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D-backs' spirited rally in Cincy comes up short
CINCINNATI -- So much for momentum.
The D-backs had hoped to build off Tuesday's win over the Reds and get on a roll as they attempt to overcome deficits in both the division and Wild Card races.View Full Game Coverage
CINCINNATI -- So much for momentum.
The D-backs had hoped to build off Tuesday's win over the Reds and get on a roll as they attempt to overcome deficits in both the division and Wild Card races.View Full Game Coverage
The Reds quashed those thoughts Wednesday night as they scored early and often off starter Brandon McCarthy, managing to hang on for a 10-7 win at Great American Ball Park.
With the loss, the D-backs fell to 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West and six games behind the Reds and Cardinals for the final NL Wild Card spot.
A loss is a loss, but the D-backs do deserve credit for not packing it in after falling behind 8-0 after the first four innings.
"They played their tails off," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said of his team. "They did a heck of a job. They had a terrible start. They played great, I've got no complaints about it at all."
Other than, of course, how things started out.
It was a rough outing for McCarthy, who was making his fourth start after spending two months on the disabled list.
McCarthy (2-8) allowed a leadoff home run to Shin-Soo Choo, but then retired the next five Cincinnati hitters before the wheels came off.
The Reds scored three runs with two outs in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead.
"I really felt like I didn't have anything, and then command-wise, it just wasn't there either," McCarthy said. "That's a pretty rough combo that I've got to be able to work through and at least get deeper and make something out of it and not let it turn into a complete train wreck."
No such luck as things didn't get any better for McCarthy in the third as Chris Heisey collected an RBI double and Devin Mesoraco drove in two with a single to increase the Reds lead to 7-0.
That was the end of the road for McCarthy, who has allowed 11 runs over his past two starts.
"I couldn't get anything down in the zone for whatever reason," McCarthy said. "I really think mechanically I just got some issues I have to iron out. Anytime that happens, it's hard for me to locate and establish. It just makes a mess."
The Reds were not done scoring as they added another run in the fourth to go up 8-0.
The D-backs, though, refused to go away.
Arizona put together a four-run rally against Reds starter Mike Leake in the fifth thanks to a two-run single by pinch-hitter Jason Kubel and a two-run homer by Adam Eaton.
"That's the epitome of a full moon, it felt like," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "We were riding easy, 8-0. All of a sudden, it was 8-4. They didn't quit. I don't know if that's what you call a good game or not. A lot of stuff happened."
Things would get even more tense for the home crowd as the D-backs scored a run with two outs in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-5 and loaded the bases for Aaron Hill.
Hill was a little out front of a J.J. Hoover pitch and his fly ball to left was caught on the warning track by Heisey for the final out of the inning.
The Reds breathed a collective sigh of relief, but it would be short-lived as the eighth would also prove to be stressful.
Gerardo Parra led off the inning with a home run to left. The ball was originally ruled a double, but after a replay review, the umpires credited him with a home run that cut the Reds lead to 8-6.
Then with one out and runners at first and second, Reds closer Aroldis Chapman got pinch-hitter Matt Davidson to hit into what should have been an inning-ending double play. Instead second baseman Brandon Phillips' throw to first skipped past Joey Votto and Wil Nieves came around to score from second and cut the lead to 8-7.
"Whenever we scored that couple of runs to make it 8-4, I think everybody thought we were going to give this team a run for their money," outfielder A.J. Pollock said. "If we're there at the end of the game, we do a good job of scratching together that key run. I don't think there's anybody in here who didn't think we had a chance."
The Reds gave themselves some breathing room with two runs in the eighth yet once again the D-backs managed to bring the tying run to the plate with no one out in the ninth off Chapman, but they could not finish it off.
"We fought back but we didn't have enough to piece together for the win," Pollock said. "We know our character and our character is we don't give up."
Steve Gilbert is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Inside the D-backs, and follow him on Twitter @SteveGilbertMLB.


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If your family is full of little thespians, Massachusetts is center stage. The Boston Children's Theater features live theater for children, by children, and rivals internet cat videos on the cuteness scale. The Amazing Things Art Center in Framingham has plays, shows and concerts aimed at a young audience. Take the family to the Arlington Children's Theater, and you might catch a glimpse of the next Daniel Day-Lewis or Meryl Streep making their career debut. If you're looking for something on a grander scale, Boston's big venues like the Wang Theater and the Emerson Colonial Theater regularly present family friendly fare. Any miniature Shakespeare would find a lot to love in Massachusetts.
Six Flags New England, Agawam
Bring the kids: It's all here
Looking for fun things to do and see in Massachusetts?
Get some Bring the Kids ideas
Charlton Woods
Charlton Woods is a recreation and conference center located on 380 acres of beautiful woodland, including a 35 acre pond. Activities include... more+ 4 saves
Charlton Woods
73 Jones Road
508-434-0049+ 4 saves
Bring the kids: It's all here
Looking for fun things to do and see in Massachusetts?

subset: commoncrawl


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Mcostigan needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 37 designs submitted by 11 freelance designers.
AutoRev We Pay More Cash for your car whether it's running or not.
We are a car buying service. We pay cash on the spot for cars that our operators buy on the phone, sight unseen. We advertise heavily to get people to call us and tell us about their car. We then quote a price and often even throw in incentives. Once we arrive on a price, we have one of our employees or partners, go out to their home and pick up the vehicle, get the title signed and pay them for the car.
Anyone who owns a car. Most of our customers are between 25 and 55. They are split about 50/50 men and women but women shop the price much more than men. We get more orders from men. I am most interested in an educated seller who is looking for confidence in the company that they trust to come to their home and pickup their car.
We want a website that drives to the phone but we also take forms. We have several designs that we use. For example, these are all our websites:
The site that I need to have designed is http://www.autorev.com We need a total redesign with logo and look and feel. This site used to convert very well but over the last 12 months, our conversions have gone down and we need a new design. This site is more for nice cars and not junk. We do not use junk car keywords in the PPC or seo for this website. So, please do not use pictures of junk cars. Our perfect car is a toyota, jeep, honda, etc. The years are 1999 to 2006 usually. Autorev is on page 1 of Google for very competitive keywords and we will have to keep the content that is on the site but we can drop it down below the fold.
Please remember we need them to pick up the phone or submit a form. The phone is our first choice.
This page should emphasize More Cash for your car. Free Same Day Pickup and We are a family owned and operated business. We pay more for your car because we have over 260 different buyers for every car we buy. We can get more for your car because we send it out to the people who are looking for your make and model of car. We also have to focus on credibility. Social Proof, Testimonials, our BBB Logo and Guarantees.
We will pay a bonus for any car that runs and drives.
http://www.autorev.com it just isn't converting very well. I don't think it has a call to action. it's kind of an ethereal site that appeals to folks with money and it is still profitable but some of our other sites convert much better.
I gave you some of our designs. I would like a different set of eyes. That's why I'm going outside our company. We have built over 20 different designs within this car buying vertical. I am looking for a design that converts well and has all the pieces to make a great landing page that people will feel safe, comfortable and confident that we are the right people to get them the most money for their car.


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It was trick or treat for most youngsters this past Tuesday on Halloween and for No. 3 Notre Dame (8-0) it could be a treat this Saturday to finally welcome finally an unranked team, The University of Pittsburgh Panthers (4-4), to South Bend. The game is slated for 3:30 pm ET and will be broadcast on NBC.
Last week Notre Dame played spoiler triumphing over a heavily favored No.8 Oklahoma on the road 30-13. Pittsburgh won convincingly over Big East rival Temple 47-17. The Fighting Irish and the Panthers last met in 2011 in a very close game in which Notre Dame edged out Pittsburgh 15-12. Tommy Rees threw for 216 yards and hooked up with All-American TE that day for a touchdown.
Behind Navy, Purdue, Army, and Michigan State, Pittsburgh has played Notre Dame more than any other school. The Fighting Irish lead the overall series 46-21-6 in a rivalry dating back to 1909. In that inaugural matchup Notre Dame travelled outside the Midwest for the first time in order to play against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers (formerly the Western University of Pennsylvania Owls ias of 1908). The Fighting Irish were coached that day by Frank "Shorty" Longman and won on a touchdown pass from QB Don Hamilton to Lee Matthews.
Here is how Notre Dame and Pitt stack up against each other this week:
Notre Dame Offense
In last week's upset of Oklahoma 30-13, the Notre Dame offense clicked on all levels. The running game set the scoring in motion with a 64-yard Cierre Wood run for a score in the first quarter. Wood and Theo Riddick each finished the game with 74 yards rushing and one touchdown in a 210-yard Fighting Irish ground attack. Notre Dame is averaging 196.5 yards rushing per contest.
Starting blue and gold QB Everett Golson returned triumphantly to the field after a missing a game due to sustained injury and passed for 177 yards and rushed for 74 yards including a late game scamper for the team's deciding touchdown. Golson's steadily improving ability to read defenses and throw accurately has resulted in an impressive three game streak of throwing no interceptions.
Notre Dame Defense
11 tackles (one for a loss), 1 sack, 1 interception is just another day at the office for the heart and soul of the Fighting Irish, otherwise known as linebacker extraordinaire Manti T'eo. His incredible leaping interception against Oklahoma to seal the win for his unbeaten team, known around here simply as "the catch", has put him in the national lead for interceptions with five (as well as tied with the Notre Dame record) with five and in a very close second for the Heisman behind the Kansas State QB Collin Klein.
The Fighting Irish defense ranks high in numerous defensive categories. It gives up 9.9 points (2nd in the nation behind Alabama), 92.25 rushing yards (9th), and 293 total yards per game (11th). The squad is also very familiar with the number zero as in zero touchdowns allowed to any team in the first quarter this season and zero rushers allowed into the blue and gold end zone bar one last week against Oklahoma..
Stellar Fighting Irish LB Stephon Tuitt is among the country's top ten rushers with 8.5 sacks and leads a Notre Dame defense recognized as 33rd for sacks in the nation.
Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly respects Pittsburgh, especially their recent strong offensive output, and will not take the team lightly.
"(They're) a team that is starting to find themselves," Irish coach Brian Kelly said. "Coach (Paul) Chryst has done a very good job of a consistent message. (Quarterback Tino) Sunseri is playing the best football of his career at the quarterback position. They have arguably two of the better running backs that we'll see. (Tight end Hubie) Graham is an established player."
Piitsburgh Offense
The Panthers are on the offensive prowl. Last week the soon-to-be-ACC school notched its highest points total in 13 years over a FBS opponent last week with 47 in a win over Temple. They average 29 points per game, two more than the Fighting Irish .
The Pitt offense runs through QB Tino Sunseri. The senior play caller has passed for 2,199 yards and 13 touchdowns for a lofty 164.8 efficieny rating (8th in the country). Since his last interception early this season against Virgina Tech he has thrown 143 passes without a pick.
Sunseri has a reliable set of receivers in WR Devin Street (50 receptions, 695 yards, 4 TDs) and WR Mike Shanahan (631 yards, 3 TDs). They are the most productive and feared receiver duo in the Big East.
The Panthers have a formidable rusher by the name of Ray Graham. The running back has gained 622 yards for 7 scores this far this season. Last week against Temple he racked up 2 touchdowns on 109 yards. Freshman RB Rushel Shell has 441 yards and 4 TDs on the ground and averages 150.3 yards a game together with Graham.
Pittsburgh Defense
The Panthers Defense is a decent one having allowed only 339.9 yards and 21.8 points per game.
Senior CB Jared Holley could be considered the captain of the squad. He is a 2012 All-Big East first teamer responsible for 50 tackles, 3 pass break ups and 1 interception. The team's best pass defender may match up against Tyler Eiffert on Saturday.
The 275-pound Defensive lineman Aaron Donald will take on the duty of containing the elusive Fighting Irish QB Everett Golson. The Second Team All Big-East junior lineman is a force to be reckoned with. On the year he has 31 tackles (8 for a loss), 3.5 sacks, and 10 quarterback hurries.
Prediction: Notre Dame 28 Pittsburgh 17


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Khollins needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 54 designs submitted by 17 freelance designers.
Capital Studios
I'm an entrepreneur starting a business that not yet been attempted in the greater Baltimore/Washington DC area.
What are the Capital Studios? Simply, they are alternative coworking office facilities for professional, creative people. Coffee shops can be too noisy, and you can't use your phone in the library. Regus and other office suites are traditionally outfitted and expensive.
The Capital Studios are being designed much like an architecture studio: an open plan in a loft-like space with exposed ceilings and brick and an urban feel. Clean lines and contemporary furnishings will outfit the space. For an inexpensive monthly rate, users get a large desk, internet, copies, faxing, locally roasted coffee, and a safe, secure and professional environment in which to create and build their own dreams.
With a concept like the Capital Studios, the instinct is to design something modern. I want to turn that on its head and instead try to capture a sense that the place has been around forever. In a way, it has, as the building we are in was built in 1890. There's something neat about incorporating the words, "Since 1890" or putting 1890 somewhere in the logo. Below are some links to some logos I find interesting. Good luck to all!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Selecting your vehicle's make, model, and year allows us to display only parts and items specific to your car's model and year.
Part# C210340
Mfg# 3780
Be the First to Review
OPGI Price: $199.99
Part Type: (A) Aftermarket product, usually an enhancement product
Years: 1959-1977
Sold As: EACH
Auto Meter's "Sport-Comp" tachometers with the classic "tough" appearance have become the standard competition instrument in motorsports. Available in 8,000 or 10,000 rpm tach's, they are versatile enough to work in almost any racing environment. Available in 2-5/8", 3-3/4" and 5" monster tach size. The 5" tach is available with an exterior shift light including the "Dial-In-Exactness" feature, which actually utilizes the tach's red pointer to indicate the chosen rpm.


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The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Jacobs, Kate
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 1/2/2008
No exceptions!
The hours of Walker and Daughter: Knitters were clearly displayed in multicolored letters on a white sandwich board placed just so at the top of the stair landing. Though Georgia Walker—usually preoccupied with closing out the till and picking up the strays of yarn on the floor—rarely made a move to turn the lock until at least eight fifteen…or later.
Instead, she sat on her stool at the counter, tuning out the traffic noise from New York's busy Broadway below, reflecting on the day's sales or prepping for the beginner's knitting class she taught every afternoon to the stay-at-homes looking for some seeming stamp of authentic motherliness. She crunched the numbers with a pencil and paper, and sighed. Business was good, but it could always be better. She tugged at her long, chestnut curls. It was a habit from years ago she'd never quite grown out of and by the end of each day her bangs often stood straight up. Once the bookkeeping was in order, she'd smooth out her hair, brush off any bits of eraser from her jeans and soft jersey top, her face a bit pale from concentration and lack of sun, and stand up to her full six feet (thanks to the three-inch heels on her well-worn brown leather cowboy boots).
Slowly she would walk around the shop, running her hands lightly over the piles of yarn that were meticulously sorted by colorfrom lime to Kelly green, rust to strawberry, cobalt to Wedgwood blue, sunburst to amber, and rows and rows of grays and creams and blacks and whites. The yarn went from exquisitely plush and smooth to itchy and nubbly and all of it was hers. And Dakota's too, of course. Dakota, who at twelve frequently ignored her mother's instructions, loved to cross her dark eyes and savor the fuzzed-out look of the colors all merging, a rainbow blending together.
Dakota was the store mascot, one of its chief color consultants (more sparkles!), and frankly, a pretty damn good knitter already. Georgia noticed how quickly her daughter was making her projects, how particular she was becoming about the tautness of her stitches. More than once she'd been surprised to see her not-so-little-anymore girl approach a waiting customer and say with confidence: "Oh, I can help you with that. Here, we'll take this crochet hook and fix that mistake…" The shop was a work in progress; Dakota was the one thing she knew she'd done exactly right.
And yet when Georgia finally went to turn out the lights of her shop, she would often be met by a potential customer, all furrowed brow and breathless from dashing up the steep stairs to the second-floor shop, the seemingly innocuous "Can I just pop in, for a quick minute?" out of her mouth before Georgia could even insist they were done for the night. She'd open the door a little wider, knowing all too well what it was like to juggle work and kids and still try to sneak in a little something for herself on the side: reading a book, coloring her hair in the bathroom sink, taking a nap. Come in, get what you need, she'd say, putting off the short climb to her sparsely decorated apartment on the floor above. She never let any straggler stay past nine on a school night, though, because she needed to shoo her Dakota from the corner desk where she did her homework. But Georgia would never turn away a potential sale.
She'd never turn away anyone at all.
"You can go home, Anita," Georgia would say over her shoulder to the trusted friend who worked in the shop alongside her. Anita always stayed until closing time, peeking in on Dakota's studies as Georgia wondered about keeping the older woman out too late. But even though she had the opportunity to leave, Anita, who still looked as fresh in her Chanel pantsuit as when she'd come in for her shift at three pm, just smiled and shook her head, her silver bob falling neatly into place.
Then Georgia would step out of the doorframe to let in the straggler, a resigned smile revealing the beginnings of tiny crinkles around her calm, green eyes. Here we go again, her face seemed to say. But she was grateful for every person who walked through the door and took the time to make sure they had what they needed.
"Every sale is also a future saleif you please the customer." Georgia often bored Dakota with her various theories on business. "Word of mouth is the best advertising."
And her biggest booster was Anita, who sensed when the day had been too long for Georgia and leaped in to assist. "I'd be delighted to help you," Anita often said, coming up to Georgia's side and reaching out to the last-minute shopper, ushering her inside. Anita knew and loved the nubbly textures and patterns as well as Georgia did; both had been introduced to the craft by grandmothers eager to share their secrets. Talking about knitting with the customers at Walker and Daughter was Anita's passionsecond only to working with the needles herself.
Anita was captivated with the craft from the moment her Bubbe asked her, as a chubby-cheeked youngster, to hold a skein of thick, warm yarn. She watched her grandmother work the needles quickly, fashioning the hunter-green string into a small, smooth cardigan. With thick buttons for little fingers to grasp. And when that same grandmother presented the finished sweater to Anita…well, a knitter was born. Soon she was placing her hands over that same grandmother's as she learned how it felt to work the wool, then mastered tying her first slipknot and relished the excitement of casting on for the first time. As a young woman, Anita kept up knitting to make herself the angora twinsets her parents couldn't afford, then to cuddle up her babies in thick blankets and booties while her husband worked on building his business. She just kept at itlong after she needed to make clothes for her family, long after her husband's hard work had built a life that was more than comfortableand then, when she was well into middle age, she threw out the pattern books and began experimenting with patterns and color to create unique designs. A mother of three grown sons and grandmother to seven (handsome and genius) youngsters, Anita was surprised to add up the years and realize that she had been working with yarn for most of her seventy-two years. "Anita is an artist, and knitting is her medium" was what her husband, Stan, always told people who admired the colorful vests he insisted on wearing to the office. Stan. He had been so proud of her, encouraging her to work with Georgia all those years ago; she began going to the shop one day a week to test it out. Anita had had no need for the money and she worried that she seemed silly to work at her age.
"Does it make you happy?" Stan had asked her after her first day, and she admitted that yes, yes, it did, as she rolled into his arms. Then keep at it, he murmured, keep at it.
Over time, young Dakota began to seem like another grandchildespecially precious because Anita could see her whenever she wanted, unlike her own children and grandchildren, who had all moved away to Israel, Zurich, Atlanta. There were cards and phone calls, of course, but it wasn't the same; Anita had long harbored a fear of planes, and all the psychologists and Valium in the world couldn't fix it. Her grandchildren grew so much between each visit that it was like getting to know a new person all over again. And then one day Stan was gone, too. A quick peck as she sat at the breakfast table with toast crumbs still on her lip, a sudden heart attack riding in the elevator to his top-floor office, a phone call telling her to take a cab to Beth Israel right now, then hearing there was nothing more anyone could do. And so it went.
Stan had taken care of the details as always, so she had no reason to worry about the bills. But financial security just wasn't enough. Anita was alone. Really and truly on her own. She cried as she lay in bed, sleeping or with magazines piled all around her. And then, one month after the funeral, she got up, put on her lipstick and pearls, and made her way to see Georgia.
"There are more and more customers each day and you're going to run behind on your projects-for-hire, Georgia," she had said. "You need someone in here full-time and I need to keep busier than to just work one day a week." It was the truth. Dakota was two then, and Georgia had recently expanded from creating projects on commission to selling yarn and notions. She had worked hard to make her business float, had even worked the six-to-twelve shift for Marty in the deli below the apartment building, toasting bagels and pouring to-go cups of coffee. Branching out into sales meant she may soon be able to give up the second job and spend more time with Dakota.
They agreed that Anita would come in for the afternoon shift during the week. When Georgia tried to insist on a dollar figure, Anita was adamant she would only work for yarn.
"When the store is a booming success, then you can pay me," she suggested that day ten years before.
Of course, the shopwith careful planning, slow growth, and a lot of hopehad grown into something of a hit. Over the years, it had even popped up in mentions of local haunts in papers and such; recently an article in New York on mompreneurs had featured Walker and Daughter.
"Sure thing, it might bring your classmates and their moms into the shop," Georgia had said when Dakota wanted to take the story to school. She planned to drop off her little girl at the front entrance as she did every morning, then go home to open up the shop. A quick hug and see you later; the usual. Instead, Dakota surprised her mother as she wheeled around, her winter coat already unzipped and revealing the bright turquoise sweater that accented her warm, café-au-lait skin. It was one of Georgia's creations. Dakota spoke, pointing to the article in triumph, then dashed into the door before the buzzer sounded. Georgia barely remembered the walk home, fumbled with the keys to the shop before her face became wet with heavy tears as she let the years of fear and hard work wash out of her, Dakota's casual "I'm proud of us, Mom" ringing in her ears.
Anita continued to work only for yarn, and when she wanted to start a personal knitting projectshe still made vest after vest even though Stan had been gone for a decadeshe simply went to the shelf and chose something exquisite. When she wanted a hug, she wrapped her arms around Dakota. And that was that. It was enough.
So Anita always let out a deep breath upon seeing this last-minute customer skate into the store, felt the ball in her stomach begin to unwind. A few more minutes to be needed, a further delay to keep her from going home to the apartment at the San Remo that remained too big and too empty. "Oh, come on in," she'd say over Georgia's mild protests, walking right over to help the client. "Tell me what you need…"
And so the door at Walker and Daughter was open a little bit late and eventually a little bit later than that. Soon enough, at the end of the long workweek, a few regular customers took to popping in with their knittingsweaters and scarves and cell-phone socksand asking questions about all the mistakes they'd made while commuting on the subway.
"I just can't get the buttonhole right!"
"Why do I keep dropping stitches?"
"Do you think I can finish it by Christmas?"
Without ever putting up one sign or announcing the creation of a knitting club, these women began regularly appearing in the evenings and, well, loitering. Chatting with each other, talking to Anita, gathering about the large round table in the center of the room, picking up where they had left things the week before. And then, one Friday last fall, it became official. Well, sort of.
Lucie, a striking woman with short, sandy-colored hair, who favored tortoiseshell glasses over her big, blue eyes and colorful, funky outfits, was an occasional shopper at Walker and Daughter. She came in every few months and was always working on the same piece, a thick cable knit sweater--a man's garment. There were a lot of these types who came in to the store, folks whose knitting ambitions were out of line with either their ability or with whatever mysterious comings and goings kept them from sitting down and getting the job done.
But Lucie began appearing more and more often in the early evening, gazing wistfully at the fancier yarns but typically choosing a good-quality wool that was just this side of inexpensive. Some days she sauntered in with a leather attaché and suit jacket slung over her arm as if she'd come from a big meeting. At other times, she looked relaxed in slim-fitting cigarette pants and a messenger bag draped across her body. But without fail she had a single bag of groceries in her hand, the makings of a simple supper, which she carefully placed on the counter as she paid for her yarn. After talking to Lucie on several visits, Anita understood that she was pretty fair with a set of needles but simply couldn't find the time to get going. "You could always knit here," Anita suggested idly, not thinking much of it. And then, one Friday, Lucie simply pulled up a chair at the table and began to do her knitting right then and there. And Dakota, who had been idly milling about and rolling her eyes and making noises about being bored and wanting to go to the movies, sat right down beside her.
"That's pretty," said Dakota, impulsively reaching out to stroke the top of the sparkling gemstone Lucie wore on her right hand.
"Yes, I bought it for myself," said Lucie, with a smile that recalled happy times, but offered no more explanation. Dakota shrugged, then reached out to look at the big, thick sweater Lucie had on round needles.
"I'm pretty good, you know," she said, nodding, putting out a hand to take a look at Lucie's stitches. Lucie laughed, kept clacking away. "I'm sure you are," she said, without looking up.
And then Anita sat down, ostensibly to keep Dakota in check. Other shoppers joined them at the table and suddenly, unexpectedly, it was a group. On a whim, Lucie pulled out the fresh box of bakery cookies she had just picked up at Fairway and had planned to savor over the weekend; instead, she offered them around. The polite no, thank-yous echoed until Dakota declared that she most certainly would enjoy a treat, and then the laughter sliced through the awkwardness and they each took one cookie, and then another. And somehow, between mouthfuls, they began to show one another what they had been working on. Anita talked buttonholes and dropped stitches, and then she offered to put on a fresh pot of coffee in the back. More cookies, more conversation. It became late, too late to really stay on, and the women packed up their bags and made motions to move but lingered, reluctant to leave. It was Dakota who declared she'd bring muffins to the next meeting. Next meeting? I might be busy, the women said. I don't know if I can commit. Let me check my calendar. But the next week, Lucie did show up. Dakota brought her muffins. Georgia even sat down with them. And so the Friday Night Knitting Club emerged.
Six months later, the club was going strong even as the winter drew to a close. Lucie had finished her sweater and started another; Dakota was making a regular mess in the kitchen in their apartment above, experimenting with everything from pinwheel cookies to blondies to decorated cupcakes. "Ever heard of June Cleaver?" Georgia would tease her. Big sigh from her sweet brown-eyed little girl who kept growing bigger.
"Yeah, I've seen TV Land, Mom."
Then: "It's for club, Mom, the ladies are hungry!" A beat. "What do you think about selling my creations?"
Ah, she'd raised another independent businesswoman with vision. It felt good.
Dakota's bake sale plans never came to pass"No, Dakota, this Walker still outranks the daughter!"but the group continued to grow anyway. People told their friends, and women would stroll in after meeting up for drinks or a nosh. Coming to the Friday Night Knitting Club became a bit of a thing to dodifferent enough to be fun, refreshing in that it wasn't just another place to meet men.
One such drop-ina woman who came once but never came backmentioned the shop in a casual way to her cousin, Darwin Chiu, who arrived one evening and spoke in hushed tones with Georgia, then sat at the table with a serious expression and a notepad. She was no ordinary customer; in fact, Darwin wasn't a knitter at all. She was a struggling graduate student in search of a dissertation for her doctorate in women's studies. The knitting club became her primary resource for thesis research. A compact Asian-American woman in her late twenties, Darwin was all business. In the beginning, she rarely smiled; she just furiously scribbled and later moved on to interviewing the members of the club about their "obsession with knitting."
"How do you feel knitting connects with your conceptions of femininity?" Darwin asked of one quiet M.D. who had popped by at the end of her shift. The doctor never entered the shop again.
"Does being an older knitter make you feel disconnected from the younger trendsetters?" she asked Anita.
"No, love, it makes me feel young," Anita replied. "Every time I cast on I feel the potential of making something beautiful."
At first, Georgia tolerated Darwin because she was amused by her earnestness and because she admired the seriousness with which Darwin approached her studies. Not to mention that she felt a certain sense of pride to have someone choose Walker and Daughter as a worthy place in which to do research. But in short order, Georgia put her foot down.
"You can't harass everyone who comes in here, Darwin," she explained. "You'll have to go if you can't stop interrogating everyone." "Aren't you disturbed that the renewed popularity of knitting is an alarming throwback? Can women who fritter away time on old-fashioned activities such as knitting realize their full professional potential?" responded Darwin, clearly missing the point.
"Disturbed? No, encouraged is more like it. As in, I'm encouraged I can afford to send Dakota to Harvard." Georgia's mouth was a straight line. Knitting had done more than provide her with a living; it had soothed her soul through more struggles than she could count. "Sweetheart, I'm concerned you're preventing my shop from reaching its full professional potential!"
The two women stood glaring at each other for a long time. Darwin eventually turned on her heel and left.
And then she returned, two weeks later, watching Georgia warily as she arrived for club. Their eyes met, the agreement unspoken: You can stay, but don't upset the clients. Darwin nodded imperceptibly. She selected one of Dakota's muffinscarrot spiceand gave it a try. It was a first. "Hey, this is awesome!" She was genuinely surprised. Dakota was thrilled, told her she could request next week's flavor.
"I'm glad you're back," said Anita. Darwin looked up, expecting to see sarcasm but found only warmth and welcome in Anita's eyes. A wide grin spread over her face. She was embarrassed to admit it, even to herself, but Darwin was glad to be back. She had missed them.
Officially, Georgia was nonplussed by the presence of the club. "You all sit here and no one buys anything!" she would say to Anita during the day. Sometimes, when they had a lot of drop-ins, she hung back at the counter. It felt overwhelming to have this group here, laughing and chatting. Her entire adult life had centered on work and her little girl for so long that Georgia felt out of practice at just hanging out with women of her own age. She'd felt awkward unless she was helping them to calculate how many balls they needed for this pattern or that. But she loved that Anita had an activity for her mornings, getting revved up about whatever knitting topic she would discuss that week, and that Dakota was happy to stick around the store on a Friday night and not retreat to watch the TV upstairs.
Keeping Dakota safe, making her happy: That was what mattered most to Georgia. The store was truly theirs together, because it was Dakota who began it all. And savoring the end of each day that they were still in businessand doing well, thank you very much!was a triumph for Georgia. She had been awash in panic when she discovered she was pregnant, barely out of college and working for poverty wages as an assistant at an amorphous publishing conglomerate. Her boyfriend, James, had dumped her the month before, saying he "just wasn't into exclusivity." The truth of it was that he had already started dating a woman in his office. And not just any woman: he was fucking his boss, the lead architect in a major Manhattan firm.
Georgia had wanted James the first time she saw him at Le Bar Bat, had felt a connection to this tall, handsome black man. She tugged at her curls, walked over to him, and popped the question: "I like my eggs scrambled for breakfast. You?" It was a gambit. James looked at her with cool authority; he liked what he saw, charmed her with his lopsided grin. First waiting at the bar to get drinks, then standing off to the side shout-talking until the middle of the night. They went home together, something she'd always been too cautious to do, Georgia feeling that she had been chosen, believing everyone looked at her with envy. And without even having a big discussion about it, they became a couple. Going to parties and to the movies and meeting for egg rolls after work. James was energetic and filled with big ideas, he loved to save up for more than a month so he could take them to luxurious restaurants like Le Cirque or wait in line to buy half-price tickets to Broadway shows. Other nights they stayed in, Georgia reading manuscripts in bed, James working at the battered old drafting table taking up most of his living room. They were young, often broke, and infused with the energy and passion that fills the New York air. The relationship was easy, comfortable, exciting. It was meant to be. For eight months, they shuttled back and forth between apartments, had late-night chats in which they discussed whose furniture they'd keep when they moved in together, walked hand-in-hand through the city streets fantasizing about where they should live. The Upper West Side, they decided. Georgia recalled nights in bed with James, her pale hand tracing lines on his dark chest as she would ask in a sing-song voice, "Will it reeealllly bother your family that I'm white?" and he'd laugh and say, "Hell, yes!" They fell to giggles and tickles, empowered by the intensity of their recent lovemaking and disbelieving their relationship would fall to any challenge.
She never did meet his parents. She only realized that after he was gone.
And then James had moved on, having let himself into her apartment during the day and gathered up his clothes. He returned her things from his home, left them piled on the couch. Georgia's mind swirled. She called him, screamed, begged him to come back. She stopped eating, stopped sleeping, then began eating way too much. Snickers bars and Pringles and giant bagels with cream cheese, soda and ice cream and pizza and cookies. She ate anything she could get her hands on. Anything cheap and filling.
"If you keep eating like that, everyone will think you're preggers," observed her wafer-thin, pain-in-the-ass cubiclemate.
A pause. Georgia did the math: Her period was late. Way late. And then she knew.
Should she take it on the chin and go back home to small-town Pennsylvania? Could she endure the humiliation of moving back home to her parents, of being a single mom with a failed big-city career at twenty-four? Or should she call her doctor and then just pretend the pregnancy had never happened? Georgia fretted over her lack of appealing options, in between photocopying endless manuscripts and opening looming piles of other people's mail and running out to buy the oversized, fat-free muffins her boss never ate.
Her indecision was her decision, and it became clear that she and this baby were going to stick together. Then came the day when Georgia, visibly pregnant, made her final pilgrimage to Central Park. It was to be her last weekend in the city before she moved home to her parents; she'd dialed them when there was no going back and choked out the news, feeling brave and sorry for herself at the same time.
"We'd be happy to have you home with us," said her father with gusto, before being drowned out by his wife's sighs.
"You've made a stupid mistake by trusting this man, Georgia," said her mother. "It's clear he only wanted one thing. And you've set yourself up a hard road to hoe – not everyone will be as welcoming to this child as we are."
Georgia could see her mother's tight-lipped expression in her mind; it was one she'd seen many times growing up. She could barely hear them discuss the details of which train she might take; she was too overwhelmed by emotional regret and physical nausea.
The day was a scorcher. The air conditioner in her Upper West Side walk-up had konked out, leaving her sweat-soaked and uncomfortable. Her dark curly hair had frizzed and stuck to the back of her neck, her belly jutted out of her slender frame, and her fingers, always so slim and nimble, were swollen. Her eyes were red, puffy. Georgia had finally worked up the nerve to call James late one night and reveal the pregnancy. He was shocked, angry, apologetic…and bedded down with his newest girlfriend. And no, she wasn't his boss. He had already found someone else. "This isn't a really good time for me…perhaps we can meet tomorrow? At the park?" And so she made her way that morning to an empty bench under the trees, sat down with the half-finished blanket she was knitting for her baby-to-be, and waited. James never showed.
"That's an impressive pattern you've worked out there." Georgia was startled by the elegant older woman standing before her, her linen suit still crisp and a wide-brimmed sun hat framing her face. Georgia smiled weakly, embarrassed by her cheap clothes, her fat belly, her youth.
The woman sat down anyway, began talking about the blankets she had knitted for her own children and about how working the needles always helped her sort out her emotions. Georgia just wanted her to go away, but she had been raised to be a good girl, so she pretended to listen politely. Tears of rage and frustration stung her eyes.
"You don't find very many people who can knit with this type of precision," she heard the woman say as she fingered the piece. "It's a dying art, and one I imagine people would pay for." She reached over and patted Georgia's left hand; there was no ring, but the woman knew that already.
"If I were you, I might start asking around, see if anyone needed sweaters or scarves for gifts. Perhaps see if you can put up a sign at the baby store over on Broadway and 76th? Get the word out. You could buy a classified ad in the New Yorkerit worked for Lillian Vernon."
Georgia sat there, at a loss for words, doubt and confusion oozing from every pore. The woman stood up to leave, motioned to a man in the distance.
"You have a gift, my dear, and I have an eye for talent." She handed Georgia a cream calling card on heavy stock. "Just to prove it to you, I'll buy the first sweater you make. Make it cashmere, and make it quickly. I'll expect a call when it's done." Her heels made a soft clip-clop on the sidewalk as she walked away.
Georgia turned over the card.


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The human brain can do some amazing things - and humans can do amazing things because of it. Just to name one example, we can accept light along the visible wavelength reflected from objects in our environment into our eyes. Our optic nerves convert that light into electrochemical impulses, which is the language the brain uses to communicate. As this electricity passes along a neural network, it reaches the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for analyzing and categorizing these impulses.
These categories determine which region of the brain receives the impulses routed by the hippocampus. So, an impulse sent to the visual cortex suddenly becomes a large green metal road sign that we understand as our exit. We veer the car off the highway and continue on toward the grocery store happy as a lark.
Even the most mundane operations of our brains are pretty amazing. Those feats, however, are nothing compared to some of the things that a small handful of people's brains have done. What follows, in no particular order, is a tidy list of some of the most amazing -- and horrible -- things that people's brains have ever done.
By all accounts, Pam Reynolds, a blues singer from Atlanta, Ga., was a normal person before she underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm. During the procedure, physicians drained all of the blood from Reynolds' brain, rendering it completely inactive for 45 minutes. All normal brain operations -- from accepting signals from the stomach that the sensation of hunger should cease or the transmission of aural and visual information -- ceased.
Yet, upon awakening, physicians found Reynolds could describe the procedure in incredible detail. She's considered one of the most solid examples of a near-death experience (NDE) on record. Reynolds' experience is far from unique; one study of cardiac patients in a single hospital in the Netherlands found that of the 344 patients who'd been declared clinically dead, 18 percent reported having some experience of life after death [source: van Lommel].
What's most impressive about Reynolds' NDE is that her brain was brought to a nonfunctioning state by an experienced medical staff. Yet, she was still capable somehow of relating information like the type of bone saw her physicians used to cut off her skull and conversation between the operating staff [source: Sabom].
Henry Molaison was a one-of-a-kind brain patient. He was literally the only person to have ever undergone a radical procedure that removed the medial temporal lobe to treat debilitating seizures. When his physician found what had become of his patient's memory, the doctor refused to carry out the procedure on anyone else and successfully lobbied against its use by other physicians.
What happened? The removal of Molaison's medial temporal lobes, located above the ears, left him with the rare disorder of complete anterograde amnesia. As a result of this condition, Molaison was completely unable to form any new memories. Molaison could retain old memories and remember the ones he'd formed throughout his life up until the surgery that took place in his 20s. He was also capable of forming procedural memories, or habits. However, he couldn't form new declarative memories, or remember who his friends were, what he'd had for lunch or who was president. He lived this way for 55 years, dying in 2008 at age 82 [source: Carey].
Because of his unique condition, Molaison served as the subject of a number of studies, becoming widely known in the neurological community as patient "H.M."
Robin Jenks Vanderlip had never been to Russia or even a Soviet territory before. She didn't even live on the side of the U.S. that's closest to Russia; the resident of McLean, Va., spent her life on the Eastern seaboard. Yet two days after she fell on a staircase and hit her head, she awoke and found herself unable to speak. When she did slowly regain her ability to speak once more, she found she'd developed what sounds like a Russian accent, with /th/ sounds replaced with /d/, for example.
Vanderlip is one of about 60 people in the world to be diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome, a rare disorder arising from brain damage, such as physical trauma or stroke [source: Schulte]. In the rarest cases, no underlying cause is found.
Although it sounds like an identifiable foreign accent, FAS sufferers haven't actually developed one; instead, the brain's speech centers change the way that the patient forms words. What's most amazing about the little-understood FAS is that the words are incorrectly formed in a predictable pattern that resembles existing global accents, even if the person hasn't encountered such an accent before [source: FAS Support]. Makes one wonder why we have accents in the first place.
When the Canadian novelist Howard Engel suffered a stroke in 2001, he thought, "Well I'm done as a writer. I'm finished" [source: Krulwich]. This was a sensible thing to think since he realized that one of the main symptoms of his stroke was to have wiped out his ability to recognize printed English, which he used to write his novels. Instead, it looked like gibberish in some foreign language, like Korean. None of the words or even letters made sense any longer.
But, astoundingly, Engel soon figured out a way to continue to write, despite his inability to make sense of the words. He transferred provenance of his writing from his visual memory to his motor memory. A word would be identified for him and he would trace the letters again and again, using repetition to form the motor memory of what motions created the letters that spelled the word. He found that he could solidify these memories by tracing the words along the roof of his mouth with the tip of his tongue.
When he's exposed to writing, he can trace the shapes in his mouth, which unlocks the motor memory and tells him what words he's looking at. Conversely, when Engel needs to write a word for one of his novels, he draws the word from memory and can recreate it.
A 10-year-old German girl's perfect vision baffled doctors - because she was born with only the left hemisphere of her brain. Humans with both hemispheres see because visual information delivered by the optic nerves cross over to the opposite hemisphere for processing and storage. So, one brain hemisphere should mean that only one eye works; in the girl's case, only her right eye should work.
Yet, the girl enjoys normal, binocular vision and in 2010, doctors scanned her brain to determine why. It turned out that through a process called plasticity, the optic nerve from her left eye had migrated to her left hemisphere; in other words, the left side of the girl's brain was accepting visual information from both eyes.
Astoundingly, the visual cortex on her left hemisphere had developed areas set aside for processing information from the left eye, which avoided confusion [source: PhysOrg].
Within three days after her birth in May 2008, an Australian known as "Baby Z" in the medical literature began suffering seizures as a result of her rare genetic defect, molybdenum cofactor deficiency. As a result of an inability to produce enzymes that make the cofactor, sulphite builds in the brain to toxic levels, essentially melting it until the patient dies. Along the way, the child suffers seizures and excruciating pain; as a result of damage to the brain tissue, functions like swallowing and movement are impaired [source: Appignani, et al].
Baby Z represented the first time that the disorder was successfully treated. An experimental treatment developed in Germany was flown to Australia, received special approval for use in the country by an Australian court and was administered to the two-week old baby. After three days of treatment, the child became alert and stopped the twitching that accompanied her seizures. Within a few weeks, she was cured of her disease and is alive and well, with a brain that can process sulphite [source: West].
In 1996, a 22-year-old American woman suffered head trauma due to a car accident. Two years after that, she began to suffer seizures. Unfortunate, yes, but not too out of the ordinary. In 2004, however, she was brought to the psychiatric ward of a Pittsburgh hospital, presenting with delusions that strangers around her were actually her friends and family members in disguise. The woman told the hospital staff, for example, that another patient was her boyfriend and that a nearby social worker was actually her sister and that her mother was posing as one of the nurses.
The woman was diagnosed with a rare condition called Fregoli syndrome, named after a turn-of-the-century Italian actor who was famed for his quick costume and character changes. Sufferers of the disorder imagine that the people in their world are all the same person or handful of persons posing in disguises.
After a month of being treated for her epilepsy, the Pittsburgh woman's delusion vanished and she retained no memory of having experienced Fregoli syndrome [source: Duggal].
Orlando Serrell is a rare type of incredibly gifted person; his gift came not naturally but at the end of a baseball bat. While playing a game of ball at age 10, Serrell was hit in the head and developed a headache for a few days. After it cleared up, he found that he could instantly spit out the day of the week for any date since August 17, 1979, the day he was struck. In most cases, he also includes not only the day of the week, but also what the weather was like that day around his Virginia home and other details of his life on that day [source: Lammle].
Serrell says his amazing ability is the result of seeing his calendar answers in his mind's eye, rather than running over a mental calendar or carrying out quick math [source: Lammle].
Up until 1990, a man named Toimi Soini of Finland held the world record for staying awake a full 276 hours, which equals 11 ½ days without sleep [source: Salkeld]. Although no one has bested Soini's record, it no longer appears in the Guinness books, since the organization withdrew the category entirely on health grounds.
That's because we need sleep and those who don't get to sleep at all, in fact, die. This was the horrific cause of death for Chicago music teacher Michael Corke, whose brain literally stopped shutting down and allowing him to sleep. Corke suffered from a rare form of prion disease called fatal familial insomnia, where the PrPc gene stops encoding proteins, which allows plaque to build up around the thalamus [source: Merck]. This brain region is responsible for regulating our sleep patterns, and with its transmissions interrupted by plaque, the mind and body remain in a state of wakefulness.
Within a few months Corke deteriorated into dementia. In an effort to shut his brain down, physicians induced a coma with sedatives and found that his brain continued to remain active [source: Flusfeder]. Corke died in 1992, six months after his insomnia first began.
It was pretty lucky that Sam Esquibel's mom put off having labor induced when she neared her delivery date. If she hadn't, she may not have been given the last ultrasound that revealed the large tumor growing in her son's brain. Three days after Sam was delivered, he underwent brain surgery to explore and remove the growth.
When surgeons reached the tumor and cut it open, they were astonished to see a tiny foot pop out of the incision. Yes, you read that correctly; Sam Esquibel's brain had grown a small, normally developed foot. Two diagnoses quickly emerged, teratoma or fetus in fetu. The former is an uncommon type of tumor where recognizable growths like hair, teeth, skin and nails develop within a tumor. The latter, which means "fetus in fetus", is an even rarer condition (less than 10 reported cases in the brain) where one twin absorbs the other in the womb [source: Newsome]. The absorbed twin becomes parasitic, eventually killing the twin that absorbed it.
After exploring more deeply in the tumor, surgeons at Memorial Children's Hospital in Colorado determined that the growth was indeed the result of fetus in fetu. In addition to the foot, they discovered a thigh, hand and intestine [source: Celizic]. Surgeons successfully removed the tumor and Sam Esquibel is alive and well.
Science Is Finding Out Why Some Love ASMR Videos and Others Hate Them
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Related Articles
- Appignani, Barbara A., et al. "CT and MR appearance of the brain in two children with mylobdenum cofactor deficiency." American Journal of Neuroradiology. February 1996. http://www.ajnr.org/cgi/reprint/17/2/317.pdf
- Carey, Benedict. "Henry Molaison, amnesiac and study subject." Boston Globe. December 6, 2008. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/12/06/henry_molaison_amnesiac_and_study_subject/?page=full
- Celizic, Mike. "Baby OK after foot is removed from brain." Today Show. January 13, 2009. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28635507/ns/today-today_health
- Duggal, Harpreet S. "Interictal psychosis presenting with Fregoli syndrome." Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. November 2004. http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/16/4/543
- Facebook. "Fregoli Theatre Company." (Nov. 15, 2010.) http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27658099277
- Flusfeder, David. "Perchance to dream." Prospect magazine. (Nov. 15, 2010.) http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/tag/psychology-and-neuropsychology/
- Foreign Accent Syndrome Support. "About FAS." University of Texas at Dallas. (Nov. 14, 2010.)http://www.utdallas.edu/research/FAS/about/
- Krulwich, Robert. "The writer who couldn't read" NPR. June 21, 2010. http://www.wbur.org/npr/127745750
- Lammle, Rob. "The amazing stories of 6 sudden savants." Mental Floss. June 29, 2010. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/59337
- Merck. "Fatal familial insomnia." January 2007. http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/sec06/ch090/ch090c.html
- Newsome, Brian. "'I've never seen anything like it,' doctor says of newborn baby's brain surgery." The Colorado Springs Gazette. December 15, 2008.http://www.gazette.com/articles/brain-44861-sam-doctor.html
- PhysOrg. "Scientists reveal secret of girl with 'all seeing eye'." July 20, 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news167324813.html
- Sabom, Michael. "People have NDEs while brain dead." Near-Death.com. (Nov. 14, 2010.) http://www.near-death.com/experiences/evidence01.html
- Salkeld, Luke. "Cornishman sleeps after 11 days (but he's in for a rude awakening)." Daily Mail. May 26, 2007.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-457403/Cornishman-sleeps-11-days-hes-rude-awakening.html
- Schulte, Brigid. "Woman hits head, wakes up with Russian accent." Washington Post. May 28, 2010. http://www.thestar.com/living/article/815865--woman-hits-head-wakes-up-with-russian-accent
- Treffert, Darold A. MD. "The 'aquired' savant - 'accidental' genius." Wisconsin Medical Society. (Nov. 15, 2010.)http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_articles/acquired_savant
- West, William. "Miracle Aussie baby beats rare brain condition in world first use." PhysOrg. November 5, 2009.http://www.physorg.com/news176620927.html


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Donkey Kong Country
Your Stuff
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OverviewThe first in the Donkey Kong Country series of video games, Donkey Kong Country is a classic side-scrolling platformer featuring Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Among the first games to fully utilize pre-rendered 3D graphics for its sprite-based system, the game and subsequent was notable both for its particular brand of action platforming and its impressive, lush visuals. The game was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo.
A version called "Donkey Kong Country: Competition Cartridge" was released within the same year as the original game's release. This was a very limited release for certain video game competitions during the 1990s such as the Blockbuster Video World Championship II in 1995.
This version of the game is quite different from the original as it is only playable for five minutes. Within that time limit, the player must gain as many points as possible. There is no title screen, save files, or world map in the game; the player instantly starts on the first level when the cartridge is inserted into the console. When one level is completed, the next level starts. The following levels that the game goes through is Jungle Hijinx, Reptile Rumble, Ropey Rampage, Coral Capers, Winky's Walkway, Bouncy Bonanza, Orang-Utan Gang, and Snow Barrel Blast. At the end of the 5 minutes, the game freezes at its current state in order to allow time for the referee of the competition to take note of the points.
Released on June 9th, 2003, Donkey Kong Country on the Game Boy Advance is a very faithful remake of the original. In this game various extras were added, such as mini-games and a scrapbook where you had to find hidden scrapbook pieces throughout the game to unlock concept art. The player was also allowed to save after every level, and was able to see their progress on each individual level as well (if they had found the KONG letters, bonus levels, and scrapbook pieces.) A "Hero" could also be unlocked by achieving at least a 90% completion rate. This was essentially a hard mode, where you could only play as Diddy Kong in a yellow color swap suit. There were no D.K. barrels in this mode. The graphics in the Game Boy Advance version are very close to the originals, except for some minor differences (weather and day/night changes within a level were taken out.)
The Wii Virtual Console version of Donkey Kong Country is completely identical to the original. It was released in the U.S. on February 19th, 2007.
PlotThe game's storyline was characteristically sparse, in keeping with most games of the time period. Essentially, Donkey Kong's banana hoard has been stolen by King K. Rool, who has appeared on a ship with his Kremlings. Along with Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong must fight through several worlds to King K. Rool's ship to fight him and recover his bananas. Other Kong members also help Donkey and Diddy along the way.
GameplayCompared to Mario's arsenal, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have rather few moves available to them at the core. They are capable simply of walking, running, performing a rolling attack, and jumping. However, Donkey Kong Country featured a strong level of interaction with the environment, which greatly multiplied the gameplay possibilities in the game: ropes could be swung on, bouncy tires could be rolled or jumped on, and a vast array of various barrels could be picked up, thrown, or busted on enemies' heads. Still other barrels floated in midair and could be leapt into, upon which depending on the type of barrel, either pressing a button or immediately upon entry, the player is blasted out of the end of the barrel. Often times, these barrels moved or rotated along paths, creating timing exercises which must be mastered to progress in the game.
The primary method for dispatching enemies is to jump on them, or to toss barrels into them. Most enemies may also be put out of commission with a rolling attack as well, but some have defenses in this direction. While both Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong may appear on the screen at the same time, only one is actually controlled by the player; should the active character be injured, the inactive character will become playable. Should there be no inactive player, the player loses a life and must start the level over, either from the beginning or the midway checkpoint. Falling into pits results in instant death.
There are also animal buddies in the game, which are found in crates and which the active character may ride to gain access to special abilities. These animal buddies and their abilities are listed below in the characters section.
There are many secret areas in Donkey Kong Country, which may be found by blasting away walls with TNT, or jumping in spots above or below the screen to hidden barrels. These secret areas usually contain a chance to earn either extra lives or animal buddy tokens. Collecting three of the same type of animal buddy token will allow the player to play a bonus level, in which there is a set amount of time to gather as many tokens as the player can while playing as the animal buddy in question--every 100 tokens collected results in one extra life earned.
Donkey Kong
One of the two primary protagonists, Donkey Kong is a large gorilla who is ideal for tackling larger enemies due to his greater mass and strength. In addition to his rolling attack, he also has an additional special attack if you hold down on the directional pad and then press the attack button.
Diddy Kong
The other primary playable character, Diddy Kong is faster and more agile than Donkey Kong. His special attack is a cartwheel which can knock down bigger enemies where jumping on them does no harm.
Cranky Kong
Cranky Kong provides "advice" throughout the game to the player and the two younger Kongs. According to the story, Cranky Kong was actually Donkey Kong in the original arcade version of Donkey Kong. This would mean that the Donkey Kong you play as now is essentially Donkey Kong Jr. from the original arcade games.
Candy Kong
Candy Kong may be visited to save the game. She serves as Donkey Kong's love interest.
Funky Kong
Funky Kong allows the player to transfer between the worlds in the game.
Enguarde the Swordfish
A fish who can swim underwater, Enguarde enables the Kongs to kill fish and bash into walls through a charging attack.
Expresso the Ostrich
Expresso runs extremely fast, and can sustain limited flight, allowing the Kongs to glide much further through the air than they could do on their own.
Rambi the Rhino
Rambi is large and heavy, making him unwieldy for platforming, but excellent for bowling over foes. He also has a charge attack.
Squawks the Parrot
Squawks the Parrot may not provide transportation for the Kongs as in later games; instead, the parrot holds a flashlight to illuminate the way for the player in dark levels.
Winky the Frog
Winky is capable of jumping extremely high. However, his awkward motion makes him rather imprecise for difficult platforming.
Worlds and LevelsDKChas a total of 7 worlds and 40 levels. Listed below are the world names,with the level names indented underneath.
Kongo Jungle
- Jungle Hijinx
- Ropey Rampage
- Reptile Rumble
- Coral Capers
- Barrel Cannon Canyon
- Very Gnawty's Lair
Monkey Mines
- Winky's Walkway
- Mine Cart Carnage
- Bouncy Bonanza
- Stop & Go Station
- Millstone Mayhem
- Necky's Nuts
Vine Valley
- Vulture Culture
- Tree Top Town
- Forest Frenzy
- Temple Tempest
- Orang-Utan Gang
- Clam City
- Bumble B. Rumble
Gorilla Glacier
- Snow Barrel Blast
- Slip Slide Ride
- Ice Age Alley
- Croctopus Chase
- Torchlight Trouble
- Rope Bridge Rumble
- Really Gnawty Rampage
Kremkroc Industries Inc.
- Oil Drum Alley
- Trick Track Trek
- Elevator Antics
- Poison Pond
- Mine Cart Madness
- Blackout Basement
- Boss Dumb Drum
Chimp Caverns
- Tanked Up Trouble
- Manic Mincers
- Misty Mine
- Loopy Lights
- Platform Perils
- Necky's Revenge
Gangplank Galleon
- Gangplank Galleon (K. Rool Battle)
Jungle JamzThe musical score for Donkey Kong Country was very popular and was known for being one of the most sophisticated soundtracks at the time. Nintendo later released a soundtrack for the game under the name of "Jungle Jamz." Here are the tracks that appeared on that CD.
- Theme
- Simian Segue
- DK Island Swing
- Cranky's Theme
- Jungle Groove
- Cave Dweller Concert
- Bonus Room Blitz
- Aquatic Ambiance
- Candy's Love Song
- Bad Boss Boogie
- Mine Cart Madness
- Life in the Mines
- Voices of the Temple
- Forest Frenzy
- Treetop Rock
- Funky's Fugue
- Misty Menace
- Northern Hemispheres
- Ice Cave Chant
- Fear Factory
- Gang-Plank Galleon
- K-Rool's Cacophony
- The Credits Concerto
- Lose
- Win
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Shoot down as many UFO's as possible in this highly addictive retro game.
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Words by Mr Peter Henderson
In the days when going on safari was all about shooting the wildlife with a shotgun, rather than a camera, the safari jacket, worn with cotton drill trousers and a wide-brimmed hat, was the attire of choice. Derived from the khaki uniform that British troops stationed in India in the 19th century wore, the safari jacket offered camouflage against the African savanna, while it was sufficiently lightweight for the climate, and its numerous bellows pockets could hold binoculars, ammunition and a hip flask of rum. A famous photograph from 1953 depicts Mr Ernest Hemingway and his wife both clad in safari jackets, standing over a freshly shot wildebeest. The transition to the city wardrobe came in the 1960s, when Mr Yves Saint Laurent popularised the style in Paris. Later, Sir Roger Moore's Bond gave the safari jacket several airings on the silver screen.
At the same time in the 20th century, a similar style became part of military uniform, although it was known as a field jacket rather than a safari jacket in the army. The most famous model, the M65, was introduced by the US for soldiers to wear in Vietnam. Originally olive green, the M65 featured four capacious pockets on the front, a concealed hood and epaulettes. It was perfect for troops facing variable climates, since it was relatively roomy, meaning extra layers or a detachable insulated lining could be worn underneath if the temperature dropped.
French fashion designer Mr Yves Saint Laurent in front of his boutique in Bond Street, London, 1969
As we find ourselves in the transition between spring and summer, safari and field jackets are the ideal medium-weight outerwear, whether you wear one on a May day when the weather is unpredictable or on a cool August evening. Adding a rugged sense of adventure to your outfit, they look stylish, and they are undeniably practical thanks to their abundance of pockets and the numerous layering options that they present. They can be worn over a suit, or with jeans, chinos, polo shirts, knitwear, T-shirts, scarves or knitted ties - the options are almost endless. A word of warning, though: unless you want to look like a dictator from the 1970s, it's best not to wear a safari or field jacket as a "suit" with trousers (or, heaven forbid, shorts) in the same material or colour. Click through the gallery above to see the London-based artist, Mr Robert Pratt, demonstrating five of our favourites.


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Toxicology Services
Fully Compliant with US FDA, OECD, Chinese SFDA GLP Requirements WuXi AppTec provides a full range of in vivo and in vitro preclinical safety evaluation studies which are part of our integrated portfolio of drug discovery and development services. By focusing on quality, scientific expertise, flexibility and responsiveness, WuXi partners with our Sponsors to provide a wide range of IND/NDA enabling toxicology and laboratory services that meet global regulatory standards. Our services are designed to help our worldwide customers shorten the time and lower the cost of research and development through cost effective and efficient outsourcing solutions. Compliance and Accreditations:
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Reduce the risks and costs of pre-clinical safety evaluation through early detection of drug candidates with toxicity potential by using our established testing packages.
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Chris Comer, the Director of Science at the Texas Education Agency (TEA) who was forced to resign over a dispute involving intelligent design, has filed suit in Federal District Court for redress.
The pro-"intelligent design" movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, starring Ben Stein, opened June 27, 2008 in theaters across Canada. The opening is significantly smaller than the movie's April debut in the United States, with only 36 theaters in 7 provinces showing the movie, according to Expelled's official website. It is not playing in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or the territories.
Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal signed Senate Bill 733 (PDF) into law, 27 years after the state passed its Balance Treatment for Evolution-Science and Creation-Science Act, a law overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987. Jindal's approval of the bill was buried in a press release issued on June 25, 2008, announcing 75 bills he signed in recent days.
The Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education unanimously voted at its June 20, 2008, meeting to begin proceedings to terminate the employment of John Freshwater, a middle school science teacher in the district. "Freshwater preached his Christian beliefs about how the world began, discredited evolution and didn't teach the required science curriculum, the board says.
Selected content from volume 27, numbers 3-4, of Reports of the National Center for Science Education is now available on NCSE's website, featuring Joe Felsenstein's "Has Natural Selection Been Refuted? The Arguments of William Dembski." Felsenstein concludes, "Dembski argues that there are theorems that prevent natural selection from explaining the adaptations that we see. His arguments do not work. There can be no theorem saying that adaptive information is conserved and cannot be increased by natural selection. ...
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For each form of termites, there are particular procedures of control. Continue reading to find out why you should work with a specialist to conduct your termite control. If you're prepared to become seriously interested in termite control for your house or place of business, offer your neighborhood accredited parasite control specialists Deerfield, MA a phone call.
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Our business will certainly do regular follow up inspections to make certain the termites are gone and that they don't return. A good deal of parasite control businesses state they provide termite treatment. Local termite control businesses in Deerfield are normally educated regarding the type of termites in a certain area. In such critical time, regional termite treatment businesses have to be evaluated to uncover one of the most appropriate to help you acquire flexibility from termites stretching in your home or work environment
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If you've got termite infestation on your premises, you should address it whenever possible. When you are in possession of a termite infestation, it is crucial that you get in touch with a professional who offers termite control in order to correctly eliminate the issue. Termite infestation is an issue that has to be managed whenever possible, but with a little research, every homeowner will have the ability to truly feel secure that the termite control service they purchase is the very best one for a specific problem at the very best price. A bad termite infestation Deerfield can cause long-term damage to your house's structure that could possibly be dangerous and costly to repair. A bad termite infestation can cause long-term damage to your house that could possibly be dangerous and expensive to fix. After you notice signs of termite infestation in your home, the very first and foremost task is to recognize the kind of termite.
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Etymology. The infraorder name Isoptera is derived from the Greek words iso (equal) and ptera (winged), which refers to the nearly equal size of the fore and hind wings. " Termite" derives from the Latin and Late Latin word termes ("woodworm, white ant"), altered by the influence of Latin terere ("to rub, wear, erode") from the earlier word tarmes.Termite nests were commonly known as ...
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Religião & Sociedade
Print version ISSN 0100-8587
DAWSEY, John C.. Joana Dark and the werewolf woman: the rite of passage of our lady.Translated byJeffrey Hoff. Relig. soc. [online]. 2006, vol.2Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0100-8587.
This essay deals with unexpected aspects of field experience in Aparecida, particularly from the viewpoint of a carnival fair. An image of Our Lady is there juxtaposed to that of a werewolf woman. So as to discuss the montage-like effects of this experience, an attempt is made to accompany a double rite of passage involving symmetrically inverted movements of Our Lady and pilgrims. First, the pilgrimage of devotees. Then, of Our Lady. Unresolved questions arise, as from the bottom of a river. A tragic story of Our Lady unfolds. In the beginning, a body without a head. And a head without a body.
Keywords : Aparecida; ritual; werewolf woman; body; carnival fair.


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Formation Movement Tray: 125x125mm Flexible Steel Insert for ROOMY Tray
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Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain
One of my first posts on Instagram was a pic of my Balm Stain purchase. I picked up two. With the love I had for the lip butters, I was sure that the Balm Stains were going to be pretty lipstick friends.
Did they exceed expectations or disappoint?? I tried them out, the colors weren't too bad-- a light lilac and a peachy nude. The feel and texture of the lip products were decent. The stain from the colors I had weren't too deep or dark, but reasonable. However, I was left unimpressed. This is a balm stain, so you wear the balm then a stain is left behind. I wasn't crazy about the balm-- it's a bit creamy. The stain left behind from both colors I got were very similar on my natural lip color. I wanted the stains to be different colors. No bueno. While these work for plenty of people, I have way too many lip products to not be in love with these. I returned them. For just two at regular price, I was able to pay for a basket of toiletries with a few bucks being returned to me. Good.
I imagine that one day I'll find a stain that can be topped with a glossy topcoat for an innocent juicy, popsicle lip look. This product comes closer than any other lip stain I've tried.
Have you tried these? What do you think of them?
Labels: drugstore, lip stain, product review
3 comments:
- Tammy said...
I love these, but the lighter colors just plain suck. I highly recommend Smitten. btw - they're on sale for 40% off this week at Rite Aid. =)
- yummy411 said...
ahhh so it's the plain colors. .. thanks!!
- Quiana said...
I absolutely love these!!
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Vivita is a gorgeous, multi-purpose theme that features a colorful, pixel-perfect design. As beautiful as it is responsive and user-friendly, it works great as a portfolio or blog. Use Vivita to build a personal website, resume, work histroy or blog. Vivita is the perfect theme for authors, designers, creative individuals, executives and more.
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I was having one of those, what I like to call, St. Teresa of Avila moments: "Oh Lord, if this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few."
No need to spill all the details. But suffice it say I was feeling quite sorry for myself and sorry for all of those in Catholic media wondering if we were really having an impact at all even among our Catholic brothers and sisters.
This doesn't happen to me too often as most of the time I am an extremely positive person and when it does happen, the Lord always sends me affirmations through my radio listeners in the form of an encouraging "thank you" email or phone call.
This time, however, the "attagirl" came from someone we might least expect to be listening to Catholic radio.
Jim from Canada contacted me through Facebook. He explained how he started listening to me because of his broken car radio.
For some strange reason it wasn't working properly and the only station that came through clearly was WDEO AM 990/Ave Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, Mich., which produces Catholic Connection.
First of all, what a coincidence, or shall we say "Godcidence," that the only station to come through clearly was the local Catholic station.
Second, Jim went on to say that it was certainly unusual for him not to just turn such a station off given that he was in his own words, "very liberal, pro-choice and gay."
He was a bit uneasy at first but he described hearing a consistent message; a firm but welcoming approach in the programming and interviews. He first found it entertaining and then found himself being challenged and also discovered something in him was starting to change.
"I'm smiling now thinking about how excited I would get when I would hear that little theme before your show.
As the summer months continued I started to notice a change. I was no longer just being entertained. I was starting to really think. My opinions were being challenged and that challenge was creating change. It was my heart that had started to listen."
Did you catch that last line about his "heart" starting to listen?
Jim's comment sounded an awful lot like St. Benedict who said we need to "listen and attend with the ear of the heart."
What we discuss in Catholic media, the beauty and truth of our Faith, reaches people in the depths of their hearts and souls, if they are open.
The Word of God and his love for us is what is so needed in our lost and troubled world today.
I did write back to Jim to thank him for the encouragement and I am hoping to learn more about where this journey of the heart is taking him.
It's funny, though. Jim said he was learning a lot from Catholic radio and that he started to really think.
This is a young man who was raised with little or no catechesis. His dad is apparently Catholic, and his mom now a Jehovah's Witness.
In the end he ended up teaching me an awful lot about evangelization.
It's pretty simple, actually. We just need to keep doing the 1 Peter 3:15-16 thing: "always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within you but do it with gentleness and reverence."
Put the truth out there in a loving way and stop feeling sorry for ourselves if our efforts don't always seem to meet our expectations.
If hearts are open, the truth will penetrate.
The rest of the story is up to God.
Teresa Tomeo is the host of "Catholic Connection," produced by Ave Maria Radio and heard daily on EWTN Global Catholic Radio and Sirius Channel 130.
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Washington, D.C., Nov. 16, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) today convened a high-level meeting in Paris between SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro, CESR Chairman Carlos Tavares, and the chairmen of 29 CESR member regulators to discuss regulatory reform efforts in the United States and the European Union.
Securities regulators in both the U.S. and EU are currently crafting new and wide-ranging rules designed to address regulatory concerns that arose during the recent financial crisis. Today's discussions focused on a number of topics, including the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives and oversight of credit rating agencies and managers of hedge and private equity funds. The CESR and SEC chairmen also shared views regarding market structure issues, systemic risk, and issues relating to the convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
Since so many globally active financial firms operate in both the United States and Europe and would be subject to new rules in both markets, Chairman Schapiro and CESR Members (the Chairs of Europe's Member State securities regulators) agreed to meet to discuss the cross-border implications of European and U.S. efforts. They also are considering how these efforts might be coordinated to improve their effectiveness while minimizing the likelihood of regulatory arbitrage and unnecessary conflicts of laws.
Chairman Schapiro said, "As the activities of market participants continue to expand internationally, we need to ensure our regulatory initiatives are properly coordinated. Our ongoing dialogue with CESR is particularly important as we seek to implement our respective legislative agendas while minimizing the burden for market participants that operate across borders."
CESR Chairman Carlos Tavares said, "Europe's and U.S. securities markets face today many of the same challenges. It is therefore very important to acknowledge that the regulatory measures we adopt should be as aligned as possible. The European Commission is currently undertaking a significant regulatory review and similarly, the Dodd-Frank Act will lead to important changes in regulatory approaches in the U.S. The differences in the respective legislative proposals, the timing of their implementation and the changes in institutional legal structure which these will bring about will require a continuous dialogue between EU and U.S. institutions in order to ensure that these regulatory initiatives avoid regulatory arbitrage and simultaneously enhance market efficiency. Today's meeting, on the eve of the creation of the European Securities Markets Authority in January 2011, will help provide a strong foundation on which our ongoing discussions can build and provides an important moment for us to reiterate our commitment to address global financial challenges in a coordinated way."
During today's discussion, the chairs pledged to continue periodic discussion on these issues as they implement new regulations and to work collaboratively regarding possible areas for future collaboration as they oversee market participants registered in each jurisdiction.
The SEC-CESR Dialogue was officially established in 2004. Its primary objectives are to:
The terms of reference governing the Dialogue are located on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2004-75.htm and on CESR's website via http://www.cesr.eu/popup2.php?id=2092.
In addition to the meeting with chairs of EU national regulators, Chairman Schapiro separately met with representatives involved in the EU legislative process including Vittorio Grilli, Chairman of the EU Financial Services Committee (FSC) and Director General of the Treasury, Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Jean-Paul Servais, member of the Financial Services Committee (FSC) and President of the Belgian Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission and senior representatives of the European Commission. The FSC and ESC are EU entities that represent the Member States in the EU legislative process, ultimately reporting to the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, commonly referred to as ECOFIN. During their meeting, they discussed a number of issues of common concern, including the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives and oversight of credit rating agencies and managers of hedge and private equity funds, as well as other issues involving market structure.
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