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The News by C. Dale Young
The potted ficus in the corner of Flora Diaz's kitchen, the ficus barely four-feet tall and planted in a rust-colored ceramic pot, the one that she watered every six days had, for the first time in the almost four decades she had owned it, started showing some yellowing leaves. This did not escape Flora Diaz's attention. Nor had it escaped Javier Castillo's attention; he made a point of pointing it out when he first told me about that particular time in his life. The ficus was one of the only things Flora Diaz brought with her to California when she left the island. Flora Diaz knew that Ficus benjamina, the weeping fig, only offered up yellowing leaves in times of stress, of over-watering or under-watering. And Flora Diaz was quite sure she had not altered the routine she had adopted in caring for this plant. As she studied the ficus, she discovered a whitish patch, discovered that one of the three thinner trunks twisted together had a white ring roughly midway between the soil of the pot and the small umbrella of branches. She noted this but could not discern the significance of it, and this bothered her. It bothered her more than she realized.
Sitting at her kitchen table after performing her morning ritual of checking her plants and drinking a glass of hot water with a freshly-crushed pepper in it, Flora Diaz could feel a prickling on her skin followed by a subtle change in the light just in front of her. Then came the distinct smell one associates with a wire burning. The light elsewhere in the kitchen was the warm light entering through the windows of the kitchen, but the cool-white light she could appreciate in front of her was not natural light. It was anything but natural; it was her nephew Javier Castillo. As she spoke his name, his form began to take shape, the cool-white light suddenly variegated and shimmering and then the shape of his head and his arms shaded, shaded and then definitely there. Within another thirty seconds or so, Javier Castillo was sitting in the chair across from his aunt, and within another ten or so seconds he was solid enough to speak.
"I can never surprise you, Tia. Can I? Like Mama, you can sense me before I am completely here."
"Why are you here, Javi?"
"Is that any way to greet your only nephew?"
"No games, Javi. I am not in any mood for games."
Flora Diaz was not one to waste time with small talk, I was told, especially with members of her own family. She was not even slightly interested in pleasantries. Her nephew, regardless of what he did, was a reminder of her past no matter how much she tried not to think of him in that way. She knew he had nothing to do with her early difficulties, but she couldn't help but feel this way. In this, her family was no different than others. Javier Castillo was a reminder of her sister, of the life they had as children, of the island she grew up on, of the fact she came from a long line of "difficult people." He reminded her of her own mother, his nose most definitely hers. And, sadly, he reminded her of the Archbishop who had time and time again abused and violated both her and her sister so many years ago. The smile, that mouth, the way it was capable of deception: Javier Castillo had his father's mouth which, to Flora Diaz, negated the regal nose he had inherited from her side of the family.
"Mama is dying," Javier said.
"No. She is not. I would know such a thing."
"Well, she's dying. She's lost almost thirty pounds over the past two months alone."
"Foolishness," Flora said. I bet Flora Diaz wondered if this were a trick, an elaborate trick. Considering her nephew and his abilities to manipulate people, she had to have considered this.
"I think she has something... cancer, something."
"Not possible." Flora Diaz waved her hand as if swatting gnats, but there wasn't a single thing in the air except the occasional awkward silence after each of them spoke.
"Mama won't even see people, Tia. She won't heal anyone."
"Because she is a selfish whore trying desperately to heal herself."
"See. This confirms you know she is sick."
"I don't know anything. What I do know is that you are reckless. You are never satisfied. You manipulate."
Flora Diaz was probably not surprised at these thoughts she had, but she had to be surprised she was voicing them to her nephew. She was mostly a private person who said little, but she couldn't stop herself then.
"I have, at many times, been a mother to you. And how did you repay me? You persuaded the Blanco man down the road to follow you. And for what? Because you need to be adored, to be worshipped? You let him see you disappear. You charmed him despite the fact you knew it would lead nowhere. You..."
"Tia, it is just plain rude to look into other people's lives like that!"
"You are a charmer, Javi. You have done this before and will continue to do it. You choose to charm... You choose to do this."
"Tia, we are all capable of charming, as you call it. It is the one thing that we can all do. What you are upset about has nothing to do with my charming someone. What upsets you is the fact I charmed a man."
"Don't start that with me, Javi. I know what you are, and I have never so much as said a word to you about it."
"But it bothers you. I know it does."
"Go home to your mother, Javi. At least there you won't cause as much trouble as you have done here."
"The Blanco man was a mistake, I admit that. And it was years ago, Tia."
"Forget it. No need to keep discussing this. Just leave now, Javi. Go care for your mother."
I wish I had been there to watch Flora Diaz chastise Javier Castillo, but once she had gotten the outburst out of her system she went on to surprise herself further with nothing but silences. Javier Castillo was definitely not polite. As if convincing people to turn over their money to him was polite. As if using your ability to manipulate people in all manner of ways was polite. Javier Castillo was his mother's child through and through. That a man could possess the gift he had was something Flora didn't know was possible until Javier Castillo was born. That he could bend light, as her mother Tita Diaz had called it, still amazed her, though she would never admit that. Her mother couldn't do that. Not even her sister could do that. She had been taught that no woman since the first of their kind had held that particular gift. Both she and her sister had been warned by their mother not to have sons, but her sister had not listened. She was selfish and did whatever she wanted to do. And this was the result, a man who possessed one of the gifts, the first man to possess one of the gifts, the most dangerous of the gifts. When Javier recounted this, he always had a sheepish and almost guilty look on his face. He knew quite certainly that he had been a mistake. And mistakes always have consequences.
Minutes passed then with nothing but silence. The birds outside had stopped their morning racket, the relaying of the news as her mother Tita Diaz used to call it, which only made the silence in the kitchen more palpable. And Flora became very much aware then of her nephew Javier Castillo and the sadness in his face. He had come for her help, but this was one time she refused to help, could not help even if she wanted to do so.
"Mama needs you. You should have known I was coming. You should have seen me coming."
"I am not as enamored of my skills in the way you and your mother are. She has made herself known as a healer. Maybe she should heal herself."
"That is cold, Tia, even for you."
"Not cold, Javi. Not cold at all. Just the truth."
But Flora Diaz had lied, at least somewhat. She did know Javier Castillo was coming. She had seen it weeks earlier. But what likely upset her was the fact she didn't foresee the reason why he was coming. She must have known it was because he was in trouble. But to hear Javier tell the story this was, for the first time in over three decades, a moment his aunt had not seen correctly. And this must have confused her, disturbed her.
"Are you okay, Tia? Are you alright?"
"Why? Don't tell me you suddenly have the gift of Reading?"
"I don't need your gift to see the changes in your face."
"You always were a clever boy, Javi. So clever. But you are not clever."
"She's dying, Tia. You know it as well as I do. There has to be someone in the family who can heal her. I know it isn't you, but you would know the right person."
"There is no one. We three are all that is left. There have always been at least three, three gifted fools sharing none of the same skills. Your abuela could have saved her. Your abuela could have saved anyone. But this is irrelevant because your mother would not have the strengths she does were my Mama alive."
Flora could remember as a child watching her mother tend to the sick from all over the island. And she remembered the way her sister Cassie would study her, memorizing everything she did. The way her mother cracked the window; the way she steadied her hands or shook her head; the way in which she lowered her voice: Cassie studied it all. Did she steal this skill from their mother? Or was it that Cassie already had the skill and was simply taking advantage of being able to observe a good teacher? Flora would never know, Javier would never know, though in the secret space of this story we all know Cassie stole that gift from her mother. She was that ruthless. She was born ruthless. Flora Diaz had no gift for healing. All she had was sight, what her mother had called the gift of Reading. And that had not become fully her own until her mother had died in the months after she had escaped the convent. None of them fully appreciated their "gifts," fully commanded them until her mother died. Javier was quite sure of this. He would say that the day his abuela died his entire body changed, his mind changed, everything changed. It was as if the air itself surrounding him had changed.
"Go back to your mother. She will not be happy you came here."
"Tia, you must come back with me. There must be a cousin, someone who can help her."
"I won't. I will not. I have no intention of returning to that place. Why would I fly half way across the world and then take a boat to that horrible place?"
"Isn't there another like us in the family? There must be a distant cousin, someone."
"There are seven gifts, Javi, but there are only three of us left. Even if a distant cousin had skills, it would not be strong enough to help. And it would not be the gift of Healing." As she said this, Flora Diaz sighed as if worn out, as if annoyed at the ignorance of her nephew, as if by doing so he would tire and leave. "There are only three of us, Javi. We are all that is left. At one point, there were many of us, but we are all that is left now."
Javier Castillo sat still and stared at his aunt. He said nothing more. His face became determined, and he slowly faded into a shadow, and then a shimmer, and then air. It was gradual. There was the man, and then the man seen through but still there, and then the spotlessly clean wall of the kitchen behind the chair where Javier Castillo had been sitting. Flora had seen this many times. The Blanco man had seen it. I have seen it. She knew that within minutes he would be near his mother's side or God knows where else in the world. She remembered her nephew as a child, before her mother had passed. He was born in that convent. She remembered how Javier, barely five years old, demonstrated his gift, materializing to each of them in their rooms in the evenings, moving from room to room without walking. And she remembered how each time he left her she could follow the thread he left in the air to see where he went after disappearing. But when she concentrated, she could not see him. She couldn't see him at all. Not one to give up easily, she got up, crossed the room, tore some dead leaves off the ficus and crumbled them on the table. She held her hands over them for almost fifteen minutes but saw nothing of Javier Castillo's whereabouts. No matter how she concentrated, she could see nothing of her nephew.
She had not foreseen the reason why her nephew had come to visit her, and then she could not see him at all. She kept trying. You know she had to have kept trying. She must have stared so hard at the leaves crumbled on the table that she could feel the muscles on her scalp begin to twitch and ache from her staring. Her mother had been the only person on earth she could not see from a distance. You know Flora had to be confused. She must have considered the possibility that Javier was as strong as her own mother. But trust me when I say this: that was just not possible. In all of this, the one thing I have learned is that none of them — Cassie, Flora, or Javier — were as strong as the old woman Tita Diaz.
So many links. Too many links. The first time Javier Castillo had visited Flora Diaz there in the Valley, she should have known, should have seen what was to happen. It is likely she saw the events about to unfold but wanted no part of it. He had asked about the man down the street many times. He wanted to know what he did for work. Flora was so stupid not to intervene then. But she ignored what was right there before her eyes, ignored her nephew's comments about how the man had really green eyes, the kind that startle you. He wanted the Blanco man. This I know. He wanted him. Her nephew was worse than the idiot girls she despised, the ones who threw themselves at men, tried to seduce them with coyness and guile. Yes, her nephew was, in many ways, worse than any of these girls. He wanted the Blanco man, and he was going to have him. But if you pull a link from a chain, the chain will no longer be complete. She knew this. She and her sister had pulled many links from many chains in their youth, destroyed them even.
A few days after Javier Castillo's visit, Flora Diaz was surprised by the sound of her own doorbell. When she opened the door, Carmen Jimenez was standing there with that stupid look on her face. "I am sure you knew I was coming, so I won't keep you too long." Flora Diaz ushered her to the kitchen where, as she had done countless times, she crumbled the dried leaves Carmen Jimenez brought her onto the kitchen table. With her hands over them, Flora saw nothing. Carmen was chattering on about how she might be up for a promotion but that she wanted to make sure. But the way Javier recounts all of this, Flora Diaz saw nothing of Carmen's future, and the only aspect of Carmen's past she could see was what she had already seen years before, not sight really but plain old memory.
"So, do you see the promotion? I know you can see that I had an affair with the manager, but what's a girl to do, right?"
"I'm very tired today, Carmen. I didn't sleep well last night, and now I am having trouble concentrating."
"It's okay, girl. We all have bad days."
"Yes, come back in a few weeks."
"Well, if I haven't heard about the promotion by then, no need to come back!"
Carmen was up and out of the house in what must have seemed a blur to Flora Diaz. First the visit from her nephew; and then her inability to find him in her sight; and then the unexpected visit from Carmen Jimenez: how was this possible? Unexpected? Nothing was ever unexpected for Flora Diaz. She was the soothsayer, the Fortune Teller, the oracle. Though she would never have used any of these words to describe herself, they were the words others had labeled her with for her entire life. Try as she did, she had no explanation for her sudden lack of vision. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her chest. Something was terribly wrong.
Flora tried to go about her business. She swept off her front porch and noticed the histrionic Blanco woman down the block pretending not to see her. Of all people her nephew could have chosen to charm, he had to choose that crazy woman's husband. And why? Vanity, she must have thought, nothing but vanity. Javier Castillo was always such a vain boy. She went back inside. She rearranged the plants in her living room and kitchen. She went out into her backyard and weeded the flowerbeds. Something was wrong. As she pulled the weeds, she realized that she was merely pulling them from the dirt, that she couldn't feel them the way she had her entire life. As a child, she remembered the first time she touched a plant and felt the spark in her fingertips, the way her mother had smiled at her and said, "It is okay. This is how some of us are." But there in the back yard, she felt no spark. The weeds were just weeds. They rose from the dirt with the slightest of tugs, and there was nothing more than that. The weeds rose from the ground at her insistence and clumps of dirt fell from their tangle of roots when she shook them.
Flora stood up and walked around her back yard. In almost every flowerbed, there were weeds. Several of the plants had died because the weeds had stolen too much of the water around their roots. She did not believe she had neglected her yard, but there was the evidence staring her in the face. But the evidence seemed rigged, flawed because she knew she had weeded the beds just a few days earlier. But there in front of her was an abundance of weeds choking off her plants and flowers. She walked over to the old tree in the yard with a kind of confidence one sees with a magician who not only knows the magic trick but how to convince the audience it is every bit as real as the walls around the theater. Surely her skill was just weakened. Surely she was just out of sorts, too tired. Surely something as large as a tree... She touched the tree and felt only the grooved and cracked surface of the bark. Nothing more. No spark. No sudden rush of images. All of her life a tree was like an antenna for her. It amplified her ability to see. But there in the yard, nothing. Flora Diaz backed away from the tree and, for the first time in weeks, knew in the quiet of her mind that something was, in fact, terribly wrong.
Flora heard bells. She became aware it was someone ringing her doorbell over and over. Carmen Jimenez must have left something and had come back to retrieve it. But again, she hadn't seen Carmen coming. When she answered the door, she was faced not with Carmen Jimenez but with Rosa Blanco, the woman who lived down the street. Flora did not invite her in.
"You may have fooled everyone that lives around here, but you haven't fooled me."
"I would never try to fool you."
"I know you are a wicked old bruja. You made my husband disappear. You did it. And you killed my son!"
"I did nothing but tell you the truth, things you didn't want to hear." Flora tried to close the door, but Rosa pushed her foot against it to keep it from closing.
"You know, it is terrible to pray for bad things, but I pray every night that you suffer the way I have."
"Everyone suffers, Rosa. Everyone. Not just you." With that, Flora had the strength to slam the door shut.
Rosa Blanco kicked the door, hit it with her fists, and continued to do so for almost three minutes. Flora Diaz sat in the chair in the corner of her living room and stared at the door. She stared at it as if by doing so she could make Rosa Blanco disappear. Long after Rosa tired of hitting and kicking the door, after she had stopped yelling obscenities and curses in both English and Spanish, Flora Diaz continued staring at the door. It may have been thirty minutes later, possibly even an hour, when the mail slot in the door swung upward and the even rectangle of light in the door spit an envelope on the floor in front it. She could hear the postman walking off the porch and down the steps.
I like to believe this was a relief for her to hear the postman's predictable steps. At least those steps told her this wasn't a note from the crazy woman down the street who, as far as Flora was concerned, should be locked away in an institution like her one remaining son. Javier Castillo had charmed her husband, and the story of their lives had been changed. She knew that. I knew that. Javier changed everything around him so easily. We know that the Blanco man leaving made his wife Rosa crazy. One thing after another, the dominoes had fallen and, as they did, other dominoes had to fall. Mail usually came around 1:00 pm. Flora Diaz left the envelope lying on the floor. How she was able to do that, to leave it there, is the one part of the story I will never completely understand. I could never have left a letter lying there.
As Flora Diaz stood in her kitchen staring at the ficus in the corner, she could see that one of the three trunks had not just a white patch but also a full ring of white. She studied it and realized there were flecks of yellow as well. Rot. The plant had acquired rot. As she studied the other parts of the trunk, she found another ring, this time on one of the other three components of the trunk. Flora Diaz had gotten the ficus as a gift as a young girl. It was a gift from her great aunt, her mother's aunt, Clara Diaz. It reminded Flora of the plant her great aunt had kept in her own kitchen, a small tree with a twisted trunk, a ficus, the weeping fig. In Flora's mind, the ficus was her great aunt or, to be more precise, a symbol of her great aunt. And to see the ficus now with rot after so many years of care had to make Flora angry.
The way Javier explained it, Flora Diaz almost never dreamed. When she discovered that other people dreamed all the time, Flora had gone to her mother for answers. Her mother had no answers but told her not to worry about this because she had the ability to "dream" in the daytime, to dream while awake. Her mother knew little about the gift of Reading, but she knew it existed and was an important gift in her family. Flora Diaz's mother was the child of a Mover, and her mother's aunt, the one who gave her the ficus, was a Reader. But her mother and her great aunt never talked about their gifts with each other. They rarely talked at all. What Flora knew about her grandmother was the fact she viewed the English and Spanish, the white men who had claimed much of the Caribbean in times past, as devils. And though Flora never met her grandmother, she heard her grandmother's words from her mother's mouth all the time as a child. Her great aunt spoke those words, as well.
But the night after the visits from Carmen Jimenez and Rosa Blanco, Flora Diaz supposedly had odd dreams. In one she could see trees twisting and bending and, in the branches of a very large shak shak tree, her nephew was sitting and clutching the branches as the tree swayed, its obscene elongated pods swinging back and forth due to heavy gusts of wind, the blood-red petals fluttering away from the tree almost as if in slow motion. When Flora woke, she couldn't shake the odd sensation that the dreams were both real and not real. What did the dreams mean? Why was Javier Castillo stuck in a tree? Was there a hurricane coming that would damage the island? This was the difficulty with dreams. One had to interpret them, which was a skill Flora Diaz did not possess.
When Flora rose from bed, dressed herself and went to the kitchen the next morning, she did what she had done her entire adult life, she boiled water and crushed a pepper in a glass over which she poured the hot water. Her mother had taught her this as a young girl, taught her by example. The pepper was to clear the chest and the mind. After so many years, the powerfully hot pepper barely made her tongue tingle. I never saw Javier do this. If my memory serves me correctly, only his mother and aunt did this faithfully. As Flora Diaz drank the hot water that morning, she looked over at the ficus, her weeping fig, and saw quite clearly that the rot had spread to all three of the individual trunks twisted together that made up the trunk of the plant. As she stared at the plant, she had to have seen that many of the leaves had yellowed specks on them. Rot. Someone had brought rot into her house. One of the many people who brought leaves for her to read had brought it into her house. And try as she might, she couldn't see who had done it.
After an hour at the kitchen table thinking and rethinking the events of the past two weeks, Flora decided she should get some of her daily errands out of the way. As she walked through her small living room, she saw the letter that had been delivered the previous day lying on the floor in front of the door. She had forgotten it had come. No other mail had come, so the lone letter seemed all the more pronounced lying there on the hardwood floor. She crossed the room and picked up the letter, tore it open unevenly. She pulled the white paper from the bluish-tinged envelope and read it standing there in front of the door.
Mama died last night. Tried to come to you to tell you but unable. Not sure why. Unable to travel. Sister Juan Martín sent this for me. –Javi
Why was Javier Castillo unable to come to her? How had Flora Diaz of all people not felt her sister's passing, which now, had taken place days prior? She had not foreseen any of this. Her mother and grandmother's hushed whispers came to her, but she had to have remembered those whispers in their negative versions: "the white men won, they had finally won." As she stood there, one thing had to be very clear to her. There would be no more of them. There would be no more of her kind. Her sister was dead. Something had changed. Her family was now at its end. The white men had won, had finally killed them off. She stammered and paced and read the note over and over. Can't you see this? She had helped Cassie all those years ago, helped her to do unspeakable things. And didn't she always know Cassie having a boy was a terrible omen, a violation of sorts? A boy. There was no one now to continue the family. Javier Castillo possessed one of the gifts, something that had been reserved for women for as long as her people had existed. But that boy would never have children. There was no place in him to pass on a gift to another. The white men had finally won, had finally exterminated them. They had done it many years ago, but she hadn't realized it until that moment. There would be no more of them.
Flora realized she was kneeling on the floor of her kitchen. She must have tried to see Javier Castillo back on the island in the Great House. But we all know she saw nothing. The white patches of rot now stretched inches between the soil and the canopy of branches. It involved all three of the trunks twisted together. I would wager money that she touched the leaves of the ficus then and concentrated but saw only the kitchen around her. The light in the windows flickered and shimmered as the wind moved one of the tree's limbs in the backyard. She must have believed it was Javier Castillo taking shape in her kitchen, but that would have simply been wishful thinking. Flora and her sister had done terrible things to their own family, even if they were only half-brothers and half-sisters. And Cassie had a boy despite being warned not to do so. And Flora Diaz must have known it was the end. She lay herself down on the floor of her kitchen, her face sticking to the linoleum, her left hand clutching the telegram. And the shadows of the large tree outside kept shifting the light as the wind moved the limbs over and over. One wonders what Flora Diaz saw as she lay there. One wonders what any of us sees at the end.
C. Dale Young practices medicine full-time and teaches in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. He is the author of four books of poetry, including The Halo due out from Four Way Books in March 2016 and a collection of linked stories The Affliction forthcoming from Four Way Books in 2018. A recipient of fellowships fro the National endowment for the Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation, he lives in San Francisco.


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In my previous post, I poked fun at Nancy Pelosi's absurd statement "There has never been a more open process for any legislation" in the drafting of the Healthcare Refrom bills.
What is extremely interesting is that both she and Rep Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) point out in this video that transparency has occurred in part because "...tens of thousands of people participated in our Town Meetings..."
Yes, tens of thousands of people participated, and tens of thousands of those participants told you that they wanted nothing to do with this push towards socialized medicine. Many of those tens of thousands went to the Town Meetings because there had been no transparency.
Yet they still push forward....
It really tells you what their agenda is when they tout the opposition of a majority of the country to what they are doing as transparency, but they are willing to ignore that majority to impose their desire of government controlled health care upon us.


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Post Election: What do we do now?
Regardless of who you voted for, no one can deny that this election has been emotional. This election, and many others around the world, have revealed some deep cracks in our humanity. Many of us are afraid of anyone who doesn't look and act just like we do. It's easy to feel disappointed and hopeless when we see all that is broken. So what do we do now?
We can wait for another election...hope for another candidate to say the right things...wish that things turn out ok....or.....there is another option. What if we started solving problems?
Government can be good at a lot of things such as collecting taxes, providing infrastructure, administering laws and protecting through police and military, but one thing they don't do well....and honestly can't do well is love humanity. The issues that this election has brought up...our fears, hatreds,frustrations and hurts can't be solved by laws or policies but they can be solved by us.
What do we do now?
Find the problem that bothers you the most. Out of all the news coverage and dialogue that you've watching what hurts the most.
Find (be) the solution. What can you do to fix it? How can you become the remedy to the issues you see?
Invite others. Instead of blaming, complaining, pointing fingers...what if we simply invited others to help us love, heal, serve, lead, support the humanity all around us?
We can't wait until the Inauguration for these problems to be solved. We definitely can't wait until 2020 for them to be solved. We can do it today. What do we do now? We do what we do best...we see problems and we solve them.


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Classes have officially begun in our brand new studio space!!!
Classes have officially begun in our brand new studio space!!! Congratulations to Miss Chloe on your very first pointe class!!!
Award Winning Faculty, Acclaimed Curriculum
8 E Wilson St Batavia, IL, 60510
Celebrating Ten Years of Excellence In Dance Education
Classes offered in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Tap, Ballroom, Musical Theater, Acro Dance and more!
Beginner through Advanced Levels, Ages 18 months through Adult
National Champions since 2012! 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Best of the Best National Title Winning Competition and Performance Team!!
Annual recital in the state-of-the-art Batavia Fine Arts Centre
Limited class sizes to ensure individualized student attention
Age appropriate costuming and choreography
Fun and positive environment! We'd love to be able to share our love of dance with you!
Our curriculum is designed to accommodate all levels and ages, from students who wish to achieve a professional career in dance to those who want to enjoy dance on a recreational level.
We strive to provide the highest quality of dance training to Batavia and the surrounding Fox Valley communities.
Gain confidence, poise, and lasting friendships by studying with nurturing teachers in a fun and supportive environment!
Classes have officially begun in our brand new studio space!!! Congratulations to Miss Chloe on your very first pointe class!!!
Published: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 5:30 a.m. CDT
By JONATHAN BILYK - firstname.lastname@example.com
Anne Gugliuzza loves to dance.
But Gugliuzza, owner of the Batavia Academy of Dance, will tell you the only thing she loves more than dancing is inspiring others to dance.
"Dance is beautiful and majestic, and it just makes life so much more beautiful," she said. "The world would be a better place if everyone danced."
Combining those passions, Gugliuzza opened her dance school in 2009.
The business was the result of years of patience and planning. Gugliuzza said she started crafting a plan in 2000, when the thought of opening a dance school began to move from idle fascination to distinct possibility.
"This has been my dream since I was born, I think," she said.
Going against the advice of others, Gugliuzza renovated a second-floor dance studio on East Wilson Street in downtown Batavia, registered her first four students and raised the curtain on the Batavia Academy of Dance.
Since opening the dance school, business has boomed – far better and faster than Gugliuzza could have imagined. Three years later, she and her fellow dance instructors teach 110 students and have a waiting list.
The demand has prompted her to expand the business. This year, she considered offering classes in a satellite location, but instead jumped at the opportunity to lease and renovate the ground floor storefront directly beneath her studio.
Gugliuzza expects to open the space, which will include a second studio and a boutique selling dance clothing and equipment, in early September.
Gugliuzza said the success of her business has amazed her and taught her important lessons along the way. She said finding balance in her family life has been key.
"Building a business can be chaos," Gugliuzza said. "It can consume you if you're not careful."
She also noted running a business specializing in what she loves has challenged her to think like a businesswoman specializing in dance.
"I love dance so much, and I want everyone else to love it, too," she said. "But sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm a business owner, too, and that I can't just give this away.
"I love having a business, but to me, dance is even more amazing and wonderful, that it's a real challenge."
It was another amazing Block Party Festival today!!! We had so much fun dancing in the streets again!! And, a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our very first Batavia Flash Mob!!
By AL LAGATTOLLA - firstname.lastname@example.com
BATAVIA – Dominic Cattero stood inside the darkened main theater of the new Batavia Fine Arts Centre and closed the curtain, promising it'd make an impressive sight.
Cattero, the theater's manager, turned on the lights, and the room came alive. The soft lighting throughout the room showed row after row of cushy seats, and a spotlight shown on the curtain that covered the stage.
The building is ready for its opening night.
The new jewel of the Batavia arts scene makes its debut with a Red Carpet Gala at 6 p.m. Saturday at the center, which is at 1401 W. Wilson St. The building's logo will be unveiled, and there will be tours, an arts showcase and performances by several groups.
The Fine Arts Centre is at Batavia High School, and the school's drama department will stage shows there. But it's about more than that. Other Batavia arts organizations will put on shows in the facility, and there will be attractions from out of the area as well.
Anne Gugliuzza, who owns the Batavia Academy of Dance, is among those excited about the future.
"I'm speechless," she said. "It is amazing. It is so wonderful, and it really trumps anything else we've had here."
What they have is a facility that has four areas in which shows can be staged. The main stage area seats as many as 890 people. A more intimate stage is the black box theater, so named because it is a black room shaped like a box. It seats as many as 150.
Cattero gestured to an outside courtyard area that could seat 275 people. And there also is a two-story gallery space. There is a box office in the front and a makeup room that connects with the black box theater.
There also is a shop area that needs to be stocked. A "Stock the Shop" event is going on through Monday, in which the Fine Arts Centre has registered at Ace Hardware in Batavia, and those who wish to help can buy items off that list.
Batavia High School Principal Lisa Hichens said the Fine Arts Centre represents a hope that many had since the school's cafetorium opened in 1994. Student performances had been there since then, but because the cafetorium also serves as the school's cafeteria, many found that it wasn't a good venue for shows.
She said the new center was a big hit for faculty members Thursday when they got their first glimpse.
"There is an increased comfort level. You can't even compare it," she said. "The audience would be in plastic cafeteria chairs.
"At the time, it was what we could afford. But we always knew we would have a fine arts center."
Gugliuzza is happy to see that day arrive.
"The high school has been in need of a performing arts facility forever," she said. "The cafetorium just didn't cut it for the caliber of production that the high school produces."
The Batavia Academy of Dance is just one of many local organizations that will stand to benefit. Cattero mentioned that Water Street Studios will have a major presence at the facility as well. One of Water Street's founders, Joi Cuartero, is the executive director of Batavia MainStreet.
"It's greatly impressive," Cuartero said. "It's attached to the high school, so people assume that it is the high school auditorium, but it is much more than that. They plan to bring in national-level shows.
"It's fantastic that the facility can handle something like that. It's something where Batavia is really going to be looked at as a hub for the arts."
That statement is significant for Cattero, who graduated from Batavia High School in 1999. He performed in music and drama, and he only could dream of a place such as the new center.
"It's nice to know that the next generation of students will be performing on a truly professional stage," Cattero said. "They're extremely lucky."
Gugliuzza said opening night will be an emotional experience. Her dancers will be on stage at the start of the show.
"This is such an honor and such a blessing," she said. "We are very, very excited to have this opportunity."
Her predicted reaction?
"There will be tears," she said.
Red Carpet Gala
Starting time: 6 p.m. Saturday
Location: Batavia Fine Arts Centre, 1401 W. Wilson St.
Cost: Free, black-tie optional
It was such an honor to be a part of the amazing dedication ceremonies and revealing of our amazing new performance venue in our Batavia community-The Peg Bond Center Pavilion!!!
We had a blast performing and awarding medals to the amazing pint sized runners today at the Batavia Mother's Club FoxTrot 5K event!!
B.A.D. performs at Batavia's Prom-O-Rama in support of Suicide Prevention Services.
Prom-O-Rama is Batavia's very own prom expo with the mission to provide prom services for all of Fox Valley and to support the cause of Suicide Prevention Services. B.A.D. has both performed as well as had students model.
What an honor to have Aubree Storm visit us and teach a master class here at Batavia Academy of Dance! Thank you Aubree!! We look forward to seeing you soon!!
We had an amazing time performing in the streets for the Foltos Chop Around the Clock Charity event in support of the Ronald McDonald Charities!! Thank you to everyone who cheered us on!!!
Today my life dream became a reality as we celebrated the opening and beginning of Batavia Academy of Dance!! I am so excited to pursue this dream in my home town of Batavia and cannot wait for all of the magical adventures that await us on this journey!! Thank you to everyone who helped us "cut the ribbon" and unveil our magical little school!!!


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With my usual shoots for either Guide de L'auto, Propulsion , Toyz Auto Art..etc that take place during the daytime, I don't really have the time to do photoshoots for regular clients. The main reason is that with the amount of events that I shoot on a weekly basis it is hard to find the time to set up, shoot and edit the photos.
How ever I do try and book a few every season so that I can try new things or use techniques that I cant during other shoots. So I jumped on the opportunity when none other then Massimo of SoClean asked me to shoot his STi.
I was excited to shoot his car since it was Autoflexed a crazy chameleon color that I knew would be awesome looking when using flash.
Day of the shoot we ( me and my trusty assistant Gary ) met Massimo in Montreal and headed off to the first spot.
First spot was a place I had done a shoot at years ago but had then been used as a storage lot for construction equipment so was off limits. While driving home one day from a shoot with Toyz Auto Art I saw that the parking was now vaccant again and I knew I had to get a shoot done here again.
I set up my two Alien Bee 800 flash's and got to work!
This spot was fun because it actually let me have two different backgrounds all in one.
At this location I took the time to get the detail shots done.
I had pretty much all I needed from this spot so I packed up my stuff and we headed to the next spot. The next spot was chosen for one main reason....Doing Rig Shots! But before pulling out the rig I still wanted to fire off some stills .
Now it was time to whip out my pole! ( yes I know how that sounds..lol )
Setting up rig shots is a pretty time consuming process. Making sure the rig is on properly and that your framing is perfect is what takes the most time..The other is editing but the actually picture part of it is pretty quick.
For this shot I wanted a low angle. Since the car was on bags we had to find out what height was the lowest the car could go and still be able to roll
Super happy with the results of this shot. I like how you can see the mud flap scrapping the ground. I still wanted to get one more rig shot so we pulled off the poll and reset.
For this shot I wanted a higher angle.. Usually Iwould just mount the rig on the roof or sun roof BUT I had worries of putting my suction cups straight on the roof of the car since the car was dipped. Last thing I wanted was to peel all the dip off the roof... But Massimo was like just go for it! So thats what we did!
To Include a bit of dimension to this shot I started the shot with my camera almost touching that pillar. I like how it gave a extra swooping motion to the shot. With that shot done it was time to call it a wrap!
I am super happy with the shoot! From start to finish I had a great time shooting and editing the photos. Thanks again to Massimo for getting me to shoot his car in the first place and thanks again to my friend Gary for always helping me with my pole. ( yes I know how that sounds )


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DHAKA, July 28, 2018 (BSS) – President M Abdul Hamid today asked the elite Special Security Force (SSF) to cope with emerging challenges of changing time in providing security protections to VVIPs as the organization celebrates its 32nd founding anniversary.
"There is no alternative to training for attaining professionalism . . . Every SSF agent should build themselves as efficient, nifty and time-befitting personnel to ensure the VVIP security," he told the force's anniversary celebration at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here this evening.
The President said the SSF agents must keep in mind that they were entrusted with the task of providing security to "highly distinguished people" who earned their existing status with common peoples' support, cooperation and love.
"Consider the factor of VVIPs public relations always stay alert so the common people do not become victims of needless harassments or sufferings when you discharge your duty," he added.
President Hamid said SSF would earn appreciation if it could deliver its optimum professional services without creating any gap with masses and added "always keep two things in mind simultaneously — Security and the issue of Public Relation".
He expected the SSF to be more efficient in discharging responsibilities and ensure good coordination with all associate agencies for better security management.
The president recalled SSF's contributions since its inception on July 15 in 1986 saying this particular force was working relentlessly with utmost professionalism defying various challenges.
"The responsibility of providing foolproof security of the VVIPs gradually became challenging due to Bangladesh's political perspectives . . . conspiracies of the ant-Liberation War evil forces and international terrorism," he said.
He expected the SSF would become an "ideal security force" being imbued with patriotism and cordiality alongside efficient leadership, proper guidelines and professionalism.
SSF was called Presidential Security Force (PSF) when it was floated in 1986 and renamed subsequently as it was tasked to provide the security to the head of the government and VVIP foreign dignitaries as well.
The elite unit draws personnel from army, navy, air force, police and ansar forces to provide VVIP security.
SSF Director General Major General M Shafiqur Rahman welcomed the President to the function.
PM's Security Advisor Major General (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, PM's Principal Secretary Md. Nojibur Rahman, Principal Coordinator (SDG) of Prime Minister's office Md. Abul Kalam Azad, chiefs of the three services as well as high civil and military officials, among others, were present.
Earlier, the President attended a cultural programme followed by a dinner.


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With housing prices finally cooling off in California and apartment rents going back up in metropolitan areas, is it time to start thinking about buying any more? The California publication rack always for you to be a well informed investment, however the question is the? Keep reading for 5 factors you need to make sure you're ready to jump into California industry.
A good real estate agent from the who knows the area in an individual are selling, backwards and forwards. This way of familiarity is necessary in order to track and anticipate pricing trends, for example, ensuring which you sell home for a suitable price, or get the best deal on a home happen to be buying. They're worth want a businessinsider.com agent to a person to buy or sell a home in Texas, would the customer? Of course fail to. Different cities instances different neighborhoods can start around one another just as much, determined by factors such as age, square footage, amenities, and location, making it good sense to obtain a real estate agent offers lots of local valuable experience.
You need to pay time on a normal basis seeing the image that you would like to to come up with. The a lot of you're convinced that concerning it, the additional your actions can (consciously or sub-consciously) take that you just step much better realising your eyes.
However, this doesn't tick by himself. Even though I can provide conversations with new people, I somehow just don't feel look foward to it everyday as a strategy to build my company. It's really tiring (you'll know if you have tried.), as well as not the very best return on investment on the time and cash.
The community offers a surrounding favourable to families as well as couples or singles. Residents are close to larger metro areas with all the amenities of a suburb. People moving to a new area typically look for quality schools and affordable housing. Rocklin has your two. The school district is highly rated. An abundance of parks and other outdoor recreation venues also exist. Go to a Million Dollar Listing Bravo website with a public forum and read comments. Post questions in order to about Rocklin and town. Feedback from people who exist in the area are worth your era.
Josh Altman – Couple of different methods absolutely billion dollar properties in New York, but I just love La. I love million dollar properties under the California the sun's rays. I started out genuine estate by flipping residences. My brother Matt when i put our money together and bought a place. He's has the perfect eye for decorating and then we re-did the biggest and write it on the market, really as a joke. We had no intention to do real estate for a full time income at the time. We flipped most important house within three months and profited around 0,000. We made more cash that flip than I'd personally have made in three years at services. That's what got me into the business.
I'm sure you've heard of acai berry based equipment. This is the latest craze in foods supplement world and has blossomed right into a multi-Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles organization. Imagine for a moment an individual own an mlm based noni fruit website. You've opted to concentrate on the health great things about acai berry rather than its likelihood weight demise.
First, for me, the sunshine from my Soul was becoming brighter as I turned my attention within a few. I began to make a conscious effort to permit go of all of the disapproval I'd for everyone. One day I spent three hours just giving Love and approval to myself. Features workout plans an amazing cognition because who was giving in order to whom? It was my higher self – God within me, the pure Soul, my pure Beingness – who was giving Love to the little me, the relative me, the ego/mind/intellect me.
To double your pleasure, we look into the appearance of not one, but two, visions of hairy chests courtesy within the lovely Joshes. First are plentiful a sun-kissed Flagg upon the balcony with at least three buttons undone coupled with a whole enlightening fur made clear to you. Then we see Altman, however radiance among the California sun and Mauricio warming him, and his shock of chesty the hair.


text: I am currently working on a new series of rings, below are some of the pictures of the rings. They are fabricated from thick round wire that I have drawn down to be specific sizes. There are going to be rings that work individually and also rings that are stackable. Hopefully they will be ready for people to go try on soon also more pictures will be appearing here.


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Hi again peeps,
I have two shares today, the first is my Basic Grey layout. Once again I found the sketch over at the Basic Grey blog very inspiring so I have used up some of my older stash again by using the Oliver range.
Here is the awesome BG inspiration sketch:
Hambly have just started a monthly sketch challenge and I have soooo much Hambly I could have my own shop I am sure so I always like to join in the fun there to use up my stash of it and its great to get tips from the awesome design team on how to best use Hambly as well.
Here is my layout:
Here is the Hambly March Sketch
A bit of detail....
Thank you all so much for ongoing wonderful comments, I so love to read them all and feel so slack that I don't get around to your blog very often, I will try to share the love soon I hope. Take care and happy scrappin!!


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Proposition Discussed at Grapeland Lions Meeting
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – During a meeting of the Grapeland Noon Lions Club held on Thursday, March 15, Lion Brandon Bridges gave a presentation concerning possible changes to the Grapeland Economic Development Corporation (GEDC).
Bridges – who sits on the GEDC Board of Directors – opened his remarks and said the EDC had an opportunity for "… conversion to what is a called a Municipal Development District (MDD)."
He explained an MDD is funded the same way as an EDC, put together for the same purposes of an EDC but has less regulation than an EDC.
As he continued, Bridges distributed a handout to Lions Club members which stated, "MDDs allow cities to impose a special dedicated sales tax to fund cultural, recreational and economic development similar to those authorized for Type B EDCs."
The GEDC is a Type B organization.
He said the proposition would be on the May ballot and if it was approved by voters, it would give the city several advantages over the current Type B EDC.
Bridges stressed this WAS NOT a tax increase and said "We're going to stop giving the half cent sales tax to the EDC and start giving it to the MDD."
"The main reasons we want to do this are two-fold," Bridges continued. "First of all, an MDD has less regulation. Right now if I have a project the EDC is working on and we decide we want to approve it – currently – we would approve it, take it to the city council and they have to approve it in the exact same manner as we did. If they change it, we have to change it as well and then bring it back to the city council. Then, there is a 60 day waiting period to do all of our public notices."
The GEDC board member gave an example of the time frame and said it recently took him three months to complete a $3,000 project.
"The second reason is funding. The sales tax we collect right now is within the city limits of Grapeland. If you have a business within the city limits of Grapeland, you charge 8.25 percent sales tax," he said.
Under the laws governing EDCs, Bridges explained the only tax revenue available came from within the city limits but, under an MDD, it would allow the city of Grapeland to increase the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction which is one-half mile outside the current city limits.
"Ultimately, this is a city decision. The city of Grapeland has the authority to put this on the ballot and they have chosen to do so," he said.
Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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10 Book Recommendations for Kids Who Loved Wonder
by Melissa Taylor
Some books change the world. Some books change us. The best books do both.
If you've followed the "Choose Kind" movement based on R.J. Palacio's book, Wonder, you know that Wonder does both.
Wonder pushes us toward compassion, empathy, and acceptance of differences. It reminds me of several other amazing middle grade chapter books that do the same thing. These books, like Wonder, will change the life of the reader.
Caitlin lives with Asperger's Disorder, meaning her brain understands the world in a unique, more black-and-white way. Her older brother, Devon, used to help her make sense of the confusing things in the world, but he was killed in a school shooting. Caitlin tries to figure out his death and her world as her father retreats into his sorrow. This is a compelling story with hard issues that will leave you profoundly affected and better able to understand the perspective of someone with Asperger's Disorder.
I think all teenagers should read this book. Stargirl is a former homeschooler who begins public school for the first time. In a word, she's weird. But she's herself. Leo finds he's both enamored and embarrassed by her. He wants Stargirl to act like other people, what he considers "normal." The book forces us to ask the question: Do we conform to the pressures of the crowd or do we stick with our individuality? Which pretty much sums up the high school experience.
Author Robert Hoge was born with deformed legs and a giant tumor between his eyes. Numerous surgeries left him with a face that even his mother struggled to love. With honesty and grace, Robert recounts the struggles of growing up "ugly" and his determination to rise above life's challenges. As a real-life Auggie Pullman, Robert's story is a reminder that our shortcomings don't dictate who we are and what we're capable of.
The One and Only Ivan
Stella, an elephant, lives next to Ivan, a gorilla and the narrator of this true story, in a run-down shopping mall. Stella gets sick, but before she dies, she makes Ivan promise to try to free the newly captured baby elephant named Ruby. Ivan starts to realize that Stella was right – maybe his enclosure isn't a habitat, but a cage. He will do anything, including getting the attention of the humans with his crayons, to help Ruby. This story is heartbreaking, more so because it's told in Ivan's voice, but don't worry, the animals get their happy ending. You'll never look at a cage the same way again.
What the Moon Saw
Clara is forced to spend the summer with her Mexican grandparents in Mexico, grandparents she doesn't know. She feels very confused and conflicted about her heritage, but by spending time in Mexico, Clara comes to understand who she is, and grows into herself. All of us can relate to these kinds of feelings, and it gives us a chance to understand the perspective of living within two distinct cultures.
See You in the Cosmos
Eleven-year-old Alex Petroski has a golden iPod — one he hopes to one day launch into space as a record of life on Earth. On it he records his thoughts and adventures as he journeys from Colorado to New Mexico and then on to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Along the way, Alex uncovers secrets about his family that will change his life forever — with only his kind yet equally lost new friends to help him. A beautiful story about the importance of unconditional love and forgiveness in a complicated world.
Okay for Now
Doug's family is poor and abusive. And to make matters worse, Doug can't read. When he connects with a librarian who shows him Audubon's bird paintings and how to draw them, Doug finally finds meaning and comfort in his challenging life. We realize that a person's life behind the scenes might be nothing like we could have ever imagined. As Doug's life changes, so does ours.
Out of My Mind
Even though Melody has a brilliant mind with a photographic memory, because she has cerebral palsy, people see her as stupid. Melody gets a keyboard so she can communicate her once-trapped thoughts, but it doesn't necessarily mean that people will see her differently. Melody's story gives us insight into what it's like to live with disabilities and the unfair judgments of others.
Two separate lives in two separate time periods. Ben and Rose both secretly wish their lives would change. Ben longs for the father he's never known; Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. The two stories are masterfully crafted — one in narrative and one with illustrations. When the stories intersect, you'll truly be wonderstruck at the way our lives are all entwined.
The Book Thief
It's wartime in Nazi Germany, a time when children like Liesel are living with foster families, Jews are in hiding, and books are burned. Liesel steals books, books she wants to learn to read. Despite the horrors of the her brother's death and the ongoing war, the books, her foster dad, the Jewish man named Max hidden in the basement, and her friend, Rudy, bring a sense of beauty and hope to Liesel's life … and to ours for having experienced it with Liesel.
14 More Life-Changing Middle Grade Books


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About Pine Tree Cabins (previously Grey Hackle)
The Grey Hackle Lodge is nestled in the mountains of beautiful Central Arizona in Christopher Creek. There are a total of 11 beautiful rustic cabins set right in the heart of Christopher Creek.
The Grey Hackle Lodge is nestled in the mountains of beautiful Central Arizona in Christopher Creek. There are a total of 11 beautiful rustic cabins set right in the heart of Christopher Creek.
Grey Hackle Lodge
Studio Cabin without a Fireplace (Small)
Studio Cabin with a Fireplace (Small)
Studio Cabin with a Fireplace (Small) *Pet Friendly
Medium Cabin with Fireplace
Large Cabin with a Fireplace (Cabin #10)
Ranch House with Fireplace (Cabin #8) *Pet Friendly
Big enough for 3 families. Huge porch with view. *Pet Friendly
1br, 1ba, full kitchen, living room, up on the hill
11 indivdual cabins
Most with fireplaces
Barbeque Grills
Community area
Bird watching
Star gazing
Cancellation Policy: If we are provided at least 15-days notice prior to your arrival date you can receive a full future credit (usable within 1 year), or a full refund minus a 10% cancellation fee. Should you need to cancel a reservation, please email: firstname.lastname@example.com.
The normal check-in time is between 3:00pm and 7:00pm. Check-out time is by 11:00am; other times by prior arrangement. It is helpful if we know your approximate arrival time. Please do NOT show up prior to 3:00pm unless you have scheduled and paid for an early check-in. If you show up prior to 3:00pm without a confirmed early check-in you will not be able to check-in and be asked to please come back at 3:00pm.
No smoking in the rooms. Whenever smoking please use extra precaution as this is a heavily wooded area with lots of tinder on the ground. A $100 discovery charge will be applied for any smoking inside a room.
Most common items guests will bring are: papertowels, coffee, salt and pepper, bakeware, layered clothes, and an extra pillow.
No outside fires allowed except in the designated fire pits (unless the fire danger is high and no fires are allowed at all).
Small standing BBQ pit/grill outside of each cabin is for use with charcoal only. No exceptions!
No real firewood allowed in indoor fireplaces. Acceptable Duraflame logs are available for purchase. There is a $5 fee for indoor fireplace use and associated cleaning.
One vehicle per cabin for parking in front of the room. Additional vehicles need to park in a shared parking area.
There are skunks, raccoons, bears and birds of prey in the surrounding area. Please be sure to seal trash securely.
Pets are not allowed to be left alone in cabins (unless temporarily crated) and must be on a leash when outside.
Pets must immediately be cleaned up after. For your convenience we have scoops located in a couple of areas.
A discovery fee of $100 per occurrence will be added for any undisclosed people or pets.
Having a good time is encouraged, but guests may not be disruptive to other. Guests are expected to use common courtesy.
Guests are expected to do their own dishes if they use any (unless they've paid a $5 fee for us to clean them instead). We handle all other cleaning, but if the place is left a mess a minimum $25 fee will be assessed.
We expect all guests to follow the good general rule of leaving a place better than you found it. All rooms receive a post-occupancy inspection and by booking a reservation you acknowledge responsibility for any damages or theft incurred during your stay, which will be charged to your credit card.
We reserve the right to refuse service.
This is a rustic environment. As such, it is your responsibility to take care of yourself and your dependants. We are not liable for any accidents, injuries or loss of any kind.
If you have any questions or concerns, please ask prior to making a reservation. All reservations are charged in full at the time of booking. We reserve the right to refuse service.
Thank you very much for your patronage and we look forward to your arrival!


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Light Airs in Hyeres
Regatta: Sailing World Cup Hyeres (France)
Finish: 11th of 40 (by invitation only)
A light air regatta is what the coach ordered and that's just what we got. It was the perfect opportunity to continue working on our light air upwind technique as well as getting off the starting line in a really good fleet. The Sailing World Cup regattas are by invitation only and therefore draw the best teams in the world.
Results showed a lot of inconsistency in our scores. However, taking scores out of the picture, we accomplished our goal of executing starts. Our coach, Giulia Conti, scores us on each start and for this regatta (11 races) we received an average score of 3.45 (out of 5), with 4 of the starts being a 5. This is a huge improvement from the Miami event in January, where we averaged 1.875 in 8 races. This scoring reflects our positioning and acceleration technique.
A few of the races we simply chose the wrong game plan which led to higher scores and some races we didn't get locked into our mode soon enough off the line forcing us to tack out, also leading to higher scores. This is the next step for us which will help us produce more consistent and better scores.
Around the course we continued to focus on micro goals to help focus on the process and not the result. At the end of the day, we need to be focused on growing in each area of the course in every condition, our boathandling and strategy/tactics. This is a lot! One step at a time...
Highlight: that feeling when you crush a start!!
Lowlight: a really bad "low tide" ocean smell at the launch ramp...and the launch ramp itself!
Progress isn't always linear. We must focus on the optimizing the process and trusting the results will follow. We are keeping our eyes on the prize for the World Championship this summer in Aarhus.


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What can we do to make it up to you?
We're just so sorry you had a bad experience with us.
Is there anything we can do immediately to begin to make amends?
We'd love the chance to discuss it and if there is something we can do to repair things, you just have to ask.
At Carbon8 we pride ourselves on exceeding expectations with every order and we appreciate feedback when a customer
has a wonderful experience but on the rare occasion when we fall short, we aren't too proud not to listen and learn.
We hope you'll give us the chance to prove how committed we are to our customers.


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We Who Are About To . . .
Open Road Media, May 8, 2018 - Fiction - 118 pages
One woman resists the demands of her fellow stranded survivors on an inhospitable planet in this "elegant and electric .Ā.Ā. tour-de-force" (Samuel R. Delany).
In this stunning and boldly imagined novel, an explosion leaves the passengers of a starship marooned on a barren alien planet. Despite only a slim chance for survival, most of the strangers are determined to colonize their new home. But the civilization they hoped for rapidly descends into a harsh microcosm of a male-dominated society, with the females in the group relegated to the subservient position of baby-makers.
One holdout wants to accept her fate realistically and prepare for death. But her desperate fellow survivors have no intention of honoring her individual right to choose. They're prepared to force her to submit to their plan for reproduction—which will prove to be a grave mistake .Ā.Ā.
In Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Joanna Russ's trailblazing body of work, "her genius flows and convinces, shames and alarms" (The Washington Post).
What people are saying - Write a review
LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - crazybatcow - www.librarything.com
I didn't like it. It started okay... seemed like it might be interesting, but then... it kinda went off the rails and ended up being some interior monologue between the main character and figments of ... Read full review
LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - Wattsian - www.librarything.com
This is a really marvelous story about crash-landed space farers that deals with mortality, society, psychology, religion, feminism, politics and, most of all, the slow veil that falls as distractions go away and we are confronted Read full review
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The other day David Weinberger approached me with an idea: what if he bought album downloads from me in bulk so that he could give them away? It was interesting but I was sceptical – I'm already giving away the music for free, why would anyone care?
So we agreed on a bulk price, I rigged up a special download link he could distribute and he twittered and blogged it:
I'm trying an experiment with a business model I like to call a reverse referral fee. Here's how it works…
You click on a link that lets you download a copy of Brad Sucks' latest album, Out of It. The album of wonderful music is yours for free in every sense. (Share it! Please!) But, I'm going to pay Brad for each copy downloaded, at a bulk rate he and I have agreed on.
To my surprise it got a fair amount of attention (aka free word-of-mouth advertising). Many people thanked him for buying them the album, I got a lot of mentions on Twitter that I wouldn't have ordinarily. The 50 copies were all downloaded within about an hour, but it's pretty clear more than 50 people got introduced to my music. Plus David paid me so I made out like gangbusters.
What is there to learn from this? I'm not sure. It's clear that the reaction was much larger than if David had said "go download Brad's free album, it's free and anyone can go get it wheneverâ€. Saying that money was changing hands on behalf of their download definitely got people's attention and created a small viral chain reaction.
David thinks this could be a viable option for super-patrons and that I should offer it as an option. What do you think?


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Enjoy the process of capturing memories, dreams and goals in an old-fashioned letter. This simple but heartfelt gesture is the perfect gift for your loved ones.
In a supportive environment, you'll pen a letter that combines words, collage and illustration before securing in an equally beautiful envelope. Your happy mail is then ready to pop in the post!
Whether you send a letter to yourself containing your yearly goals or reconnect with a friend, think of your recipient's joy when they see this happy mail land on their doormat.


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Music Lessons
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General Fields
Special Fields
In this innovative series of public lectures at Newcastle University, leading contemporary poets speak about the craft and practice of poetry to audiences drawn from both the city and the university. The lectures are then published in book form by Bloodaxe, giving readers everywhere the opportunity to learn what the poets themselves think about their own subject. It's almost a cliche that music and poetry are cousins, and that the term lyric names this cousinship. Yet the actual forms music takes within poetry are unclear, even contested. At the same time, our assumptions about these forms condition the ways we hear poetry. So it's useful to us as both readers and writers to discover where the analogies between music and poetry are. Fiona Sampson's Music Lessons outlines some of these, using ideas and examples from Martin Heidegger to J.S. Bach, Emily Dickinson to Leonard Cohen, and George Herbert to Julia Kristeva. Her first lecture, Point Counter-point, uses melody to suggest a link between poetic line, phrase and breath. Here is my space explores how pureA", abstract forms can be created in time in the same way that they are created in space. Finally, How strange the change looks at sensuous apprehension and the pleasure principle.
Author description
Fiona Sampson was first a concert violinist, then studied at the Universities of Oxford, where she won the Newdigate Prize, and Nijmegen, where she received a PhD in the philosophy of language. This research arose from her pioneering residencies in health care. Her latest of seventeen books is Rough Music, shortlisted for the 2010 Forward and T.S. Eliot Prizes. In 2009 she received a Cholmondeley Award and became an FRSL. She is editor of Poetry Review.


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Most new companies hang their first dollar ever made on the wall. Well we are just going to post a picture instead. Blake Scott of Burlington, Iowa was the first customer to buy a case of Hays Pure Water. Because of his purchase, $3 went towards sending Khlor Gen Systems to South Sudan and providing clean water to a few of the 783 million currently without it.
Thanks Blake for doing your part to make a difference. If anyone else wants some great water and to help a great cause, shoot us an email.
Now give some high fives, you earned it!


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There's no quick fix to the water issues surrounding Lake Okechobee. The state has been putting away its half of the money for water projects, but the federal government has been coming up short.
There's many projects in the works, but funding is put a hold on them. One project is in Hendry County near LaBelle. It's a huge water storage project called thee C43 reservoir.
"This location was chosen because there's a thick layer of clay beneath it, it doesn't allow water to go through very easily, we want to try to create a bath tub," Thomas McKernan, a C.E.T. Construction Manager, said.
A bath tub that will cost $500 million.
"It's an above ground reservoir, it's going to be stored on 10,500 acres of land, we are going to store 175,000 acre feet of water, that's one acre of land, with one foot of water on it, it's equivalent to 55 billion gallons of water," Phil Flood with the South Florida Water Management District said.
An acre is about the six of a football field, to give you an idea on how much space this will take up. 10,500 football fields.
When it's finished, it will have the capacity to hold about five million swimming pools of water.
"The idea is during the rainy season when there's too much fresh water going into the estuary or if the Corps is making releases from Lake Okeechobee we'll pull water from the Caloosahatchee, store it in the reservoir," Flood said. "Then during the dry season we'll release that water, send it out to the estuary to keep the estuary healthy. It's all about trying to get the water right…having right salinity."
Balancing the salt level in the water where the Caloosahatchee meets the Gulf of Mexico is a big topic.
"It's a great project, it's not going to help with the algae or the discharges, but it is something that we support." Daniel Andrews with Captains for a Cause said.
This project has four phases, and right now workers have to build an irrigation pump.
The reservoir in Hendry County is supposed to be finished in 2022.
RELATED: Federal Government Approves Money for Lake Okeechobee Reservoir
Reporting by Allyssa Dickert


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Close Up Look at Those Iron Man Armors in New IRON MAN 3 Poster
Earlier today Marvel released an awesome new poster for Iron Man 3. The poster featured a small army of other Iron Man armors ready for battle! We've now got some great closeup shots of those Iron Man armor suits, giving us a better look at them. As you'll see, they're really freakin' cool! The image above is also ultra high resolution, so click to enlarge!
We previously heard that there will be around 40 suits of armor in the movie, and that they'll be remotely operated from Tony Stark's latest suit. It's going to be so rad seeing all of these suits in action!
Marvel Studios' Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
The movie stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Rebbeca Hall, and Guy Pearce. It's set to open in 3D and 2D theaters on May 3rd, 2013.


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Pringle Business Consulting provides one-on-one consulting sessions to build your personal and business brand to set you apart from competitors. Our mission is helping you gain more visibility, more customers and more profits.
One-on-one sessions are customized to fit your needs.
Unsure of where to start? Here are two options for Brand Assessment.
This session is designed to getting your prospects to perceive you as the only solution to their problem. We will look at where you are currently and what it will take for you to become the right choice for your target market.
- StandOut 2.0 Assessment (Online Assessment).
- Blueprint revealing your competitive winning edge .
- How to talk about your brand easily and effortlessly .
- How to identify and communicate what makes you the best choice.
- Uncover your strongest brand attributes and values.
- Decide which marketing tools are right for you .
Are you an entrepreneur, or small/medium sized business owner whose not getting the right results? Need a stronger brand don't know where to start?
The StandOut Brand Audit will help you identify your areas of weakness and pinpoint new opportunities for innovation and growth to increase your profits.
In the StandOut Brand Audit, we'll assess your brand identity, core messages, website and social media platforms. We'll identify any kinks in the chain and recommend opportunities to refine, polish and optimize your brand and your online brand presence.
We'll also consider how your brand is currently represented across multiple channels and pinpoint exact ways in which you can improve your impact and increase your following.
Here' s how it works:
STEP 1. DISCOVERY: - you will receive the "S" Factor Workbook for you to complete. This will help me to understand where you are in business, your goals, objectives, core messages, audience, products, packages and services. It will give me a view from the inside out and the ability to give you laser-focused direction and recommendations to transform your brand. Keep in mind completing the "S" Factor Workbook will likely provide a few light bulb moments and revelations.
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STEP 3: DISCOURSE - You and I will get on the phone for an intense, 75 minute branding session where I will share the results of your assessment and we'll discuss all the ways to improve, polish and optimize your brand. We'll dissect your brand identity, core message, website and social media platforms and identify the yellow brick road to a provocative, meaningful, standout brand.
STEP 4: RESULTS - You'll receive a summary of your brand assessment, along with a recording of our call. You'll receive a 101 Ways to build a powerful personal brand inside and out. This checklist will assist to build your buzz, enhance your image, position yourself as an expert, systemize your marketing tools and attract more clients.
Brand clarity and vision, stronger competitive advantage, re-energized brand story, consistent messaging, compelling online hub, more website traffic, improved image and positioning, and expert status.