text:
PICC supports the campaign for equal access to driver's licenses for all residents of Pennsylvania.
Prior to 2002, residents of Pennsylvania were able to legally obtain a driver's license with a Tax ID Number, or ITIN. In 2009, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation wrongly cancelled the licenses of tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who had obtained their licenses legally.
The ability to legally drive allows immigrants to fully contribute to the local economy. Access to transportation is necessary for the many immigrant workers, business owners, parents, and students in Pennsylvania.
- In 2012, undocumented Pennsylvanians contributed $134 million in taxes in PA.
- Drivers who cannot obtain licenses or insurance cost the state millions of dollars in damage claims each year, driving up premiums for everyone else. When New Mexico passed a law allowing driver's licenses for undocumented residents, the state's uninsurance rate dropped by over 20% in only 5 years, reducing insurance premiums and saving millions of dollars.
- When New York considered allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, the State Department of Insurance estimated that expanded license access would reduce the premium costs associated with uninsured motorist coverage by 34 percent, saving New York drivers $120 million each year.
Public Safety
The roads and highways are safer when everyone behind the wheel has a license, insurance, and identification. For this reason, police officers and sheriffs around the country are in favor of this right being granted to all people. An unmarked license is necessary to encourage all drivers in Pennsylvania to obtain a license. A marked license would perpetuate the fear many immigrants have of deportation and family separation.
Proven Effective
Eleven states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington) as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia already allow their residents to obtain driver's licenses regardless of immigration status. New Mexico and Washington provide an unmarked license.
Human Rights
The right to mobility, to move freely, is inscribed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many other fundamental rights — to work, to education, and to human dignity — are only accessible via valid identification and adequate transportation.
For more information on how to get involved with communities organizing on this issue, please contact PICC members Movement of Immigrant Leaders in PA or New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia.


text:
|PTI's Challenge Photo
|PTI's Simple Circle Border Die
|Here's a comparison of the sizes of two strips vs. one strip rolled up.
|PTI's Challenge Photo
|PTI's Simple Circle Border Die
|Here's a comparison of the sizes of two strips vs. one strip rolled up.
These are fantastic!! I love them all so much. I often wondered if that border die wouldn't work for flowers but never got so far as to try it. Now I know. Thanks for the tip!! I love all your card base holders too : )ReplyDelete
All all of these ate amazing! Great job!!ReplyDelete
Holy wow! I'm hooked!!!! So happy your gave into your whim to start a blog. Your creations are so much fun. :)ReplyDelete
What a clever idea! Love the instructions too. Great projects! Thanks for the inspiration!ReplyDelete
What a fabulous collection of hair accessories. Great job.ReplyDelete
These hair accessories are just too cute and your directions are very good.
Thanks so much for this nice project!
Oh, wow, these are fabulous! I'm going to have to try making some rolled felt flowers with my simple circles die--- thanks for the inspiration!ReplyDelete
so cute. what little girl wouldn't want one of these. They are so fun and beautiful. Thanks for the directions. I would have never guessed it was so easy.ReplyDelete
They are all great. Love how you used the mat stack die cut to hold them too.ReplyDelete
What a fabulous gift idea!!! I love that you packaged the hair accessories on the mat stack #3...anyone would be thrilled to receive this handmade gift :)ReplyDelete

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2)
Written by Victoria Schwab
Published June 13th 2017 by Greenwillow Books
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Page: 510
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review by: Tina
Click here to see the review on
This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)
There were two kinds of monsters, the kind that hunted the streets and the kind that lived in your head. She could fight the first, but the second was more dangerous. It was always, always, always a step ahead.
I die.
The week leading up to the release I've seen twitter messages to VE congratulating and fangirling Our Dark Duet. Let me tell you, this is everything I heard it'd be and more. This is my absolute favorite series from Victoria Schwab. I cannot gush enough.
The story begins six months from the time Kate or August separates. Kate is now a kick ass monster hunter (like Buffy) and August rises to become a leader, taking over Leo's role as captain of FTF (like a war hero).
The story is action packed and chock full of emotions and heart. I just want to sob after the last page - all the trials that led up to that final moment, my heart broke. August, who has been struggling with his humanity, finds it in Kate and Kate was unyielding in her purpose and strength. I love both characters so much!


text:
OTTAWA, Feb. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- betterU Education Corp. (TSX-V:BTRU) (FRANKFURT:5OGA), (the "Corporation" or "betterU"), is pleased to announced that on February 1st, 2018 Treasure Union Limited ("TU") and the Corporation executed a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement"). The Definitive Agreement solidifies the terms and conditions required to complete the final details for the US$100M equity investment in betterU, previously announced on November 3rd, 2017, November 24th, 2017 and January 16th 2018.
The Corporation would also like to provide an update on the timing for the delivery of funds and issuance of shares.
The Definitive Agreement includes several conditions precedent that are required to complete prior to closing. These include:
Funds are expected to be available for issuing from the Fund to TUCapital between March 15th and the 31st and shortly afterwards to betterU. Only a date range for receipt of funds has been provided by TU to betterU. TU continues to manage the process between the Corporation and the Investor and does not have direct control over the funds until TUCapital has been established.
betterU continues to be optimistic in the closing timeframe of this equity investment deal and continues to advance its efforts in the hiring of key global leaders, office expansion, infrastructure set-up and much more to support their growth projections post funding.
The consummation of any financing, as contemplated, remains subject to TSXV approval, and among other conditions of the TSXV's approval, disinterested shareholder approval.
About betterU
betterU, a global education marketplace, aims to provide access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated education-to-employment ecosystem. betterU's offerings can be categorized into several broad functions: to compliment school programs with flexible KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to provide access to global educational opportunities from leading educators, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one's existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.
www.betterU.ca and www.betterU.in
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information, which may involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with betterU's growth, the state of the financial markets, regulatory risks and other factors. There can be no assurance or guarantees that any statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, betterU disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers should not place undue reliance on any statements of forward-looking information that speak only as of the date of this release. Further information on betterU's public filings, including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements, are available at www.sedar.com.
For further information, please visit http://www.betteru.ca/investor-overview/
On behalf of the Board of Director,
betterU Education Corp.
Brad Loiselle, CEO
For further information:
Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100 Ext. 233
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
betterU Education Corp.
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA


text:
|Riverfire then the roadtrip
Okay—so as epic journeys go 2000 km (round trip) isn't that epic. And we didn't even get that far off the beaten path. Though when we told a few Aussies that we were headed toward the outback they seemed more than a little surprised. It seems most people go to the beach, or a city or the mountains for holidays. But Ev's mum Gail was with us and she was keen for an adventure. So we set off with the goal of seeing (and doing) a bit of everything.
|Not all 80-year-olds would have embraced the adventure (and discomfort) the way Ev's mum did)
Our first stop was the NSW surf town of Ballina (which turns out is pronounced Bal-lin-na not Bah-leen-ah, or even Bah-een-ah.) I guess the Spanish/French influence is a bit diminished here… Every time we do something new in Australia it seems like it comes with a whole new vocabulary. And as we passed turnoffs for towns like Mummelgum, Dingadee and Dirranbandi we decided on a new rule: if we couldn't (sort of) pronounce a name without assistance, we weren't going there.
After a dip in the ocean we continued on, mispronouncing our way across the Great Dividing Range to Girraween National Park. Happily Girraween is easy to say because the huge granite outcroppings and lovely wineries would have been unfortunate to miss! Then it was on to Moree (go ahead, give it a go) where we soaked off the bumpy miles in the bore baths, aka hot springs.
|a town along the way
I think we've mentioned that Australia is expensive and our disposable income is already spoken for. So our road trip wasn't luxurious. In fact, I may have rented us the cheapest campervan in the country. And with a few hundred thousand kilometers on Big Red, a door that alternatively fell off or got stuck while open (or closed), and a sad lack of shock absorbers it was a pretty uncomfortable excuse for transportation.
But after the second long soak we crammed Gail and Maia into the way back and continued toward our goal: the opal mining town of Lighting Ridge. Honestly? I'm not sure why this was the goal. Maia wanted to go to Coober Pedy, Ev wanted to see the outback, Gail wanted to see a bit of the country and I like shiny things. So Lightning Ridge seemed the logical choice.
There are a lot of dead kangaroos between Brisbane and Lightning Ridge. Recently there was a local headline, "Kangaroo Kills Girl". The tragic story went on to describe a kangaroo bounding across the road, through the front windscreen and then out the back window; as though it was intentional. The truth is the bitumen (fancy Aussie word for road) holds heat at night which attracts animals and if you drive at night: bamm! Big Red wasn't insured to be on the road after dusk, and considering the slaughter (we went through sections where there were dead kangaroos, emus and foxes every few meters) this was a good thing.
Despite containing our driving to daylight hours, we eventually made it to the Ridge and secured a campsite at the Crocodile (that's local speak). From there we headed out to explore. With thousands of miners each inhabiting 50 meter square plots, the Ridge looks a bit like a moonscape. The really fascinating bit is when you take a tour underground. We chose to visit the Walk-in Mine (there was a particularly touristy mine that had been turned into an art gallery—but it seemed a bit too weird for us…) Down in the mine the tunnel was larger than I expected, at least for an opal mine I was told was dug by hand and once entered through a drainage tube. When I brushed my fingers along the seam, where the chunky red rocks might hide gems, I joked about accidentally knocking free an opal and pocketing it. The comment brought a dirty look and a lecture from Maia, "That would make you a ratter." Ratter is the name of a person who steals from another miner.
After seeing the mine and learning how to identify opal we had a go at fossicking (see what I mean? It's a whole new language…). Noodling through the scrap heap we kept an eye out for potch: a grey form of opal that indicates some of the colourful stuff might be near.
|in the mine
|fossicking for opals
Maia did a great job of searching and found a few pretty pieces and then she and Gail befriended an opal cutter who gave Maia a big bag of rough opal to polish up herself. It turns out my only opal skills occurred in the shops—where I discovered how to trade money for them.
|Aussies camp differently than us. Our tent is on the right. We thought it was pretty big until we saw a proper family-sized tent. Gail slept in the van.
|A miner's castle in the Ridge
After a couple of days broken up by cool interactions with locals and a wonderful night time soak in a bore bath (nothing like looking up at the stars from a hot spring while kangaroos nibble the grass around its edges) it was back into Big Red and back on the road for the return voyage.


text:
STRONGSHINE Security Camera System Wireless 4CH 1.3MP Wi-Fi CCTV Camera Kit w/ Built-in Router for Home Surveillance – EU Plug
Overview and Specifications:
· 4 channel security camera system is easy operation, only need to plug them in power and connect them with wire to start working.
· 720P/960P/1080P 4 Channel NVR recoder .
· P2P,ONVIF,Smart phone APP
· Free App for remote view and control ,motion alerts on PC,iPhone, iPad, and Android devices with WiFi or 2G/3G/4G network anytime anywhere!
4CH Wireless NVR
* Wireless distance up to 70-100M
* Video input:4CH*720P or 4CH*960P
* Automaticlly connect WI-Fi Network camera
* VGA , HDMI , USB interface.
* Support 24 Multi-Languages in UI.
* Support 1sata * 4TB(Max) Hard disk
* P2P cloud technology reliazed remote view by phone.
* Support Smart phone APP(Android, IOS, IPAD)
* Support multi-browser(IE, Firefox, Google)
* Support ONVIF
* Power: DC12-3A
1.3mp wifi IP Camera:
* Sensor: 1/4" Progressive Scan Sensor
* Resolution: 1280 x960P
* Lens 3.6mm
* Day&Night: Auto / Color / BW
* Bullet waterproof
Packing list:
1. 1* WIFI 4CH Wireless NVR
2. 1* Power supply for NVR
3. 1* Mouse for NVR
4. 4* 960P WIFI IP Camera
5. 4* Power supply for WIFI IPC
6. 1* User manual of NVR
7. Screw and other parts
1. [HD Video Day & Night, Indoors & Outdoors]
Install them outdoors or indoors to keep your home or business safe
2. [Multiple-devices Viewing Simultaneously]P2P Remote viewing Anywhere Anywhere
Security camera system with Free APP, easy remote viewing on iPhone, iPad, Android devices and PC,Easy live view & remote playback on your smart phone and computer from anywhere anytime
Free Advanced Mobile App
* Live view and playback on your smart phone
* One button to record and capture the wonderful moments
* Push notification when motion detected
* Support iPhone, iPad, Android Tablet and PC
View Options on PC
* Web View: which means you can view cameras via visiting an IP address, support Internet Explorer only;
* PC Client View: Which means you can install a PC Client Software on your computer, support Windows and MAC PC.
3. [Multiple-Admin Viewing Simultaneously]
4.[ Customizable Motion Detection Area]
You can customize the motion detection area of each camera, and get motion alerts with video clips for that area only. Providing solid evidence of a criminal behavior by just downloading the motion video clips in App.
Security alarm system receive email alerts and mobile notifications when motion is detected.
The Motion Detection Zones can choose Multiple Defense Zones or Full Scence:
Multiple Defense Zones : When subject appear in any defense zone ,the NVR will start recording.
Full Scence : When any subject appear in scene,the NVR will start recording.
5.【Plug to Play, Auto-pair】
CCTV Surveillance system featuring AUTO-PAIR technology, cameras will auto-pair to NVR recorder, easy setup without wi-fi configuration.you only need to plug them in power to start working,you'll have a live view of cameras on monitor instantly.
* When there is no obstacle, cameras can be mounted about 60m away from the NVR (approx. 200ft);
* When there is one wall in between, reduce the distance to 30m (approx. 100ft);
* When there are 2 walls in between, reduce the distance to 15m (approx. 50ft);
* When there are more than 2 walls between camera and NVR, we suggest using extendable antennas to bring camera's antenna inside walls while leaving camera out; or use network cable to hard wire the camera to NVR.
Our Surveillance cameras has been auto paired to NVR recorder before shipping out to our customers;
* Step1: Power on the cameras and NVR recorder.
* Step2: Connect the NVR and router by internet cable.HDMI or VGA connect with interface display.
* Step3: View live video on screen in minutes
6. [IR –cut Outdoor Metal Case Waterproof IP66 IP Camera ]
7.[Size and package]
8. [ Application ]It's widely used in home,office ,surpermarket,workshop,hotel,parking,school,shop and any other place.


text:
With Bella Thorne, Olivia Holt, McKayla Maroney, and Selena Gomez
Created by TPG
As the party rages on in the next room, you watch as Madison REED quietly tiptoes down the hallway and secretly spies on her sister in the bathroom from the shadows.
You're immediately intrigued and consider sneaking up behind her as you watch her reach up and briefly fondle one of her own pert breasts through her bikini top.
Whatever it is that she's seeing is clearly turning her on, but before you have an opportunity to say or do anything Maddy see's you standing there and panics, no doubt embarrassed by her actions.
Thinking quickly you try to save face and head upstairs where you decide to take a quick look around. You're keen to find what the OTHER girls are doing especially with Debby RYAN and Aspen RAE putting on such a phenomenal show downstairs.
To you amusement you can clearly hear the party raging on even from the second floor as you snoop around and suddenly detect some strange noises emanating from one of the bedrooms. Taking a leaf from Maddy's book, you tiptoe over to the door and peer inside only to gasp with surprise at what you find.
Inside you watch as Selena GOMEZ lies in the middle of a bed getting licked, sucked, and probed by three teenagers. The fact that the three girls in question appear to be Bella THORNE, McKayla MARONEY and Olivia HOLT blows your mind.
You quietly watch as McKayla moves to straddle Selena's face while Bella kneels down between the singers legs and licks her neatly shaved CUNT!
You also notice that Olivia appears to be kneeling beside the bed and is casually stroking Selena's breasts while her friends have their way with her.
The entire incident gives you instant WOOD as Bella picks up a large toy and proceeds to feed the black dong into the sleeping beauty, causing Selena to arch her back sharply and moan out loud.
Meanwhile McKayla now howls as she pulls her bikini bottoms to the side allowing Selena's tongue to snake its way inside her hairless mound and find her G-Spot.
"Oh. Fuck." Maroney groans as she throws her knees apart and grinds her sex against the Latina's face. "Right there."
To your surprise Selena appears to be passed out drunk, but at the same time her body seems to be reacting to the stimulation she's getting from all three ladies.
Feeling bold you decide to step inside to join the fun but it doesn't go as planned, as the ladies panic and leap from the bed. You can't help but snicker as you watch them scatter from Selena's lifeless body and make a run for it!
It seems the ladies know exactly who YOU are and assume you're going to run to Debby and get them all in trouble. But you quickly reach out and grab Olivia by the arm and instruct the girls to line up beside one another by the bed.
"Wait! Just hold on a minute." You hiss. "Don't. Fucking. Move."
It's while glancing over at the bed that you pause to admire how incredible Selena looks, lying there passed out with her legs spread wide and her breasts and sex on full display, her clothes ripped, like she's just been mauled by a group of savages.
The starlet lays there in a HOT mess, still sleeping but moaning softly while her genitalia glistens in saliva.
"We were just having a little fun." McKayla claims.
"Fun?" You repeat. "You practically mauled the poor girl!"
"Please." Olivia chimes in. "Don't tell Debby. She'll get mad."
"Well. That all depends." You reply.
"On what?" Bella interrupts.
"On how CO-OPERATIVE the three of you are willing to be."
The three starlets catch on immediately as Bella steps forward and her actions speak louder than words.
The others gasp as they watch the redheaded harlot drop to her knees before you and proceed to unzip your fly. Even they're surprised by her audacity as there's little doubt as to what she has in mind.
Seems Bella wants to make a trade: her mouth (BJ) for your silence.
You then instruct the other two girls to get undressed, and while Holt initially hesitates, McKayla immediately strips, clearly more comfortable with her body.
You're immediately impressed by the Gymnast's HARDBODY and tell her to turn around and show you her ass, before you ask her to help undress her blonde friend.
Meanwhile Bella wastes little time grasping you firmly in her hand and wraps her sweet succulent lips around the head of your cock, sucking you into her mouth and causing your eyes to roll into the back of your head.
"Very good." You let out as you proceed to fuck her hot mouth, causing spit to drool from her chin.
Bella's throat starts to make an audible quenching sound as she opens wide and proceeds to DEEP THROAT you.
Meanwhile all your attention is drawn to Olivia Holt who finally takes off her top and exposes her pert young breasts to the room...which are magnificent.
In fact they're just about the most flawless set of tits you've ever seen!
You then tell McKayla to play and fondle with them as Olivia tenses to her friends groping, and whimpers softly as McKayla leans over to gently suck one of her nipples into her mouth.
Judging from the expression on Holt's face (blushing brightly) its clearly the first time she's ever engaged in any serious girl-on-girl activity before.
McKayla seems to notice this and shares a knowing smile with you as she turns Olivia's face by her chin and kisses her sweetly on the lips. What starts off as a simple peck quickly escalates into a full-blown TONGUE-KISS which goes on for some time.
You then suggest that she look inside that bag of goodies and find an appropriate TOY for Olivia to play with. But to your amusement McKayla retrieves a large STRAP-ON DILDO from the floor and Holt's eyes grow wide.
"Oh no." she quips, making her friends giggle. "Get that thing away from me."
"Come on Olivia." McKayla grins. "Don't be shy. You know you want it."
"You're not sticking that thing inside me McKayla. No fucking way!"
"Look. Do you want him to tell Debby about what we were doing to Selena earlier?" Maroney argues. "Just man up and play along."
With that said it doesn't take much to convince McKayla to strap the elaborate device to her hips before Olivia drops to her knees and agrees to blow it. It's a wild scene as Selena Gomez lays there naked on the bed while both Bella and Olivia are on their knees sucking DICK.
Watching Holt perform you can't help but wonder what her sweet TEEN mouth would feel like wrapped around your own tool. But Bella notices this and winks up at you as she deep-throats you again, taking you ALL the way back into her narrow little throat, and reminding you that you're already getting an exquisite BJ.
"What now?" Olivia whines as she wipes her chin of saliva.
"You know what to do." You direct at McKayla. "I want you to fuck HER with that thing."
"WHAT?" Holt snaps. "No. Please."
"Don't worry." McKayla assures her as she helps her up. "I'll go slow. I promise."
"Err. You better." Olivia replies as she gets up from the floor and moves towards the bed.
Olivia lays back on the bed beside Selena and waits to be entered by her friend. To her credit McKayla appears to know exactly what she's doing, making you wonder if she's done this sort of thing before.
Holt whimpers softly at first but as Maroney slowly embeds herself inside the petite blonde and begins to swivel her hips back and forth until Olivia can't help but cry out in pleasure.
"Oh. McKayla. OMG." Olivia moans louder as her friend picks up the pace and now thrusts back and forth, her rubber balls bumping against the teenagers butt hole.
"C'mon. Take it." Her friend replies above her. "Take it you little slut. We both know you can handle it."
"Oh. Please." Olivia gasps. "It's so big."
Maroney seems eager to get Holt off as she leans over and takes one of her friends nipples into her mouth.
This seems to have the desired effect as Olivia grows increasingly WET and soon spreads her knees farther apart and moans out loud, creaming the device with her juices as it now RAMS into her continually.
"C'mon. Take my cock!" McKayla hisses. "Gimme that sweet pussy Olivia. This pussy is all mine!"
"Ugh." Holt grunts back. "God. I can't believe you're fucking me with this thing!"
This display, combined with Bella's talented mouth almost makes you pop in Thorne's mouth. In fact you reach down and GRIP Bella's hair harshly with your fist which makes her shriek briefly before you pull her up and shove her towards the bed.
You then tongue-kiss Bella hard on the mouth as your fingers find her CUNT and you slip two digits inside. You then instruct Olivia to change positions on the bed and suggest she bend over on all fours so that McKayla can take her from behind.
"Oh. Yes please!" McKayla agrees. "Please let me take you doggy-style Olivia. I'd love to fuck you from behind!"
It's an incredible scene as McKayla now SLAMS into the Disney starlet hard and fast from behind, causing Olivia to cry out with glee with every upstroke.
To your amusement McKayla seems to take extra pleasure from this and now RAILS into her teenage friend while giving her a few added spanks across her butt.
"Take it. Take it you little whore!" McKayla yells. "You like that. Huh? You like my THICK COCK inside you Olivia?"
"Ow. Yes. Fuck. Yes!" Olivia grunts back over her shoulder. "Harder McKayla! Fuck me with your BIG BLACK COCK!"
It's only now you pull out of Bella's mouth, and while holding her tight by the hair, you push McKayla out of the way and shove Bella's face deep into Olivia's ass cheeks.
"Eat her ass you little slut!" You hiss down at the "Shake It Up" star. "And use that tongue. Get up in there...Good girl."
Judging from the sounds emanating from the other side of the bed, the petite redhead is doing a fine job of RIMMING her blonde BFF as you pull McKayla closer to you and kiss her hard on the lips.
In an instant McKayla is on her knees before you taking your LENGTH into the back of her throat, but unlike Bella who's clearly skilled in the act, Maroney can only choke and gag all over you, coating your rod in copious amounts of saliva and drool which only turns you on more.
In fact her face is an absolute mess as you proceed to FUCK her mouth for a few minutes, then direct McKayla up to her feet and invite her to move in behind Bella, who at this point is on her hands and knees eagerly rimming Olivia...and tell her to fuck her with the strap on!
"C'mon. Get up here." You hiss. "I want to see you fuck your sexy friends."
McKayla is only too happy to oblige as the ladies make an incredible scene, an impromptu all-girl train across the bed. It's at this point that you notice Bella is reaching over with her spare hand to caress Selena's body, leisurely caressing her inner thigh.
You snicker as you reach over and slap her hand away and then refocus your attention on the sleeping beauty. You chuckle inwardly as you realize that in all the commotion you almost forgot the biggest prize of all...SELENA.
Feeling bold you spread Selena's legs wide and proceeds to lick her from stem to stern. To your amusement the stunning starlet doesn't stir at first but the moment your tongue invades her tiny little rectum she moans audibly.
This gives you all the permission you need to proceed, and you repeat the action again and again.
You continue to eat Selena's ASS fastidiously, only to be joined by Olivia a minute later who proceeds to lick and suck at the singers gleaming cunt-lips.
Noting this you glance over to see what the others are doing and find Bella and McKayla now locked in a hot and sweaty SIXTY-NINE, before Bella moves to straddle McKayla's hips and proceeds to ride her LOUDLY.
"You want to stick that inside huh?" Bella growls. "Come on then. Let fuck. LETS FUCK YOU NASTY LITTLE BITCH!"
"Ugh! You're gonna cop it so bad Bella." McKayla hisses back. "I'm going to fuck you till you scream..so help me!"
"C'mon then! Put your money where your mouth is slut!" Bella taunts her. "Fuck me. Teach me a lesson!"
Meanwhile you and Olivia share a passionate kiss (just inches away from Selena's bare cunt) before you tell her to spit her saliva all over the singers sex. The two of you watch as Holt's slimy wet drool oozes down the length of Selena's hairless mound, across her petal-like lips and over her anus before you invite Olivia to rim her.
"Go ahead." You tempt her. "I want to see you lick her ass. Stick your tongue in Selena's ass Olivia."
To your delight Olivia reluctantly complies and proceeds to tentatively explore Selena's backdoor.
Thinking quickly, you stand up and move to mount Olivia from behind as she now moans and sticks her tongue even deep inside Selena's tiny rectum.
"That's it. Keep rimming her." You praise her. "Good girl. She likes that."
You initially attempt to take the blonde teen the old fashioned way but suddenly decide to do something wicked, and press your manhood against her tight backdoor.
"What do you think you're doing?" Holt remarks over her shoulder with a seductive grin.
"I was going to stick my cock in your ass." You tell her. "If you let me."
To your surprise Olivia simply shrugs. "Do it. If you have to. I won't stop you."
"Do what Olivia?" You grin back, waiting to hear her say the words.
"Stick it in my ass." She whispers hotly. "Stick that big FAT cock in my ass and FUCK ME while I eat Selena!"
With that said you push your hips forward and enter Holt's backdoor.
The action causes both of you to moan out loud as Bella Thorne notices what's going on, and not wanting to be outdone, raises her hips above McKayla's fake cock and carefully eases herself back onto it again, this time penetrating her bunghole.
"Oh. Yeah." Maroney moans in awe. "You like. Huh? You like my big rubber cock in your ass Bella?"
"Ugh. Uh-Huh." Bella grunts back. "Fuck my dirty little hole McKalya. You're gonna make me cum all over you."
"Yeah? DO IT BITCH!" McKayla snaps. "I want to see you SQUIRT all over me."
You then watch in awe as every time Bella rises and falls over the large phallus inside her butt, her pink pussy lips appear to open and close. Noting this Bella reaches down to rub her clit furiously as she impales herself again and again.
"Ugh. Shit. Ugh. Shit."
Meanwhile you now grab hold of Olivia's luscious hips with both hands and POUND into her at rapid fire, DRILLING her shit-pipe for all your worth as she hungrily eats Selena's ass and pussy and cries out loud.
"OMG. YEEEESSSS." She screams. "FUCKKK. MMMY. AAASSS!!"
It's only now as you deflower her precious backdoor that you have a wicked idea. Without warning you push the blonde starlet out of the way and rub the head of your bell-end against Selena's slumbering sphincter.
A simple flick of your hips allows you to enter her rosebud and you proceed to ASS-FUCK the passed out singer on the bed, the very same you attempted to rescue just a few minutes earlier.
Olivia rushes to straddle the singers face and buries her head back down between Selena's legs, placing the two of them in a sixty-nine!
It's at this point that you grasp onto Olivia's blonde hair firmly, placing her open mouth alongside Selena's cunt, and take turns fucking Gomez in the ass with 2-3 pumps before plunging your dirty cock into the back of Olivia's throat.
You repeat this process several times as Holt grows more and more animated with each passing minute, claiming that Selena is in fact awake and licking her underneath.
"Oh. Yeah." Holt grunts. "Give me that ass. Let me taste her dirty little asshole on your cock!"
"Spit on it SLUT!" You tell her. "Show me how dirty you can be Olivia."
Holt is only too happily to oblige as she spits and sputters all over your cock and nuts, bathing them completely. You continue to alternate between Olivia's mouth and Selena's ass for several more minutes before you finally realize you're about to cum.
Not wanting to miss this opportunity, you withdraw from Holt's mouth and stop to catch your breath, when another wicked thought crosses your mind.
YOU reach over to drag Bella Thorne to the very edge of the bed and without warning impale her from behind, taking her breath away.
"UGH. FUCK." Bella moans as McKayla watches and giggles excitedly before coming over to join her friend.
You now RAIL into Bella Thorne doggy-style and intent to blow your WAD inside her womb as the others cheer you on. But just as you're picking up the pace to cum McKayla bends over beside Bella on the bed and DARES you to give her the same treatment.
"You better not think about shooting your LOAD before fucking me in the ass!"
The mere notion almost makes you pop right then and there.
With limited time left, you immediately pull out of Bella and bury your wick inside the Olympic Gold Medalist, and marvel at how extremely tight she appears to be.
It's at this point you actually have to pace yourself as all three ladies now move to kneel side-by-side on the edge of the bed where they bend over and wait their turn to get FUCKED!
You spend the next few minutes squeezing the base of your cock as hard as you can as you try to hold off while you take turns tagging each one of them from behind, each one tighter, hotter, and wetter than the last.
Ultimately your head starts to spin and you realize you're on the verge of climax.
The ladies also seem to sense this and quickly scramble to the floor to await your reward, lustfully tongue-kissing one another as you grant them their wish...and shoot your LOAD all over their faces.
In fact you're taken aback as you watch Bella take Olivia's face in her hands and insists they snowball together, spit your load into each other's mouths and swap back and forth.
In all your life you've never met three more insatiable girls like this, and slumping back you reach for your pants and attempt to dress as the starlets continue to play among themselves, sharing your load between them.
"So I assume we can keep this little incident between the four of us, right?" You direct at the ladies.
"Absolutely." They grin back while wiping their chins.
"Hey. Maybe later you can give us a ride home." Bella suggests.
"Sure. Why not." You agree. "If that'll keep your mouth shut consider it done."
A minute later you step out of the room to catch your breath, adjust your appearance in the mirror and head back downstairs in the direction of the music only to bump into Kendall JENNER and Josie CANSECO, who appear to be going somewhere.
The girl smile at you flirtatiously as they pass by before Kendall stops to explain that they're actually going on a quick booze run.
"Wait." You snicker. "How are you going to get alcohol without any ID?"
"Let us worry about that." She smiles as they head for the door.
"So. What about it?" Kendall adds at the door. "You wanna come for a ride or what?"
You briefly glance back into the living room to see the ladies have put away the SYBIAN machine and are now apparently preparing to play a game of "TRUTH OR DARE" with the girls getting comfortable on the floor and forming a huge circle.
From left to right you briefly see Ariel WINTER, Kelli BERGLUND, Sammi HANRATTY, and Stella and Vanessa HUDGENS who are joined by Debby RYAN and Aspen RAE.
But glancing back at Kendall you realize that not only is Josie Canseco joining her for a drive to the local liquor/convenience store but one of the other passengers appears to be Ava SAMBORA.
You suddenly have a huge decision to make.
Do you leave the party for a few minutes with Kendall and her friends? Or do you join the girls in the living room and watch them play Truth or Dare? Or moreover, do you head back to the bathroom to check up on Victoria and her sister?
Decisions, decisions.
FYI you can vote for more than one person/event


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Thursday, July 12, 2007
New David Lee Stone Web Site
I love Davey's work, so I was particularly pleased to hear there's a new three-book contract in the offing. No details as yet, but I'll keep you posted.
7 comments:
- Lindi Dev said...
Greetings from sunny QLD. Herbie I have a connundrum. I created an amazing place, see www.malindi.com.au. Magically and seamlessly it appeared. Breathtaking. Now I don't want it but it won't go. At each point so near and yet so far. Reading magical thought forms at the mo for tips but can't seem to objectify not wanting it. So many permutations. Any suggestions?
- 8:45 pm
- Herbie Brennan said...
Ah, Lindi, with your flair for promotion, I don't think you need much help from me. (If I lived in Oz, I'd be tempted by the place myself.)
But if it's a serious query, the first thing I'd look at is whether you REALLY want to get rid of it. If the answer, after self examination, meditation and what-have-you, is still yes, then all you need is patience.
- 12:06 am
- Lindi Dev said...
Thank you and if only that were true!! I might just persuade you to come to oz.
But serious most certainly. The fact that I found a way to ask you the question directly after only picking up your book last night is testimony to that. Michael I am so out of there, I have already moved myself and my wee lad down the mountain. It was not built to sell but the dream has changed and I move on with relish. I am adept at creating what I want, self taught and only recently finding the theories behind my practice. This particular connundrum just resurrects a fascination for the science of the art so to speak. How to articulate what you do not want in terms of what you want!! An Ericksonian type of riddle. In this instance it goes something like this. I do not want the house anymore. So what to manifest or upon what to focus the desire. It can not work in the negative as you know. It is not just the money as whilst I want adequate recompense for the house the money alone is not the desire as I want it without the house. You see the gist. So the sales contract is probably the only concrete focus but a few sheets of paper is a bit dry to get all desirous about......tee hee. What they represent of course becomes much more vivid but then there is such a profusion of permutations to that upon which should the focus rest as each alone are not it either. Am I making sense? A long conversation for this medium and with wider implications or applications. I have never blogged before so apologies for being a tad verbose. how do I add a photo?
- 3:11 am
- Herbie Brennan said...
Don't know how you add a photo -- I stumble through the technical stuff myself.
Magical theory would suggest you stop thinking in terms of the negative (getting rid of the house) and concentrate instead on the positive: a profitable sale, a happy new owner, whatever. Or alternatively, concentrate on a specific (positive) goal that would involve the disappearance of the house as a side-effect.
- 8:41 am
- Lindi Dev said...
Hmm I wonder where Michael came from!! Apologies Herbie. Yes. I am countering my impatience, it has only been on the market since March!!, by having a bit of fun playing with the finer elements of the process and being more conscious of it on the way. Here in the fertile tropics there is much scope for this practice given the dearth of stimulating human interaction.... So with clipped wings much opportunity to fill the void on other levels. Thanks so much for your thoughts, they are much appreciated.
- 7:53 pm
- Little Willow said...
Psst! Faerie Wars is a Recommended Read in this month's issue of readergirlz!
Find out more at
We're also talking about the recommended titles at the message forum.
- 9:57 pm
- Herbie Brennan said...
Thanks for the information. Always nice to be recommended.
- 12:06 am


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Welcome!I live here with my husband, 16 year old son, and 70 year old father in a quickly growing village, about an hour's drive outside of Montreal. We used to be more rural, but that is quickly changing...progress eh? I guess I'll become "okay with change" if and when we get ourselves a serious fabric store!!
I love to dabble in many things, and am seriously proficient in none. I like knitting, mainly dishcloths and other small projects, a tidbit of crochet, cross-stitch, sewing---skirts for myself mainly, and of course curtains and such. I am sew hoping to finally teach myself to knit socks sometime this winter...seems I knit them inside out and can't for the life of me straighten them out LOL
I also love to garden---perennial flowers, vegetables, small fruit trees. My favourite time of year is Spring. I find it amazing to watch the world come back to life after such a long deep freeze...and of course I get to play in the dirt again...the joy of any gardener.
I am a newbie to the quilting world. I have one quilt completed...a gift for my sister-in-law.
The second quilt in my 2 quilt arsenal is not yet completed...but somehow will be for my son for tomorrow...
He just loves Dr. Who and the 50 year anniversary special is tomorrow.
Thank you sew for stopping by. I have really enjoyed this Blogathon...there are so many creative sewers, crafters, and quilters out there. Thank you for your inspiration!
for hosting this blog hop...and for supplying so many wonderful prizes!


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Court Harrington
Home Page
North Carolina will always be home to Harrington. He grew up in the Concord area, went to college a couple hours up the road at UNC-Chapel Hill then moved back to the Lake Norman area just north of Charlotte.
His poker career started by chance. After playing in small fun home games with friends he picked up online poker and had success early on. While playing online for profit but recreationally, mutual acquaintances connected Court with PocketFives during the summer of 2006.
The PocketFives team was looking to launch a project covering live poker tournaments from the perspective of online players entering those major events. Having a journalism degree from UNC, some published articles under his belt, a flexible schedule and a growing knowledge of poker the fit was an easy one for Harrington to take over the project.
Once on the tournament trail Harrington teamed up with Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok and a few others to launch PokerRoad.com, a poker entertainment website that featured multiple award winning poker related podcasts. Harrington worked closely with many aspects of the site and company but was most visible in his role as sometimes host and regular co-host of the flagship PokerRoad Radio program.
With the legal climate for online poker operators changing in the United States in April of 2011 the PokerRoad project was put on hiatus.
While poker has become a passion and career for Harrington he has never given up on his other goals. Court grew up water-skiing and went on to ski competitively at UNC. He still skis regularly and continues to push the envelope on the water in slalom, barefooting and hydrofoiling
His entrepreneurial spirit and strong ambition have led Harrington to start a small business of his own while continuing to play a significant amount of hours of poker and doing regular consulting work behind the scenes in the poker industry.
Content copyright


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We make world class sculptures in Metal, Bronze, Resin and Stone. We also manufacture and export items of Bronze Statue, Human Statue, Animal Sculpture, Resin Sculpture, Statues and Art Work. We specialized in All if art works.


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By Ahmed Shobiye, Abeokuta
Ogun State Government has announced that no fewer than 396 persons have been placed on surveillance as a result of the death of an Assistant Chief Nursing Officer of the Federal Medical Center, Abeokuta who was reported to have died of Lassa fever.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, disclosed this during the commissioning of a private hospital at Ifo in Ifo Local Government Area of the state on Friday.
He said the people under surveillance had primary and secondary contacts with the late nurse, Mrs Abolanle Adewuyi, in case they developed symptoms of the disease.
Adewuyi died on Monday night at the hospital.
The commissioner explained that the primary contacts were mainly members of the victim's family, while the secondary contacts are the co-workers in the hospital, especially those in the same unit as the deceased.
Ipaye further said that none of the contacts had shown abnormal temperature since they have been on monitoring schedule.
He said the medical officers attached to each of the contacts would continue to monitor until the expiration of the specified period in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO), standard.
He said this period had to be exceeded before they could be medically adjudged to be free of the disease.
"All the 396 contacts have not shown any abnormal symptoms or signs of Lassa fever; their temperature is under control. We have stationed our monitoring officer with each of the contacts to continue monitoring throughout a specific period in line with the World Health Organisation standard," he said.
The commissioner urged members of the public not to panic, just as he assured that government was on top of the situation.
He, however, advised the people to cultivate high level of hygiene and keep their food away from rats.
Ogun places 396 persons on surveillance over Lassa fever
By Ahmed Shobiye, Abeokuta


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U.S. welcomes Saudi proposal for Yemen ceasefire
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he welcomes a Saudi proposal for a five-day humanitarian truce in the Yemen conflict. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) STORY: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday (May 7) the U.S. supports a Saudi proposal for a five-day renewable ceasefire in the Yemen conflict. Saudi Arabia proposed the humanitarian truce on Thursday after weeks of airstrikes and fighting, but said a ceasefire depended on the Houthi militia and its allies also agreeing to lay down arms, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said. Kerry, addressing a news conference alongside Jubeir, welcomed the proposal and added that neither Saudi Arabia nor the United States was talking about sending ground troops into Yemen. Kerry began negotiations in Riyadh on Thursday to pause a Saudi-led military campaign against Houthi forces in neighboring Yemen. In Riyadh, Kerry met with Saudi King Salman after an earlier meeting with exiled Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has based his government there since fleeing Yemen in March. Saudi Arabia has said all options were open including ground operations to stop mortar attacks on its border towns by Yemen's Houthi militia, as its jets hammered the group's positions ahead of U.S.-led talks on a temporary truce.


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I can't wait! In the meantime, here is the blurb and a short excerpt...
A mysterious Templar relic,
A web of intrigue and lies,
A woman about to lose her heart...
Marie-Ange, the young widow of an English officer, accepts an inheritance in
only to find that everything in Beauregard is not as it seems. Why is the sinister Malleval so obsessed
with her family? And could her darling Christopher still be alive? Marie-Ange
finds herself trapped in a dangerous web of lies, intrigue and mystical
possession, and the only person to whom she can turn for help is Captain Hugo
Saintclair. Yet the enigmatic Hugo represents a danger of a different kind … France
'Angel Heart' is a lavish mix of romance, adventure and a hint of the supernatural, largely set in
Marie-Ange meets Capitaine Hugo Saintclair...
She pushed open the door to the drawing room and hurried inside. Splinter and Rusty ran under her feet, tripping her. Her cry of alarm died on her lips as two strong arms caught her. Surprised, she tilted her head up to look at the tall, dark-haired man holding her against his hard, wide chest. His intense blue eyes held her gaze and sent a shiver down her spine. One side of his weather-beaten face was barred by a long, ragged scar. The thin line of the mouth and the tightness in his jaw gave an impression of controlled anger. For a moment fear gathered in her chest. Then he smiled, a slow, confident smile, and he was transformed into the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on.
The dogs barked at them furiously. Marie-Ange parted her lips to order them to stop but before she could speak Robert took a few steps forward, an angry scowl twisting his face, his fists clenched by his sides.
'Let her go at once, sir,' he warned, 'or …'
'Or what?' The man arched his eyebrows, a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, as if he dared Robert to come any closer. He shook his head and released her.
'I will ask you to restrain your puppies, Madame. The three of them,' he said as he looked down at her.
'How dare you call me a puppy?' Robert's face flushed a deep red, and he took another step forward.
Marie-Ange found her voice at last.
'Rusty. Splinter. Lie down at once.' She pointed to the rug in front of the fireplace. The dogs whimpered but obeyed. 'Robert. That's enough. Monsieur was just helping me.'
Robert muttered an apology and crouched beside the dogs to stroke their wet, muddy coats.
'You must be Capitaine Saintclair,' she said, tilting her chin up to look at him again.
The papers had been full of sketches and reports about the famous French cuirassiers and she had no difficulty imagining Saintclair in a dark blue uniform, his chest covered with shiny metal plates and his helmet topped by a black horse mane, charging onto the battlefield. His current attire of black breeches and tall leather riding boots topped by a short brown coat did nothing to dispel the heroic image conjured in her mind.
He clicked his heels together and bowed his head.
'At your service, Madame.'


text:
. Say it with me: rug - eh - lock. Yep, you got it ☺ Well, that's according to Google. I've actually been pronouncing it roo - ga - losh. Oops. But either way, it's a scrumptious treat all the same.
As you can see, it's that time again. Another TWD post featuring a recipe from Baking with Julia. For March, this fancy cookie we call rugelach was chosen for the first monthly post [the second one will be on March 20, we'll see if I get around to making it!]. And my oh my, were these a trip.
First of all, I didn't have a dang clue what rugelach was. Heck, I can't even pronounce it! I'd seen recipes for it in several of my recipe books but I've never actually seen it in person. So when I saw that rugelach was our next assignment, I was all in. But first, a little Googling was in order.
Rugelach is a Jewish rolled cookie surrounding a filling and literally means 'little twists.' According to Wikipedia, some say rugelach share a common ancestor with the French croissant [uh, yum?!] and I would have to say that would be a fantastic comparison for this particular recipe. Since I have never had rugelach before, I don't have much to compare it to. But what I will say is that these are utterly fantastic and I've been missing out my entire life. Thanks, mom...
The only thing I must put out there is that this treat is quite time consuming. But, I would take my advice and break the steps up into a couple of days, such as making the pastry one day and completing the rugelach the following day. The part that sucks up the time is chilling the pastry two times for several hours, otherwise nothing else is overly complicated. And despite some pouting on my end from the feeling that I had made these wrong, I will say that if you have the time, these are more than worth it. I've truthfully never made anything like these, so it was an interesting [and deeeeelish] adventure!
If you're feeling a little kitchen courageous, head on over to The Urban Hiker or My Baking Heart for the rugelach recipe. Happy baking! .
- As you'll see in the recipe, you have the choice to pick what types of nuts and dried fruits you would like to use. I chose to use almonds, pecans and walnuts, and cherries, apricots, and dates for my filling.
- All of the fillings combined makes a LARGE amount of goodness. So while you're rolling your pasty, you'll have to really tuck in the fillings [it will fall out some] and be patient. I got a little flustered at this part because it can be a bit messy, but if you do everything on wax/parchment paper, it'll make for much easier clean up.
- As you can see from some of my pictures, I didn't generally get that signature twist in my rugelach like I had hoped. I'm not really sure what happened there... Nevertheless, the taste was still spot on!


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''Without inner peace, there is no real happiness at all.''
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Our mental state is an essential, but often overlooked feature of a healthy life. Even those who enjoy relatively good physical health often find themselves subject to stress and anxiety.
In this special public talk we will learn how to meditate using two simple but powerful methods that can be reproduced in the home. We will explore the many benefits of mediation and learn how http://www.meditateinedinburgh.org/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=pageadopting a meditation practice can greatly enhance our general wellbeing and serve as the building blocks for a happy and healthy life.
All the teachings presented are derived from the Buddhist tradition, which has a long history of meditators who have led deeply meaningful, happy and healthy lives that continue to inspire modern day practitioners.
Leave inspired to start or renew your own regular meditation practice as part of a healthy lifestyle!
Everyone is welcome to attend.


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There's something so buoyant and blithe about local indie/psychedelic band Doc Aquatic that it's pretty near impossible to watch them on stage and not smile. The band started off its Grey Eagle set, opening for The Baker Family Band, with lots of bounce and energy.
In fact, the crowd for the opener was sizable — a little larger than the group that hung around for Austin, Texas-by-way-of-Asheville group The Bakers. It was a testament to the following Doc Aquatic has built since relocating to Asheville from Boone in 2009, and the audience was rewarded for its devotion.
Doc Aquatic's sound, on the Grey Eagle stage, engineered by Mars Farris, was the best this reviewer has heard to date — and that crisp clarity made all the difference.
The standard rock setup of Doc Aquatic (J.C. Hayes on vocals and Guitar, Adam Grogan on guitar and piano, Charles Gately on bass and vocals and Zack Hayes on drums) can grow muddy when the band launches into its trademark, psychedelic-tinged instrumental breaks. It's that effect that gets labeled "jam." But on the Grey Eagle stage, with each instrument differentiated, Doc Aquatic's nuances came to light.
"Headin' West" was a tightly-crafted work of doubled vocals and turn-on-dime tempo changes, underscored throughout by a sense of space and light reminiscent of California country rock.
Not that anyone could call Doc Aquatic a country-rock act. Its '60s and '70s nods are more Cream than Flying Burrito Brothers. "Rattle Snake Shake" combined soul rhythms with J.C.'s trippy lyrics: "Stars hover down sharp, stung my eyes. They are electric eels in summertime."
"Go Ghost" took an appropriately darker turn, turning up the intensity, the melody reminiscent of the clang and grind of Pink Floyd's "Money." Gately's bass line was prominent in the song and yet he kept his playing simple and tasteful, only adding exactly what was needed.
The bass was equally strong on "Sea of Trees," a new song slated for the band's summer release. High, shimmering guitar parts toe the line between structure and abandon, a kind of orchestrated psychedelia — which pretty much sums up the band's sound.
Frontman J.C. was a pleasure to watch because, on stage, he conveyed such a sense of audacious fun. If his glasses and shawl-collar sweater seem out of character for a rocker, his loose-limbed movements and experimental guitar parts were fully realized. "Run," another new song, showed J.C. in full form. The melody was languid and layered, the song's formula a combination of a simple lyric (highlighted by J.C.'s apt falsetto) leading into the extended barely controlled chaos of instrumentals. But even as J.C. threw himself into an unabashed dance, the music was never less than taut.
"Lost at Sea," another new offering, was even more of a juxtaposition of volatile emotion and controlled burn, with Zack's three-quarter sway on percussion and J.C. singing the anguished refrain, "I kill my only love, with the poisons of the man I've become."
The band's final number, "Summertime," was lush and aptly summery with a kick drum opening and washes of descending guitar scales as the band clustered around Zack. From there, the music opened into something primordial and jangly, sprawling into to Steve Miller/"Wild Mountain Honey"-esque psychedelia as J.C. hit the verse, "Yes, I believe in summertime, even though it's snowed for days." Gately played the bass with one hand and hit a drum with his other, the song's tightly coiled tension swept over the audience in a perfectly timed apex. The end of the set came all too soon.
— Learn more at myspace.com/docaquatic.


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Ritual is as old as humans have been human. It is primal and it is primary to shedding the veils between our ordinary world and the divine. Until the latest chapter of 'civilized' culture, it has been woven into the very fiber of our lives.
Now we are often without it. Many think of ritual as 'routine', what we do when we get up in the morning, but ritual is much, much more. Ritual may be practiced on public holidays or at major sports events but without the intention of accessing the divine, it will bring us no further along than we were at its beginning.
If you are called to bring sacred ceremony back to our public arena, this is a beautiful community service you are stepping into. It is also something that is not easy to learn how to do effectively. There are many elements to this art form, from handling people, logistics and delegating as well as listening to Spirit and taking care of oneself in the process. Because of this, I have written an article in hopes of empowering those that hear the call of public ceremony.
What is ritual?
Ritual may be dressed up differently across cultures and occasions but at its bare bones, ritual is always the same. It always has a beginning, a rising of energy, a culmination and a closing. Each of these sections are vital to making up the whole.
Here is the skeleton of ritual.
Beginning. In the beginning, we somehow create sacred space. Some people like to call the directions; some like to cast a circle, some like to stand still and become very, very present of their place on this physical planet. During this process, there is a cleansing of this area being temporarily claimed in time and space. One might use sage, cedar, bells, brooms. What we are called to the most, brings most passion. As we are called, we call back. We call out to our helping spirits to join and support us.
Rising of Energy. We open ourselves to the sacred circle, now sealed and claimed in time and space. We are certain that we are safe to be vulnerable, as the more vulnerable we can be, the greater the energy evoked. We dance, we sing, clap hands, drum, sit quietly and pray. This honoring, this blending with need and passion blends us from the mundane right into the places in-between. In between this world and the ones of the spirits.
Culmination. In the same way that a musician feels the peak of an improvisation, we feel when the energy is most potent, when it is time to do our work. It may be work of divination. It may be prayer. It may be a soul retrieval for someone else or an invocation. We have planned carefully and designed all aspects of the ritual to reflect our intention and we do it with utmost focus.
Closing. When the work is done, we allow the energy to fall. We offer gratitude to the spirits for helping us and ground excess energy by sending it safely home. Home to the earth, to the ones we pray for, to mother ocean, to flame. We come home ourselves, sound in our bodies and ready to manifest the gifts we have received in the world we live in. The circle is opened. And if it's really good, we celebrate each other through the sharing of food.
This is ritual at its most basic expression. The power of its effectiveness is determined by the clarity of intention and the ability for participants involved to let their guard down and really invest. As a public ceremony planner, the more you can design your ritual to be accessible to everyone, the more people will feel good about it. When people know their role, they are able to invest energetically. When it comes to healing, truly, most everyone wants to help so give them the chance!
I believe that public rituals that are performed by a few, while everyone else watches can be disempowering. Rituals with highly specialized roles work better for small groups where members have common training or at least common understanding as to what metaphysics are being practiced so they can get behind it. This also might work in a workshop setting where there is an expectation of time spent on instruction.
In open public rituals there is no time to give on much beside an explanation of the main intention and how participants can take part. People come from too many different backgrounds and as we do live in an entertainment-based culture, we all want to get right to it.
Planning the Ritualhttp://drawingbreath-comic.blogspot.com
Before knowing who is coming, where it's going to be or what color the candles will be, you need to fully understand the intention. Everything else follows from there. Intention of the spiritual work will be your guide in whom you invite, what the flyer looks like and possibly everything else down to what time of day, depending upon your ceremony style.
This intention will fail to draw a gathering if it came from your brain or your favorite book. Intention-choosing is really more like intention-finding. Use your community relationships to listen, listen, listen to what people are yearning for. It didn't take a lot to figure out that people needed to have a way to express prayers for Mother Ocean in the last year or so. Sometimes the yearning can be heard in unexpected ways. For instance, if a community of people is becoming cerebral, too caught up in city life, then a Spirit of the Land ceremony might be appropriate.
Organizers must have many relationships that cross many different sub-cultures. Community is nothing if it is not relationships. Relationships are everything. They are how you are capable of keeping your ear to the ground of the broader spiritual communities. They are the fibers of community, the elixir of life. They model respect for other leaders. Through this type of bridging, cross-pollination starts happening and you start to hear people exclaim that they keep running into the same people at events. This is community, yeahh!
In finding the intention, we remember that the spiritual work we do is not fully ours. It is shared, so in sharing and listening we discover what community needs. What needs to be balanced. At the same time, as an organizer, your labor of love is going to be most powerful if you are working on a cause that you are passionate about. So find the cause that serves both you and your community. It won't be too hard.
Crafting the Ritual
Once you know what you are doing, energetically, everything else falls into place. All your decisions get easier. You may want to craft the actual ritual yourself or you may want to include a few more people. In a later section, I will talk about the process of crafting with other people.
Be sure that you have at least one tangible way that people can contribute their personal prayers to the ritual. This could be through adding something to the fire or releasing something in the water…there are many ways. Public rituals run the risk of being alienating without this crucial part.
Once the ritual is designed, you have the opportunity to bridge-build in your community, if you feel you have a strong enough base to do that. Take a look at your plan and ask yourself if there are sections or elements that would be best handled by some other talented person. For example, I wanted to invite the African drumming community but knew that if I spent my focus honing the drum circle during the event, I would not be able to do my job. I invited some local drumming teachers and they were thrilled. They were not pagans or shamanic practitioners, but they were well skilled in the ability to read and ride energy through the drum.
Contact these people early in your process. It is an honor to them if you are able to do this before the flyers even go out. This allows them to give input that may change core logistics. If their presence is crucial, make sure you align your schedules.
The actual flyer is your main invocation. It is THE call to community to come and gather. It states the purpose, place and how people can get involved. It is a highly, spiritually potent document, so try to make it reflect the energy you are attracting. Put it out about 6 weeks in advance and then again 6 days beforehand.
When you make your call, ask for help! People love to help make something big and awesome happen. Figure out how to answer the question, "What can I do to help?" What a beautiful question. If someone is asking, they are offering their valuable energy to making the event strong. Plus, you might be about to make a new friend! Or better yet, this person may be about to meet a great friend through their volunteering for you. Never turn someone away that wants to help. The more the merrier, they say. Have small jobs and big jobs so no one feels overwhelmed or unneeded.
Ask people who you know love this event and are connected to other communities to spread the word, even if they personally cannot come to the event.
Let everyone know how much they are appreciated. Let them know several times. This powerful work of connecting people before the event is yoru way of sharing power with other, making our webs stronger. It is also what will keep you from burning out on your 7th ritual.
I advocate for free events. There is time for classes, workshops and healing clients and there is time for play. In a city where park benches are pulled up so that homeless people can't hang around, we are gravely lacking in places to gather. There are a lot of people who cannot afford classes and more that think they can't afford classes because they have not experienced the good medicine of what they are missing.
So give. Don't make it a promotional event. Just give. It will come back in ways you cannot guess, as giving for the sake of giving is contagious. If you have to charge to cover the rent, make that clear on your flyer and talk about how pitching in is what is makes these events happen. People love the thought of barn-raisings. If there will be a food, make it a potluck and ask volunteers to bring utensils made from recycled materials.
You are creating a temporary autonomous zone where people can have a shared, powerful experience, make new friends and feel like they are part of something important. This is more valuable than apple pie. This is hot apple pie with hand-whipped cream and a sloppy hug from somebody's grandmother. Do it.
When I am ramping up to a public ritual, in some sense, I become a conduit for the entire ceremony. I feel the energy. I hear strong intuitions about the shape of things. I can't sleep. I wake up with new inspirations and run for my pen. I become possessed with the spirit of the ceremony. It builds – and then a few days before the event, it falls out of me and I know that it is no longer mine. It is out, fully with the spirits and those that have honed their course to meet up with us. It is out of my control. All I have left to do is show up and do my job.
The Ceremony. People are going to be late. Even if you ask them not to. Get over it. Ask the spirits to help create a cone that allows for that. Ask the spirits from the moment the first flyer (invocation) goes out to start preparing sacred space ahead of time for you. With you.
People who did not respond before are going to ask if you need help when they get there. Be ready. Don't forget to find a few people who are willing to stay and cleanup. Crucial.
Chances are, your audience is going to be spiritually mixed. In this time, we are in the midst of another spiritual renaissance so your audience likely represents explorations of all parts of this tangled forest of earth-based spirituality. Be aware of a strong resistance to being told how things are, in the spiritual realm. This comes from people who are still running from organized religions that hurt them very badly. It is common for one to stick to only one chosen modality…or refuse to commit to any one path, as a result of this kind of wounding.
Because of this, be sure to use generic spiritual language in the flyer, email as well as in the ritual itself. We want to leave all doors open for people to engage. I don't even call specific spirits out loud when I call in the directions. I do invite others to practice whatever they are used to when opening sacred space. This includes verbally stating that inviting Jesus or other deities that alternative cultures may shun, is welcome. Most of the time people are too shy, but it's always nice when someone takes a twirl or sings their spirit song.
In these public things, the level of inhibition is not to be judged. We just focus on saying the right things to make people feel welcome and safe.
The more a community has worked together, the more you can ask of them. People who know each other are more liable to get silly and growl like bears or chant to the rain or dance in the dew.
In any case, know your audience.
Be very, very clear in your introduction as to what the intention is, how that is being carried out and how people can engage. Are there slips of paper for people to write on? What are they for? Where do they go? Where is the energy being directed at the culmination? Who are the key people and how are they serving us?
Then, try to let go. Have a strong beginning and then get out of the way. Allow people to make mistakes, enjoy the mishaps, disappear into the crowd if your presence is making people follow only you. Love people through it. Introduce yourself to new people and make them feel welcome.
Hang out for a while and–learn from my mistakes–ENJOY yourself. Spend a few minutes with your friends. If you didn't get enough volunteers to cover all the bases, let some things slip so you can get a hug or two. Bring your own food and water and don't let your blood sugar drop. Ask for help. Always ask for setup/clean up help ahead of time or you are going to walk away feeling like you need a time clock to punch.
Closing. When the ritual is over, energetically close the circle yourself again and ask for a clearing from spirit. Emphasize the importance of closing because new people often like to hang onto the metaphysical high and don't realize they can keep that good stuff while still coming home to their bodies. Thank everyone you see for all that they did. Have a happy party in your mind with your helping spirits and receive. Receive the blessings they are bestowing on your for doing this beautiful work.
I really hope this is helpful. If you have questions feel free to write in, and I will do what I can. This will be a living document for a while as I go through revisions so your questions will help me, as well.
May your ceremonies be blessed.
May you find kinship and cheer in your community.
May we all commune in the happiest way with our spirit friends.
Addendum: Crafting the Ritual with Friends/On-the-Spot-Ritual-Making Style Ceremonies
Now up until this point, I have been talking about doing it with an organizing committee of one plus. You and your spirit allies. This is not ideal, as things are way more fun and power-packed with an actual guiding circle, but to get to that point, you need community. So somebody's got to hunker down and start.
I love to co-create rituals with a circle. This can be dynamic, spirited, spirit-led and very deep. It also can be cantankerous, filled with questions and egos and misunderstandings, so you need a strong facilitator.
This is what you have to do.
Keep your eye on the prize, the prize being the Intention of the Ritual. As I mentioned before, this is the vital life of the entire event. It is the artery, the guide and the ruler. It also makes circle confusions much less confusing because if there is question about whether to use a suggestion on the table, what the circle is looking at is not who suggested it or why, but how it fits into shared Intention.
Coming up with an Intention can be simple like "sending love to Mother Ocean" or (if celebrating a Sabbat) can become more complex. The big markers of the year like Summer Solstice or Fall Equinox can be honored in as many ways as there are people.
Personal Desires
So I play this game of having everyone journey or meditate to hone their own personal needs and spiritual hungers are for the agreed theme. We do this with no regard to structure or possibility. Dreams cannot be hindered. Then we lay it all out on the table to see how it fits together. We find common themes, crucial things for some people and less important things that someone might willingly take off the table. Don't let someone take something off the table just because it doesn't fit when it is clear that this person really needs it. There is always a way to weave it all together.
Weaving into One
Then comes the weaving part. Really fun. Highly creative. If one person want to honor the death of the sun and another wants to honor the birth of the moon, how does that work in one ritual? Come to it with a sense of fun and other people will join you. You are still working on energetics of the intention, how the energy is traveling through the ritual, not how any of this will be expressed.
When the Intention is set, read it back clearly to everyone to make sure all present are on the same page. This is the time for changes.
My advice to you is the bigger the audience for the ritual, the more simple the ritual should be. Otherwise complexity will hinder public engagements. Simple chants, simple explanations. Keep the major energy work down to two things. Maybe three. One is really good.
OK, now that the intention of how the energy is being used in the ritual, you are ready for what I call dress-up. Do we want lavender or dragon's blood? Should one element be a meditation or a dance? The possibilities are endless. If someone shows up on fire to copy something from a book they love and it doesn't really fit, ask them what about the book-spell or poem is calling them. Honor that. Ask them how it serves the Intention. There is something important there for sure, so find it without compromising the integrity of the ritual.
Then you run around and get all your stuff and make a big deal and meet up at the beach.
Once you get this process down, it is SUPER fun to do it with a bunch of strangers at the ritual itself. In order to make this feasibly fast, you set the Intention for everyone ahead of time. Tell yourself that the ritual will be designed in no less than an hour, stick to that and have fun with it.
For example, I might put the call out to anyone who wants to co-create a ritual to honor the Puget Sound. We all meet on the beach and I ask people to call out why they love the Sound. In this case, I don't try to get everyone's voice. I only use what comes without prompting. There is no time to have deep process, especially with a mixed group of spiritualists.
Let's say one person feels it is a great woman. Another person is sad about how urban development affects the sea creatures. When we come out of the process, there might be 3 people making a goddess in the sand while others are singing along the water line. Then we weave these elements together as we put candles in the sand and we all connect to the Moon to allow our prayers to be stronger. Perhaps we have cast sacred space by running around in a sand circle, laughing.
Oh my goodness, this way of doing ritual is super, super fun for everyone! It is a creative process that everyone got to be part of from beginning to end. People feel like they did something, they were included and their contributions were important. Friendships come out of such stuff as this.
It's all about intention. The rest falls into place.
by Tasara


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Hotel Nueva Isla
Don Quixote in Havana
The formerly luxurious Hotel Nueva Isla, Cuba, now in ruins, is a shelter for people living on the fringes of society. Jorge, a solitary government official who is losing his memory, refuses to leave: he remains convinced that treasures, hidden by the hotel's original owners, lie waiting within its walls.
Director's Bio
Irene Gutiérrez graduated in Documentary Filmmaking at the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV, Havana, Cuba). Her works as director and cinematographer have been exhibited in different international film festivals. She's currently working as a freelance filmmaker between Spain and Cuba and is also head of the Documentary Department in the EICTV.
Press Quotes
"A delicate and confident evocation of decay and near-squalor in the vein of Portugal's maestro of minimalism, Pedro Costa" Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter.
Original Title
Hotel Nueva Isla
Irene Gutiérrez and Javier Labrador
Spain, Cuba / 2014 / 75 min / Spanish
Technical data
HD / Dolby SR / 1:1.85 / Color
Available subtitles
English, French
Production company
El Viaje Films, Producciones de la 5ta Avenida
Executive producer
José A. Alayón, Claudia Calviño
Irene Gutiérrez, Javier Labrador, Lorenzo Mora
Carlos García
Director of photography
Javier Labrador
Lorenzo Mora
Festivals and awards
- Rotterdam IFF
- Chicago IFF
- Moscow IFF
- Cali IFF – Best Film
- DOCSDF – Best Latin American Film
- MiradasDoc – Best Film
- Jeonju IFF – Special Jury Award
- DocumentaMadrid


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Ten By Three-CL/BSN/PN
Composer: Weait
Publisher: Chris Weait
Edition: 8304
This is a collection of ten folksongs for clarinet, bassoon, and piano. Also includes part for oboe in lieu of clarinet (OB/BSN/PN or CL/BSN/PN). Also, cello may substitute for bassoon and harpsichord for piano.
To order this title, please click on the following link: http://www.trevcomusic.com/products/cw-8304-weait-ten-by-three-flksgs-ob-bsn-pn


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The Pain of Others: Human Rights Watch's Cavalcade of Misery and Hope
by Anthony Kaufman
In her recent essay "Regarding the Pain of Others," Susan Sontag writes about the images of war, "Not to be pained by these pictures, not to recoil from them, not to strive to abolish what causes this havoc… would be the reactions of a moral monster," she states. "We are not monsters, we members of the educated class. Our failure is one of imagination, of empathy: we have failed to hold this reality in mind."
If there's any attempt at empathizing with the pain and suffering of others through the power of pictures, it is to be found at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, now in its 15th year and running through June 24 at New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center. Originally a small showcase for foreign and domestic documentaries and dramas, the event has grown into a must-see series, selling out shows and galvanizing audiences in the more than 50 communities to which the festival travels across the country.
At last Thursday's special benefit screening of Joshua Marston's Sundance winner "Maria Full of Grace," the festival fundraiser exceeded expectations by some 30 percent. And the public opener, a double-bill consisting of U.S. government injustice (Alison Maclean and Tobias Perse's "Persons of Interest") and Peruvian corruption ("What the Eye Doesn't See," directed by HRWIFF Lifetime Achievement Award winner Francisco J. Lombardi), drew packed houses and a wait-list that stretched the lengths of Lincoln Center.
Mindful of Sontag's contemplation of images, the HRWIFF's most stirring entry looks at a unique group of photographers, the children of prostitutes in Calcutta's Red Light District (recently depicted in "The Five Obstructions" as the "most miserable place in the world.") In Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's "Born into Brothels" (winner of the festival's Nestor Almendros Prize, and a likely Oscar contender), Briski befriends the kids, teaches them photography and tries to find them boarding schools, all the while keeping the girls from getting sent "in the line" (a euphemism for prostitution).
Hopeful and heartbreaking, the film alternates between scenes of joyous play and horribly abusive home lives. The children's photographs — mostly innocent glimpses of daily life devoid of cliche — become internationally renown, and one boy, Avijit, even emerges as a burgeoning art-photography star. But as Avijit says at one point, "there is nothing called hope in my future."
Kim Dong-won's Korean entry "Repatriation" is another important film in the program. A monumental work, Kim chronicles the lives of several North Korean "spies" — now frail and feisty old men — incarcerated as political prisoners in South Korea, some for as many as 40 years, spanning their years after release, and their struggle to return home. We experience the director's self-revelations as our own: his disgust for South Korea's propaganda and its torturing of prisoners; the U.S.'s destructive policies of containment; but also the naivety of the North Koreans' love for Kim Jong-il and his own manipulative propaganda and abuse of his people. Trapped in the middle, between North and South, idealism and cynicism, Kim watches as the "grandpas" endure both intra-family conflicts and tearful reunions. "Repatriation" is an emotional, complex, and conflicted cry from a divided country.
"Born into Brothels" and "Repatriation" were both winners at this year's Sundance Film Festival ("Brothels" won the audience award, while "Repatriation" took home the freedom of expression award). But HRW festival director Bruni Burres argues the Sundance presence is not a result of the Human Rights Watch sampling from Park City's slate; on the contrary, "Sundance is programming a lot more human rights documentaries," she says. "That's been a change on their part." Burres notes that major festivals from Locarno to Buenos Aires have also jumped on the bandwagon, with human rights sections and sidebars.
"Born into Brothels" and "Repatriation" are also exemplary works, because they don't fall into the usual purview of the national TV news. The HRWIFF has its fair share, as usual, of films focusing on the Middle East conflict (for images of Iraq, however, you'll have to seek out "Control Room" or "Fahrenheit 9/11"), but what is perhaps more vital is that the festival shed light on conflicts and injustices that are not so familiar to audiences.
In the summer of 2003, for example, as the world media spotlight focused on the U.S.'s failed attempts to restore order in war-torn Iraq, the small Western African nation of Liberia was on the verge of total chaos. In "Liberia: An Uncivil War," documentary filmmaker Jonathan Stack ("The Farm," "Justifiable Homicide"), together with British journalist James Brabazon, take a ring-side seat to the country's collapse, as members of the rebel army LURD approach the capital while charismatic corrupt leader Charles Taylor waits for American peacekeepers to arrive before seceding power. Their face-off elicits the telling Liberian proverb, "When two elephants get fighting in the grass, the grass suffers."
While suspenseful and dire, "Liberia" is most adept at understanding the complexities of the situation — the ironies of Liberia's status as America's oldest African ally (founded in the 1800s by emancipated slaves); the people's love and identification with the Americans; and their eventual disillusionment when the Americans come too little and too late (says one Liberian, "America's washed their hands of Liberia.") Financed by Discovery Times, the film is currently set to air on the small channel in July, but the film's incisive look at America's misguided geopolitics is worth a theatrical run in this year's summer of dissent.
America, as ideal and as hypocritical superpower, is difficult to miss at this year's HRWIFF. "We could have shown a whole program about films on the U.S.," says Burres. "I think more and more people are realizing human rights abuses and concerns are going on right here." Whether it's the compelling and evenhanded "Deadline," about Illinois governor George Ryan's commutating the state's Death Row inmates in the face of a capital justice system that is proven to be inadequate and racist, "Persons of Interest," which takes a hard and harrowing look at the Justice Department's post-9-11 detentions, which ripped apart several American families, or "Juvies," an account of the grossly mishandled cases of juvenile offenders, the made-in-the-U.S. docs are just as urgent as those chronicling human rights crimes abroad.
The U.S. also figures in the event's two high-profile anti-globalization documents, "The Corporation," currently in limited release, and HRWIFF closing night film "The Yes Men," which follows a group of liberal activists-pranksters who impersonate representatives from the World Trade Organization, voicing wildly inappropriate ideas such as the advocacy of slavery and the "reBurger," a McDonald's product for the Third World made from human waste. A sort of "Jackass" for the anti-globalization set, "The Yes Men" offers a funny glimpse at effective subversion.
"These films put stories behind this word 'globalization,'" says Burres, "because a lot of people don't really know what it means. What's great about these films is they use humor, they're smart, and they're not out to alienate people. They're interested in bringing you in."
Burres is also enthusiastic about the potentially wide reach for such films as "The Corporation," "The Yes Men" (opening in late August from United Artists) and of course, Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." "I'm really worried about the world. It's the worst time ever, but we had so many people asked to volunteer, more than ever before, so I do believe there are pockets of hopefulness," she says. "I don't know if it's going to be revolution tomorrow, but during the first two weeks of the festival, I get so inspired."
Indeed, Michael Moore, speaking in "The Corporation," offers this hopeful diatribe about the power of documentaries. "They [the corporations] believe that when people watch my stuff — or watch this film — that they won't do anything, because we've done such a good job of numbing their minds and dumbing them down… They're convinced of that. I'm convinced of the opposite. I'm convinced a few people will leave the theater or get off the couch and do something, anything, to get this world back into our hands."
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The Sustainable Cardiff Map was created by many using Open Green Source Maps to highlight all the community, volunteering, renewable energy platforms, skills groups, discussion groups in Cardiff.
This map is designed to facilitate better community awareness and interaction with all that Cardiff offers. It is focused around Transition Principles which include sustainability, environment and community. You will find groups, projects, organisation that run in and around Cardiff.
Mapping video:
If your group is not on there yet please feel free to suggest the site to us. What can you add to your Cardiff map? This is your map of your community in Cardiff. Join the mapping venture and help get your community initiatives noticed!
This video will show the essence of what Community Mapping is about. If every social (support, volunteering, skills), environmental (clean up work, litter picking groups, renewables), local economy (informal and formal) project based in Cardiff was listed on this community map it would be a comprehensive platform to find something of interest to you in your sustainable city.
Mapping Categories:
The following mapping examples are available to you. If you are aware of an entity not listed in the various maps below – please contact us and tell us about it.
- Culture and Community
- Conservation, Land and Water management
- Charities, Volunteers and Pressure Groups
- Economy, Local Business & procurement
- Educations, Skills and Learning
- Food and Growing
- Heat and Energy
- Health, Longevity and wellbeing
- Transport
- Waste
Working under these ten categories; Cardiff Transition aims to make it easier for you to find and get involved with areas of your own specific sustainability interest.


text:
Here is a chart from a recent report by UKERC on the costs and benefits of energy efficiency measures in homes. For each measure, the corresponding bar shows what proportion of the total technical potential is viable (benefits greater than costs) in different accounting schemes. The dark blue shows the viable emissions saving taking only energy bill savings into account. The light blue shows how much more is viable when you add the social benefits into the equation. Most of these are avoided carbon emissions with a little more from improved air quality and comfort.
I have discussed carbon fee and dividend before but here is a short summary (thanks to my friend Patrick for this succinct version).
Carbon Fee and Dividend (CFD) is a policy whereby:
- A fee is levied on fossil fuel producers, per CO2 equivalent extracted (or imported, if from countries without a similar scheme)
- The fee starts low, and escalates each year (thus avoiding serious economic shock).
- The proceeds are returned to the entire population. An equal amounts for all adults, probably an adjusted amount for children. The actual mechanism for this payment is to be decided, but for example it could be via the welfare or revenue systems.
The advantage of (3) is that the process is transparent (the money doesn't just disappear into the treasury) and will make people aware of the cost of energy. Fuel prices rises will be compensated by the payments, so will not disrupt the economy and below-average energy users (i.e. the majority of the population) will gain at the expense of high energy users.
While we are in the EU it is difficult to implement carbon fee and dividend because it overlaps in functionality with the EU Emissions Trading System that covers carbon emissions from industry. However, we won't be in the EU for much longer.
British Columbia in Canada have had something similar to this since 2008. Differences include: the tax level only increased for the first few years, not all the revenues were redistributed and then they were in the form of tax relief so only benefited tax payers [3]. However fossil fuel use decreased without impacting on economic growth and the popularity of the tax has increased over time, after an initial slight dip [4].
If you like the sound of the carbon fee and dividend system, there is something you can do about it right now. The Citizens' Climate Lobby UK have a campaign to show the climate minister Claire Perry that there is widespread support, in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn. We need to write to Perry via our MP, saying why we thing that carbon fee and dividend is the quickest, most effective, fair and simple way to reduce emissions in line with the UK's own targets based on the Climate Change Act. If you agree, please make sure she knows it too.
[1] Based on the guidance from the UK government Valuation of energy use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Current price is £64/tonne and emissions from gas use is 184g/kWh so carbon adds 1.1p/kWh. On my last gas bill I was paying 4p/kWh, so carbon costs would add more than 25%.
[2] Unlocking Britain's First Fuel: new report on energy efficiency (UKERC) Sep 2017
[3] The BC Carbon Tax vs Carbon Fee and Dividend (Citizens Climate Lobby Canada) Apr 2016
[4] BC's revenue-neutral carbon tax experiment, four years on: It's working (Skeptical Science) Jun 2013


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Crysis 2 Demo Coming To GeForce.com On March 1st
February 24, 2011
By Andrew Burnes
The much anticipated Crysis 2 PC demo will be available to download from GeForce.com come March 1st. Featuring two "stunning" maps, two multiplayer modes and hours of multiplayer action, the Crysis 2 demo is set to be one of the most popular freebies of 2011.
In the demo players will compete in six-versus-six matches taking place across a war-torn Manhattan in two distinctive maps: 'Skyline,' a series of rooftops and skyscraper interiors; and 'Pier 17,' an open environment with limited cover. 'Team Instant Action' pits groups of players against one another in an attempt to kill as many opponents as possible before the clock runs out, while 'Crash Site' sees players vie for control of alien drop pods, earning points through continued control of the mysterious devices, and through the killing of enemies in their vicinity.
So there you have it, a substantial demo free of charge, available directly through GeForce.com without any queues or unnecessary steps. Furthermore, GeForce.com will play host to additional exciting Crysis 2 content on March 1st. First and foremost, we will be releasing the very first benchmark results from the game, showing performance and visual fidelity across a range of GeForce graphics cards.
And finally, GeForce.com will be giving one very lucky reader a $5,000 Maingear Crysis 2 Dream Machine, equipped with three NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards and an Intel Core i7 processor. For a chance to win visit GeForce.com on March 1st and follow the instructions on our dedicated rewards page.


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Country Kiki by pokeydots ()
Poser Fantasy posted on Nov 07, 2012
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Country Kiki by trumarcar, free from her site. Thank you for such a cute outfit!
Goat by 3DUniverse
Wash tub by Capsces
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