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I'm Jen. I have kids. I work, I write things, I do stuff. Ummmmm….yep.
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RoadID is a company that makes ID wristbands - especially for runners, but also for anyone that could use one. I ordered and received mine in October 2015, and it's quite nice. The company impressed me, too; the bands I ordered were too small, and they sent me a larger size with no hassle at all!
If you order a RoadID item through this link, I get a credit to my account. So that's pretty cool.
I also use RoadID's free app (also called Road ID) to keep Sean updated on my location as I run. It also helps you set a "call in case of emergency" lock screen for your phone. I do recommend the app, and if you look at the "About Road ID" screen it gives you a discount code!
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.


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2005 Ford F-350 Super Duty - G&R Racing's Chase TruckPosted in Features on June 1, 2010
Any racer from Baja to Daytona will tell you the same thing: You can't win without support from your teammates. In the world of Trophy Truck desert racing, that means a fleet of chase trucks, support vehicles, and numerous people checking, rechecking, and busting knuckles to ensure your team has the best possible outcome. G&R Racing brought out one of its chase trucks during our photo shoot of its incredible Geiser Brothers-built prerunners. Here is an inside look at what they require to be successful in Baja.
Originally, this truck was born a '05 Ford F-350 Super Duty equipped with a 6.0L Power Stroke diesel engine. Ford Super Duty trucks are common in the desert because of their very powerful engines and solid towing ability. Although the team has modified much of their Ford, the engine remains stock so it retains its reliability. The last thing you want to deal with on race day is having to support a support vehicle.

subset: commoncrawl


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In a recent interview with Playboy Magazine, director J.J. Abrams shares details on why he originally passed on the Star Wars job, changed his mind, and his thoughts on Star Trek 3. I have to say, I never thought we would see the same director for both a Star Wars AND a Star Trek film. However, I think he is the best man for the job for both franchises. This guy clearly has a passion for what he does. Enjoy the full interview below (for those that can't view the source website) and let us know how you feel about a director filming the two most successful science fiction film franchises of all time. (Source: Playboy)
by David Hochman
Nobody in Hollywood today is as cool for so many uncool reasons as J.J. Abrams. A film and TV producer, screenwriter, director, designer, editor, composer and all-around geek god, Abrams is the bespectacled creative titan behind projects most likely to have fans sleeping outside box-office windows in itchy space costumes.
Star Trek Into Darkness, his second big-screen contribution to the unstoppable sci-fi franchise, arrives this month with a cast so young and sexy their parents barely remember the launch of the original 1966 series. A sequel to the 2009 prequel set when Kirk and Spock were still new to the Enterprise, this one brings the crew back to Earth to confront a force as devastating as a website full of Trek plot spoilers. A third feature film is already planned
In the meantime, Abrams has another to-do item: reboot Star Wars. He will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, the first in a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm, which Disney bought from George Lucas last year for $4.05 billion. At first the Twitterverse cried out that it was too much for one mortal to oversee both galaxies, but the blowback ended fast. Having helmed Trek, Mission: Impossible III and TV sensations including Lost, Fringe, Revolution and Alias, Abrams is probably better suited than anyone to juggle both phaser and lightsaber.
Jeffrey Jacob "J.J." Abrams was born June 27, 1966 in New York City but grew up on the glitzier side of Los Angeles, where both parents produced TV movies. At the age of 13, young J.J.—"Only my father's mother called me Jeffrey," he says—first operated a Super 8 camera and by the age of 16 earned the notice of Steven Spielberg, whose office asked Abrams to edit Super 8 movies Spielberg had made when he was a teenager. (Many years later they collaborated on an action adventure called Super 8.) Abrams sold his first script in college and later earned his cred writing Regarding Henry and Forever Young. Felicity made Abrams a TV giant, and the script for Armageddon made him rich; they also show an unusual range and a talent for crossing genres.
Playboy Contributing Editor David Hochman, who last interviewed Fox News anchor Chris Wallace for the magazine, was the first journalist to sit down with Abrams in the aftermath of the Star Wars announcement. The two chatted all afternoon in a Santa Monica office complex as decidedly geek-forward as Abrams himself. Says Hochman, "J.J. maintains a shrine of vintage knickknacks from entertainment classics like Twilight Zone, Planet of the Apes, Close Encounters and the original Star Trek and Star Wars. I'm starting to think the J.J. Abrams collectibles might be worth even more one day."
PLAYBOY: Let's begin with Star Trek. How the hell can this franchise still go where no man has gone before?
ABRAMS: Well, I haven't seen every episode of every version of every Star Trek series, but I'm sure there are many more places to go. What's great about doing another origin story is that it's all about anticipating the Star Trek world we know is to come. You can play with who Spock and Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise were before they were Spock and Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. It's a kind of tease.
PLAYBOY: Considering what a thrill ride the first movie was, Into Darkness sounds like a bit of a downer.
ABRAMS: The first film was very much about these disparate orphans coming together and starting a family. The next step has to be about going deeper and, yes, as the title indicates, getting a little more intense. We're testing these characters in ways they deserve to be tested: Kirk being cocky to a fault, Spock being so Vulcan that it raises the question of how he can possibly be a friend or lover when he's that unemotional.
I learned so much doing the first Star Trek—a movie. I'd never done any kind of space adventure before or anything on that scale. We knew the second one had to be bigger and not just for bigger's sake. It was where the story was taking us. We got really cool glimpses of the Enterprise in the first movie. This time we get to see areas of the ship nobody's seen before. And the villain is more complex now. In our first film Eric Bana plays a wonderfully angry Romulan dude, pissed off and full of vengeance. In this one, the bad guy is still brutal and fierce, but he's got a much more interesting and active story. We have to grapple with many layers of his character. He's essentially a space terrorist, and Benedict Cumberbatch, whom people know from BBC's Sherlock, is fucking kickass in the role. Kirk and the rest of the crew are figuring out how the hell to get an upper hand with this guy. The darkness is real in this movie, and it's incredibly challenging and terrifying, and it can certainly be lethal. You need that edge, partly because Star Trek has been so relentlessly parodied over the years.
PLAYBOY: It's hard to be a Trekkie.
ABRAMS: It can be. The key in everything we did was to embrace the spirit with which Star Trek was approached in the 1960s. So the design of the props, the locations and certainly the characters themselves couldn't be mockeries or impersonations but had to be as deeply felt as Leonard Nimoy felt and applied to his interpretation of the character in his time. Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock, had to do his own version of that, just as we never wanted Chris Pine to do a Shatner parody. Audiences pick up on that stuff. Not only are we post–Star Trek the series and movies, but we're post–Galaxy Quest, post–Saturday Night Live spoofs. We were coming at this post–Trek satire, so we needed to be earnest in the right places and funny in the right places or people would have made fun of us.
PLAYBOY: One of the things people make fun of is the sex scenes. Is there any interspecies sex?
ABRAMS: Star Trek has to be sexy. That's in keeping with the original spirit of the series. In the 1960s they were limited because of the time, but so much was insinuated. Part of the fun of our first movie was playing with the idea that Uhura and Spock were a couple. This movie takes that further and asks how that's possible. Why would she be interested in that kind of guy, and why would she put up with him? It's obvious what he would like about her. I mean, it's fucking Zoë Saldana.
And it's always fun playing the womanizing card with Kirk and seeing him in bed with girls who might not be completely human—you know, green skin or whatever. Nobody's going to force Kirk to be a romantic and settle down. That would feel forced and silly. Kirk's a player. We like him that way.
We also have Alice Eve joining us; she's an incredibly wonderful, versatile actress and definitely in the sexy category. She's a great complement to Uhura. Hey, it wouldn't be Star Trek if there weren't some hot young actors, women and men, in various moments of either undress or flirtation.
PLAYBOY: Did Leonard Nimoy or William Shatner drop by the set?
ABRAMS: Leonard did. I love him; he's always a joy. The cast and crew got to applaud him and give a fraction of the thanks he deserves. He's just an absolute gentleman. Shatner? [sighs] I haven't spoken with him in a long time, but I did read something where he gave me a fantastic underhanded compliment. Something like our movie was a fun action ride and maybe one day it'll have heart. A great compliment only to pull the rug out in a way that only Shatner can do. I adore him.
PLAYBOY: It's hard to explain the enduring love for this franchise that has been around almost 50 years. Is it true you screened an early cut of Into Darkness for a terminally ill Trek fan whose dying wish was to see it?
ABRAMS: Yes. That was such a tragic moment and so sad. It's incredibly touching that the stuff we happen to be working on means enough to people that in those extreme, ultimate moments a movie like ours would even be a consideration. But it reminds you that these entertainments, these characters can and do touch people on the deepest level. Somehow their existence is made to make some sense or given an order they might not otherwise feel. You certainly don't make movies for people who are sick or in real trouble. You just make movies. But people take these stories and characters to heart and believe they matter on some larger level.
PLAYBOY: Nothing matters more to moviegoers than the stories and characters from Star Wars. In your wildest, geekiest fantasies, did you ever imagine yourself helming the two biggest sci-fi franchises in the universe?
ABRAMS: It is preposterous. Ridiculous. Completely insane. It really is.
PLAYBOY: Star Wars and Star Trek are church and state in Hollywood. Can you really be loyal to both? Star Trek fans cried out on Twitter that you were cheating on them.
ABRAMS: I mean, I get it. The worlds are vastly different. Honestly, that was why I passed on Star Wars to begin with. I couldn't imagine doing both. But when I said that my loyalty was to Star Trek I was literally working on finishing this cut. I couldn't even entertain another thought. It was like being on the most beautiful beach in the world and someone saying, "There's this amazing mountain over here. Come take a look." I couldn't balance the two, so I passed on Star Wars
PLAYBOY: What happened between saying no and saying yes?
ABRAMS: It was a wild time. I was near the light at the end of the tunnel with my work on Star Trek. I felt I needed a bit of a breather, actually. But then Kathleen Kennedy [the new Lucasfilm head who oversees Star Wars] called again. I've known her for years. We had a great conversation, and the idea of working with her on this suddenly went from being theoretical and easy to deny to being a real, tangible, thrilling possibility. In the end it was my wife, Katie, who said if it was something that really interested me, I had to consider it.
PLAYBOY: There's much to discuss, such as the rumors of old cast members returning.
ABRAMS: [Smiles]
PLAYBOY: Will this be a distinct new trilogy?
ABRAMS: [Smiles]
PLAYBOY: Can you do away with Jar Jar Binks?
ABRAMS: You won't like this answer, but it's so early it would be insane to discuss details or get into plot points about what this unfilmed movie will be. And I'm not going to give my opinion on the original movies or characters.
PLAYBOY: But as a lifelong Star Wars fan, surely you have broad ideas about what needs to happen going forward. Three quarters of planet Earth came down on George Lucas for practically ruining Star Wars in Episode I. The Star Wars universe revolted.
ABRAMS: Here's the thing. I try to approach a project from what it's asking. What does it need to be? What is it demanding? With Star Wars, one has to take into account what has preceded it, what worked, what didn't. There are cautionary tales for anything you take on that has a legacy—things you look at and think, I want to avoid this or that, or I want to do more of something. But even that feels like an outside-in approach, and it's not how I work. For me, the key is when you have a script; it's telling you what it wants to be.
PLAYBOY: Star Wars needs to look different from Star Trek, certainly.
ABRAMS: As with anything, because these are very different worlds, they shouldn't feel the same aesthetically. They can't. You're right. But again, I don't apply aesthetics first and fit a movie into that aesthetic. If I had come into Star Trek with those eyes, I would probably have been paralyzed. The advantage here is that we still have George Lucas with us to go to and ask questions and get his feedback on things, which I certainly will do. With Star Trek it was harder because I wasn't a Star Trek fan; I didn't have the same emotional feeling, and I didn't have Gene Roddenberry to go to. But I came to understand the world of Star Trek, and I appreciated what fans felt and believed about this universe and this franchise.
PLAYBOY: As recently as last fall you said that directing a new Star Wars comes with a burden of "almost fatal sacrilege." Do you feel that?
ABRAMS: I meant if I viewed this from a fan's point of view—and no one's a bigger Star Wars fan than I am—or from a legacy standpoint, it would scare the hell out of me. But instead of trying to climb this mountain in one giant leap, I'm just enjoying the opportunity and looking to the people I'm working with. I've known Kathy for years. I've worked with the screenwriter, Michael Arndt, for a long time. I've known George for a number of years and he's now a friend. Even if this wasn't Star Wars, I'd be enormously fortunate to work with them.
PLAYBOY: How much of your personal vision can you put on this?
ABRAMS: For me to talk to you about what the big themes or ideas are before they exist is disingenuous, but naturally I have a big say in how this gets put together. When I get involved with something, I own it and carry the responsibility of the job.
PLAYBOY: Star Wars, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible—you're the king of the reboot. Don't you want to make something original again?
ABRAMS: I have to say, as someone who almost to a point of embarrassment has associated himself with a number of projects that preexisted, I'm not looking to do another reboot. There's one project, which I can't talk about yet, that we are going to do in the TV space that is an exception. But the truth is, one of the reasons I at first easily said no to the notion of Star Wars was the thought that I had to do something original again. I mean, it's what I've done on TV with Felicity, Alias, Lost, Fringe and everything else. It's the thing I was looking forward to doing next. The best-laid plans, you can say—but when something like Star Wars comes along, you either roll with it or not.
PLAYBOY: What's the spirit of an original project you'd want to do?
ABRAMS: I'm open. My favorite movie is The Philadelphia Story. I love Hitchcock movies. I'm a huge fan of Spielberg, and I love David Cronenberg. I'm all over the place in terms of stuff I like. There's an amazing book called Let the Great World Spin that we've been developing with Colum McCann, the writer, and I'd love to do that. Not because of anything other than I feel the characters are beautiful and alive and have incredible heart and soul. But I'm open to anything.
PLAYBOY: How do you juggle your various responsibilities? In addition to the movies, you're executive producer on Revolution and Person of Interest on TV. Earlier this year you wrapped Fringe after five seasons. You have a wife and three kids. You write music, you design things, you've given a TED talk. Presumably you eat and sleep too.
ABRAMS: I like to work hard, and I surround myself with people who are better at what they do than I am at what I do. And as much as we say yes to many things, we say no to almost everything. We're very selective. We know how to get things done. For Star Trek it was Damon Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Alex Kurtzman, Bob Orci and me. With Jonathan Nolan on Person of Interest, he was someone we were dying to work with. He came in with a great idea, but he had never done TV before. He and [co–executive producer] Greg Plageman have been running that show beautifully. Eric Kripke is running Revolution. We had a team of talented producers on Fringe. So it's not like I'm in the room and running operations on these shows.
PLAYBOY: So in the final days of Fringe you weren't bounding into the writers' room, yelling, "We have to explain who those creepy people chasing Peter were in the first season!"
ABRAMS: By the time we got to the fifth season my involvement was zero. It's like with Lost. Damon and Carlton Cuse were running that show spectacularly and deserved to end the series as they saw fit. If I saw something really objectionable, I might jump in, but they knew what they were doing.
PLAYBOY: Were you satisfied with how Fringe ended? There were certain questions that never got answered, such as, if the Observers were wiped out, why was Peter still in our universe?
ABRAMS: Right. [Fringe co–executive producer] Joel Wyman and I had long discussions about points like that. But I don't know of any movie, including Back to the Future, despite the clarity of that film, that deals with time travel or, in this case, an alternate universe and time travel, that doesn't have issues with such paradoxes. And given the enormity of the issues Fringe was dealing with, it was an amazing finale. After everything that transpired in that last season, for Peter to swoop up Etta at the end and have that moment with her and see that couple with their kid, there was a kind of profundity and emotional satisfaction. Walter's sacrifice allowed for his son's and Olivia's ultimate happiness to come true. That was a far more meaningful ending than explaining how the Observers work into that time frame. What exactly happened with amber, and does it make sense? These are questions you could ask, but I would hope the audience is smart enough to figure things out for themselves and allow for unexplainable situations.
PLAYBOY: Your biggest TV hit, Lost, got some groans at the end for leaving things open-ended. People are still arguing over it. What was the "sideways" world? Were the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 actually dead the whole time? Looking back, do you think Lost fans deserved a less ambiguous ending?
ABRAMS: No. I loved the ending. I thought it definitely provided an emotional conclusion to that show. There may have been specific technical things people felt they wanted to understand, like what the island was exactly or why it was. But it's like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. If you show me what's in there, I promise you it will disappoint me.
PLAYBOY: It's like the mysterious pendant in Revolution that's the key to explaining what disabled electricity on the planet.
ABRAMS: Yes. If you're looking for the thing that ultimately explains what the answer is, or, let's say, what God is, no matter what physical manifestation you see or hear, you'll never be satisfied. Could our shows answer every question people have? Maybe, but I'm guessing the answers won't be as satisfying as trying to figure out the answers.
PLAYBOY: Do you actually believe there are alternate universes?
ABRAMS: I'm definitely fascinated by the possibility. Whether it's alternate universes or time travel, the idea that reality isn't exactly what we assume it is is the sort of primordial ooze of any great out-there story, certainly in sci-fi and arguably in non-sci-fi as well. The idea that just around the corner something unbelievable might exist, that behind that door might be something you could never imagine. I've always been obsessed with the feeling that there's another level of understanding in the world, whether it's something as fantastical and fanciful as The Wizard of Oz, as dark and freaky as The Ring or as wild and thrilling as The Matrix. The idea that this world we know isn't just this world we know but that a package might arrive at your door or a phone call might come in, and suddenly you're in a portal to a different realm.
PLAYBOY: Paranoia also figures into your work. Do you really think the government or corporations are watching us in ways we should be concerned about?
ABRAMS: Oh yeah, for sure. I'm not saying in this instant they are. But I defy anyone who lives in any size metropolis to travel 20 minutes and not see a bunch of surveillance cameras. Those cameras aren't there to ignore you; they're there to see you, and all that information is going into banks of digital recorders and oftentimes facial-recognition software. We're all being tracked. When you have a fairly average life and you're not doing anything particularly interesting or illegal or wrong, why should that bother you? Well, it means we're all being recorded, our activities are being watched, and our privacy is being compromised. I think that's something to be aware of, at the very least. It's the premise behind Person of Interest, which is a show about being observed. On the positive side, the heroes of that show are good guys, since it's also a show about wish fulfillment.
PLAYBOY: You're certainly cautious about sharing information. It's not just Star Wars you don't want to talk about. You famously withhold almost all spoiler information on your projects. What prompted that?
ABRAMS: That's a paranoia I've developed since the Superman script I wrote years ago was reviewed online. I always had a sense of how I enjoyed entertainment, which was to sit down in front of a TV or inside a darkened movie theater and be surprised by everything that happened on the screen. It used to be that to get a spoiler you had to really seek it out. Now you have to work to avoid it. If something happens on Downton Abbey or Homeland, you practically can't speak to another human being or you'll hear what happened. The truth is, people don't like spoilers. When we were doing Lost, fans would ask me what was going to happen. Before I could even open my mouth, often they would say, "Don't tell me." Would I have wanted to hear from Rod Serling what was going to happen on each episode of The Twilight Zone? No way! The buy-in with entertainment like that—or with any great thrill—is that you're going on an adventure and you don't know where you're heading. That's the stuff of show-business magic.
PLAYBOY: You grew up in a show-business family. How did it affect you to know from a young age that the magic of showbiz was fake?
ABRAMS: It wasn't fake to me. It was real seeing Hollywood people do what they do. My father worked as a producer at Paramount. I'd go to his office and look at the call sheets of everything that was shooting on the lot. This was back in the day when shooting in Los Angeles was a given, so there would be a dozen things filming. It was the time of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy. I'll never forget seeing Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Tom Bosley and the whole cast of Happy Days with their scripts and Garry Marshall on the floor, rehearsing an episode. I felt a desperate, deep hunger to be on the floor with them. I was so jealous that their job was to put on a little play and figure it out.
PLAYBOY: What were some moments that left you saying, "Never meet your heroes"?
ABRAMS: Seeing Robin Williams being completely off-color freaked me out. It's funny when you're an adult, but it's creepy and weird when you're 12 and he's dressed like Mork. Even weirder was going to the set of Eight Is Enough. I really liked that show, but I remember walking onto the set—again, I was probably 11 or 12—and seeing the mom, Betty Buckley, aggressively negotiating some deal for a commercial with her agent. That was strange. Then I went onto the bedroom set and there was Willie Aames lying in his Eight Is Enough bed, passed out facedown from, I'm sure, a night of insane partying. Then Adam Rich came skateboarding by and I heard people in the crew swearing at him under their breath after he passed. That was ugly.
My point is, there was a sense of creepy dysfunction that was the opposite of what you'd see on TV. So I knew it wasn't all roses, but I also saw how fucking cool it was. If I were better at math, I might have gone to medical school. If I were a better artist or architect, I could have gone in those directions. But I knew from a young age I couldn't do anything else than be involved in this crazy world I'm in.
PLAYBOY: What happens when you're working on a production and someone is crazier than you thought they were in the casting session?
ABRAMS: That has happened on a couple of occasions. If it's someone who's in three scenes in a movie and they're doing a good job but they're nuts, you kind of think, Let's just ride it out and we'll deal with it. If they're signed on for six episodes of a show and they're making people on the crew cry, you have to address it and deal with it, but it has happened only a couple of times. For the most part you do your due diligence and get to know who you're working with before the crazy happens.
PLAYBOY: What about Tom Cruise? What was your experience with him on Mission: Impossible III?
ABRAMS: Here's what happened on Mission. Before I started, I called Cameron Crowe, whom I know, and asked him his advice, since he'd made two movies with Tom. He just said, "Brother, you are going to be spoiled." I was like, "All right," not quite knowing what he meant. I now know he was right. Tom is the hardest-working, most focused, generous, passionate-about-the-form collaborator I could imagine. He's someone who gave me my first shot directing a movie. No one would have done that but him. It was a huge first movie to do, but I was never scared. I was always excited about it because I felt everything I had been working on was sort of preparing me for that. And Tom made it an amazing experience. I was a first-time feature director, and before we started shooting Tom said, "I'm your actor; you're the director."
I remember being warned by a number of very experienced people in the business that a producer-star with a first-time director gets really ugly, so get ready. I'll tell you that there was not a day on that movie when Tom was not supportive, encouraging, collaborative, excited. He never mandated anything. He never insisted on things going a certain way. There was nothing I ever asked him to do that he wouldn't do. There were things I asked him not to do because he was so willing to put himself physically in danger. I would be like, "There's not a fucking chance you're going through that window. If you get cut.…" But he was always about the better idea.
PLAYBOY: Then what are we to make of the Scientology Tom or the jumping-on-Oprah's-couch Tom or the psychiatrists-are-evil Tom?
ABRAMS: He has never in any way mandated or tried to push any of that. You heard stories that there were Scientology tents and things on War of the Worlds. That never existed in my experience with him, ever. All I will say is that he's got a huge heart, and he's a generous and good guy.
PLAYBOY: What about Michael Bay? You co-wrote the screenplay for Armageddon. What are your memories of that experience?
ABRAMS: I know Michael's a guy who can be abusive and crazy and all kinds of stuff. I remember hearing things like "Oh my God, he's so intimidating." But when I was driving over to meet him for the first time, someone called and said, "He went to Crossroads," which is a private school down the street from here in Santa Monica. I thought, He's a Crossroads kid? Growing up in Brentwood, I knew kids like him. I had never met Michael, but this idea that he was a Crossroads kid suddenly demystified him for me. I met him and immediately started giving him shit, and he was giving me shit. He liked me because I wasn't afraid of him and I understood who he was, which was someone who was a little freaked out by how big he'd become so fast.
PLAYBOY: Who's an up-and-coming director to keep an eye on?
ABRAMS: Rian Johnson. I love what he did with Looper, the scope of the movie and the emotion—and that moment when we discover who the Rainmaker is is one of the most chilling, awesome moments I've seen in movies in a long time. He has a big career ahead of him.
PLAYBOY: Your career is about as big as anybody's in Hollywood right now. You're as famous as many actors in your films and shows.
ABRAMS: First of all, I don't feel I'm remotely famous. But secondly, with what I'm doing and what I'm involved in, I feel I'm obviously riding coattails and working on projects that are bigger than all of us. A by-product of that is sometimes some notoriety, but it's all worthless if what's being made isn't of some quality. I certainly never wanted to become a director because I was looking to be famous. I look at people I know, certainly actors like Tom, who literally cannot go anywhere. That's a miserable thing. I go out all the time, and people don't recognize me at all.
PLAYBOY: So women aren't throwing themselves at you? Isn't that what's supposed to happen when you get big in show business?
ABRAMS: It's not happening. What's that about? [laughs] What I usually get isn't a sexual thing. It's usually some dude with hair too long in the back giving me a Vulcan salute or, more recently, saying, "May the Force be with you." I haven't gotten a lot of the more appealing versions you're referring to.
PLAYBOY: You went to Sarah Lawrence, which was traditionally an all-women's college and still skews heavily female. As a straight guy at Sarah Lawrence, you must have been quite busy.
ABRAMS: The ratio was spectacular, I won't lie. But I also got to be in rooms with a lot of women and, no joke, a lot of interesting conversations. It was almost like being a fly on the wall, where you'd actually get to hear and see what it's like to be a woman. As a writer it was a cool opportunity. The rhythm of conversation. The way women are with one another in private.
PLAYBOY: Is that where Felicity came to you?
ABRAMS: Felicity really had nothing to do with my college experience; it was much more about my time in high school. A young woman who was in my class was an amazing artist. I had never really talked to her, but she did the posters for all the plays and stuff. At graduation I finally said, "Listen, we've been at this school for years together. I just wanted to say hi and say your work is unbelievable." The look on her face was so incredible. Her face literally changed. She was so stunned and kind of awkward and then very sweet about it. For some reason her reaction stayed with me. I always thought that was a cool story, about someone who approaches someone at the very end of high school. There was another girl at the school, whose name was Felicity, and I always thought that was a great name for a character. That's how ideas happen sometimes.
PLAYBOY: How did you go from Mr. Sensitive to action-movie guy?
ABRAMS: Look, all of it's me. Felicity was an idea I was excited about. But when we were doing the show, what struck me was there were no bad guys. It was frustrating to do a show where the biggest threat was whether Felicity was going to get a D or be late to class or kiss the wrong boy. Lovely and romantic and fun, yes, but incredibly low stakes. What you're always looking for on a TV show is the act-out, what makes you go "Ooh!" It was a hard thing to do because there were no murderers or vampires or villains.
So as a joke I pitched to the writers' room: What if Felicity were a spy? It would be awesome because she'd be going off on these crazy action adventures and could come back and tell Julie what she'd really done. Or she has these bruises and she'd be lying to Ben or Noel about what they were. Everybody looked at me like I was crazy. Then ABC said it was looking for a show with a young female lead, and that was why I wrote Alias.
PLAYBOY: Jennifer Garner from Alias, Evangeline Lilly from Lost, Anna Torv from Fringe. You certainly know how to find gorgeous unknown newcomers and turn them into gun-toting badasses in supertight clothing.
ABRAMS: Well, I was in love with Batgirl as a kid. I thought she was the sexiest thing in the history of time. In the beginning of Batman, whenever the cartoon version of Batgirl would swoop through and you'd know she was in the episode, I'd be hugely excited, because she was so unbearably hot. And then, obviously, on The Avengers, Diana Rigg was just so completely…yeah. It's a funny thing, because when I was growing up, usually men were the main characters and women were trophies. You know, the Bond girls were just kind of eye candy and fun. But I was always drawn to a different kind of woman, like Jenny Agutter in Logan's Run. There were certain women who made you go, "Oh, she was beautiful but also just as fierce as Logan." Think about when Alien came out. There's Ripley at the end in her underwear, getting into the space suit—rewind, please. Those are the women who grabbed me as a kid.
PLAYBOY: Did you ever have a wild-oats period?
ABRAMS: I've never done anything remotely serious in that regard.
PLAYBOY: Ever been arrested?
ABRAMS: Never been arrested.
PLAYBOY: Wrecked a hotel room?
ABRAMS: Nope.
PLAYBOY: Let's see—the Dharma Initiative, the parallel universes, the mystery boxes, galaxies far, far away. Call us half-baked, but some of your ideas sound as though they came out of smoking pot. Maybe a little? Or LSD?
ABRAMS: I have to say, I'm not a big partier, though I don't have anything against it. I'm kind of uncool.
PLAYBOY: When the Star Wars news broke, Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Disney didn't just pick a beloved director: They picked a guy whose name is synonymous with the whole millennial rise of geekdom as a cultural force."
ABRAMS: Here's the thing: The pencil-necked geek guys with pocket protectors and tape on their glasses are the people who invented the iPod and the iPad and everything else everyone carries with them all the time. The digital age was foreseen by a group of short-sleeved, buttoned-down, white-shirted guys and their female equivalents who were designing the very stuff that's now ubiquitous. It's not that there's this millennial rise as much as we're incorporating into our daily lives the technology that is fulfilling our need for instantaneous communication and information. And there's a general understanding that smartphones didn't come from jocks.
PLAYBOY: What's your favorite game on your iPhone?
ABRAMS: Right now it's probably Letterpress, though Scramble With Friends is a close second.
PLAYBOY: How would your life have been different if you'd had an iPhone and a MacBook Pro instead of a Super 8 camera when you were starting out?
ABRAMS: I don't know. It's an age of insane distraction. The fact that kids are supposed to do their algebra homework on the same device that is a portal to every possible piece of entertainment—comedy and music and porn—is just bizarre. I don't know an adult who, if I gave them a laptop and said, "Go do your algebra," would spend more than five minutes doing their algebra. On the other end, you have things like the Khan Academy that are rocking the world and giving people access to learning like never before. The good definitely outweighs the negatives, but it's weird. The other day I was walking with my iPad Mini and thought, When I was a kid, just having a flashlight would have been cool, let alone something like this. Then you get into things like Final Cut Pro and After Effects, and they rival what's happening in big studios. We're starting to see evidence of people making movies with these tools in ways that rival professional moviemaking.
PLAYBOY: What have you seen lately?
ABRAMS: Oh my God, so many great short films. There was one called Plot Device—very funny. A guy named Andrew Kramer has a site called VideoCopilot.net that shows people how to do visual effects and aftereffects. What he does is just incredible. I've since brought him over to my production company, Bad Robot. He's a genius. He did action-movie effects that until recently you could do only with a huge budget and complicated technology and teams of people. And he was doing it on his phone.
PLAYBOY: Hollywood is now an app.
ABRAMS: Not completely, but the idea that you can put in a missile attack or a car crash or whatever using this—it's all in fun. The point is, we've gone from Super 8 films, being limited to that frame, editing by hand, visual effects being zero—basically nothing unless you did back-winding on the film, and you were lucky if it worked—to literally making movies with an iPhone. So the question becomes, What are you going to do, since you can now do everything?
PLAYBOY: Do you think we'll still be going to the movies in 25 years?
ABRAMS: I do. We have a house in Maine, and when we go to movies there, the theaters have the worst projection and sound quality you could imagine. So places like that will need to improve the sound and quality of the screen to justify the experience. I've said before that 3-D isn't necessarily the answer. The best movies I've seen are so much more dimensional than 3-D. Having said that, I've seen some new 3-D technology that is impressive and could be fun. But like anything, doing it well is hard. To me, if every movie I got to do from this point on was not 3-D I'd be thrilled. Either way, I'm a big believer in the communal experience of seeing a movie, and that's not going away. It goes back to the very first storytellers around a campfire. The truth is, we need that campfire experience now more than ever. People need things to do beyond looking at their phones or Twitter or Facebook.
PLAYBOY: Do you track what people say about you online?
ABRAMS: A little. With Star Wars I glanced at some things here and there just to make sure I wasn't getting my ass kicked, and the response was kinder than I expected, which was nice. It's a funny thing. I feel very analog as a human being, which is of course ironic because I love editing, sound design and visual effects.
PLAYBOY: Let's talk sequels for a minute. Since you're doing Star Wars, does that put you out of the running to direct the third Star Trek movie?
ABRAMS: No. I would say it's a possibility. We're trying to figure out the next step. But it's like anything: It all begins with the story.
PLAYBOY: What about an Alias movie?
ABRAMS: We discuss it. In the right circumstance and situation I would definitely be open to it.
PLAYBOY: Cloverfield II?
ABRAMS: Part of me just wants to let it go, though we've had a couple of discussions about cool ways to do it. I'm looking forward to seeing Pacific Rim this summer. It feels like there are some really big monsters coming down the pike that could inspire something we do.
PLAYBOY: You're brilliant with reboots. Is there anything else you've thought about remaking? A company perhaps? Maybe a country?
ABRAMS: There was a company called Infocom I actually tried to reboot. People coming out of MIT started it and created these interactive fictional text adventures—really clever stuff, wonderfully packaged. I went to see if I could buy it, but some other dude got it literally the week before. I was also sad to hear that Atari declared bankruptcy. Atari represented the excitement and potential of what video games could be when I was a kid. It had an allure and a sense of future-looking cool.
PLAYBOY: What do you see in your future?
ABRAMS: I know it sounds like bullshit, but I feel so lucky that I've gotten to do everything I've done that nothing immediately comes to mind. The closest thing is travel. I've never been to Israel or India or Africa. I would love to spend more time in Japan, certainly with my family.
PLAYBOY: And professionally?
ABRAMS: Would it be nice to work with Meryl Streep? Yes. Would it be great to work on a movie that was considered an important film as opposed to a big entertainment? Sure, I would love it. But I feel I'm still at an age when a lot of that stuff is within reach. Again, it has to be the right thing at the right time. I'm not good at planning five years in advance, but there's still a lot I want to do before, you know.…
PLAYBOY: Let's say it all ended tomorrow. What would you hope to find in heaven, or the sideways world or whatever you want to call it?
ABRAMS: Well, Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison would be in a huge wrestling match in the corner. Rod Serling would be smoking, writing a screenplay for something we all couldn't wait to read. My grandfather would be around and driving my mom crazy. There's an endless list of actors who would be fun to see in terms of creative people. And there would be a lot of art supplies and maybe paper and some pens in case inspiration struck.
PLAYBOY: You'd still be working in the hereafter?
ABRAMS: If a great idea hits me, yeah, why not?


text:
The Auxiliary Oversight Committee advises the President on matters affecting the University that involve Auxiliary operations. Specifically, the committee reviews and approves policies and guidelines with financial/budget impact, reviews and makes recommendations related to budget submissions, fees and funding requests from reserves. The committee also reviews quarterly performance.
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The Miami Dolphins' push for a taxpayer-supported stadium renovations gained steam in the Florida Legislature on Friday, sidestepping a number of toxic amendments aimed at killing the bill.
The Dolphins, who are asking for as much as $200 million in taxpayer support for the stadium overhaul, shepherded their proposal through its first committee stop in the Florida House, where it passed by a 12-4 vote.
The battery of rogue amendments included a proposal from Rep. Carlos Trujillo, a Miami Republican, to have Broward County help foot the bill for proposed improvements to SunLife Stadium. The bill as originally drafted would require only Miami-Dade County to raise its mainland hotel tax.
Trujillo said Broward had amassed $58 million in revenue in 2010 when the Super Bowl was held in South Florida, while Miami-Dade had collected $40 million.
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"I think it is fair that if some people are going to receive the majority of the benefit, they should at least pay half the tax," Trujillo said.
Broward officials thought otherwise.
"An amendment that would require tourism-development tax dollars in Broward to go to a project outside of the county is something we would traditionally oppose," Broward Legislative Coordinator Nick Matthews said, being careful to note that the delegation had not taken a position on the bill itself.
The House subcommittee on finance and tax agreed and killed the amendment.
The subcommittee also rejected an amendment from Rep. Michael Bileca, a Miami Republican, that would have required Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to return a share of the tax dollars if he were to sell a majority stake of the team.
An amendment offered by Rep. José Javier Rodríguez, a Miami Democrat, failed to get traction, too.
The barrage of so-called "unfriendly" amendments caused tension on the dais, and prompted the bill's sponsor, Rep. Eddy Gonzalez, to accuse his colleagues of acting in bad faith.
The bill did, however, pick up one tweak aimed at improving its chances of passing. That amendment follows the path of the Senate bill, which was changed this week to require Miami-Dade voters to approve the financing plan in a referendum vote.
"Having a referendum on this and letting the voters decide is a good thing," Gonzalez said. "If it doesn't pass, then it's the will of the voters, and I'm good with that."
But even after the referendum clause was accepted, the bill faced tough rhetoric from outspoken opponents of a taxpayer-financed deal, including Miami businessman Norman Braman.
"It's a rip-off for the taxpayers," said Braman, who led the charge to recall former Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez after the county helped finance the new Miami Marlins Ballpark.
Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall rattled off a list of Miami-Dade mayors opposing the proposal.
"I have spoken to almost all of the mayors of Miami-Dade County and they have asked me to share their opposition to this bad bill," MacDougall said. "If Stephen Ross feels these improvements are necessary to keep his team competitive, we believe he should pay for them himself."
The Dolphins are asking for the mainland hotel tax to increase from 6 percent to 7 percent, as well as up to $90 million in sales tax rebates, paid out over 30 years. That would provide up to half the cost of the $400 million renovations of SunLife Stadium.
Friday's contentious vote signaled that the Dolphins may have more trouble getting their bill through the 120-member House than the 40-member Senate, where lawmakers have unanimously supported the bill in two committee votes.
Even if the proposal clears both chambers, several challenges remain.
Gov. Rick Scott, who has indicated he will only sign stadium bills if they meet certain requirements, could veto it.
Additionally, Miami-Dade voters, still sour from the widely panned Marlins stadium deal, could vote against the new tax in a referendum. A recent poll found that 73 percent of likely Miami-Dade voters were against the Dolphins' proposal.
The Dolphins, who have retained powerful lobbyists in Tallahassee, say they have a good shot at success.
"We're confident that if we're able to take this to the voters, in early May, that the facts will prevail," Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said. "And the voters will make the choice that's best for the community."


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By Ed Harris
Saint Dominic School Principal Patricia Tiezzi and Literacy Specialist Noreen Adams recently traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the 30th Anniversary of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Award Ceremony and receive St. Dominic School's National Blue Ribbon Award for Academic Excellence.
"My experience was awesome," said Tiezzi in a release. "We met people from both public schools and private schools from across the country. We were able to network and share concerns and suggestions about the state of education in the United States. We heard from both the 2011 National Principal and Teacher of the Year. They were enthusiastic, energetic, and passionate about children and the need for all educators to do the same."
Saint Dominic School received a National Blue Ribbon School Award from the United States Department of Education in September. The Catholic school was recognized for being an "exemplary high performing" school. This performance category recognizes schools that are among their state's highest performing schools, as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests.
Saint Dominic is one of four Catholic schools in New England to receive the honor this year. Three of the schools are located within the Archdiocese of Hartford and part of Saint Dominic's Catholic school network.
In a past interview with The Observer, Tiezzi said that one of the reasons that Saint Dominic was selected was because of its high test scores. She said the test scores are in the top ten percent in the nation. She credits the test scores to a culture of academic excellence.
In September, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognized 269 schools as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools based on their overall academic excellence or for making progress in improving student academic achievement levels in a press conference earlier this month.
In its 30-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed this coveted award on nearly 7,000 of America's schools.
"Our nation has no greater responsibility than helping all children realize their full potential," Duncan said, according to a statement released at the time. "Schools honored with the National Blue Ribbon Schools award are committed to accelerating student achievement and preparing students for success in college and careers. Their work reflects the conviction that every child has promise and that education is the surest pathway to a strong, secure future."
The National Blue Ribbon Schools award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students' levels of achievement.
The program recognizes schools in one of two performance categories. The first category is "Exemplary High Performing," and the second category is "Exemplary Improving," in which schools that have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds demonstrate the most progress in improving student achievement levels as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests.
To select National Blue Ribbon Schools, the Department requests nominations from the top education official in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) nominates private schools. The Secretary of Education invites nominated schools to submit an application for possible recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School.
"When I was hired at Saint Dominic School the search committee wanted the school to be one of the best in the Archdiocese, six years later it is," Tiezzi said in a release. "Goal accomplished."
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Introduction Karting is best described as an open-wheel sport that involves karts. Depending on the nature of the design, the vehicles can either be karts, go-karts, and shifters. Given the chosen vehicle, the sport involves racing on circuits that have been scaled down. The understanding is that karting creates the foundation for developing into much more competitive and larger sports. When placed in the context of the public, the karts are often limited to 16mph. Such safe speeds are intended to protect the public and competitors from the risk of injury in the event of a collision. History Karting has its history located in Southern California. It was started in the year 1956. It is widely acknowledged that Art Ingles came up with the original ...Read More »
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4 tablespoons golden caster sugar
200g unsalted butter, straight from the fridge, chopped into cubes
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225ml single cream
What a fantastic colour! They make very pretty (and I'm sure very tasty!) little tarts.
I'm with you on creme fraiche. It should not be near sweet things. And mint leaves should not be near anything. Keep them off my plate! Haha.
He he, love your testing guidelines.
They are very pretty and inviting tarts. Glad you had some praline left to use in that tarts :)
Beautiful, really I love them!!
Mint leaves - bleugh! I agree on that - these look amazing and I have never heard of the pink beauties before - an education for me!!
These are so pretty! I've never seen these pink pralines before but I love their colour.
These are gorgeous! I've never had pink pralines and they sure are pricey! I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them soon :)
This is so lovely & I love the color of those pink praline. Beautiful a sweet tart! I've made some cupcakes with pink praline few months ago & it's simply amazing. You've done a great job with this tarts! Have a lovely day! :)
I have never come across pink pralines before. The pink tarts look beautiful.
how sweet are these?! Love them!
Nom! x
These are so very pretty! I can't stop looking at them.
Aaaah! Tarte à la praline! You can't even begin how excited you've made me! Thanks the Cake Crusader! Nathalie, your most enthousiastic lyonnaise fan!
Mmmmmn! These look lovely but I would be a bit hesitant to make them as I do have an issue with some nuts :-( I would be willing to be a tester for you to see if I am ok with these!
As for your chocolate and stout cupcakes - I got 12/10 for them from Hubby so thank you muchly. Not sure the wii approves of them though!
I've been desperate to have a go with pink pralies since I saw the Hairy Bikers use them.
Your little tarts look wonderful !
Can I ask you where you managed to obtain the pralines .... pretty please ?
I have never heard of oink pralines before - so I learned something new today. These tarts look pinkly delicious.
Whoops - sorry - pink pralines, not oink pralines.
Pretty in Pink! These look delightful. It's amazing what you learn. I lived in Lyon for 6 months and never ever had a pink praline tart - oh how I regret that!
Wouahh they're look gorgeous. You know you can do your own praline.Trust me it's easy,fast and cheapest
From a french girl.
Wow, I've never heard of pink praline before. These look gorgeous though - I love the vibrant colour. Am intrigued now and would love to try them! :)
How intriguing...I've never tried pink praline but I'd love to try one of your tarts!!! I saw something on the Hairy Bikers Bakeation recently...yours look perfect!!! :-)
Hello? These tiny tarts look wonderful. I love small bites and these should be guests at my next party!
I Will be trying right now so you dont cook the pie actually you just place it on the refregirator interesting cant wait to see thé result !
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Frontline - Growing Up Online [Documentary Bout Teens On The Internet]
PBS presents Frontline: "Growing Up Online" . Released On January of 2008&IP=22.214.171.124
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You've heard the story about America's retirement crisis.
Young people don't save enough. Older people have to work longer. Public pension benefits are always on the verge of being slashed, and Social Security's future is anyone's guess. No one trusts the stock market, but keeping assets in a savings account generates the same return as keeping them under a mattress.
The retirement picture is alarming at best. And now it has come to this: In its annual retirement study of middle-income Americans (income of $25,000 to $100,000), Wells Fargo asked participants if they expect to work until they die.


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Review: Alberta Premium Canadian Whisky
Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 5, 2012
Alberta Premium is the flagship whisky of Alberta Distillers Limited (ADL). The whisky is one of the few 100 % rye grain whiskies in the world. In fact, according to Davin de Kergommeaux, of Canadian Whisky, ADL produces more 100% rye whisky than every other distillery in North America combined! This makes the people at ADL, perhaps the world's most renowned experts on rye whisky.
This also means that Alberta Premium, the flagship whisky from the distillery renowned for its rye whisky, must be pretty good. And in fact, Jim Murray, one of the world's most renowned whisky critics, not only thinks this whisky is good, he thinks it is great! For years he has extolled the virtues of the Alberta Premium in his Whisky Bible even naming it the best Canadian Whisky in 2006, 2007, and 2009. (The year that is missing, 2008 was the year that Alberta Premium 25 Year Old won the award.)
Of course this is my website, and although I respect the opinions of others, it is my opinion that is presented. And for my opinion, you must follow the link to my review:
Here is an excerpt:
"…The initial nose from the glass is of a fruit-filled rye with very obvious notes of vanilla. There is a presence of oak and a touch of citrus zest in the background. As the whisky decants the fruit gains momentum as does the oak, and I also begin to sense a light touch of almond in the breezes…."
The full review my be read here:
Review: Alberta Premium Canadian Whisky
Please enjoy the review, and remember that the aim of my website is to help you choose better spirits, not to help you drink more spirits!
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text:
Internet Law Library
"Oman Human Rights Practices, 1995" U.S. State Department
"Summary of Oman Trademark Law" by Nasser & Nasser & Associates
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text: The Akro-Mils 19320-Yellow 19-Series 20 Drawer Modular Steel Storage Cabinet provides a heavy-duty welded steel frame for strength, a chip-proof durable powder-coated finish, built-in nesting feet for stable stacking, and four keyhole slots for easy wall mounting. The cabinet also has strong high-impact polystyrene drawers, which are rust-, corrosion-, and dent-proof. Each drawer allows for it to be divided up to 8 times and features a unique rear stop tab on each drawer, which prevents spills and lost materials. The drawers have a molded-in label holder and transparent window to allow for content identification.


text:
|Find the best surf spots
|Video 1 of 1
It's not the right surf spot? Hoax? Copyright Infringement? Tell us !
Title : A Nice Big Wave At Dungeons 2013 - A Nice Ride Through Cold Shark Infested Waters
Description : Dungeons: (My experience) A very dangerous spot in a very threatening area. The spot itself sits near a crowd of whining seals just waiting to be devoured by a group of great whites. This is Shark Territory. This spot is known for big waves, sharks, and very cold water. I have to say this is easily more dangerous and deadlier than mavericks will ever be. This Spot is almost ALWAYS choppy due to the extreme winds. When it's big and not windy, that's probably the BEST time to go but it's very rare. Song: Gris by Doug Sparling Check out his music: http://pxlpl.us/igs6 Download on ITunes FOR FREE: http://pxlpl.us/dixo Wannasurf (Dungeons): http://pxlpl.us/4bto Surfline (Dungeons): http://pxlpl.us/2b8d FREE Movies & TV Shows: http://pxlpl.us/w9qn More Epic Footage On The Way.
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Rating : 5.00
Duration : 00:00:21
Video submitted by ELITE (22-06-2013)
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text: Nestled in between the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains lies a serene treasure that is Buncombe County. We have been here for more than 200 years and are named after Col. Edward Buncombe, a Revolutionary War hero. Over the years, we have transformed ourselves from a rural farming area to a burgeoning metropolis with cities frequently listed as "Top Ten" places to live. We are home to numerous parks, lakes, streams, and other outdoor attractions as well as neighborhoods and communities rich with culture. Your stay will be memorable, your life enriched with memories to last a lifetime. Buncombe County Government is Your Government Local government is the closest government to the people. It is made up of neighbors who are here to help neighbors by bringing the highest quality of life to the community. Buncombe County has an average of 1,400 employees who serve as firemen, sheriff deputies, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, librarians, emergency medical workers, permits and inspections, landfill workers, agriculture extension agents, naturalists, lifeguards, planners, tax assessors and administrators all working to insure the high quality of life we have all come to enjoy.


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Android 4.2 may be Google's newest mobile operating system update, but new doesn't always mean perfect. The latest iteration of Jelly Bean has reportedly caused issues with Google Voice, but the search giant has already issued a fix.
Within 24 hours of its release, Google launched an update for the operating system that fixed inaccuracies with Google Voice. The app has experienced problems ever since the fresh, treat-themed upgrade launched alongside Google's new Nexus 4 handset and Nexus 10 tablet. Some complaints said that the bug would Force Close a text message if you tried to add a new contact at the same time. This text messaging glitch appears to be the most significant issue, but the update is believed to address any and all compatibility problems between Android 4.2 and Google Voice.
Luckily, the majority of Android users have probably never even encountered this inconvenience. Android 4.2 is only currently available for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the LG Nexus 4, which means that the bug has only affected a small number of Android users. The updated operating system will also ship with the Nexus 10 tablet that debuted on Tuesday and almost instantly sold out in the U.S. and UK within minutes (though we don't know how many sales it took to sell out).
Android 4.2, initially believed to be called Key Lime Pie, represents the next major software upgrade for Android devices. Google introduced the previous edition of Jelly Bean, Android 4.1, at its I/O conference in June along with its Nexus 7 tablet. The search engine giant emphasized the "buttery smooth" interface that users would experience with Jelly Bean, and its new iteration promises the same.
The update boasts new features such as the ability to open multiple windows and apps simultaneously and Android Beam integration. This is Google's term for its Near-Field Communication (NFC) capability, which lets users share photos, YouTube videos and other content by touching Android devices back-to-back. One of the most noteworthy additions is the new Photo Sphere camera, which takes snapshots in various directions and stitches them together to form one big picture.
While this may seem exciting, it could take a while for the update to completely roll out. Google recently announced that the Nexus S and Motorola Xoom will not be getting Android 4.2, and data collected by the company shows that Android 4.1 is still barely present on most devices.


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Presenting to you an AWESOME PACK of 3 Signage Displays perfect for your business venture. Each banner is uniquely designed and is sure to attract crowds and generate traffic to your business.
These banners are suitable for all types of businesses.
- 3 fully layered psd files
- Size – 30×70 inches
- 100% editable (each element sits on it's own layer)
- Photo Option – Easily add your photos
- Organized & well named layers
- Professional & Creative Design
Free Fonts used are listed in the help file
Photos in the preview image are used for display purposes and are not included in the main download file.
Stock Photo Credits
- http://photodune.net/item/spa-outdoor-stone-massage/1333746
- http://photodune.net/item/steak-beef/2608414
- http://photodune.net/item/group-with-weight-training-equipment-on-sport-gym/1445552
- http://photodune.net/item/completing-personal-fitness-plan-with-trainer/2258973


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Mediatica S.p.A. is the technological partner specialized in the delivery of solutions and services within IT field, document management and, more generally in Business Process Outsourcing. Thanks to the high level of specialization and to its widespread presence on the national territory, Mediatica introduces itself not only as a solid partner but also as a flexible and competitive one. The proposed solutions are designed for the medium/large business and for the Public Administration that require high levels of customization. Our customer portfolio includes leading companies in energy sector, multinational ones, public sector enterprises, government agencies, etc.
The very new Campus in Lecce area, holds more than 300 specialists which are available to provide software solutions and to deliver support services for an amount of millions of documents managed by them each year. All the processes fulfill the stringent requirements imposed by Corporate Quality System which is certified ISO 9001.
From an over 2 years research project, the "Digital Agency" was born, a powerful framework of the last generation about Alfresco technology that is able to cover the more specific needs of:
- document management & protocol
- workflow & collaboration
- mailroom
- document legal conservation
- OCR & data extraction/manipulation
and to allow sophisticated customizations by means of modest investments and reduced time to market.


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Rock Star
Linda S. Smith 9/19/2012 10:43:25 PMHe's Gorgeous!!! What a great capture Peggy and I love the texture! #1487326
Kay E. Mahoney 9/20/2012 3:35:22 PMNice capture, Peggy. Beautiful horse. #10330905
Nikki McDonald 9/20/2012 6:47:00 PMGot a favorite from me, Peggy. Beautiful horse, the presentation is excellent. #10331082
Amanda D. Austwick 10/28/2012 7:49:03 PMI Love horses, and this one is magnificent! Good luck. I love the title that goes with his long gorgeous mane, and it is so well captured. #10388762
Sherran Andersen 10/28/2012 9:33:33 PMCongrats Peggy. Beautiful horse indeed... I need to take a lesson in textures from you one day. #10388866
Nancy Marie Ricketts 10/28/2012 11:04:44 PMWow!! You have been a busy woman! This is a gorgeous animal, and an very deserving Finalist! Good luck in the next round-I have no doubt! #10389008
Lyn Darlington 10/29/2012 4:06:04 AMBeautiful! Congrats on your finalist! #10389506
Kimber Wallwork-Heineman 10/29/2012 9:32:56 AMBeautiful, gorgeous, wonderful - Congrats! #10390801
Mariann Kovats 10/29/2012 10:22:36 PMCongratulations, Peggy! This is a fantastic finalist! I really hope we'll see this again! #10393674
Rona L. Schwarz 10/30/2012 3:46:13 PMWOW! Love this, Peggy! Fantastic textures! Beautiful presentation! HUGE CONGRATULATIONS ON THE GOLD WINNER!! #10395588
R. J. Laudenbacher 10/30/2012 7:53:57 PMSo beautiful, Peggy. A big congrats to you on your win. #10396277
Peggy Kahan 10/30/2012 8:16:18 PMThanks so much, everyone. He was a gorgeous animal, fun to shoot and even more fun to add textures to! #10396336
Beatriz Rocha 10/31/2012 6:40:53 AMSuch a great image Peggy, congratulations!! #10396992
JudyAnn Rector 10/31/2012 4:52:16 PMOutstanding image, Peggy...
Merna L. Nobile 11/4/2012 10:21:27 AM
Receiving an award from Better Photo is just like unwrapping a gift, the thrill is always the same! It is also exciting to be able to send my personal congratulations to each and every one of you and I look forward to seeing the gold though out the galleries. Merna
JO ANN CLEVELAND 11/6/2012 8:41:36 AMBig congratulations on your awesome 2nd Place Gold Winner Peggy...
Linda S. Smith 11/15/2012 1:19:23 AMHUGE Congrats on your Gold Win Peggy! Well deserved! #10419301
Nancy Marie Ricketts 11/30/2012 9:45:31 AMCongratulations on you Beautiful GOLD win, Peggy! #10441644
The owner of this stallion had just unbraided his mane so that it fell in beautiful waves around his head. He reminded us of a rock singer acknowledging his adoring fans. Texture by Shadowhouse Creations.
Uploaded on 9/19/2012 10:24:50 PM
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Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, the liturgical season during which all Catholics are obliged to go to confession.
I used to find this requirement rather perplexing. One ought to go to confession whenever one has committed a mortal sin, of course, but why must one go once a year, no matter what? Since most of us commit enough sins to necessitate confession multiple times per year, this is less a practical question than a theoretical one. What is it about confession that mandates it happen more than once?
I think part of my confusion stemmed from thinking about confession the same way I thought about baptism–as marking a complete break with one's previous life. This is, I think, what baptism offers: a second chance, an opportunity to start fresh. And second chances are easy to comprehend. They tell a clear story–"I was a pagan, now I am a Christian."
But third, fourth, fifth, tenth, hundredth, chances are harder to make sense of. And this is where my problem with confession lay. If every time one goes to confession, one is wiped clean, how can one have any coherent sense of identity? One can only be baptized once. To be baptized a second time is to say that the first baptism wasn't sufficient, that it was a false baptism. Similarly, it seems, confessing a sin that one has confessed before negates those previous confessions, makes them false. To be wiped clean once is to tell a story, "I was a pagan, I am now a Christian," but what is it to be wiped clean over and over, other than to say, "I am nobody, and every time I start to become somebody, I must erase that new identity"?
That was my old (subconscious) understanding of the sacrament. But the Lenten requirement got me thinking. If confession must happen every year, it is in a sense always happening. How could something that changes who one is be always happening? Only if it marked not a reversal, but an adjustment. It is more akin to the (continual) fires of purgatory than the (one-time) waters of baptism.
This is, of course, an obvious truth; but it is one that because it is obvious is easy to ignore. Once I realized it, I understood much more clearly the sacramental nature of confession: it mediates between the present and the eternal. It is, in a way, more sacramental than baptism even. Baptism, as a one-time event, can be used by any being whose life could be divided in two. Confession can be used only by being whose lives are not just "before" and "after," but who exist truly in time, progressing gradually along the path to salvation.


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Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay
Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay
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|Keauhou, Hawaii


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A European friend of ours had one of these as a teenager on the French Riviera. And in his inimitable style, he painted a Flying Tigers-style shark's mouth on the front frenders to ward off any encroaching Nissan Micras. He eventually cracked the thing up in a wreck with an old lady, but to this day he still raves about the car's handling. We dig the one pictured here. More cars need to rock the flat-black hood and '70s-style Cibie driving lights. That look's coming back, mark our words.
Autobianchi Abarth [Gentry Lane]
Fiat 500 Updated With Interactive Doo-Dads [Internal]


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Sorry, I'm a little bit in remiss in that I didn't post this link up earlier, but here's a link to the AAMC article on the field of anesthesiology, for which I was interviewed along with a number of much more distinguished and accomplished colleagues. If you're interested in the field of anesthesiology, either as a potential career or if you just want to know what exactly it is we do all day, check it out.
An excerpt:
"Anesthesia is hands-on, fast-paced, and has tremendous capability to make a positive impact on our patients' lives as anything else we do in the hospital," says Dr. Au. "In my opinion, it's one of the most interesting, most exciting fields in medicine, and I firmly believe I have the best job in the world."
I've said it before and I'll say it again here because it's appropriate: it's a difficult juggle to balance work and family, but it's all the more difficult because I do indeed love my job. If I didn't love what I did at the hospital as much as I love what I do at home, my choices would perhaps be easier, though maybe not as satisfying. So really, in the end we should be grateful for the difficult choices, and the chances we have to make them.
(And on an unrelated note: the above photo panel is from pictures I took with my phone during residency--isn't it amazing to see how far cell phone photography has come? Wow! The future! hovercrafts that fold up into briefcases! And etcetera!)


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9-12mm Purple Fireplace and Firepit Eco Glass
9-12mm Purple Fireplace and Firepit Eco Glass Material:Recycled Glass Color:Purple Size:9-12mm,other size is available as per requirement Shape:Irregular Odor:None Advantage:Very dry, clean, no impurity Application:Fire pit,fireplace,and fire bowl. Certificate:ISO 9001:2008 Purple Eco Fire Glass...
Product Details
9-12mm Purple Fireplace and Firepit Eco Glass
Material:Recycled Glass
Size:9-12mm,other size is available as per requirement
Advantage:Very dry, clean, no impurity
Application:Fire pit,fireplace,and fire bowl.
Certificate:ISO 9001:2008
Purple Eco Fire Glass is always used for fire pit. It is the most beautiful and popular on the market. 9-12 mm is the most popular size for fire pit. We also can provide other sizes as your request. Other advantages of Purple Eco Fire Glass that they won't fade,easy to cleaning and very cost effective. It also can use in some wall and other decoration.
1.Fire Glass vs. Gas Logs & Lava Rocks
Fire Glass usually produces more heat than gas logs. The reason being that the Fire Glass heats up and then reflects the heat back into the room, thus improving the overall heat. You get the heat coming off of the fire as well as the soothing heat from the Fire Glass rocks and or stones.
The same principle goes for fire pits. By changing out old lava rock with Fire Glass, not only does the fire pit burn more efficiently but it also gives off much more heat.
2.What do I need to use Fire Glass?
Fire Glass must be used with a natural gas or propane burning fireplace or fire pit.
3.What size is your glass?
We stock both 1/4″ and 1/2″ Fire Glass in a array of colors. The Firebeads and Liquid Glass are are approximately the width of a nickel. The Eco-Glass is about the size of a jelly bean and almost looks like one but, don't eat it.
4.Is the Quality of all Fire Glass the Same?
As with any product, quality is never the same and "you get what you pay for." As crazy as it sounds, not all broken glass is the same. There is cheaper glass on the market today that may be impure which can melt, crack, discolor, or pop out of your fireplace. It may also have sharp edges which make handling it very uncomfortable or even dangerous.
We offer the best brands of Fire Glass . Our glass is heat tempered to withstand extremely high temperatures. The broken glass is tumbled and polished to remove the sharp edges and is heat tempered to withstand extremely high temperatures. Our glass is guaranteed not to fade, melt, crack, or pop.
5.Does the Fire Glass ever burn or discolor?
Our Fire Glass is designed to withstand the high heat put out by a fire pit or fireplace. Our Fire Glass does not melt or give off any harmful fumes or smoke.
6.How do I choose a color, and does the flame match the color of the glass?
The flame is always the same, only being complemented by the sparkling Fire Glass. The color selection is completely up to the customer. We like to see contrast between the Fire Glass and the fire pit or fireplace its going in. If your fire pit is made of brown stone, try going with a color that will stand out instead of blending in. Feel free to contact us anytime if you need help deciding.
7.Can I mix Fire Glass colors?
Yes. Our customers are creative and we love that about them. You can mix as many colors as you want. If you have an idea for colors that you'd like to see mixed together, contact us and we'll send you a picture of your custom Fire Glass mixture. We also sell our own pre-mixed Fire Glass colors. No matter the situation, we have the right Fire Glass for you!
We are one of the leading Fireplace Eco Glass manufacturers and suppliers in China. If you are interested in our 9-12mm purple fireplace and firepit eco glass, welcome to buy the quality glass products made in China from our factory. Cheap and low price and excellent service are available.
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I am this week at a Sustainable Development retreat sponsored by the World Bank's Sustainable Development Network and run by the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainable Leadership.
The focus is on environmental sustainability. So far, we've heard many speakers from diverse backgrounds. It was fascinating to see how everyone used the need to avoid environmental degradation (including climate change) to strengthen their core business.
"Green geeks" in advocacy groups see the threat to the planet as a trigger to change economic paradigms. Businesses see sustainable development as an effective marketing campaign to improve their bottom lines. Urban planners plan on changing the world by innovating cities.
Although it might seem like it, these are not selfish approaches to big global problems.
Sustainability isn't something outside of what people are already doing; but it requires that everybody takes new constraints into account in their core businesses. They use their comparative advantages, let incentives unleash innovation, and come up with creative solutions.
That realization is important for the World Bank. There is no contradiction between our core objectives (alleviating poverty through fast development) and sustainability.
Fast development creates the dynamics, the technology, and the income to find solutions required for sustainability.
The fastest growing countries are coming up with the most advanced ways of saving energy at the moment. China is experimenting with clean transport systems, and Indian IT companies are tracking their impact on the environment. The fast growing parts of the developing world are most concerned about sustainability, because they want to ensure that their development path can continue into the next decades. Once externalities are better priced, then the rate of innovations will only speed up further.
To answer my title question: There is no real development without sustainability, and there is no sustainability without development. It's like asking, are sports cars fast?
I'll end this postcard from this beautiful English town with this week's highlight: a visit to the British Antarctic Survey, where scientists showed us ice columns about 3km long that gives them a look at 800,000 years of climate history. Together with the aquarium (where they keep fish that live in the Antarctic seas, living a much slower life than tropical fish) this is a fascinating place to visit if you have the opportunity.


text: Home / Products / Braelyn 1 Light Wall Sconce in Chrome Larger View Rollover to Zoom Close Visualize Kichler lighting and Sherwin-Williams paint all in one tool. Today's homeowners have seemingly unlimited options when it comes to colors and finishes. With so many possibilities it can be daunting to find just the right match. Not any more. Match your lighting and your wall color with our intuitive visualization tools. Choose your Sherwin-Williams Color Family Color palette belongs to Sherwin-Williams, a registered trademark of the Sherwin-Williams Company. © 2013 Sherwin-Williams Company. All rights reserved. Other Kichler Products Products in the same collection 43057CLP43059CLP43060CLP43058CLP43058OZ43057OZ43059OZView all products in this collection Braelyn CollectionBraelyn 1 Light Wall Sconce in Chrome 45457CH (Chrome) bvseo_sdk, net_sdk, 188.8.131.52 CLOUD, getAggregateRating, 16ms REVIEWS, PRODUCT bvseo-msg: The resource to the URL or file is currently unavailable.; Product Description: There's so much to love about the style of this 1 light wall sconce from the Braelyn™ collection. The vintage industrial design is punctuated with Clear Seedy Glass shades, reminiscent of glass jars that were a staple of 19th century American life. The Polished Chrome finish and carbon filament replica light bulbs enhance this style, making the fixture the perfect addition to any space. Available Finishes Shop, Buy or Order Locally Submit Lighting Showroom Landscape Lighting Distributor Electrical Distributor Available online at these fine retailers! Technical Information Weight:2.70 LBSSafety Rated:DampHCWO:6.00"Base Backplate:5.00 DIAMax Wattage/Range:60WCollection:Braelyn CollectionWidth:5.00"Height:9.50"Lamp Included:Not IncludedDiffuser Description:Clear SeededExtension:5.75"Voltage:120VCFL Bulb Type:HYBRID (13-15W)Light Source:IncandescentSocket Base:MediumNumber of Bulbs:1Lamp Type:A19Max Watt:60 W# of Bulbs/LED Modules:1Finish:Chrome Related Documents:Instruction Sheet 45457-CBDownloadInstruction Sheet 45457-USDownloadHigh Res Images 45457DownloadSpec SheetDownload bvseo_sdk, net_sdk, 18.104.22.168 CLOUD, getReviews, 0ms REVIEWS, PRODUCT bvseo-msg: The resource to the URL or file is currently unavailable.;


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University of Chicago Press, 1966 - Social Science - 372 pages
The Negro Family in the United States, was hailed as a highly important contribution to the intimate history of the people of the United States. It was the first comprehensive study of the family life of African Americans, beginning with colonial-era slavery, extending through the years of slavery and emancipation, to the impact of Jim Crow and migrations to both southern and northern cities in the twentieth century. Frazier discussed all the themes that have concerned subsequent students of the African American family, including matriarchy and patriarchy, the impact of slavery on family solidarity and personal identity, the impact of long-term poverty and lack of access to education, migration and rootlessness, and the relationship between family and community. Frazier insisted that the characteristics of the family were shaped not by race, but by social conditions.
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African ancestry areas association attitude became become behavior Birmingham births blood born brother Carolina cent Charleston Chicago child church Civil concerning County court culture daughter delinquency desertion disorganization divorce economic emancipation employed fact farm father free colored free Negroes girls Gouldtown grandmother Harlem Hertford County husband illegitimacy illegitimate increase Indian juvenile delinquency labor large number living marriage married master master race migrants moral mulatto families Negro college Negro community Negro families Negro middle class Negro population Negro world never North North Carolina northern cities number of Negro occupational classes old families organization parents persons plantation proportion race racial regard relations rural sexual sister slave slavery social South southern status tion told took traditions unmarried mothers urban environment Virginia W. E. B. Du Bois Washington wife wives woman York City zone


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vintage knit
topshop fur
topshop pants
ann demeulemeester boots
photos by tasha
photos by tasha
A little break from fashion week photos with some taken in paris a few weeks back.. I've been wearing these boots almost every day... never knew I needed them so bad until I picked up this one pair in a parisian vintage shop.. fitted like a glove and the nice lady in the shop said a lot of things in french that I didn't understand but she smiled a lot and occasionally applauded. I guess it would have been out of place to walk out empty handed. The real reason being I knew I would have regretted it if I didn't go for it and in my head I was already making excuses like 'they found you... it's meant to be.. you always wanted these..' I could go on forever but you get the point.
ps. happy birthday sister, I miss you
ps. happy birthday sister, I miss you


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Family Law is an all-encompassing term that is used to define many facets of the law as it affects the family. Family Law commonly includes matters related to divorce, child custody, child visitation, child support, paternity, community property, legal separation, prenuptial agreements, annulments, paternity, spousal support, registered domestic partnerships (as provided for by the state legislature), and post marital dissolution matters.
Crimson Law Group, a Newport Beach / Orange County Family law firm with a family law attorney, recognizes the unique nature of each of our clients' legal needs and we enjoy helping our clients through a transition into a new and better phase of their lives. As a Newport Beach law firm, we provide a comprehensive range of family law services to people throughout the Orange County region, including but not limited to:
- Divorce / Legal Separations/Annulments
We know that divorce is not an easy thing to go through. What we also know is that divorce doesn't have to be about despair. It can be about dignity and the potential for a better tomorrow. The experience you have oftentimes depends in large part on the attorney you choose to represent you.
We represent individuals in divorce and divorce-related issues such as custody, alimony, child support, property division, and more. In addition, we offer our clients the cost-effective, time-saving, and less stressful alternative approaches of divorce mediation and collaborative law. We favor a positive approach designed to achieve the goals of our clients without the need for litigation. Of course, not every case can be resolved this way.
Many clients fear or dread the litigation process, but it does not need to be this way. Oftentimes all a client needs is accurate information. We understand that how a case is litigated can have a dramatic impact on what follows after, and we always advise you accordingly.
- Child Custody / Visitation
California's standards for resolving custody issues are somewhat fluid and can vary depending upon the age and specific needs of the child. In general, however, the court places a premium on maintaining stability and keeping the child's life as change-free as possible. What this often translates into is the presumption that whatever custodial arrangements have prevailed for the last six months should continue unless there are valid reasons for changing them.
This is an important thing to consider if you are thinking about divorce and have children. Crimson Law Group, an Orange County Family law firm, can advise you on ways to improve your position with the court when considering the well-being of your child. However, because the results of litigation and mandatory psychological evaluations in custody cases are unpredictable, we also explain what the alternatives to litigation are, and the chances for a successful outcome that each legal option entails.
- Property Division
We represent spouses and registered domestic partners throughout the Orange County and Newport Beach region in divorce and dissolution, and in the separation of community and non-community property.
California is a community property state. This means that any property acquired during the marriage will be divided equally between the spouses. However, because what each person brings into a marriage naturally tends to become co-mingled with marital assets over time, it is important to take great care in analyzing each client's unique situation in detail. It must be done right the first time.
- Termination of Parental Rights / Step-Parent Adoption
- Adoption
- Guardianship / Grandparent's Rights
- Paternity Matters
- Registered Domestic Partnerships
- Domestic Violence / Restraining Orders
- Child & Spousal Support
Our practice encompasses many fields of the law including: Business Litigation, Bankruptcy, Workers' Compensation, Real Estate Litigation, Civil Rights Litigation, Entertainment Law, Transactional Law, Family Law (focusing on Child Custody and Divorce issues), Employment Law, and Criminal Defense (focusing on DUI representation). Particularly, Crimson Law Group's Newport Beach Workers' Compensation practice is becoming well known throughout Orange County for its aggressive representation and no-budge attitude.
Crimson Law Group represents clients from all across Orange County and Southern California (CA). Some of the cities Crimson Law Group services are as follows: Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, La Habra, Lake Forest, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, and Yorba Linda.
California Disclaimer: The Newport Beach Divorce law firm, Newport Beach Family law attorney, Newport Beach Child Custody lawyer, Orange County Family law firm, Orange County Divorce attorney, Orange County Family lawyer, Orange County Child Custody law firm, Child Custody law firm, Family attorney, Divorce lawyer, Newport Beach Personal Injury lawyer, Orange County Personal Injury law firm, Personal Injury attorney is located in California. This web site is not intended to solicit clients for matters outside of the state of California.


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Thursday, 2 February 2012
Wild Oats
A very nice day - after the torrential rain yesterday. of course, now we have to be aware of what is under the dusting of snow. Hidden. Every time either Michael or I go outside, or someone arrives, we shout, 'Watch for ice!'
The rain yesterday has frozen - and now the snow just hides it. Very sneaky, these Canadian winters. And I suspect winters elsewhere in the northern hemisphere. But I still wouldn't trade it for anything....though....well...
We are off to the caribbean on Saturday!!! Two weeks. We found a place with a private cottage on the beach - the rooms have no TV, no radio, no clocks even. Ahhhh. My Assistant Lise, when I get stressed, keeps sending me photos of our little cottage. Just seeing it relaxes me.
So now we're getting prepared. Small crisis when Michael realized the Superbowl is sunday, and this resort doesn't seem to have a television anywhere. He was a little embarrassed (after a month scolding me for even considering taking my laptop and making me promise to leave it and the blackberry behind) to suggest that maybe the laptop wasn't such a bad idea.
So - fingers crossed (I guess) that we can find it live on the internet. I actually really like football too, so it's no hardship.
We're packing...had to find our carry-on - which I finally did, in the basement, covered in dust and cobwebs. As well, I've spent some of today not only doing the laundry but sewing the cuffs of Michael's slacks. (Now, sewing means sticking seeds in, right?)
We will definitely be the 'lower orders' at this resort....Jed and Granny Clampet, trailing cobwebs and oat seeds. At least we'll be guaranteed our privacy. The cranks on the beach.
Pat and Tony arriving tomorrow, to move in and housesit Trudy, with their dogs, so we can go in to Montreal a day early. I desperately need a haircut....was a little tempted to take the pinking shears to it today, but decided that was a whacko step too far, even for the Clampets.
Have to say, I'm loving sitting here watching the birds on the feeder. Mesmerizing.
Oh, I also wanted to tell you that we have a released date for THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY! It will be out August 28th - and is available to pre-order now. If you haven't already signed up for my free newsletter, you might consider it since we're holding a series of draws each month for advance copies of THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY.
Since we're taking the laptop I might blog once from our little cottage....just to say hi. It's nice to keep in touch.
6 comments:
- Mary said...
Enjoy..Although I don't think I could do two weeks...that is a sad thing :-)
- 2 February 2012 at 13:22
- Linda said...
"...a private cottage on the beach." Well, I don't think it gets any better than that. Have a wonderful time! I'll miss the almost daily blogs, but will try not to be so needy ~ you deserve a break!
(Go Pats!!)
- 2 February 2012 at 16:26
Ahhh! The new book!! Have a wonderful time on your vacation.
Karen L.
- 3 February 2012 at 06:42
Have a fantastic, relaxing, time in the cottage on the beach. I, also, will miss your blogs. I imagine the hardest part will be being away from Trudy for that period of time. So glad you won't miss the Super Bowl. (Go Pats!)
- 3 February 2012 at 08:21
- lil Gluckstern said...
Have a wonderful time. Hope everything cooperates to make your restful, and stress free.
- 3 February 2012 at 11:15
Hi Louise...Punxsutawney Phil saw his shawdow so you all might as well stay down there an extra week. Glad The Beautiful Mystery has a release date. I'm looking forward to it one great day at a time.
- 5 February 2012 at 09:11


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Justice Department to Respond to Romeike
Sixth Circuit Orders Justice Department to Respond to Romeike Rehearing
On Wednesday, June 12, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered the Department of Justice to respond to the Home School Legal Defense Association's request to have the case reheard by the entire Sixth Circuit, en banc, encouraging the Romeike legal team that the Circuit is considering rehearing the case.
James R. Mason, HSLDA's Director of Litigation noted that, while there is no guarantee of success, the order from the Court was a step in the right direction.
"Most requests for en banc rehearing are summarily denied without any further action," he said. "Here, the Court has requested that the Justice Department respond, indicating that the Court is taking our petition seriously."
HSLDA filed its request for rehearing on May 29, arguing that the three-judge Sixth Circuit panel that heard the case on April 23 failed to correctly apply its own cases to the Romeikes' situation. Michael Farris, founder and chairman of HSLDA, who is leading the effort on behalf of the Romeikes, hopes the Sixth Circuit will take up the case.
"The Sixth Circuit should take this case en banc," he said. "The opinion of the three-judge panel ignored important evidence, muddled the law, and, most importantly, missed the opportunity to defend a quintessential American value—the freedom for parents to educate their children. Germany prohibits this behavior, and America should be a refuge for those who seek this freedom."
The Romeikes, who fled from Germany to the United States to legally homeschool, are hopeful that a rehearing might result in a better outcome for their family. Michael Donnelly, HSLDA's Director of International Affairs who works with persecuted homeschoolers worldwide, echoed Farris's sentiments.
"Germany persecutes homeschoolers," Donnelly said. "Exorbitant fines, custody threats, and imprisonment over homeschooling should be seen for what it is—persecution. It is unconscionable for the Sixth Circuit to ignore black and white edicts from the German Supreme Court explicitly condoning this behavior. Germany's countrywide federal and state policies that essentially ban home education should not be accepted as complying with basic human rights standards."
In addition to representing the family in court, HSLDA created a petition that has over 125,000 signatures on the White House website demanding permanent legal status for the Romeikes. The Romeike family also received congressional support when 27 congressmen sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting asylum for the family. The Justice Department has until June 26 to respond to the petition for rehearing.
Home School Legal Defense Association is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms.