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Mark Rautenbach
The Educator's New Clothes
South African artist Mark Rautenbach is a very interesting man. He constructs his own materials for knitting out of torn strips of educational documents that he sews together to create a bundle of 'yarn'. As you will see in an image below, the material has a certain fragility and delicate detail that yields into a beautiful material. Mark travels to chosen sites with his carrying case, sits down with his knitting needles sometimes in crowded bustling areas as you see above and sometimes in more remote locations, and knits and knits. Sometimes to the bewilderment of the public whose curiosity sparks the dialogue that his Mark's intent. The dysfunction of the educational system in South Africa and the larger global crisis in educational systems. His interventions spark a passionate chord with the public viewers. Knotwe asked Mark a series of questions about his project "The Educator's New Clothes" and utilizing craft as activism.
Q: Can you describe how knitting became such an integral part of your work?
A: I have been knitting since I was 8 years old.
Years of experience have revealed that knitting [the practice, more than articles produced] makes me calmer and more focused.
Knitting has thus become a 'technology' I use to integrate whatever I'm psychologically going through, it assists me in integrating and metabolizing 'the matter' [as in "what's the matter ?"]. It therefore has become a technique I use to process stuff, rather than produce stuff.
It is more a verb than a noun for me.
Q: Do you associate yourself as a craftivist and part of the larger craftivism movement?
A: Apparently what I am doing fits within this movement.
Q: It is so rare in contemporary art to really have a determined movement named and being placed on artists as they work. Does the term craftivism being labeled on your work help encapsulate your projects, hinder or propel them? How has it impacted your work?
A: I am still coming to terms with the term!
I can see how a label can be useful; it can give a theoretical framework to understand common behavior. And as with all labels, it could inhibit and misrepresent.
I think what is important that I state my 'manifesto', as it were:
The subtitle of 'The Educators New Clothes' is 'Menditations on The Education System'.
Menditations are the processes and procedures used to process/metabolize matter. These are specifically craft techniques and become 'technologies of transformation' when re-contextualized.
The emphasis is on the transformation of matter, as an alchemical process, rather than production of artefacts.
Menditations are a melding of reflection, meditation, mending, making amends, knitting[as in bones/wounds/integrating], binding[as in coagulating]
Craft techniques with their enormous labour intensity are excellent methods to 'sit' with the matter, without intention or outcome as a focus [these simply become symptoms].
Craft is produced by the body, through our hands. Anybody and everybody can relate. It can therefore assist in body awareness, and an opportunity to inhabiting a body, and witness a context from this vantage point. Offering relief from the pressure to inhabit virtual [non physical] bodies.
Craft slows me down, it focuses and intensifies attention, expands awareness and develops mindfulness….sounds like an ad for meditation
I have just come from a Design master class and the term Design activism was being bandied about.
I have a deep reaction to it, the same kind of reaction I have toward Design Thinking. Creativity is NOT formulaic neither is activism. Both are profoundly spontaneous, springing from being vitally present in a contexts [which are continually changing]
Q: Can you describe how you chose locations? Do you feel that South Africa particularly inspires you to set up in a particular location?
A: I am South African, and this piece emerges directly from my experience as a South African in this geopolitical context.
The locations relate to my personal day to day meanderings and are also strategically selected in order to experience a wide taste of the variety of South African people and contexts [economically, socially culturally[an attempt to be egalitarian]
Some locations have specific political agendas. spaces which hold cultural and historical significance; e.g. Performing in Soweto, Johannesburg, at the exact spot where Hector Pieterson was shot. [The incident during the 1976 Soweto Riots, school children were protesting about the enforcement of Afrikaans as the official medium of education. During these protests Hector Pieterson ,a school child, was shot dead by police]. http://theeducatorsnewclothes.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-cant-we-can-tour-soweto-pretoria.html
Q: When you engage with members of the public who ask what you are doing or why, how have these conversations impacted you?
A: In profound ways:
By performing publicly a space is defined so that people[public] are encouraged/invited to express themselves. They seem to grow [in self worth] as a result of the experience.
People realise they have something to give/contribute...are included…
I witness how this creates community.
I realise that this is not about me. Although the work has emerged from my peculiar/particular experience , it is about/for everyone/anyone.
This gives me a profound sense of purpose, function, belonging, usefulness and has added to my personal growth.
Q: The images captured by Jeaniene Dekker of you at work knitting with passerby's exchanging with you or becoming blurred forms really accentuate the moment of permanence that you take by sitting and knitting with such concentration. You discuss briefly in your blog the uncertainty that the introduction of documentation and photography bring to your performances. It may not ever be something that you have a determinate feeling towards but are there new ways that you now want to harness the documentation of your work? Or eliminate it all together?
A: I love '....moment of permanence..'
In the blog I have discussed my ambivalence and complex relationship with photography and documentation.
Questions which arise:
When does a performance become staged for a photograph?
Without documentation does the performance exist?
False impressions are created through the documentation. [I met with a friend 6 months into the performance and she was under the impression that I had knitted kilometers of fabric! Not so!].
Documentation is something independent of the work existing within its own domain.
I find social media formats, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, very useful and accessible. I am able to share experience and the work immediately, in an apparently democratic way.
The sharing of the work and spreading out to larger audience is fulfilling. It develops a sense of community. It is also useful and gratifying to look back over the ground that has been covered. It exposes patterns and rhythms [themes].
There was an intention to publish a collection of stories and images from the documentation. I no longer think this will happen as TENC is now completed. I'd rather move onto other projects. The immediacy of performance holds more interest for me. I look forward to collaborating with others, and thus spread the load re documentation etc.
Q: You have used crowd funding to help you travel for your projects. The Internet and technology introduce new strategies for artists. How important is technology to your process both in having a mobile post-studio practice where you need to communicate about the work and find support?
A: It is vital. In the projects I construct for students [currently in Surface Design/CPUT] we use any available social media/web based forms of documentation and marketing. Literacy in these languages are vital for, community, conversation and commerce.
Q: What sparked your focus on education and the dysfunction of it as an institution? Do you find it ever challenging to make projects that critique and/or raise awareness about some sensitive politics in education and be a lecturer educating people and working towards your degree?
A: My experience as an educator in the South African [and have become aware of global] education crisis compelled me to DO something. The situation appears critical to me and I have been moved by a sense of urgency.
The critique of the education system may have contributed the project being continually ignored and rejected by the art establishment. The public however have welcomed it enthusiastically.
The work on a personal level addresses my conflicted feeling of inadequacy as an educator working within a dysfunctional system, and those which arise from poor self worth. This piece thus makes [a]mends individually and socially.
Q: I love the bundles of 'yarn' that are actually torn education documents sewn together. They are powerful as objects before you even work with them. Similar to way documentation is a major consideration for your work, do these yarn bundles with their labels have a particular importance to you as an extension of your performance?
A: They are symptoms of the performance which I have become very fond of!
Their significance is the yarn[the narrative] emerging from specific material [the matter]. The story of the matter, the material they are made from.
I make balls of yarn for other people from their material. The 'technology' thus transforms their matter and displays their story
E.G. using a friend's daughter's school exercise book https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.610156629051907.1073741906.518072368260334&type=3
These balls of yarn have become an accessible product for sale. Words and phrases are available for commission.
Q: Lastly, reflecting back on the evolution of your work, what do you feel has been the biggest catalyst in your career?
A: Being rejected by the South African art establishment and by the political employment legislature currently in place in south Africa.
Through these rejections I was forced to face deep fears and develop some character.
This made me stop asking for permission and looking outside of myself for validation and approval, and simply getting on with the job. I hit the streets, occupied available spaces and started knitting!
To learn more about Mark and follow his projects, visit theeducatorsnewclothes.blogspot.com


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Yasuyo Uehara
Yasuyo grew up in New York and Japan learning to seamlessly flow between the serenity of pebbled paths, temple drums, and rhythmic chants and the hyperrealism of Wallstreet, Fashion Ave, and Broadway. Within this abundance of sensory experiences, she embraced change and difference, sought time-worn wisdom from ancient traditions, absorbed ideas and climbed the heights of modern scientific investigation into mind-body-spirit. She is staunchly committed to finding and practicing the middle axis that rests between separation and opposites, a place like the pause between breaths that is creative, enlivening, and onward leading.
As a holistic counsellor, life-long meditator, and yoga teacher, Yasuyo enjoys supporting others to connect with their deepest truth, free to choose how and where to direct life energy with more intention and effectiveness. She offers Mindfulness Yoga as a path to wisdom, connection, and joyful living.

subset: commoncrawl


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Amy Giroux | Gatineau, QC/
Gatineau, Quebec
Director - Global Vision
Amy graduated from the University of Guelph, with an Honours Bachelor in political science. She then worked as a political attaché for the Secretary of State of Canada and Minister for Multiculturalism and Citizenship. Amy now directs Global Vision and has led several Junior Team Canada missions to Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
Driven with her own keen desire to make a difference in developing countries, Amy also has helped to establish global youth training programs around the globe. Using the Junior Team Canada model, she has developed youth programs in China, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico and the Philippines. Amy looks forward to working together with China to further create more opportunities for youth to get engaged and empowered as leaders in today's global economy.


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5 ways to get back to a healthy back/
I mention in my about section that I suffered from sciatica... It started at the ripe age of 28 and I had no idea what was happening. I was in a very stressful office environment under a lot of pressure to make a project happen and suddenly my leg started aching. Having just run a half marathon I assumed I hadn't trained appropriately or over-trained or simply wasn't young enough anymore to bounce back without problems as I would have ten years earlier.
With more pain that wouldn't stop, other thoughts came up: "it's the long term effects of training so hard as a young person", "I have a serious injury that I keep aggravating by exercising", "maybe I should try yoga", "ouch, stretching hurts- yoga is not the solution".
I became increasingly alarmed and stopped running, by this time the pain was shooting down my hamstring into the back of my knee and all the way down into my pinky toe. The result was that I couldn't sit in an office chair for many hours a day and worse, even lying became a problem.
I spent hundreds of dollars on heat patches, arnica, traumeel, tiger balm, eventually acupuncture and a chiropractor. I tried for as long as I could to stay away from pain medication to avoid getting hooked on them. What I didn't know at the time because it had never happened to me, was that chronic pain can cause a large number of other related issues: my digestion became horrible, irregular and it caused weight gain, any meal caused painful bloating. This was closely followed by skin problems, my face became a minefield of acne that I couldn't get under control, so I stopped going 'bare' and used more make up (I don't have to tell you that that wasn't a great idea). Other side effects included fear because I didn't understand what was happening and people suggested herniated and/or bulging discs, anxiety trying to still do well in my job and ultimately a slight onset of depression because nothing worked.
I am not trying to depress you here, but this is to show you how bad it was for me... Eventually I found out what sciatica was (I was way too young for it, but it is happening more to younger people).
And here is, what helped me:
- Realizing that there is usually a psychological component to physical pain that becomes chronic. I had gone through a breakup, work was intense and I tried to do it all at once, all by myself, and as fast as possible.
- Finding out that my pelvis and therefore my hips and shoulder strap were about 2 inches higher on one side (no wonder I was in pain). An amazing chiropractor placed a finger on my right hip and then one on my left, stepped back and showed me...
- Accepting that anti-inflammatory medication when used responsibly to avoid pain and manage it, will help. I was always worried about addiction.
- Walking away from doctors that were ready to operate, prescribe incredibly strong pain medication for open-ended periods of time and generally anyone who told me that I would never be well again.
- Listening to myself and addressing the root of the problem, namely the anxiety that was caused by my job, the stress that came with it and learning relaxation techniques (I went back to autogenic training, tried meditation and learned how to do yoga without overstretching which can aggravate lower back issues). Also, mindfully removing those same triggers from my personal life, carving out 'me time' and not being rushed.
I get VERY few onsets of sciatica these days, a whole lot of things have to happen all at once to bring on an attack but I've also learned exercises and tools to get back to pain free. It took 2 years to get to where I am now. And I am writing this article precisely because I don't want people to wait as long as I did, to take action and hopefully avoid surgery.
The NY Times Health and Science section posted an article today on how back pain is being over-treated. I will be posting a video of a few exercises to help level the pelvis and restore balance in the hips, soon; to contribute to healing naturally and empowering individuals like you, to stop the pain.
I hope you will like it and mostly of course, that you don't need it in the first place!
Today I ask you to tuck your pelvis and engage your core!


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The Atlanta Fed's macroblog provides commentary and analysis on economic topics including monetary policy, macroeconomic developments, inflation, labor economics, and financial issues.
Authors for macroblog are Dave Altig, John Robertson, and other Atlanta Fed economists and researchers.
Useful Links
Government Resources
- BLS Handbook of Methods
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- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Congressional Budget Office
- Economic Data - FRED® II, St. Louis Fed
- Office of Management and Budget
- Statistics: Releases and Historical Data, Board of Governors
- U.S. Census Bureau Economic Programs
- White House Economic Statistics Briefing Room
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June 25, 2013
Getting Back to Normal?
Central to any discussion about monetary policy is the degree to which the economy is underperforming relative to its potential, or in more ordinary language, how much slack exists. OK, so how much slack is there, and how long will it take to be absorbed? Well, if you ask the Congressional Budget Office (and a lot of people do), they would have told you last February (their latest estimate) that the economy was underperforming just a shade more than 4 percent relative to its potential last summer, and that slack was likely to increase a little by this summer (to around 4.7 percent). Go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and they tell a very similar story in their April World Economic Outlook. The IMF estimates that the amount of slack in the U.S. economy was about 4.2 percent last year, and they expected it would rise a little to about 4.4 percent this year.
As devotees of our Business Inflation Expectations survey know (and you know who you are), the Atlanta Fed has a quarterly, subjective measure of economic slack in the economy as seen by business leaders. This month, businesses told us something pretty interesting—the amount of slack they think they have narrowed pretty sharply between March and June.
Last March, the panel told us that their unit sales were 7.7 percent below "normal"—similar to their assessments in December and September. This month, however, the group cut their estimate of slack to 4.3 percent below normal, on average (see the table).
What we find most encouraging about this assessment (well, besides the speed at which the slack was being taken up) is that the improvement was most prominent among small and medium-sized firms. These are firms that, according to our survey and other reports (like this one from the National Federation of Independent Business), have been lagging behind in the recovery. Indeed, in June, mid-sized firms indicated that unit sales were only 1.5 percent below normal, a shade better than the big firms in our panel (see the table).
A look at the industry composition of our survey reveals that the pickup of slack was relatively broadly based too. Only the firms in the mining and utilities, and the professional and business services areas reported more slack relative to March (and the amounts were pretty small at that). Elsewhere, the amount of slack appears to have narrowed quite a bit.
OK, so slack is shrinking, and according to these estimates, it shrank quite a bit between March and June. Does that mean we should be anticipating growing price pressure? Well, we can turn to our panelists again for an answer, and they say no. Projecting over the year ahead, our panelists report little change in either their inflationary sentiment or their inflation uncertainty (see the table).
Last Wednesday, at the conclusion of its June meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee said that the recovery is proceeding and the labor market is improving, but inflation expectations remain stable. Our June poll of business leaders appears to have also endorsed this view of the economy.
By Mike Bryan, vice president and senior economist,
Brent Meyer, economist, and
Nicholas Parker, senior economic research analyst, all in the Atlanta Fed's research department
June 25, 2013 in Business Inflation Expectations, Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy, GDP, Inflation, Inflation Expectations | Permalink
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June 10, 2013
Casting a Web over Jobs Data
Writing in the Wall Street Journal prior to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Friday release of the May employment data, Ed Lazear (Stanford professor and former chair of George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers) made a plea for an expansive interpretation of labor market conditions:
...when Friday's jobs report is released, the unemployment rate and the number of new jobs will come in for close scrutiny. Then again, they always attract the most attention. Even the Federal Reserve focuses on the unemployment rate...
Yet the unemployment rate is not the best guide to the strength of the labor market, particularly during this recession and recovery. Instead, the Fed and the rest of us should be watching the employment rate. There are two reasons.
First, the better measure of a strong labor market is the proportion of the population that is working, not the proportion that isn't…
Second...There is another highly relevant measure that captures what is going on in the economy. "U6" counts those marginally attached to the workforce—including the unemployed who dropped out of the labor market and are not actively seeking work because they are discouraged, as well as those working part time because they cannot find full-time work...
The striking deficiency in jobs is borne out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Despite declining unemployment rates, the number of hires during the most recent month (March 2013) is almost the same as it was in January 2009, the worst month for job losses during the entire recession (4.2 million then, 4.3 million now).
Faithful readers of macroblog will recognize that, contrary to the narrow focus that Professor Lazear suggests preoccupies the Federal Reserve, one of the Fed's consistent themes has been to cast our intellectual nets over a broad swath of labor market indicators. In fact, one of our favorite blog topics over the past six months has been the construction of "spider charts" to visualize the status of the labor market beyond what can be gleaned from simply looking at the standard unemployment and employment statistics.
Internally, these spider charts have become one of our primary tools for evaluating the status of the labor market. Because we have also found this tool to be an effective means of communicating the overall labor market picture, we are pleased to announce that the labor market spider chart has been added to our portfolio of labor market tools available on the Atlanta Fed's Center for Human Capital Studies' web pages (a portfolio that includes the Jobs Calculator and the Human Capital Compendium, which is a repository of human capital-related products from throughout the Federal Reserve System). The spider chart is presented both in simple levels that were first introduced in macroblog on January 13, 2013, as well as in rates, which were discussed in macroblog last April.
As we have mentioned before, the spider chart contains four groups of labor market indicators:
- Employer behavior includes indicators related to the hiring activities of employers.
- Confidence includes indicators of employer and worker confidence in the labor market.
- Utilization includes measures related to available labor resources.
- Leading indicators shows data that typically provide insight into the future direction of overall labor market activity.
The inner circle of the chart represents the labor market conditions that existed when the unemployment rate peaked in the fourth quarter of 2009. The outer circle represents the labor market conditions that existed just before the recession began.
A section on the website titled Indicators explains the details behind each of the variables included in the groups noted above, and another section, Surveys, details the data sources. A Frequently Asked Questions section offers details on the construction of the indicators and the reference points, as well as the rationale for this approach and answers to other questions that have arisen.
The spider chart allows one to chart the progress on all these dimensions using the most recent three months of data, compared to that level (or rate) for the same time period over the last three years, while the reference points remain fixed. So one could have a spider chart that shows just the data for the three-month period ending in May 2013, or a chart that encompasses the data for May 2013, May 2012, and May 2011.
The increase in the unemployment rate in last Friday's jobs report, amid an otherwise strong report that included a 175,000 increase in payroll employment, supports this strategy of using a variety of indicators to monitor labor market conditions rather than to simply focus on the unemployment rate. The increase in the labor force participation rate this month worked to drive up the unemployment rate, but by all other accounts this was a solid report. In fact, all seven of the indicators from the employment situation report release increased from the April readings in both the "levels" and "rates" spider charts.
Our current focus is still on the recovery of the labor market, and as long as this is the case, we will use the information in these charts to help us determine if the labor market has achieved substantial improvement. When the labor market has turned a corner into expansion, we will reevaluate our tools and determine a more appropriate way to monitor the labor market. But, for now, rest assured that our policy deliberations are not stuck in a single-indicator rut.
By M. Melinda Pitts, director, Center for Human Capital Studies, and
Patrick Higgins, senior economist, both in the Atlanta Fed's research department
June 10, 2013 in Employment, Labor Markets | Permalink
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I really like the labor market spider chart (frbatlanta.org/chcs/labormarket)
I believe Ed Lazear's comments about the Fed focusing on the unemployment rate can be traced to the statement --- reported to have been issued by the FOMC --- that QE would continue until the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.5%. That might cause him and other observers to believe that other labor market indicators are of academic interest to the Fed but not directly relevant to policy makers.
Do you use spider charts for other purposes? For example, one could be used to graph the status of all 10 leading indicators for different reference periods. Perhaps a spider chart could also be used with various inflation measures, with the orange and green rings defining the Fed's targets (say 1-3%). A third could include 'bubble' indicators (gold price, CPI inflation, PCE inflation, housing price index), with the outer ring reflecting the value of each indicator in January 2008 (or some other reference date).
Tables of data or a series of bar charts could convey the same information, but the spider chart makes it far easier to spot trends and make comparisons.
Posted by:
Thomas Wyrick |
June 11, 2013 at 11:12 PM
June 07, 2013
The Hiring Forecasts of Small Firms: Will the Pace of Employment Growth Pick Up?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced today that the U.S. labor market added 175,000 payroll jobs in May, continuing a trend of steady but disappointingly slow employment growth. The employment recovery has been even slower among small firms. Will it pick up in the coming 12 months? Results from the Atlanta Fed's latest survey of small businesses in the Southeast suggest that employment growth among small firms will continue but not necessarily at a faster pace.
Since the recession began, changes in employment have been asymmetric across firm size. In contrast to large firms, employment at small and medium sized businesses began decreasing earlier, declined more, and, by last March, was a little further from its prerecession level. As of the first quarter of 2012, employment at firms with fewer than 500 employees was 5 percent below prerecession levels, compared to just 2 percent for firms with more than 500 employees. So why is employment at small firms not recovering as quickly as employment at large firms? Is it poised to accelerate and perhaps catch up?
While the Business Employment Dynamics data series from the BLS only go through first-quarter 2012 (chart 1), we can use our semi-annual survey of small business in the Southeast to find out a little more about the experiences of small firms through first-quarter 2013 as well look at their forecasts through the first quarter of 2014. Four-hundred-seventy-eight firms across the industry and age spectrum participated in the first-quarter 2013 survey, which was conducted during the first three weeks in April. Although the survey is not a random sample, the results are weighted to make them more representative of a national distribution.
When asked about changes in employment over the period Q1 2012 to Q1 2013, employer firms on net said there was almost no change. Slightly more than 40 percent of firms said they had not altered employment levels. The remainder of the responses were distributed pretty evenly between "expansion" and "contraction". As you can see in chart 2, the distribution of firms creating jobs was almost a mirror image of the distribution of firms shedding jobs in terms of the magnitude of change.
In addition to asking about changes during the past 12 months, the survey probed small firms about their expectations for the coming 12 months. Using the power of our panel data set, we can compare the expectations of firms that took the survey exactly one year ago with their actual hiring activity during that time period to determine how accurately firms predict what the future holds and whether these hiring plans are indeed good forecasts of future activity.
As it turns out, the 184 firms participating in both surveys came pretty close to meeting their hiring expectations. However, they did tend to overestimate the extent to which employment would increase (or underestimate the extent to which it would decrease), regardless of how well firms were performing at the time they made their forecast (see chart 3). For example, firms that had recently experienced reductions in their workforce expected the greatest positive change in the pace of hiring, and in fact went on to report the highest actual change during this period. Firms that had not changed their employment levels recently or had changed them by up to 10 percent expected very little growth—on average, they achieved just slightly less than expected. Regardless of how well the firm had recently performed (in terms of employment growth in the previous period), the degree to which hiring increased or downsizing decreased was less pronounced than anticipated.
Small firms are reasonably good at predicting the direction and relative magnitude of their employment growth, but on average tend to overestimate. For this reason, it might be useful to examine changes in the hiring expectations index (as opposed to changes in the pace of employment growth) when trying to understand how the forecast of firms participating in the survey might translate into actual employment growth of small firms in the Southeast.
Chart 4 shows the hiring index of firms across four broad industry groups. In the first quarter of 2013, the index for hiring in the coming 12 months was essentially unchanged from the Q3 2012 survey, and significantly below that of the Q1 2012 survey. The only industry whose employment forecast was notably positive was the construction and real estate industry. Firms in that category have been steadily increasing their hiring forecasts since the third quarter of 2011.
The fact that hiring expectations did not improve in the first-quarter survey leads to another, perhaps more important question: Why didn't they?
One contributing factor that could be having a particularly large impact on hiring expectations is rocky sales. Firms may be less willing to hire if they are uncertain about the future or if they do not expect consistent sales growth. Indeed, by looking at the experiences of firms in the past 12 months, we can tell that there is a clear correlation between rising sales and rising employment. As chart 5 shows, half of employer firms reported a recent rise in sales, and the more sales had risen, the more likely firms were to have increased their workforce.
A couple of questions that arise from chart 5 are: What about the firms that recently experienced sales growth but didn't hire? Are they planning to hire in the coming 12 months? About one-third of firms say "yes". One driving factor in that decision appears to be sustained sales growth; another is reduced uncertainty. As chart 6 makes apparent, the sales expectations of firms in this group is higher on average for the one-third of firms that say they do plan to hire in the coming 12 months than for the two-thirds who do not. All the firms in the hiring group also expect sales growth to continue, with the most common response being greater than 10 percent growth. In contrast, while 77 percent of firms in the not-hiring group anticipate sustained sales growth, the group's most common response was lower than that of the hiring group: 1 percent to 5 percent.
Another factor that may be related to hiring is reduced uncertainty. Employer firms experiencing sales growth in the past 12 months are more likely to anticipate hiring if they perceive a decrease in uncertainty compared to six months ago. Seventy percent of firms that had a recent increase in sales and decreased uncertainty concerns relative to six months ago anticipate hiring in the coming year. In contrast, 46 percent of those who had experienced a recent increase in sales but also perceived heightened uncertainty anticipate hiring.
For now, the results suggest that uncertainty and rocky sales growth are negatively affecting the hiring plans of small firms and, unfortunately, that small firms are not likely to increase their rate of hiring in the next 12 months. However, if uncertainty eases and sales growth continues, small firms will likely revisit their hiring plans and the pace of hiring just might improve.
By Ellyn Terry, a senior economic analyst in the Atlanta Fed's research department
June 7, 2013 in Data Releases, Employment, Labor Markets, Small Business | Permalink
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While expected "sales" may be a hender in hiring for small firms, the "Affordable Healthcare Act" is having a far more dramatic effect than anyone will admit. Why, is a mystery.
Posted by:
Tom Damson |
June 10, 2013 at 03:39 PM
June 05, 2013
The Semantics of Monetary Policy
Tim Duy has some questions for the head man at the Atlanta Fed:
...Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart...was on the speaking circuit today. Via the Wall Street Journal...
If the Fed does slow the pace of its bond buying, "this is not a decisive removal of accommodation. This is a calibration to the state of the economy and the outlook. It is not a big policy shift, and I would hope the markets understand that," Mr. Lockhart said.
I know that the Fed does not want market participants to associate a slowing of asset purchases with tighter policy. I am not sure, however, that it will be easy to persuade Wall Street otherwise. After all, if the Fed wanted looser policy, they would increase the pace of asset purchases. If more is "looser," then why isn't less "tighter?" Alternatively, is "less accommodative" really different from "tighter"?
I'm reminded of one of my favorite exchanges from the Greenspan years, with the Chairman responding to Senator Jim Bunning about the motivation for rate increases in 1999:
We did raise interest rates in 1999, and the reason is real long-term interest rates were beginning to accelerate. Had we not raised the federal funds rate during that particular period, we could have held it in check only by expanding the money supply at an inordinately rapid rate.
My interpretation has always been that Mr. Greenspan was saying something like the following: A set federal funds rate target means that the Fed stands ready to supply as much money as demanded at that rate. (More precisely, the Fed stands ready to supply the quantity of bank reserves demanded at that rate.)
If the structure of market interest rates changes and the demand for bank reserves accelerates—say, because economic growth picks up—maintaining a set target means that monetary policy will become increasingly expansionary. In other words, in such circumstances, standing pat on a federal funds rate target does not mean that the stance of monetary policy stays the same. Quite the opposite.
Jerry Jordan, my former boss at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and an avid sailor, used to explain it this way: When a person sets out to sail across a body of water, you will notice that he will often adjust the position of the sails, the orientation of the boat, and so on. If you know something of sailing, you will realize that he is very likely reacting to changes in the currents, the winds, and other environmental factors. And if that is indeed what he's doing, you would not infer that he has changed anything about where he's headed and why he's heading there. In fact, you would infer that without such adjustments he must have fundamentally changed his intentions.
Of course, we are in the current context referring not to federal funds rate adjustments but to the pace and ultimate quantity of asset purchases. But I think the principle is the same: A given pace or total quantity of purchases does not mean the same thing in all economic circumstances. If circumstances change, so does the degree of "accommodation" associated with any particular course of asset purchases.
Semantics? I don't think so, and perhaps this is instructive: In the April survey of primary dealers conducted by the New York Fed, the median response to question of when asset purchases will end was the first quarter of next year. At the same time, the median view on what the unemployment rate would be at that time was 7.1 percent. That view would not be out of line with what you might guess on the basis of the Summary of Economic Projections that the Federal Open Market Committee published following its March meeting.
But, as we noted here following the April employment report, the facts on the ground seem to be shifting. We will, as you know, get an update on the employment situation on Friday, and perhaps today's ADP report (for what it's worth) wasn't encouraging. In any event, in our shop we will process these reports by considering exactly what it means to keep policy about where it is.
By Dave Altig, executive vice president and research director of the Atlanta Fed
June 5, 2013 in Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy, Monetary Policy | Permalink
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Osprey at Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder
Gary Detonnancourt
Every year in May the alewives run up the Damariscotta fish ladder to spawn. I had planned to go in early May at the height of the action, but somehow my plans fell through. I did, however, manage to make it in early June which was at the tail end of the alewives run and was lucky enough to get some shots. If you would like more information about visiting the fish ladder click on this link to the Damariscotta Mills Restoration website.


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Established in Derby in 1858, we have always prided ourselves in offering a very high standard of service. Today there are over 30 members of staff providing the traditional, dignified, quality of service, which the people of Derby and the surrounding areas have come to expect – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Having been based in Derby for nearly 160 years, and with the 6th generation of Wathall's now working for the company, we wouldn't want to be based anywhere else. It's the people that make Derby special, coming across as loyal, proud, honest and generous.


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As you know we celebrated my sister's and her kid's birthday in Rome, Italy. This time our whole family attended (12 people) and it was a really cool weekend.
We stayed at Boscolo Exedra Roma, Autograph Collection *****
The building of the hotel is amazing; it is situated exactly in the Piazza della Repubblica. The hotel traces its origins to the large semi-circle inside the baths area of imperial Rome on top of which the modern Piazza della Repubblica was laid out. Important remains of the Baths of Diocletian (298-305 A.D.) can be seen on the hotel's first floor. The basilica dedicated to Maria Regina degli Angeli, designed by Michelangelo for pope Pius IV in 1561, can be admired from the whimsical private rooms and from the large terrace.
The building dates from the XIX century, when Gaetano Koch built twin palaces here in a neoclassical style, one of which is the modern Boscolo Exedra, cleverly redesigned for Boscolo by the architect Maurizio Papiri and the designer Adam D. Tihany.
At the Boscolo Exedra you can stay in the 'Clementino', the old XVI-century granary. You can surf the web immersed in the cushioned silence of suites and rooms or swim floating above ancient remains in the Posh Bar swimming pool, inspired by the meeting of water and air, magical and enchanting on the roofs of the Capital. (Text taken: http://exedra-roma.boscolohotels.com/hotel/history/.)
Piazza della Repubblica is a semi-circular piazza in Rome, at the summit of the Viminal Hill, next to the Termini station. On it is to be found Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. It is served by the Repubblica – Teatro dell'Opera Metro station. From the square starts one of the main streets of Rome, Via Nazionale.
Rome is a city and special comune (named "Roma Capitale") in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and also of the omonymous metropolitan city and of the region of Lazio. With 2.9 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The urban area of Rome extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 3.8 million. Between 3.2 and 4.2 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of Tiber river. Vatican City is an independent country within the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.
Rome has the status of a global city. In 2011, Rome was the 18th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the world's most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Vatican City, officially Vatican City State is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of 842, it is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population.
It is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. Since the return of the Popes from Avignon in 1377, they have generally resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere.
Within Vatican City are cultural sites such as St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications.
So you can imagine that we toured around Rome a lot. We basically visited all the touristic places. Of course we had some great dinners as well. We discovered a really great restaurant, where the food was so delicious! This is the restaurant we had the birthday dinner at, it is called Osteria 44 and its address is Via Aureliana 42/44 – 00187 Roma.
The service is great there and the food is even better, we had some amazing time there. I really recommend ordering pasta with truffles. It is just delightful; this is the best pasta with truffles you´re ever going to have! 🙂


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Good Morning Sunshine the gardener is still under the weather with Bronchitis-ugh. But now I have real presciption drugs to fight my battle for me.
The Truth I'm talking about is "Weeds" no mater if your out of your garden for one day or 21/2 weeks the weeds are there to greet you when you come back. And mine have grown with leaps and bounds. Didn't realize I had so many weeds. I think I'm pretty good about taking care of these guys when I do a new bed and I even use layers of newspaper and mulch to amend the gardens each year!! I don't like to use chemicals of parts of the gardens because of run-off to the bay and I don't want my animals to get sick. Plus I love the birds and butterflies that visit my gardens.
With that said, moving on to the garden walk this morning. So many flowers are just busting at the seems and I have alot of shifting all of a sudden. I guess my gardens are coming full circle when it comes to space. So I really need to get out there and dig and move. Usually by this time of year I'm pretty much done moving everything I've wanted. I haven't even put in annuals yet-ugh. If I'm up to shopping for plants I think I might go out this Holiday weekend and catch some sells maybe!!
I did go out and take some pictures of what's blooming this week in the garden. I have a "Mystery Plant" coming back that I guess I put in a couple of years ago when I made this bed ,but it's never bloomed so I don't know what it is. I know it's not glads. don't put those in. So I'm waiting to see if it will bloom this year. Don't you just love surprises and gifts in your garden, I do!!
The First Asiatic Lilies are up (yellow) so pretty! The pink and orange/black ones aren't blooming yet.
I also managed to squeeze out a new card for the Friday nite Card Club here it is---
Have a blessed day and remember amend, amend, amend!!!! Peace Out


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This guest post was written by Yin Mones- a graphic artist, writer, and mother.
In these busy days of internet, smartphones, video games and instant gratification, parents are forgetting the importance of reading. It's a huge problem.
For children, reading is one of the most important ways to develop both mentally and socially, providing a stimulating way to get to know the world around them.
This article will help you motivate your child to read more — encouraging a lifetime of reading and learning. Getting children reading should be more than fundamental. It should also be fun.
Developing a lifelong reader
As a parent, you know how curious your child can be. Questions like "why" and "how come" begin to fly fast and furious out of their mouths at a very early age. Reading can help answer their questions. In fact, when a child realizes how much they learn from reading, it becomes a "go to" option for them.
Getting children reading for the long term involves two things.
- A positive attitude towards reading
- The desire to continue reading and progress
Instilling these attitudes in your child can fill in the blanks that their natural curiosity creates.
2 Steps to get your child hooked on reading:
Step 1
Creating a positive attitude is the first step in getting children reading, and you should start helping your child develop this at a very early age.
You can start with simple storytelling when a child is 0-3 years old. Read to them. Tell them stories. Show your own enthusiasm from reading. Use facial expressions and different voices for different characters. Have fun with it. Children pick up and mimic their parent's attitudes and examples, and this goes for reading as well.
You should make reading together a part of every single day even for just a few minutes. It should become a fun habit that your child looks forward to. (It's also a great way to create a loving bond with your young child that will carry on throughout life.)
Step 2
Creating the desire to continue reading at higher levels is your next goal as a parent. By reading to them everyday when they are young, you have already taken a huge step.
Other steps to getting children reading for life is to make it accessible–filling your home with magazines and books. Surround your child with the chance to read. As your child grows, let them choose their own books. Introduce new genres, comics, and new devices for reading.
A child reading on tablets and smartphones is standard in today's world—and expected. (Although a good hardback book is still hard to beat.) Start asking questions, and teaching about grammar too.
Help them make the connections they see in books with things that happen in real life. You'll start to see the light bulbs going off in their minds. As they grow older comic books are a great option for continuing to make reading fun.
The love of reading for life is one of the most important gifts you can give your child.
These steps will get children reading for life
By making reading a fun habit, you are proving how wonderful books can be. It will become a fun and special part of their lives (and they won't even realize how much they are learning and developing along the way.) Before you know it, reading will be as routine to your child as playing a video game or a game of cards.
Getting children reading for the long term fills in the blanks their curiosity creates, helping then learn and develop faster than ever.
More ways to get children reading — and loving it
You will soon discover many more ways to bring reading into your child's life:
- Gift-giving: Be sure to always give books as a gift.
- Libraries: As they grow older, take trips together to the local library.
- Bookstores: Although bookstores aren't as widespread as in days past, they can still be found—and spending a few hours in a bookstore is great way to inspire the wonder of books in a child.
Reading is one of life's greatest and most valuable treasures. It is one you will want your child to enjoy forever.
About the Author:
Yin Mones is a graphic artist, writer and a mother. She is a regular contributor at The Mini Ark – an online collective, publishing Bible storybooks and Christian learning materials. Check out her works at The Mini Ark blog: http://www.theminiark.com/blog
About Demetria Zinga
Demetria is a homeschooling mom and mompreneur who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband, two daughters, and a dog. She currently runs two podcasts for homeschool moms and moms in business, writes songs, and spends lots of time at coffee shops. Her goal is to be an encourager and motivator of women, helping them to find success and joy in homeschooling, business, and motherhood.


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God made a farmer, Dodge made light
Much hay was made about the "So God made a farmer" commercial after it aired during the Superbowl. Some pointed out its lack of originality; it is a remake of a YouTube video uploaded by farms.com in June of 2011. Others criticized it as an antiquated version of American farm life -- one that features very few Hispanics, who comprise a significant percentage of America's farm labor workforce. Both these criticisms may be valid, but I have a different problem with this ad. I love the combination of starkly beautiful images and Paul Harvey's poetic, perfectly-delivered words. As a piece of filmmaking, it is both arresting and moving, but as a piece of advertising, it is ruined by Dodge's tagline at the end: "To the farmer in all of us."
Having just created an elegant tribute to the gritty spirit of the American farmer, Dodge completely negates that tribute by suggesting that there's nothing exceptional about the people who live that life of service to the land and its yield. To the farmer in all of us?? But the whole reason those words and images are captivating is that most of us don't live that way. Most of us can only imagine such a life of toil and elemental simplicity. There we are, watching our flat-screens, surrounded by junk food, checking Twitter and Facebook in between plays, and suddenly a voice calls out from the past and beckons us to look upon these images of the people who work the actual "land of the free" that we sing about. People whose vocation can be traced back to the dawn of civilization, people whose wearying work we take for granted when we walk through a grocery store.
We fix our gaze on their weathered faces, the animals they tend, the farms they have built, and we are compelled by a mix of envy, shame, and admiration to consider their lives and the virtues being extolled by that voice from beyond. And as we come to that moment of universal relatability, when Harvey speaks of the bond between father and son, parent and child, and we find ourselves wondering how we lost that connection to what has come before us and what will go beyond... we are snapped back into the reality of crass commercialism, where Dodge is trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible by telling us we're all deserving of the honor just given. Rather than dedicating the ad to the actual farmers, they suggest that everyone can claim a share of that virtue simply by owning its emblem, i.e., by buying a Dodge. It is reductive and diminishing, and it rings false.
Granted, the ad is presenting a romanticized view of agrarian life, and one could argue that working the land is no more inherently virtuous than any other form of labor. But for a moment, many of us who earn our daily bread in the industrial, electronic, urbanized America paused to consider those who still tend to its roots. And then Dodge had to go and truck it up.


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Director Gordon Edelstein is comfortable in kitchens. Among the varied plays he's done at Long Wharf that have been set in kitchens are Sam Shepard's "Curse of the Starving Class," Dario Fo's "We Won't Pay, We Won't Pay," Willy Russell's "Shirley Valentine" and, just last year, "Napoli, Brooklyn" and "The Most Beautiful Room in New York."
The kitchen in "Fireflies," a new romantic comedy/drama by Matthew Barber, isn't dingy or stained. It isn't a platform for kitchen-sink realism. Created by Alexander Dodge (the designer who gave Hartford Stage the brilliantly colored Russia of "Anastasia" and the vaudevillian killing fields of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"), the "Fireflies" kitchen is deep and wide and airy. It gets even airier for the second act, appropriate for a love story, but also for a play where much of the conversation is about home repair.
This kitchen is orderly and well used. It suggests tradition and comfort, with a touch of fussiness and anxiety. So does the play.
When we first meet Eleanor Bannister she is in the kitchen sorting canning jars because her friends in the small Texas town of Groverdell (where Eleanor taught school for decades) will expect homemade preserves from her for the holidays. A retired schoolteacher and a respected member of the community, Eleanor is lonelier than she lets on. She becomes curious about Abel, a "drifter" who has parked his trailer home in the area.
"Fireflies" has a carefully crafted old-fashioned mainstream feel to it. It's the kind of play that half a century ago (before musicals became the only surefire commercial propositions there) would have gone immediately to Broadway, then been made into a Hollywood movie (probably starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy), then toured summer stock theaters for years. It likely wouldn't have gone the regional theater new-play-development-grant route. The Long Wharf has carefully nurtured this new play, with a high-caliber cast and extra rehearsal time made possible by an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Yet for all its newness, including that snazzy Alexander Dodge set, this feels like a revival.
Matthew Barber (whose hit adaptation of "Enchanted April" had its premiere at Hartford Stage in 2000, and who based this new play on a novel and short story by romance writer Annette Sanford) writes in the cadences of classic romance. Director Edelstein stages it like a country waltz. There are no challenges and surprises here, just a well-told story of tentative, late-life love.
As Eleanor and Abel, Jane Alexander and Denis Arndt play it cool. Alexander, the statuesque film star, performs with inner and outer grace; she lets the other characters, like her former student Eugene (Christopher Michael McFarland) define Eleanor as snippy or bossy. Likewise, Arndt (fresh from the Broadway drama "Heisenberg") could be more rascally and mysterious than he chooses to be.
The sparks that fly between Eleanor and Abel are purposely subdued. There are stolen kisses, but any grand outbursts in the play are based on angry suspicions rather than unrestrained passions.
The wildest action in this gentle romantic yarn comes from the yelps and squeals of nosy neighbor Grace, played with convincing busybodiness by Judith Ivey. Ivey ruled the Long Wharf stage in one of those prior Edelstein kitchen shows, as Shirley Valentine, and was an awesome Amanda in Edelstein's 2010 production of "The Glass Menagerie" (in both New Haven and New York) but happily plays second banana to Alexander. Ivey has worked up a style where everything she says sounds like she's a stand-up comic delivering the punchline to a joke, yet it's a completely believable tone for her character of nosy neighbor Grace. Ivey gets laughs even when she is not onstage, when we are simply sensing her presence on the other end of Eleanor's landline telephone.
There are a couple of unexpected moments. Lighting designer Philip Rosenberg takes a cue from "Fireflies"'s title for a clever special effect. The Eugene character recites several verses of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan." There are a few instances when the play pretends to charge off in whole new stylistic directions, then doesn't.
Romantic tension. Hurt feelings. Protestations and explanations. Reconciliation. Not much is promised by Eleanor and Abel, and all of it is delivered. It's a quiet and uneventful story of two people finding each other. In the kitchen.
FIREFLIES is at the Long Wharf Theatre through Nov. 5. Performances are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2 p.m.; with added 3 p.m. matinees on Oct. 21, 28 and Nov. 4 and 2 p.m. matinees on Oct. 22, 25 and Nov. 1. Tickets are $34.50 to $90.50. 203-787-4282 and longwharf.org.


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Halloween is a spooky long-standing tradition brought to America from Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 19th century. Today, however, Halloween celebrations and decorations have been taken to a whole new level as fun-loving people across the nation go all out to ensure they have the wackiest and spookiest house on the block.
In addition to dressing up ourselves, children, and pets to revel in the ghoulish festivities, we also go the extra mile to decorate our homes inside and out as well. It's the special time of year where everyone wants their home to be the most haunted house around. That being said, Halloween is also for people of all income brackets, and there are plenty of affordable spooky decorations ready to invoke frights and chills day and night.
However, in order to win the title of "Scariest Home on the Block" a little effort is needed when picking out Halloween décor. From witches and zombies to ghosts, goblins, and coffins, there are dozens of different types of fun and creepy Halloween decorations just waiting to spook every guest and passerby.
To shorten your workload and provide you with more time for thrills and chills, here are ten spooktastic Halloween decorations that are sure to bring goosebumps and smiles this Hallow's Eve!
The Best Outdoor Halloween Decorations Table
|Star Review Rating
|1. CM-Light Halloween LED Rotating Outdoor Projector Lights
|Automatic Timer&Speed Control Function
Comes with a base and a ground stake
5m long power cable
|5.0 out of 5 Stars
|2. 71-Inch Life Size Hanging Animated Talking Witch Halloween Haunted House Prop Décor
|Features sound- or touch-activated sayings and noises as well as flashing red eyes
Requires 2 "AA" batteries.
Dimensions 26"W x 14"D x 71"H
|3.8 out of 5 Stars
|3. Mega Spider Web Outdoor Halloween Decoration
|Includes one gutter bracket and five ground stakes
Made of polyester blend to survive bad weather
23 feet by 18 feet, this spider web is HUGE
|4.1 out of 5 Stars
|4. 36-Inch Light Up Pumpkin Decoration Outdoor Prop
|Lights up with the flick of a switch
Comes with two hooks, which can be attached to any tree branch for quick and easy installation
|3.0 out of 5 Stars
|5. Severed Hanging Torso Halloween Haunted House Décor
|Hangs approx. 3 ft. when posable arms are fully extended
Has an exposed rib cage for added realism
|3.2 out of 5 Stars
|6. Realistic Halloween Coffin Prop
|Realistic coffin
Made of foam & cardboard
Stands 59.25 inches tall or long (depending on how you choose to display it), 19 inches wide, and seven inches deep
|4.0 out of 5 Stars
|7. 72-Inch Cocoon Corpse Decoration
|72 inches tall
Corpse enclosed in a silky web
Hangs upside down by a wire
|4.6 out of 5 Stars
|8. Scary Hanging Bats Halloween Yard Decoration
|Cut from black corrugated plastic
The eyes are vinyl stickers that can be applied by you
|4.0 out of 5 Stars
|9. Family-Friendly Halloween Trick or Treat Feather Yard Flag Outdoor Decoration
|Characters are printed in a fabric flag
Décor measures 4 3/4'
Weatherproof fabric flag
|4.4 out of 5 Stars
|10. Interactive Skeleton in Hammock Spooky Halloween Decoration
|Hammock is 8 feet long
Requires 3 "AA" batteries
Skeleton is sound activated
|3.0 out of 5 Stars
1. CM-Light Halloween LED Rotating Outdoor Projector Lights
The CM-Light Halloween LED Rotating Outdoor Projector Lights make a wonderful addition to outdoor Halloween décor. The high-quality projector lights cover approximately 300 square feet and feature a new and improved LED bulb for increased wattage and brightness.
While additional slides for Christmas, birthdays, St. Patrick's Day, and other celebrations are included, the Halloween series truly stands out. With a large skeleton, ghost, pumpkin lantern, and bloody eyeballs, it's by far one of the best Halloween projectors available.
The projector features a durable ABS housing to withstand the elements and years of use, speed control function, built-in automatic timer, and a ground stake for easy installation. It's also lightweight, portable, and waterproof.
Meanwhile, the projected images are big, clear, and remarkably colorful, making them a great complement to the rest of your Halloween décor. Simply set it up to project on the front of your home and you're guaranteed to have one of the most fun and spooky homes on the block.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
2. 71-Inch Life Size Hanging Animated Talking Witch Halloween Haunted House Prop Décor
The 71-inch Hanging Talking Witch is designed to increase the spook factor of any home. In addition to its realistic size and look, she also features a variety of touch- or sound-activated sayings, such as:
• "You're not scared, are you?"
• "Boo!"
• "Beware" followed by a menacing witch's cackle
To top it all off, the life-size witch also has sound-activated glowing red eyes, for added spookiness after the sun sets. However, she is a bit cartoonish, which makes it perfect for the kiddos. She's also designed to hand not stand, which takes away from her realistic look.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
3. Mega Spider Web Outdoor Halloween Decoration
The Mega Spider Web Outdoor Halloween Decoration measures a huge 23 feet by 18 feet. This makes it capable of holding the largest of creepy crawlers and scaring arachnophobes of all ages.
The web is easy to put up and includes five ground stakes and one gutter bracket. Simply spread out the stakes in your yard and attach the gutter bracket to have a large spider web outside the front of your home in no time at all.
Although a spider decoration isn't included, the triangle-shaped Mega Spider Web Outdoor Halloween Decoration is made of a tough and durable polyester blend, allowing it to hold the biggest of spider decorations and endure all types of weather.
The white webbing isn't glow in the dark, but it's reflective enough to get noticed day and night. Plus, a spotlight can be used for an added effect. Best of all, it's lightweight and can be easily wrapped up and stored year after year. If you're in need of a huge spider web to round out your Halloween decorations, this giant web is a great option.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
4. 36-Inch Light Up Pumpkin Decoration Outdoor Prop
Nothing says "Halloween is here" more than a jack-o-lantern, and the 36-Inch Light Up Pumpkin Decoration beats a standard jack-o-lantern in several ways. Not only does it stand 36 inches tall, but it lights up with the flick of a switch and won't burn your house down if left unattended.
Unlike regular old light up pumpkins designed to sit on steps, a ledge, or the ground, it also sits on a swing for added effect. It comes with two hooks, which can be attached to any tree branch for quick and easy installation.
It's also fun and not overly spooky, making it a wonderful decoration for little ones to enjoy. Perfect for decorating the front yard and showcasing your Halloween spirit, this oversized orange and green light up pumpkin is one of the best pumpkin or jack-o-lantern decorations on the market today.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
5. Severed Hanging Torso Halloween Haunted House Décor
Looking for something a little spookier and capable of sending chills down the spines of trick or treaters? The Severed Hanging Torso Halloween Haunted House Décor certainly fits the bill.
Designed to provide frights during the day or night, the realistic Severed Hanging Torso is the perfect addition to Halloween zombie decorations, outdoor graveyards, and haunted houses. It even has an exposed rib cage for added realism and chills.
On the downside, it would be nice if it stood on its own rather than hanging. Nonetheless, it's extremely authentic looking and makes a great Halloween door decoration for any and all Halloween lovers. It's also made of quality plastic and made to provide several years of scares.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
6. Realistic Halloween Coffin Prop
There's arguably nothing creepier than a coffin, so this Realistic Halloween Coffin Prop is right at home in your front yard during the Halloween season. Standing 59.25 inches tall or long (depending on how you choose to display it), 19 inches wide, and seven inches deep, it's nearly full size and able to hold almost any skeleton prop. However, the realistic look of the coffin is scary enough to send chills down the spines of trick or treaters all by itself.
Despite being made of foam and cardboard, which makes it incredibly light and portable, it looks eerily similar to the real thing. With a brown and silver metallic finish and black pitted marks, it has an undeniable gothic feel. Tiny skulls also run across both bands, increasing the scary factor even more.
Some assembly is required, but thanks to its pre-installed Velcro, no tools are needed and putting it together is easy as 1-2-3. The only downfall is the fact that it's not waterproof. It also shouldn't be placed near burning candles or any other heat source.
Overall, however, it's a great Halloween prop that's sure to scare the Dickens out of everyone who walks by.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
7. 72-Inch Cocoon Corpse Decoration
Perhaps the only thing scarier than a gothic coffin on Halloween is this 72-Inch Cocoon Corpse Decoration. The life-size corpse stands six feet tall and is designed to hang upside down by an included wire and hook on a front porch, tree in the front yard, or anywhere else for that matter.
The upside down corpse is completely enclosed by a thick mass of spider webs, allowing it stand out from other Halloween decorations and make an awesome addition to any Halloween display. When a light is shined on it, the eyes and facial features of the corpse really stand out, adding to its creepy effect. For the price, it's an excellent buy.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
8. Scary Hanging Bats Halloween Yard Decoration
When it comes to Halloween decorations, hanging bats are nothing new. However, these Scary Hanging Bats are some of the most realistic and creepy bats being made today.
These Halloween yard decorations come in a variety of sizes and feature a black corrugated plastic construction. When the wind blows, these Scary Hanging Bats move around in an eerily lifelike manner, making them even scarier.
Vinyl eye stickers are also included, but they don't glow in the dark, which would be nice for shining at night. Another potential downfall is the fact that hanging wire isn't included. However, by simply attaching clear fishing line through the eye holes, you'll be able to hang them from any tree without noticing the line at all and adding to their realistic look.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
9. Family-Friendly Halloween Trick or Treat Feather Yard Flag Outdoor Decoration
Halloween decorations don't always have to make your heart race and send chills down your spine. Made for kids and everyone to enjoy, the Family-Friendly Halloween Trick or Treat Feather Yard Flag is a happy welcoming ghost with a pumpkin and smiling bat friend for a truly Happy Halloween.
The weatherproof fabric flag stands 4-3/4 inches tall and comes with a stake for easy installation. You can place it by the front door or anywhere else in your yard to enjoy all October long. It's the perfect complement to any Halloween décor.CHECK DEALS ON AMAZON
10. Interactive Skeleton in Hammock Spooky Halloween Decoration
The Interactive Skeleton in Hammock is a fun Halloween decoration perfect for adding a little spookiness to the corner of any yard or porch. The hammock is eight feet long, and the attached skeleton figure is just shy of three feet.
While it's not full size, the one-legged skeleton is sound activated for bone-chilling fun. Whenever someone makes a noise, it comes to life. Its chest moves to simulate breathing and it yawns and snores, adding to its haunting effect.1 X Interactive Skeleton in Hammock spooky Halloween decoration sound-activated


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While so many are unemployed and the situation is worsening the debt crisis hitting families is becoming more unsustainable. Governments say they want to create employment but they have no way of stopping companies from moving offshore or from ceasing to exist. This is having a huge impact on all countries and the introduction of robots to do the work of humans is causing the frustration that many in debt now feel.
It is one of the most painful times in someone's life when they cannot pay the bills and suffer shortages of essential items, even food. While privatisation of resources is another cause of debt companies are demanding higher fees for services provided.
There seems to be no end to the vicious circle but there are some things that people can do to make ends meet. Short of cutting out all non-essential items one of the things that really helps is a budget. One must write it on paper to show how much comes in and what goes out.
An account ledger is a good place to start. On the left hand side list all monies coming in while on the right hand side all the money spent. That includes groceries, bills, and other things. The aim is to get a balance between the two sides.
Once everything is listed work out ways to pay the bills over a longer period. Instead of paying the full amount at once ring the company involved and stagger the payment over two to three income periods. That way one can be paying off the majority of debt without stretching themselves too far.
If unemployed and there is no income, then that is a different matter. One has to apply to the government for the dole and use charities to help pay the bills. The main thing is good management and that can only be achieved when things are written down and the ledger is balanced.
Under normal circumstances it will happen that things will come right. Slowly over time and with determination to pay less for things and even to put a little aside each payday for emergencies the debt will be dissolved. It's a self-discipline exercise as well as restraint against spending on things that can be put off until another time.
The golden rule is not to use credit cards and never buy anything unless you can afford to pay cash for it.


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Author: Athletics NSW Administrator/Tuesday, 11 July 2017/Categories: ANSW Events
Event date: 13/01/2018 Export event
The All-Comers and NSW 10,000m Championships will be held at the Fearnley Dawes Athletics Centre, Newcastle, on the afternoon/evening of Saturday, 13th January, 2018.
Competition Status
Both events are permitted by Athletics NSW (ANSW). An ANSW permit allows athletes to qualify for national events.
Athletes must be registered with an Athletics NSW affiliated club for the 2017/18 season. If you are not currently registered with a club you can register online here. Interstate athletes who are registered members of their state organisation are welcome to enter.
Registered Athletics NSW club members must wear their correct club uniform. Athletes must have their Athletics NSW 2017-18 registration numbers attached on the front and back (except in jumps events).
Click here for a copy of the entry list.
On the Day Check-in
All athletes in TRACK events must report to athlete check in to advise of their intention to compete at least sixty (60) minutes before the scheduled starting time of the event.
Athletes entered in FIELD events only, are not required to report to athlete check in. Instead, field event athletes must report directly to the field event site at least twenty (20) minutes before the scheduled start time.
Allcomers Events
The events being offered for the All-Comers competition are: 100m, 200m, 800m, Sprint Hurdles, High Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Javelin Throw.
NSW 10,000m Championships
The NSW 10,000m Championships are to be held at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Centre on the evening of Saturday 13th January 2017 and conducted in the open category for both men and women. 10,000m races will be seeded based on seed performance and not age.
State Championship entry fee is $20. Athletes without a credit card or internet access should contact the Athletics NSW office well in advance of the closing date to arrange alternative entry.
Late entries will be only accepted if positions exist in the most appropriate race for the athlete. Late entry into the Championship is not guaranteed and if accepted will cost $35. The decision of the Athletics NSW Competition Manager is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Start Lists will be posted on the ANSW website by 5:00pm Friday 12th January 2017. Athletes should check these start lists to confirm the race they will contest and the start time.
All athletes must confirm their entry on the day at least 60 minutes before the race they have been entered. Failure to check in will result in the athlete being scratched from the event.
Athletes must provide a lap scorer, who must report to the finish line area at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the race.
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Additional Information:
2019/20 NSW SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR (updated 6th September, 2019)
2019/20 Competition Calendar (updated 13th September, 2019)
2019/20 Summer Competition Grid (updated 13th September, 2019)
Bankstown Tuesday Night Winter Series (1) + Women's High Performance High Jump & Women's Long Jump
2019 Coles Nitro Schools Challenge
2019 Waratah Run Series- NSW Marathon Championships
2019 ACPE NSW All Schools Championships
All Comers + NSW 10,000m State Championships - Bankstown


text: The study of Archaeology in Latin America has been strongly affected by the socio-political setting of the region. The history of military repression in Latin America in the 1960s-1980s has been particularly challenging to study, with many holes in the historic accounts. Several Latin American dictatorships emerged during this period, particularly during the Cold War and the Cuban Revolution. Military regimes remained in power for decades, until internal and international changes allowed democracy to take over a firm hold. Due to military and governmental upheaval, written sources on clandestine repression are scarce and fragmentary, with many of these sources destroyed deliberately by repressive governments. New archaeological methods must be employed to reconstruct the true history of this period, helping shed light on repressive mechanisms, to recover missing history. Not only will the contributions of this important volume shed light on the specific case of Repression in Latin America, but the techniques described will be a valuable resources of information for archaeologists working to reconstruct other historical periods without reliable written sources, and shed light on the nature of political repression worldwide.


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Source: Reuters, March 2014
(Reuters) – A combination treatment from GlaxoSmithKline for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has been delayed in Europe after regulators said they needed more information.
Britain's biggest drugmaker said on Wednesday it had withdrawn its application and would re-submit its filing for the combined use of Tafinlar, also known as dabrafenib, and Mekinist, or trametinib, once it had additional results from an ongoing Phase III clinical trial.
The reluctance of the European Medicines Agency to approve the combination based on Phase II data, plus some limited Phase III results, contrasts with the stance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which gave the treatment accelerated approval in January.
Tafinlar is already approved in Europe, while Mekinist is still being reviewed. GSK believes the two drugs will have a longer-lasting effect if given together. Industry analysts also see a combination offering the greatest commercial potential.
Tafinlar, which is similar to Roche's rival medicine Zelboraf, is designed to work in patients with a mutation of a gene known as BRAF. So-called BRAF inhibitors have been remarkably effective in shrinking melanoma tumours but most patients eventually develop resistance to the drugs.
By combining Tafinlar with Mekinist, which works in a different way, the hope is that the cancer will be held at bay for longer.
Melanoma is diagnosed in nearly 160,000 people worldwide each year. It can spread quickly to internal organs and average survival is six to nine months. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Pravin Char)Read original article


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Cincinnati Patio Home Buyers, We Need A Favor From You!
If you've been surfing the web searching for Cincinnati patio or lifestyle homes we're betting on one thing: you keep seeing us over and over. You're finding our blog posts, our webpages, our website dedicated to patio homes, our Pinterest boards. We've put a LOT of patio home information out there to help you understand the Cincinnati lifestyle home market.
And we challenge you to find any other real estate team that has demonstrated more expertise about Cincinnati area low maintenance living. We've made a significant investment in time and effort to gather the knowledge needed to provide you the very best service and opportunity to find your ideal patio home match.
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But we admit we have a secret, we haven't shown you EVERYTHING we know about patio homes. Not even close honestly. Now considering how much we've tipped our hand with easily viewable information that doesn't even require us to tell you who you are, you may wonder how we could possibly have more information than we're sharing? But it's true! There are patio home developments that we haven't blogged about, nor created an easy to use custom patio home search like we have for many of the area lifestyle home communities.
No, that additional detailed knowledge is reserved exclusively for the Cincinnati area patio home buyers that treat us with the same loyalty that we reserve for our clients. That favor we need? We want you make a commitment to work with us exclusively as your patio home agents. Do so and you'll have every brain cell of patio home knowledge we have at your full disposal. No secrets, no holding back.
If you need to sell your existing home to buy a patio home, of course we help home sellers too. However, if you've got an agent you want to use to sell your home and just work with us for your patio home purchase, we're totally fine with that arrangement too!
So if you're ready to find your ideal patio home, please call The Liz Spear Team of RE/MAX Elite at 513-520-5305. You'll not regret the decision! No hassle, no pressure!
Serving Cincinnati patio home buyers and sellers,
Liz and Bill aka BLiz
Serving Warren County Ohio & Adjacent Areas
The Liz Spear Team of RE/MAX Elite
Elizabeth Spear, ABR, CRS, Ohio License SAL.2002007747
William (Bill) Spear, CRS, Ohio License SAL.2004011109 Kentucky 77938
Ask for us by name if you visit the office!
Two locations: Lebanon & Mason, OH
Bill Direct: 513-520-5305
Liz Direct: 513-265-3004
Fax: 866-302-8418
MailTo: email@example.com
Search Homes: Https://WarrenCountyOhioRealEstate.com
Our Website: www.LizTour.com
View Liz Spear Team of RE/MAX Elite Primary Service Area in a larger map


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Published Dec 17, 2010
Whether you take a Bloody Mary or coffee with your eggs benedict, we know you have a favorite brunch spot!
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The 2010 FOX 8 HOT LIST awards are based on more than 142,000 votes from local Cleveland-area experts.


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Seniors: All January 1, 2019 application deadlines need to be turned into your counselor before December 5, 2018.
Our Fall Play is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of this week. We have created a stage play version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame complete with all of your favorite characters like Quasimodo and Esmeralda. Purchase your tickets at all lunches for $8 or at the door for $10.
Auditions for the Spring Musical NEWSIES are being held Dec 12 and 13. Get more information from Mr. Stone and sign up for an audition time. We are looking for people who can sing, act, or dance. Come join us and have a great experience! No experience required, just a desire to put on a great show!!
Jamestown now is the time to help the children for operation smile. we collect supplies for children during their time of need . The children undergo surgery and are in need of multiple items The list is on the board outside Mrs. Brophy's room.. There is a box in Mrs. Brophy's room. Please stop by and help out.


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