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Megan Marshall: Pulitzer Prize Winning Author & Professor of Writing/Literature, Emerson College/
My NativeAdVantage:
Megan Marshall's third biographical work, Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast, was published in February 2017. A student of Elizabeth Bishop in her last Advanced Verse Writing class at Harvard, Marshall has written an innovative book in which biography alternates with memoir. She is the author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Biography and Memoir and the 2014 Massachusetts Book Award in Nonfiction, and two other nonfiction books. A member of the American Heritage Dictionary's Usage Panel, Marshall has published numerous essays and reviews in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Slate Online, The New York Times Book Review, The London Review of Books, The New Republic, The Boston Review, and elsewhere. Her biography The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism (Houghton Mifflin, 2005; Mariner Books, 2006) won the Francis Parkman Prize, awarded by the Society of American Historians; the Mark Lynton History Prize, awarded by the Anthony Lukas Prize Project jointly sponsored by the Columbia School of Journalism and Harvard's Nieman Foundation; the Massachusetts Book Award in nonfiction; and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography and Memoir in 2006. She is the recipient of the first Outstanding Teacher Award presented by Emerson's Graduate Student Association in 2012.
What do you do best?
Mine texts for the telling phrase, the potent image, the apt quotation—just what I learned to do in lit classes in high school and college, and then as a journalist doing interviews. My biographies sing with the words of my subjects, carefully chosen and worked into a narrative.
What makes you the best?
I'm both patient and restless. I'm patient enough to spend twenty years writing a biography (and then seven for the next one, three for the latest), but I can't just lay out the facts or do the expected. My first book wove three life stories together, and dared to stop at the halfway point—asserting that "the rise of" plot, normally employed only with presidents or eminently famous men, could be used in writing about lesser known women. My second biography took the novel as its narrative model, while sticking absolutely to the facts. My third alternated biography and memoir as I told the life story of a poet who had also been my professor. I can't let well enough alone.
What are your aspirations?
Writing and teaching are my chosen occupations, and I hope to continue to do both with close attention and in a spirit of generosity. I will push the limits of biographical convention again in some way—whether in choice of subject or form, I don't know yet. And . . . I'd like to brush up my French, learn new pieces on the piano, take a vacation that has no underlying research agenda (though those trips have been the best!).
Biggest Success?
I spent twenty years researching and writing my first biography, The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism. The year after it was published, my 25-year marriage was falling apart, and the favorable reviews of the book, which had scarcely penetrated my consciousness at that difficult time, were in the past. What I'd do next, I couldn't imagine. Then startling good news began to arrive: the book had won the Frances Parkman Prize for the best-written book of American history (I was the 4th woman to win in 50 years), the Mark Lynton History Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award, a finalist for the Pulitzer. Later life success is the best kind—you know you've worked hard and persistently for it (and so must deserve it), and the luster is bound to last long enough to warm you in old age.
Most Challenging Moment?
One day, halfway through first grade, I arrived at school and was told to go to the second grade classroom. I was reading better than anyone in my class, and they decided to move me up a grade. But I wasn't prepared in any other subject, and I spent years struggling to keep up. The feeling never left me, though quite often now I choose the challenge and enjoy the chase.
Every problem has a solution.
Favorite People/Role Models?
The women I've written about—Margaret Fuller as a pioneering feminist intellectual, Elizabeth Bishop as a genius with words and survivor by force of will. The Peabody sisters—Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia—whose shining lives inspired me to become a biographer.
Favorite Places/Destinations?
I love mountain lakes—a little hotel in Varenna on Lake Como, a small family cabin on Echo Lake in the Sierras.
Favorite Products/Objects?
Elizabeth Bishop's rhyming dictionary, one of two she worked with—signed!
Current Passions?
Opera—not old, but new. John Adams's Nixon in China, Kaija Saariaho's L'Amour de Loin, Scott Wheeler's Naga—fantastic immersive performances in Los Angeles, New York, and Boston during the past twelve months. I'm learning, I love it.


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Rey on Why Family
Rey Talks About Konnan
Interview: Jason & Konnan
Own a piece of aro lucha
Aro Lucha is using new equity crowdfunding laws to revolutionize the professional wrestling and lucha libre industry by becoming the WORLD'S FIRST FAN OWNDED LUCHA LIBRE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY. For the first time in history, you the FAN have a VOICE that MATTERS. No longer does your comment live on the internet only to be read by other fans, now your comments matter and shape the direction and future decisions of Aro Lucha. Join the Aro Lucha Founders, Konnan, and Rey Mysterio, along with other passionate investors and owners to revolutionize the industry that you LOVE! ARO LUCHA, We invite you to be a part NOW, don't wait and don't miss out.
Get In On The Action
When you become an Arolucha, Inc shareholder, you get access to exclusive events and owner benefits. From voicing your opinions on creative to watching behind the scenes footage and live streams, we're giving you never before seen access to professional Lucha Libre!
Join the Revolution
Are you tired of simply making your comments on social media and critiquing what other wrestling promotions are booking? Well now's your chance to have a voice, join thousands of other fans who have experienced Aro Lucha and become a part of the community. We are family, and family sticks together, to change the industry as we know it.
Invest Now
Our goal is to give the FANS an opportunity that has never been experienced in Professional Wrestling. Our goal is to build a community of passionate fans, listen to them, and then give them what THEY WANT! What a concept! And now you can be a part of that dream, by becoming an Aro Luchador. Sign up for Free or Make an Investment, either way just join the family.
Photo * Aro Lucha's Own Beautiful Dee Dee Speaks to a Packed House on December 10th, 2017 at the Aro Lucha Sold Out Pilot Episode.
This isn't traditional crowd funding. You're not donating to a cause or a special project. If you INVEST, you're buying actual stock in the company and you become an OWNER. If we're successful, you can possibly make money too.
Aro Lucha creates exciting and original content in the professional wrestling arena, specifically in Lucha Libre. It is our goal to create a television program for Aro Lucha, with the first season starring Rey Mysterio. We also have other revenue streams such as live event ticket sales, merchandise, licensing, ad sales and integrations. We also hope to move into other areas such as movies, comic books, and ancillary programming such as reality tv and documentaries, the opportunities are endless.
It is our goal to partner with great athletes, celebrities, and strategic partners to make those projects more viably successful. We hope that partnerships like Konnan's, Rey Mysterio's, and with Legion M Founders Jeff Annison and Paul Scanlon continue and will give us a competitive advantage in the marketplace. But our secret weapon and biggest competitive advantage is YOU, THE FANS! With a Legion of FANS behind and beside Aro Lucha, we can all hopefully be successful together!
With any investment, there's risk involved and it is impossible to see the future. With that being said, if you can't afford to lose 100% of your investment, we're asking you to not make the investment or make a smaller investment. We want to be responsible and we want you to be responsible. But if you can bear the risk, and you're excited about the project then please join us!
We hope to achieve profitability in the future and create a 10X – 100X return for our investor, that's our dream and what we are swinging for. We're burning the boats and we're going to do everything that we can to make that happen! If you look at some "other" publically traded companies in the wrestling space, they have achieved revenues of over $700 Million in some previous years, we think there is enough room for everyone and we hope to achieve the same thing at some point in time in the future. While no one can guarantee success, and we may not achieve that, we're doing to do all we can and everything in our power to make this successful for everyone involved.

subset: commoncrawl


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I fall in love with Block of the Months and then sometimes they become Block of the Years and Years and Years. In fact, I have a few that I am going to offer for sale very soon as someone needs to make them into beautiful quilts.
This year I fell for Mystical Prism by Wing and a Prayer Design. Beautiful blues, aquas and purples. And I promised myself I would stay caught up with this one as a part of my sew every morning plan. And I have!!! Block Three came last week and it is all sewn up (all four of them). Instead of being a different block every month this program has us doing multiple identical blocks. So I have sewn two of Block One, two of Block Two, and four of Block Three.
In addition to being caught up I am striving for precise and accurate cutting and stitching. So far I'm pretty darn proud of my results.
And unbeknownst to each other, my college roomie and good friend Alice Lynn also is doing this one! Her start date was behind mine so I am staying a block ahead and can give her any tips.
I am getting my block kits through Wish Upon a Quilt. I met the owner, Cathy Phillips when I was in Montana three years ago for a Judy Neimeyer retreat. I have not yet been able to visit the shop in Raleigh but I order online. And the great thing is with every order I get a coupon for the next time I order. Check it out!!!


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Serving Lycoming & surrounding counties in Northcentral PA
Kriger Fence Company Inc. has been a family owned company for over 60 years. We do residential, commercial, & industrial fence installation as well as DogWatch Hidden Fence Systems. We offer free estimates at your home, business, or showroom. Many of our products can also be purchased for self-installation.


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Fred Meyer has a two for one egg coupon in this weeks ad. That makes 36 eggs $2.29 or $.06/egg. The date on the cartons currently on sale is April 21. ( Easter is on the 12th.) If they are sold out when you get there, ask for a rain check at any check stand. Then you can get nice fresh eggs at a good price the week before Easter!
Also orange juice on coupon is $1/half gallon. And grapes and tangelos are $.98/lb.
* Thanks Kristin
* Thanks Kristin


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Belgian watch brand Ice-Watch just launched the first TinTin® collection. Great news that could have come straight from Le Petit Vingtième – the newspaper of the famous reporter.
Sober, playful, sporty, classic, urban… for 7 to 77-year-old. The watch collection produced by Ice-Watch consists of 4 models, 3 universes and a total of 24 pieces that take everyone back to the era of this legendary hero and his merry friends.
TinTin in the land of the Soviets (1930)
Three themes lead you through the collection: the first quest of TinTin in the land of the Soviets (1930), The adventure on the moon (1953) and a cheerful nod to the star figures. The sizes range from XS to L (28 to 44 mm), and the color palette and details speak to every generation. Fervent TinTin lovers, nostalgic adults, comic strip fans, children who eagerly want to discover this new friend or fashionistas are looking for a new trendy accessory …
The adventure on the moon (1953)
The star figures featuring in the TinTin comics.


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Address Book
Email Preferences
The fun part about this design is creating the free-form center. Fill in the beads as you see fit
You can make anything your heart desires with Artbeads Designer Wire! Cynthia made a sweet heart shape then added beads by wire-wrapping them onto the heart frame. Dakota Stones gemstones and Swarovski beads from an Artbeads Designer Blend come together beautifully. She even finished the necklace with Artbeads Designer Wire by creating an S-hook clasp with a touch of blue to match the color palette of the beads. Learn how to make this necklace in our Artbeads Shaped Designer Wire Artbeads Cafe episode, or follow our step-by-step instructions.


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Many candidates struggle with what role their spouse and children should play on the campaign. The answer is very simple: a flattering one. If they are not going to help or make you look good, don't use them on the campaign.
Role of a spouse
After yourself, your significant other is the next best person to speak about how great you are. There will be times when you send them to speak on your behalf, but mostly their role is as a prop. It's important to discuss with them how active they are willing to be on the campaign. Just as an articulate spouse can help your cause, an unwilling one being forced to speak can make you look really bad. Your significant other needs to know that they're being a part-actor, not themselves. The image they portray is very important. At the same time they are not political strategists and often have no idea about politics. However, this is the individual who the candidate is most likely to listen to, so a clear mechanism has to be set up so they are not changing plans outside of meetings. Your spouse should be allowed to sit in on a weekly strategy meeting and contribute, but they cannot be going behind the campaign's back to override or change things they don't like. A campaign WILL fall apart if the core team has a long meeting, makes an important decision only to find out te next day the candidate's spouse has scrapped the whole plan.
Role of children
Ideally, your children are props to show what wonderful person and parent you are. At key events you can bring them out in front of the crowd, use them in pictures and ads, etc. But also know when to leave the kids at home or get a babysitter. From 12-18 they usually stop being adorable and don't follow directions very well. A well-spoken, well-behaved, neatly dressed kid can make you look good, but one outburst or inappropriate action can destroy a whole night's efforts. Make sure if you are using your kids as a prop that you explain to them the game that you are playing and what their job is. Some candidates don't want to expose their children to the ugliness of a campaign, and you can keep your kids sheltered from the day to day campaign, but you also will presumably want to spend time with them. As a candidate your schedule can be very hectic leaving you with minimal time for your family. A way around this is by holding family-friendly fundraising events like ice cream socials. These can be a great way to show your kids what you're doing without using them as props. If you don't want to expose your kids by mentioning their names in the official bio, make sure you don't mention your pets by name either.


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The North American Mission Board has identified North Atlanta/Buckhead as an area of great gospel need. Johnson Ferry Baptist Church of Marietta has taken on the responsibility of helping to plant a new church in this area and we would love for you to be a part of this new work.
We believe that the gospel changes everything and so, in everything we do, we want the gospel to be central. We want to be a church of gospel clarity in a world of competing worldviews. We also want to train our people to be gospel fluent, equipped to take the power of the gospel with them wherever they go.
The power of the gospel not only calls us out of sin and darkness into light and life, it also calls us into a community, a never ending community of joy, love, and peace. Therefore, we want our church to understand our commitment to one another as a Kingdom family. We also want our church to understand our role in the broader culture as Kingdom Ambassadors.
The power of the gospel doesn't just transform our lives, it doesn't just call us to be a part of an eternal Kingdom family, but it also sends us out on mission. Therefore, we want our church to be ever faithful to the Great Commandment wherein the church is commanded to love God and to love our neighbor, as well as take up our calling of the Great Commission, making disciples in our neighborhood, in our city, in our nation, and throughout the world.


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Bay area needs Ike Dike now
The article "Ike Dike support shores up" (Page A1, Oct. 1) gave a good presentation of the Ike Dike concept, considering the constraints of available space in a major metropolitan daily newspaper. It's important, however, that the citizens of the Gulf Coast region are given as much information as possible so that they can make an informed decision about the need for immediate action to be taken.
Approximately every 15 years, a major storm hits the Gulf Coast. It's been four years since Hurricane Ike struck in September 2008. Our odds of another Ike or worse are increasing dramatically while we remain mired in discussions over what to do to protect ourselves and our assets.
The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership has been actively involved in seeking a storm surge protection solution since 2008. We have given more than 40 Ike Dike presentations to local audiences on the need for storm surge protection. These presentations counter the Rice University Severe Storm Protection, Education and Evacuation Center's barrier design, which plans for a levee directly along State Highway 146, inundating everything and everyone east of the highway in future surges. The Ike Dike is designed to protect the entire region and is not selective in determining who and what will survive a worst-case scenario storm.
Additionally, we have worked to establish the six-county Gulf Coast Protection and Recovery District. We also participated in the Dutch Delta Works contingency planning and participated in the New Orleans surge barrier tour with Texas officials, including the Texas General Land Office, a key financial partner in any local solution.
Through our involvement in advocating for the Ike Dike concept over the past four years, we've learned a lot about the Gulf Coast region, including the topography of its land and its economic landscape. When it comes to storm surge protection, the two are inseparable.
Consider this: Hurricane Ike caused in excess of $30 billion in damages. More than 5 million people live in the region. This is expected to increase by 2 million by 2050. The Port of Houston alone contributes $117 billion in annual economic activity. Galveston Bay is home to a vast petrochemical complex producing more than 26 percent of the nation's gasoline, 40 percent of its feed stocks and 46 percent of its jet aviation fuel. Protecting our citizens is always the highest priority, but safeguarding our industrial sector from the devastating effects of future storms is a matter of national security. It must be protected.
Some would argue that we cannot afford to build the Ike Dike. Reason dictates that we cannot afford not to build it. Greater New Orleans is now protected by a 133-mile perimeter of levees, flood walls and gated barriers. The total cost of Greater New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Risk Reduction System so far is $14.5 billion dollars. The system was started in 2008 and achieved 100-year surge event protection in June 2011. A coastal spine with gates, like the Ike Dike, will shorten the time needed to build protection in Texas, as well.
The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership fully supports moving forward with a storm surge protection system like the Ike Dike. As the Oct. 1 Chronicle article stated, the Gulf produces bigger threats than the North Sea. We can wait until the next big storm devastates the Gulf Coast and its people, wishing we had done something sooner, or we can follow the lead of the Dutch and of New Orleans and find a way to build the Ike Dike now.
Mitchell is president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.


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Feeling like you need an energy boost after the holidays? With the bulk of winter still to come it is important to keep a sense of flow, movement, and balance. Tai Chi originated in ancient China as a martial art, but is also practiced as a form of moving meditation. Chi is the Chinese word for life force (similar to the yogic term prana), and the practice of tai chi helps aid in the flow of that vital life force. Come learn about the health benefits of a tai chi practice and join Thomas Mooneagle for a short talk and demonstration of Tai Chi.
Members Free/Non-members $5
Registration is required at the Customer Service desk or by calling 502-896-0189


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In this workshop you will be taken into a self pleasure journey that does not just focus on your genitals. We will explore sensual movement, tune into your natural flow and how the power of your voice impacts your experience.
In this workshop you can participate at whatever level you are comfortable. All is welcome. This is a clothing-optional workshop.


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To make a 50:1 ratio mixture of gasoline and motor oil, add 30.72 ounces of motor oil to 12 gallons of gasoline. This concentration is often used in small power tools, such as weed wackers and snowblowers.
In order to calculate the amount of motor oil to add to the gasoline, it is helpful to know that 1 gallon of any liquid contains 128 fluid ounces. 12 gallons therefore contains 1,536 fluid ounces. A 50:1 ratio is found by dividing 1,536 by 50. The result is 30.72 ounces, or rounded up to the nearest integer, 31 fluid ounces of motor oil.


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Lozaerner Chuegelipaschtete
A specialty Lucerne, these are usually made with dumplings of ground veal or chicken, but the version here uses boneless chicken quickly poached to retain all its tenderness.
Below, Chef Sascha Boettger of the Taube in Lucerne.
Makes about 8 servings
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat, rinsed, and dried
1 quart chicken stock
2 cups white cooking wine
2 large carrots, tipped and peeled
1 large leek, halved and rinsed
1 celery heart with leaves
1 yellow onion, root trimmed and halved
Bouquet: 3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, 3 small branches fresh thyme, 2 bay leaves
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds white mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
1 pound frozen baby peas
6 tablespoons/3/4 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup half and half or light cream
8 puff pastry croustades, see next page
Chopped parsley for serving
- Combine the chicken, stock, vegetables, and bouquet in a large soup pot or Dutch oven and add water to cover if necessary. Bring to a simmer, skimming often, then season with a teaspoon of salt. Cook the chicken at a steady simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the meat from the liquid, cool slightly and cut into thin slices. Place it in a bowl just large enough to hold it, strain a ladleful of the broth over it, cover, and set aside. Let the broth reduce for an hour, then strain it and discard the vegetables and bouquet.
- Combine the mushrooms, peas, and 2 cups of the broth in a saucepan with a cover. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
- For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Whisk in 4 cups of the reduced broth, adding the broth in which the mushrooms and peas were cooked if necessary. Bring to a simmer and let the sauce simmer gently, stirring often, until it is reduced and thickened. Taste and correct seasoning.
- When you're ready to serve the croustades, reheat the sauce over low heat and add the cream. Drain the meat and the mushrooms and peas and add to the sauce.
- Heat gently and pour a ladleful of the chicken and sauce into each croustade. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Puff Pastry Croustades
A delicious case for any creamy or sauced mixture, these croustades are as easy to prepare as they are lovely to behold.
Makes 12 croustades
2 sheets puff pastry, about 12 x 18 inches
Egg wash: 1 egg well whisked with a pinch of salt
- Lightly flour the work surface and place one sheet of the dough on it. Use a pastry wheel to cut it into six 6-inch squares.
- Fold each square in half to form a triangle, then cut an inch in from the sides, over the fold, and almost to the tip.
- Place the triangles on a paper-lined baking pan and unfold them.
- Pierce the center square with tines of a fork and brush sparingly with egg wash.
- Fold each outside corner to its opposite inside corner. Press on the border with a fingertip, then pierce the border with the point of a paring knife.
- Repeat with the second piece of dough.
- Chill for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the croustades until deep golden and baked through, about 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack and reheat before serving.


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Michelle Noordhof
is the President, and Co-Founder of Medical, Education, Training and Development, Inc. (METAD) METAD provides Sustainable health solutions and community-driven development initiatives in underserved areas of the world.
In her 30+ year career, Michelle has been an advocate for the poor, marginalized, homeless, farmworker and migrant populations. She combines non-profit leadership, program development skills, collaborative fund development strategies, research and experience-based knowledge with a passion for successful service with the most economically vulnerable. Michelle has partnered with communities and non-profit organizations to facilitate comprehensive community-driven development initiatives both nationally and internationally.
Michelle has provided non-profit capacity building, training and technical assistance for United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development; United States Department of Labor; Michigan State Department of Housing Development; and United States Health and Human Services, Compassion Capital Fund.
Michelle has served in a number of state, local and national organizations including Appointments to: Special Consultative Status Seat, Economic and Social Council of the United Nations; State of Michigan, Governor's Interagency Migrant Services Committee; Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Advisory Council; USDA Rural Development, Michigan Farm Labor Housing Subcommittee; U.S. Department of Labor Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives; Michigan State University's Community and Economic Development Institute; a Faith-Based Institutions' Community Development Programs, and the Bishop's Justice for Immigrants Campaign.
Michelle is a Lay Scalabrinian, (a Catholic missionary congregation dedicated to the needs of migrants and refugees in 33 countries). She has an AdvGradDip and GradDip in Pastoral Care and Human Mobility (migration studies) from SIMI, Pontifical Urbanian University, Rome, Fellowship in Housing and Community Development, University of Maryland School of Public Policy at College Park, has studied at Oxford University, Refugee Studies Center and is certified in SPHERE: Humanitarian charter and minimum standards in disaster response.


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So I'm doing my regular rounds at Al's blog Is Anybody There? (H/T) and he has this post on Fr. Paul Marx, OSB (1920-2010), the recently deceased founder of Human Life International (HLI). On August 20, 2007, Fr. Marx wrote the following in a letter to Fr. Tom Euteneuer, the (now) president of HLI:
...and thank God you printed that "The Millstone Award" item. Sister Joan Chittister is a wicked woman, to say nothing of a wicked nun. Whoever wrote that article about Sister Chittister did a marvelous job; it is a great commentary on this wild nun who has been doing her dirty work for quite some time.Holy kerschmackenals! There was my stamp of confirmation. You're not going to get a more reliable source than that.
When is this guy going to be made a saint? Do it soon. Please. That line ranks up there with a recently discovered (now) all-time favourite of mine by Fr. Stanley Jaki, OSB (1924-2009).
It goes like this: "Nothing gives me greater joy than to skewer heretics with the truth".
Come to think of it, when is this recently deceased priest going to be made a saint? Forget protocol.
These Benedictine's are the best. And, hey... we now have a pope named Benedict. Neato!
We must pray for Sr. Joan, of course. But it certainly does not mean that Mr. Scampers cannot lampoon her once in a while. Right Scampers?


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Map of the local innovation industry.
Meet some of the best and newest startups based in Vancouver.
Zillow for Canada
Over 82% of all home buyers begin their search online and at the same time there is no major real estate websites in Metro Vancouver. Two years ago we decided to create #1 real estate search engine and offer FULL Professional real estate services to visitors. We ...


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Interstate 664
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Interstate 664 (I-664) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The Interstate runs 20.79 miles (33.46 km) from I-64 and I-264 in Chesapeake north to I-64 in Hampton. I-664 forms the west side of the Hampton Roads Beltway, a circumferential highway serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Interstate crosses Hampton Roads via the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel between Suffolk and Newport News. I-664 is connected to the other major cities of the metropolitan area—Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach—by I-264. The Interstate also has a connection to Portsmouth through Virginia State Route 164 (SR 164) and to Suffolk via U.S. Route 13, US 58, and US 460.
|Hampton Roads Beltway
I-664 highlighted in red
|Route information
|Auxiliary route of I-64
|Maintained by VDOT
|20.79 mi[1] (33.46 km)
|Major junctions
|South end
|I-64 / I-264 in Chesapeake
| US 13 / US 58 / US 460 / SR 191 in Chesapeake
SR 337 in Chesapeake
|North end
|I-64 in Hampton
|City of Chesapeake, City of Suffolk, City of Newport News, City of Hampton
|Highway system
Route descriptionEdit
I-664 begins at a full Y interchange with I-64 and I-264 that serves as the terminus of all three Interstates in the Bowers Hill section of the city of Chesapeake. I-64 heads southeast as a continuation of the Hampton Roads Beltway through Chesapeake while I-264 heads east toward Portsmouth and Norfolk. I-664 heads west as an eight-lane freeway that has a southbound-only exit ramp to US 13 and US 460 (Military Highway) and crosses over Military Highway and a Norfolk Southern Railway rail line. The Interstate has a cloverleaf interchange with Military Highway, which here carries US 58 in addition to US 13 and US 460. The interchange also provides access to US 460 Alternate, which follows US 58 east into Portsmouth. I-664 curves north as a four-lane freeway that crosses Goose Creek and has a diamond interchange with SR 663 (Dock Landing Road) and a cloverleaf interchange with SR 337 (Portsmouth Boulevard).[1][2]
Just south of its partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 659 (Pughsville Road), I-664 crosses a rail line; a spur from that rail line heads north in the median of the freeway as the highway enters the city of Suffolk. The rail spur leaves the median and heads northeast toward Portsmouth just south of its interchange with SR 164 (Western Freeway) and US 17 (Bridge Road). SR 164 heads east toward downtown Portsmouth while US 17 heads northwest to the James River Bridge. There is no access from southbound I-664 to southbound US 17; that movement is made via the next interchange, a cloverleaf interchange with SR 135 (College Drive) that serves the satellite campus of Old Dominion University and the community of Churchland.[1][2]
North of SR 135, northbound I-664 has a vehicle inspection station and crossovers before the highway enters the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. The bridge-tunnel passes to the west of Craney Island, an artificial island in the city of Portsmouth that lies to the west of the mouth of the Elizabeth River. West of the highway is the confluence of the James River and Nansemond River to form Hampton Roads, as well as the James River Bridge a short distance to the north on the namesake river. I-664 heads north-northeast along a causeway for 3 miles (4.8 km) to a point west of the Newport News Middle Ground Light, where the pair of bridges curve to the north-northwest onto an artificial island where the highway descends into a pair of tunnels under the estuary's main shipping channel. The Interstate resurfaces on another artificial island at Newport News Point east of the coal piers in the city of Newport News.[1][2]
I-664 has a southbound vehicle inspection station adjacent to its first interchange in Newport News, with Terminal Avenue. The Interstate parallels the southern end of CSX's Peninsula Subdivision as it passes through interchanges with several streets to the east of downtown Newport News. The southern interchange has ramps to and from 25th, 26th, and 27th streets; the first two streets carry eastbound and westbound US 60, which is unmarked from I-664. The northern interchange has ramps to and from 35th Street and Jefferson Avenue; Jefferson Avenue is SR 143, which is also unmarked from the Interstate. I-664 curves east as a six-lane freeway away from the railroad and has an oblique crossing of SR 351 (39th Street) prior to half-diamond interchanges with Roanoke Avenue and Chestnut Avenue. The Interstate enters the city of Hampton and has diamond interchanges with Aberdeen Road and Powhatan Parkway before reaching its northern terminus at I-64. I-664 meets its parent highway at a directional T interchange above Newmarket Creek just south of Hampton Coliseum. The Hampton Roads Beltway continues east along I-64 through Hampton before crossing Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel into the city of Norfolk.[1][2]
I-664 was completed in sections, beginning in 1971 with the construction of the 'Tunnel Road' section, which led from Aberdeen Road to Interstate 64. The road was built to lead northbound traffic from I-64 and Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel to downtown Newport News.
The interchange at I-64, was rebuilt as a partial stack interchange in 1980.
I-664 was completed in sections by 1989, between Aberdeen Road and the 26th/27th street exit ramps in Downtown Newport News.
I-664 was completed in Suffolk and Chesapeake in 1990, between US 17 and Pughsville Road.
With the opening of the Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel on April 30, 1992, I-664 was almost complete.
I-664 between Pughsville Road and the Bowers Hill interchange was completed in 1993, thus completing I-664 as a whole.[3]
Exit listEdit
|City of Chesapeake
|I-64 (Hampton Roads Beltway outer loop) / I-264 east – Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach
|signed as left exit 15A (I-264) & 15B (I-64); eastern terminus of I-64; I-64 exit 299B
|US 13 north / US 460 east (Military Highway)
|Southbound exit only
US 13 / US 460 / US 58 (Military Highway) / SR 191 north to US 460 Alt. – Bowers Hill, Suffolk
|signed as exits 13A (south/west) and 13B (north/east)
|SR 663 (Dock Landing Road)
|SR 337 (Portsmouth Boulevard) – Portsmouth
|signed as exits 11A (west) and 11B (east)
|SR 659 (Pughsville Road)
|City of Suffolk
|SR 164 east / US 17 – Portsmouth, James River Bridge
|signed as exits 9A (north) and 9B (east/south) northbound; no direct access from I-664 south to US 17 south
|SR 135 (College Drive) to US 17 south – Churchland
|signed as exits 8A (north) and 8B (south)
|Hampton Roads
|Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
|City of Newport News
|Terminal Avenue
|US 60 (25th Street / 26th Street) / 27th Street
|US 60 / 35th Street
|Jefferson Avenue (SR 143)
|northbound exit and southbound entrance
|Chestnut Avenue / Roanoke Avenue
|City of Hampton
|Aberdeen Road
|Power Plant Parkway / Powhatan Parkway
|I-64 (Hampton Roads Beltway inner loop) – Williamsburg, Richmond, Downtown Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, NN/Williamsburg Airport
|Northern terminus of I-664; I-64 exit 264; signed as left exit 1A (west) & 1B (east)
|1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
- ^ a b c d e f "2009 Traffic Data". Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-12. of Chesapeake] (PDF)
- ^ a b c d Google (2011-09-12). "Interstate 664" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ "Interstate 664". Retrieved 2015-02-27.
External linksEdit
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 664.
Route map:
|KML file (edit • help)


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Get your Financial House in Order with A Set Up for Financial Success hosted by yours truly. You can expect a fun- filled and exciting evening with none other than Understanding Finances CEO Robin Haynes. Robin is a ball of energy all while telling you the real deal about finances. GRAB YOUR SEAT HERE
One Gathering not to miss!
When: Fri. March 18th 2016
Time: 7:30 PM
Where: ONLINE
· Our Gatherings are strictly for women over the age of 25
Wanna join? Find out here
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· the conversation will be nonstop
· RSVP is a must so please be sure your name is on the list
· *** A Grand Time, Will be Had for Sure***
If you never attended a BOND Gathering, it's an absolute must. There is never a dull moment when you're in the company of a BOND Sister. We hope to see you there.


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Join Sweets So Geek and your North Anthony Corridor friends for a free, outdoor showing of this classic 1980s movie about what happens when a boy breaks the rules about his new pet.
Bring a chair or blanket, and sit back and enjoy the show!
The event will take place in the parking lot in front of Sweets So Geek, and the movie will begin 15-30 minutes after sundown.


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|HCC Site ID.
|House LB II
|c3.8 ha
|No Public Access
Location and Site
The village of Ropley lies on the western slopes of a ridge running approximately south to north and forming a watershed separating the basins of the Wey and the Meon rivers from those of the Arle and Itchen. Composed of good farm- and pastureland with a deep chalk layer covered with a skin of good brown soil, the area is also suitable for horticulture, and the village has been noted for its fine flowers. As a result, beekeeping once flourished here, with the honey being used for the production of mead. It is said that William the Conqueror obtained his honey from Ropley (Ropley 2000 – online). The coming of the Hampshire Hunt in 1745 and the railway in 1861 made Ropley a desirable place of residence.
Ropley Manor is set back from the road in extensive grounds almost opposite Ropley House. It occupies a rectangular plot between Petersfield Road to the south, Vicarage Lane to the north, and Maddocks Hill to the east An elegant building in a wooded setting, it is surrounded by open paddocks, close to the heart of the village.
Historical Development
Ropley Manor started life as Ropley Cottage in the early 1800s, with rear extensions added in the mid and late nineteenth century (EH online 2013). By the 1820s the Rodney family were living there (19cBLN online 2013) and the 1836 Tithe map and 1840 apportionment shows and lists Ropley Cottage, offices, pleasure grounds and gardens covering just over 3 acres (1.21 ha.), owned by The Hon. Rodney and Rev. Henry, and occupied by William Henry Heysham (HRO 21M65/F7/198/1 + 2). On the 1873 OS 1st ed. 25″ map, Ropley Cottage occupies a rectangular plot bounded by Vicarage Lane to the north, Petersfield Road to the south, and Hammonds Lane to the east, and edged with conifers to the north and south. The main entrance is in Petersfield Road, from where a drive leads to a turning circle in front of the house, attached to the back of which is a conservatory. There are a number of substantial outbuildings to the north of the house, and a large kitchen garden and orchard, possibly partly walled, to the north-west. A path leads from Vicarage Lane to the front of the house, and specimen trees dot the grounds. By 1897 three, possibly more, glasshouses can be seen around the sides of the walled garden (OS 2nd ed. 25″). A 1903 For Sale notice describes the property as a "commodious creeper-clad old-fashioned Residence" with a conservatory, stabling for twelve horses, farmery, cottage, and well laid-out pleasure grounds of about 23 acres (Times online), and by 1908 it was the property of Major Charles Patrick Holroyd who renamed the house Ropley Manor and carried out a programme of restoration and modernisation (Mason 1989,90). The OS map of 1910-11 shows the recently-renamed Ropley Manor; the entrance to the drive has now been moved to the corner between Petersfield Road and Hammonds Lane and there are additional tree plantings to the right of the drive, and along the southern boundary.
When the house was again put up for sale in 1920, it was described as "the exceedingly choice freehold residential property distinguished as "Ropley Manor"…approached by a carriage drive…the Gardens and Grounds are very beautiful, possessing some fine old timber and expansive lawns. Stabling, Garage, Farmery, and four Cottages. Also a Bijou Cottage Residence in the Grounds. The Property covers an area of about 34 acres." (Times online 1920).
It was bought by Mr. Munro Spencer whose wife was co-founder of Ropley's Women's Institute in 1922 (Mason 1989, 90). An entry in P. Campion's A Recent History of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset describes Ropley Manor as "A compact little estate…consisting of 25 acres…It is a well-planned and equipped residence…surrounded by very delightful gardens and grounds in which there are two cottages. The elevation is 400 feet. Modernised before the War, this small Manor House is now a very charming residence, sheltered with timber of mature growth." (Campion 1922-23).
By 1927 Ropley Manor was again offered for sale, with its "old-world gardens, lawns for tennis and croquet, flower garden, fruit and kitchen garden, and pastureland with fine old trees" (HRO 159M88/1332). It was bought by Sir James Allan Horne, an active benefactor to the village who died in the blackout in London in 1944 (Mason 1989, 90), and following his death the estate was put up for sale in 1946, to be sold off in seven lots, with a special note that fire had occurred at the house some years previously and there was a temporary covering on the roof. Photos show a substantial climber-clad house surrounded by lawn with mature trees and shrubs further away from the house, and there is a small square pond surrounded by paving and low walls somewhere to the back of the house. (HRO 117M91/SP158).
In the sales particulars of 1984, garden features noted included a verandah and terrace to the rear of the house, a sweeping gravel drive leading to a turning circle beside the front door. a fish pond with waterfall, a rose garden flanked on all sides by a formal hedge, a part-walled kitchen garden, and orchard (HRO 54M84/1). The Times of the same year noted that the grounds covered about 16.5 acres (6.68 ha.) and the property, asking price around £500.000, included a stable block, swimming pool and hard tennis court (Times online 1984).
Current Description
The Mastermap 2012 shows the present-day boundaries of the grounds, which occupy a square between Vicarage Lane to the north, Petersfield Road to the south, Maddocks Hill to the east, and overlooking fields to the west. The view from the road shows the land to be probably farmed, with the remains of parkland visible. The main entrance is still at the southeast corner, through a gate with gateposts and a drive flanked by large evergreen trees and shrubs leading to the front of the white-stuccoed house and lawns. There is a second minor entrance from Vicarage Lane. Mature trees and shrubs screen the garden along the southern and eastern boundaries.
Recent satellite photographs indicate that the land within the walled area is partly laid to grass, with an outdoor swimming pool and a long strip divided into four by paths at right angles, which may be a formal or a kitchen garden. There is a tennis court to the west of the house and a number of outbuildings to the north (Millennium map 2006; Mastermap 2012; bing map online 2013; personal visit 2013).
An early 19th century listed house with a part-walled kitchen garden, mature trees and remains of parkland.
HGT Research: April 2014
Hampshire Record Office (HRO)
HRO 21M65/F7/198/1+2 – Ropley tithe map 1836 and apportionment 1840
HRO 159M88/1332 – July 1927 'for sale' newspaper cuttings
HRO 117M91/SP158 – 1946 sales particulars
Kelly's Directory 1889, 1895, 1899, 1931, 1939
HRO 54M84/1 – 1984 sales particulars
Mercer & Crocker's Hampshire Directory 1871 Leicester
Maps including electronic sources
OS maps from Hampshire County Council:
1st ed. 25" 1873
2nd ed. 25" 1897
3rd ed. 25" 1910-11
1:2000 Digital Millennium map 2006
1:2000 Mastermap 2012
http://www.bing.com/maps – accessed January 2013
Mason, Frederick, 1989, Ropley Past and Present London, Scriptmate Editions
Campion, P 1922-23, A Recent History of Hampshire Wiltshire Dorset, Poole, The Wessex Press
Other Sources
Personal correspondence with Susan Holroyd, granddaughter of Major Charles Holroyd – Nov 2013
Information from HGT researcher – Nov 2012
Electronic Sources
(EH) – English Heritage – http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1157300 – online 2013
http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol06/page268.html – accessed 2012-13
Holroyd, Michael, 1999, Basil Street Blues and Mosaic London – online version
http://books.google.co.uk/books – accessed 2013
(19c BLN) 19th Century British Library Newspapers: Morning Post 1 March 1824; 3 Feb.1864; Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle 21 Aug.1852; http://find.galegroup.com – accessed various dates 2012 and 2013
(Ropley 2000) Ropley at the Millennium http://www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk/ – accessed Sept-Nov 2012
Times online – 18 May 1903; 8 Sept.1920; 1 Sept.1927; 4 Oct.1930; 20 May 1941; 12 Sept.1947; 11 Nov.1966; 1 April 1971; 25 Jan.1980; 16 May 1984; http://find.galegroup.com – accessed various dates 2012 and 2013
(VCH) A history of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3 (1908), pp. 55-58
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41927&strquery=ropley – accessed 2013


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by Lesleann Whiteman
As a trained pre-school teacher I was taught to adopt the philosophy: young children enter early childhood programmes with their families. If there were any social issues such as poverty, or life-style related diseases impacting the family, it would also impact upon the child's holistic development. Therefore, I learned how to engage parents in tough conversations on societal issues by working in partnership with them, sometimes with the support of specific community organisations, to overcome issues such as poverty. In this article, I will share the practical strategies I used to address the societal issue of poverty or limited socio-economic resources encountered by some families and children. Hopefully, these strategies can be applied to other early childhood programmes within the Caribbean as early childhood professionals frequently work with children and families who are faced with societal issues that could sometimes impede children's holistic development.
Establish a genuine partnership with parents
The first strategy I used was to establish a genuine partnership with parents. Theoretically, the concept and value of pre-school teachers establishing genuine partnerships with families are owed to the theorists whose philosophical writings have influenced contemporary approaches to the parent-teacher partnership within early childhood programmes. Theories such as Vygotsky's (1978,1986) socio-cultural theory, Bandura's (1977) socio-behaviourist theory and Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model all emphasise the need for pre-school teachers to understand how the connecting variables within a family's social network can both positively and negatively impact on children's developmental outcomes. The tenets of these theories suggest that individuals can learn from each other via observations, imitation or modelling, which can lead towards a change in one's behaviour. In the context of parent-teacher partnerships, learning can be reciprocal as the teacher learns about families' cultural traditions, goals and objectives for their children and families learn about the different approaches used by early childhood professionals to scaffold the developmental milestones young children should achieve at specific ages.
"Learning can be reciprocal as the teacher learns about families' cultural traditions, goals and objectives for their children and families learn about the different approaches used by early childhood professionals to scaffold the developmental milestones young children should achieve at specific ages."
Whiteman, 2016
Likewise, the philosophical works of Habermas (1987), Foucalt (1982) and Butler (1990) challenge pre-school teachers to reflect and re-evaluate their assumptions within historical contexts about different forms of authority: power and inequity, social justice and injustice which contributes to the social problems encountered by some families. In other words, pre-school teachers are asked to examine societal issues of power, equity and social justice when working in partnership with parents to support them in addressing the societal issues they may encounter from time to time.
Such theoretical underpinnings have guided the family involvement philosophies of early childhood programmes which seek to develop genuine parent-teacher partnerships with emphasis on a collaborative sharing of daily and relevant information that would be used to provide appropriate learning experiences for young children. For example, Stonehouse (2012) claims that a genuine partnership between early childhood professionals is characterised by mutual respect, the sharing of power, negotiation of solutions to issues and the affirmation of the strategies used by parent and teacher to support children's holistic development. Similarly, Biddle (2012) suggests that within early childhood programmes the philosophical goals and objectives are usually based on the premise of collaborative relationships between parents and teachers, parents and parents, and children, parents and teachers, which are based on mutual trust and respect. In fact, the National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAEYC) position statement on 'Developmentally Appropriate Practice' in early childhood programmes emphasises the need for positive caring relationships among teachers, parents and children by taking into consideration everyone's well-being (Copple and Bredekamp, 2009). Therefore, taking the time to initially develop a genuine relationship with families in my care laid the foundation for me to provide parents with practical suggestions on how to address the issue of poverty.
Questions to ponder:
1. As an early childhood educator, are you willing to engage the families/parents in your care in tough conversations about the deep societal issues that impact their ability to care for their children?
2. As an educator in the primary school, are you willing to engage the parents in your class in tough conversations about the deep societal issues that impact their ability to care for their children despite the challenges you may encounter?
3. As a professional in the field of child development, what strategies have you used to engage parents of children in your care to facilitate children's holistic development?
Click here to read Part Two of this feature, where Ms. Whiteman shares strategies used with families in her care during her time as an Early Childhood educator in Trinidad and Tobago.
About the Author
Lesleann Whiteman has worked for twenty-seven years in the area of early childhood development with diverse organisations in Asia, the United Kingdom, North America and the Caribbean to ensure that Early Childhood Teacher Education Programmes use a holistic curriculum approach in training early childhood educators. Her work speaks to that of developing parent education programmes with a strengths-based approach, designing professional development programmes for early childhood educators and advocating for relevant early childhood policies for the development of early childhood care and education in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.
Click to read the full profile>>


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High and Low Self-esteem
Research has shown key differences between individuals with high and low self-esteem. For example, people with high self-esteem focus on growth and improvement, whereas people with low self-esteem focus on not making mistakes in life.
Low self-esteem has been shown to be correlated with a number of negative outcomes, such as depression (Silverstone, & Salsali, 2003).
Rosenberg, & Owen (2001) offer the following description of low self-esteem people based on empirical research. People with low self-esteem are more troubled by failure and tend to exaggerate events as being negative. For example, they often interpret non critical comments as critical. They are more likely to experience social anxiety and low levels of interpersonal confidence. This in turn makes social interaction with others difficult as they feel "awkward, shy, conspicuous, and unable to adequately express themselves when interacting with others" (p. 409). Furthermore, low self-esteem individuals tend to be pessimistic towards people and groups within society.
Research has also shown that low self-esteem has to linked to an increased risk of teenage pregnancy.
list characteristics that best describe students with low self-esteem. Over 1000 words were used and the most common are listed below:
Negative (attitude)
Socially inept
Poor self-image
Lacks elf-confidence
Poor communication
Acts out
10 Habits of Low Self-Esteem People
People with low self-esteem have certain bad habits in common. By avoiding to fall into the same habits, you can optimize your chances for keeping your self-esteem high.
1. People with low self-esteem miss opportunities that arise in their lives. Because they are afraid of failure, they don't dare to take risks. If you don't dare to take risks and step out of your comfort zone, you will also miss out on many opportunities that arise.
2. People who have low self-esteem are jealous. Because they expect others to feel about them in the same negative way as they feel about themselves, they cannot believe that anyone can truly love them. Consequently, they always expect to be dumped by their partners, and in order to avoid this from happening they keep their eyes open for signs that it is indeed about to happen. As a result they are overly suspicious whenever their partners spend time with people of the opposite sex or behave in ways that can be interpreted as that they do not love their low self-esteem partners.
3. People with low self-esteem are anxious. Low self-esteem people are worried that their colleagues and friends will one day discover who they really are. They don't dare to be themselves, and because they are pretending to be somebody they are not, they are constantly anxious that their true nature with be found out.
4. People with low self-esteem try to defend themselves. For example, many low self-esteem individuals react in a very aggressive way whenever they receive negative feedback. Because they don't feel good enough they try to lift themselves up by pressing others down. It may go as far as blaming others for mistakes that they are responsible for.
5. People who have a low self-esteem back-talk. In an (often unconscious) attempt to make themselves look better, people with low self-esteem talk negatively about others behind their back. This has negative consequences, not only for the person who was spoken about, but also for the listeners and the speaker.
6. People with low self-esteem are experts at finding faults in others. Low self-esteem people feel better when they can see faults in the people around them. Therefore, they are experts at finding negative qualities in others. By looking for and finding faults in others, their liking of these people decrease. People with low self-esteem like other people less than people with high self-esteem
7. People with a low self-esteem have unhealthy lifestyles. In order to take good care of your health, you need to believe that you are important enough to be taken care of. People with low self-esteem don't feel important and therefore don't see any point in taking care of their health.
8. People with low self-esteem listen to media with negative messages. Rather than brainwashing themselves with positive messages, people who have low self-esteem watch soap operas and films that make them feel like they are not good enough, read magazines that let them know that everyone else is better-looking and lead more exciting lives, and listen to sad love songs about loneliness.
9. People with low self-esteem are bad at saying no. When they are asked for favours that they don't actually want to do, people with a low self-esteem find it extremely difficult to day no. Rather than risking that the other person would start to dislike them, they instead take on more work than they would like to do. As a result, they often end up spending their lives working to please others rather than doing things for their own sake.
10.P eople with low self-esteem don't take enough time for themselves. Because they constantly want to please others, people with low self-esteem rarely take enough time on doing things that they enjoy doing or that increase their well-being. By doing this, they unfortunately both send themselves the message that they are not important enough, and they don't develop their self-awareness.
The signs of low self esteem - low self confidence can show itself in some or all of these situations:
feeling unconfident in social situations
being passed-over for promotion at work
not sticking at projects or studies
not trying-out new hobbies, interests or sports
creating frequent problems in close relationships
accepting an uncomfortable home-life
not looking after health
spending unwisely on unnecessary items
allowing abusive behaviour
Tips to improve low self esteem
Low self-esteem is a condition that plagues many people all over the world, and occurs when a person has a poor opinion of himself. While it is very difficult to pinpoint an exact number of how many people struggle with a low self-image, there are several signs that are associated with this problem. It is also possible that someone may be struggling with low self-esteem and is not aware of it. By making ourselves aware of some of the common low self-esteem signs, we will be able to identify a person suffering with low self-esteem which will allow us to find ways to help that person.
Low self-esteem signs range from those shown externally, and those that are battled internally. We are going to start with the external signs. It is common for a person with low self-esteem to appear loud an arrogant because he is always bragging about achievements he has accomplished or the number of things he has experienced throughout his life. Just as one person with low self-esteem can be loud and arrogant, another person with low self-esteem can be very quiet and reserved. These people will generally look for excuses to explain why they aren't able to participate in particular activities.
Another external sign of low self-esteem is someone who is always forceful and argumentative in regards to their opinions and ideas. It is easy to see this person as a "bully," but usually that tough exterior is used to hide the self-doubt that causes his low self-esteem. However, just as one person can be seen as a bully always trying to push people around, another person with low self-esteem can be seen as the complete opposite because she appears to be a "door mat," or someone who is always saying "yes." Generally, a person handling low self-esteem in this manner will also display other signs such as not making eye contact and frequently apologizing.
Above we discussed a few of the external signs of low self-esteem. Now we are going to focus on a few of the internal low self-esteem signs. People battling a low self-image entertain many negative thoughts throughout the day. Such thoughts include "I can't," "I'm not good enough because...," "I'll never be able to achieve something like that," "I'm ugly," etc... The list could go on and on. Other internal signs are when a person constantly replays a past situation and focuses on what he should have done differently. While focusing on past events, people with low self-esteem will also think about possible future events that generally end with a negative outcome.
Above are only a few of the low self-esteem signs that are common in people with a low self-image. Hopefully, the above information will help you identify friends, co-workers or family members who may be suffering from low self-esteem and help them improve their self-image. If you have identified with several of the signs listed above, please don't hesitate to talk to someone and get help.
Ravi Kumar is a Senior Executive in a Fortune 1000 company turned into an internet marketer, business coach and leadership development expert. After steadily and successfully climbing corporate ladder for 15 years, he realized that Success (which is defined mostly by external measures) alone is not nearly enough. There is another dimension called Fulfillment (which is defined by internal measures). Fulfillment mostly comes from making a difference in this world. Ravi is very passionate and truly committed to making a difference in lives of those he comes in contact with everyday.
Exchanging Low Self-Esteem for High Self-Esteem
The first step in improving your self esteem has to be within. You must be determined to improve this situation and be willing to take the steps necessary to begin improving this situation. You must also accept the fact that self-esteem is something that CAN be raised intentionally.
There is no need for low self-esteem to continue to rule your life. You can take control of your thoughts and change how you perceive yourself.
So, what are some indicators of low self-esteem? See if any of these thoughts continually run through your head.
1. "People don't like me."
2. "I can't do anything right."
3. "I'm ugly."
4. "People don't listen to me."
5. "I'm always saying stupid things"
6. "I always make the wrong decision."
7. "My life is a mess and I can't do anything about it."
Remember, these are only thoughts. In many ways, life is going to GIVE you what YOU believe you deserve. What you THINK your neighbor feels about you is immaterial. What you believe about yourself is what is important.
If you want to exchange your low self-esteem for high self-esteem, you cannot just think about doing it. You have to act, and there's no reason not to start right now. Start by believing that you CAN change all these thoughts and feelings, and that making this change will change who you are and what life has in store for you.
Start with this understanding; everyone things those thoughts at some time or another. If you think those sorts of things in the future, you are not thinking about an ultimate truth. You are simply thinking a thought that is a reaction to some moment in time. Who you are is not determined by that thought.
Here's an example. Let's say I buy a lottery ticket with five numbers. That night, when they draw the winning numbers, the first four numbers are numbers I have. Then they draw the fifth number, but it is not my number. Will I feel disappointment? Of course I will. I lost! Okay, I didn't LOSE; I just wasn't the winner...in that drawing. Does that make me a loser? Of course it doesn't. A mistake you made, or think you made, a snub you got from someone, or think you got, doesn't make you a loser either. Even if you are right and you DID make a mistake or someone DID snub you, that doe not mean that everyone will snub you or that you will always make mistakes.
Just like in the little scenario above, people will often get close to success and then miss the target. In many cases, however, they miss, not because someone drew a different number than the one they wanted, but because they threw away the ticket before the drawing was finished. Many people will throw away their ticket in life's lottery even though they have four of the five numbers needed. They just cannot conceive of having the fifth number be the one they need.
Well, life is NOT a lottery, although there is an element of chance to it. Like a poker game, while all at the table are subject to the laws of chance, a better poker player tends to have more "luck" at the table. One of the skills a good poker player must have, as Kenny Rogers says, is to "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run." A good poker player must also know that just because he or she won or lost the last hand. That has nothing to do with what is going to happen when the cards are shuffled and dealt again.
When we are talking about exchanging low self-esteem for high self-esteem, we are talking about learning when to let go, when to hold on, or when to walk or run away. More importantly, we are talking about the skills needed for the game of life, skills that can be learned and improved. We are also talking about realizing that each individual life event is NOT a definition of who we are.
So many times I have spoken to someone with low self-esteem after something has happened that they have added to their list of disappointments. I find two points about most of these events.
1. The person with low self-esteem may interpret a completely normal or even highly positive event as a failure
2. They focus so completely on the event that they lose sight of who they really are and what they have to offer.
A person with low self esteem will be looking for negative signs in an event, conversation, or activity. Since they are expecting outcomes to be negative, if they cannot see a real negative item, they will either invent one or interpret a positive one as a negative. As an n example, think about someone who believes that I am about to hit them. I may see that they are about to be hit by a bus, and grab for them to pull them to safety. They may see my sudden move as an attack because they are already thinking that that is what they must expect from me. They may jerk away and be hit by the bus because they were already predisposed to interpret what I did in a certain way.
One of the most common experiences I have with people who have low self-esteem is that they look only at the negative experience and use that to judge themselves completely. Often, I have begun to recite a litany of good points about them or valuable things they have done, only to have them brighten up, look at me and say, "That's right! I did do that, didn't I? I didn't think about that."
Low self-esteem is going to originate in the interpretation of a few events as being the definition of who and what you are.
To change from low self-esteem to high self-esteem, you must:
1. Realize that self-esteem, high or low, is a judgment you have made about yourself.
2. Low self-esteem is based on judgments generally made on the spot at a negative moment.
3. Self-esteem CAN be changed, and you are the only one who can change it.
Decide to make the change. Write down all the negative things that are true about you. Don't write down the negative things you THINK about yourself. Write down what is true. Don't say, "People don't like me." That's what you think. Write down, "I insult people when I see them." That is a fact.
Then, write down the positive facts about yourself. "I like people, but they don't like me." is wrong. "I like people" is a fact, and that is what you need to look at.
When your list is done, you will probably find more positive facts than negative, unless you are an ax-murderer or something. This tells you that you are a good person and deserve good from life. Take a look at the negative facts and decide how you can change them. Take a look at the positive items and decide how you can use them to make your life better.
You can exchange low self-esteem for high self-esteem. Quit worrying about how others perceive you. Live your good qualities and revel in the good and wonderful person you are. Take joy in the pleasure you give others, and your self-esteem will shoot through the roof.
You ARE a great person.


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Daily News Reports »
Public Lands Risk
by Rick Worthington, click here for bio
Program: Farm and Ranch Report
Date: July 12, 2018
Click on the play button to listen to report.
Download Report: Public_Lands_Risk.mp3
This was a gargantuan task, one of the largest collaborative conservation efforts ever undertaken in our country. The process was exhaustive, inclusive and resulted in a historic agreement. Which is why the attempts to undermine this effort by the current administration and more specificly by the BLM, are so maddening.
Terry Riley with the North American Grouse Partnership says the administration should keep the current plan in place.
"A lot of federal agencies, a lot of state agencies, a lot of NGOs, a lot of public citizens, a lot of local communities and businesses all came together to pull these plans together. And making major changes now, after we went through all this work, is just not a very good plan."
There are a couple of concerns Western States Ranchers have with either plan, and it's not about sage grouse, but access to some lands that might otherwise become unavailable for grazing or roads.
The other major concern is over invasive cheatgrass which creates fuel for wildfires.
The B-L-M is accepting public comment on the changes through August 2nd.
Recent Reports from Farm and Ranch Report
- Livestock Producers Fairness
- 2019 Mild Wildfire Season
- Farm Safety And Health Week
- Fake Meat and the Beef Market
- Trade in the Beef Industry
Click here to see Archived Reports


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Not just a Bible study. It's where community happens. Join us for a hot meal, relatable content, fellowship, and a ton of fun afterwards. If you're new to makenew, this is the place to start. We'd love to see you there!
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: February 24Sunday Service
Later Event: March 3Sunday Service


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stories of faith from our Noel Family
Adult Renewal Academy Graduation Ceremony 2017
We Can Change the World - VBS Mission
Mexico Mission Trip - VBS in Jaurez
Share your Own story of Faith!
We are looking to record your experiences working with Noel ministries or other activities where you've experienced God's presence. We will collect the stories and share them via email and facebook. You can send a short story or request information by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com


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George's Island
My sister and I took the Harbor Express ferry to George's Island in Boston Harbor. The ferry covers the five mile trip in just twenty minutes. At twenty knots it is a fast and fun ride. It was much cooler on the Island than in town. Lots of people were sunbathing, eating picnics, and in general having a good time. In peak season the boats leave every half hour on the weekend from Long Wharf. We did not visit the civil war era Fort Warren, where at one point the vice president of the confederacy was held.


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Thank you for your support!
Your payment will be sent to us via PayPal.
Whether you are a new member, a renewing member, or a general donor, the Santa Paula Art Museum is grateful for your contribution. Your support truly does make a difference as it provides the excellent exhibitions, educational programs, and special events that serve thousands of visitors each year.
You will receive a letter by mail recognizing the amount of your donation, and/or a description of your membership benefits. If you have any immediate questions, please contact us.
Thank you again!


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Push Notifications
Push notifications inform users about new information related to an app, providing valuable and relevant updates to customers, even when the app is closed.
Activity Logs
Keeping a journal has been proven to accelerate the learning process across all sports. Journaling helps both students and instructors keep track of current objectives and set goals for skill set acquisition.
Track and compare training scores with other school branches, ranks, and programs. Friendly competition is a fantastic motivator!
Training Videos
Your school's material is securely accessible on student and parent devices. Make it easy for your students to access your material and work on their skills on-the-go.


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IT Reviews has finished their review of the Sony – Vaio VGN-T2XP/S, a 1.2GHz Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage-powered ultraportable with a 10.6-inch widescreen display (1280×768). Once again, a Sony ultraportable has a good battery life – just under six hours, according to IT Reviews.
They conclude:
In short, it's probably the best-specified ultraportable notebook currently available.


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Day 214.
We love tomato soup, especially with grilled cheese sandwiches. And I am a firm believer that soup, especially this one, is not just for fall and winter. Fresh garden-grown tomatoes are at their peak now and are sure to make this recipe truly delicious.
Tomato Soup
Adapted from Homemade Tomato Soup.
- 2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes)
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small carrot, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons margarine
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup soy cream (optional)
- Parmesan cheese substitute (optional)
Oh yum! This was so creamy and delicious and I didn't even add the cream. Absolutely loved this soup.
This post is shared at·Tuesdays at the Table,·Slightly Indulgent Tuesday,·Tasty Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday,·Tempt My Tummy Tuesday,·Delicious Dishes,·Real Food Wednesday, Recipe of the Week, Hearth and Soul, and Tasty Tuesday.


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Our Support Desk is where our clients and community come together to find solutions.
This is an add-on for the Advanced Custom Fields WordPress plugin, that allows you to add a Number Slider field type.
This plugin uses the Simpler Slider jQuery library by James Smith – http://loopj.com/jquery-simple-slider/
Easily include browser specific stylesheets in templates or select browser and version specific classes in CSS.
Conditional browser stylesheets are added after the main theme style.css allowing them to overrule previous rules – you only need to add the CSS rules that should change.
This plugin uses up-to-date WordPress top level functions, sanitizes all input data and is fully internationalized.
A plugin that exports ALL user data, meta data and BuddyPress xProfile data.
Includes an option to export the users by role, registration date range, usermeta option and two export formats.
WordPress admins can bulk import user metadata from a text file – selecting the Key and optionally avoiding duplicate keys.
This plugin uses up-to-date WordPress top level functions, sanitizes all input data and is fully internationalized.
Q WordPress Development Framework for plugins and themes.
Filter posts by taxonomies or text search using AJAX to load results
We pushed the Impact Report live today and it looks fantastic – thanks for all of your help on styling and implementing Aesop.
So far we've only run into one technical issue – it's not an emergency but should probably be fixed if possible by the end of the week.
If you scroll past the first panel, you'll notice a hamburger menu appears at the upper righthand corner of the page. This menu is pulling random pages from the site that don't even correspond with this publication.
Is there a way for this menu to only pull posts from the Impact Report category?
We've found that when GPM links are shared on Facebook, they pull random images to go along with the post from parts of the site not necessarily associated with that direct link (i.e. an event page showing a thumbnail from one of the Changemakers bios).
You said there may be a plugin available to fix this or at least only pull images from the page being shared?
Our Storyform days are DONE :) We've decided that we'd like to move ahead with Aesop Story Engine. They have a wide variety of themes that you pay a one-time cost for and the plugin itself is free. They've got great ratings and their showcase of what projects people have made with it are impressive.
Here is where we can download the plugin:
If you install the plugin I can download the theme we want. Thanks!
I think there is an issue with email notifications on the GCI site… Elyse realized that she hadn't been getting emails about new user registrations and/or grant applications for the past week, even though they were successfully submitted.
We did some testing and I think she's right – I added her email address in addition to what was there, firstname.lastname@example.com, sent a test registration through, and she didn't get anything.
I tested that it wasn't just email issues with the email@example.com account by sending an email to that account and it worked, so it would appear that this is not an issue with our email system/forwarding.
Email notifications from the CAP Participant Inquiry Form (https://www.cci-exchange.com/participants/work-intern/intern-and-trainee/apply/) are not being received by recipients specified in the notifications tab.
All recipients are active and the entries are successfully received in Gravity Forms but no email confirmation arrives to the email addresses – in the regular inbox or the "junk email" folder.
I tried two tests: when I put my email@example.com email in as a notification recipient, again no notification arrived. But when I put my personal Gmail address in as a recipient, the notification worked – signaling that this may be a problem with our email server spam settings? According to Outlook, junk emails should still show in the junk folder – and this does not occur.
Any ideas? Is the plugin up to date?
I have not been able to replicate this issue – my apologies – but I can't tell what's amiss here. I've successfully submitted this form twice:
yet one of our participants claims he has problems hitting the "submit" button at the bottom despite filling out all of the required fields. I have had no trouble submitting in both Chrome and Safari browsers (I believe he is using Chrome based on his screenshot).
Is there a maximum amount of text allowed in these fields? Any ideas of what this could be?
Forms filled out by the following email addresses are getting caught in the Gravity Forms spam filter:
This is for these forms:
I get the following error when I try to update the primary menu on GHT: http://greenhearttravel.org/wp-admin/nav-menus.php
Server error:
500 – The website encountered an error while retrieving
http://greenhearttravel.org/wp-admin/nav-menus.php. It may be down for
maintenance or configured incorrectly.
I am trying to remove the "Happy Anniversary" campaign from the menu.
This plugin is awesome. :)
If I knew how to code such I would do this myself, so I will submit it to you.
It would be nice if php support was added similar to the body classes.
So, something like…
in php could be used like…
if ( is_firefox_47( '' ) ) {
// Then we can run some code here...
On the gh.info staging version I installed the Storyform plugin, which will be used to create long form content for an ezine we plan to publish on the website. The Storyform plugin is automatically added to posts, but we don't want to publish the ezine on the blog. Can a custom post type be created for the ezine that would include the storyform plugin?


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Character Design Behind the Scenes Sample!
Thank you for coming to this page! This is a sample of the behind the scenes artwork and thoughts that go into the characters of the Orange Crows world. I'll be updating and sharing these throughout the time that I am working on Orange Crows volume 2. Only those who pledge to the Orange Crows volume 2 Kickstarter project will be able to see these once the project has started.Remember, this project can only succeed if we meet or exceed the pledge goal! Remember you can pledge by going here: ORANGE CROWS VOLUME 2 KICKSTARTER.
I will be collecting the sketches and designs you see into the artbook. Creatures, characters, enviroments, etc. And the artbooks will have additional stuff that hasn't been posted. The artbook features both black and white sketches, and full color pieces. Remember the first print of the artbook is available in the pledge tiers on the kickstarter site. So if you are interested reserve a spot before they run out!
First off, I wanted to show you how I came to design this character. This is Whisper, or Whisp for short. She is a character that will appear in Volume 2 of Orange Crows. Due to certain reasons (no spoilers!) she is unable to talk. She carries a wind up record player with her, and is able to communicate with others by winding it up. When wound, a voice comes out. Depending on the record that's on, the voice changes.
First, I played around with a lot of sketches. I was trying to decide what kind of hair style and hat she would be wearing. And what her face should look like.
I've decided at this point that she is not able to speak on her own. What should she use to communicate? I was thinking a magic book, but talking books seem to be overused in fantasy worlds. After some debating, I decided on the wind up record player. I thought it would be a fun idea. I sketched out a few ideas of what it could look like.
I pull out some references and try to decide what her uniform should look like. She is a member of the S.W.S. (Special Witch and Warlock Squadron) and they all have a military styled uniform. Because she comes from a District (city) that is constantly cold, I started adding wool to her uniform design.
And finally, I have the basic uniform planned out, and I've decided on her hat and hairstyle.
Valentine's Day picture
First I drew out a few different thumbnail concepts for the picture. These are usually quick sketches that are a few inches large. Here I am trying to get an idea for the positioning of the character and the angle that I want to use.
This step is sometimes done in pencil, or I use a wacom tablet and pen on the pc. I draw out a larger sketch of the thumbnail that I picked. It's quick and rough so I can get the basic idea of the shape. I don't worry about details just yet.
Here I started doing clean lines but I realize that some proportions need to be adjusted. I make a new layer and use thick black lines to quickly draw on top of the picture and figure out what things I need to change to fix the character.
I decide that I want to use strong black shadows on this piece. At this stage, I make a new layer in the artwork and scribble on the black shadows in the places where I think they would go. I'm not too worried about keeping in the lines right now. Also it's at this point that I decide that I won't use a regular word bubble for the record player. So I try to add some lines around the bubble for a metallic or vibrating effect.
Now I go in and start using the eraser tool to define the shadows more and make them look nice. I turn the opacity down on the layer that has the black lines so it will be easier to see where the blacks are over my character lines. By turning the opacity down, the blacks look more grayish and are easier to adjust and work with.
Now that I have the black shadows put in, I start applying basic color to the piece.
And finally I apply shades. For this piece I used a tool called Easy Pain Tool Sai, so I used the watercolor tool to add in the gradients/shades. I used photoshop to apply the text. Well that's all for this character. Thanks for stopping by!!


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The AVYST Interview is a solution that provides a consultative process for new and existing clients that will address these common problems.


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Information for service providers
As a health or community service professional we understand you sometimes need specialist knowledge and assistance to tackle drug & alcohol issues. Lyndon can help. This section provides the links to refer a patient to our service, information about the support we can give you in your work with drug abuse and alcohol addiction, training opportunities, software that may help you manage your paper workload and information about our specialist team who may be available to address your work group. Information about our individual drug & alcohol programs can be found here.
In the 2015-16 Financial Year Lyndon Provided:
Addiction Medicine Specialist support activities
Clinical Review sessions
Clinical Supervision sessions
Community Development activities
Electronic resources
Group Supervision sessions
Hard copy resources distributed (including practice guidelines)
Health Promotion activities
Numbers in training
Partnership Development activities
Practice / Peer Support sessions
Training / Education sessions delivered


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The World Trade Center Museum has been hijacked. Not physically. Financially. The City of New York, along with the Port Authority have both resisted the efforts of many American's; including the families of the victims; to have the Museum taken over by the National Park Service. You have to wonder why since they have been complaining about the cost of operating it since before it even opened.
Last week the WTC Museum Commission asked for the okay to charge $24 for admission to the hallowed grounds where terrorists struck in 2001. So, I began to look into who the people were on the Commission itself. It's a long list, many of whom are nothing more than political donors. I called and asked to speak with someone about the museum and the admission price. I was transferred to a Mr. Quido. I am not making that up. I am also still waiting on that return call.
I happened to voice my concerns to a friend of mine in New York and the very next day he ran across the following Letter to the Editor in a paper called "The Chief", a paper which caters to Civil Service Employees in NYC. The letter speaks volumes, and summarizes my concerns so well that I am posting it here.
Decide for yourself what you think is right. Personally, I think that when you realize the game of extortion being played out by the Commission you will agree that the Museum needs to be taken over by the National Park Service, just like the USS Arizona in Hawaii.
To The Editor:
In the latest example of money-grubbing by the excessively high-salaried management of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, it now appears they are demanding a handout from NY City and State for millions of dollars to satisfy their bloated salaries and fiscal mismanagement.
According to the Wall Street Journal ("9/11 Memorial to Seek Funds From New York's Mayor," 1/15/14), the memorial and museum foundation (which is chaired by Michael Bloomberg) is asking Mayor de Blasio and the city to pay for nearly a third of its bloated budget.
We agree with Mayor de Blasio's spokesperson, Marti Adams, that the Federal Government must play a "central role" in funding. However, instead of a handout, we insist that the well-respected National Park Service take over the complete control of the 9/11 memorial and museum and bring the professionalism and fiscal constraints that this out-of-control situation at Ground Zero so desperately needs.
In addition, it appears legislation is yet again being prepared for introduction in the U.S. Senate to provide Federal funding for the memorial and museum. This comes on the heels of a failed attempt in 2011 by the memorial foundation to "allow" for the Department of the Interior (National Park Service) to accept a "gift" of the property of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in return for a $20 million annual stipend.
Many 9/11 families continue to oppose a bailout plan- they do not feel the Federal Government should pay for an enormously-expensive memorial and museum in which the Federal Government- as well as the families of the victims- had virtually no role in the nearly one billion dollar design and planning.
We therefore petition Senators Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo, to support fiscal responsibility and patriotism, and advocate for a bill in which the National Park Service can assume complete control and operation of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero.
This is the least that the victims of 9/11, their grieving families, and the American public deserve.
Chief Jim Riches
FDNY (retired)
Chairman, 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters and WTC Victims


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Last night I went to a health service discussion event. Roy Lilley was interviewing Lord Carter. He who has just written a report about improving efficiency in the NHS. His report has had a significant effect: Carter Reform is becoming a big thing. Some of Lord Carter's words were still with me at breakfast this morning: "We're doing everything right somewhere… sharing at scale is the problem." He meant that there are plenty of examples of things being done efficiently in the NHS and the challenge is to share that good practice widely, and quickly.
If we take a mechanistic view of things then the answer would be a process of distilling lessons learned, producing tool-kits, getting experts on the road to spread inspiration – and then driving the change through with strong management and consulting help.
With Rio not long off, I keep thinking of parallels with sporting performance. Very few athletes can ever hope to come close to the performance of the best. The good are good because of genes, parenting, life events, the people they have around them and the luck to have avoided injury at crucial times. Their training is obviously crucial, but so is the path they have trodden.
And – set me straight if you think the analogy is poor - so I think it will be with improving the NHS. What individual organisations can achieve will be constrained by facilities, the population they serve, their staff and the culture that has emerged over time. With determination, the right help and time – the morbidly overweight may possibly get fit enough to make a reasonable job of putting a shot; but there is little point in showing them videos of Jessica Ennis-Hill belting over 100m-worth of hurdles. In complex situations it is always possible to improve things, but only by thinking systemically and working with the local grain; and particularly with the humans who are that grain.
Luckily, we wouldn't be daft enough to take a mechanistic view…
More information
- Lord Carter's report - Operational productivity and performance in English NHS acute hospitals: Unwarranted variations (pdf)
- What does 'good' look like? - a write up of a previous HealthChat
- FabNHSStuff – who organised the (excellent) event


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TransitMatters is entirely volunteer run. We come from different backgrounds and understand how deeply transportation impacts our lives and our communities.
You can support our efforts in a number of ways, whether it's spreading the word about our work or donating your time and/or money.
Join our Nation | Twitter | Facebook | Periscope | Instagram | Flickr | YouTube


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April 3, 2013, Kennewick, WA (ISN) – Tri-City Americans' Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that 20-year-old defenseman Mitch Topping will serve as the team's captain for the upcoming 2013-14 season.
The announcement came less than a week after the Americans' 2012-13 season came to an end. Topping becomes the 25th captain in the franchise's history.
Topping, who just concluded his fourth full WHL season and second with the Americans, is coming off a career-best 2012-13 campaign, recording new highs in goals (13), assists (26) and points (39). In 267 career games, split between Chilliwack and Tri-City, the Red Deer, Alberta-native has registered 26 goals and 89 points.
Originally drafted by the then-Chilliwack Bruins in the 1st Round (8th overall) of the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft, Topping was later traded to Tri-City in August of 2011. Topping played his first full WHL season in 2009-10, making his WHL debut as a member of the Bruins on October 17, 2008 at Medicine Hat. Topping becomes the first defenseman to be named captain of the Americans since Jarrett Toll (2009-10) and just the third over the last 14 seasons, joining T.J. Fast (2007-08).
"This is such a huge honor. Looking at the guys who have captained this team before me…it's an impressive list of guys and players in general," stated Topping. "Following (Justin) Feser won't be easy, and I'll have some big shoes to fill, but I look forward to the challenge and to having a great season next year."
"Mitch sets the tone in the dressing room with his positive attitude and respect for all our players and organization," explained Tory. "What he has done in the community since arriving here is above and beyond what anyone would have expected. He is first and foremost a quality person, with the integrity necessary to lead our team…Mitch brings everything that is expected of a captain."
"Mitch has been a key contributor for the past couple of seasons," Head Coach Jim Hiller said. "He has clearly earned the respect of his teammates and is very deserving of this honor."
Tri-City Americans season tickets are now available for the 2013-14 season. Season ticket plans can be purchased by using several, convenient monthly payment schedules after a one-time service charge. Call 509.736.0606, visit AmsHockey.com or drop by the Americans offices' at the bottom level of the Toyota Center for more information.


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Companies are facing the most challenging tax environment in history in the critical area of tax audits and disputes – increased global scrutiny is resulting in a substantial increase in the number and size of tax audits and assessments, leading to disputes with revenue authorities worldwide.
Our TDR team includes former CRA officials, accountants, economists, and industry sector specialists in all areas of direct income and indirect commodity tax, working jointly with lawyers from PwC's affiliated law firm, PwC Law LLP.
Collectively, our team is uniquely able to help you successfully manage the life cycle of tax controversies from pre-audit prevention to audit examination management to post-audit dispute resolution/settlement.
Marc Vanasse is a partner in PwC Canada's Montreal Tax Services practice. He also leads the firm's national Tax Dispute Resolution team.


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We are feeling sad as we say good bye to all we have met. Thank you to all of the Amankora teams in each lodge we visited on our journey. Thank you Karma for you brilliant driving and thank you Nima for all of your knowledge, energy, and sense of humor, you made this journey even more special then we could have imagined. We will miss you.
Tashi Delek – (may all good things come to you) to everyone we met along the way.
The journey is not over, we leave now for Laos, via an overnight in Bangkok.
Enjoy some faces of Bhutan


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After years of planning and designing, Franz Harary opened his multi-million dollar dream "House of Magic" in Macau, China in late 2015. In an exclusive, behind the scenes interview, Franz and Rocco show us back stage, in the dressing rooms, in the showroom and in the gift shop in a guided tour. This was recorded on video by Franz Harary but is described in detail as we are taken throughout the "House of Magic" so it is a feast for the ears.
But if you want to see the video, you can view the actual tour on the link provided in this blog to view it on YouTube.
Time stamps for this podcast:
00:04:20 - Franz Harary and Rocco begin our guided tour of the House of Magic by Franz Harary in Studio City located in Macau, China
00:33:09 - commercial message from The Great American Magic Company
00:37:53 - return to Macau for completion of guided tour plus a walk through the gift shop, some philosophy from Franz and a performance piece by Rocco.
01:17:40 - a review of "Thumbtipedia" by Vernet Magic. A good beginner's video guide to using this conjurer's sidearm. Includes DVD and gimmick.
01:23:08 - a review of a new effect produced from Vanishing, Inc. and created by Chris Westfall, "Cigatration" is a one trick DVD (with gimmick) to perform a great variation of the classic "cigarette thru quarter".
Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here
If you plan to purchase anything from Amazon.com, then please click through this link. If you have an Amazon Prime account, you will still be able to use that account after clicking through this link. Each purchase will help support The Magic Word Podcast. Thank you, and Happy Holidays!.