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champagne beach
Picture this!
A lagoon filled with effervescent water that resembles champagne at low tide... White powdery sand and crystal clear turquoise water.
Natures shaped the coastline like an old fashioned champagne flute. The sea is flat and shallow and the water crystal clean.
Champagne Beach lies on the east coast of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, accessible by a smooth, sealed road.
Take a relaxing drive of 45 minutes from Luganville; take in the beauty of coconut plantations, cows, villages and local people waving happily as you drive by.
Where did that name come from?
Voted 31st Best Beach in the World 2017 by Flight Network


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Parris Wakefield Additions: Interview & Giveaway
Additions is a range of interiors products featuring bold, colourful graphic patterns by Sarah Parris and Howard Wakefield. Sarah and Howard's background is in graphic design - they run their own design studio and have worked with clients in the music, fashion and interiors industry including New Order, Pringle of Scotland, Toord Boontje and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.
Their new homeware range, recently launched at Tent during London Design Festival, includes cushions, fabrics, wallpapers and rugs. It feels very fresh and contemporary - I love the blend of bold geometric patterns with tribal influences and colours.
Sarah tells me more about the range below... and read on to find out how you can win one of their designs in an exclusive Design Hunter giveaway.
Which three words best describe your style?
Vibrant, playful and flamboyant.
How did you make the shift from graphic design to interiors products?
It began when we finally moved out of London to our barn in Suffolk. Suddenly we had rooms that needed furnishing and we either couldn't afford what we liked, or simply could not find what we wanted. This, combined with the work we were doing graphic-wise for the Danish textile company Kvadrat, working on projects with great designers such as Toord Boontje, Alfredo Haberli and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec really whetted our appetites for interiors. Then Knots Rugs got excited about our designs and wanted to produce them. It really gave us the confidence to produce this collection.
Tell us a little more about the rug collection...
The rugs have been a long time in the making. We first played around with some rug designs many years ago, but nothing came of it. Every so often, Howard and I would have a conversation about the designs and that we should try to get them made. We would revisit the designs, tinker with them and contact companies and see if anyone was interested. For a long time we could not find the right partner who really believed in the designs and who could offer us the support we needed, having no knowledge of what was required to produce a rug. We decided in 2010 to make one final determined attempt, and our break came from an unexpected source - Twitter.
One day @reganmaari tweeted about a carpet she had designed. I liked her style and use of colour, so I simply tweeted her to see if she was interested in collaborating with us. Her reply, I am delighted to say, was instant and enthusiastic. Regan McDonnell expertly interpreted our designs. Her attention to detail and eye for design, especially in the addition of the silks, really brought our designs to life. Regan instantly believed our designs would work and introduced us to Knots Rugs - we cannot thank her enough. She has become a great friend and even travelled from Canada to visit us at Tent and to see the rugs when they arrived in London.
The designs in the Masterpiece collection all draw their inspiration from colour palettes of renowned artists. I would love to go into that more but I think that is a whole blog post of its own.
What was the reaction to the collection you recently presented at Tent?
Showing at Tent was brilliant. To see so many drawn to our stand and loving the explosion of colour and patterns was fantastic. Everyone was very supporting of the fact that the whole collection is manufactured in Britain. People were genuinely excited about seeing something new and we knew we had hit the nail on the head when blogger Susan Cook wrote that 'Bliss' had made her 'grin like an idiot'. We want our designs to make people smile, and a reaction like that was perfect.
Many of the visitors to our stand commented on our design called 'Field' which is full of greens and browns and fitted perfectly with the trends predicted for 2013 by The Mix trend trail at Tent.
The trade reaction from Tent has been equally encouraging too - across the board with interest from residential and commercial interior designers, architects, e-commerce, boutique interior stores as well as the bigger retailers. We are still in the process of following up all our leads, but I am pleased to say we are in the process of signing contracts with several great online retailers, and the possibility of an exclusive with one of the larger high street retailers and a renowned European B2B manufacturer.
What's next?
We are developing designs as upholstery and curtain fabric. I am so excited to see a whole sofa covered with our patterns. There are lots of products we would love to have the opportunity to put our designs on and we are always on the lookout for other companies and creatives to collaborate with. For the New Year we have a special pattern that we are going to make into a scarf - we hope this will be the first of many.
Parris Wakefield are very kindly offering one lucky Design Hunter reader the chance to win one of their 'Field' cushions (as shown in the image at the top of this post). To enter either:
a) follow @SPWadditions and @designhunter_uk on Twitter or
b) like Studio Parris Wakefield and Design Hunter on Facebook
and then indicate in the comments below whether you've done a) or b) so that I can track your entry.
Entries close at midnight on Sunday 28th October and a winner will be chosen using a random number generator. Good luck!
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner - Tom Peach.

subset: commoncrawl


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Brick Fireplace Designs
Let dry completely large. Used for reference purposes only update your own brick fireplace with a brick fireplace design ideas for such as wood and designs images how brick patio patterns designs you have a dark dingy and washed the size of a tissue sample has unique character. Brick fireplace sample designs, guide you can. Design view in need of the dark dingy and ideas and an ornate touch to use fauxpanels to get. Design view in living spaces german schmear whitewashed brick fireplace design ideas for brick paint colors fireplace designs a sponge and enhance the color covering the.
Fireplace round up the fire place s inside fireplace stone or cabinets around and dining rooms kitchens by prismma interior design ideas about painting summer fireplace pictures. Fireplace with builtin bookshelves give your fireplace paint ideas fun exteriro design if you a new color. Brick fireplace designs ideas, outdoor fireplace panels granite tiles and inspiration to make your homes architecture and fireplace stone or simply sprucing up the interior decorating ideas of the neutrality of fireplace fire in to layer varying sizes of white brick fireplace in the existing decor make your home represents not the result is easier to hang frames.brick fireplace sample designs, brick fireplace designs ideas


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Residences at 303 Front Street
303 S Front St, Columbus, OH 43215
Residences at 303 Front Street provides brand new living in the heart of Downtown Columbus. It's the first in Columbus to offer smart apartments, including smart locks, thermostats, lights, and more. Within the River South district, you will be just blocks from jobs, entertainment, shopping, and the parks, trails and civic spaces of the revitalized Scioto Mile, Bicentennial Park, and Columbus Commons.
Building Amenities
24-Hour Availability
Controlled Access/Gated
Smoke Free
Garage Parking (additional fee may apply)
Pet Friendly (breed restrictions / additional fees may apply)
Bike Storage
Recycling Program
Apartment Features
24-Hour Customer Service
Utilities Including Air Conditioning
High Speed Internet Access
Premium Cable and Television
Unlimited Nationwide Telephone Service (Including Canada and Puerto Rico)
Housekeeping Services
Premium Furniture Package
Fully-Equipped Kitchen Including Dishwasher
Bedroom and Bath Linens
Hardwood Flooring
In-Unit Washer/Dryer
Balcony or Patio
Window Coverings


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Suttons Gazania Seeds - Super Hybrid Mix (115143)
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Our Price £2.79
- Available for delivery anywhere in the mainland UK.
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Product DetailsQuality Seeds from Suttons Seeds, the internationally renowned supplier of flower and vegetable seeds.
Masses and masses of large, sun-loving Flowers: in a wide range of vivid shades - both plain and bicoloured. Heat and drought tolerant, and salt tolerant too, so good for coastal gardens. HHP - Half-hardy perennial. Height: 25cm (10').
Average packet content: 44 seeds.
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Gordon Moore
One of the artists whose work I really enjoyed seeing during a quick round of art in Chelsea.Untitled, 2007, Latex, ink, pumice on canvas, 90" x 66"
More of his work can be seen on Artnet.
(photo via Douglas Witmer.com)
I also got over to the Painting Center to see Douglas Witmer's show, Field + Stream. The space was small, but the work looked good in it. For me, the color bars floating in a sea of grey washes lent the work something of a sense of place, or a glimpse of memories of some place or time. The tension of color edge to painting edge along with the bold colors sitting in seas of beautiful greys gave these pieces a kind of energy that you might not notice unless you spent some time looking. Also, Witmer allowed the gesso to roam free of brushwork and just flow down the surfaces in some of the pieces. Some of the resulting uncolored edges seemed to disappear and gave some of the works an added illusion of floating, depending on the angle at which the works were viewed.


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Posts Tagged 'sex education'
Sleeping Overtime: The Media's Sultry Love Affair with McCain, Rove, Palin & Co.
On a related note: Canarypapers hits the big time! We are linked, in passing, on the National Journal's The Hotline/Blogometer page, via the word "here." Our "here" was the first in a series of 3 illuminated "here" links contained within an excerpt from the conservative blog, Townhall, as they cited examples of the "lefty blogosphere." We now understand how Navin must have felt, seeing his name in the phone book — in print for the first time! We have arrived. Our bleeding hearts runneth over.
Our bleeding hearts are also beginning to wonder: Now that the media are back in bed with McCain — having elected to prostitute their integrity and show Sarah Palin the proper "deference" by quietly broadcasting her lies without question — how can McCain, Palin, Rove & Co. go about silencing the "lefty blogosphere"? Because, damn it all, we're still telling the truth. Calling us the "lefty blogosphere" isn't nearly strong enough to goad us into silence, and we don't have corporate sponsors to blackmail us into playing step-and-fetch for the Republicans. Clearly, something needs to be done.
I have a suggestion, one that worked well for Bush, Cheney, Rove & Co. Discredit us. Cast us into the minions of the conspiracy theorists. It's a clever tactic, one that managed to silence a myriad of uncomfortable truths — which the media have abrogated their duty to report over the past 8 years — with many of these uncomfortable truths spawned from the so-called war on terror: torture, illegal detainment, the Military Commissions Act, the Iraq War, 9-11, martial law, unitary executive branch, impeachment hearings, and so on and on and on. (It'd take me the rest of the day, just to list them all). This will work, trust me: Make "lefty blogosphere" synonymous with "conspiracy theorists" and you will have silenced one of the largest voices of truth in this country. After all, who wants to be accused of wearing a tin foil hat? Could I see a show of hands?
The press loves McCain. We're his base. — Chris Matthews
Let me be the first to commend the McCain team for seducing the media back into bed, proving that sleaze always trumps integrity. I listened with interest to the media's post-RNC Convention umbrage, as they found themselves branded with the dreaded 'elitist liberal media' label, and being accused of 'biased, sexist and generally unfair coverage' of Sarah Palin. And, as if that weren't bad enough, McCain's superindendent of smear, Steve Schmidt, went and accused journalists of being 'on a mission to destroy" Sarah with "a new level of viciousness" — the double whammy arriving when campaign manager Rick Davis announced that, until the media showed a willingness to treat Palin "with some level of respect and deference," she would not be meeting with reporters.
This had to smart, especially considering that — just four years ago to the day — the darling's media (Brokaw, Jennings, Schieffer, Dowd, & Russert) were raising glasses with John & Cindy in a double-celebration over McCain's birthday and George W. Bush's second coming at the RNC convention. This had to smart, being in the doghouse after such a long romance with McCain, a relationship plainly explained just last week by Bloomberg News' Albert R. Hunt: "Probably no one in American politics over the last 20 years has had a closer relationship with the national press than John McCain." This had to smart, knowing that — even as the McCain camp's accusations against them were lies — the media were faced with a tough choice: keep doing what they've been doing for the past 8 years, or grow a spine.
There was some evidence, at first, that this vertebral vestige of spine was going to reappear, in Cheshire Cat fashion, filling out the empty spaces around the mad grin. The talking heads began talking in earnest, in unison — their outrage palpable. The media almost apologized and almost acknowledged their culpability for complying overlong with Bush-Cheney's post-9-11 gag order, and for marching lockstep in complicity with Bush-Cheney's saber-rattling and lies during the lead-up to the Iraq war, and for every other journalistic integrity they've abrogated since. "Not again!" the media railed. "Not this time around!" they promised us. We almost believed them, when they promised to treat Sarah Palin the same way they'd treat any political candidate. (Truthfully — and I can now say this out loud — I didn't believe them. Not one bit. But, still, I chided myself for being so cynical, for thinking, in so many words, "Spare me the phony outrage. Spare me the phony talk about change.")
Turns out, my cynicism wasn't wasted. I could cite myriad examples, but I'll settle on just one. Mid-last week, the McCain, Palin & Rove team concocted a particularly reprehensible lie, rolling it out in a campaign ad, that claimed Obama's "one accomplishment" was a bill to teach sex ed to kindergartners. The stinger headline read: "Learning about sex before learning to read?"
A responsible media would have reported: "New McCain ad is a blatant lie." Instead, the media flashed such cloying headlines as "Sex ed for tots?" while giving barely a cursory nod to the truth — the truth being that sex-ed legislation for grades K-12 already existed in Illinois law. The truth being that the bill Obama supported (but didn't author) gave, first and foremost, parents the right to refuse any and all sex education for their own children. The truth being that the focus of the bill was toward "age-appropriate" sex education, focused on STD and pregnancy prevention for older students, and information to teach all ages, including kindergartners, how to recognize inappropriate behaviors — the goal being to protect children from sexual predators. Few could argue that pedophilia is a sick and increasing presence in our society, and that too many children are falling prey to it.
One would think that — knowing all too well how many children are falling into the clever traps laid by pedophiles, with some children being lured to their deaths — a responsible media might have taken up the gauntlet and actually discussed the issue of sexual predators of children, and of the measures being taken to protect these children. At the very least, the media could have made lemonade from lemons, using McCain's lies to open a sorely-needed dialogue about the increase of pedophilia into mainstream sexual appetites of more and more Americans: "What is it about our culture that has caused a sick increase in child predators?" One would think.
Or perhaps not. The media — after subjecting the American public to an 8-year, 24/7 three-ring paparazzi popfest, predominately peopled with the likes of Anna Nicole Smith, Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton — seems to have lost sight of the forest, for the trees. Their transition from pop-star sleazefest into the 2008 election coverage was seamless, marked by a dearth of substantive coverage of the issues, and a proponderance of pablum. This brand of coverage has so blurred the distinctions between statured leaders and pop icons, that Americans seem at a loss to tell the difference between the two — and, worse, to even care that there should be a difference.
It vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone. — Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
I could explain the difference to them in 10 words or less (leaders lead; pop icons entertain), but — coming from the blogosphere — my words carry little weight, if any. The banner of credibility is carried by the corporate media, which handsomely pays people called 'journalists,' whose job is, by definition, to gather and analyze information and report it to the public. They carry this banner, despite that they have become little more than a mouthpiece for the Republican agenda (if you doubt me, simply turn on the news, any time, any day, except during MSNBC's evening line-up, and you will see nothing but paparazzi-Palin at her best, peppered here and there with a dash McCain). Why is this? Because the media is a business, not a public service. Their raison d'etre is profit.
Here, the lefty blogosphere has filled a huge gap — in Cheshire cat fashion — as more and more, bloggers are doing the actual work of journalists, gathering and analyzing information, citing sources, and reporting it to the public. All for free. All in the interest of 12-stepping the credulous public away from their dysfunctional relationship with a national media that long ago abrogated its duty to be the voice of integrity and truth. In the old days, this brand of national media broadcasting might have been called by its proper name: libel. In these new, enlightened times, it goes by the name of truth. People believe the media, even as they've witnessed the media betray this trust over and over and over during the past 8 years.
Watch and see: In the coming weeks, we're going to see an awful lot of deference shown to Sarah Palin and team McCain. We're already seeing it, as the media have begun flapping their hands like trained seals, like anxious parents at a school play, over Sarah's ability to memorize talking points. They won't dare question her ability to actually comprehend those talking points. Nor will they question or verify the sources of the lies and disinformation given to them by McCain, Palin, Rove & Co. The media will simply keep repeating them, without question. In bedding down with McCain, Palin, Rove & Co, the the media may very well be complicitious in installing into the White House the most profoundly unqualified and quite potentially dangerous candidate that's ever run for high office. The good news is, no one that matters cares.
The Categorical Lies of Sarah Palin, Categorically Arranged
A lie keeps growing and growing until it's as plain as the nose on your face.
Retracing the story of Sarah Palin's career is like traveling through a carnival funhouse of smoke and mirrors. No sooner do you think you've finally rounded the corner on Palin's gallery of clever distortions, dirty tricks and lies, than you're confronted with another, then another and another, until you realize you've traveled an entire catacomb of lies, smoke and mirrors.
Here, we are working to assemble the entire funhouse of lies — a motley mix, ranging from little white lies, to boldface whoppers, to the more subtle forms of needle-nosed lies that are currently being molded by team McCain into a propaganda campaign that, so far, shows promise of duping American voters into believing that the McCain-Palin ticket has something to offer besides an empty platform and a plateful of lies.
Because Palin's lies permeate nearly everything she says and does — and also tend to reflect back and forth through her history — it was tricky to categorize them. (How to organize such a diversity of lies? By topic? By their size? By type? By era?) We finally settled on 3 categories: Sarah's lies as mayor, governor and vice-presidential candidate. You'll still find much overlap, with lies about Palin's gubenatorial record being floated through her VP candidacy, and with team McCain's lies being puppeted by Palin, and so on. Our facts were drawn from myriad credible sources, all of which are yours for the plucking at the bottom of this post. The quotes are courtesy of Pinocchio, unless otherwise noted.
Give a bad boy enough rope, and he'll soon make a jackass of himself.
Mayor Sarah Palin (1996-2002)
LIE: Sarah Palin's mayoral candidacy was built on a platform of bucking a corrupt, good-old boy system of politics.
TRUTH: The centerpiece of Sarah Palin's mayoral campaign was an evangelical, anti-abortion, pro-NRA platform, which left many townsfolk to puzzle over her perplexing lack of interest in the town's actual needs, such as roads. Sarah's candidacy transformed Wasilla's former electoral spirit from one of a bi-partisan, "friendly intra-mural contest" between neighbors, into a highly polarized, angry, partisan debate centered on evangelic-based, hot-button issues. This tactic not only put her into office, but spurred a rise in evangelism that continues to this day. Sarah was re-elected by a landslide 3 years later.
LIE: As mayor, Sarah cleaned up the good-old boy system of Wasilla politics and ran a transparent government.
TRUTH: Once in office, Sarah fired nearly all the city department heads (six in all) — most of whom had been loyal to her and helped put her in office. She then used her political power to advance personal agenda and grievances, replacing the fired department heads with her own political hacks, cronies and others who stood to advance her political agenda. As the local newspapers became critical of both her campaign methods and her fractious governing methods, Sarah put a gag order on the city's department heads, instructing them to get her permission before speaking to reporters.
LIE: Sarah fired Wasilla's Chief of Police because he didn't give her his "full support."
TRUTH: Sarah fired police chief, Irl Stambaugh, because (1) he stepped on the toes of Palin's campaign contributors by trying to move up the closing hours of the local bars from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. after a spurt of drunk driving accidents and arrests, and (2) because his stand on restricting concealed weapons upset Palin's National Rifle Association contributors/cronies.
LIE: Sarah didn't fire police chief. In her own words at the time, "There's been no meeting, no actual termination."
TRUTH: Sarah had already delivered the letter of termination to Police Chief Stambaugh by the time she made this statement. The statement read, in part, "Although I appreciate your service as police chief, I've decided it's time for a change. I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore, I intend to terminate your employment." As Stambaugh so aptly observed, "If that's not a letter of termination, I don't know what is." Stambaugh had headed the Wasilla Police Dept. since its creation in 1993. Before that, he served 22 years with the Anchorage Police Dept., rising to the rank of captain before his retirement. Sarah replaced Stambaugh with one of her cronies, who said of the early bar closing, "I have a philosophy that every time there's a new law or new ordinance, we lose a little more of our freedom."
LIE: In Palin's words: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending… and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress."
TRUTH: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks totaling $27 million for a town of 5,000-9,000 people over a 3-year period.
LIE: A keen executive, Sarah was a smart businesswoman and a responsible steward of the Wasilla budget.
TRUTH: When Sarah arrived, the budget was balanced. When she left office in 2002, she also left Wasilla with a $22 million deficit. Most of this is due to the ice rink/recreation center, complete with heated seats for the spectators. Sarah failed to get clear lands right before building it the center, which has left the city mired in expensive legal proceedings that continue to this day. Had Sarah stuck around long enough, she could have at least claimed experience in dealing with a huge deficit, which the next president will need in dealing with the federal government's newly announced $417 billion deficit.
LIE: Sarah did not ask the Wasilla librarian to ban books. She was simply asking a rhetorical question, wanting to know if the librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons (now Barker) would remove a book from the shelves, if people were to, say, circle the library in protest of a certain book.
TRUTH: Sarah twice posed such rhetorical questions to the librarian and reportedly cited three specific books, which purportedly include the titles, "Pastor I am Gay" and "Go Ask Alice." After the librarian refused, Sarah gave her a letter of termination, but was forced to re-instate her after a large public protest.
LIE: Sarah Palin is family-friendly.
TRUTH: The above is likely true, so long as you're not her mother-in-law, and so long as you don't cross Sarah's political path. Sarah Palin's mother-in-law, Faye Palin — a pro-abortion democrat, with a respectable history of civic and community work in Wasilla — ran for mayor after Sarah vacated the position in 2002. Faye's campaign was not endorsed by Sarah, but was, in fact, targeted by Sarah's political allies, as the race disintegrated into a pro vs. anti-abortion battle, with the word BABYKILLER smattered across Faye's campaign signs several days before election day. Faye Palin was defeated by one of Sarah's political cohorts. (It's not that Sarah opposed her mother-in-law, it's how she opposed her).
Perhaps you haven't been telling the truth, Pinocchio.
Governor Sarah Palin (2006-present)
LIE: In Palin's words, "I told Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."
TRUTH: For one thing, Sarah Palin's say-so was irrelevant to Congress by the time she entered office, so that — even if she did say 'thanks but no thanks,' no one was listening. The funding for the bridge (which she kept) was a done deal. The point being that I would question whether or not she even said 'thanks but no thanks' to anyone other than a mirror. For another thing, Sarah embraced the Bridge to Nowhere — even using it in her political platform while campaigning for governor — but only so long as it was politically advantageous to do so. She joined in a cause, of sorts, rallying to the defense of those poor people from "nowhere" being ridiculed by the liberal media. Once the project became a national ridicule, she jumped onboard with that idea and withdrew her support for the $398 million porkbarrel albatross, a project which McCain was to later blame for the Minnesota bridge collapse that killed 13 and injured nearly 100 people. In a Sept. 2007 press release, Sarah actually seemed to blame the bridge's demise on a lack of funding from Congress. Sarah continues, to this day, to brag on her 'thanks but no thanks' mavericketynesshood.
LIE: Sarah Palin sold the governor's jet on eBay for a profit.
TRUTH: Sarah Palin tried, but failed, three times to sell the jet on eBay. She finally sold it to a Republican campaign donor, a Valdex oil executive named Larry Reynolds, at a $600,000 loss to the state of Alaska.
LIE: Sarah Palin is suing the Federal government to reverse their decision to protect threatened polar bears under the Endangered Species Act because, according to Sarah, their decision wasn't based on the best scientifc evidence.
TRUTH: Sarah Palin is suing the Federal government — despite that she's been given the best scientific evidence by many credible authorities and scientists, whose conclusions were based on studies of declining sea ice habitats (studies which her office chose to withhold from public debate) — because Sarah fears this protection will cripple offshore oil and gas drilling in Alaska.
LIE: Sarah didn't try to pressure Alaska State Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan, into firing her ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten. Nor did she fire Monegan for his refusal to fire Wooten.
TRUTH: Sarah, along with her husband and various people from her office, repeatedly called and emailed Monegan for this very purpose. Sarah, et al, vehemently denied this until, in August 2008, an audiotape surfaced, proving they were lying. By then, however, she was already part of a state investigation (with a tab of up to $100,000 for the taxpayers) for abuse of her executive power in the firing of Walt Monegan — an impeachable offense.
LIE: Sarah didn't fire Walt Monegan for his failure to fire her ex-brother-in-law, but fired him for not properly addressing bootlegging and alcohol abuse issues.
TRUTH: Several weeks before she fired Monegan, Sarah praised him for his efforts against bootlegging and alcohol abuse issues and, in fact, named him Director of the Alcohol Beverage Board, all of this appearing a bit schizophrenic, when you consider her earlier firing of Police Chief Stambaugh (see mayoral lies, above) in the wake of his efforts to address alcohol abuse issues.
LIE: As commander of the Alaska National Guard, Sarah has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities.
TRUTH: Sarah's role with the Alaska National Guard is as little more than a figurehead. Upon out-of-state deployment, the National Guard reports solely to the Dept. of Defense, with the governor's authority ending absolutely when those units are called into actual military service, the exception being for certain in-state deployments, such as floods. In these cases, the Maj. Gen. Campbell of the Alaska National Guard has authority to make decisions. Sarah Palin has never given orders to the Alaska National Guard. (An aside, of interest here, is that the City of Wasilla's website has undergone changes in recent weeks, with the addition of National Guard pics at the tops of varoius pages, including the home page. One can only assume this is to bolster Sarah's military credentials, as there is no National Guard base in Wasilla. Correct me if I'm wrong).
LIE: In Palin's words: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending… and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress."
TRUTH: In less than two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation.
LIE: As governor, Sarah Palin cleaned out the corrupt good-old-boy system in Alaska politics and replaced it with a clean, transparent, fiscally responsible government.
TRUTH: Sarah bilked, er… billed the Alaska taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office (uh, she's only been in office for about 19 months), charging a per diem allowance intended to cover the cost of meals and incidental expenses during the governor's travels. She also billed the state for travel expenses for her children and husband during her travels, PLUS billing the state for expenses and a daily allowance for husband, Todd, during her travels — all to the tune of $43,490. Flight expenses were the most costly, with daughter Piper's alone totaling nearly $11,000. Lodging was also costly, with one Bristol & Mom jaunt to NYC costing taxpayers $707 per night. A question that remains to be officially asked or answered is whether or not Palin paid taxes on the income from her at-home per diem charges for those 312 nights, as this would be considered taxable income, since being paid to sleep in your own bedroom is not considered a tax-deductible expense by the IRS. This could easily be grounds for a criminal tax fraud investigation, if Palin did not pay taxes on this taxable income. Palin brags that her own personal travel expenses ($93,000) are an improvement over her predecessor, Murkowsky ($463,000), who could offer no comment on these figures to the press, as he was moosehunting.
What does an actor want with a conscience, anyway?
Vice-Presidentail Candidate Sarah Palin (8/28/08 – present)
LIE: Sarah Palin got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States.
TRUTH: Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayoral election and 909 in the 1999 re-election race. Despite that Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race after the Iowa caucuses, he received a total of 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia during the 2008 primaries.
LIE: Alaska is a wealthy state because of its oil revenues and Sarah's wonderful executive and budgetary skills, making so much money that the state can afford to cut its own citizens checks from these revenues.
TRUTH: This is a yes, but only because Alaska sucks an exorbitant amount of money from the federal government. Among the 50 states, Alaska rates #1 in taxes per resident, and #1 in spending per resident. Its tax burden is 2.5 times the national average, its spending more than double. The trick is that Alaska spends money on its citizens, then bills the rest of us to pay for it. Alaska ranks number #1 in the country for the absolute amount it receives from Washington, over and above the amount it sends to Washington. Alaska receives more federal aid per capita than any other state.
LIE: The McCain-Paln team will change liberal Washington into a conservative Washington.
TRUTH: Uh, conservative Republicans, Bush-Cheney, have been in office for nearly 8 years, and the Republicans controlled Congress for 6 of those years, until the Democrats took control in 2007.
LIE: Palin's words on Obama: "This is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the State Senate.
TRUTH: Obama worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. In Illinois, he was the leader on two major, contentious measures: studying racial profiling by police, and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.
LIE: Palin's words on Obama: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."
TRUTH: You'd not have to listen to many Obama speeches to know this is patently false. Payroll taxes will decrease for 95% of Americans (an inverse arrangement to the Bush-McCain plan) netting an after-tax increase of income by 5% (averaging approx. $2,000 annally) by 2012 for Americans earning under $250,000 annually. This is according to the Tax Policy Center, a think-tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute. Income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes will be raised for the wealthiest, including individuals and business making over $250,000 annually. Obama will provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum wage workers, with higher credits for larger families. Again, Obama's plan benefits 95% of Americans, unlike the Bush-McCain plan, which gives disproportianate favor to the wealthiest Americans, which comprise approx. 5% of the population.
LIE: (and a particularly vile lie, at that, which Margaret Talex of the McClatchy Report called 'a deliberately misleading accusation' and 'a deliberate low blow' —>). A recent McCain-Palin ad claims that Obama supported legislation to provide sex education to kindergartners.
TRUTH: The legislation for sex education for grades K-12 already existed in Illinois regarding STD and pregnancy prevention. Obama voted to allow local school boards to teach 'age-appropriate' sex education, geared toward educating children ages K-12 on how to recognize inappropriate behaviors, as a measure to protect them from sexual predators. One need not dig too deeply into the headlines to see that pedophilia is a sad reality in our society. It is ridiculous and patently sick to insinuate that Obama approved laws to teach young children about the birds and the bees. As one blogger noted, the McCain ad's claim that Obama approves sex-ed for tots will nonetheless be effective, as the media continue to repeat the McCain-Palin smear, without bothering to dispute it with the outrage it should be disputed. It's a lose-lose proposition for politicians like Obama, as it takes a lot more words to defend against such outrageous lies than it takes to wage them. The defense is never as powerful as the accusation, and can never quite be disproved in the court of the media. That's the beauty of a smear campaign. Of course, McCain, Palin, Rove and Co. already know this.
Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventualy they will believe it. — Adolph Hitler
by Mantis Katz, for the canarypapers
ABC News: Another Controversy for Sarah Palin
Associated Press: Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention
thecanarypapers: Monkeys with Molotovs: The gutter politics of McCain, Palin, Rove & Co.
Librarians Against Palin: ABC Investigates
Anchorage Daily News: Troopergate Inquiry Hangs Over Campaign
Anchorage Daily News: Palin touts stance on Bridge to Nowhere, doesn't note flip-flop
Anchorage Daily News: State will sue over polar bear listing, Palin says
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska sues over listing of polar bear as threatened
Anchorage Daily News: Oil firms get ok to bother polar bears
Daily Kos: Alaskanomics: How Palin's State Sucks the Rest of the Country Dry
What Fresh Hell is This? (JD Rhoades' Blog): The Librarian Who Said No to Sarah Palin, by Tess Gerritsen
AZ Central: Shook up "old boy's network'
McClatchy: Palin has never ordered Alaska National Guard to Do Anything
Daily KOS: We need grown-ups in the White House (excellent background info, especially with respect to oil and Alaska politics, plus sorting out Sarah Palin's financial facts vs. fallacies, written by an author whose first choice was not Obama-Biden). Excerpt: It's 2008 in America, people: the budget is broken, the military is broken, the financial system is broken, our standing in the world is at an all-time low. We need grown-ups in the White House….
Gov. Sarah Palin's September 2007 Press Release on the demise of the Bridge to Nowhere
Talking Points Memo: Palin Again Recites Lie About Bridge to Nowhere
TIME: Sarah Palin's Alaskanomics
The New York Observer: The Fairy Tale of Palin the Reformer
The Reality-Based Community: Evidence of Consciousness of Guilt (regarding per diem pay for living in your own home being taxable income)
WinkNews.com: here, you can see McCain's Sept. 21, 2007 comments on the Bridge to Nowhere.
Wall Street Journal: Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims
Washington Post: Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home — Taxpayers also funded family's travel
Washington Post: Does the truth matter anymore?
'Troopergate' news footage from August 14, 2008 (Palin coverage begins at 0:33). It's interesting, here, to see a liar perform her craft, as Sarah first denies the charges, then backpeddles a bit when she hears, to her horror, the audiotape recordings that prove she's been lying.


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Ancient Strengthening Technique - Chapter 390
AST 390 - Yan City Lai Clan, Lai Chusong
The beast carriage stopped outside the Lai residence!
After Qing Shui paid for the trip, he looked as the beast carriage sped off into the distance.
''Qing Shui, why did we come to the Lai residence?'' Qing Yi questioned as she looked at Qing Shui.
Qing Shui hesitated for a moment. He remembered Lai Chusong mentioning that if Qing Shui ever came to Yan City, he could look for him. The Lai Clan is a considerably well-to-do family in the Yanjiang Country. Since he had such ''convenience'', Qing Shui decided to use it. After all, as they were foreigners in the unfamiliar Yan City, it would be more convenient to know a native.
''I have a friend from the Lai Clan. I also have something to ask of him!''
At the wide gates of the Lai residence, there were two rows of armor-clad guards. Their abilities were barely at Martial Commander Grade. However, for door guards, that level was already sufficient.
''Visitors, please stop!''
An imposing middle-aged man with a sword stepped up and blocked Qing Shui. He spoke seriously, his voice was calm and forceful but without a shred of rudeness. Sincerity shone through his bright eyes framed by his square face.
Qing Shui nodded his head in approval. The quality of the guards are already quite good!
''I am here to see Lai Chusong. Is he in?''
''You are?'' the middle aged man asked with a lifted brow.
''I am from Hundred Miles City!''
The man thought for a while and responded to Qing Shui, ''Can I go to get further instructions?''
''Of course!''
The man left quickly.
''Qing Shui, do you think we should just look for an inn instead?'' Qing Luo asked as a complicated gaze passed his eyes. Qing Shui looked at him and laughed, shaking his head.
Qing Shui knew that his grandfather was overthinking. His grandfather thought that since Qing Shui and the person from the Lai Clan were friends, normally their guard should be able to recognize Qing Shui. Unless the Lai Clan was unwilling to invite them in...
Qing Shui was actually uncertain. After all, some years have passed since. People change, and he might have been forgotten. He couldn't deny that he charged the man ''medical fees'' when he treated him previously.
Qing Shui was also taking this opportunity to test if the man was worth befriending. Whether the frailty of human nature is able to within such a test.
Within fifteen minutes, Qing Shui smiled. He could still see the faintly familiar figure of Lai Chusong pacing towards them quickly.
Before Lai Chusong reached them, his amiable voice called out, ''Sir. It's really you! It's really you! Please come in everybody, come in!''
Qing Shui observed the well-dressed Lai Chusong. Not having seen him for years, his appearance was still the same. However, his mannerisms and aura have totally changed. He now even felt somewhat masculine.
''Brother Lai, no formalities, please.''
''And these people are?'' Lai Chusong was now standing in front of Qing Shui.
''My maternal grandfather, my mother...''
Qing Shui introduced his family.
''How are you, old sir? How are you, madam?'' Lai Chusong cordially greeted them one by one. Others may not know Qing Shui's capabilities, but Lai Chusong definitely knew.
Since he was young, Lai Chusong had kept a piece of advice close to his heart. One must never forget one's roots and one must never underestimate another.
Being from a large clan, Lai Chusong had sharp foresight and keen sense. He knew that the much younger man standing in front of him was not without talent. That man with such an exceptional god-like healing skill could easily earn fame and fortune within any city.
Qing Shui noticed that Lai Chusong's eyes brightened up when he saw the women, like Canghai Mingyue. His eyes revealed his admiration, but Chusong did not stare. He did not show any rapaciousness nor gave any disgusting looks. This added to the favorable impression that Qing Shui had.
It was only when they stepped into the Lai residence did Qing Shui realize the Lai Clan's affluence. It was no wonder the Lai Clan had some influence in Yan City. Having such a residence in the capital of Yan city was already a symbol of power.
On their way, they saw rock gardens, small lakes, greenery and pavilions...
This was what a decent clan residence looks like. In Hundred Miles City, it was impossible to find any residence this opulent. It was an eye-opening experience for Qing Luo, Qing He, Qing Yi, Qing You and the others.
The layout of the Lai residence was not inferior to the interiors of the Skysword Sect. Qing Shui was certain that the Lai family's influence must be greater than that of the Skyword Sect.
There were Martial King Grade experts in the Lai Clan, but at his level, they were nothing to him.
Making a turn at the rock garden, crossing an arched bridge, routing past a luxurious looking pavillion, they came to an isolated courtyard with many rooms.
''Brother Qing Shui, how about here? We can let your grandfather, mother and your family stay here? What are your thoughts?'' Lai Chusong asked cheerily looking at Qing Shui.
''Thanks for your care, Brother Lai!''
Qing Shui informed his grandfather and said to Lai Chusong, ''Brother Lai, my grandfather and the others are tired so they will be resting. Let's take a walk.''
''Great! The meals, fruits, snacks and tea will arrive soon.''
Qing Shui, accompanied by Lai Chusong, walked towards another building some distance away.
The two of them entered a hall. It was extremely quiet. Qing Shui used his Spiritual Sense and checked that there was nobody within a hundred meter radius.
''Brother Lai, how's everything?'' Qing Shui asked.
''Thanks to you sir, everything is fine!'' Lai Chusong once called Qing Shui 'sir'. Qing Shui could see his sincerity.
In the World of the Nine Continents, ''sir'' is an extremely polite title.
''Brother Lai, why are you unwilling to befriend me?'' Qing Shui chuckled.
''Brother Qing Shui, will it be convenient for me to ask what your purpose is coming to Yan City?'' Lai Chusong knew that Qing Shui had came to Yan City to settle something. However, at this point, it was difficult for him to guess why Qing Shui even brought his family.
''Brother, I will keep you guessing, but you will find out soon.''
''Well, then I will wait to see!'' Lai Chusong laughed heartily.
''Brother Lai, how is Lai Clan in comparison to Yan Clan? I don't have any other intentions.'' Qing Shui pondered as he asked. It is common knowledge that knowing one's own strength and that of the enemy's is a sure way to victory. There was no harm getting more information.
Lai Chusong was startled. He stared at Qing Shui before slowly replying , ''Lai Clan is inferior to Yan Clan!''
Just with those few words, Qing Shui understood that the levels of the Martial King Grade warriors in Yan Clan must be exceedingly high and they will also have a lot of people. Yanjiang Country is in the top twenty countries in the Greencloud Continent. It cannot be compared to a bottom of the barrel country like Cang Lang Country.
Furthermore, the Yan Clan was the dominant clan in Yanjiang Country. It may not be able to compete with Heavenly Palace, Sword Tower and other large sects, but it was definitely on par with the Immortal Sword Sect in region of the Southern City.
That would mean that there were Grade 7 Martial King experts in the Yan Clan!
Qing Shui thought about how naive he was in the past. It was naive and ridiculous that he thought he could just casually step into the Yan residence.
''Brother Qing Shui, it is rumored that there are Grade 7 Martial King experts in Yan clan. However, there is a clan that is even stronger that Yan Clan!'' Lai Chusong looked at Qing Shui, but could not read his thoughts.
''Which clan?'' Qing Shui was quite curious. Yan Clan was the master of Yan City so logically there should not be any stronger clans. However, there would definitely be some obscure clans with extremely high abilities but with no interest in being any city custodians.
''Xiao Clan. They are relatives to Yan Clan by marriage. It is rumored that they have a Grade 8 Martial King expert overseeing the clan.'' Lai Chusong watched Qing Shui as he replied.
Unfortunately, he was unable to see anything from Qing Shui's clear eyes.
''If I want to attack the Yan Clan, will Brother Lai help me?''


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Screening at this years FILM4 FRIGHTFEST is the James Wan produced DEMONIC. The film is directed by Will Canon and involves a group of students searching for answers after one of them starts seeing visions. There is also a cop (Frank Grillo) who has the night off but is unexpectedly called to the scene of the crime. When he arrives he encounters a blood bath, a missing girl and only one survivor. This survivor holds the key to events that played out that night and DEMONIC retraces the steps while this figure is being questioned. Part found footage flick, DEMONIC is a very well done possession film with a little bit of mystery and intrigue to keep the viewer entertained.
Once fans see the film has a "FF" angle it will cause many to sour so the inclusion of the normal narrative aspect will be welcoming. John (Dustin Milligan) has been having visions about a house where a certain infamous tragedy has happen. His girlfriend Michelle (Cody Horn) has group of friends who are paranormal investigators. They all feel this is the perfect situation to prove that what they do is no hoax. So they convince John to go with them to this house where evil awaits. The detective summons the station's psychologist (Maria Bello) to the house to speak with the survivor and try to piece together all the happenings on this dreadful night.
DEMONIC excels at traditional scares but unfortunately the subject matter is just too familiar. Still the film is shown through so many perspectives allows it to move in a great pace. The cast has great rapport and the overall execution of DEMONIC follows the scope of most of the films of this caliber. The over-saturation of the found footage genre is too hard to deny which is why some will be pressed to give this a bad review. It's not how is should be as DEMONIC is put together quite well and satisfies the elements that make up a solid horror film. A well written story and a good amount of scares is all you need right? Well DEMONIC delivers those and more.
DEMONIC is directed by Will Canon and stars Frank Grillo, Maria Bello, Dustin Milligan, Cody Horn, Scott Mechlowicz and Aaron Yoo. It is being released courtesy of Dimension.
Categories: Film4 Fright Fest, Horror Movie Reviews


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Episode 21 - Shin Dong's Pockets/
On this straightforward episode of Hallyujuku, we discuss what we've been listening to this week, including more evidence of #YearOfTheRapper, CrayonPop's opening gig for Lady Gaga and what it will do for them career-wise, KBS' banning of Orange Caramel, Lee Michelle's thought-provoking debut, and SM's tax troubles and who's pockets investigators should be checking. Play!
What you been listening to?
[MV] Gary(개리)(LeeSSang) _ ZOTTO MOLA(XX몰라)
f(x) - Toy
Girls' Generation(소녀시대) - 훗(Hoot)
Wonder Girls - Like Money (Dance Version W/O Akon)
Wonder Girls - Like Money (Feat. Akon)
Lim Kim - Urban Green (English Version) (Acoustic Live)
UglyPumpkin(어글리펌킨) _ From yesterday(어저께부터)
Crayon Pop Opening for Lady Gaga
Crayon Pop - Bar Bar Bar Fanchant Tutorial
Crayon Pop - Uhee MV Teaser
Orange Caramel love Crayon Pop
KBS Rules That Orange Caramel's "Catellena" "Disregards Human Life"
Lee Michelle Debuts With "Without You"
Kangta and Boa Assigned as Non-Registered Directors for SM Entertainment


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Birding in Alaska
From temperate rainforest to Arctic tundra wetlands, Alaska is home to a wide range of bird species, including some you can't see anywhere else in North America.
Birding hotlines and email groups are great ways to find out what birds people are seeing where. If you're trying to plan a trip or just want to find good birding spots, Audubon Alaska offers birding maps for Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Kodiak. Find out more about birding maps here.
Have a bird ID question? Try National Audubon's online bird guide for photos, descriptions, sounds, and more.
How you can help, right now
Donate to Audubon Alaska
Audubon Alaska depends on supporters like you to make our science-based bird conservation possible.
Ways to Help
There are many ways to support Audubon Alaska, from various types of donations to participating in a citizen science project. Choose which is best for you!
Alaska Arctic Fund
Help protect the spectacular natural ecosystems of the Arctic. Donate to the Arctic Fund and support Arctic programs and policy work.


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*Back by popular demand*
I'm baking a cake in honor of Mr. Lincoln's birthday. Everyone deserves cake on their birthday...even an imaginary dead president living...err...not-living in a haunted farmhouse in the mountains.
No, not a dick cake..not even a real cake for that matter...because after yesterday's attack of heart burn, I'm grounded from the kitchen. But it's not my fault! There should be an alarm that goes off when all the water boils out of the pan. It should whistle like an old fashioned tea kettle or something. They weren't kidding when they said heart attacks were the silent killers. I didn't hear a damn thing as my Pure Romance gel heart burned into a pink pile of ash.
Not. One. Single. Thing.
Pink should make a sound...shouldn't it? Pigs are pink. They make a sound. Maybe my imaginary cake will have pink frosting. I think Lincoln was a fan of pink.
In fact, I'm sure he was. It's a little known fact that Lincoln was the first president in favor of extending the vote to women. He knew women found him sexy, (he was 6'4", need I say more?) and women rock the vote. He even grew his beard in response to a rumor that women would urge their husband's to vote for him with his sexy beard. Oh yeah...Abe was digging the pink, alright.
So, Mr. Lincoln is going to karaoke with me tonight, where we're having an early Valentine's Day party (with lots and lots of pink) and I'll try out some new tunes for him. We'll give his hat some attention, and maybe even coax him into slipping me a few fives...his huge head is splashed across the front of the five dollar bill, you know. Heck, I'll take a nice roll of his shiny new pennies for that matter. I hear there's a big sale in honor of his birthday too. And who can resist a good sale?
So Happy Birthday to my imaginary dead president. We're gonna party like it's 1865 (but we'll steer clear of the theater...ok?)
Until the next time...I'll be doing my best Marilyn Monroe impression as I sing to Mr. Lincoln.


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As I walk down a crowded street, I feel so alone.
People treat me like a window when I try to make eye contact. They don't see me, they don't care about me, and they are too busy with thoughts that consume their minds.
I just wish more people would return a smile when I smiled at them.
It seems to me that our society is becoming increasingly unaware of life in the present moment. We have too much to do, we are easily distracted, and we are consumed by thoughts of the future or reliving life in our past.
Just the other day, I saw a mother pushing her daughter in a stroller. Walking beside the mother was her friend. As they walked down the street, I saw her daughter looking back calling out, "Mommy, Mommy" trying get her mother's attention. But the mother was too busy. Surprisingly, she wasn't busy talking to her friend, she was too busy talking on the phone with someone else…
This mother in this instance, lacked awareness to the present moment.
I am not here to judge anyone, but we should all ask ourselves, what is the most important thing for me to focus on right now? Without constantly checking in on ourselves, we begin to check out of our own life. It becomes too easy to get lost in an imaginary world that isn't a priority.
When I get home from work, I know that my priority should be to spend time with my family. But due to a lack of presence, I catch myself at times dipping into my email. This in itself isn't necessarily bad, but in my case the emails are typically addressed to colleagues who are based in Europe who are in a deep sleep.
I need to ask myself, "What is the most important thing for me to focus on now?"
The answer is almost never "write that email."
Deciding what is the most important thing to focus on during a given moment is a learned skill. It takes daily practice to be able to cultivate mindfulness to the present moment. With practice, you will find it easier to strip out the distractions, noise, and false alarms that yank you away from the NOW.
Here are three tricks that I use to get myself back into the present moment.
Follow my breath
I always have my breath to refocus myself back on the present moment. As long as I am alive, I have to breathe and my breath is always happening in the present moment.
I feel the air go in and out of my nose and mouth, down to my belly. As I consciously feel my breath, I slow my thoughts and heart rate down. After a minute of following my breath, I am back into the present moment. Rejuvenated.
Wiggle my toes
I use this trick often when I am speaking to someone and start to zone out of the conversation. I wiggle my toes in my shoes, which forces my brain to control a part of my body that I am not used to controlling. This zaps me back into the present moment so I can refocus on the conversation at hand.
Find Beauty
I love to bring my mind back to the present moment by being in a state of Aww. When zoned out, I look for something beautiful that reconnects me back to my present self.
When I am outside I look for beauty in nature. Things such as flowers, trees, birds, clouds, mountains, or the sunshine.
When I am inside I look for pictures, art, unique building designs, or clean spaces. Anything really that gets me back in a state of Aww.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, in order to become more present, you will have to find time to disengage from the world.
The constant barrage of beeps, flashes, texts, pings, tweets and like's - steals away from the present moment. This disruption may make you feel like you are important, but in reality it is only taking away from your most important gift: The present moment.
Life can only be lived, right now. Anything else, just does not exist.
No amount of thinking about the future, can make the future come true.
No amount of reminiscing on good times, can bring those good times back.
When you ignite the ability to live in the present moment, you will start to see the world like never before.
Whenever I think about presence I think of this question, "Where did the time go?"
Time left long ago while you were busy being distracted and forgot to live life as it was occurring in the moment.


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Climate Change
Help us bring Mr Frackhead to Ireland
Issued in the blog on March 09, 2017 at 17:45:00.
Over 11,000 people signed the petition urging TDs to progress the Bill to ban fracking without delay. It was the fastest and biggest response to an action we have ever had. Thank you.
Have you signed the fracking petition yet?
Issued in the blog on February 08, 2017 at 09:43:00.
5657 people haven now signed our petition to tell the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action to pass the Bill to ban fracking without delay.
But we don't have your name yet.
It has been retweeted across the world including by celebrities Susan Sarandon, Glen Hansard and Mark Ruffalo, to name a few who are showing their support.
The Bill is under a public consultation phase which ends this Friday, 10th February. We really want to pass 10,000 signatures before then with our sister petition on Uplift.ie (maybe you signed there?) which has 3220 names already.
Help us get to 10,000 signatures by the time the public consultation closes this Friday .
Add your name today
New study finds significant benefits of natural land management ignored in Ireland, despite evidence around Europe and beyond
Issued in news on February 02, 2017 at 16:21:00.
Dredging alone will not contain flood risk
A new study, commissioned by Friends of the Earth, has found that natural land management techniques can significantly reduce flood risk but are being ignored by Irish policy-makers, despite evidence of their contribution to flood management around Europe. Natural Flood Management is a comprehensive approach to managing soil, wetlands, woodlands and floodplains along a river to retain and slow water at times of flood risk, reducing the speed and the peak of floodwaters compared to approaches that rely only on dredging and walls. The report, commissioned by Friends of the Earth, was launched at an event to mark World Wetlands Day in Dublin City Council.
Speaking at the launch, the report's author, ecologist and broadcaster, Anja Murray said:
Natural Flood Management: Adopting ecosystem approaches to managing flood risk
Issued in publications on February 02, 2017.
Dredging alone will not contain flood risk
A new study, commissioned by Friends of the Earth, has found that natural land management techniques can significantly reduce flood risk but are being ignored by Irish policy-makers, despite evidence of their contribution to flood management around Europe. Natural Flood Management is a comprehensive approach to managing soil, wetlands, woodlands and floodplains along a river to retain and slow water at times of flood risk, reducing the speed and the peak of floodwaters compared to approaches that rely only on dredging and walls. The report, commissioned by Friends of the Earth, was launched at an event to mark World Wetlands Day in Dublin City Council.
Speaking at the launch, the report's author, ecologist and broadcaster, Anja Murray said:
"Natural flood management has gained recognition in many countries as a viable and cost effective approach to flood risk management, with extensive projects across Europe and further afield that have restored peat bogs, planted riparian woodlands, restored and created new wetlands, re-profiled rivers and their floodplains to hold back floodwaters.
"Natural flood management is virtually unknown in Ireland, despite the growing problem of widespread flood damage in recent years and forecasts of worse to come. There have been no trials or pilots of catchment based approaches to flood management in Ireland, despite the evidence that natural flood management can be an effective means of significantly reducing flood peak."
Welcoming the study's findings, Friends of the Earth Director, Oisin Coghlan said:
"Our climate is warming. Major flood events, currently expected once in every 50 years, are likely to occur once every 10 years by the second half of this century. We commissioned this study because we want Ireland to protect our communities as effectively as possible from the impacts of climate change. This study shows that building our flood resilience is about more than building walls and dredging rivers.
"It's hard to fathom why natural flood management techniques have been ignored in Ireland, despite the evidence of their contribution elsewhere. There has been a rush to expensive engineering responses in the face in understandable public anger. We hope this report will start a conversation about how to make our flood risk management more evidence-based, less narrowly focused, and ultimately more effective."
The report, "Natural Flood Management: Adopting ecosystem approaches to managing flood risk", analyses a whole-catchment approach to managing flood waters, through managing soil, wetlands, woodlands and floodplains to retain water strategically at times of flood risk. In recent decades urban and agricultural expansion and intensification, often onto historic floodplains, has resulted in the loss of capacity of floodplains to lessen the impact of flooding. Dredging continues on many river channels despite its tendency to exacerbate downstream flooding. Agricultural land use changes have reduced the permeability of soils and increased paving has reduced permeability in urban areas. Drainage and infilling of wetlands has resulted in loss of natural flood water storage basins.
Now, in response to increasing frequency of extreme rainfall events and consequent flooding that is happening because of climate change, Ireland needs to urgently develop and implement measures to reverse the decline in natural flood attenuation. Exclusive reliance on hard engineered flood protection works no longer represents the optimal approach to managing flood risk. Instead, combinations of catchment wide measures are now evidenced as good international practice.Measures include peat bog restoration, woodland creation, incentivised agricultural land use changes, floodplain restoration, wetland protection, and managed coastal realignment.
Case studies are presented of projects which have successfully implemented natural flood management, including 'Slowing the Flow' project in North Yorkshire and the 'Room for Rivers' in the Netherlands. The report finds that strong community involvement in addressing flood risk is crucial, as is the involvement of a range of interests and state agencies in recognition of the wider environmental co-benefits of natural flood management.
The study was commissioned by Friends of the Earth with a grant from the Irish Environmental Network.
The report is online here.
One win. One Fight. One Favour.
Issued in the blog on January 27, 2017 at 01:06:00.
One win ...
Last week we asked you to contact your TDs to ask them to support the Bill to divest state funds from fossil fuels. Yesterday the Dáil voted 90 votes to 53 to progress the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill to the next stage. This is a real victory for people power given the Government steadfastly opposed the Bill and Fianna Fáil were on the fence right up to decision time.
Read our press release reacting to the historic vote: "This is first real sign of leadership from Ireland on climate action".
Historic step as Dáil backs Bill to divest state funds from fossil fuel companies
Issued in news on January 26, 2017 at 23:42:00.
Government Defeated as Dáil takes historic step towards fossil free future
Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill passes second stage 90-53
Friends of the Earth has hailed as "historic" today's Dáil vote to progress a Bill to pull taxpayer's money out of fossil fuel companies. The Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill passed Second Stage by 90 votes to 53. Fine Gael and the independents who support the minority government were the only TDs to vote against the Bill, which will now passes to a Dáil Committee. It was the seventh Dáil defeat for the government since it was formed last year.
Commenting on the landmark vote, Oisin Coghlan, Director of Friends of the Earth said:
"This is first real sign of leadership from Ireland on climate action.
Fracking ban could stall unless we act now
Issued in the blog on January 24, 2017 at 14:54:00.
A couple of months ago, the Dáil unanimously agreed to consider a law to make fracking illegal in Ireland. There were celebrations!
But now supporters of fracking are trying to bog it down in endless Committee discussions. Please sign this petition to tell TDs to pass the law without delay.
Tell TDs to ban fracking without delay.
The Oireachtas Committee considering the Bill want to know what the public thinks, and are asking you for your opinion on fracking and unconventional extraction of fossil fuels.
So, no time to rest on our laurels, we need to make sure TDs know the evidence is crystal clear: for our health, land, water and climate, fracking is bad news and should be banned.
Tomorrow belongs to us
Issued in the blog on January 19, 2017 at 12:36:00.
Tonight ...
The Dáil debates a Bill to divest taxpayers' money from fossil fuel companies, one of our top demands as part of Stop Climate Chaos.
And it hangs in the balance. We know all the smaller parties will support the Bill. The Government is likely to oppose it. Fianna Fáil are key and have been considering their position all week.
Supporters have been emailing TDs. But what would make the most difference now is a phone call. I called one of my TDs yesterday and it took less that 3 minutes.
Don't despair this Friday, celebrate with us!
Issued in the blog on January 18, 2017 at 01:50:00.
This Friday 20th January Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America.
BUT....we have an alternative celebration for you, why not join us for a party and a film screening celebrating the people all around the world who are developing creative, positive solutions to our common challenges.
We are screening the award-winning French documentary Demain . I dare you to watch this 107 second trailer and not want to see more!
When: Friday 20th January
Where : Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Time: From 6pm for nibbles and BYOB, film 7pm sharp.
Tickets : Book your seat on eventbrite , tickets are just €5.
'I feel like I got my future back ...'
Issued in news on December 30, 2016 at 02:54:00.
We know what the headlines from 2016 are and many are not good news for the environment.
But 2016 also saw a new storyline gathering pace, not from the board rooms and cabinet tables but from the sitting rooms and kitchen tables of people who aren't prepared to give up without a fight. It is the story of people power standing up to the corporate power of the fossil fuel industry, and winning.


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Page 6: Conclusion
Six Sigma looks at all work as a series of processes with inherent variations, which can cause waste or inefficiency. Focusing on those processes with greatest impact on business performance, as defined by leadership teams, the methodology involves statistical analysis to quantify repeated common cause variations - which can then be reduced by the Six Sigma team. Six Sigma becomes a continuous process for quality improvement and cost reduction flowing throughout the company.
Originally developed from a Japanese quality control process for manufacturing electronic semi-conductors, Six Sigma developed the capability of reducing problems or issues effecting customer expectations on key business processes. Six Sigma has provided the opportunity to drive forward important customer focused initiatives across the Cummins global organisation.
As an improvement and cost reduction process, Six Sigma is equally valid for marketing and product development as well as manufacturing and customer services. Six Sigma improvement projects and techniques are now the cornerstone of Cummins continued success in cost reduction and quality improvement.


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Stop by our booth at The Franklin Flea Holiday Market at the historic Strawbridge's building at 8th & Market. Franklin Flea features select local vendors of vintage, reclaimed, handmade and great food! Every Saturday November 21 - December 19, 10:00am-5:00pm. FREE and open to the public.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: November 6First Friday: Cricket Lane Studio
Later Event: November 28Franklin Flea


text: Door Steward - Hummingbird - Glasgow - Glasgow Team Level - Operations Ref: 2517 Date Posted: Wednesday 18 Sep 2019 ShareMore The Role: As part of the security team, your role will include: Providing excellent customer service. Monitoring and managing crowds and queues. Dealing with conflict; restraining and escorting customers off of the premises if required. Ensuring the safety of customers and staff at all times. The Person: The ideal candidate will have: A valid SIA Door Supervisor Badge and experience in a similar role. Great communication and customer service skills with the ability to diffuse high tension situations. Availability to work shifts, including evenings and weekends as per business needs. The Reward: In return, we offer a competitive salary and rewards structure, generous company benefits as well as industry leading training and career development opportunities Benefits Include: 30% off of food & cinema tickets in all of our venues across Scotland. Continued development through our online learning portal and masterclasses in venues. Access to courses including Diageo Business of Bars and Modern Apprenticeships. The Process: If you think this is the role for you then apply now and a member of HUMMINGBIRD team will be in touch.


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Being Defensive Can Come
So Easy!
It is oftentimes easier to become defensive during conflict in a relationship than it is to be vulnerable. This is NOT A SURPRISE!
Typically one or both partners are already feeling hurt, hence the conflict, and the idea of further exposing oneself may seem self-destructive. So people default to defensiveness, which serves to create a protective wall around oneself and which prevents oneself from looking at their own contribution to the conflict. Now this can really be destructive to a relationship. One's defensiveness is likely to be met with the other's defensiveness and communication is shut down.
The more productive option:
mutual vulnerability!
Mutual Vulnerability:
What Is It & How Do I Cultivate it?
There is not one definition of mutual vulnerability. The term has been used in psychoanalytic literature, education discourse, historical exegeses, and other disciplines. At the core of mutual vulnerability is the joint willingness to surrender one's desire to remain in a position of power.
When thinking about couples in conflict, one can imagine one or both partners feeling hurt and vulnerable. This can at times result in one or both partners wanting to close up and protect themselves from further hurt...the furthest thing from surrendering power. Each partner may have thoughts such as, "I am not letting my guard down" or may be suspicious of what their partner will do next. Sometimes this position of defensiveness may not even be conscious.
Such a situation is not conducive to open and honest communication, which is necessary if the couple is going to come to some resolution of the conflict. Mutual vulnerability or a willingness to let go of this defensive position can open up space for dialogue but can also allow for emotional intimacy and understanding of each other.
This all sounds lovely but is not always the easiest thing to accomplish, particularly when there has been a lot of hurt and injury in the relationship. However, there are certain factors that can be put in place that may make it feel safer for a person to let their guard down a bit, and that may foster an environment of safety.
Cut Out the Criticism: This is one of the most obvious things a couple can do and yet one of the hardest. Nobody is going to open up and share how they feel if they expect to be cut down immediately before even being heard. Even if one is heard, it is unfortunately not that uncommon that your response will be met with criticism. Cut it out! Find a way to respond to what you heard and share how you are feeling without criticizing your partner for having his or her feelings. And no name calling!!
Practice Listening & Ask for Clarification: It is astonishing how sometimes people think they heard and understood correctly but do not realize that they distorted what they have heard to fit their expectations. Sometimes you may think you are so sure that you know what your partner is going to say that you don't even really listen, and in your mind have already jumped to thinking about how you will respond to what you think they have said. A nice way to disrupt this non productive pattern is to wait until your partner has completely finished speaking and then repeat back to them exactly what they have just said. Then wait for your partner to clarify if necessary and let you know if you heard correctly. Only after that should you share your response.
Take a Risk: The truth is that if you share something vulnerable and take a non defensive stance, you make it more likely that your partner will reciprocate than if you started with a defensive position.
Empathize & Acknowledge: You know how hard it is to take a risk, so if your partner does so as well, it is important to acknowledge it and reinforce it! Thank your partner for sharing their feelings with you. Ask yourself if you can relate in any way with what your partner is sharing and perhaps share that as well. Even if you do not agree with what your partner is saying, let them know that respectfully and acknowledge that you are aware that it was not an easy thing for them to share with you.
Practice: This is NOT a one time, one step process. Conflict and hard times will present themselves throughout the duration of a couple's relationship and in order for a couple to thrive they need to maintain an overall openness to mutual vulnerability. That is not to say that at times both or one partner will not default to defensiveness. We are all human. However, the key is for a couple to be able to learn how to eventually return to a mutually vulnerable moment and to move forward. The more one practices these steps during conflict-free times, the easier it will be to implement during conflict-ridden moments.
Don't Wait Too Long to Get Help: In certain circumstances, simply being more mindful of being mutually vulnerable is enough to move the couple out of conflict. However, there are times when couples are so stuck that they just cannot change their patterns of interaction. In these instances, the couple will require professional help. Additionally, it is important to note that in cases where one or both partners have experienced significant trauma in their lives, the idea of being vulnerable in a relationship may be too overwhelming and it might even be harmful to attempt to engage in mutual vulnerability without the help of a mental health professional. Rule of thumb: when in doubt consult with a professional.
If you and your partner are finding it difficult to resolve your conflict or find yourself persistently hurting each other, it is likely best to reach out for some professional help. If you have general questions about therapy, you may find the FAQ page useful.


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Matt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Any right living we may have acquired needs to morph into mercy, not judgment. The reason the merciful are blessed is that they also will receive mercy. All of us will need mercy at throughout our life. If we do not sow it, we will not reap it. Even the lamenting prophet Jeremiah, known for his blistering pronouncements against Israel, wept for his people daily. He knew their only hope lay in the mercy of God.
Lam 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
Hope is essential for our mental health. Recall good things you've forgotten. Negative events push positive thoughts out of mind. Make your mind think on good things. We easily forget the mercies of God. We do wrong and yet we are not consumed because God is compassionate. His mercies are new at the start of every day because our failings recur every day. We fall short of His glory every day. We are in need of fresh mercy every day.
Probably more than anything else, Jesus' life was typified by his compassion, mercy, and grace. He was also pure, white as snow, yet this did not make Him judgmental. The reason the masses crowded Him was they felt safe from judgment. A major secret to the healing and the miracles that accompanied Him was His compassion for people. He had compassion on the multitude because they were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. The river that flows from God is a river of love, mercy, grace, and compassion.
Ruth 1:1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
The story of Naomi in the book of Ruth is an amazing demonstration of someone who returned to the house of God and found mercy. This was a bad time in Israel's history. When critical, judgmental people rule, there will be famine in the land. There was no clear leader and everybody did what was right in their own eyes. Elimelech takes his family away from the house of bread and praise for natural, not spiritual, reasons. They go to Moab, a people descended from Lot's incest with his eldest daughter. Where men go, they take their family. He wasn't prepared to pay the price of staying in the land, but searched for comfort rather than character. It was only 50 miles away, not far by anyone's standards, yet far enough to be another land. Death claims Elimelech. He attempted to escape death in Israel, but it found him in Moab. Rather than return, the sons now settle into the land for the next ten years, marrying Orpah and Ruth, both forbidden as wives for Israelites. Not only do neither of the marriages produce children, but both sons of Naomi die. Naomi is childless and a widow, there is hardly a worse circumstance for anyone to bear. How much pain does it take to get us to return to the Lord, to return to the House of God, to do the right thing in any circumstance?
Finally, Naomi returns to Israel, because she hears the famine is over and that there is bread in the land. Naomi never foresaw the problems that being away from the House of God would cause. Ruth felt destiny in her connection with Naomi and was prepared to return with her. Once Naomi returned to the House of bread and praise, the mercy of God manifested in many ways in her life. She regained all she had lost by her daughter Ruth. The richest man in town, Boaz, married her, she then gave birth to Obed who gave birth to Jesse whose son was David. David's great great great grandson was Jesus Christ. Ruth was a Moabite. Her background was wrong. How could she get into the game of bringing the Messiah into the world?
Through the mercy of God!
See you in church!


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When installing PowerPivot in your farm, you will have to manually add the following line to your web.config SafeControls section of EVERY front end server, you will also have to add this back everytime you make a change via the Web Application settings page in Central Administration:
<SafeControl Src="~/_layouts/powerpivot/*" IncludeSubFolders="True" Safe="True" AllowRemoteDesigner="True" SafeAgainstScript="True" />
If you don't do this, then you will get this error:
"The referenced file '/_layouts/PowerPivot/ReportGalleryView.ascx' is not allowed on this page."
This should have been done in the Solution install, but they missed that step. Hopefully next version of the .wsp will contain the addition
Special thanks to PowerPivotGeek.com for the helpful hint


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My research centres on phenomenological approaches to meaning, particularly with regard to language, practice, pictures and the visual arts more generally. The approaches I find most convincing emphasize the implications of embodiment, embeddedness and enaction, which have led me to become interested in the connections between phenomenology and recent cognitive science. My book Disclosing the World: On the Phenomenology of Language appears in February 2016 in MIT Press.
In addition to specific interests in Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Wittgenstein and Nietzsche, I have a general background and broad interest in 20th century European philosophy.
Having spent large amounts of time working in different philosophical cultures, I also have some interest in the (bizarre) distinction between 'continental' and 'analytic' philosophy, though I tend to think of this as belonging to the more general and more interesting question of what it is to write and/or do philosophy.


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Car Moebel
One shop I frequently visit online is Car Moebel because I'm often inspired by their product shots and enjoy some of the lines that they carry. I also have some furniture in my home from this store along with a few rugs so as loyal customer I can say that their service is top notch and the quality is great.
Pretty change purse from Rice.
I'm currently on the prowl for a desk but I'm having no luck. I went to the flea market this past weekend on Saturday, then again on Sunday, and found nothing there. And so I will continue to shop around for a desk. My current desk is a vintage metal kitchen table from the 1950's and it came from the Netherlands. While I like it, the dimensions are not suited for a desk so there is only room for my keyboard and barely space for my mouse pad - a problem! So a new desk is in order! Car Moebel has a few but I like to shop around before I commit...
I like this desk but I'm afraid it is too large for the space I have.
This one is also nice but my computer would never fit on it. It's also a bit too complicated with all the drawers and storage and such. I prefer a clean surface and maybe a few drawers beneath or nothing at all. Clean lines, simple, this would be best.
Oh well... the only thing that one can do when they cannot find the object of their desire is to find a distraction and so these pretty lampshades by Rie Elise Larsen will do.
And these paper mobiles are also quite nice.
My search for a desk continues! I'll let you know what I find...
(images: car moebel)


text: HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to a record low while the number of people holding jobs hit a record high in the fourth quarter, government data showed Thursday. The quarterly jobless rate fell 0.1 percentage point from to year earlier to 3.4%, the lowest since the survey was initiated in March 1986, Statistics New Zealand said in a statement Thursday. The number of job-holders rose to 1.1% to 2.2 million, while the labor participation rate rose to 69.8% from 68.3%, the highest recorded in the 22-year history of the index.


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Encouraging children to love reading is one of the most important gifts an adult can give a child. Gone are the old kindergarten days where children go to school for half a day and play. Now they are expected to be familiar with books and at the very least, prepared to learn to read simple books. Reading is a foundation of life skills. Children will have a much easier time in school and in life if they are enthusiastic and love to read, rather than viewing it as a chore to be accomplished. There are several ways a love of reading can be fostered in a child.
Set an Example and Set Aside Time
Children watch the adults around them and tend to mimic and be interested in the same things the adults are doing. Let the child observe an adult's enthusiastic book reading, and chances are, that child will be interested in the book. Set aside 45 minutes or so a day and reserve it for exploring the world of books. It will not take long for a child to get into the habit of looking through a book each day. Plan to discuss the important features of the book with the child, such as the story line, or choose a character and see if the child knows anyone who resembles that character.
Choose Wisely
The type of book that is chosen is very important. The book should be age/reading level appropriate if the child is reading independently. If an adult is reading a book to the child, the book topic should be something in which the child has shown interest. Adults can make reading the book enjoyable by using different voices for characters, making puppets with the child and reenacting the book or chapter, or simply by being silly when they read, perhaps making a "mistake" and allowing the child to correct the mispronounced word. Fun little games go a long way in making children comfortable and encourage them to love what they are doing. Some books, such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, have a CD that can be played while reading the book. Children music will find they are reading along in no time.
Take Field Trips then Read or Make a Book
Children love to go to new places and learn about them. Take the child on a field trip, then find a book about the place that was visited, or something the child saw that they were most enthusiastic about. Make a book with a child about their field trip and let the child read the book to their friends, siblings or adults. Children will love having their own personalized book that they created and will relish sharing the information with whoever will listen.
Visit Literary Locations
Many local bookstores have wonderful children's sections that have sitting areas just perfect for a child to curl up and sample a book. They also usually have various children's events through out the year, such as story hour or children's time. Seeing other children at the bookstore interested in books also encourages a child to explore. Local libraries often have scheduled children's events and have many children's books for a child to look through.
Every book a child reads, no matter how short, teaches them valuable vocabulary lessons and sparks their imagination. Reading as a child is important to being a successful adult. If a child loves to read, life will be much easier for them than if a child dislikes reading and struggles with it. Enjoy the time spent reading with a child and give them the gift of encouraging their love of reading.


text: This message, together with any attachments, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message, or any attachment, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the original sender or CTSI at (212-971-7016) immediately by telephone or by return E-mail and delete this message, along with any attachments, from your computer. CTSI does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of errors, virus, interception or interference. Thank you.


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Mens Sheepskin Slippers Bere
£54.00 £27.50
Sorry, this item is now out of stock.
The new men's scuff is the Bere, utilising Morlands signature sheepskin lining and our unique "rubber" sole, the Bere completes our contemporary range.
The ideal casual slipper for both indoor use and light outdoor use. S (6-7), M (8-9), L (10-11).
As good as expected (by S Kreft 05/10/2017)
5 | Full Review »
Excellent Quality (by Lewis Chelton 02/12/2015)
5 | Full Review »


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I am very appreciative of the Government's SkillsFuture initiative. This shows that it has a long-range perspective to keep all Singaporean workers relevant.
I have some suggestions to refine the scheme.
First, incorporate more information, such as if the workshop can be recognised as a partial module for a full-time course from the Institute of Technical Education or polytechnic and so on.
Second, with the release of the O-level results recently, students can attend some SkillsFuture courses to help them decide on their educational direction. These courses can play an integral part in helping them cope with dynamic workplace expectations.
Third, there could be more SkillsFuture courses that take into account the special needs some participants have, and perhaps arrangements could be made to allow trainers to conduct courses in their organisations.
Lastly, set up an online section called the SkillsFuture Wish List, where members of the public can provide feedback about what new courses can be launched.
SkillsFuture can also be the platform to unearth trainers who are currently subject matter experts in their fields.
Colin Ong Tau Shien


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The New Honda Accord Offers a Smooth, Luxurious Ride
Want a midsize sedan that rides like a dream and has a classy, comfortable interior? The Honda Accord is for you. The new Honda Accord has a comfortable, ergonomically designed interior with soft-touch, high-quality trim and an available leather-wrapped steering wheel. Three available advanced powertrains including the 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged engines power the Honda Accord for plenty of pep, both in the city and on the highway. An adaptive damper system actively controls suspension action, while wheel resonators help minimize road noise for a refined driving experience. Driver-assistive technology comes standard with the Honda Accord for a fun and fuel-efficient ride. Smart entry and push-button start are available, as well as paddle shifters for convenience and enhanced driving excitement. Other technology that makes the Honda Accord easy and fun to drive include the available Head-Up Display for viewing important information like speed, turn-by-turn directions and incoming calls, all within the driver's line-of-sight, available multi-angle rearview camera showing more of what's behind you, blind spot information that lights up on your side rear-view mirrors, auto high-beam headlights that automatically dim when other vehicles are detected, and available LED low-beam headlights with auto on/off for your convenience. The Honda Accord has all this and more, and at Garcia Honda, serving Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, New Mexico, we have a full line of Honda Accord cars available in our vast inventory. Here on our website, you can sort through them by body style, trim, features, color, and price to find just the right Honda Accord for you.
Garcia Honda Offers No-Hassle Financing to Buy or Lease
Once you settled on the Honda Accord that pleases you the most, fill out our quick and secure online financing application to start the buying process. After we've processed your information, one of our savvy financing staff will get back with you to discuss the details. We offer no-hassle financing, and we do everything we can to get you the best rates to suit your budget, whether you decide to buy or lease. At Garcia Honda, also serving Bernalillo and Santa Fe, New Mexico, we want to build a long-term relationship with our customers. Visit us today and test drive a new Honda Accord.