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Lunsford "Punisher" Traxxas Slash Titanium Turnbuckle Kit (7)
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This is a set of Lunsford Titanium Turnbuckles and are intended for use with the Traxxas Slash. These turnbuckles are CNC machined and thread rolled in house from domestic US 6AL/4V grade titanium. If you want to put your car on a diet, this is one of the best places to start eliminating weight, without sacrificing strength.
This product was added to our catalog on January 12, 2010

subset: commoncrawl


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Arrow Boss on Big Ravager Reveal — And Who Almost Played Her!
Apr 16, 2014 9:00 PM EDT
[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Wednesday's episode of Arrow. Read at your own risk!] Slade Wilson's dastardly plan claimed yet another life during Wednesday's episode of Arrow — but this time, there was a twist! After Oliver… Read more


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Cherries with Marscapone
Serves 4
Pound of pitted cherries
3-4 leaves of mint, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons of liquor of your choice (we use brandy or cognac)
white sugar
3/4 cup of mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Toss cherries with liquor in a bowl with a little sugar, if cherries are tart add more sugar, if cherries are already sweet you can omit the sugar.
Refrigerate for an hour or two.
In a separate bowl whip cheese, chopped mint & cream adding in a spoonful of sugar of two until incorporated & smooth. Mixture should have just a hint of sweetness to it - not sugary.
Spoon cherries with syrup into a pretty serving dish or cup (we use a martini glass) and top with a couple spoon full of marscapone.
Garnish with fresh mint.
We added a short bread cookie for a little crunch! You could also fill a tart shell with a layer of the cheese & then top with cherries - that is really good too!
Enjoy! The perfect ending to a summer lunch.
Enjoy! The perfect ending to a summer lunch.


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Protecting the Future
Students go to Copenhagen for UN climate conference.
By Melanie Breault '11
Nearly 200 countries representing more than three billion people came together December 7–18, 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP 15.
Joining the thousands of people who gathered in Copenhagen for environmental advocacy and reform were 25 Ithaca students, faculty, and alumni. They included students from professor of environmental studies and science Susan Allen-Gil's International Environmental Policy: UN Climate Change Convention class; Andrew Grossman '10, a politics and environmental studies double major; Patrick DiCaccio '08, a biology graduate; Lindsey Hardy '09, an environmental studies graduate; and Rick Otis '76, former deputy administrator of the Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Otis, who worked at the EPA during the administrations of Ronald Reagan through George W. Bush, has been sharing his knowledge of Capitol Hill proceedings and policies with Allen-Gil's students for the past four years. Every two weeks during the fall semester, Otis met with the class via teleconference, or in person when he was on campus, to help students understand the historical and political contexts of the conference.
"This conference is a once in a lifetime opportunity [for students]," Otis says. "You don't always get the chance to go to an event where there are people [to listen to] from all over the world and all walks of life."
Allen-Gil's class didn't go to Copenhagen just to listen and observe. In collaboration with Dickinson College, they created a social media and public polling service exhibit called POP COP15, which stands for Public Opinion Polls of the COP15. Using Twitter, Facebook e-mails, and in-person polling, the students posted a single question each day about climate change and documented the responses online and at their booth in Copenhagen.
"We asked questions like, 'In what year do you think we'll have a binding contract,' or 'Do you think the youth NGOs will have an effect on the negotiations?' We had a pretty good turnout, and some of the answers were very interesting," says Paige Davis '10, an environmental studies major, referencing a 'never' response to the binding contract question.
Students also attended lectures and open presentations by leaders of numerous countries, including what DiCaccio describes as a moving speech from Ian Fry, a delegate from the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. DiCaccio, who attended the climate change conference with Allen-Gil's class last year in Poznan, Poland, explains that the highest point on the island of Tuvalu is about 13 feet above sea level. He says the rising sea levels that are predicted as a consequence of climate change made Fry's speech a plea for the fate of his people.
"During the speech [Fry] said, 'I woke up this morning crying for my country,' " DiCaccio recounts. "Stories like that really hit home."
Leaders around the world have considered this conference to be one of the largest youth gatherings on climate change in conference history. Kim LaReau '10, a sociology major, attended the Conference of Youth gathering in Copenhagen that began a few days before the UN conference. She says there were more than 500 young people from over 50 countries there sharing ideas and skills.
"I didn't expect the youth presence to be as strong as it was," she says. "There was a lot of activism and a lot of people from across society putting pressure on the delegates for not only climate change, but also social justice."
Allen-Gil says that attending the conference inspired students to return to the United States and spread the word about the importance of climate change.
"Every single student I talked to came back feeling the urgency to do something about climate change in his or her profession," she says. "The biggest impact [for this conference] is the outreach those students are going to have with other students and within their communities."


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(2 stories)
- Sandys Hut: The place known as Sandy's Hut has held significance to a number of families from the south east for a ... read story
- Kindarun Hut: Kindarun Hut is about 3km east of Bakers Rd down washed-out tracks. Entrance portal is about 1km from gate ... read story
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Sandys Hut (13 June 2011)
contributed by taheki
(contact taheki about this story)
The place known as Sandy's Hut has held significance to a number of families from the south east for a long time. The name Turup, was recorded in Tindale's place name index, and referred to as 'Sandy's Hut', and is the site where the Reedy Creek broke through earlier Woakwine Eustatic Terrace Dunes reserve. It is important that this area is held in the interests of the families who hold a cultural relationship to the land., A number of families have maintained their connection. The Gibson family held the lease through John GIbson, which was later held by his daughter Dorothy Hartman. Her grandson Mr Michael Hartman now holds a lease over the house. However other areas of the original leased site of Sandy's Hut have been taken up as Conservation Park lands; it is the concern of Kungari that these lands be retained and controlled by the relevant Aboriginal families.
It is Kungari's hope that the lands will be retained by the families of the southeast holding an interest in the lands, they are the families descending from John and Amy Gibson, and others who held a relationship to the country.
The land was granted to John Gibson in 1895. There are three allotments separated by a public road with remnant native vegetation and ruined buildings, including two house. Various buildings and historic materials can be found throughout the area.The site has been heavily modified with fences erected and various introduced plant species growing, including a group of large pines lining the front fence and beds of Jonquils. The buildings themselves occupy a low limestone platform which is generally overlain by loose sand drifts and dunes. The platform terminates along a ledge immediately west of the main house site at a small swampy basin.
Survey undertaken at Sandy's Hut sought to detail the main features of the site and determine the presence or not of any pre-contact cultural materials. The site would appear to be located in a prime position for the latter, in that it is perched immediately above expansive swampland habitats on the top of a sandy substrate. Indeed, evidence of pre-contact occupation was identified in a number of areas.
If you do wish to visit Sandy's Hut, Please do not remove anything such as old car parts or relics that maybe on the land. Also please do not leave your rubbish on the grounds as it is a great disrespect to my family and my ancestors. Sandys Hut is Listed on the Australian Heritage Website.
This story was uploaded into the Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia entry for the Hut 'Sandys Hut'.
- add a story about Sandys Hut: click here to add a story about Sandys Hut
- info about Sandys Hut: click here for the Bonzle entry on Sandys Hut (open in new window)
- map of Sandys Hut: click here for the Bonzle map of Sandys Hut (open in new window)
- pictures of Sandys Hut: click here for pictures of Sandys Hut (open in new window)


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I was shocked today when one of my fav event industry friends asked me if I would consider shooting JUST THE DECOR for an amazing event!?
Clearly I have not been doing my job because decor photography is one of the core offerings of our business – probably 20% of what we do!!
We shoot the decor shots many of our event industry vendor friends use for awards and sales/marketing materials – we are frequently hired separately in addition to the primary photographer for the event!
We have custom packages set up just for our industry where our vendor friends can gain fully licensed images for their business at a fraction of the cost of hiring me on a retail basis.
Curious about what that looks like? See below. Curious about how it works – GIVE US A CALL!!!!!! [+1 678-457-4578]


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Tuesday, April 17, 2012
local florist (pve shop note-card giveaway)
26 comments:
- the gardener's cottage said...
patricia i'm a sucker for both. i adore orchids but a bunch of daisies are so irresistable. your notecards are so sweet. have a lovely day!
- April 17, 2012 at 9:29 AM
- Belle on Heels said...
Hmmm...hard to decide. There are so many gorgeous options for cut flowers and I love that you can take them home and arrange them into multiple vases or add herbs or greenery to make it extra special. But I hate that no matter how well you take care of them, they wither away and die after a few days. Not as much variety or personalization available with plants, but they're a little more permanent. And since my favorite flower is gardenia, a gardenia plant is always the way to my heart :)
- April 17, 2012 at 9:37 AM
- Acquired Objects said...
May I pick both? If I could only pick one it would have to be cut flowers for the colors. Gorgeous cards!
- April 17, 2012 at 9:44 AM
- Patricia Anne McGoldrick said...
A few tulips or wildflowers work for me!
Such a springy notecard!
- April 17, 2012 at 9:50 AM
- Linda said...
Love them both! Fav plant is jade, especially if it is in bloom. Haven't met a flower I don't like, current favorites are iris of all colors. So complex and delicagte. Love your art work!
- April 17, 2012 at 10:01 AM
- Laurie said...
Tulips are my favorite flower. A lush green fern my favorite plant!
- April 17, 2012 at 10:10 AM
- classic • casual • home said...
Such beautiful work! I am here from Sherri's blog. Today, I think my favorite flowers are pink tulips...but that changes just about every week!
- April 17, 2012 at 10:39 AM
- Jennifer C. Webb said...
definitely a potted plant....love potted boxwood and succulents. Much easier for husband to shop for plants rather than jewelry!
Is that your local florist in the painting?
Love that
- April 17, 2012 at 12:09 PM
- linds said...
I love cut flowers, even if ephemeral. A pale creamy pixie carnation is a current fav (my dentist once gave me one). Your notecards are adorable!
- April 17, 2012 at 1:13 PM
- GLENDA CHILDERS said...
Cut flowers for me. Right now ... tulips.
- April 17, 2012 at 1:45 PM
- Caryl said...
Cut flowers, preferably from my own garden upstate.
Right now I am a sucker for lilacs.
- April 17, 2012 at 2:06 PM
- Town and Country Mom said...
I have the best of both worlds right now. For Easter, my husband brought me a low-light loving plant and a cylinder of forced pink tulip bulbs. I love cutting my own zinnias in the summer--they're just fun and bright!
- April 17, 2012 at 6:31 PM
- My Notting Hill said...
I recognize this piece - love the one you sent me!
- April 17, 2012 at 6:44 PM
- Kelly Green said...
Ohhh, hard to decide. I love it when Christmas lillies come out as they last forever in a vase (weeks.....if they were fresh on purchase) Cut flowers from the garden are my most fave though and large stems of greenery! KG xx
- April 17, 2012 at 8:18 PM
- Kelly Green said...
Ohhh, hard to decide. I love it when Christmas lillies come out as they last forever in a vase (weeks.....if they were fresh on purchase) Cut flowers from the garden are my most fave though and large stems of greenery! KG xx
- April 17, 2012 at 8:18 PM
- designchic said...
Oh how charming...adore the note cards!! I love fresh flowers, and if I could do so, would have them in every room of my home every day...heaven ~
- April 17, 2012 at 8:54 PM
- Holly said...
There's a small florist/gift shop not far from us and I used to go in quite frequently (and knew the owner) but the ownership has changed hands and I haven't been in as much - they have the best gifts though so maybe I will pop in this week. If I had to choose I'd say a potted plant because I could keep it alive longer (I would hope).
- April 17, 2012 at 9:20 PM
- kimt said...
love your art work....fresh and fun. i love cut flowers...always have some somewhere!
- April 17, 2012 at 10:01 PM
- VictoriaArt said...
Hmm, such darling note cards! Love 'em....
But I will stay out of the race, since I just won your last give away!
I love a good florist, but it's usually something from around the corner anywhere!
Or my own garden for that matter....
Freesia, tulips, roses...Love them all!
- April 17, 2012 at 10:02 PM
- preppylove said...
Definitely cut flowers, tulips specifically! My absolute favorites!!
xoxo KLS
- April 17, 2012 at 11:40 PM
- Nicole G said...
My all time fave are peonies, but I also love freesias.
- April 17, 2012 at 11:58 PM
- BRASWELL said...
Oh those cards are divine. I will have to say cut flowers, but then I do so love plants + this is a difficult decision! xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
- April 18, 2012 at 12:45 AM
- Summer is a Verb said...
I had one in C'ville and boooy do I miss them. Best nursery ever...XXOO
- April 18, 2012 at 7:15 AM
- Chandni said...
Cut flowers for me! A big bunch of daisies or narcissus to brighten up a room.
Your work is so inspiring, I particularly like these one-colour scheme cards.
- April 19, 2012 at 12:44 AM
- Rooms Bloom said...
A plant, for sure, but I love both. Cut is instant flourish, but a plant lasts land lasts with love & care. Love the painting - I want to visit it!
- April 19, 2012 at 8:57 AM
- Sand said...
I like bringing home Basil or Mint plants, or other herbs to use.
- April 20, 2012 at 11:28 PM


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2012 Storage Visions Conference Announces Storage Visions Award Winners
-—Record Attendance for 11th Annual Conference—
Jan 09, 2012, 11:00 ET
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Eleventh Annual Storage Visions Conference (partner program to the 2012 International CES) awards were presented before a record crowd at the Riviera Hotel Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards recognized companies advancing the state of the art in storage technologies utilized in consumer electronics, the media and entertainment industries, and visionary products for the digital content value chain.
- The awards included the Sixth Storage Visions Art of Storage award, recognizing a product for its best-in-class aesthetics, ease of use and industrial design. The winner of the 2011 Art of Storage award was Kingston's Wi-Drive portable storage device.
- A special Founders Award for Meritorious Service was given to Mr. Dennis Waid for his tireless support of the Storage Visions Conferences (Dennis is one of the SV Conference founders and has been all eleven Storage Visions Conference.
Visionary Products Category:
- The SanDisk and Asus Customized SSD Form Factor was awarded the Mobile Consumer Electronics Storage award.
- The Home Consumer Electronics Storage award was won by the Samsung Semiconductor USB Optical SmartHub.
- The award for Consumer Storage went to Millenniata for their M-Disc Data Storage Solution.
- The new Enabling Consumer Storage Technology award was won by Micron for their RealSSD C400 Self Encrypting Drive.
- The award for Enabling Professional Storage Technology went to Hitachi Data Systems for their Content Platform.
- SeaChange won the award for Professional Media and Entertainment Storage for their Universal Media Library.
- The award for Professional Media and Entertainment System went to CET Universal for their VCM with Archive Station.
Visionary Company Awards:
- Intel was given the Visionary Mobile Consumer Electronics Company award for innovative storage for storage and products for mobile consumer applications.
- OCZ Technology was given the Visionary Home Consumer Electronics Company award for storage intensive consumer applications and storage.
- The award for Visionary Media and Entertainment Company went to IBM for LTO tape storage products supporting professional media and entertainment applications.
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of the 2012 Storage Visions Awards and thanks to all the companies that submitted products, as well as the award judges. The choice of winners of the various awards was difficult due to the number and excellent quality of the submissions.
Storage Visions 2012 — the premier event focusing on digital storage and the entertainment content value chain took place at the Riviera Hotel Convention Center January 8 & 9, 2012. Complete details on the 2012 conference are available on the conference website, www.storagevisions.com or call 408-978-8184.
SOURCE 2012 Storage Visions Conference


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The upgrade just returns:
root@bt:~# apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
I believe there's stuff being added and updated in the repositories (per Redmine), but I'm not getting it. I have tried in NAT and bridged mode. The behavior is the same (no updates) with multiple VM instances. I even unzipped and ran a virgin VM to try it a couple of weeks ago. There was a large number of updates the first time, but none since. Is it possible that something has corrupted my /etc/apt/sources.list?
deb http://all.repository.backtrack-linux.org revolution main microverse non-free testing
In NAT mode, I could understand if my host AV caused problems, but I normally use bridged, and I've tried it without the AV anyway.
deb http://32.repository.backtrack-linux.org revolution main microverse non-free testing
#deb http://source.repository.backtrack-linux.org revolution main microverse non-free testing
deb http://updates.repository.backtrack-linux.org revolution main microverse non-free testing
I've searched the forums and Google, but I don't see anyone else having the same issue. Any assistance would be appreciated.


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Wavy Leaf Ligustrum
Introduction One of the Fastest Growing Evergreen Shrubs for Privacy Looking for an inexpensive fence for privacy? Doubles in size every year! Ver...View full details
Introduction One of the Fastest Growing Evergreen Shrubs for Privacy Looking for an inexpensive fence for privacy? Doubles in size every year! Ver...View full details
Introduction A Perfect Privacy Hedge for Warmer Regions Lush Evergreen Foliage like miniature palm fronds Heat Tolerant and Deer Resistant Year-Ro...View full details
Introduction Great Evergreen Tree for Privacy! Adds a classy look to any home Dark waxy green leaves shine with amazing color An absolutely perfec...View full details
Introduction Create Privacy Between your Neighbors in No Time! Enjoy your backyard with this great hedge Fast growing...3-5 feet per year! Evergre...View full details
Looking for Privacy Hedges to block out your neighbor? Our evergreen shrubs are the perfect solution! Instead of building that ugly privacy fence out of wood or plastic, plant a living fence.
Privacy screens can also add value to your home. When it comes time to sell your home, the future buyers will love that they can enjoy their new backyard without the entire neighborhood looking in.
Howardi Ligustrum - this evergreen shrub stands out with a luscious lemon and lime variegation that cannot be beat! New growth emerges a lovely, lemon yellow and as the leaves age the color gradually deepens into a lavish lime. The leaves are thick, shiny, and smooth, not prickly like those of a holly. This stellar shrub is dense and lush. No peeking through this shrub! Perfect for privacy.
Japanese Plum Yew - This shrub has lush, evergreen foliage that looks like miniature palm fronds. This low maintenance shrub makes a lovely hedge. This yew is deer resistant and heat tolerant.
Mugo Pine This evergreen makes a great privacy hedge. The dense foliage is sure to keep out any sights you want to avoid and nosy neighbors from peering in. Plant about 6 feet apart where you would like to have privacy.
Nellie Stevens Holly - If you're looking for a darker green evergreen tree, Hollies work very well. They are compact and will fill out in an area if you just let them grow. Plant your Holly Trees 6-12 feet apart. They will fill in and block off an area for privacy.
Oakland Holly - This low maintenance Holly has soft, emerald green leaves that, yes, do resemble oak leaves! Very similar in size and shape the American Holly, but with a soft texture that won't catch on your sweater as your walk by. The Oakleaf Holly is perfect for a hedge.
Sky Pencil Holly - Need to screen an area for your garbage containers or an area that is a tight squeeze? The Sky Pencil Holly is the perfect fit. You will need to plant about 1-2 feet apart to build a screen. As far as maintenance, just trim the tops at your desired height.
Steed's Holly - Naturally lush and pyramidal this evergreen requires minimal maintenance. The small, deep green leaves darken with age and are often compared to boxwood leaves. This tough holly is great as a hedge or screen
Wavy Leaf Ligustrum - If you are looking for an inexpensive, natural privacy fence, this bush is the perfect choice! This Ligustrum is one of the fastest growing evergreen shrubs. It can actually double in size every year capping off at a very manageable 15 feet. This shiny shrub even tolerates heavy pruning if you want to keep it at a certain height.
Wax Myrtle Trees - These privacy trees are great for making a hedge. If you are looking for a large and tall hedge, wax myrtles are the answer. They are very fast growers that will give you privacy within 2 years. Plant your wax myrtles about 3-6 feet apart near your property line. Year after year, keep the sides tidy and lightly prune the tops and you will have a nice privacy hedge.
Join our mailing list for weekly specials and product tips.
Our family owned nursery takes great pride in the quality of each plant. Order online, and we will ship right to your door.
241 Mazeppa Rd Mooresville, NC 28115
Copyright © 2019 PlantingTree.com.


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Home/Balloons/Giant Balloons
3ft Giant Balloon Red
This stunning 3ft giant latex balloon will bring beauty and awe to your special occasion. Perfect for weddings, bridal showers, birthday parties, baby showers, engagement parties, home decor and much much more!
- Qualetex™ made – Highest quality
- Extremely durable and 100% biodegradable
- Qty: 1 (comes uninflated)
- Size: 3ft / 36″


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Over the last few years Facebook as become a important part of many peoples lives and has made stunning profits as a result. Being able to integrate with facebook is becoming an important part of the expected suite of features your users may be looking for. This weeks challenge is to try your hand at the Facebook API.
Getting Started
Facebook offers developers a host of options when it comes to integration.
Facebook Developer's Website is the best place to start.
- Graph API -- The Graph API is the core to integrating with the facebook platform -- this allows you to exchange data with Facebook. Regardless of which SDK you choose, you will need to familiarize yourself with the Graph API.
- Authentication -- Facebook's Authentication is quickly becoming a common integration allowing users to authenticate via facebook.
- Social plugins -- Allow users to like, or comment on items on your website, share content to/from other sites. These plugins are fairly simple to integrate into your website allowing you to bring facebook into your users experience.
- Open Graph Protocol -- Integrate your pages into the social graph for a tighter integration with the Facebook experience.
Facebook SDK's -- Facebook offers a number of SDK options for developers
- Javascript SDK
- PHP SDK -- fb PHP wiki
- Python SDK -- fb python wiki
- iPhone SDK -- fb iPhone wiki
- Android SDK (unofficial) -- fb Android wiki
Facebook Documentation Wiki -- This page has some basic guides on how to get started and some interesting articles on various aspects of the platform.
And For the really advanced integrations there are:
- Facebook Query Language (FQL)
- Facebook Markup Language (FBML)
- Facebook PHP api and XFBML on iframe by TMKCodes
- Facebook Programming: Facebook Platform - an in-depth step-by-step multipart tutorial.
- Basic
- Add a Social Plugin to your web page
- Authenticate a user though facebook
- Create a log of your [friends] status updates
- An application that update your wall the weather in your city
- Create a facebook status randomizer/shuffle
- Create a photo-album sync. app to sync photos with a directory and facebook.
- Create a graph of your social network
Other info
The above listed API/SDK's are the "official" SDKs but there is ofcourse work in any number of other platforms.


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Compare cheap flights from Cairns to Canada
Compare and book cheap flights from Cairns (CNS) to Canada with Skiddoo. Use the Skiddoo flight explorer to find the cheapest time to fly to Canada from Cairns on a range of leading airlines. Save with our exclusive Cairns to Canada flight deals online today.
What to do in Canada
Canada is known worldwide for its vast, untouched landscapes, big cities, and warm people. Being the second largest country in the world, you'll have no worries enjoying Canada during all four seasons no matter where you go or what you want to do. It's truly a destination for all travellers.
Start your trip to the north and visit Canada's best cities! Fly to Toronto and see the iconic CN Tower, Toronto City Hall, and Rogers Centre. Get a break from the city and visit the Toronto Botanical Gardens and Edwards Gardens.
Culture vultures can spend hours going through Canada's finest museums like the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Glenbow Museum, and the famous Hockey Hall of Fame for those who love sports too. And if you still can't tame the sports fanatic in you, fly to Vancouver and visit the BC Place stadium where the 2010 Winter Olympics was held.
Did you come to Canada for the outdoors? The country is filled with UNESCO World Heritage Sights and National Parks like the Algonquin Park, the stunning Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, and Yoho National Park. Taking the best travel photos here is a breeze, plus you can experience fantastic outdoor activities like kayaking, skiing, ice walking, rock climbing and more. Don't forget to visit Ontario for a splashing good time at Niagara Falls.
Feel more like a Canuck and surround yourself with the local culture by spending your loonie in Montreal's Saint Catherine and Saint Denis shopping streets, Calgary's Chinook Centre and Inglewood, the upscale Mink Mile and the bohemian Kensington Market in Toronto.
Don't miss any of Canada's best destinations, eh? So check out this Canada travel guide and start planning your holiday!
When to visit Canada
The best time to visit Canada depends on where you're going and what you plan to do during your trip. For the sunniest weather, you can visit Canada during high season (June-August). You'll enjoy fewer crowds and cooler temperatures during the shoulder months (May, September, and October). And the best bargains outside of the big Canadian cities happen on April and November.
Before you fly to Canada, make sure you secure your electronic travel authorisation (eTA) first. Check if your passport is valid for at least six months, and visit Smartraveller for more info.
Travelling to and around Canada
There are plenty of international airports across Canada, so it's easy flying in from Australia. You can travel around Canada by bus, train, taxi, and plane, which is also your best option for long distances.
It's time you go from down under to the Great White North! Get your passport ready so you can book your flights to Toronto with Skiddoo today.


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When it comes to PC ports of console titles, computer gamers are often left out in the cold. The PC version of a game will often come out over a year after it's been released for consoles, and it isn't uncommon for these titles to be of inferior quality. However, fans of Capcom's latest titles are in for a treat: the publisher has announced that Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando, and Resident Evil 5 will be coming to the PC in the near future. While Street Fighter IV was confirmed for PC last year, this is the first time Capcom has announced an actual release date for the port.
PC gamers are set to receive some new features that aren't available in the current console builds. Street Fighter IV will contain some vaguely-defined "new special moves" and three new shaders meant to mirror the aesthetics of the artistic trailers for the game: "watercolor," "posterization" and "sumi-e ink" styles. Bionic Commando's PC build will support higher resolutions than the console version and feature remappable controls. Meanwhile, Resident Evil 5 will allow support for NVIDIA's new GeForce 3D Vision technology (though the 3D glasses will need to be bought separately. All three games will still feature online play.
The PC versions of these games are set to arrive later this year. Both the PC versions of Street Fighter IV and Bionic Commando will be available in July, while Resident Evil 5 is set to arrive in stores "later in the year."


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In Between the Numbers – Transparency, Privacy, and Another New Normal for Retail
750 Million, and 0.00002%
My mother, bless her soul, would have never thought it was proper.
There's perhaps no better evidence that we live in a transparent, open-the-kimono digital world than the news that 750 million photos were uploaded to Facebook over this past New Year's celebration weekend. (That's an average of 4,330 per second.)
One might guess that a good number of the 750M were not images you'd want to show Mom, let alone include with your latest job application.
Place that in the mind blender with some other food for thought: L. Gordon Crovitz' column "The 0.00002% Privacy Solution" in the March 28 Wall Street Journal. Mr. Crovitz brings to our attention the results to date of a advertising industry service called TRUSTe, which enables consumers (through a click-through icon to online advertisements) to learn more about how they are being tracked – and to opt out.
According to Mr. Crovitz, a recent study by DoubleVerify found that of five billion recent advertising impressions, only 100,000 clicked to learn more – and only about 1,000 opted out. An opt-out rate of 0.00002%.
Seven-hundred and fifty million. Two out of one hundred thousand.
Don Tapscott called it early in his 2008 book Grown Up Digital. We're entered an era where transparency – the sharing of previously private information, and the expectation that previously private information will be shared – is the normative rule of the realm. Where personal data privacy concerns (beyond those of credit card theft) are increasingly thrown to the wind.
What does it mean for retailers? First of all, it's time to recognize that the era of information asymmetry — that we, the retailers, know more than consumers, and thus enjoy an advantage that translates into gross margin — has ended. It's a tie game now in the information wars, and the tie-breaker goes to the shopper.
Second, transparency is increasingly equated with authenticity. Credibility. Believability. Be transparent in your sourcing, manufacturing, sustainability, pricing, say consumers, and we might friend you. Maintain the old opacity? We'll go somewhere else. You (and your brand) just don't get it.
Welcome to yet another new normal.
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.


text: Reading GPIO values on the Raspberry Pi in C# 28 July 2012 david Code So, after some distraction due to fiddling with H2D2 and reading my new book on programming TCP/IP sockets :-) I've finally gotten round to testing the getting of GPIO values in C# on my Raspberry Pi with the help of the libpigpio shared C library which I slapped together. Also, in the meantime I've tested out libpigpio on Debian Wheezy which seems fine. I'm happy to report that it seems to work great, here is the C# test program I used: using System; using System.Threading; using LibPiGpio; namespace RPiBlinky { class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { RpiGpio.SetOutputPins(new[] { 7 }); RpiGpio.SetInputPins(new[] { 17 }); while (!Console.KeyAvailable) { RpiGpio.Pins[7] = RpiGpio.Pins[17]; Thread.Sleep(10); } Console.ReadKey(); } } } ....which sets the value of one GPIO based on the value of another. I hooked up a button and an LED like I did before, so pressing the button makes the LED come on. That code makes it look pretty easy doesn't it? Anyway, the next thing is to expose this stuff to a browser, so that GPIO values can be read/written over the internet. I'm working on that... I just need to tear myself away from TCP/IP sockets and programming language design long enough.


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A local bed and breakfast has recently received another prestigious honor.
Maple Hill Manor, owned by Todd Allen and Tyler Horton, has been named one of America's Top 10 Farmstays for a "haycation" by USA Today.
The Washington County High School Class of 2011 graduated Friday night, and 143 members crossed the stage and received diplomas at the annual ceremony. Bob Grider, son of Jerry and Inez Grider of Springfield, was named valedictorian. Naz Taylor, son of Billy and Kathy Taylor of Springfield, was salutatorian. Five students received the Commonwealth Diploma, and they were Kayla Edelen, Josie Lewis, Emily Cecconi, Charlotte Campbell and Bob Grider. Grider and Campbell were also named as National Merit Scholars.
Washington County's annual Relay for Life event starts tonight at 7 p.m. at St. Catharine College, and runs until 7 a.m. Saturday. Activities are scheduled throughout the night, including a luminaria lighting ceremony at 10 p.m. Friday. Awards will be presented at 6:45 a.m. Saturday before closing.
Magisterial district lines could look different to voters when the next election rolls around.
The 2010 census has shown that the most populated district in the county is 10 percent larger than the smallest, which calls for reapportionment to balance to the districts.
County clerk Glenn Black said that two districts, those of Hal Goode and Morris Sweazy, fall below the 10 percent margin.
A committee was appointed at Friday's regular scheduled fiscal court meeting to reapportion the districts in the county.
The Washington County Commander baseball team beat E-Town 7-2 in the opening round of the 5th Region baseball tournament this afternoon. The Commanders will face the winner of Campbellsville/Green County Tuesday at Central Hardin High School.
Junior third baseman Tyler Coulter set a new single-season hit record for the Commanders with 57 hits, topping the mark previously held by Bradley Coyle.
The Central Kentucky Youth Actors will present Les Miserables at Springfield's Opera House this weekend. See a slide show of images from the show at www.readthesun.com.
Shows will be Saturday, May 28 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 29 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are on sale, and doors open one hour before show time, with seating 30 minutes before show time.
For more information on the Central Kentucky Community Theatre, visit www.centralkytheatre.com on the Internet.
Kentucky State Police responded to a shooting complaint on Main Street in Springfield Wednesday, May 25, that resulted in the death of a 14-year-old Washington County juvenile.
Copyright © 2019
The Springfield Sun is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Springfield, KY, and the surrounding area.


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- Name:
Gabor Szabo
- Email:
[hidden email]
- Amount Requested:
Lots of general improvements of CPAN::Forum.
Benefits to the Perl Community
CPAN::Forum has been around for several years now and it is linked from both major search engines but it is under utilized. Improving its interface will make it easier for users to ask questions regarding specific modules.
The whole idea of CPAN::Forum was to provide an alternative to setting up module specific mailing lists so with one registration one can participate in several sub-forums.
Improved tagging and exporting it to the search engines will allow users to find related modules easier than today. Allowing a simple rating of a modules (or integration with CPANRATINGS) along with a trust system will lead to a better way to select the right modules.
threaded view
enable marking modules as recommended or favorite
make markup easier to use
allow people to edit their posts after submission
allow module authors to identify themselves for extra administrative bits
allow people to "trust" a module author and to "trust" the opinion of another user to see which modules are recommended
Session information: remember logged in user
One-time notification of module author when the first post arrives to one of her modules.
Posting a message under more than one distribution
Exporting all the data (except of the personal information) to be reusable by anyone trying to improve CPAN searching tools.
The code is distributed under the "perl" license as CPAN::Forum. The service is is available at http://www.cpanforum.com/
Project Details
First the project directory have to be cleaned up. I'll have to add lots of unit-tests and make sure the service runs on mod_perl. It also has to be moved to a new server.
The release mechanism has to be fixed. So the web-site will always run released versions of the code.
The rest is "just a matter of coding".
Project Schedule
I plan to begin the project immediately and finish it within 3 months.
Gabor Szabo has been programming Perl since 1995 and teaching it since 2000. He has several modules on CPAN and has contributed to many other modules including ack. Gabor is the primary author and maintainer of CPAN::Forum.
See also http://szabgab.com/ http://www.cpanforum.com/ and http://svn1.hostlocal.com/cpan-forum/trunk/TODO


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As we spend time at Skater watching custom boat after custom boat being built, every once in awhile a completely new design floors us. This has happened recently, as you are aware, with the Pure Platinum 388, the 50' Shades of Grey, and the all new 318 wide-body outboard currently beginning its rigging process.
Now, Skater has done it again. The new 478 we have watched for the past 8 months is getting to a point where they have decided to allow the secret new build out. The lines on this boat are something that we cannot wait to see on the water. In our humble opinion, they are superb.
We will put up a few of the photos of the build, and add more as the boat continues on its road to completion. If allowed, we will put up some of the main steps in the build from start to finish after the new owners take delivery of this latest Skater masterpiece.
Profile - April 2, 2015
As the model number of 478 implies, this boat is over 47' long, with a 9' beam. The raised deck makes the boat extremely deep, but as you can see, the sleekness of the design says "speed" even when it is just sitting while being built.
Fitting the Trailer - April 30, 2015
Watching the mockups are always fun
Cabin door fabrication
Sleek from either side after prime, sand, prime - May 21, 2015
Cabin coming together- June 11,2015
Stay tuned as this raised deck 478 continues on its way to completion.
One of the things many have attempted in boat building is the raised deck offshore performance cruiser. Flat decks don't have the cabin room the ladies like. Raised decks often lose their sleek performance lines. Designing and building one, without the look of a pregnant frog, has always been elusive. The Black Thunder 43, the Sunsation 43, the Outerlimits 41, and a few others have succeeded. This Skater 478 may be the sleekest to date.
Now for the last important question, will the performance match the lines? The history of Skater says absolutely. This particular boat will be receiving Mercury Racing 1100's with #6 drives, so the all around combination of performance and reliability should be exactly what the doctor ordered. We can't wait to find out.
Skater's All New 478 Raised Deck Vee
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Advanced Culinary Chemistry – Sizzles for the Summer Tanya Fogg | added on Apr 05, 2011 | United States Summer is a time for outdoor get-togethers and the "Great American BBQ." Cooks have family recipes or tried and true processes to pronounce their sauce the best!. But is it the perfect blend of secret seasonings, the marinating, the basting, the wood chips, or is it the chemistry? Get ready to unveil the chemistry behind on
|chemistry courses, food chemistry, cooking, barbeque, cooking on the grill, smoke house additives, smoke house flavor, bottled smoke house flavor
|foodies, cooks, students, food chemists, general public


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Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
My mom is having a sentinel lymph node biopsy. Can you tell me what she should expect from this test?
Nancy J. O'Connor, MSN, CRNP Oncology Nurse Practioner for Breast Surgery at the Rowan Breast Center of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, responds:
The lymph system is part of your body's defense against infection. It is made up of lymph vessels and lymph nodes. The lymph vessels collect fluid and protein from surrounding body tissues and lymph nodes act as a filter that traps bacteria, viruses or even cancer cells. Because of this, lymph nodes in the armpit (axilla) are routinely checked as a standard part of breast cancer surgery for women who have invasive breast cancer. If breast cancer is non-invasive (in-situ ) then the lymph nodes are not routinely checked, though there are circumstances in which it would be recommended.
The lymph nodes clustered under the arm drain fluid from both the breast and arm. Surgeons are interested in figuring out which lymph nodes, out of all the lymph nodes in the axilla, are the ones that first drain the breast. This procedure is called a Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping and Biopsy. On average, most women have 1-2 sentinel lymph nodes, though sometimes there are more. There are approximately 15-25 lymph nodes total under the arm, though again we are all different and some women may have more or less than that. A full axillary lymph node dissection removes most of these lymph nodes.
In the sentinel lymph node procedure, either one or two types of dyes are typically used to map out the correct lymph nodes. These include a blue dye and a radioisotope. The radioisotope is usually injected in nuclear medicine, while you are awake. It is usual for them to numb the breast first before giving the injection. The blue dye is given in the operating room, after you are already asleep. During the operation, the surgeon can see which nodes have the blue dye and they use a hand held scanning device to identify which nodes have the radioisotope. Those lymph nodes are removed (again, the average is 1-2 lymph nodes). It is important to remember that just because the dye went to these lymph nodes does not mean they have cancer in them. It just means they are the right lymph nodes to check for cancer.
The sentinel lymph node procedure is a same day surgery, meaning you come in and go home the same day. Most women feel a bit more discomfort from this surgery than the breast surgery. It still doesn't keep you from being up and about, but it's good to know that it can be more uncomfortable. As the area heals, it is not uncommon to feel shooting burning sensations. This is normal and will go away. The blue dye that is used, gets out of your body through your bowel and kidney, so don't be surprised if your urine and stool are a blue-green color for a few days. Sometimes the dye also stains the breast – which will eventually go away.
The length of time for the results of the sentinel lymph node biopsy varies between hospitals. Some will do a frozen section the day of surgery, and others will wait for a final pathology report which can take a few days to 7-10 days. You will need to talk to your surgical team about this. If cancer is found in a sentinel lymph node, it is usually recommended that you go back on another day for a completion axillary lymph node dissection.


text: (left to right) Gianni Tronza, Etihad Airways GM Switzerland; Nadja Schildknecht, co-founder and managing Director of the Zurich Film Festival; Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer. Peter Baumgartner shows Nadja Schildknecht around the Etihad Airways mobile exhibition vehicle Gianni Tronza (centre left) and Peter Baumgartner (centre right) outside the Etihad Airways mobile exhibition vehicle Peter Baumgartner outside the Etihad Airways mobile exhibition vehicle Nadja Schildknecht in The Residence in the Etihad Airways mobile exhibition vehicle 25 Sep 2015 16:00 Etihad Airways has launched a unique new mobile exhibition which will visit its key European markets to give commercial partners and consumers first-hand experience of the airline's revolutionary new cabin products and inflight service elements. Weighing approximately 22 tonnes and measuring 50m², the 16m long mobile exhibition includes full-size mock-ups of The Residence, the world's only three-room cabin on a commercial airline, and the First Apartment – both currently onboard the airline's A380 fleet, and also the B787 First Suite. The Business Studio and Economy Smart Seat, which feature on both aircraft types, are also displayed. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' Chief Commercial Officer, said: "Our cabin products have captured the world's imagination, setting a new standard in sophisticated flying. "The Etihad Airways Mobile Exhibition will give our corporate and industry partners an understanding of the innovation and creativity which went into designing these industry-leading cabins." The first phase of the tour will commence on 24 September in Switzerland's commercial capital Zurich, in time for the start of the Zurich Film Festival, of which Etihad Airways is a major sponsor. It will then head to Munich, Frankfurt, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Cannes, Milan, Torino and Bologna, ending in Amsterdam on 14 December. The second phase, beginning in January 2016, will see the Etihad Airways Mobile Exhibition visit the UK, Ireland, Belgium and Spain, followed by repeat visits to the cities included in the first phase of the tour. "We are delighted to commence this tour in Switzerland, which is world renowned for design, craftsmanship, hospitality and generosity of spirit. These are all core elements of the Etihad Airways brand and service philosophy, now brilliantly showcased in this mobile exhibition." The mobile product exhibition allows Etihad Airways to bypass the logistical constraints of transporting cabin mock ups to multiple locations, taking its ground-breaking premium products directly to target markets, trade events, and exhibitions. The mobile exhibition vehicle will be painted in Etihad Airways' 'Facets of Abu Dhabi' corporate colours, ensuring optimal exposure of the airline's branding as it makes its way around Europe. ets with the cost of pilot training, Alitalia is making a contribution to each trainee, investing a total of over one million Euros. Previously, pilot trainees were expected to shoulder the cost of training without sponsored assistance. The airline has also entered into an agreement with UniCredit to offer cadets a bespoke loan scheme. In preparation for the addition of new wide-body aircraft to the Alitalia fleet, the airline, together with Etihad Airways, is currently in the process of planning more Cadet Pilot programs to meet future growth and demand. The re-opening of the Alitalia Training Centre for Pilots, and the associated Cadet Pilot program, has been made possible due to the involvement of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), which reviewed and endorsed the training course. In addition to the Cadet Pilot program, Alitalia and Etihad Airways also promote similar training initiatives for graduates and engineers, which to date have welcomed 47 participants in both Italy and the UAE. Contact met Etihad Als wereldwijd opererende luchtvaartmaatschappij hebben wij natuurlijk overal ter wereld vestigingen. Lees hoe u contact kunt opnemen met uw dichtstbijzijnde Etihad-kantoor. Bekijk onze contactgegevens Feedback Als u een opmerking, compliment of klacht wilt doorgeven, of een vraag wilt stellen, klik dan hier Vind ons leuk Bezoek onze Facebookpagina! Bekijk ons Bekijk ons YouTube-kanaal! Volg ons Etihad Airways | Etihad Aanbiedingen | Etihad Help | Etihad Rewards


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This article is from the archive of our partner .
Lena Dunham's Girls debuted last night, to much hype and a not inconsequential aftermath: We're still talking about it, aren't we? Two "girls" of The Atlantic Wire of varying ages watched, and we had feelings.
Rebecca: Pre air date, a lot of the Girls talk had to do with the "awkward" "bad sex," Lena Dunham's character, Hannah, has with what Frank Bruni called her "boyfriend." This dude, whom she earlier says never returns her texts, is absolutely zero percent her boyfriend. She's in the sort of murky, "uncomplicated" relationship that my cohort -- Dunham is only about a year older than I am -- often gets into when we're feeling lonely, bored, or insecure. Living in this post-sexual revolution world we still want sex and companionship, so we find ourselves an Adam to occupy our time, fulfill our libidos, and give us some sort of pseudo love. To me, it was clear Hannah has found herself in exactly this kind of confusing "relationship," so it didn't feel off that Dunham claimed she enjoyed herself and keep going back. She's getting sex and companionship, something we all crave, even though the sex looked a bit sad and the companion a lot douche-y. Adam does have his moments where he seems to care for Hannah a teeny-tiny bit, at least enough to keep her hooked. Yes, it's pathetic, but not unrealistic. It's much less pathetic and more believable than the sexual encounter Dunham has in Tiny Furniture, where she screws a man in a tube on the street. (That's pretty low.) But, even my most confident (and sexy!) friends have found themselves in repeated decent (borderline bad) sexual encounters that still fulfill them just enough emotionally and sexually to keep on doing it. The point, I think, is that this type of sexual encounter certainly happens among my peers, especially in that type of uncommitted relationship. Dunham claims it has something to do with YouPorn and the Internet, but I think it's more about being in the type of relationships that breeds bad communication all around. A guy who doesn't text back isn't going to care about you in bed, probably. Or at least not be open to talking about it.
Jen: OK, this is painful. Painful in an extreme, Did we actually do this sort of thing back then? God I don't want to watch! way. As a woman who grew up on Sex and the City (and who's now in her 30s), the sex in Girls is, well, something new, but something old. New in that we haven't really seen it this way on TV. It's hard not to compare it to the Sex in the other show, and Dunham's clearly expecting you to make comparisons; she makes them herself, which we'll get to in a moment. But if you'll recall, Carrie's bad sex was of the guy-still-trying-to-please-her variety (think jackhammer sex guy from Charlotte's wedding, who thinks he's doing it just great). The same is generally true with her friends. There wasn't the same visceral, awful feeling of watching someone get used, as we feel when we watch Hannah and her male "friend," who balks at using condoms and wants to "sneak" in some anal sex when the moment arises. Yet, guys trying to use women is not a new thing—it's just that we're finally going there, in this new graphic sexual kind of way, on TV. That's what makes Girls so poignant, I think, at least, as someone who's older than the characters depicted. And that's what makes it something old, because whether we slept with insensitive loutish guys like Hannah's (that scene in which he grabs her fat rolls is just brutal) or had boyfriend's like Marnie's (the complete opposite, attentive and sweet and so doting that she can't help but despise him), we all eventually believe we've moved on from them, and this sort of behavior. Hopefully. This sex is real, yes, though wrought in the extreme: You want to yell and Hannah to get the hell out of that loser's apartment even as she's acting out her post-sexual-revolutionized "choice" to have sex with this idiot; you also want to take Marnie in hand and force her to release that poor boy from her cruel capture. But you can't, and they'll eventually do it for themselves, you have to believe. Because we did, right?
The Sex and the City Reference
Jen: Partway through the episode we're introduced to a fourth girl, completing the Sex and the City quadrant. There's Hannah, Dunham's character; her best friend, Marnie, who works in an art gallery and has shiny brown hair à la Charlotte; Jessa, the blonde British friend, the beautiful vagabond with a presumably adventurous sex life (and repercussions from that); and, finally, Shoshanna, a student at NYU and Jessa's cousin, who is, horror upon horrors, a virgin. Shoshanna is the one who brings us to the inevitable Sex and the City comparison, asking Jessa which character she would be: A Carrie? A Samantha? A Combination Carrie-Samantha? This is nicely done, serving to get the mention out there but also act as something of a diss to the original show. Shoshanna, for now at least, is the character most likely to make out-dated Sex and the City references while the others are clearly past that point, indicating that the rest of us have moved on, too.
Rebecca: This was more than the poster reference I was expecting. It's a whole minutes-long scene! Overall, it felt prescient and necessary, albeit a bit forced and caricatured. With the whole four women conquering New York City thing, the show has gotten that comparison, so good job Dunham for seeing that coming. But more than just a nod to its predecessor, it shows that our generation grew up watching and obsessing over Sex and The City, too. Even if we were far too young -- Dunham would have been 11 when it debuted -- to have those types of sexcapades during its run. Yet, with the TBS reruns and HBO box sets, we got to know the characters, comparing ourselves and friend groups to that clan. Though Shoshanna, the Zosia Mamet character, is a bit of a caricature, with her ditzy speak and pink Juicy jump suit -- I don't think a girl like that would wear that these days, it's a bit early 2000 -- she hints at another type of Girl, or part of a type of Girl, that some young 20 something girls would find relateable.
The Weight Thing
Jen: Hannah's weight is a real factor in this show, and it's both good and bad. It's good because girls do come in all shapes and sizes, and are beautiful in all of those forms. Hannah's something of a "regular girl" we can relate to, not a stick-thin supermodel, nor even the pretty darn perfect Marnie or Jessa. But it's sad because in some ways this weight thing—and general appearances—feels like a way to manipulate the audience. We're supposed to feel sorry for Hannah, right? Because she's not as conventionally beautiful as her friends, and ends up with the shitty "boyfriend" who treats her terribly though she keeps going back for more. I hope—as later episodes seem to indicate—that we'll get a separation of the prettiness=perfect life (aka, Marnie's boyfriend is too great) concept. All girls have problems, no matter what they look like, problems outside of "my boyfriend respects me too much, he makes me sick." However: I do like that Hannah doesn't seem overly obsessed with her weight, and does have a healthy appetite. I pray we're not going to get diet-talk on this show.
Rebecca: Her weight is definitely a thing in the show, but not THE thing, like other shows with token "fat characters." And, overall, I appreciate a non-stick thin female lead. Like Jen said, she has that "real girl" feel, especially in that cringe scene where Adam grabs her arm fat. Skinnier girls than Hannah have had that happen. Men: Stop doing that. I'm not sure I agree with Jen that we're supposed to think Hannah ends up with the shitty boyfriend because of her weight, directly. I think it's more about insecurity, which probably stems from her weight. From the teasers it looks like weight comes up more throughout the show, which feels like an accurate concern for a young not "perfectly" (whatever that means) shaped twentysomething girl.
Female Relationships
Rebecca: Dunham's characters in both Tiny Furniture and now Girls are a bit too pathetic for me to relate. But, friends of mine -- so, people around the age of Dunham -- have told me they let men walk all over them like that. So, maybe it's just me. And, even though it hurts for me to watch Hannah coo at Adam, a major dick who isn't into her, really, the other young female characters balance that out, presenting a different kind of girl behavior that girls my age, I think, can relate to. The dynamic of the girls also felt real, presenting the sort of feminism common among our kind, where we have the "right" ideals but employ the "wrong" behavior. Marnie, for example, is honest to Hannah about her thing with Adam, yet, is stuck in a different kind of very real modern arrangement, where she has outgrown her too-loving boyfriend. That contradiction is something I see a lot. We know the right thing to do and say as "modern women" but when it comes to ourselves, we fall into relationships or situations of which we would never approve. Also, yes, I know girls that spoon with each other and who have no problem getting naked together. Plus, Dunham, with Marnie's refusal to derobe in the bath, shows that not all of us are like that.
Jen: The friendships of the girls felt pretty accurate, though I'd never eat a cupcake in the bathtub with a friend, male or female. Speaking of cupcakes, I like that there's sort of a degradation of the cupcake here! It's no longer a symbol of cuteness and girliness, but a device to show off Hannah's appetite. As for the friendships: Yes, when there are groups of girls, especially twentysomething girls, there is often some infighting and jockeying for attention among both female and male friends (as we see with Marnie and Jessa); there's also an accountability or keeping it real among ourselves, as women, thing, which we get in a lot of these conversations. They're there for each other, but it's in a more modern, more emo, less high-fiving girl power way than we might have seen depicted in the earlier 2000s.
The Money Thing
Rebecca: I love the way Dunham approaches this taboo topic. It's embarrassing or not cool or something to get monetary support from one's parents among my peers. Nobody I know talks about it, yet we all know it's a reality for a chunk of people my age. Dunham puts it out there, with her line about all her friends getting money from their moms and dads. Again, it's not that everyone I know has the privilege of parental support, but certainly right out of college lots of my peers had help in some way or another. Like, at the very least a cell phone family plan. Maybe it's the bad economy. (Hello unpaid internships!) Maybe not. But, it's a real, and at times embarrassing for my generation, truth, and I love that Dunham addresses it head on. That Dunham can't or won't get her act together to find a paying job boggles my mind, though. I cannot believe two years out she still has an unpaid internship! She's over-the-top entitled.That, to me, is not a real, or at least very common, thing. The people I knew with unpaid internships after college didn't see it as a longer than a year thing and many of them worked extra jobs for cash on the side.
Jen: This made me very upset. I hate, hate, hated the opening scene when Hannah demands, with stereotypical twentysomething entitlement, continued support from mom and dad, and then is a baby about it when they deny her. (Am I showing my age?) In fact, I hated pretty much everything about money in this episode (Hannah's failure to stand up and get a proper job included), until the end, when Hannah steals the money her parents left for the chambermaid and leaves the hotel, walking across the street with mussed hair looking like something the taxicab dragged across Fifth Avenue. Despite her post-opium-hungover state, there's a little spring in her step: Girl is making her own money, kinda-sorta! It felt like upward momentum, getting out of this sad sack life and onto a better one. Maybe I'm impatient, maybe the twentysomething slacker girl thing cuts too closely for some reason, now that I'm older, or maybe it's that it feels like it plays into a generalization (lots of twentysomething girls and guys work plenty hard). I did go on to watch the screener of the next two episodes, and it does, as Richard Lawson said in his review last week, get better with each one. But I really hated that there was this theme of entitlement and twentysomething "Mommy/Daddy must pay for my life!" Say what you will of Sex and the City and Carrie Bradshaw's immaturity with men and grossly expensive shoe addiction, we never got her asking for help from her parents: As far as we knew, she might not have even had any! Times are apparently different now.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.
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Whale-Sized Research at SeaWorld
-- Study with Killer Whale to Help Conserve Animals in the Wild --
Dec 10, 2013, 10:26 ET
ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- New research conducted at SeaWorld® aims to help scientists answer a long-standing question: What is the resting metabolic rate of a killer whale? The answer to this seemingly basic question may upset conventionally held beliefs about the impact of killer whales, an apex predator, on their environment, and help biologists make more informed management decisions for endangered killer whales in the wild.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131210/FL30773 )
Scientists from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and SeaWorld worked with Tilikum, a killer whale at SeaWorld Orlando and the largest marine mammal living in a zoological park, to obtain the whale's basal metabolic rate (BMR) by measuring his resting oxygen consumption rate. BMR is an indirect measurement of the energy an animal requires to sustain itself in a resting state. To collect the data a flow-through metabolic dome was placed over Tilikum's blowhole to measure how much oxygen he extracted from the incoming air. SeaWorld training staff worked with Tilikum three months prior to the study to ensure he would be comfortable with the dome.
"The study of energetics in marine mammals, particularly killer whales, is central to our understanding of the animal's role in its ecosystem," said Dr. Graham Worthy, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute scientist and the study's principal author.
It all boils down to how the animal keeps its internal "furnace" burning.
"If a whale or dolphin requires more energy to live than their land-based counterpart, then we would expect them to eat more." Previous mathematical models have estimated that large dolphins, like killer whales, require a metabolic rate that is double that of an equal sized land mammal in order to survive in the cold ocean. "Our study suggests that is not true. Killer whales appear to have a metabolic rate that is the same as would be expected for a land mammal of equal size."
This new information suggests that killer whales might only eat half as much food as some previous models have predicted. And since killer whales eat fish, as well as other marine mammals, this has implications not just for killer whale conservation, but for many other animals in that ecosystem. The results of the study were published recently in the online edition of Marine Mammal Science.
Prior to this study most direct assessments of metabolism in cetaceans focused on smaller species such as bottlenose dolphins and that data was extrapolated to develop mathematical models for larger cetaceans. Inappropriate assumptions can have a significant effect on estimating food requirements of animals. The research illustrates the scientific and conservation value of studying both whales housed in zoological parks, as well as those in the ocean.
"You cannot make informed decisions about the conservation of a species without both sides of the equation," said Worthy. "The access to the whales at SeaWorld allowed us to gain critical data that would be impossible to collect in the field due to the size and inaccessibility of a killer whale."
"This study speaks to SeaWorld's larger commitment to conservation and animal welfare by providing an environment to safely conduct detailed research," said Dr. Christopher Dold, Vice President of Veterinary Services for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment™ and a co-author of the study.
About Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, founded in 1963 to conduct research in the tradition of world-renowned scientists Dr. Carl L. and Laura C. Hubbs, is a public, non-profit charity dedicated to providing effective solutions to conflicts that arise between human activity and the natural world. Hubbs-SeaWorld scientists apply sophisticated technologies to seek the solutions that protect and conserve marine animals while benefiting humans and their reliance on marine resources. The Institute also recognizes the critical importance of scientific literacy as a foundation for competing in the highly technical and competitive global economy and strives to provide innovative education programs to promote scientific literacy among our children and young scientists. In 2013, HSWRI celebrates 50 years of its mission "to return to the sea some measure of the benefits derived from it."
About SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment™ is a leading theme park and entertainment company delivering personal, interactive and educational experiences that enable its customers to celebrate, connect with and care for the natural world we share. The Company owns or licenses a portfolio of globally recognized brands including SeaWorld®, Shamu® and Busch Gardens®. Over its more than 50 year history, the Company has built a diversified portfolio of 11 destination and regional theme parks that are grouped in key markets across the United States.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is one of the world's foremost zoological organizations. The Company maintains one of the largest animal collections in the world and has helped lead advances in the care of species in zoological facilities and in the conservation of wild populations. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment also operates one of the world's most respected programs to rescue, rehabilitate and return to the ocean marine animals that are ill, injured and orphaned. The SeaWorld® rescue team has helped more than 22,000 animals in need over the last four decades.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., a publicly traded company (NYSE: SEAS). Additional information about SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. can be obtained online at www.seaworldentertainment.com.
SOURCE SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment


text: Preparing for Your Child's Surgery Prepare yourself for your child's surgery. Parents who can control their worries and be as relaxed as possible send the message to their child that everything will be okay. Talk with your child about his/her trip to the hospital and upcoming surgery. Use simple words that your child understands and be honest. This will help your child trust you and the staff at Mass. Eye and Ear. Ask your child what he/she is thinking or feeling about the surgery, and answer any questions you can. Use the following information as a guideline for talking to your child about surgery. Additionally, Helping Your Child Cope with tips from childlife.org may be helpful as well as this list of books that provide additional help and resources. You may also share this video with your child (we recommended viewing before sharing with your child as well as fast forwarding past the induction segment when viewing with your child as they wont be aware of this during surgery). Children do better with surgery and anesthesia when they are well prepared. Be honest with your child in a way that is appropriate for their age and personality. Keep in mind their developmental level, as well as any past medical experiences. Involve your child's siblings in the preparation activities. This will ensure that they feel involved even though they cannot be at the hospital during the surgery. It is important that you be able to give the child having surgery all of your attention, so we ask that you please leave siblings at home. Be sure to follow the food and drink guidelines provided to you by your surgeon's office. Remember not to eat and drink around your child or other children on the Pediatric Unit as they are all not allowed to eat before surgery. Pre-Admission Teaching Tours Pre-admissions teaching tours are available for pediatric patients and their families. To schedule a teaching tour, please contact our Child Life Specialists at 617-573-4184 or email@example.com. Important Information for Parents Please use the links below for important information you will need to review before your surgery. Pre-Operative Guide for Pediatric Patients and Their Families Collapse AllExpand All Infants: Birth to 12 months At this stage, infants learn through their senses and are very attached to their primary caregivers. During hospitalizations, stressors include: separation from parents, stranger anxiety, and impaired soothing needs. These can lead to crying and irritability. To help this age range cope, parental presence is essential. We empower parents to hold infants and reassure them that they will not hurt their baby with the IV line and pulse oximeter. Talk to the baby before touching and limit the number of caregivers in the room. Distraction tools to use are: light up and pop up toys, music, touch, and singing. Toddlers: 1 to 3 years As children develop in this age range, mobility increases greatly, language starts to develop, and attention spans are short. Hospital stressors include: stranger anxiety, loss of control and mobility, back-laying (feeling vulnerable), loud noises and sudden movement. At this age, children do not have a strong sense of time. When you are scheduled to visit the hospital, it is not necessary to tell him/her weeks in advance. You can start to read basic books about the hospital a few days in advance (see recommended reading). Giving them control is helpful; have them pick out a stuffed animal or favorite toy to bring with them. Use soft words to describe the experience. You can say "the soft squishy mask will help make you feel sleepy or take a nap so nothing hurts. After the Doctor looks in your mouth you will feel better." To help them cope in the hospital allow for them to walk or move around, parental involvement and presence, and use simple explanations. Light up toys, music, videos, bubbles, and books are helpful for comforting your child. It is normal for children this age to resist treatment. Sitting up or lap sitting is reassuring for children in the OR. Talk to them as they go to sleep and hold them to reassure everything will be okay. Preschoolers: 3 to 5 years Children in this age range become very egocentric. Their language becomes strong and they have magical thinking. The concept of time is still limited, and misconceptions develop from lack of understanding. In the hospital setting, they will cling to parents or loved ones in fear of separation. They become more aware and fearful of the environment and medical equipment. It is normal to see their behavior regress; they may choose a baby toy and speak like a baby. They can get irritable, throw tantrums, and become angry. Reassure them they have done nothing wrong to avoid guilt. Start to read hospital books a few days in advance (see recommended books). Tell them they are coming to the hospital to help them feel better. Use soft language when describing things and be realistic and truthful. Avoid words like cut, bleed, or shot and correct any misconceptions. Allow for manipulation of equipment and explain in concrete terms (touch, smell, taste, sound and sight). Have them bring a favorite item from home. Keep them busy and distracted through play, movies, and music. When going into the OR, allow them to play with the anesthesia mask if interested. They can pick their scent to breathe and stickers to decorate to make it their own. Explain, "this squishy mask will help them feel sleepy or take a nap so nothing hurts." They can walk into the OR and you can suggest sitting so they don't feel so threatened in the room. Continue to use distraction by talking, singing, watching movies or listening to music. Let them choose which distraction. At this age, role play may begin to develop. For frequent patients, we can offer common medical equipment such as a mask, pulse oximeter, hospital PJs, hats, gloves, band aids, and gauze to take home with them. They can use the objects in a fun manner at home with stuffed animals and dolls. This will desensitize the equipment and encourages them to control it in play. Encourage this play close to coming back for surgery. This may open questions to help ease their concerns. School Age: 6 to 12 years Children in this age range have developed good friends and are very involved in school. They develop concrete thinking and are active learners. They understand their body and increased participation in their self-care. In the hospital setting, they are fearful of loss of bodily control, loss of competence, fears of pain, death, and anesthesia. Often times their behavior can become withdrawn, regressed, depressed, or acting out. It is important to talk to them about why they are going to the hospital. Ask if they have any questions or concerns. Reassure them it's normal to feel nervous or uneasy. Allow for them to bring a favorite hand held game, movie, book, or craft activity. We will also offer these interventions during their stay. Many times anesthesia is a stressor for this age. Children don't like to feel loss of control. It is important the anesthesia techniques are explained to them so they won't feel surprised. For example, "the anesthesia gas is strong smelling." Talk about coping techniques. Would it be best to take 10 deep breaths, close your eyes, listen to music, or play a game while breathing the mask? Include them in participating in their care. The discussion of having an IV before going to sleep may start depending on the age and weight of your child. In this case, education and preparation is important before starting that. To help ease their anxiety, use humor/jokes, games, movies, or deep breathing; all of these can help. For future visits, we can ask what worked best or what we can do different to help their experience here. Adolescent: 13 to 18 years As adolescents develop, their bodies are constantly changing. This contributes to their self-esteem and need for privacy. They are identifying their interests, strengths, and socialization is very important to them. In the hospital setting they fear loss of control and independence and restriction of activities. Adolescents may become defensive and uncooperative. Be sure to involve them in the planning of their surgery. Encourage them to write down concerns and questions they may have. They should be a part of their care plan. Talk about their fears and be very honest. Allow them to bring music devices and tablets, or they can use ours that are offered. Contact Us Today! 617-523-7900


text:
Tuesday, April 8
Time: 6 PM
Location: Suzlberger Parlor, 3rd Floor, Barnard Hall
On July 22, 2011, two terror attacks in Norway were perpetrated by a white
Norwegian right-wing extremist. His stated motivation was to eradicate the
Muslim presence in Norway and Europe by massacring Norwegian social
democrats he believed to be responsible for allowing Muslim immigration to
Norway since the 1960s. Seventy-seven people died that day, most of them
teenagers. The terror attacks came at the end of a decade in which
Islamophobic ideas (often originating in transnational far-right online
activism) had become increasingly mainstream in Norwegian politics. How is
one to understand the popularity and ubiquity of such sentiments in a small
and prosperous country like Norway, in which Muslims make up 3.6 percent of
the population? Sindre Bangstad is a postdoctoral fellow in the department
of social anthropology at the University of Oslo, and the author of Anders
Breivik and the Rise of Islamophobia.


text:
This page is intended to be used with parameters passed from other pages, in particular the
parameter which specifies the date in the format YYYYMMDD. Either you have removed the parameters or mutilated the URL. Did you get this URL from a broken mail system? Without this information, the page cannot display anything useful. You will soon be redirected to the photo index. Please select a date from the list there.


text:
The struggle to protect family values from homosexuality is starting to feel a bit lonely. In the last five years, eight states have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. After years of winning ballot measure fights, gay-marriage opponents went 0-for-4 in November. Scores of Republican luminaries have signed a brief urging the Supreme Court to declare a constitutional right to marriage regardless of sexual orientation. And two weeks ago, for the first time, a sitting Republican senator, Rob Portman of Ohio, endorsed same-sex marriage. Behind these developments lurks an ominous trend: Gay marriage, once a fringe idea, is now backed by a majority or plurality in nearly every poll.
What the opponents fear next is that these setbacks might influence the Supreme Court. Those mushy-middle justices might decide that the country is ready to accept gay marriage as a constitutional right. This conclusion has to be squelched. Forget the poll numbers. Forget the election results. Americans are dead set as ever against same-sex marriage. Here's how the right intends to set the record straight.
1. "The polls are skewed." That's what Gary Bauer, the president of American Values, said yesterday on Fox News Sunday. Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, points to the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, which asked whether "it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married." That question, Sprigg explains, is biased because Americans "shy away from making things 'illegal.'" (FRC also claims that a Reuters/Ipsos survey, which deflated support for gay marriage to 41 percent by including civil unions as a third option, was biased by Reuters' efforts "to push that number higher.") The unbiased approach, according to opponents, is to ask whether "marriage is between one man and one woman"—i.e., to avoid mentioning gay people at all.
2. We won 30 states. Marriage "tests very differently at the ballot box than it does in a poll," says Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. The difference, Sprigg argues, is that in ballot measure fights, "both sides are fully aired." And what's the record in ballot measure fights? Thirty to three in favor of traditional marriage, its defenders report. They leave out November's loss in Minnesota, which actually makes the record 30-4. But the four defeats are the most recent votes. So the difference between winning and losing isn't whether it's a poll or a ballot measure. The difference is time. Opponents are using the cumulative record, going back decades, to hide the fact that the tide has turned against them.
3. Yeah, we got swept in November. But barely. "My side had 45, 46 percent of the vote in all four of those liberal states," Bauer notes proudly. In a post-election analysis, Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, blamed the defeats on "political and funding advantages our opponents enjoyed in these very liberal states." Brown neglected to mention Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all of which voted for President Obama, despite having been targeted by NOM as "presidential swing states."
4. Blame the elites. NOM and other opponents have long claimed to represent ordinary Americans against liberal judges. Have the recent ballot measures and polls chastened them? Not a bit. They insist that "media elites," "cultural elites," and "major donor elites" are corrupting the polls. Bauer says "a lot of people are changing their minds because there's been a full-court blitz by the popular culture, by elites … to intimidate and to cower people into no longer defending marriage." Sprigg adds, "It's not surprising that younger voters are somewhat more likely to support marriage redefinition than their elders. After all, they have been subjected to a drumbeat of support for it from the news media, entertainment media, and higher education for literally as long as they can remember." Brown thinks polls undercount his Republican sympathizers: "How many more young conservatives probably support true marriage but are intimidated by their liberal college environment and peer pressure into hiding their pro-marriage views?" These cowed supporters of traditional marriage—apparently poor, uneducated, and easy to command—are hiding in the closet.
5. We still own the GOP. So what if opposition to gay marriage is no longer a majority position among voters generally? It's still a majority position among Republicans. Reed, Perkins, Rush Limbaugh, and other opponents have fallen back on this argument, warning party leaders that any retreat will trigger a fatal walkout by social conservatives. NOM, unable to assure Republican politicians that opposing same-sex marriage is a safe position in a general election, threatens them instead with defeats in their primaries.
6. Polls are shifting back in our favor. FRC says the Post survey is old news:
"Just two days ago, news outlets were plastering its poll results of 'record' backing for same-sex 'marriage' on their websites—only to see the support vanish as quickly as it appeared. Today, the Reuters Corporation released the results of an even bigger poll than the Post's and found that only 41% of America supports [gay marriage]. … In 48 hours, we've seen a 17-point swing in public opinion on marriage."
How did 17 percent of Americans turn against gay marriage in 48 hours? They didn't. The Post poll was taken from March 7 to 10. The Reuters poll was taken from Jan. 1 to March 14. So the shift, if there was one, went the other way. In truth, you can't compare the two questions, since one offered a middle option and the other didn't. But you can examine trends within each survey over time. Every single polling organization shows same-sex marriage gaining ground.
7. Young people will drift our way as they age. Perkins argues that "history—and most statistical data—shows that young people tend to become more conservative and more religious as they grow up, get married, and start families of their own." Beyond age 23, "people become increasingly religious—meaning that a hasty retreat on marriage may score cheap points now, but it would actually alienate the same people later on." But the data behind this analysis pertain to religion, not homosexuality. And there's no precedent, in any generation, for the level of support today's young people express for same-sex marriage.
Nobody knows whether public support for gay marriage will continue to rise at the same rate. This issue might go the way of interracial marriage, or it might get bogged down like abortion, assisted suicide, or single parenthood. But it's clear that over the last several decades, homosexuality has become widely accepted, and opponents of same-sex marriage have now lost their grip on public opinion. The question going forward isn't how many more states will ban same-sex marriage, but how many of the bans already passed will survive, and for how long.


text:
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Chapter Five - The Ticking Clock
Carefully lifting his heavy arm off her back, she slides out of bed as gently as possible. As she does, she catches sight of herself in his floor length mirror. Mascara smudged, wig askew, she looks like a Russian prostitute in the cold, white light illuminating the room from the en-suite bathroom door that has been left ajar. She pulls on her skinny jeans and tight, white sleeveless top, stuffs her feet into her purple metallic Manolos and hurries out of the 18th floor apartment in Dubai Marina. As she passes the reception area, she makes sure to look completely straight ahead, familiar with the smirk that is likely to be on the security guard's face and not in the mood to acknowledge it.
On her way back to Za'abeel in her nondescript black Porsche Cayenne Turbo with the equally nondescript five number license plate (after all, no one forgets a double digit plate), Lady Luxe stops in a quiet road in Jumeirah, retrieves her abaya from the back seat and slowly puts it on. Removing the blonde wig from her hair, she places it in a plastic bag and leaves it in the back of the car, her handbag too stuffed to accommodate it. She takes out the prescription-free, purely cosmetic blue contact lenses, pops a mint into her mouth and sprays a generous dose of 'Midnight Oud', the new fragrance by Romano Ricci's quirky perfume brand, Juliette Has a Gun, all over herself. After meeting him at a fashion party in Paris, she has fallen in love with his charm and only ever wears his perfumes. During the day, she is 'Miss Charming', in a club she's 'Lady Vengeance' and on a date, she is 'Citizen Queen'. However, whenever she has to be herself – Lady Luxe – she opts for 'Midnight Oud', a mysterious, sexy fragrance infused with sandalwood, amber and saffron. Rubbing away the mascara from under her eyes, she reapplies her lip gloss and then continues her journey home. The clock reads 02:45. She is surprised as she assumed it was far later, and she is thankful that her father is still away on business. However, her older brother, Mohamed, may be back from an evening entertaining voluptuous, Moroccan women so she has to be careful not to let him suspect that her own adventures are far more daring than his.
Passing through the security gates of her father's sprawling villa, she feels her heart shudder when spots the study light on. Only her father ever enters the study at night. Parking between Mohamed's orange AMG and her younger brother Ahmed's run-of-the-mill Nissan Patrol, she turns off the engine and takes a deep breath before getting out the car. She winces at the shrill beep when she locks it, acutely aware of every rustle around her, and wishes she was wearing silent trainers and not heels that will undoubtedly clatter across the marble hallway.
They do.
"Meno hni?" a deep voice calls out, echoing in the sparse hallway, void of any furniture, the only decoration being the stained glassed window at the top of the stairs. During the day, the greens, blues and reds dance along the marble floors in the warm sunlight and as a child, Lady Luxe believed them to come from heaven.
"It's me," she replies in English, her pace quickening as she hastily makes for the stairs that are in the centre of the foyer, splitting into two at the top. Her bedroom is on the left, whereas her father's and brothers' rooms are on the right. He isn't due back for another three days and even his PA confirmed that he wouldn't be back until mid-week when she called the day before.
"Come here," her father says, his soft voice laced with ice.
Taking another long breath, Lady Luxe composes herself as her mind quickly creates the stories she will have to tell. As she enters her father's study, she is engulfed by the intoxicating scent of bakhoor. A contrast to the rest of the contemporary décor in the spacious, airy villa, the study is painted a dark maroon and is lined with floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves. Her father is sitting on a large, dark green leather armchair smoking a cigar and he gestures for her to sit down on an identical chair next to him.
"Salam'alaikom Baba," she says, sitting down.
" 'Alaikom salam," he replies without looking at her. They sit in silence for a while as he continues to inhale and exhale his cigar and Lady Luxe wishes she could ask him for a draw herself as her palms begin to sweat.
"What is the time?" he asks after a while.
"Almost 3am," she replies confidently.
"And what were you doing roaming the streets until Al Fajr?"
"I went to Maryam Al X's home. She has some ideas for my business." At the mention of her business, Lady Luxe sees her father soften. Disappointed in Mohamed for not having a single entrepreneurial bone in his body, he is secretly proud of his daughter for creating an abaya label, putting together a business plan, securing funding (albeit from him) and gaining a steady stream of returning customers.
"What ideas does she have?"
Lady Luxe stares at her father, unsure as to what to say. Her pulse racing and her mind struggling to keep up, she keeps a straight face, well aware she is hugging her bag to her chest so tightly that her fists are turning white.
"Loads," she manages to say airily. "She told me about her friend who is a website designer who can create a website for me, so we spent some time researching websites and so on. She also thinks that I need to cater to international clientele. You know, khaleejis living in London or the US who wear abaya and she has a contact in London who can help me."
"So you spent five hours talking about these two points?" Lady Luxe's father looks at her straight in the eyes and she looks back at him, anxious not to break her gaze and make herself look like she is crumbling.
"Of course not!" she laughs, still holding on to her bag for support. "Baba, you know us girls. First we had dinner, they made delicious home made pizza which I have to get the recipe for. Claudine's pizza is really lacking. Then we were chatting about...you don't want to know the details of who wore what to whose party do you?" She flashes her father a big smile and he visibly relaxes. She doesn't though. She is well aware of her father's temper and what he is capable of doing if his boundaries are pushed.
"Fine, but you know how I feel about you coming home late."
"I know Baba and I'm sorry, I would have called you but I knew you were away and you know how Mohamed is. He hates it when I disturb him when he's out so I didn't want to have to deal with that." Still gripping onto her bag, scared that if she releases her hands, they will start shaking and if she gives her father the slightest hint that she is less confident than she appears, he will be sure to pounce on her hestitation like a lion and it's prey.
"Let me see your handbag," he suddenly demands after a pause. Shocked, Lady Luxe's mouth falls open slightly.
"Why?" she asks, buying time, her mind spinning as she tries to work out what is in it. Although she is relieved that she left the wig in the car, she still doesn't know what other incriminating objects may be lurking around in the depths of her large and very full Birkin bag. She's positive that there is a packet of Marlboro Lights somewhere amongst the makeup, spare shoes, sunshade, spare sheila and she prays with every ounce of her being that there are no condoms.
"Because you have been clutching on to it like a mother with her newborn and I am curious as to why you are worried that I will see what is inside."
"I'm not worried. I'm holding it because it's stuffed full of rubbish and I don't want everything to spill out." I really don't want everything to spill out.
"Then hand it over. Let me see what you girls are carrying around with you these days and why you insist on lugging such huge bags with you." His voice is jolly, but Lady Luxe recognises the hardness behind the facade and wordlessly hands it over.
She watches her father rummage through her Birkin with her breath stuck in her throat and for the first time, is thankful that it is full of useless things – fabric samples, leaflets, jewellery. Almost immediately, he comes across a pair of flimsy, lacy knickers, he withdraws his as if he has been burnt and thrusts the bag back at her. Lady Luxe releases the air in her lungs. Her breath now steady, her heart slowing down, she now feels indignant that her father had the audacity to question her like that and the more she thinks about it, the more annoyed she feels. She feels like an innocent bystander accused of murder.
"I can't believe you did that, Baba," she says, feeling a lot stronger knowing that he is now embarrassed. "You see why I didn't want my things to fall out?"
"Be quiet," he snaps. "I don't care if you're working on your business, you are a lady and you will behave like one. If you wish to stay out later than 2am, you will inform me and Mohamed of your exact whereabouts. Go to your room."
She does, relief pouring out of every pore, every cell. As soon as she gets to her bedroom, she empties out her entire handbag onto her four poster bed. She finds a single, foil wrapped condom as well as a tiny plastic bag of weed. She flushes them both down the toilet in her en-suite bathroom, her heart beginning to work overtime again. This time, her father had checked her bag but what if next time he checked her phone? Although she has two – one for business, family and friends and another unregistered one for fun, he can easily come across the wrong one if he decides to make a habit of looking through her things.
Making space on her bed, she sits crossed legged, still in her abaya, and opens her 'fun' inbox. Her face turns pale as she comes across hundreds of dirty text messages from countless guys. She hits 'delete all' and decides to delete every new message that comes through. She does the same with the sent messages.
Tonight she has been lucky and she knows that it's only a matter of time – or in her case – an investigative father – before it runs out.
12 comments:
- May 21, 2009 at 11:49 AM
The clock reads 04:30 and she is thankful that her father is still away on business.Yet, her father is at home and there is no surprise expressed at his early return?
- May 21, 2009 at 2:21 PM
- Ghost Writer said...
Hmm..thought it was obvious when she is shocked that the study light is on..but yes, ur right..i should elaborae a little more. Thanks! :)
- May 21, 2009 at 2:36 PM
oooh a ticking clock indeed!! Scary...:)
- May 25, 2009 at 12:26 AM
I love this Lady Luxe character - unashamedly honest.
- May 25, 2009 at 2:40 PM
- *~Ange~* said...
slutty and i LOVE it!!
- September 10, 2009 at 1:03 PM
- Keep Guessing said...
Nice One... Keep it up
- December 4, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Bloody terrifying - my heart was pounding it was all just so real
- February 18, 2010 at 4:56 PM
that was terrifying, yikes.
- February 18, 2010 at 4:57 PM
- little girl said...
im a lady luxe fan! everything was well-written... i think it was obvious that she was shocked when she saw the study lights on...
good writing... wish i have your talent
- February 22, 2010 at 6:29 PM
- sogol said...
hahahaha I love this chapter!! This has happened over and over again to so many girls! I was right there in the room with you. Again so real!
- October 25, 2010 at 9:14 AM
I also thought it was obvious. Loving this, rumor has it you are being published? I hope so. xx
- December 30, 2010 at 9:29 PM


text:
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- STOCK COMMENTS / EPS CHANGESFacebook ( FB - Get Report) estimates, target were boosted at Needham. Shares are now seen reaching $33. Estimates were also increased, given higher expected mobile revenue growth, Needham said. Buy rating. Westlake ( WLK - Get Report) estimates were increased at Wells Fargo through 2013. Company is leveraged to lower ethane costs, Wells said. Market Perform rating. Yahoo! ( YHOO) price target was raised at Needham to $26. Fundamentals are improving and the company is returning cash to investors, Needham said. Buy rating. >To submit a news tip, email: firstname.lastname@example.com.
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