifan and First Auto Works vehicles. It is similar up and down the Andean region.
China also holds the purse strings in countries like Ecuador and Venezuela. Both countries, ruled by autocratic leftists, are largely shut out of capital markets. China has loaned or pledged some $57 billion to Venezuela since 2007, locking up future oil shipments as payment. Last year, according to state oil company PDVSA, China received an average of 630,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan fuel.
The good news is that when the proper incentives are there, the Chinese companies meet and beat standards.
Kevin P. Gallagher, political economist
In the Bahamas, bitterness toward China has set in. On Friday, 10-30 the British professional services firm Deloitte was appointed as receiver of the stalled Baha Mar project and will determine if it can be completed, or if it should be sold to the highest bidder. Apart from China's Export-Import Bank, other investors in the project have now been sidelined, including Sarkis D. Izmirlian, a Bahamian who invested some $850 million since dreaming up the project 13 years ago.
"It's a disaster. What they are waiting for is a white knight to come in and say, 'I'll buy you out for 50 cents on the dollar,'" said Scott Smith, managing director of PKF Consulting, a tourism consultancy in Atlanta.
The massive project, the largest one-time tourism investment the Caribbean has ever seen, has taught Bahamian officials to avoid such mega-projects unless they are built in stages.
Some Bahamians simply shake their heads at the thought that Baha Mar, set on a precious stretch of beachfront, might not get finished.
"You can't believe that all that would go to waste. It's such a beautiful asset," said Larry Smith, a native Bahamian who runs a website called Bahama Pundit.
Nearly 2,000 employees were hired earlier this year to be ready for Baha Mar's opening. With the company in liquidation, the government has tapped into an escrow fund to pay salaries. But that can't go on indefinitely.
"A lot of people are upset," said Donnette Burrows, a 21-year-old handing out fliers along the main shopping street in Nassau, within sight of huge docked cruise ships. "They left the job they already had to go there. Then they are left jobless because it hasn't opened."
This story and others on the growing Chinese influence in Latin America was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com; Twitter: @timjohnson4


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Contemplating My Navel
Los Angeles is one of the few times that I'm glad to be back in comedy clubs. Although we've done well financially there doing alternative venues, it usually turned out to be at your expense. We get the door, they get the bar and you get the standing-room placed in front of the seated people so you can stare at a fat man's ass while you try to listen.
But you tolerating all that gave us the ability to cut the same deals with clubs where you can actually get seats and cheap parking. So thanks for that. And tip your waitstaff, etc.
Irvine Improv is Wednesday, Sept 22nd and the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club is Thursday and Friday. I'm trying to pull Sean Rouse out of hiding for the LA shows but it's never a sure thing with Seanny. Saturday is at Winston's in Ocean Beach - it isn't a comedy club and it's one of my favorite places to play but it's small and might already be sold out.
Try eBay.
Or we can trade out.
Here's my point.
This belly-button thing has sincerely become a problem. I know it's sounds strange having such a silly sounding thing as a "belly-button" causing me this much horrific anxiety but it's getting pretty bad.
The medical terminology is "umbilical hernia."
The fact is that it is your intestines pushing through your navel.
And that's pretty gross. I was going to add a picture but I don't have that thingy that attaches the camera to the laptop but i found one that looks just like mine - gut n all - on Google images.
I've never been able to feel my intestines before without going
directly through my asshole. Going through the gut bypasses your prostate altogether, making it not just uneventful but awful and yet another reason to kill yourself.
My navel has always stuck out a bit. An "out-y" or however you'd spell it - a word that makes "belly-button" seem coarse. It would always get red first when I was out in the sun and today it glows like a giant clown nose on my beer gut. Not long ago I showed it to my friends in Bisbee at a weekly poker game - I don't always know what to say in mixed company so the obvious default is to show your most disgusting body part - and someone suggested it was an umbilical hernia.
So when I went to the doctor to refill my prescriptions, as an aside I lifted my shirt and asked if it was indeed a hernia or simply an out-y. He said it was definitely herniated, and that I could get surgery but that if it didn't bother me, I shouldn't worry about it.
No, it doesn't bother me. It bothers other people when they are trying to play poker or make eye contact at the pool when my shirt is off but it doesn't bother me.
This was the same doctor who prescribed Rid to our friend Father Luke to get rid of scabies. Rid is an over the counter medication but, Luke didn't know that until he handed in a scrip from a doctor at the pharmacy. That is like writing a prescription for soap. But he gives me the pills for my "flight anxiety" so why question him.
My friend Nurse Betty (still known as Mayor Betty in some underground circles) saw it again last night.
I told her that the doc said I shouldn't worry about it. Then Betty
went on to inform me of all the possible doomsday scenarios involved with belly-button problems - it could prolapse or pinch off, etc etc but the one word that she said that disturbs me every minute since is "necrotizing."
That can lead to death, she said, but death doesn't bother me.
"Necrotizing" bothers me enough that I would consider surgery,
something I said I'd rather die than have on even the most minor
I am a comedian which means, of course that I don't have health
insurance. And I don't know how to go about getting surgery as a walk-in nor do I know if some states are cheaper than others when it comes to surgery so I can schedule it around a road gig.
So long story short, I will trade you your choice of two tickets to
any show or a signed DVD and CD - in return for surgery to repair an umbilical hernia (or "belly-button ow-ee") and I'll throw in a "Fuck the Yankees" jersey as the cherry on top, so long as you wear a large as that's all I have left in the crawl space.
Email me at firstname.lastname@example.com if you are a surgeon that has a CD player and some free time. This is really fucking with my head.
In the meantime, get your tickets to the show.
Thanks to Dag Soras - not only for being a hilarious working with me in London - but for giving me the book "Everyday Drinking" by Kingsley Amis. It inspired me to bring my drink in from the hotel pool and write for a minute.
Other thanks from Canada to Oregon/Washington to London are overdue and I probably won't get to them but you know who you are and I love you all.


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Spring is the perfect time for traveling in Japan. The weather is very pleasant and Japan is blanketed in stunning shades of pink and white. There is a word in Japanese, sakura zensen, which describes the blossom's movement from the tip of the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa in early February all the way to the most northerly cape of Hokkaido by the end of May.
I have been asked many times why I have not yet been to Japan, with the answer being that I was just waiting for a time that was right and Cherry Blossom Festival 2017 was the perfect time for me to explore this lovely country. Besides the gorgeous cherry blossom, I'm in awe with Japan's majestic temples and shrines, zen gardens, lush national parks, and a rich historic culture. In this blog is a list of my top 10 favorite things to do in Japan!


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edWeb provides an easy and intuitive Web 2.0 platform that includes blogs, discussions, file-sharing, shared calendars, wikis, live chat, messaging, polling, and shared links. Communities (groups) can be created and linked for closer collaboration.
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edWeb is free for professionals in education and for educational institutions. Education companies are invited to join as sponsors.
For more information, contact us at 800-575-6015 ext 100 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Coyote attack claims second Whitby dog
A coyote attack has claimed another small dog in Whitby, only weeks after another dog died in a similar attack in the same area.
In a news release issued Tuesday, Durham Regional Police said coyotes entered a yard near Thickson Road and Burns Street area of Whitby, located east of Toronto, and attacked a small dog described as a Maltese-poodle cross.
The dog was loose in an unfenced yard and was attacked by coyotes and killed. The dog's owner witnessed the attack and was able to retrieve the dog's carcass from a neighbouring property.
The dog's owner was not hurt.
A similar attack occurred only one kilometre away on March 30, when a small dog, a shih-poo named Lilly, was snatched from a front lawn by coyotes while her owners were in the yard. The dog was found dead nearby.
The attacks have Durham Police reminding people in the area to be mindful of the safety of their small pets by keeping them leashed, supervised and in close proximity whenever they are not inside a fenced area.
Police also say people should also leave sources of food including garbage, compost and recycling indoors until the morning of collection. Or they should be removed altogether so they won't attract roaming wildlife.


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WASHINGTON - Coming off a Saturday night loss, The Catholic University of America baseball team fell 1-0 to Elizabethtown College in game one of a double header on Sunday afternoon. The team avoided a Landmark Conference three-game sweep by coming out on top 3-2 in game two.
David Gately took the mound in game one, pitching all seven innings, throwing three strike outs and giving up just one hit.
Elizabethtown scored their first and only run of the early afternoon in the top of the third inning with a line drive into centerfield.
The Cardinals were unable to record a run in the remaining innings, ending the game 1-0, for CUA's second loss of the season.
The Blue Jays looked strong in game two scoring one run in the top of the second and fifth for a 2-0 lead, but the Cardinals escaped the conference sweep with three-run fifth inning to go ahead 3-2.
Gately lead off the inning with a double to left field and while stealing third the E-town catcher overthrew the third baseman allowing Gately to score. Andrew Stewart then sent a single to left field and Mike McFarland reach first after a sacrifice bunt and fielding error, and Thien-Quoc Tran came in to pinch run. Dan Hinchliff stepped into the batter's box next and was walked to load the bases.
With the bases loaded, no outs and the score 2-1 in favor of the Blue Jays, Padula sent a grounder to the pitcher who chose to get Stewart out at home and the bases remained loaded. Wyatt Schmidt sent a line drive down the left field line to score Tran and Hinchcliff to go ahead 3-2 before the Blue Jays got the last two outs of the inning.
Kyle Hassen made the start on the mound for the Cards, pitching four innings with two strikeouts. Karan Sinha came in to relieve Hassen, pitching one inning and earning the win while Joseph Salzano pitched the final two innings with three strikeouts for the save.
Catholic will head to Washington College for a mid-week match-up on Tuesday, March 24 at 3:30 p.m.


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Newman Volume One
$20 Reward Tier and up - Added:- A FREE Newman Bookmark and CRD Sticker to anybody who backs the $20 level or higher!
$55 Reward Tier and Up
- Added:
- Previously you had to choose between a drawing of Newman OR Gwen. No longer! You will now receive TWO sketch cards! One of Newman and one of Gwen!
$200 Reward Tier
- Added: - REDUCED PRICE!
- Not only will you appear in a future episode of Newman online, and receive an illustration of yourself as a fantasy character, your name will now be listed in the back of the book, on a special thank you page to backers!
$500 Reward Tier
- The $500 Reward tier will receive EVERYTHING from the $200 Reward tier as well!
The Story!
Newman, a field agent for the Creature Removal Department, is struggling to get over a bad break up, and his new partner, Gwen, isn't making it any easier. Could it turn out that the girl making his life miserable is the best thing that ever happened to him?
Romance, monster slaying, apocalypse cults, and one poorly timed Dracula attack; all this and more fill Newman Volume One!
What People are Saying!
"Newman is ultimately light-hearted, though, and what makes it work is that, through it all, Gwen and Newman's relationship is an extremely functional one..... Ulrich is so wonderfully playful with his world and his characters that we're almost convinced that dating a Drow would be utterly delightful." - Lauren Davis - io9 Read the Full Review!
About the Project
The goal of this kickstarter is to produce a high quality print run of Newman Volume One. The book is over one hundred and fifty pages in full color. (For those who backed the digital kickstarter last year, all of season two has been completely re-colored!)
If you are a fan of Newman, or if you just think it looks like fun, I would ask that you please consider contributing to this kickstarter! I appreciate every dollar donated and I'm looking forward to sharing this book with you!
Never heard of Newman? You can read it online for free @ Webtoons.com! The only place to find it online!
Take a look at some of the other rewards available for this Kickstarter!
Risks and challenges
This is my third Kickstarter and I feel great about the fulfillment side of this one! All the work on the book is done, so the only thing left is a bit of editing, and then compiling the pages for print. I intend to send the book to print as soon as the money clears my account.
There are always unexpected set backs that can occur: health issues/sickness, 3rd party delays, etc., but I feel good about what is in my control!Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
Funding period
- (30 days)