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October 24, 2006
It's not one of Wabash College's oldest traditions but it might be one of the more interesting academic pursuits outside the traditional classroom. The annual Moot Court competition was held Tuesday in Salter Hall, sponsored by the Rhetoric Department and Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men.
Senior Jim Stephens, a history major from Batesville, Ind., was named top advocate by the judges' panel concluding oral arguments on the constitutionality of opening session prayer in a state House of Representatives.
There are few undergraduate Moot Court programs in the country. Wabash's program was established in 1995 and annually brings together Wabash alums who make their living as lawyers. This year 17 graduates now practicing law acted as judges during the preliminary rounds. Twenty-nine Wabash students entered the competition.
The finalists were Nicholas Maraman '10, Daniel Carraway '07, 2004 winner Steven Rhodes '07, and Stephens.
"Considering you have no law school training - you've had the case for less than a month, you did a great job," the panel's chief justice Honorable Thomas Fisher said. Fisher is a member of the Indiana Tax Court.
Shelby County Superior Court Judge Jack Tandy '79 noted there was no Moot Court when he attended Wabash and expressed doubts he could have stayed on topic as well as the four finalists did during their presentations. "These are tough issues," he said. "These are difficult for trained lawyers to understand."
The Honorable William Lawrence, Magistrate for the Southern District of Indiana, noted the students' passion in their arguments. "I was struck by the poise of all four students who were under fire," he praised. "I would have melted into the floor boards when I was 18. I was just very impressed."
It's Moot Court tradition to have a Wabash administrator or faculty member join the panel. New President Patrick White took a seat along side the judges this year. "This was tough and not only did you have grace under pressure that I expected to see, but you showed critical thinking and a real seriousness in your focus," the president told the four finalists.
At the conclusion of the panelists remarks, Fisher announced Stephens the winner.
"It means a lot to win this," Stephens said. "I've been dealing with Constitutional issues in Professor (Scott) Himsel's classes. It's been cool to have that experience in class and then see what it takes to make an oral argument. That's something you really don't get an idea of just reading the court cases and legal briefs."
Each year the judges panel is encouraged to challenge the students arguments during final presentation.
"I wasn't expecting to get as many questions which made me a little nervous," Stephens admitted. "Usually I can respond to questions but being able to answer questions and still weave other stuff in was a challenge. Even though you can have organization going into it, it's pretty difficult to know what questions they're going to ask."
Students participating in this year's Moot Court were: Ian Bisbee, Rob Bloss, Jeremy Burton, Udayan Chattopadhyay, Keith Clayton, Sean Clerget, Joe Cooper, Jon Edwards, Spencer Elliott, Tom Elliott, Grant Gussman, Danny Heslep, Mike Hotz, Alex Ingram, Jesse James, Nick Leon, Greg Longo, Patrick McAlister, Josh Paul, Mat Plachta, Scott Pond, Gabe Smith, Brandon Stewart, Stephen Thompson, and Matt Vest.
Wabash lawyers who acted as judges: Pfenne Cantrell '92, John Cochran '68, Steve Creason '97, Tom Hastings '80, Bill Harrington '85, Scott Himsel '85, Tom Fisher '91, Brad Johnson '71, Mike LoPrete '02, Jon Pactor '71, Adam Packer '00, Mark Stuaan '78, Jonathan Warner '03, Nick White '02, Tom Wilson '78, Monty Woolsey '81, Bob Wright '87.
Wabash professors who judged included: Jon Baer, Stephen Dyson, Glen Helman, Himsel, Frank Howland, Todd McDorman, Yvonne Pitts, and Vic Powell.
In Photos: Top right, Stephens (center) with Judges Tandy, Lawrence, Fischer and President White. At center left, Stephens presents his argument to the court. Lower right, Scott Himsel presents Judge Tandy '79 a gavel for his participation.


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CACI International Inc. revealed that it has won approximately $189 million in previously unannounced contracts with government clients in the intelligence community.
Without providing specifics about the awards or their number, a Jan. 23 company announcement said CACI is delivering professional services and IT solutions to intelligence organizations responsible for carrying out the nation's most vital and sensitive missions.
"CACI is providing a range of high-value services and innovative solutions in support of the intelligence cycle, including collection, analysis, information sharing, and advanced knowledge management," it said.
"These contracts draw on and underscore CACI's deep expertise in the key areas of cyber intelligence, counterintelligence, geospatial intelligence, and signals intelligence," the announcement added.
The contracts were awarded in the second quarter of CACI's 2012 fiscal year, which ended December 31, 2011.
"CACI's recent contract wins continue our momentum in growing our intelligence business, which is a foundational part of who we are as a company and now comprises 43 percent of our revenue," CACI President of U.S. Operations Dan Allen said in the announcement.
CACI International, of Arlington, Va., ranks No. 14 on Washington Technology's 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.
About the Author
David Hubler is the former print managing editor for GCN and senior editor for Washington Technology. He is freelance writer living in Annandale, Va.
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text: Ranking is based on an evaluation of commercial and open source vendors in the emerging market for API management platforms Palo Alto, CA – February 12, 2013 – WSO2 , the lean enterprise middleware company, today announced that it has been cited by Forrester Research, Inc., as a leader in The Forrester Wave: API Management Platforms, Q1, 2013 report1 published February 5, 2013. The report's findings were based on a 15-criteria evaluation of commercial and open source vendors that deliver products for the emerging API management platforms market, including API consumer experience, integration capabilities with various back-end and third-party systems, analytics and monitoring features. A reprint of the report is available at: https://wso2.com/resources/analyst-reports/forrester-api-management-wave-2013. The Forrester Report2 observes, "Why would any organization willingly risk exposing its most precious data assets to external eyes over the Web? Because … Exposing interfaces to unique corporate data creates value that many companies have difficulty unlocking on their own … Remixing data from multiple sources is emerging as a hot new business model, and an increasing number of traditional firms are looking to join this emerging 'API economy'." Report's Evaluation of WSO2 API Manager The evaluation of WSO2 was based on WSO2 API Manager 1.0.0, which launched in August 2012. Out of a possible 5.00 points, WSO2 scored 4.10 points for strategy, as well as 3.15 points for current offering. The Forrester Report notes3, "WSO2 gives business owners a prescriptive publishing process that is easy to use. WSO2 is one of the newest entrants into the API management market, but its product narrowly makes it into the Leader category based on a strong vision of an approachable product with a solid technical pedigree. WSO2 API Manager is based on components that WSO2's customers have deployed at scale in other WSO2 solutions, like its ESB and Business Process Server. A key strength of the solution is an API configuration process that nontechnical API owners will like—as long as API developers have already defined the RESTful services. WSO2 also departs from other solutions we reviewed by allowing API owners to advertise APIs to client app developers using a 'store' metaphor akin to mobile app stores. The result is a clean, focused product." "We created the first 100% open source API management platform, WSO2 API Manager, with the idea that all enterprises should be empowered to participate in the API economy to drive revenues, customer loyalty, and organizational efficiencies," said Paul Fremantle, WSO2 co-founder and CTO. "We are excited to be identified by Forrester as a leader in its API Management Platforms Wave report. We believe that it validates our commitment to democratizing API management by making it affordable to acquire the software, easy to control APIs and manage the API lifecycle, and simple to find and subscribe to APIs. We have expanded on that commitment with significant enhancements in WSO2 API Manager 1.3.0 and in our continued evolution in enhancing the customer experience." WSO2 previously was recognized as a strong performer in three other reports: The Forrester Wave™: Standalone SOA Management Solutions, Q4, 20114, The Forrester Wave™: SOA Service Life-Cycle Management, Q1, 20125, and The Forrester Wave™: Integrated SOA Governance, Q1, 20126. About WSO2 WSO2 is the lean enterprise middleware company. It delivers the only complete open source enterprise SOA middleware stack purpose-built as an integrated platform to support today's heterogeneous enterprise environments—internally and in the cloud. WSO2's service and support team is led by technical experts who have proven success in deploying enterprise SOAs and contribute to the technology standards that enable them. For more information, visit https://wso2.com or check out the WSO2 community on the WSO2 Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and FriendFeed..


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I haven't posted an update in quite awhile. I don't have a wild life, so there's not much to tell.
My mom was in the hospital last month for about a week. It was due time, since she had been suffering from something and the doctor couldn't quite nail down the problem. She had been weak for a long time, though, and the hospital staff found the problem and took care of it. Now she's motivated again and moving about her apartment, garage sales, flea markets, etc.
Did I tell you that my friend at work got a new job and doesn't work with me anymore? Yeah, that happened. She's happy at her new job. We met for lunch last week which was nice.
Since my friend left, they hired someone else. She's nice and a hard worker. I trained her to work the front desk last week. I was worried that I would leave something out, but eventually I had to let that thought go and realize that she would learn one way or the other. There are people in the office who won't hesitate to tell her that she made a mistake. Thankfully our manager is tactful about it, but there are some others who aren't and seem to nitpick when they're in a mood which is every other day. She has already had experiences with those types, and I have warned her about them.
My mom and I were invited over to my brother's house on the 4th of July and we had some of the best crab legs we've ever eaten. They were perfectly baked. I wish I had two stomachs so that I could've eaten more.
I watched the first season of "American Horror Story" through Netflix and I absolutely loved it. I ordered it through Amazon so that I can watch the season whenever I feel like it.
Oh, I almost forgot! Last weekend, I went to a few events for my 20-year high school reunion! We were invited to the high school for a tour. I wasn't alone thinking that the school would look the same, but there were some major changes made since we graduated in 1993. It was so strange, but thankfully the auditorium, art wing and the tryout theater were all the same. It brought back some nice memories.
Then that same day we had a picnic in the valley/Metroparks. I should've stayed longer. I met up with a former classmate who's boyfriend worked at the school I work at now. We swapped some memories, and then they left. I didn't want to hang around, so I left too. It was a beautiful day, though, perfect for a reunion!


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A Mother's Knishes
For Ida Richman, the kitchen was the center of the world, the place where the abstractions of maternal love were baked, steamed and parboiled into hot, comforting meals. A well-fed son savors the memory
When my mother was a younger woman, scarcely into her eighties, she required surgery. The procedure did not go well, which surprised me, because she is so resilient I'd expected her to check in to the hospital before dawn and be out in time for an Early Bird.
I immediately flew to southern Florida, both to comfort her and to take my father out for a meal. The nurses on her floor had alerted me that he wasn't eating, which they blamed on anxiety. I had a different interpretation. Anybody who had dined at my mother's table for nearly a half century would find it depressing to eat at anybody else's.
My mother rallied long enough to brief me on the contents of her freezer, should we wish to stop home for a bite, and my father and I left for lunch. We drove to Sam's, in the nearby town of Margate, an informal kosher spot he would grudgingly patronize on the occasions when my mother refused to cook. That occurred rarely, and only after she decided she was being exploited because the other Jewish women in her building had negotiated freedom from the culinary arts as part of their retirement packages. Within twenty-four hours, my mother would be back at the stove, drawn like a blintz to sour cream. My father tolerated Sam's because the food seemed Jewish and a complete lunch went for $5.99. Since nothing was going to rival what he got at home, he thought it wasteful to allow the price of a restaurant meal to creep into double figures.
I made him finish everything, from the chicken soup to the noodle pudding. We lingered, never imagining that we were needed back at the hospital. Minutes after our departure, the surgeon who had performed the first operation on my mother decided she needed a second one without delay.
He ordered her strapped to a gurney, then stood by, awaiting my father's signature on a release form. As we walked through the front door, an alert guard spotted us and rushed us upstairs. Immediately, orderlies started pushing my mother through the hallway with me half walking and half running by her side. A sense of peril overwhelmed me. I was certain this was the last time I would see her alive.
As they turned to enter a waiting elevator, my mother grabbed my arm and weakly spoke my name. I nearly burst out sobbing, for I knew these would be the last words I would hear from her. I leaned close.
"How was the soup?" she asked.
My mother is 94 now and doing all right, although not as well as my sister and I would like. Ida and Norman still live in their Florida retirement community, which permits no dogs, no kids and no striplings under 55. I talk a lot with my sister, Lynn, about how long they can hold out. They have help, women who are hired to work twelve hours a day but who stay overnight on the difficult days, when the anguish of being elderly becomes an impossible burden. The women who watch after them were not born in this country and are candidates for beatification, which should clarify my position on this nation's immigration policy.
Pretty much to the exclusion of all else, my mother spent her adult life cooking for her family. (To be honest, she cleaned incessantly, too.) I understand that all Jewish mothers are expected to be kitchen enthusiasts, but my mother was defined by her cooking. She was admired for these skills, and even today, when she can't do much, the people in her building greet her warmly, the sort of recognition Andre Soltner must get when he walks down 50th Street near Lutèce. Indra Chattoo, who has commanded the team overseeing my parents for the past three years, says my mother remains a luminary among residents, acclaimed for her brisket of beef and her rolled cabbage. Chattoo told me, "The people remember the taste of her food, and they still talk about it."
Cooking gave my mother stature in the world outside her kitchen. Long before the advent of celebrity chefs, she was the celebrity cook of our neighborhood, no matter where we lived. Her cooking was ritualistic, because she would prepare the same recipes over and over, but she was no different from the conductors of symphony orchestras who have personal repertoires.
Food was her means of expressing love. Some might argue that a few hugs would have been more beneficial to a growing child, but I tried to understand. She wasn't tremendously confident, and bestowing food was a wonderful way of making a fuss without chancing rejection. Even people who don't want to be squeezed enjoy being fed.
I try to cook exactly as my mother did, even though she stubbornly resisted my efforts to learn from her. Her rolled cabbage stuffed with rice and ground beef, which she would not teach me to make, was the finest the world has known. Its secret is lost. By hanging around, I picked up enough about her cheese blintzes and her brisket that I now do a credible job of imitating the former and am on the verge of a breakthrough with the latter.
One afternoon, to my disbelief, she prepared her poor-man's soup before my eyes. It's a blend of Manischewitz split-pea-soup mix, beef-marrow bones, chopped onions and grated carrots. I made a pot of it for my father a few months ago, to see if I'd gotten it right, and he reacted as though his only son had translated the Dead Sea Scrolls. This man who in his later years laughs hesitantly and smiles infrequently beamed with such pleasure he reminded me of the young fellow I'd heard stories about, the captain of his college baseball team, a nimble and hard-hitting second baseman who tried out for the Cincinnati Reds in the '30s but was denied an opportunity to play in the major leagues for the same reason as so many other Jews—he was remarkably slow afoot.
Because I grew up eating only my mother's cooking, I find it unsatisfying to work from recipe books, prepare food devised by people I've never met. I believe I love restaurants so much because I ate in so few of them as a child that they seem the greatest of luxuries. When my mother and father went out for dinner, which wasn't often, they seldom took my sister and me with them. When they did, my mother never failed to reinforce her dessert credo, which I adhere to even today: "You can't go wrong with ice cream."
My mother still cooks, sort of. She sits in the kitchen with the saintly women who care for her and instructs them in modified kosher cuisine. She has taught them the difference between milchedig (dairy based) and flayshedig (meat based) meals. They made gefilte fish—Jewish quenelles—for the religious holidays. The recipe, as practiced by a 94-year-old woman: Purchase one can of Rokeach gefilte fish. Remove fish and place in a pot. Add the goo from the can, sliced carrots, chopped onions, salt, pepper, sugar and a bay leaf. Boil. Cool. Serve. It isn't her real recipe, but there is something of my mother in it, and that's pretty good.
When I asked my father what he missed most about my mother these days, he said, predictably, "Her cooking, very much." I asked him what he thought about when he saw her in the kitchen, and he said, "She is not able to do anything anymore. She is sitting there, watching somebody else peel the potatoes, and I can only think she must be terribly hurt inside."
Not long ago, I drove to Somerville, New Jersey. I was born there, in the house where my mother grew up. In the '40s and '50s, it was the nicest home on the block, but now most of the original dark brown shingles are gone, replaced by shingles painted three or four different colors and some not painted at all. Quite a few aren't even shingles, just scraps of wood hammered over holes.
Both my parents were born on New York's Lower East Side, and they carried out their courtship in Somerville, over a table in the back of my grandmother's store. They met in the '30s, the time of the Great Depression. Although the people of that era are now extravagantly referred to as the Greatest Generation, I think of my mother and father as members of the Quietest Generation. They and their parents had endured too much poverty, death and hunger for their lives to be colorfully anecdotal. They were children of the oppressed, of parents who lived in the meager shtetls of Europe, the Jewish ghettos famous for all manner of deficiencies, among them food. A few years back, I managed to coerce my parents into providing an outline of their lives, a few stark facts.
My father told me he grew up so poor he and his brothers got jobs in food markets in order to bring home groceries, never mind asking for cash. My mother said, "We weren't poor," which she certainly wasn't in comparison to my father. "My mother had a store," she said, "and we took things off the shelves to eat. She had a kitchen in the back, and we ate in the store."
I asked my father, jokingly, if he married my mother for her food, and he said, "It's no joke. After I graduated from Montclair State, I got my first job, and I was still kosher. My father, who was in wholesale dry goods, had two or three customers in Somerville who kept kosher, and he solicited them to see if he could find somewhere for me to eat. One agreed, for fifty cents a dinner. After two years, they threw me out because I didn't pay enough attention to their daughter. Then, where did I turn to get a kosher meal? Ida's mother."
At the time, he was living in a boardinghouse run by a kindly Irish lady, Mrs. Flaherty, who tried unsuccessfully to get him to eat bacon for breakfast. Dinner at the Flahertys' was not an option. He and my mother worked in the same school, and he asked her if he could eat with her family for the same fifty cents. The money, my mother proudly told me, went into a little can in which Jewish families collected contributions for the poor. Every home had one of them, a pushke, a can with a slot in the top for coins. When I was a child, ours seemed sacred to me. I might once or twice have lifted a nickel from my sister's piggy bank, driven by an addiction to Raisinets, but on my life I would not have stolen from that holy tin can.
I asked my father if he enjoyed my grandmother's food, and he replied diplomatically, "It was very good." Actually, she wasn't much of a cook, but she was a lovely grandmother who had a habit of bringing me a football whenever she visited.
"I was happy to find somewhere to eat," my father added.
"And I was happy to find a boyfriend," said my mother.
"There was nobody in Somerville, and then he came along, a Jewish boy." He was quite a catch, a young man who had a master's degree, played baseball, kept kosher and said his morning prayers.
My sister and I grew up outside Philadelphia in a sprawling, low-rise, postwar apartment complex. She's a few years older, and my first food memory is of crying uncontrollably when she came home from first grade and announced that hot dogs had been served in the cafeteria. I haven't felt so cheated since. Her favorite food was the fried clams at Howard Johnson's, the highway restaurant chain whose business would ultimately be usurped by McDonald's, which prevailed, in my opinion, by staying out of the clam business. I was bewitched by the hamburgers seared on a flat metal grill at the Drelbrook Swimming Club, which we didn't belong to but I could look down upon from the yard behind our building. I was never fortunate enough to eat one of those burgers, but when the winds drifted upward, carrying their bouquet, my craving was nearly unbearable.
I remember that Dick Clark, not yet a national phenomenon, lived in our apartment complex, a factoid I've dined out on for decades. My father recently informed me I was wrong and that the celebrity was Ed McMahon. Possibly neither of us is correct, for the memories of young boys and old men are equally unreliable. I vividly recall a childhood craving for another savory foodstuff denied me, the Taylor Pork Roll sandwich sold on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. My father may have tolerated nonkosher, but he never moderated his prohibition against pig. He was an ecutive with Gimbel Brothers, and on Wednesdays, when the Philadelphia department stores remained open late, he didn't come home for dinner. On those nights, my mother would often broil a ham steak with pineapple and brown sugar, a treat beyond imagining, although I seem to recall her overcooking it from fear of trichinosis, a dread disease of the '50s that deviant Jewish pork-eaters dared not ignore. Fridays we ate broiled flounder, the rationale being that the fish had to be fresh for the Catholics. My sister reminded me that Fridays were the only nights my mother served bread with our meals; it was on hand to rescue us in the event a bone became caught in our throats. None did, so I never learned exactly how white bread saves lives.
For more than twenty years, I've been visiting my parents at Wynmoor Village, a gated community with walls so low I assume they were constructed not to keep cat burglars out but to keep the less nimble occupants in. Their apartment is on the second floor of a three-story pink-and-white building. I remember when they stopped using the stairs and started using the elevator. I remember when I did, too.
When my parents left Philadelphia for Florida in the late '70s, my mother continued preparing meals much as before. Leaving the single-family, split-level house where she and my father had lived since the late '50s meant adjusting to a much smaller kitchen, which she managed effortlessly. Unlike the other great cooks of the late twentieth century, she was no prima donna who demanded state-of-the-art equipment before she would broil a veal chop. Nor was she dismayed by Florida's heat and humidity. She was as tough as a steelworker, having spent her life standing over a stove.
My sister and I each visit four or five times a year, mostly because very few others do. My father's sisters and brothers, all of them still in New Jersey, have difficulty traveling, and most of the old friends living near Wynmoor are gone. All three of my father's golf partners, Larry, Irving and Sidney, passed away. I enjoyed their company a lot, because they were sweethearts and I could outdrive them.
When I asked my father if he had seen my mother's oldest friend, a woman from Somerville, he replied, "At some point, she forgot about us." The last time I went down to see them, I learned that my mother's closest friend from the building, a widow, had died, but she hadn't been around for five years. She'd been in a nursing home all that time. When I hear something like that, I do the math: Five years in a nursing home equals 1,825 days at $185 a day, about a third of a million dollars. I asked my father to tell me what he knew of the life she led in the home. "She just lay there," he said.
I always feel pain when I think about my mother. She can hardly use the telephone at all, and the television disturbs her. Because her legs are weak, she can no longer stand outside the apartment on the catwalk, watching over the parking area, hoping to see me drive up when she knows I'm coming for a visit. I'm not always sure she remembers when I'm coming for a visit. Having parents as old as mine is about knots in your stomach. People who have aging parents might think they understand, but a slightly dotty mother who forgets where she put the car keys is different from parents who have reached their late eighties or nineties. I cannot think of a single advantage to being my mother's age except one: She is now so old that her doctor has lifted all dietary restrictions and she is allowed to eat whatever she wants.
I don't believe I missed a meal in my life. My mother cooked, day and night. "It used to drive me crazy," said my sister, "hot food three times a day and meat and potatoes at lunch." I'm sure I developed my contempt for salads and my need to toast or grill sandwiches from this childhood taboo on cold food. The only time my father prepared food was when we had a barbecue—that's what we northerners call food burned in our backyards. I would gather twigs, and he would twist newspaper, and we would finally get the briquettes to glow. For a long time, I found it impossible to understand how my father got permission to cook. It wasn't like my mother to relinquish control of a meal. Only recently, when I spoke to my aunt Dorothy, did I obtain an explanation that made sense. She told me that while my father was making burgers and hot dogs outside, my mother was in the kitchen readying brisket and chicken as a backup.
I didn't resent my mother's refusal to teach me to cook. I come from an era when parents did what they did and kids did what they did and the borders didn't cross. I played outside a lot, read a lot and hated piano lessons more than any kid alive, which means I was a pretty standard '50s-era child, unexceptional in every way. Because I never knew hunger, my mother always found clothing for me in the "husky" section of the children's departments, and when I finally confronted her on that, she said, "You weren't really fat. Plump." I know school counselors of today think this is a recent trend, kids desperately wanting to be thin, but I have firsthand knowledge that it wasn't unheard-of when I was growing up.
My mother represented what she had come from: industrious, Eastern European, rising-middle-class stock. I know she regretted not going to college, but she had no idea how to express such a lofty ambition and was held back by timidity. My sister, who went to graduate school, claims that my father had no desire to send her to college and that without my mother's insistence it would not have been possible.
My mother was a housewife, as were most of her friends. A few helped out in their husbands' businesses, but that usually meant not being home to make dinner, which would have been unimaginable. She wasn't beautiful, but I believe she might have been described as handsome had she not been short and a little portly. I thought she always looked nice, and that skinny women such as Twiggy and Audrey Hepburn were more to be pitied than admired. I remember her on her knees a lot, scrubbing floors, and I remember that she often smelled of onions, or at least her apron did. I wasn't much of an eater until I was 5 or 6, and so my mother spoke often about the starving children of Europe and how grateful they would be for the food I refused. I always thought of them as Nazis and didn't care.
Most of all, my mother was upright. That was vital to American Jews of her peer group, because they were the last generation of Jews to be intimidated by an ironfisted lesson of history: Jews never got away with much, and even when they weren't trying to get away with anything, somebody powerful thought they were. She went to synagogue, put coins in the pushke, made her son wear itchy wool suits on the High Holidays, stayed on a first-name basis with butchers and cleaned the house before the housecleaner arrived to make certain no inappropriate impressions were formed. We might have been colorless, but we played it straight. I don't remember missing much that the other kids had, except for the Taylor Pork Roll sandwich.
My parents weren't formal people, but I don't recall them slouching. My father's posture was perfect when he watched baseball on our black-and-white TV. I wasn't privy to my parents' thoughts, because they discussed nothing in front of my sister and me. Whenever my wife accuses me of not having an "inner life," I know where I didn't get it from. My parents were never rumpled. Even today, when we go out to eat, I tell them how nice they look compared to me. This is not flattery, it's a fact. I do not know of divorce or incest or cruelty or illegitimacy in our family tree. Perhaps ugly truths about my relatives are hidden in an attic in some otherwise placid New Jersey town, but I would be shocked to learn of them. I don't know better stock than my family. When it comes to emplary behavior, I would put my parents and their sisters and brothers up against the Mennonites or the Quakers any day.
My mother is sweeter than ever. She's lost weight, which looks good on her. She stopped dyeing her hair, so now she appears angelic, surrounded by a halo of white. She holds my father's hand and kisses him often. If she did that in the old days, I wasn't around to see it.
Whenever something is done for her, she's grateful, which isn't the mother I knew. These days she complains so infrequently my father says he longs for the days when she was difficult.
"I miss her disappointments," he says. She communicates mostly by touching, in a way that says more than she did back when she talked a lot. Because she says so little and forgets so much, I tend to underrate her mentality. She recently lost track of how many children she had, and I said to her, "Maybe you should have had more." She replied, impeccably, "Not at my age." And when I confronted her on the ham-steak issue, demanding to know if those Wednesday pork nights reflected a rebellious streak we didn't know she had, she replied, "Don't tell everybody."
When I travel down to Florida these days, I always spend time visiting nursing homes, reassuring my father that it's not for now but for emergencies. My father is opposed to a nursing home for my mother because he believes it means permanent separation and it will hasten her death. He is correct on both counts. The nursing homes I've seen have lots of services that none of the patients are in any shape to appreciate. I can't say how many times I've gone into a cheerfully painted room to find the wheelchairs lined up in a semicircle and the occupants sitting motionless, heads lolling to the side, while activity directors jump up and down clapping their hands.
When I see a piano in a nursing-home dining room, I wonder how frequently anybody is hired to play. When I see a nicely furnished private room designated for family dining, I wonder how often families come to eat.
My mother talks about death all the time. She may not understand actuarial tables, but she knows how long she has lived and how long she has left. The last time I asked her what she thinks about, she replied, "Dying," so I dropped the subject. I asked her if she had learned anything about life after so many years, and she said, "It was fast."
I'm ready for the day I'll have to set off on the mission I've dreaded for so long, the day the fragile life-support system my sister and I put in place becomes inadequate and my mother will be wheeled to a nursing home. I won't feel guilty, because we've done everything possible to postpone it, but I believe that someday history will judge this country harshly for placing our elderly in such facilities, no matter how nicely decorated they are. I hate thinking of my mother in a nursing home, her head lolling, but even worse is that once she's in such a place, nobody will ask her for a recipe or for advice on how to cook.
She will never step into a kitchen again.


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Opinion: Should Congress Lock Up Lois Lerner?
Attorney Cleta Mitchell on new evidence concerning the former IRS official's involvement in targeting conservative groups and her unusual cooperation with a House Democrat. Photo credit: Associated Press.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... I ... the Aerie saw ... I don't get me yesterday thus the Justice Department to formally start ... a criminal investigation ... into for IRS employee Lois Lerner ... when the CNN show so far ... I've got attorney clean Mitchell on the line from Washington the cleanup ... we got a bunch of that is yesterday out of the house ... concerning Lois Lerner and the targeting of conservative groups ... was the evidence enough to warrant a criminal investigation ... well it certainly isn't one would think that the Department justice but already have access to this information since they ... have been supposedly investigating ... the IRS and last letters since last May ... that that whatever the shadows ... and realize that ... this is the first time we've seen Lois Lerner e mails because I rested and turn them over until about three to four weeks ago ... what it says is that Lois Lerner made specific efforts to interfere with established ... protocols within the IRS she was directing ... IRS subordinates ... th target conservative organizations and in particular ... an organization that was founded by power out ... now as an attorney representing some of these groups that were the victims of the alleged victims of targeting by the IRS ... it was also evidence yesterday of ... some kind of linkage ... between ... the Democratic minority leader an ounce ... that is part of this group it's investigating Lerner ... analysts understaffed what exactly came to light ... well I can ... on the House ... oversight Committee ... received emails from what I have not from the IRS that were lost and emails and documents barely three or four weeks ago ... and what she has is that the ranking member of the House oversight Committee in line to counties for Maryland ... was involved in communications back and forth with the IRS it certainly does appear I and these communications workouts read about my plan we've actually seen the IRS and it was a victim ... of the IRS targeting ... an a and is very interesting to read the documents and to see that ... the kinds of questions that ... I ... Elijah Cummings started sending these letters to treat it that I in twenty twelve ... and that they trap homicide and play the questions the IRS was asking ... and elsewhere are confidential communications between higher as intruder that said this the lot to answer for him to sites with Elijah Cummings has been trying to kill this investigation since last June ... and I know that these are all now public documents in the House oversight committee's website to read and ... clean out the last piece of news into the big news Big about the IRS Moe on the concern regional officials ... who went for Obama stickers ... ahh and Sunday another political views ... but since it's an taxpayers ... what does all this together say ... about the state of partisanship within the agency ... what it shows is that the IRS has become the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party and we have to stop it ... this is totally unacceptable the IRS is supposed to be the most neutral ... of all agencies and the federal government ... it has access to all their most personal information outstanding have access to health care information ... and I actually think that the actor Cory Gardner House members introduced a bill ... that would prohibit IRS employees from engaging in collective bargaining I think that's a pretty big first and get them out of the ... get them out of the Union ... the man eating clean out the agency police ... to tackle entirely clean Mitchell ... thank you so much for joining us


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The cleanup of 3,000 tons of explosives haphazardly stored at a munitions plant has frayed the nerves of residents who evacuated, closed the high school and spawned a criminal investigation of the company that owns the materials.
Authorities said about half the town's 800 residents had heeded requests that they leave during the cleanup that started Saturday, but some appeared to be returning to their homes. Some displaced residents were exasperated by the sheer volume of explosive material, which is more than authorities initially estimated. Adding to the uncertainty was a forecast of thunderstorms Tuesday that could slow efforts to move the propellant used in artillery shells to safer storage sites.
"We got outside the evacuation area when they said there was a million pounds. Now it's six million," said Frank Peetz, 71, who was staying with his wife in a camper at a nearby state park. "Maybe we ought to be up in Arkansas somewhere."
State police say some of the propellant was found spilling out of boxes crammed into buildings, and they have opened a criminal investigation into why the materials were not stored in bunkers at the state-owned site, leased by Explo Systems.
Weather could complicate the transfer of the roughly 6 million pounds of propellant. If lightning is spotted within five miles of the site, authorities will suspend efforts to move it, state police spokeswoman Lt. Julie Lewis said. No lightning was expected Monday, but the National Weather Service said there's a 30 percent chance of Thunderstorms on Tuesday.
Lewis said that as of late Monday, crews had segregated or safely stored 1.2 million pounds of the propellant since the cleanup started. The work has slowed because they are indoors moving the material, sometimes through narrow hallways.
State police said the material is stable and would need an ignition source to explode. Lewis said it would take something significant such as lightning or a brush fire — and not static electricity — to ignite it.
Col. Mike Edmonson, commander of the Louisiana State Police, said police weren't sure how much damage an explosion of the material could cause, even after consulting with Department of Defense officials.
"Nobody can tell you what 6 million pounds of explosives would do if it went up," Edmonson said in a telephone interview. "And I don't want to find out."
Police have checkpoints on roads leading into Doyline, though residents are allowed to come and go. The evacuation was voluntary, and some residents elected not to leave their homes in the town that has been used to film some scenes for the HBO vampire series "True Blood." The evacuation will remain in place at least until Tuesday.
Edmonson said that Explo Systems leases and controls about 400 acres of the 15,000-acre Camp Minden, a former ammunition plant that now is a state-owned industrial site and home to a National Guard training facility. He estimated that the M6 propellant was stored in an area of less than 10 acres.
It was discovered there, stored indoors and outdoors, sometimes in containers that had spilled open, by a trooper following up on an October explosion at the facility.
"It was stuffed in corners. It was stacked all over," Edmonson said.
Just outside the evacuation area, Doyline High School teacher Linda Watson stopped Monday to buy chicken strips at D&H Hardware, which has a small kitchen serving fare that also includes burgers.
Watson said she has not evacuated and has no plans to. Like some others around here, she's accustomed to living near an ammunition plant.
"I've been there the whole time," she said.
Her main concern is the school having to tack on days to the end of the year to make up for classes being out during the evacuation. The school was to remain closed Tuesday.
John Finklea, who was working the register at the store his family owns, said business is down because of the evacuation. He said there's too much being made of the situation.
"I understand people get scared," he said, adding that he considered leaving but ultimately chose not to.
Explo has not publicly commented on the investigation. Neither a company executive nor an attorney who represents the company returned calls Monday. Its website says the company has been in existence for seven years and that its management has been "demilitarizing" and recovering explosives and propellant for 15 years.
Authorities had initially estimated the total of M6 stored at the site at 1 million pounds after the first investigator saw cardboard boxes on long rows of pallets behind a building. Police found more stacked in sheds and warehouses when crews returned Saturday to begin moving the boxes into bunkers about two miles away on the former munitions site.
Lewis said the cause of the Oct. 15 explosion remained under investigation.
The company isn't currently allowed to manufacture any explosives, but can sell what it has. Authorities are hoping such sales could reduce the amount of the material in the area.
Webster Parish Sheriff Gary Sexton said authorities have still not been in touch with the company's owners, though police officials previously said a company manager was working with them. He didn't know how many people were still displaced but said the majority of people in shelters had left them.
Sexton said explosions weren't uncommon in the years that the munitions plant has operated, but he lamented the danger posed by the improper storage of the propellant.
"They not only put their people in jeopardy, they put our people and the people around here in jeopardy," he said.
Evacuees were allowed to stay for free at Lake Bistineau State Park, but ranger Marc Massom said only a few had shown up by midday. Masson, a Doyline resident who lives outside the evacuation zone, said some stayed at their houses because of fears about looting.
Lewis, of the state police, said that security was tight throughout the town with help from neighboring agencies, and that crime hadn't been a problem.
Peetz, the retiree staying in the camper with his wife, said there should have been more oversight of the munitions storage.
"I'd like to see more state and federal checks on who is there and what the hell they're making," Peetz said.
McGill reported from New Orleans.


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New Lineup
Welcome to Brown's Jaguar
Buy Happy at Brown's Richmond Jaguar - Your Virginia Luxury Car Dealer
At Brown's Richmond Jaguar in Virginia, our number-one priority is making our customers feel at home. It's part of our Buy Happy Philosophy - honest pricing, reliable vehicles, and superior service. When you're considering a Jaguar purchase, you deserve first-class customer service. That's exactly what you'll get at our Virginia Jaguar dealership that serves drivers in Charlottesville, Mechanicsville, Williamsburg, Hanover and Petersburg, VA. J.D. Power recently ranked Jaguar as the top luxury brand when it comes to the new-vehicle buying experience. We invite you to stop by Brown's Richmond Jaguar to see why.
Are you ready to experience a new Jaguar in VA? Browse our Richmond new Jaguar inventory for performance models like the Jaguar F-TYPE, F-PACE, XE, XF, and XJ. A luxury or sports car is within your reach when you come in to Brown's Richmond Jaguar. We regularly shop our competitors and provide our Buy Happy price. You'll love driving around in a new Jaguar but if you're not 100% satisfied with it, we offer a 3-day exchange policy. If you don't love it, bring it back to us.
Drivers in Mechanicsville, Hanover or Charlottesville, VA that are interested in purchasing a pre-owned model will love our selection of used cars and Certified Pre-Owned models. Whatever you have in mind, our courteous and helpful sales staff will take the time to understand your needs. All of our Brown's Certified used vehicles come with a 3 month/3,000 mile powertrain warranty and a free CARFAX report. We provide on-site financing as well. Talk to one of our finance experts about obtaining a great rate on a car loan or lease. Not looking to purchase at this time? We will buy your car. View more details about our Brown's Buys Cars program.
More Reasons to Buy with Brown's Richmond Jaguar in the Charlottesville, Virginia Area
Buying a vehicle with Brown's Richmond Jaguar means free yearly state inspections and a free multi-point inspection every time you stop in to our service center. Keep your Jaguar purring with the help of our expert Jaguar service technicians. We know your vehicle better than anybody else since we work on Jaguar models every day. Whether you need routine maintenance or a body repair, you can trust our Jaguar dealership in Virginia to make expert repairs. Our technicians are ASE-Certified and trained in the nuances of all Jaguar models. We also have a large stock of Jaguar parts and accessories on hand if you want to customize or fix your own ride.
Learn what it means to be part of the Brown's Richmond Jaguar family - visit us today and experience our Buy Happy Philosophy for yourself. Whether you're from Petersburg, Williamsburg, Mechanicsville or right here in Richmond, VA, we look forward to seeing you soon.
Learn About Brown's Cares in the Northern VA Area: Community Involvement


text: Fiber Sculpture. This Sculpture is for display purposes only. Height: 2.5 Feet. This Sculpture can also be made from Clay, Cement, Marble or Bronze. Prices will vary depending on the material. Request Sculptures as per your requirement (any size). You can call us at 91-9749144764 or send your interest to email@example.com


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This is the second in the Cornelia Finnigan series - a comic cozy series from local author Robin Bowles (more well known for her True Crime novels).
The blurb:
Having recovered from her near fatal run-in with a novice nun, Cornelia is the lucky recipient of a stunning porcelain horse. Funny that it looks just like the one the Triads appear to be murderously searching for...
Opening Line:
"Cornelia Finnigan's lanky frame resembled a praying mantis as she heaved herself on crutches up the stairs to her first-floor aparment. Gratefully she reached the halfway landing and leaned panting on the banister."


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29 - 33 Hallamway
Old Mill Lane Business Park
Mansfield Woodhouse
Tel: 01623 672070Come and Visit our Showroom
The Optimum Prelude OPT-3000SL is a 3 shelf slim HiFi stand with four supporting legs that can be supplied in a number of finishes and length (see images above and options) and has a slimline depth of 400mm shelves for today's more standard audio visual components.
This hifi stand comes complete with cable management and optional castors can be added to further enhance your Prelude stand. Superbly finished 6mm clear or smoked glass shelves give the Optimum OPT3000SL Prelude Stand strength and elegance.
The product pictures show only a suggested configuration and finish of this stand as the main support rods are available in any of the 3 x custom finishes and any of the 11 x rod lengths. Use the options boxes to apply the shelf height spacings that you need for your equipment, to select the finish of the legs and Glass colour, and also to select the optional castor pack, if required.
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Free Delivery
This item has an extended delivery time of between 3 to 7 working days. We will contact you within a few days of placing your order to inform you of the likely delivery timescale. Once your order is available for delivery we will contact you by phone to arrange a convenient delivery date and time. We will not deliver this item without first contacting you.
Free Day of Choice Delivery
If you want delivery on a specific week day, please tell us by entering the required date in the Special Instructions box in the checkout. If for any reason we are unable to deliver on the day you have requested, we will contact you immediately to discuss how we can arrange a convenient delivery
Please call us on 01623 672070 first to discuss why you may wish to return an item and to receive a returns number. We will take all steps possible to solve your problem / offer you a replacement or exchange product, or a refund.
We have a no quibble returns policy within 30 days of purchase, and we will issue a full refund provided the item is in a re-saleable condition, (i.e unused, unassembled, unmarked and in original unmarked packaging). It is the responsibility of the customer to return the item and ensure the package has been reasonably protected in return transit. You must include a copy of your invoice with the return.


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Jezebel Wide Lace Top Stretch Leg Thigh Highs
Price: $23.50
Code: BRM81
Weight: 0.25 lbs
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Jezebel Wide Lace Top Stretch Leg Thigh Highs
- Wide lace top sheer stay-ups with sheer legs
- 15 Denier, sheer with quite a bit of stretch so they will cling to your legs nicely
- 85% Nylon, 15% Lycra, very transparent and a soft feel
- Silicone bands under the lace to keep your thigh highs up snugly sitting or standing
- Sandalfoot, perfect for open heel and toe shoes
If you are new to wearing thigh highs our Jezebel stay ups are the perfect choice. They have a good amount of Lycra, easy fit, comfortable, sheer and the wide floral lace is pretty! Lace has a scalloped top and bottom edge for a feminine touch


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Definition of ulva
n. - A genus of thin papery bright green seaweeds including the kinds called sea lettuce. 2
The word "ulva" uses 4 letters: A L U V.
No direct anagrams for ulva found in this word list.
Words formed by adding one letter before or after ulva (in bold), or to aluv in any order:
e - uveal value s - ulvas t - vault u - uvula v - vulva
Shorter words found within ulva:
al la lav luv vau
List shorter words within ulva, sorted by length
Words formed from any letters in ulva, plus an optional blank or existing letter
List all words starting with ulva, words containing ulva or words ending with ulva
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Southern Comfort: Bullz-Eye goes down south to sample Star's metric cruisers
The South has played a large part in forging the identity of the United States. Its influences include BBQ, country music, NASCAR, and taking life a little bit slower than those in the north. It is the region of good times and good old boys. And if there's one segment of motorcycles that defines the entire U.S. industry, it's the heavy cruiser. Nowhere else do these big, bellowing beasts sell in such large numbers.
They're so important, in fact, that 50% of all motorcycles sold in the U.S. are cruisers. And with all that money on the table, the segment is crucial for many brands to be successful in the United States. Yamaha knows this too. Since 2004, Yamaha's Star brand has had a double-barreled focus on selling more metric cruisers. So here we are, deep in the heart of Dixie to test Star's newest motorcycles, because if you find success here, you can make it anywhere in the U.S.
Origin of Star
Yamaha is not new to selling cruisers, and neither are their Japanese competitors. Termed "Metric Cruisers," these Japanese bikes have been available for some time, but like the metric system as a whole, adoption has been spotty at best. Reason being, many of the metric cruisers didn't have the qualities customers wanted. They may have been more reliable, but they looked flimsy, had plastic instead of metal in most places, and didn't offer the attitude that cruiser customers wanted. Star's goal is to create bikes that change those perceptions.
Since 1978, Yamaha has sold cruisers. However, customer research showed that this dissuaded many potential customers since they didn't want to be associated with Yamaha's supersport products like the R1. They were into style, not speed. So for their more basic tastes and needs, Yamaha branched out their cruisers under the Star banner in 2004. Star has its own team inside Yamaha devoted to giving their customers the experience they want: high style, large customization and a reasonable amount of refinement.
With this focus, Star has a full lineup of cruisers to fit a bike for every person and every need. From the starter bike V Star 250, all the way up to full baggers like the Stratoliner Deluxe, Star has a full portfolio that drives home their brand values. Star had all their products available to ride in Atlanta, but one stuck out in particular to show what they are trying to accomplish.
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.
Posted in: Motorcycles, On Location
Tags: cruiser bikes, metric cruisers, Star motorcycles, Star Raider, Yamaha Star


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Building an LDAP Server on Linux, Part 1
What LDAP Can and Cannot DoYour network is growing in size and complexity. It's taking on a life of its own, spreading and growing and absorbing everything in its path. You're tearing your hair out trying to keep track, and your users have somehow discovered your secret phone number and are pestering you with endless questions and demands--where do I find this; I don't want to keep track of a dozen different passwords; nothing works like it should.
Of several possible solutions, consider two: 1) find a new hiding place, or 2) implement an LDAP server. While finding a new hiding place might sound ideal, it's an option we're going to have to save for a future article. This series will instead explain what LDAP is good for, detail how to build an LDAP server, and cover what you can do with it.
- Centralize user and group management
- Centralize information stores
- Set security and access control
- Securely delegate read and modification authority
- Serve almost any platform
- Scale efficiently
What LDAP cannot do:
- Be a heavy-duty relational or transactional database
- Be a filesystem
- Leap tall buildings in any number of bounds
The LDAP protocol is cross-platform, network-aware, and standards-based. There are all kinds of LDAP implementations from all kinds of vendors. This series will focus on OpenLDAP on Linux.
- Skip Ahead
- 1. What LDAP Can and Cannot Do
- 2. What LDAP Can and Cannot Do
- 3. What LDAP Can and Cannot Do


text: Album Review: Beach House - Bloom by Peter Valelly August 13, 2012 reviews Album art for Beach House's "Bloom" (Album Art) Over the last six years, Baltimore-based duo Beach House has quietly honed a lovely, enveloping sound. Welcoming and melodic yet capable of conveying deep emotional subtlety, the band's music is often labeled "dream pop." While it's true that there's a heady, hazily pleasant quality to the band's music, their sound is far more grounded and organic than many other bands that get hit with that tag. Eschewing the effects-heavy, lo-fi style endemic among their similarly inclined peers, guitarist/keyboardist Alex Scally and singer/organist Victoria Legrand craft their tunes in startlingly simple and straightfoward fashion, staying firmly anchored in guitars-and-keyboards pop, conventional songwriting and sonic precision while still setting a distinctly oneiric mood. The band's self-titled 2006 debut had its fans, but it was their great sophomore effort Devotion that really established them in indie circles. 2010's Teen Dream, however, was perhaps Scally and Legrand's landmark release. The record sported gorgeous production and some of the best songwriting the duo had ever done, solidifying their reputation and bringing on droves of new admirers. On their fourth album, Bloom, the band has surpassed that achievement, delivering the best music of their career. Standout track "Lazuli" layers synth and guitar arpeggios with ambient washes of electronic sound, with Legrand's radiant multi-tracked vocals at the song's heart, sounding both urgent and casual. On "The Hours," Legrand turns in a spirited and dynamic performance over a sun-kissed arrangement from Scally. Bloom isn't quite a rock record, but its reliance on Scally's stylish slide-guitar helps set it apart from some of the electronica- and synth-pop-influenced music being turned out by many of Beach House's peers. Scally gets an impressive tone out of his guitar, hitting a thickness on the low notes that recalls surf-rock but still achieving a spry, pristine sound on the trebly guitar figures that gird so many of Bloom's tracks. Legrand's organ, the band's other trademark element, is used wonderfully throughout the album, offering a fullness that doesn't overpower the richness of the vocals and synths. All of these elements come together beautifully on the album's best track, "The New Year." Effervescent, bordering on trascendent, the song swells and recedes, cushioned by a warped, feedback-daubed cloud of guitar sound and capped with a beautiful vocal from Legrand and steady, lulling drums. Bloom's one weakness is its curiously stilted album sequencing. The album's back half is so overloaded with its strongest tunes, that some songs on the album's first half — such as the album opener (and first single) "Myth" — come off as modest and plain by comparison, and feel weak on repeat listens. Yet this, paired with the consistency of mood that Scally and Legrand delicately create, lends Bloom a sense of linearity: its emotional landscape grows more textured and detailed with each song. Related Stories Theft of the Dial: Beach House Baltimore duo Beach House stopped by The Current studios to chat with Mark Wheat, take over our airwaves and play some of the songs they're feeling lately. Beach House performs in The Current studio Three albums into an astronomic career, Beach House is the critically renowned project of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, Baltimore natives who make ethereal dream-pop sound easy. Tweet


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5000 Days & Counting...
In 2001 we set out to interview kids over a 5000-day period (roughly K-12) on film to record what it's like to grow up in America today.
Over the past 14 years, hundreds of kids from around the world have been added to the project, revealing some of the challenges that kids face in their young teen years no matter where they live.
Hover over the kids' faces to learn about each participant
Meet Hans.
Hans is in grade 9. After beating childhood cancer, he is now battling Crohn's disease and is keeping a video journal in hopes of helping other kids with the disease.
Take action to support Hans and others in the Project.
Inspired by one of our films? Take action! Meet some of the other kids we're following and consider being a sponsor to bring more stories to light.
Would you or your family like to be involved with the project? Explore how you can start capturing your own story, and may be able to audition for a future film.


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a house to call my own. One that felt cozy. Inviting. Happy. Warm. Delicious.
I just had little dreams.
-Little visions of kids sipping cocoa around the counter.
-Or a husband that really liked me.
-Or being close to my family.
-Or a vanity table. I'm serious. I envisioned myself in a house I loved, in a totally cute nightgown, brushing my hair at a vanity table.
(Off to find the cute nightgown.)
-Or reading a great story and kissing the kids goodnight.
-Or weekends with a "I just ordered pizza for the kids and Chinese for us, hon!" night. Perhaps a movie night thrown in there, too.
I'm saying I'm simple folk. It's the little things.
And for all the whining, the complaining, the "I wish. . " 's and the "I'm sooo sick of. . ." 's or "If I have to tell you one more time. . .!" 's that I pull on a weekly, nay, daily basis,
I kinda have everything I ever really wanted. Well, anything that matters, anyway.
Thanks for listening.


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Rosario Dawson is jaw-droppingly sexy and an amazingly talented actress. And she recently admitted to the fact that she was 20 before she did the deed! Ok, I know 20 isn't that old for a lot of people, but considering the fact that she was 15 when she was cast in the controversial movie Kids, it's pretty cool.
There's a cliché about child stars and promiscuity, and there's a good reason for that. You take that stereotype and layer it on top of what kind of character Dawson played in her breakout part ... it's even more admirable that she waited to cash in her V-card.
Kids was one of those movies that sparked a lot of debate because it was about young teenagers doing drugs and having unprotected sex -- one of them being knowingly HIV-positive and doing it anyway! Dawson played a provocative and promiscuous girl, and she shares a funny anecdote about what her parents were really worried about:
With all the insanity that my character goes through, the only thing they cared about was not smoking.
But the coolest thing that she said about the role was that it was the total opposite from her real life, and that she didn't even lose her virginity until she was 20. What made her hold onto it? Respect for what her mom went through as a teen mom. "I didn't even have sex until I was 20," Dawson said about the differences between Ruby and herself. "My mom was a teenage mom, I was deathly afraid of being a teenage mom."
Awww! What a way to recognize and acknowledge the trials that her mom faced as a super young mother. It can't be easy being a teen mom, and I think this shows that Rosario had a healthy respect for what her mom went through.
Plus, it goes to show that you don't have to have sex at a young age to end up as one of Hollywood's hottest stars.
Are you comfortable with the age you were when you ... you know?
Image via Asim Bharwani/Flickr


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Figure drawing sessions (2)...
Here are just a few sketches from last figure drawing sessions.
I start to realise that my absolut preference is to draw portraits
rather than the whole figure, unless he or she is dressed so that I can be inspired drawing the clothes with the textures, colors and patterns. I don't feel any ultimate goal in nude drawing other than learning observation and drawing.
(These are quick poses and the smalest once that fits into my scan.)


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When the news is full of stories about Listeriaoutbreaks, natural disasters and Agribiz-funded ad campaigns masquerading as benevolent nonprofits, it's easy to feel disheartened. Fortunately for sustainable food advocates everywhere, we can always turn to people like Doug DeCandia to restore our optimism.
Doug works as the Food Growing Project Coordinator at the Food Bank for Westchester, an organization that fights hunger by acquiring and storing food that it distributes to more than 200 hunger-relief programs throughout New York's Westchester County. In this role, Doug manages FBW's nascent Food Growing Program, which was created to supply fresh produce for the Food Bank.
The job involves farming, of course - Doug cultivates 2.5 acres of land located at five different sites spread across the county - but it also entails serving as a teacher and mentor because in addition to producing vegetables, the initiative is designed as a vocational program to train at-risk youths to grow food. Doug works the land alongside children who face a range of emotional and behavioral challenges, some of whom are currently incarcerated in the county's juvenile correctional facility. Together, they grow fresh, healthful food for those who need it the most.
The Food Bank for Westchester provide[s] hope in the form of fresh, good-for-you food to those people who don't get it. It's [done in] solidarity; it's not a charity. We're not giving anything away to make ourselves feel good. It's all in the hope of empowering people, and empowering spirit.
The effort isn't easy; Doug's work requires patience, dedication, kindness and love. It involves sweat and blisters, sore muscles and long days toiling under sweltering summer sun. But most significantly, Doug's work reflects his indefatigable sense of hope.
At the end of the summer, Doug was kind enough to give Ecocentric a tour of three FBW gardens (see photos in the slideshow above). While onsite, we discussed the Food Bank, the Food Growing Program, food justice and the forces that allow hunger to exist within a society of great affluence. Listen to the 27-minute interview by clicking on the audio player above, where you can also download as a podcast. You can also find excerpts from the interview below.
Want to get involved? You can support the Food Growing Program by volunteering with Doug at the gardens, contributing fresh produce to the Food Bank, or by making a donation. Learn more on the Food Bank for Westchester's website.
Doug, can you tell me a little bit about the program?
The Food Bank for Westchester Food Growing Project was an initiative by the Food Bank to grow fresh produce for Westchester's residents that are experiencing hunger. It's a joint production and vocational program at five sites throughout Westchester County. Three of the sites are at schools, one is here, at Leake & Watts, in Yonkers; another is at Woodfield Cottage Juvenile Correctional Facility in Valhalla. And then there's Eldenwald School in Pleasantville, as well as the Westchester Penitentiary in Valhalla and the Westchester Land Trust up in Bedford Hills. So there are five sites that we are growing vegetables on, alongside volunteers, alongside inmates and alongside students, at each of the sites.
Everything that we grow is donated to the food bank. And the kids at each of the schools help in the management and the actual operation of growing the produce, and inmates as well. It's a vocational program in addition to being a production program. Our focus is to produce as much locally organically grown food as we can.
We grow about 20 different varieties of crops spread throughout each of the sites. So each site is growing approximately five or six different things, and specializing in those five things and then each year we rotate. So in a five-year rotation, each site will have one of those 20 crops. This divides up what's grown where, and how it's grown and also the facility and the people at each of the facilities get to see something different every year.
Aside from the nutritional and environmental benefits, what are the advantages of growing fresh produce for the Food Bank?
Personally, from my own experience, being able to taste and eat food that we take that day from the ground that we walk on is a very empowering thing. As far as taste and quality and smell, it is far superior to anything that you'll find in a grocery store. And I think a lot of people haven't experienced that or don't experience it, and so if we can provide even just a little bit, a taste of something to someone that may have never had something like that before, it has the potential of providing, of giving hope, in a way that there is something else other than what they are given, or what they've had. It's not all just canned food; there is goodness and if we can provide something, even just a little bit, just a little taste to someone who has never had it before, our hope is that it gives them a little hope and empowerment in a way that there is someone that is thinking about them and they are not forgotten.
What do you see as other ways to address the problem of hunger?
Well, I think addressing the problem is getting to the root of the problem. The root of hunger is not that food isn't there; I mean, there's plenty of food. It's just today the majority of it's going to cows or fuel. And so it's accessibility. It's affordability. It's using that food as food, and using the land that we have to grow food and not to grow fuel.
But even that's a symptom; the root of the problem is respect for ourselves and for our planet. If we don't have respect for our bodies, for our own selves, as far as what we eat, what we consume, what we do with our lives, there is very little incentive for us to care about our neighbors or care about the earth. What the Food Bank for Westchester, this little organization in this one county in this one state - what we can do is to provide hope in the form of fresh, good-for-you food to those people who don't get it. And I mean, it's a solidarity thing, it's not a charity. We're not giving anything away to make ourselves feel good. It's all in the hope of empowering people, and empowering spirit.
Do you think this program can be replicated elsewhere?
Yes. I do. I think a nonprofit is a good medium to do something like this. It can also be done on the private scale. The Westchester Land Trust has a farmers' network that is matching farmers with landowners throughout the county, landowners who have land available and would like to see it farmed. And then there are farmers who don't have land who need land. So that's a program that is helping people find land.
I think as far as pantries and shelters and places like that, I've had so many calls and so many conversations with food pantries this year that want to start their own gardens and work with their members to grow their own food at their own places. So I think that model - the food pantry scale - can be done.
And then on the larger scale like the food bank and other nonprofits, I think this model can be transferred to other organizations and give opportunities like this to lots of people. Because there's funding. This takes money to do, but a lot of nonprofits are privately funded, and sometimes it just takes one person to donate a few thousand dollars and with that you can pay to start a farm. I think it can definitely be replicated and done in lots of other places, for sure.


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If you don't want to give up long-haul travel but are concerned about the carbon wake left by airplanes, why not cut back on your emissions by traveling overland?
Ozbus, a company offering a long-distance overland service from London to Sydney, began operations last month. The 12-week trip across the world includes activities in 20 different countries and every terrain from deserts to rain forests.
The itinerary includes stops in Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar and Malaysia, although the schedule may change because of political and environmental conditions. Geared toward backpackers (half the nights are spent camping), the trip involves one short flight, from East Timor to Darwin, although Mark Creasey, the company's founder, said he was trying to find space for his group aboard a ship.
The next trip leaves on Sept. 17 and arrives in Sydney on Dec. 9. The cost is £3,750 a person, about $7,350, at $1.99 to the pound. Information: www.oz-bus.com.
Intrepid Travel is an Australian tourism company that is offering a 130-day trip from Singapore to Paris called To the End of the Earth and Back. Once in Singapore, travelers will journey by bus, boat, rickshaws, trains and even elephants through Asia (above) and will take the Trans Mongolian Express from Beijing to Moscow. Travelers will spend one night in a Mongolian ger, a type of tent, and all other nights in hotels or with local families. The trip's price starts at $12,410 a person (plus $1,300 in local payments); www.intrepidtravel.com/endearth.
Dragoman Overland is offering a relatively short trip (25 days) from Mexico City to Antigua, called Temples to Tequila, departing April 23. Travelers will see the temples of the Mayan and Aztec civilizations. The trip also includes jungle walks, cave diving and sea kayaking. Accommodations are about 20 percent camping and 80 percent budget hotels. The cost is £221 a week; www.dragoman.com.Continue reading the main story


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Tonight's MIT men's and women's basketball doubleheader between against the Coast Guard Academy has been postponed due to potential inclement weather in the area. The Engineers will now host Coast Guard in a pair New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contests on Thursday, January 27, beginning with the women's game at 6:00 p.m. The men will follow at 8:00 p.m.
Both games can also be viewed live through America One Network, click here to access the webcast.
Due to the change, the men's volleyball match against Emerson College has been moved to the duPont Gymnasium, on the second floor of the duPont Athletic Center. The scheduled webcast of that match has been cancelled due to facility restrictions.


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MBT Scarpe, no matter what kind of body, they will improve your rear muscle activity, activities, and the calf muscle.
It is a revolutionary fitness Scarpe for its characteristics like increasing muscle activity,encouraging the individual to have good posture and have a better stride.The features of MBT Scarpe are as followed:They encourage you.
Color: Black


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While I'm into the modern shapes of carbon, the industrial welds of Ti, a fine lugged steel bike like this always catches my eye; especially, when I'm on a retro kick with my new fav Bianchi jersey and 76 shoes.
Fondriest details
Likely Italian threaded
This bike isn't new and was shown last year at Dealer Camp. I missed that show sitting in an airport and a colleague just sent the photos to me. He said this one was welded in Italy by Sacha White. Fanboys will wood up over that frame fact.
Chrome bits
Read more about the Fondriest SF2 on Albabici's blog. Fondriest is a former Italian Pro that retired to make bikes and is best known for carbon.


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Grand Bois recently introduced their new stems. The stems are fillet-brazed from steel tubing, then polished and triple-plated (copper, nickel, chrome) for a brilliant and durable finish. The special clamp bolts and the expander bolt are chrome-plated as well. The stems are made by Nitto exclusively for Grand Bois.
The stems are available in lengths from 60 to 100 mm (in 10 mm increments). The stem clamp measures 25.4 mm, so they work with all Grand Bois and many other current-production handlebars. (The stems do not have a removable face plate, so some modern bars with very tight bends may be difficult or impossible to install.) The stems have a threaded hole to attach a bell.
The stem is designed to work with Grand Bois' new decaleur. (Of course, you also can use it without the decaleur as shown in the top picture.) The decaleur makes it easy to attach a handlebar bag securely, so the bag does not move around as you ride. It keeps the bag clear of the handlebars, so you can use the "tops" without having to wiggle your hands between bag and handlebars.
The decaleur is fillet-brazed from steel tubing. It consists of two parts: One attaches to the stem, the other to the bag. Pins on the bag attachment slide into the tubes on the stem attachment with a friction fit. This means they don't rattle or jump out. To remove the bag, you simply pull it upward, and the bag comes off the bike. Based on the decaleurs made by Alex Singer and René Herse, this simple system works very well. The system relies on a precise fit between the parts: There have been some recently-made decaleurs that lacked this precision, leaving the bag to rattle or even jump out of the decaleur. The decaleur does not replace a rack: The bag still needs to be supported from below.
The weight of these components is similar to classic parts from the French constructeurs:
- Stem: 322 g (100 mm)
- Decaleur: 117 g (with bag attachment and bolts)
- Bell: 46 g (for mounting to stem)
The decaleur comes with all the hardware required to attach it to the stem and the bag. All these components are hand-made by Nitto in Japan. We have a few samples in stock now, and more on the way. Click here for more information.


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Cowboy Bill's End Of Season Rant
I've had trouble all season coming up with positive things to say. Bringing doom and gloom isn't fun for anyone. I've noticed that most posts on this site have some sort of positive spin by most of the writers. I try to follow suit. But I couldn't. I was so concerned with being labeled as a "hater" that I let virtually the whole season go by with nothing to say other than a few comments on other writers' posts. Well now it is time for me to vent.
The phrase I'm so sick of hearing-especially from Tony Romo- is "It is what it is". What that actually means is you know the answer and you're not man enough to say it. You're not man enough to say you're struggling under the pressure. You're not man enough to say it was your fault the team lost that week. But all we get is "Turnovers are part of the game" or "Give (enter team name here) credit". That's crap. Total and complete crap. It's PR spin that I aint buying.
Terrell Owens needs to just shut the hell up and play football. Period. Maybe some things he says is true. But handle your problems internally, as a team. Reporters are looking for a story. He never fails in delivering the story. He's an incredible athlete with serious personality flaws. He's far too inconsistent to be pointing the finger at anybody. When he's on his game there is no better. Unfortunately, those times are getting few and far between. Maybe his age is catching up with him.
Signing Adam Jones was the second biggest blunder of 2008. This guy looked lost from the beginning. He covers about half the time and has been a disaster on special teams. Whatever he "had" at Tennessee is gone. Long gone. The only thing that's left is off-the-field issues that a team like this does not need. Send him packing. I beg of you.
The biggest blunder was signing WR Roy Williams. So far this guy has brought nothing to the table. The chemistry was lost when Romo came back from injury and had a new personality to figure out. Not to mention Williams is a horrible route runner and is afraid to get hit. We had great chemistry with Owens, Crayton and Austin. Williams is the odd man out and history will prove that.
"They had a good game plan"… "It took us until the 3rd quarter to figure it out"… "The defenses have figured out what we're doing". These are not direct quotes but close enough and are all BS. The Cowboys' offense of the 90's was very predictable. Difference is, even when defenses KNEW what was coming they couldn't stop it. It's all about execution. Plain and simple.
Wade Phillips says he's going to put together a plan. Can't wait. A plan. Wow. Well, Wade, PLAN on kissing your job goodbye if your PLAN fails. How bout fining Romo $10K for every interception? Or fine T.O. when he decides to cry to Deion Sanders, on national TV, before a big game? Or fine your coaches for not having an effective PLAN to begin with! Fine Flozell and Colombo for false starts every freaking game! Fine DB's for blown coverage. Fine WR's for blown routes. Fine Folk when he kicks it out of bounds! DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING! I'M SICK OF THIS HORSE CRAP YOU'RE FEEDING US FANS!
Stop talking. Stop making excuses. Fix this. Fix it now. We deserve better. A guy on the radio said it best. "Cowboys fans are paying for fillet mignon but what they're getting is Hamburger Helper". Enough said. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go take some more Tums.


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adp needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 254 designs submitted by 49 freelance designers.
I'm a web designer working on my latest new project to help organize my life, and I need a beautiful new logo to keep me inspired.
The target audience is very general - anyone who needs help keeping track of things in their life. The logo must therefore be straightforward and clean..representative of a site that helps keep things clean.
Tracktacular needs to have a clean, clever, web 2.0 style logo that is backed by quality above all else.
Designers are encouraged to be creative, I have no strict requirements except that it needs to be clean and clear. I prefer the standard web 2.0 colors, blue in particular, but I am also a fan of green and subtle but sharp reds.
It may help to show against either an all white or all black background, but please no gradient backgrounds.
And I am particularly a fan of clever implementations. Tracktacular, by its own name, introduces some fun into keeping track of things, so it doesn't have to be all business. But I want to caution not to make it too gimmicky or childish, as I want it to represent a site that will do a good job of keeping track of your life.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Deb Jaisi, assistant professor of environmental biogeochemistry, has joined the faculty at the University of Delaware's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Jaisi said that he decided to come to the University of Delaware because he was looking for a university that was well established but also tries to promote new ideas with new faculty where it feels like a fresh start. His particular area of research expertise also meshed well with what is currently going on in the state of Delaware and the surrounding area.
"My research is primarily in phosphorous geochemistry, and when I talked to Dr. Sparks during my interview I realized, 'phosphorous is such a big issue here in DE' with regards to the agricultural farms, Chesapeake and Delaware Bays."
Jaisi also said that, "Sometimes a job interview becomes an important experience that invigorates your idea and instills more scientific curiosity on what you have done or are doing. That makes this particular job even more exciting. My science, which is isotope geochemistry, can really help to explore more and identify how and why the phosphorous has been released to the surface water and ground water. With that being said, the 'applied' aspect of my research aims to find out the culprit of phosphorus release in these areas."
Another big reason that influenced Jaisi's decision to come to UD was the fact that he wanted to collaborate with renowned professors, such as Donald Sparks, S. Hallock DuPont Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Tom Sims, deputy dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the T.A. Baker Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, and potentially with other professors in the area of plant-soil interactions. Said Jaisi, "To be at a college with Dr. Sparks, whose legacy I highly respect, is a rather great opportunity."
Jaisi also said that Delaware is a great place to raise kids, "it's very close to big cities, but it's not suffocating like staying in big cities. It's a very, very nice place."
After growing up in Nepal and earning his undergraduate degree in geology from Tribhuvan University, Jaisi went on to Thailand where he received his Master's degree in engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology, before traveling to Miami University in Ohio to receive his Ph.D. Jaisi also conducted his post-graduate work at Yale University.
Jaisi did not teach a course last semester and explained that his appointment is mostly for research. He does, however, plan to teach one course each year on his own and co-teach another course with a fellow faculty member.
As for the research side, Jaisi has plans to establish a stable isotopes laboratory, which he describes as a "very intensive process" that he expects will take up to about a year to complete, with the laboratory hopefully being set up by the end of 2011.
Article by Adam Thomas
Photo by Danielle Quigley


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Mayor Coleen Seng today encouraged the community to become involved in the 2003 Star City Holiday Festival December 6 in downtown Lincoln. Applications are now available for the 19th annual Star City Parade presented by First National Bank and produced by Updowntowners, Inc., the Downtown Lincoln Association and the City of Lincoln.
"This year's parade theme is 'Holiday Traditions,' so we are looking for entries that celebrate the great holiday traditions we have in our community, state, nation and world," said Mayor Seng. "Our parade is the largest of its kind in a five-state area, attracting about 85,000 people to downtown Lincoln, so we hope the whole community will get involved in this fun family event."
Parade entries can include costumed characters, equestrian units, other animal units, floats, unique or vintage automobiles and walking units. The Parade also includes marching bands and giant balloons.
"This Festival is produced by volunteers, including the selection committee, which reviews all the applications," said Deb Johnson, Executive Director. "The parade is limited to 90 minutes, so the selection process can be quite competitive. The entries that are selected will be those that adhere to the selection criteria and include kid-friendly entertainment that provides a rich exposure of the numerous holidays and traditions we celebrate. The committee bases its decisions on an entry's entertainment value, design, adherence to the theme, use of sound, choreography, costuming and props."
Johnson said it takes the entire community to make this major regional event a success. The Updowntowners produce the Star City Holiday Festival through community funding and support. Sponsorship opportunities include balloons, costumed groups, marching bands, floats, awards and the Executive Clown Corps. Those wanting information on supporting the event can contact the Festival Headquarters at 434-6902.
Those planning events the week of the Star City Holiday Festival can also apply to be sanctioned events, which gives them the opportunity to be promoted as part of the Festival.
The Parade begins at 11 a.m. and is televised live on KOLN-KGIN-TV. The Star City Holiday Festival Parade guide, which includes Festival activity applications, Executive Clown information, entry information and application forms, is available from Updowntowners, Inc., 1200 "N" Street, Suite 101, Lincoln, Ne 68508. The deadline for applications is September 26. Those wanting more information can contact Festival headquarters and check out the Festival web site at www.starcityholidayfestival.org
Media Release


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cnd needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 360 designs submitted by 89 freelance designers.
TasteMatch.com :-)
Visitors rank their favorite movies, books, music, etc. TasteMatch uses its database of other visitor tastes to make accurate recommendations.
We're a free web site and a free mobile application.
The TasteMatch concept is my idea, and has been under refinement for 12 years. I alone will be selecting the winning design. I happen to like Yellow for a web site background, but that's not a requirement.
Everyone - so we're after a logo with universal appeal.
We are not a dating service. We prefer logos that people will not associate with dating (eg: no love-hearts, no lips or tongues etc).
We wish to portray a fun and simple personality, but one that is sufficiently professional to stand proud alongside the ranks of other famous market leading internet services.
Whichever design comes closest to my idea of the personality of TasteMatch will win.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.