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Affiliate marketing goes global
The Partnerships team here at Equator, encompassing our Affiliate Marketing and Outreach services, have a wealth of knowledge and experience managing international campaigns across a broad spectrum of territories and markets. This global learning has come with years of hard work and research, with a lot of lessons learned along the way. We thought we'd try and condense this 18 year(!) learning curve into one easy-to-consume blog post with the view to helping you to take your affiliate programme to the next level!
1. Local knowledge
One of the major keys to success in expanding your affiliate programme internationally is doing your homework first. Understanding the market you're hoping to enter in to is key. As William Hamer-Jones recently noted in his article on Affiliate Marketing opportunities in Asia – "First, you need to assess whether your brand is ready. We have seen a number of brands take the leap too early without doing the requisite groundwork and research. Ask yourself – do you have an audience or brand recognition in these markets?"
A large part of this research is conducted at Equator by the wider Marketing and Insights teams in conjunction with our clients to establish existing trends and potential opportunities. From a solely Affiliate perspective, we can assess current competitor activity in the area as well as well as relevant commission rate structures and models adopted in the relevant sectors. This will form the building blocks to build your international affiliate strategy upon.
2. Trusted partnerships
I have always maintained that, in its truest form, Affiliate Marketing is fundamentally about relationships. These relationships will be crucial in your international expansions, both from a Network and Partner perspective. By leveraging the local knowledge of both local network staff and affiliates alike, the process of launching your affiliate campaign in a new country will be lot smoother and more efficient. Any network worth their salt should have a decent international presence and in turn should be able to provide introductions and GAP analysis into top performers in your sector/industry.
3. Brand awareness
The role of content affiliates really comes to the fore when we talk about an international affiliate marketing strategy. Whilst the volume of orders and revenue might be there for your brand in the UK through partnerships with the major voucher code and cashback affiliates, it is a different story once you start to look overseas. Building brand awareness takes time, and you can't always rely on the old reliable partner types to drive performance by increasing cashback rates or simply issuing a 10% voucher code. Instead, looking to identify and partner with relevant content sites in your given sector/industry is key. These content sites will be able to tap into the relevant demographics and help spread the word for your brand through sponsored posts, product reviews etc.
4. Tying it all together
So you've successfully launched your international affiliate marketing campaign and are now operating in a number of new territories. Good work! However, you're not going to want to spend your time logging into different platforms and interfaces and trying to sketch a picture of what performance looks like. Again, your network of choice should be able to provide you with one point of login and an overarching dashboard view of performance. However, it is also worth investigating SaaS partners such as Impact Radius and Performance Horizon who specialise in these kinds of integrated solutions and are available to provide you with a true overview of the growth of your international empire!


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subset: commoncrawl


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The best way to get to know a city is joining China Tours, we provide all of golf holidays in portugal information. Meet new people and get golf holidays in portugal details about tour packages, travel guides, blogs, photos and Q&A with China Tour Advisors. Enjoy our highly valued service with budget prices, great choice to save cost for single travelers, friends and small groups.
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WASHINGTON — Long lines on Election Day in Florida and elsewhere spurred a call from President Barack Obama Tuesday for a bipartisan commission "to improve the voting experience" and drew new support for federal legislation aimed at cutting wait times.
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Obama said that five-, six- and seven-hour voting lines – seen in Florida during the Nov. 6 election and detailed in an Orlando Sentinel analysis – "are betraying our ideals." He said he has asked experts from his and Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns to jointly lead the voting commission.


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Friday, August 3, 2012
Military Vets Suing CIA Over Mind Control
It's been a while since we've dropped down the rabbit-hole over here at Dojo Rat, so hang on for the ride;
As described in this article in "Wired", Vietnam Veterans of America are suing the CIA over mind control experiments:
"For two decades or more during the Cold War, the CIA and the military allegedly plied the unwitting with acid, weed, and dozens of psychoactive drugs, in a series of zany (and sometimes dangerous) mind-control experiments. Now, the Vietnam Veterans of America are suing the agency and the Pentagon for perceived abuses suffered under the so-called "MK-ULTRA" and other projects.
Six veterans are suffering from all kinds of ailments tied to this
"diabolical and secret testing program," according to a statement from the vets' lawyers, passed on to SpyTalk's Jeff Stein."
Now, it's doubtful that this lawsuit will go anywhere, but what comes out in depositions and discovery may reveal more pieces to the mind control puzzle.
Essentially, the U.S. Intelligence agencies were developing programs to create assassins that could be programed to kill on command, and in some cases not remember what they had done.
Many, many researchers believe the accused killer of Robert Kennedy (including his attorneys) was one such programmed killer.
The CIA admits they had experimental mind control programs, but says they suspended them in the 1970's.
Others say they suspended them because they were successful and had gone operational. There was no need for further experiments.
The Kool-Aid killings in Jonestown were another example of a CIA mind control operation gone terribly wrong. That cost the lives of at least 700 people and Congressman Leo Ryan who went down to investigate. Ryan was shot dead on an airstrip and the followers of Jim Jones were poisoned and shot to prevent disclosure of the program.
Voices in Your head?
Right about now you're saying "Dojo Rat has gone off the deep end!"
But check this out;
Here is how far the technology has come: companies have the ability to put voices in your head as part of new add campaigns. Here is an example from "Add Age":
"NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- New Yorker Alison Wilson was walking down Prince Street in SoHo last week when she heard a woman's voice right in her ear asking, "Who's there? Who's there?" She looked around to find no one in her immediate surroundings. Then the voice said, "It's not your imagination."
No, he's not crazy: Our intrepid reporter Andrew Hampp ventures to SoHo to hear for himself the technology that has New Yorkers 'freaked out' and A&E buzzing.
Indeed it isn't. It's an ad for "Paranormal State," a ghost-themed series premiering on A&E this week. The billboard uses technology manufactured by Holosonic that transmits an "audio spotlight" from a rooftop speaker so that the sound is contained within your cranium."
Yes, that's right. Putting voices in your head.
This is in billboard advertising. Where do you think the technology came from?
Now, we could go very, very deep into this subject, but perhaps this example will make the point; there are lots of movies that show how hypno-programmed assassins are created. The most famous is perhaps the original "Manchurian Candidate".
One of my favorites is the Warren Beatty movie "The Parallax View", which I saw in a theater when I was about 15. It woke me up to the idea of conspiracy as historical truth. Here is a scene where Beaty, as a reporter follows a trail and ends up in one such hypno-program:
No shit. This is how it's done, but in a more graphic way.
So when we have people in society that flip out and pull off some horrific crime, it may just be a random event of a troubled individual.
Or maybe not.
10 comments:
- Fou-mar said...
Wow man! I was just staring at a goat when I felt a jolt or something in my brain and at the same time the goat croaked!
- August 3, 2012 at 8:03:00 PM PDT
- Dojo Rat said...
Ah, been there, done that...
- August 3, 2012 at 10:32:00 PM PDT
- Sean C. Ledig said...
Good for them! I have a friend who's father was a subject of those experiments. He was a longtime sufferer of mental health issues and eventually committed suicide.
- August 4, 2012 at 5:31:00 AM PDT
- Bob Patterson said...
Somewhat related:
Russian Spy Ring Busted
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text:
Mos Def :: The New Danger
Label: Geffen Records
Author: Steve 'Flash' Juon
In the early part of the 20th century (a period loosely defined as coming after
World War I and continuing through the 1930's) African-American arts experienced a
boom period which came to be called the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem was the area
which was chiefly home to the eclectic mix of artists, poets, musicians and writers
who brought not only greater recognition to the cultural voice of the disenfranchised
in the United States but to the cultural influence which had been silently shaping
all aspects of the American mainstream to date. This cultural explosion also brought
in to sharp focus the natural distrust of said artists for their white admirerers;
happy to profit from the "hipsters" who came to Harlem to dig the vibe but fearful of
their intention to exploit these arts or try to claim them as their own. It was
the birthing grounds for many movements which would shape the 20th century:
black nationalism, civil rights, the NAACP, the list goes on and on.
Born Dante Smith in 1973, the artist known as Mos Def became the de facto leader of
a Brooklyn Renaissance. Def was definitely a renaissance man in his own right. At a
young age Dante was already a successful actor, appearing in television shows such as
"You Take the Kids" and "The Cosby Mysteries." While it was his first commercially
successful creative outlet, it was far from his last. As early as 1996 Mos Def was
making guest appearances with De La Soul in concert and on remixes, and by 1998 he had
formed the group Black Star with partner
in rhyme Talib Kweli. Besides being a seminal hip-hop classic, the name of the album
and group was also an assertive indication of his heritage to the Harlem Renaissance;
given that Marcus Garvey's founding of the Black Star Shipping Line is considered to be
one of the Renaissance's many definitive moments. From there Mos Def exploded into
every art form imaginable - starring in Hollywood movies like Bamboozled and Brown Sugar,
hosting and co-producing HBO's "Def Poetry" and releasing his classic solo album
"Black on Both Sides" among others.
As Mos Def's popularity continued to rise, he experienced the same harsh scrutiny that
Harlem Renaissance artists did during their heyday. Mos Def did not shy away from being
controversial though. If anything he incited as much as he was insightful, proclaiming
in song that "Elvis Presley ain't got no SOUL; Chuck Berry is rock and roll" and defying
his critics to prove him wrong. Like Common's statement about "coffee shop chicks and
white dudes," Mos Def seemed to revel in antagonizing the very hipsters who wanted to ride
on the Black Star line themselves. Regardless if you agreed with his hostility or not
he made a valid point that could not be ignored - black musicians throughout the 20th
century had been shortchanged, hoodwinked, and straight up robbed of everything from
their publishing to their very identity by a white-owned and controlled music industry.
Mos Def wasn't having it. Def felt the only logical response was to form Black Jack
Johnson, a collective of modern era black artists like Bernie Worrell (P-Funk) and Doug
Wimbish (Living Colour) to reclaim rock music for it's rightful heirs. He continues to
decry artists which he perceives as robber barons of black soul like Limp Bizkit, and
makes no apologies for it. Mos Def is a lightning rod for his Brooklyn Renaissance,
striking as often as he gets struck, but always seeming to emerge unscathed and continue
to be influential both in and outside black culture. If anything being so outspoken
only makes him more popular to the very audience he no doubt openly distrusts.
"The New Danger" addresses both his internal and external issues as he continues to
preach, teach and reach out from his native Brooklyn streets. Def makes no bones about
the fact that one of the biggest dangers for hip-hop music and culture is the fact it
continues to be exploited by giant entertainment corporations which have no interest
other than their own bottom line. Jay-Z's "The Takeover" is reworked into the even
MORE incindiary track "The Rape Over," and Mos Def vents his utter dissatisfaction
over Jigga's growling bass and drums:
"Hey lil' soldier is you ready for war?
But don't ask what you fightin for
Just hope that you sur--vived the gunfight, the drama, the stress
You get in the line of fire, we get the big-ass checks
You gettin your choice of pimp - make your choice and fall in
This is ho stroll B.I., take that cock in your be-hind
Beatch - hit the streets and perform for us
Ho hard and bring it on to us, fucker
I let you sip cups of Army, get a Mercedes
And kick back and let you pay me, my mack is crazy
I leave the, knife and fist fights filled with glamour
Yeah, take a picture with this platinum plate of sledgehammer
We over-do it add the fire and explode it to it
We're so confused think we run rap music
MTV, is runnin this rap shit
Viacom, is runnin this rap shit
AOL and Time/Warner runnin this rap shit
We poke out our asses for a chance to cash in"
Like he always does, Mos Def is making a point that's worth discussing, whether you
agree with him or not. There certainly IS a danger of corporations raping hip-hop
over and over again to the point it's no longer culturally or musically distinctive.
Not every track on Mos Def's album has such a barbed point though. The Kanye West
produced "Sunshine" is like the title itself - a ray of bright light peaking through
dark clouds to warm hearts and souls. Mos Def exhibits a sensible approach to his
urban poetry that shows why he was so natural to be involved in "Def Poetry." His
intent is not to overwhelm you with overly complex words or flows, but to use his naturally
rich voice to make simple statements with compound meanings. If a picture is worth a
thousand words, a thousand of Mos Def's words paint equally vivid pictures, tempered
by his sterling breath control and a clever wit that's not as brash as a Mad Skillz
punchline but still just as effective:
"I don't hate players, I don't love the game
I'm the shot clock, way above the game
To be point blank with you motherfuck the game
I got all this work on me, I ain't come for play
You can show the little shorties how you pump and fake
But dog, not to Def, I'm not impressed
I'm not amused, I'm not confused, I'm not the dude
I'm grown man business, I am not in school
Put your hand down youngin this is not for you
On my +J.O.+ with beats by Kan-llello
My name on the marquee, your name off the payroll
Style fresh like I'm still a day old
And it's been like that since the day yo
I'm on time with a Roley or Seiko
Step on deck, your neck do what I say so
Get up or get out, get down or lay low"
"The New Danger" encompasses as many different musical styles as Mos Def does arts.
He's just as willing to kick some stripped down Rick Rubin-esque "Ghetto Rock" as he
is to pump hard guitar riffs on "Zimzallabim." You'll find him taking hip-hop to a
land of smoke filled cafes with soulful singing on "Blue Black Jack" featuring
Shuggie Otis or swinging jazz on "Bedstuy Parade & Funeral March" with Paul Oescher.
The hip-hop has not been left out though, as he fills the album with his razor sharp
raps on tracks like the Minnesota produced "Close Edge" and the Molecules laced
"Life is Real." What's really real is Mos Def's fearlessness in the statements he's
willing to make, addressing the global socio-economics of "War" (which can also be
read as an indictment of George W. Bush) or get down to basics as "The Beggar" who
just wants his woman to hear his pleas for love and affection. The range on "The
New Danger" is as broad and deep as the Brooklyn Renaissance itself, and on this
album Mos Def proves he is worthy of being the 21st century Leader of the New School -
too cool.
Music Vibes: 8.5 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 8.5 of 10
TOTAL Vibes: 8.5 of 10
Originally posted: October 19, 2004
source: www.RapReviews.com
© Copyright 2005 RapReviews.com, Flash Web Design Exclusive


text:
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website: www.jeanieransom.com
email: email@example.com
Jeanie Franz Ransom
award-winning author
O'Fallon, MO USA
I've always loved going to school. I'm still excited to get a new notebook filled with blank pages—and possibilities. And the smell of a freshly-opened box of crayons never fails to make me happy.
Luckily for me, I'm a children's author, so I get to visit schools all the time! I'm also a former elementary school counselor, so I'm comfortable working with kids. I know that school days are busy days, so I make sure that the time students and teachers are with me is time well-spent.
I'm available to speak at schools, libraries, children's literary festivals, and educator conferences. I also love to Skype!
Year(s) of participation: 2016, 2019
A4ED school visit photos & blurbs:
WILLIAM CAPPEL ELEMENTARY in Moscow Mills, MIssouri USA
OLD BONHOMME in Ladue, Missouri USA
My 2016 A4ED partnership with third-grade teacher Brett Kelley and his class—known as the 3K Robots—was the icing on the cake for my visit to Old Bonhomme Elementary in St. Louis, Missouri.
I was already scheduled to visit Brett's class on March 4th—the result of a successful letter campaign by his students—when I asked if they'd like to work with me on an A4ED project. The timing couldn't have been better—the students had been learning about the environment and how they could make a difference in the world. By participating in A4ED, they got to make that difference.
The 3K Robots researched the list of five organizations I'd given them, then voted to see which would receive a $200 donation. The results weren't revealed until I visited the classroom March 4th.
To start off our time together, I was treated to a PowerPoint presentation summarizing what the students had learned about each organization. I ended up learning a few things myself! Then Brett made the big announcement, complete with drum roll. Ocean Conservancy had received the most votes! I don't know who was more excited about the project—Brett, his students, or yours truly—but I do know it was a rewarding experience for everyone involved. I'm already looking forward to A4ED 2017!


text: The Alien Disk is a Duel Disk item in the World Championship video games. It can be worn by both male and female players. This Duel Disk is based on the Duel Disk used by the Alien of Light in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime. It can be unlocked if the player unlocks all the opponents in Tag-Team Duel.


text:
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text:
Hi there! Hope you are all enjoying the weekend, it's been a wet and windy day here and all the snow has magically disappeared and we are now left with a lake instead of the field behind our garden, if it freezes tonight we could be ice skating tomorrow :) The note book I am showing today was the project I did on my day off on Thursday, not had chance to post until now. I took a plain note book and covered the front and back with some Kanban 'Industrianan' paper and then I used my new Clockwork Spellbinder embossing folder and embossed some craft metal. The detail is really fabulous I am 'impressed' (pardon the pun!). I added some screw brads and some Tims Holtz cogs to the front. I then die-cut the umbrella man in chipboard and covered him with silver distress stain. On the corners, both back and front I put some metal corners, think they are Creative Expression ones.
The inside page of the note book I have again covered with paper from Kanban Industriana paper pad. I stamped the verse and then die cut using decorative labels 8. The edges were then inked using Pumice Stone Distress ink. I am really pleased with my note book, not quite sure what I am going to write in it yet, perhaps I could just write my crafting ideas in it when they come to me as I have a habit of thinking of ideas and projects and when I have time to do them I can't remember what I thought of :) (probably an age/time of life thing!)
Well off to do the washing up now :( Have a great evening and thanks for popping by.
Dawn x


text:
To the broken, the hurting, the control-freak, and those on the edge of brilliance, these words are for you. May you find peace, joy, and rest for your souls.
Surrender is something we view with suspicion. It is the action of defeat, perhaps even seen as the action of self-defeat.
"He fought the good fight, he almost made it, but the battle was too much and he surrendered."
"She tried, but I guess she wasn't strong enough to see it through. She didn't lose, she just surrendered."
Only in cheesy romance novels is surrender portrayed as a good thing. But here is the truth that so few understand: surrender is necessary for life.
In labor, a woman must surrender to the process of childbirth. This is something I learned first-hand in three deliveries with no pain medication. I had to not only surrender to the contractions, I had to embrace them. This is not an easy thing to do when those waves come on top of each other instead of arriving one at a time, peaking and then receding for a time before the next one politely, and in turn, begins.
Surrender is necessary in facing loss and grief as well. I learned this truth during the first of three miscarriages. I could have chosen to fight the pain and sorrow. I could have buried the tears deep inside. I started to, it is my natural reaction to pain, but I realized that to refuse to grieve would be to say that I had lost nothing. I would have robbed that experience of any meaning and value.
I have sat at the bedsides of people who knew that surrendering to death would bring peace to themselves and loved ones in their final days. Others waged a ragged battle until their final breath. Believe me when I say there is a time to fight, but, when the end comes, surrender brings relief.
Forgiveness is another act of surrender; giving up our burden of anger and releasing ourselves from seeking revenge. Cancelling the debt of repayment for wrongs committed whether we were the victim or the wrongdoer. Surrender is the key.
When I talk about surrender I no longer see it as an act of fatalistic defeat. Instead it is often the most active and engaged response to forces beyond our control, the best response to life, death, loss, pain, and woundedness. If we are to create, heal, find peace, and move forward, we must learn how to surrender.
How refreshing.


text:
I received the following IM from one of my co-workers today:
[B]y the way, you apparently missed the boat with this one. maybe if you had a little ingenuity in you, this could have been you. http://www.stuff4dudes.com/store/y4d_details.html
A smarter girl might be offended. Not me. And while that one's a boat I don't mind missin', it did get me thinking about why I really don't care that some guy is sitting in his living room watching a DVD of three lovely ladies bending and stretching, and did I mention bending? You see, it's kinda the same way I feel about hybrid cars: I do not care if you only bought yours so you could ride in the carpool lane -- the end result is still that you're reducing your emissions, and then we all benefit. Similarly, because I believe in the inherent goodness of yoga, if it's all you can do to WATCH some bends here and some twists there, it's okay because I have to believe that eventually, some good can come of it.* (Yeah, I know, I'm walking right in to the innuendos, seventh graders, but see if you can get your mind out of the gutter to at least consider my point.) Maybe it results in someone trying yoga for real (which I think is pretty likely). You never know.
*Either that or I'm delusional, which I'm willing to entertain. Regardless, I'm still not offended by this video. I won't go so far as to endorse it, but it's also not heresy either. And if there were only two choices, I'd much rather see someone just try and strip (no pun intended) the spirituality from yoga than to serve it swathed in religious pretension.


text:
Keeping the Beat
Lately it seems life is built on
We're always lucky to board the Blogosphere pontoon and collectively journey into the unknown of limitless possibilities together.
it was the joining of students all sharing in one important goal, funds for their school and-
-and seeing that your teacher dances like nobody's watching.
I'm sure most of you know them too. Give them a shout out in my comments, better yet, buy their books, or whatever!
If you're reading this, (this includes the folks introduced at the end) if you're out there contributing, (pulling hairs and whatnot) please present yourself.
Do leave your link in my comments.
First may I introduce a favorite hermit writer we all know and find ourselves lost in his limitless views of a dreams-do-come-true of photography,
every single day right here in Blogland.
R Mac Wheeler his books here.
and his blog here as well.
Check Mac out on Amazon as well and say hello!
From the comfort of and stepping into her wise and dreamy spiral of Hawaii and pure everyday life-
Cloudia W. Charters blog and author of
ALOHA Where You Like Go?
Check Cloudia out on Amazon.
Ashley Chappell-Peeples
Celebrating her first book is- Murees Dupe'
Lisa Shafer- books here.Lisa Schafer see blog here.
Check Lisa out on Amazon.
The age of sharing is a never ending part of life. Every person walking this lovely planet is important, and investing in people, (not just greenbacks but our time as well) is what makes a life well lived.
"Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing."
Elie Wiesel
Celebrate people, and enjoy your weekend everyone.


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Report To Miss ParkerSunday, February 27, 2011
Report To Miss Parker
Stars: Miss Parker
A girl on girl scenario, in which, two naughty young ladies are sent for a detention. They are dismayed when they discover, that Miss Parker is to take the detention, as she is the most feared teacher in the school. Both girls are sentenced to receive extra punishment because they were not properly prepared. This is meted out with a variety of instruments, including hands, the strap, and of course the senior girls cane.


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The latest Black Crusade sourcebook, Tome of Blood, arrived a wee while ago and, during our week under the covers, I've had a good thorough read. Billed as a sourcebook for followers of Khorne, it actually has lots of content for all players and GMs.
Like the previous book, Tome of Fate, there are four new character types to chose from and, again like Tome of Fate, it's the human choices that really catch the eye. The Chaos Marine archetypes are just as you'd expect with a Berzerker (melee) and a Night Lord (fear) on offer. The human archetypes let the reader explore some frontier worlds of the 40K universe, Messia being my favourite with it's Dune/Arrakis feel. Other than characters, there's a lot of background material here, rules for legacy weapons, massed combat, more rituals and investigations. Lastly, there's another complete campaign using the newer rules.
A lot of new artwork is on show, most of it very atmospheric, some of my favourites are on this page. And I'd also say the standard of writing here is pretty impressive, much more so than the early Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader games. FFG have pulled in a few new authors in their recent books and they have seem to have picked up the freshness of the writing (if that even makes sense?)
To be honest, ToB was the book I was least looking forward to, as just how much depth is there on offer to roleplay an uncontrollable frenzied killer. Overall though, the rage/frenzy aspect isn't all that prevalent for the players (NPCs are another story) and the book is much more about new options and scales for combat.
I haven't managed to get a RPG session in for a few months now; we were running them over skype and, when my broadband went, that wasn't possible any more. I think I'm going to try and find a group locally (it would be the first time since my uni days,) but not until later in the year; not feeling terribly sociable at the moment and can't see that changing in the near future!


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Comic Series
Posted 16 October 2003 - 11:51 PM
Posted 17 October 2003 - 04:29 AM
hay ive been absent for some time because of my college iam very busy with it i did have some free time to enter the site good luck with your comics
Posted 19 October 2003 - 03:10 AM
I'll get straight on this right when i finish my school work
Posted 19 October 2003 - 07:49 AM
i realy dont know ho shold i shoos mmmmm how about link (from zelda game) i think that good and sorry for late because iam very busy
just tell me who u want to be
Posted 18 November 2003 - 05:10 PM
Posted 20 November 2003 - 03:07 AM
Yea sure, U won't make it for the first book but i'll try to get the second book ASAP once i get some time to myself
Can I be Gouki/Akuma? LoL, I know I havent been here long. Just thought I'd ask.
Posted 29 November 2003 - 10:00 PM
They call me..Dr.Feelgood
Little is know about Dr.Feelgood accept
He is an unknown Robot with amazing powers and a 50,000,000 Double Dollars on his head.All who have tried to collect the bounty have never came back alive.
Posted 03 December 2003 - 06:38 AM
Posted 22 January 2004 - 02:30 PM
Edit: actually now that I've changed my Avatar, I wouldn't mind being Astro Boy either (Avatar: I always think of the Ultima series every time I hear that word. Is it just me?)
Edited by random guy, 22 January 2004 - 06:36 PM.
Posted 22 January 2004 - 02:46 PM
Posted 22 January 2004 - 11:34 PM
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Down but not out, writes James Shield.
That was the message emanating from the Redtooth Academy when Sheffield United, less than 12 hours after suffering a controversial defeat in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final against Swindon Town, reported back for training yesterday.
The erratic performance of referee Darren Bond, and Nigel Clough's angry response, might yet be subject to further scrutiny ahead of the return at the County Ground in 48 hours time.
But Kieron Freeman, scorer of United's goal during a contest his manager felt had hinged on "four" incorrect decisions, is adamant they can still progress.
"Without a doubt, we are more than confident," the defender said following Thursday's contest. "The result apart, that was one of the best performances we've had.
"There were lads flying into tackles out there and giving everything. It's one goal. There are no away goals.
"Like the gaffer has told us, score one, then score another. Score as many as you possibly can."
Like Clough, Freeman expressed reservations about Bond's reading of a game which saw Jamie Murphy denied two penalties and Matt Done harshly punished on two occasions after his second goal of the season had edged United ahead. Sam Ricketts and Nathan Byrne, with almost the last kick of the game, replied for the visitors but, despite failing to establish the lead their display warranted, Freeman insisted United scored an important psychological victory.
"I think we'll go into the game exactly as we did this one," he said. "We came out and they didn't expect us to hit them as hard as we did.
"They've annihilated teams at times this season. They were nowhere near that against us. You could tell in the game, they were expecting it to be easier than it was."
"The boys are disappointed with the result but not the performance," Freeman added. "That was good. We had a lot of chances and, on another day, we'd have been two or three nil up at half-time.
Over the course of the game, we had and created far more."
Done, who appeared as a second-half substitute after overcoming a series of fitness issues, is expected to be handed a prominent role in Wiltshire after seeing a 'goal' disallowed for a foul moments after entering the fray before being refused a clear cut advantage by Bond while the score was locked at 1-1.
"Doney has had a niggling injury," Freeman said. "But he has a different dimension, as you can see, to his game.
"He's got that pace down the flanks and he lets (Jamie) Murph(y) come into the hole more, work those little pockets and run at the back four."
READ MORE: Click here for all the latest news from Bramall Lane


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I so love working with kraft colored products, including paper, so any chance I get to play along with the Kraft+ challenges, I am totally happy!
This is my layout inspired by the May challenge!
This is the wild, fun and colorful image that inspired my creation!
Click HERE for all the details on this Kraft+ challenge!
Needless to say, the first thing that screamed out at me when looking at this image was the cool hip blue convertible. I knew I had the perfect picture for it, of my nieces posing in this stage vintage car at Walt Disney World. I fussy cut the car from the picture and made it pop out of my page.
I was also inspired by the bright colours which I thought looked awesome against the kraft background and some black and gold accents. I wanted my layout to be a celebration of life!
I covered the chipboard stars with Imagine Ink 14karat embossing powder.
Look at these happy little super stars!
I have to admit, I chucked 2 first attempt at this layout in the garbage - I just couldn't get the background to my satisfaction. They say "Third time's a charm", well, it certainly turned out to be true for me. I love how my 3rd attempt turned out!
Thank you Kraft+ for the inspiration!!


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Using a deceased spouse's plastic is illegal
Once a person dies, his card accounts go to the grave with him
Ask a question.
Dear To Her Credit,
Am I responsible for my late husband's credit card debt? I am an authorized user only, but have been making purchases and making payments since his death. I received a rewards check from the credit card company, but was not allowed to cash it because I was not the owner of the card. If I can't cash the check, am I responsible for paying the debt? -- Delores
Dear Delores,
Please cut up this credit card and do not make any more purchases on it. The day your husband died, the account became no longer valid, just like his checking account or anything else that had his name on it and no one else's.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that if the deceased person's money will go to them after a death anyway, especially if it's a spouse, they can keep using that person's bank, investment and debt accounts. That's not how it works. In fact, if creditors wanted to claim that someone intentionally used an account after the account holder died, they could have a case for fraud.
As you discovered, you cannot cash a check made out to your husband after he died. The check belongs to your husband's estate and should be used to pay off any debts he left (including this card). Call or write to the credit card company, tell them your husband has passed away, and ask them to send a new check made out to "Estate of (your husband's name)." When the check comes, give it to the personal representative of your husband's estate. The representative can deposit the check in the special account set up for the estate.
The fact that you can't cash the check, however, has nothing to do with whether you are liable for the debt. As an authorized user, you normally are not liable for an account balance. However, I recommend you pay for any charges you made after your husband died, when the account should have been closed.
When the estate of your husband is settled, hopefully his assets will cover all his debts and his remaining assets will be distributed as he stipulated in his will. If everything he owned is willed to you, the effect will be the same as if you had paid it, because it reduces the amount you receive from the estate.
If the estate doesn't have enough cash to pay off the creditors, your liability for any remaining debt depends on two things: whether you live in a community property state and whether you benefited from the money spent. (Community property states are California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Alaska is an "opt-in" community property state.) In a community property state, you can be liable for the entire credit card balance incurred during the marriage, even if you were not a joint card holder. In any state, creditors can try to collect from you regardless of whether the cards are in your name if you benefited from the expenditures.
I'm surprised your husband's personal representative hasn't notified all his creditors by now so they can close all accounts. That's one of the first things that should be done. Taking care of financial matters after a death is complicated, and it's too much to ask of most family members when they are dealing with such a loss. If you or someone in your family is trying to do it and isn't sure exactly what to do, I recommend you find an estate lawyer or a free or low-cost legal service in your state.
You've been through enough already. You shouldn't have to navigate the estate process yourself. Get the help you need and by all means, take care of yourself and your own credit.
See related: What happens to credit card debt after you die?, Starting a credit life after a spouse's death, Credit card law compels speedy estate settlement for debt after death, Compare states' community property laws
Meet CreditCards.com's reader Q&A experts
Does a personal finance problem have you worried? Monday through Saturday, CreditCards.com's Q&A experts answer questions from readers. Ask a question, or click on any expert to see their previous answers.
- New tax law makes HELOCs less attractive for debt repayment – Without the ability to deduct the interest if used for debt repayment, HELOCs lose luster as get-out-of-debt plan ...
- How to stop collections on recurring charge reported as fraud? – Canceling a card for fraudulent recurring charges won't necessarily stop the debt from being sent to collections if left unpaid ...
- Steps to fight fraud, repair credit damage caused by ex-spouse – Sharing finances is common during marriage, but can backfire horribly when a marriage falls apart. Take steps to protect your credit and financial standing ...


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Stock image of wind turbine blades, Shutterstock
A public private partnership between UK government and oil companies has pledged £15.5 million to develop enormous wind turbines with blades that are as long as two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Financing from Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), with members such as BP and Shell, will allow the British company Blade Dynamics to develop 328 foot modular blades that are comprised of several pieces. Made with carbon fiber instead of fiberglass, they will be cheaper to build, easier to transport and lighter than conventional blades.
Image of olympic sized swimming pool, Shutterstock
In order for offshore wind energy to be a viable alternative to oil and gas, it's crucial to drive down the costs of generation. Fastco writes that the UK government, a leader in the field, hopes to brings costs down from $210 per megawatt hour to just $161 by 2020. Current technology is plagued by heavy turbines made of fiber glass that are tricky to ship and expensive to build.
Blade Dynamics' new technology might just be the winning ticket. By building several carbon fiber-based pieces that are 39 feet a piece, the company expects their blades to be up to 40% lighter than their competitors'. They are also up to 82 feet longer and the tower is 885 feet tall, making this the largest wind turbine on the market. (We've said this many times, but really, these things are mammoth!) After a series of testing steps are taken, these giants could go into production as early as the end of 2014.
Via Fastco Design


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Defining Neutral Spinal Posture
Neutral posture can be defined as avoiding the extremes of sustained spinal flexion (rounded spine) or extension (arched spine), or positioning the spinal column and pelvis in a manner that reflects a midposition between the extremes of these two joint actions. A total approach to abdominal and back strengthening, back wellness and functional balance training must include the concept and teaching of neutral posture. Avoiding the extremes of sustained flexion and extension, when appropriate, should be taught for both the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) areas of the spine. Likewise, intentional movement that causes a shift from neutral posture is not an issue of right or wrong, but one of appropriateness as related to movement demands.
Being able to "set" or establish neutral posture when desired helps to conserve the integrity of spinal discs, ligaments and joints, as well as enhancing movement capability. Awareness of neutral posture encourages a return to, or maintenance of, proper spinal positioning during daily tasks or sport movement.
Neutral spinal posture can, in an even more simplified manner, be defined as an absence of tension in the cervical and lumbar spine. The strongest position of the spine and the position least likely to contribute to increased risk of injury or chronic degenerative spinal disease is represented by neutral posture. Neutral spinal posture refers to the maintenance of "normal" spinal curves that are inherent to a healthy, strong and properly aligned spine. See FIG. A.
Vertebral column exhibiting the normal curvatures inherent to a healthy and properly aligned spine.
It is critical to all physical movement training and back health to have mastered the skill of freely and intentionally moving from and returning to neutral spinal posture. Participants must also have the ability to maintain spinal neutral throughout an exercise or movement when appropriate.
Neutral spinal posture can be illustrated by the maintenance of proper cervical, thoracic and lumbar curvatures. See FIG. B.
Vertebrae positioning in a neutral lumbar spine.
Illustration adapted from Low Back Pain Syndrome, Rene Cailliet, M.D., F.A. Davis, 4th printing, 1991, pg. 4.
When performing any exercise, sport movement or daily task, whether seated, prone, supine, sidelying, standing and/or during movement, proper alignment in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions should be considered. Decisions need to be made with regard to whether or not neutral spinal posture should be maintained (i.e., during a dynamic sporting activity or when performing trunk stability exercises), or if intentionally, the exerciser should choose to move out of neutral (i.e., performing trunk flexion which is typically referred to as a trunk curl or crunch exercise).
When observing the natural spinal curves, note that the vertebrae are not stacked vertically upon one another. Yet, through the preservation of the desired or normal curvatures of the spine, this positioning protects the integrity of the spinal ligaments, joints and intervertebral discs. When the spine is neutral, the weight of the spine, gravity and other forces are equally distributed across the weight bearing surface of the discs and spinal joints, and are less likely to stress the functional units (the dynamic joints and supportive soft tissue structures) of the spine. Neutral posture minimizes compressive, shear and rotary torque forces.
Methods to Identify Neutral Lumbar Posture
In order to work with each individual's unique physical traits, it is helpful to teach the individual how to identify his/her neutral or natural (current) lumbar spinal position. Note, "natural" or "normal" is not always ideal.
One of the easiest ways to identify this starting point in the lumbar region is to stand with the heels close to or touching a wall. The protrusion of the buttocks and shoulder blades (scapulae) should lightly touch the wall. Attempt to slide one hand, palm facing the wall, between the small of the back and the wall surface. Many participants who have selfadministered this evaluation find there is no space. Some find that two or three fingers may fit in nicely. Others, who have a significantly arched back (lordosis) report that they can "drive a truck" through the existing space!
Regardless of curvature, or lack thereof, as measured by how the hand or fingers fit into the lumbar space, this becomes the reference point for returning to neutral. It should be noted that external observance by a fitness professional should be just that, an observation. Diagnostic tools provided by a medical professional should be suggested if excessive curvature or lack of curvature give cause for concern. There is no "perfect" amount of curvature, nor is it within the scopeofpractice of most fitness professionals to try and attempt to ascertain whether a specific spinal curvature is desired, or represents an unhealthy situation.
Another method that can be used to identify neutral posture is to slowly rotate the pelvis into an anterior tilt (arching the low back) and then slowly rotate the pelvis into a posterior tilt (flattening the low back). Find a neutral point that represents a position between the two extremes. This method can effectively be used by placing the individual in a hands and knees position on the floor, a standing position with a slight bend in the knees and hips, or by positioning him/her in a seated position on a stability ball.
Trunk Flexion and Extension
Early anatomy books illustrate that either excessive extension or flexion of the lumbar spine result in disproportionate and unequal stress on the discs located between the vertebrae. Over time such stress could result in herniated discs, and resultant swelling, nerve root irritation or impingement, and/or degeneration of the vertebrae. Sustaining a misalignment like this during dynamic movement or throughout the day (sitting with a rounded back), may cause irreparable and cumulative damage that can lead to pain, injury and a loss of painfree mobility in the low back region.
Vertebral or spinal flexion is characterized by compression to the anterior aspect of the disc. Spinal flexion occurs when performing traditional abdominal "curls" where the rib is drawn toward the pelvis, or when a person sits with a rounded low back at his desk. Posterior ligaments, the muscle sheath, and other soft tissue limit excessive flexion. See FIG. C. Spinal extension is restricted by mechanical impact of the
facet joints and by the anterior longitudinal ligament. See FIG. D.
Trunk Extension
Illustrations adapted from Low Back Pain Syndrome, Rene Cailliet, M.D., F.A. Davis, 4th printing, 1991, pg. 90.
When neutral alignment of the lumbar spine is maintained, the forces on the discs between the vertebrae are greatly reduced, as well as stretch forces to stabilizing spinal ligaments. Neutral posture more evenly spreads compression, shear or torque forces over the load bearing surfaces of the intervertebral discs. This helps avoid a concentration of high stress forces in small areas of the discs.
Neutral Posture Summary
In an extensive review, Plowman (1992) highlights the importance of neutral spinal posture in the lumbar region. Greater posterior tilt (toward flat back position) increases low back muscle and ligament tension and, as a result, compressive forces on the spine and discs. It is reasonable to conclude that a sustained flexed or flat back position inherits many of the same risks that a sustained extended or excessively arched back does. Specifically, the ligaments, muscles, fascia and discs that make up the spinal column are put at risk for chronic, degenerative processes to occur.
It must be emphasized that the back was meant to flex as well as extend, and was meant to laterally flex and rotate. Keep in mind that one cannot perform effective, full range movertype (or isolation) trunk exercises without flexing or extending the spine. Nor can a person effectively participate in all athletic or daily movement requirements unless he/she can move into, and out of, neutral posture. On the other hand, an individual should know how, for example, to establish and preserve neutral posture if he/she is sitting at a desk, driving a car, riding a stationary bike or walking.
Flexion and extension are well tolerated by the spine and its associated soft tissues, including the spinal discs. In fact, this type of movement is necessary, for example, to achieve disc nutrition. Dynamic movement would not be possible if the spine did not tolerate this type of movement. However, excessive and uncontrolled (ballistic) movement of the spine, as well as rotation that is combined with a poorly aligned spine can be detrimental. Remember that the devastating nature of back pain is not associated with a "lightening strike." Instead, a habit that is characterized as seemingly innocuous, such as sustaining poor seated posture over long periods of time, is a leading contributor to low back pain and the associated discomfort or disability.
Material in this chapter adapted from Douglas S. Brooks' live workshop presentations and The Complete Book of Balance Training (in press), by Gregory Anderson, Douglas Brooks and Peter Twist, Effective Strength Training by Douglas S. Brooks, 2001 and BOSU Integrated Balance Training, Brooks and Brooks, 2002.


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|You are in: World: Europe
Wednesday, 23 February, 2000, 13:26 GMT
Q & A: Northern Ireland and the Basque conflict
What are the parallels between Northern Ireland and the Basque country?
Basque nationalism celebrates Aberri Eguna (The Day of Basque Fatherland) on Easter Sunday, inspired by the Irish Republican Easter Rising of 1916. The Basque group ETA, and the Irish group IRA, have historical links going back to the 1970s and their political wings, Herri Batasuna and Sinn Fein, have maintained brotherly relations for many years.
Basque nationalists see Irish nationalism as sharing with them a struggle of national liberation against big states, Spain and Great Britain. There are not religious divisions in the Basque country.
It can be argued also that Basque nationalists, a people of the north in Spain, share some features of their political make-up with unionists, a people of the north of Ireland. Miguel de Unamuno, a famous Basque philosopher, wrote: "I am a Basque, so I am an unionist."
How has the peace process in Northern Ireland affected Basque politics?
The mainstream Basque Nationalist Party, who has held the power in the region's government for 20 years, established in 1998 a dialogue with ETA and its political wing, Herri Batasuna, under the heading The Irish Forum. They discussed the lessons that could be learned from the experience of Northern Ireland.
Only days after that agreement, in September 1998, ETA declared an unconditional ceasefire. All this was clearly inspired by the early work undertaken by Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, and Republican leader Gerry Adams at the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process.
Why has Spain not attempted Northern Ireland style negotiations?
Basque nationalists did not take their agreement to the political parties who are in favour of the Basque country remaining as a part of Spain, as Irish nationalists did with their unionist neighbours.
The Basques did not seek a constitutional negotiation among all parties as the one designed by the Downing Street Declaration of 1993. Basque nationalists acted as if the constitutional change depended only on their own will.
The Spanish Government never offered a constitutional dialogue with the political allies of ETA if there was a ceasefire, as John Major did when he was UK prime minister. The Spanish Government rejected all political dialogue and only wanted to keep a direct dialogue with ETA to guarantee peace but without political concessions.
Who is to blame for the collapse of the Basque peace process?
ETA is the only group waging some kind of war in the Basque country. The responsibility for peace is fully theirs. In their communiqué announcing their readiness to activate their paramilitaries from 3 December, ETA puts most of the blame on the shoulders of the Basque Nationalist Party for not fulfilling some secret agreements they had reached at the time of The Irish Forum. They blame, too, the Spanish and French Governments for not responding to their claims.
The Spanish government has a share of the blame for the continuous political instability in the Basque country. They have never offered an open constitutional dialogue to Basque nationalists to accommodate their claim to independence.
Are there any lessons that Spain can now learn from the successes and setbacks in the Northern Ireland peace process?
The Basque country in Spain is an autonomous region with its own government. The Basque government administers more powers transferred from Madrid - including its own treasury and police force - than the ones London devolved to Belfast's short-lived executive.
But the Spanish constitution of 1978 does not recognise the right of self-determination of the Basque country. An agreement on this very abstract question and about possible institutions for areas of common interest to Basques across Spain and France can only come through all-party negotiations based on consensus. This is already being done in Northern Ireland.
What are the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Basque conflict?
The number of victims in the Basque conflict to date is more than four times lower than the number of victims as a consequence of the conflict in Northern Ireland. ETA is a very small group in steep military decline for more than a decade.
There has been renewed violence in Spain since the official breakdown of the ceasefire. But with general elections in Spain coming at the latest in early spring it is hoped the resumption of a peace process cannot be very far in the horizon.
Can there ever be the Basque equivalent of Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams sitting under the same roof as David Trimble?
Leaders of the Basque radical movement have occasionally taken their seats under the same roof as the Spanish government in the Spanish Parliament. Leaders of Herri Batasuna and of the Popular or Socialist parties, both pro-Spanish, seat daily under the same roof in the Basque Parliament.
It should be only a matter of time for the Spanish government to talk directly to the political allies of ETA when they have already spoken directly with the heads of ETA in the last months.
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To block the ads in the buddy list window of MSN Live Messenger:
- Go to the Control Panel
- Double-click on Internet Options
- Select the Security tab and click on Restricted sites
- Click on the Sites button below and add
rad.msn.comto the zone. Click on Close and the ads should disappear.
Alternatively, you can completely remove the ad elements.


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One of the record unputdownable holding something like gambling plan of action is that it e'er depends on having enough money, and not individual scared to misplace it. This is the firstborn piece that surprises those. People tend to focus that achromatic small indefinite quantity strategy, fire iron strategy, or the making a bet scheme for any other crippled relies on doing your first-class to jelly your jewels. In reality, however, if you cannot well risk your capital, you cannot cavort a good enough unfit. You see, plan of action for scrub oak depends on someone able to clear your choices based on arithmetic. If you have the leaders indiscriminate of winning, you should bet. If you do not have a well-behaved haphazard of winning, you should angular shape. It is as simple as that. How some funding you have should dramatic composition no component part in it. If it does, you can't bet cleanly.
I have been handsome out achromatic diddly-squat tips for a bimestrial event. You see, I am not in actuality a great deal of a someone. I don't have the fortitude for it. I stake okay once within is zip neck-deep but chips, but once the bet get high, I commonly cowardly out. Nonetheless, I am a artist of black shit plan of action. You see, I am a mathematician. From the ingredient of orientation of mathematics, dark diddlysquat strategies are instead glib to reckon. Sure, in that are a lot of variables. There are 52 card game in the deck, in that are respective remaining players, and there's the put up. Nonetheless, any person beside a devout know-how of sums who is consenting to help yourself to the instance to do so can acquire to master blackjack scheme. For each person else, there are always plan of action achromatic squat guides.
One of the supreme big belongings in black squat scheme is to never get psyched out. This is amazingly unforced in blackjack, at least once compared to poker. If you do not have the effrontery to dance for your money, or if you have bad luck, you should breakthrough out earlier on. You should dispense up any belief of becoming a creative person paper player. After all, you inevitability to be competent to instrumentality all dark diddly scheme beside frore and cold exactitude. If you forget how to use black small indefinite quantity scheme once the occurrence comes, you will misplace. You may get lucky one hand, or even for one night, but in the long-range run, your circumstances will run out. This is a mathematical certitude. The divergence relating polite players and bad ones has to do next to zilch so so much as black diddly strategy.Post ads:
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The January Stamp of the Month called Adore You is perfect for Valentine's Day, birthdays, thank you cards, or just everyday "Thinking of You" cards. I used the heart image to make this 5" x 5" card for my hubby's birthday/Valentine's Day card for next month. (His birthday is on Valentine's Day.)
I heat embossed the image on a piece of Kraft cardstock and colored the flowers in with some markers. If you look closely, you can see that I used the Gold Shimmer Brush to add some sparkle to the flower centers and to the tiny flowers. It really sparkles in the light. The sentiment is stamped in the middle with Cranberry ink.
After matting the Kraft cardstock to a piece of Cranberry cardstock with Thin 3-D Foam Tape, I adhered the entire piece to a 5" x 5" piece of White Daisy cardstock that I ran through my embossing machine with the Simple Chevron Embossing Folder. Finally, I adhered the entire piece to a 5" x 5" Cranberry cardstock base. It's a simple card, but was lots of fun to make.


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Warning: By law we cannot sell this product to anyone under 18, by placing an order with us you are confirming that you are over the age of 18.
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Scottish Chess Championships & International Open 2017
15 July 2017 - 23 July 2017
Dundee and Angus are delighted to be hosting the Scottish Chess Championships & International Open 2017. Please use as much or as little of the information links as you need to make the most of your stay. The information below has been especially tailored to your event with the aim of making your visit to Dundee and Angus as easy as possible. Using the links below you can find the most relevant information to help you plan your trip from registering for the event to booking your accommodation, restaurants, day trips and much more.
Registration - Players in the Championship & International Open must register before 11.30am on Saturday 15 July 2017. This can be done in person, by email or by phone to 07974 608 570.
Download the Entry Form for more information:
Visit event website


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Drivers went upward of 215 mph in the straightaways of the track which, since a repave, has claimed the title a fastest on the circuit.
"That's white-of-your-eyes-fast," said Clint Bowyer of his car. Bowyer said he hit 217 mph on Wednesday.
Fan favorite Dale Earnahrdt Jr. was also testing at the track which he has multiple wins at.
"This is one of our better tracks, and our fans will probably say the same," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Having the success here over the last four or five years has given us a lot of confidence when we come here, and I think that's why Goodyear brings us to test.
"I enjoy racing here. It's a fun track. The asphalt is really aging well and it's just going to keep getting better and better over the next couple of years."
Track president Roger Curtis noted that while fast speeds are nice, fans simply want to see a good race.
"The drivers are posting 200 mph. That's awesome. The fans get very, very excited about that. But at the end of the day, on Sunday when the green flag drops, the numbers 'two zero zero' they're not anywhere in the fans' minds. It's lead changes, it's the competition."
Michigan will host the Quicken Loans 400 on June 15 and the Pure Michigan 400 on Aug. 17.


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Investigates complaints made about administrative actions of Tasmania Government Departments, most statutory authorities & Local Government.
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) provide information and assistance to small businesses and family enterprises, including referral to dispute resolution services.
The ASBFEO information line is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and is closed on Australian National Public Holidays.
Considers and investigates complaints about Commonwealth Government departments and agencies including Australian Federal Police, Defence Force, Australian Taxation Office, Freedom of Information. Complaints can be made by phoning, writing, in person or online.
The role of the Fair Work Ombudsman is to work with employees, employers, contractors and the community to promote harmonious, productive and cooperative workplaces. The Fair Work Ombudsman will investigate workplace complaints and enforce compliance with Australia's workplace laws.
The role of the Fair Work Ombudsman is to work with employees, employers, contractors and the community to promote harmonious, productive and co-operative workplaces. The Fair Work Ombudsman will investigate workplace complaints and enforce compliance with Australia's workplace laws.
The Financial Ombudsman Service fairly and independently resolves disputes between consumers, including some small businesses and member financial service providers.
The independent dispute resolution processes cover financial services disputes including banking, credit loans, general insurance, life insurance, financial planning, investments, stock brokers, managed funds and pooled superannuation trusts. They also cover estate planning, estate management and trustee services.
This service is free for consumers.
Receives, investigates & where necessary acts on complaints. Deals with human rights under Comonwealth legislation: Privacy Act 1988, Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Sex Discrimination Act 1992 & Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
Office Hours:
Counter and General Enquiries: 9am – 5pm
National Information Service: 9am – 5pm (closed on Tuesdays between 1pm – 5pm)
IP Australia is the Australian Government agency that administers intellectual property (IP) rights and legislation relating to patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeder's rights.
Available Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.
The Postal Industry Ombudsman (PIO) is an independent body that investigates complaints about the postal and courier industry. The PIO can investigate complaints about Australia Post, or about any other postal or courier operators that register with the scheme.
The Private health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO) provides an independant service to help consumers deal with health insurance problems and enquiries. Complaints may be lodged by health fund members, hospitals or day procedure centres, medical or some dental practitioners, health funds or people acting on behalf of any of these people or organisations. Individual complainants are encouraged to contact their health fund in the first instance.


text: Dax's main focus today is working with brides and grooms to create breathtaking wedding photography. Dax was born and raised in Missoula Montana and also went to school at the University of Montana for fine art photography. His gift for capturing the moment and passion for creating award winning wedding photographs started in 1998 when he shot his first wedding. Since then many things have changed and with every subsequent wedding he shoots comes a new batch of exquisite wedding photos that delight brides and grooms around the globe. His wedding photography has been in numerous publications and has won many awards. Despite the accolades Dax is best known for his mastery of light. His photographs are always luminous with vibrant colors and heartfelt emotion. Quite simply Dax's wedding photos are works of art in themselves. It's no wonder that year in and year out he is fully booked and loves being a wedding photographer.


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Donald Trump
Lashes Out at #MeToo Movement
… People Deserve Due Process
Donald Trump just went on the attack against the #MeToo movement, complaining mere allegations are ruining lives without due process.
Trump just tweeted, "Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused – life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?"
Rob Porter, who served as a key aide to the President until he resigned this week after allegations surfaced that he abused his 2 ex-wives, seemed to be the catalyst for Trump's tirade. Trump wished Porter well Friday, essentially saying there was a rush to judgment in believing his accusers.
A second member of Trump's team, speechwriter David Sorenson, resigned Friday after domestic abuse allegations as well.


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From left, Nicole Eisenman, Janine Antoni, Tauba Auerbach, Sarah Morris, Justine Kurland, Roni Horn, and Sylvia Sleigh.
Photographs by Andreas Laszlo Konrath
One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The other claims that when money ebbs, so do prospects for women. Given this season's abundance of female gallery shows (36 percent, up from 17 percent in 2005), I'll go with the former. Seven of the most exciting are pictured here, and one of them, Roni Horn, is deservedly having her first full-scale museum show.


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Limboráčik is a children's dance group that promotes Czech and Slovak folk dancing among children. The group was founded in 2004 by professional Slovak dancers. Limboráčik operates under the school and is widely known and appreciated among the Czech and Slovak communities. Limboráčik rehearses every Friday from 7:00-9:00pm and Saturday from 12:45-1:45pm. Limboracik periodically performs publicly at the following venues:
- Spring Concert, Queens, NYC (March or April)
- Czech and Slovak Festival, Queens, NYC (May)
- Slovak Heritage Festival, Holmdel, NJ, (September)
- Street Festival, NYC (October)
- St. Martin Festivities, Church of Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel, Queens, NYC (November)
For more information, please, contact the director at firstname.lastname@example.com, or the dance instructors Dana Podzuban email@example.com, Martina Finková firstname.lastname@example.com, Jozef Vaško email@example.com.


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Since launching his eponymous collection in September 2002, designer Haider Ackerman has experienced a meteoric rise to become one of the most commended designers within the fashion industry. The recipient of a Swiss Textile Award and a Fashion Group International award for design, Ackermann's signature draped forms and intricate design aesthetic has won a legion of dedicated followers from influential industry insiders including critic Suzy Menkes who described the Ackermann as a "rare hope-for-the-future." In September 2016 he joined Berluti as creative director, but departed the label three seasons later.
Throughout his career the Paris-based designer has been approached to head up several prominent design houses including Dior and Martin Margiela and in 2011 was also selected as a guest designer at the influential Pitti Immagine showcase in Florence. At the same showcase, Ackermann unveiled his first menswear collection to critical acclaim, with the second collection presented two years later at the Men's Fashion Week in Paris in July 2013.
A Columbian native, Ackermann enrolled in the prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Art in Antwerp in 1994, pursuing a degree in fashion design. A noted perfectionist, Ackermann was expelled in 1997 for having failed to complete any of his assigned collections, a fault attributed to his desire to produce collections that lived up to his exacting standards.
In 1998 Ackermann began a five month internship at John Galliano , building up his portfolio over the next few years with designers such as Bernhard Willhelm, Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe and Mayerline. Following the launch of his label in 2002, Ackermann guest designed a collection for premium leather specialist's Ruffo Research and in 2005 re-located to Paris, setting up his studio.
In 2005, Ackermann also signed up with Belgian group BVBA 32, gaining financial backing for his label. The group split Ackermann's business into a separate entity in 2013 in recognition of the label's growing prominence.
Karl Lagerfeld has gone on record saying that he believed Ackermann a worthy successor to his mantle at Chanel, a fitting compliment for one of fashion's most talented designers.


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I suppose it goes against the common wisdom, but it's my own belief that there are different kinds of bad movie. Some bad movies are simply dull and incompetent; some movies become a mess due to the inability of the filmmaker to grasp what he/she is reaching for; some movies are bad because they think their message is above your head when it's really beneath your contempt; and there are also movies, made by competent people, that just happened to be made with the wrong people at the wrong time and became an unintentional freakshow that, depending on its audience, either elicits our condescending sniggers or empathy and curiosity. If SKIDOO must be seen as a "bad" movie (a term I try my best to resist because it tends to slam the door on understanding), it best fits into the latter category.
I'd like to give SKIDOO the benefit of the doubt. First of all, I think it's unfair to be so harsh on a film that hasn't been given every opportunity to make its best impression. Despite a brand-new-looking Paramount logo, TCM's presentation of the Panavision 2.35:1 feature was cropped, had the stale look of an aged VHS conversion, and sported a horrendous sound mix that sometimes had background score drowning out dialogue. Whatever our knee-jerk response to SKIDOO, in all fairness we must remind ourselves that this is our reaction to seeing the film in this wretched state. We're looking at a distorted presentation -- photographed by the great Leon Shamroy (LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN, SOUTH PACIFIC, PRINCE OF FOXES), no less -- so our response is bound to be similarly distorted.
No, I'm not going to make a case for SKIDOO's unrecognized brilliance, but I certainly wasn't bored at any point. (I wish I could say the same about Mike Nichols' last twenty years on the job.) One thing that interested me most was that the movie I saw had little to do with the godawful reputation that preceded it. It has been called Otto Preminger's mid-life crisis movie, but it's not really an auteur picture, even if Preminger himself thought of it in those terms. The script was written by Doran William Cannon, who later wrote Robert Altman's rather more respected fantasy BREWSTER McCLOUD (1970), and I can see a fairly straight creative line between those two pictures that simply doesn't exist between SKIDOO and Preminger's next, TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON (1970), or his previous HURRY SUNDOWN (1967, excepting the shared presence in both of John Phillip Law).
SKIDOO has long been the subject of underground finger-pointing: after all, it's the movie where Jackie Gleason takes an acid trip, the movie where Groucho Marx smokes a joint. From the days when I bought ZAP Comics in head shops, people have traded these bits of information as if such ideas were themselves contraband, but both actors handle these dramatic challenges, if that's what they were, with aplomb. In fact, smoking a joint from a roach clip is the only thing that Groucho does with his usual masterly ease in the movie, where it's painfully evident that he's reading all his lines off of cue cards. Even his trademark shoe-polish mustache is applied unevenly. I've never known anyone to mention, in conversation anyway, that the movie is about the Mafia. Jackie Gleason -- who plays a retired suburban mafioso recalled by his ex-captain "God" (Groucho) to infiltrate a prison and commit one last hit (against Mickey Rooney, of all people) -- gives his usual fine performance, one that actually reaches a kind of pinnacle at the height of his delirium, though it's surrounded by a lot of noise (like casting that sometimes feels decided by dartboard, panning-and-scanning, and that infernal sound mix). Seen today, SKIDOO makes it almost tempting to see Jackie Gleason and his pampered Jersey wife Carol Channing as psychedelic templates for Tony and Carmela Soprano; indeed, the adventure taken by this Tony (Gleason, it's also his character name) has probably become an easier pill to swallow now that we've followed James Gandolfini's Tony through the weirder side-streets of his life and crimes on HBO.
SKIDOO opens with a lot of remote-control zapping of a televised image and later indulges in solarized color psychedelia, both of which featured prominently in Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson's Monkees movie HEAD (also 1968). If it's bad, it's certainly not because Otto Preminger was out-of-touch on the subjects of the youth and drug culture of the day, something that can't be said about THE LOVE-INS (again, 1968), the riotously conservative groove-fest that followed SKIDOO on TCM's schedule. Where SKIDOO goes astray is not in having establishment movie stars dabbling in counter-cultural amenities, but in taking an interesting premise and other intriguing divertissements and trying to make a comic musical out of it all. Even here, Preminger was not necessary incompetent; he had the good taste to hire Harry Nilsson (another Monkees affiliate) to supervise this end of things, and Nilsson's songs are fine, a bit in his COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER mode. Unfortunately, they don't have any kind of organic fix on the story at hand. Nilsson also appears in a very funny (because so unexpected) scene as one of two tripping prison guards -- the other is CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB's Fred Clark (again, "of all people") -- and looks down from his observation post to see a large yellow-orange hot-air balloon being filled to facilitate Tony's escape, which prompts him to ask the rhetorical question "Scrambled eggs?", which I, for one, found very funny.
People make a lot of fuss over SKIDOO's unfocused casting, its bizarre shuffling of media images, but this aspect of the movie is perfectly consistent with HEAD (which featured The Monkees, Sonny Liston, Frank Zappa, Carol Doda and Annette Funicello) and MYRA BRECKINRIDGE (Mae West, Rex Reed, John Carradine, Raquel Welch, William Hopper) -- not to mention the grand-père of them all, CASINO ROYALE (1967, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, David Niven, Daliah Lavi, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Vladek Sheybal, Frankenstein). All of these movies were long reviled by critics -- still are by the stodgier ones, say I -- but nowadays each of them has found champions among a subsequent generation of critics who have a better grasp of the zaniness these films were reaching for. Perhaps these films so kaleidoscopically of their time really were ahead of their time; perhaps they still are, though we are showing signs of drawing nearer to a better appreciation of what they captured, through design or sheer recklessness, about their moment.
In researching my (unpublished) book on Jefferson Airplane's CROWN OF CREATION, I found interviews with band members who remembered Otto Preminger dropping in on a recording session, probably because he happened to be at RCA Studios in Los Angeles to oversee Nilsson's SKIDOO scoring sessions. The Airplane were a little creeped out by his presence and they didn't find him particularly warm or likeable, but he assured them with his trademark icy unctuousness that, if they bothered to get to know him, they would realize they had much in common in terms of tastes and beliefs. It's said that Preminger, like Roger Corman prior to THE TRIP, took LSD in an effort to change his outlook -- and while it didn't have too positive an effect on his filmmaking, it does seem to have done something positive in terms of dismantling one of Hollywood's most infamous egos and making him a more empathetic human being. I can understand how some people might see SKIDOO and whatever Preminger was going through at the time as a mid-life crisis, but mid-life crises don't always have to be destructive or embarrassing. At least SKIDOO shows Otto Preminger attempting to push his work in a different direction -- more relevant, more playful -- and, disaster or not, I would personally prefer to watch it than just about any other movie from his last twenty years on the job.
In 1968, generational lines were so rigidly drawn that Jefferson Airplane couldn't help but see Otto Preminger as "the man," even as a dirty old man who was hanging around the studio to keep his epicurean eye trained on the comely Grace Slick. Looking at SKIDOO in 2008, I don't see anything that suggests Preminger as a dirty old man or as a card-carrying member of the Establishment. I see a brave, pleasurably catastrophic attempt at turnabout by an artist who was earnestly determined to reinvent himself, his life and his art. He didn't succeed of course, but even Bob Dylan, the master of self-reinvention, delivers the occasional DOWN IN THE GROOVE.
The important thing for any artist is to try and keep on trying -- or, to use another word, becoming. ("He who's not busy born is busy dying," to quote he who went down in the groove.) We, in turn, as their audience, need to become less insistent that high quality is the only valid aim for a piece of art, whether it's a film or a book or a piece of music, and more appreciative of work that scatters in all directions, reflecting the internal struggle that resulted when its makers set out to chart the unexplored territory of self and career, or simply to move from one place to another.
Stash, the hippie character played with a wink by John Phillip Law, has a line that puts what I'm trying to say right into the proverbial nutshell: "If you can't dig nothing, you can't dig anything... you dig?"


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Monday, April 16, 2018
It's begining to look a lot like...
When they said we were getting an ice storm, I was thinking it was going to be one those pretty ones. Ok - not so pretty when it's happening, but when it's over, you come out and all the trees and such are encased in beautiful sparkling ice. But no... we get a mostly full weekend of that crap you see pictured above.
And that's not snow either... I wouldn't mind so much if it was snow. That's inches and inches of heavy, wet ice pellets. I nearly threw my back out just cleaning off the front step it's so darn heavy. I really hope my gardens are ok.
April Fools is not suppose to last all BLOODY MONTH LONG!!!!!
And while we were stuck inside all weekend, I have a plethora of indoor hobbies, so there was no chance of getting bored. The same can't be said for poor Relic.
Hopefully the rain will let up and he can get a little bit of fresh air today. I don't think he can handle three straight days inside.
12 comments:
That FACE!!!! He certainly can look quite stern. LOL
- April 16, 2018 at 1:06 AM
- Araignee said...
Oh, no.....we went from 80 to 40 this weekend. It's been crazy but at least no snow. BTW that heavy wet stuff is what we get here all the time. Ugh. I hate it.
- April 16, 2018 at 7:12 AM
- Delighted Hands said...
I'm sorry your Spring is giving you the yo-yo weather! Hang in there both of you!
- April 16, 2018 at 7:55 AM
- chrisknits said...
We just had a light dusting of the same. It was not quite snow, not just sleet. I plan to stay inside no matter! And it was almost 80 on Friday!!!
- April 16, 2018 at 8:27 AM
- Vera said...
My deepest sympathy. Mother nature can be just so rude at times.
- April 16, 2018 at 9:15 AM
- Tired Teacher said...
Relic is indeed expressive!
- April 16, 2018 at 11:04 AM
- The Well Fed Wheel said...
Oh no.....that's awful....your poor plants! That is the kind of stuff we get here in place of proper snow. It comes in the form of ice pellets if it comes at all and it doesn't come that often. We had terrible strong wind, rain and tornados on the weekend. So scary....thought the house and barn were going to blow away! I think we are all do for some calm spring weather.
- April 16, 2018 at 11:35 AM
- bittenbyknittin said...
After a weekend stuck inside, the dogs and I braved the bitter winds for a short romp at the dog park. Finn, my indoor/outdoor cat, wants out but when I open the door, he wrinkles his nose and backs up. Weather doesn't usually get to me, but this year is definitely an exception!
- April 16, 2018 at 12:56 PM
- Eastside Cats said...
Yep, and the flooding too! I really feel for my two outside kitties, but I still have the warming pad plugged in for them!
- April 16, 2018 at 2:43 PM
- kathy b said...
You are making my dreary mood feel better. I am so tired of this ......we were freezing at the barn today and ice was back on the poor horses hooves. I keep telling myself, it will get warmer. It will. It will. I have to talk myself into the positives:
-crockpot meals are easy and better in cold weather
-we dont HAVE to work and get out in this, we choose to work as volunteers
-it made me feel like taking out my log cabin blanket to knit on....first time in MONTHS
It really will get better Val. I can't wait!
- April 16, 2018 at 5:13 PM
- Mereknits said...
Oh that weather looks horrible for April, well anytime of year actually. Hope you have blue sunny skies soon.
- April 17, 2018 at 10:01 AM
- Rachelle said...
Oh dear, we had a taste of winter for a few days, but then it turned warm again. I think summer doesn't want to leave here so winter is stuck at your place till summer gets its suitcases packed.
- April 23, 2018 at 2:39 AM


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Am very honoured to be featured in this issue's Play Times Magazine. A 7 page feature of my art, dolls, toys,merchandise and a short write up on who is the girl behind all the candy art. 🙂
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