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Butterfly Jar
Leslie McLain 8/29/2011 4:58:10 PMLove this image, Susan. Beautiful capture and light. #1404878
David Phalen 8/30/2011 8:05:32 AMAgain I am, amazed with your artistic talents!! Fabulous work Susan!! HTD!! #9642677
Michele Peterson 8/30/2011 3:34:19 PMVery pretty and surreal, Susan! #9643346
Nikki McDonald 8/30/2011 4:18:35 PMThis basic composition has been a favorite for as long as I can remember, Susan, and I just love your tones here. I'm thinking it's golden. #9643451
Daniella Puente 8/30/2011 6:35:34 PMSuch a wonderful image, love your imagination! #9643694
Amanda D. Austwick 8/30/2011 7:34:14 PMAmazing capture and art work Susan! #9643784
Naomi Weiser 8/30/2011 9:35:36 PMwhat a great shot! htd #9643861
Susan K. Snow 8/30/2011 10:08:38 PMLove the golden, sunny artwork at the window, Susan. Very creative. #9643878
Patti Coblentz 8/31/2011 10:15:28 AMThe tones and feel to this take one right into the image, as if we were there...lovely artwork, susan! HTD! #9644603
Donna La Mattino Pagakis 8/31/2011 10:49:39 AMMagical, great light and mood Susan! HTD! #9644642
Lana Arcemont 8/31/2011 6:05:52 PMStunning work of art! #9645169
Nikki McDonald 9/25/2011 3:28:15 PMWell this is the first step -- onward and upward just like those butterflies attracted to the golden light :) Congratulations on the finalist, Susan. #9690646
Kay E. Mahoney 9/25/2011 3:30:06 PMCongratulations on your finalist, Susan. Good luck in the next round. #9690660
Patti Coblentz 9/25/2011 3:55:47 PMSo beautiful, Susan..congratulations on your finalist!! #9690835
The Judges at BetterPhoto.com 9/25/2011 4:28:53 PMVery creative #9691087
The Judges at BetterPhoto.com 9/25/2011 4:29:38 PMVery creative #9691095
Jean E. Hildebrant 9/25/2011 5:25:14 PMCongrat's to you, Susan!! Beautiful and creative as all your images are! I see you got the double judges comment too :D
Stephanie Frey 9/25/2011 5:39:34 PMCongrats, Susan! Agree with Jean and hope this gets a gold :) #9691829
Datha Y. Thompson 9/25/2011 5:54:52 PMGORGEOUS!!!
Robert Jensen 9/25/2011 10:12:51 PMAs a photographer and entomologist I don't normally like images made with dead butterflies, but in this case, I love this image. You have managed to make a truly outstanding/artistic image. I hope we see this again. #9693270
Linda Blair 9/26/2011 5:22:17 AMSimply elegant finalist...congratulations!! #9694610
Carol Flisak 9/26/2011 6:56:48 AMBeautiful image, Susan... wonderful vision, comp and effects. Congrats on your finalist! #9695016
JO ANN CLEVELAND 9/26/2011 8:31:45 AMCongratulations on this wonderful finalist Susan!
jo ann c. #9695378
Susan Fox 9/26/2011 9:20:08 AMThanks All!
Robert I agree with you, which is why I use fake butterflies :-) These aren't real. #9695539
Amanda D. Austwick 9/26/2011 10:32:13 AMCongrats Susan on this Beautiful Finalist! #9695835
Veronica Beaudry 9/26/2011 2:21:04 PMWonderful. This is really beautiful. #9696707
Debra R. Harder 9/26/2011 2:44:49 PMLove, love, love this image, Susan! Huge congratulations on your BEAUTIFUL finalist! Deb #9696823
Donna La Mattino Pagakis 9/26/2011 2:49:14 PMA gorgeous finalist Susan, congratulations! #9696841
Patti Coblentz 9/26/2011 10:45:13 PMSo pleased to see this a winner, Susan...big congratulations!! #9698330
Katarina Mansson 9/26/2011 11:34:19 PMWTG Susan - congratulations on this beautiful winner! #9698463
Renee Doyle 9/27/2011 1:50:03 AMStunning work as always Susan!! Congratulations! #9698711
Amy M. Wilson 9/27/2011 4:10:34 AMHuge congratulations on your STUNNING Gold winner, Susan!!! #9699046
Carolyn M. Fletcher 9/27/2011 4:19:07 AMWonderful work! Big congrats! #9699093
Usman M. Bajwa 9/27/2011 4:22:59 AMMissed this earlier, glad to find it in its right place, Susan! HUGE CONGRATZ on the beautiful Gold Winner, WTG!!!
Christopher Budny 9/27/2011 5:22:22 AMA real beauty, Susan... congratulations! #9699301
Jennifer L. Alder 9/27/2011 5:42:37 AMLove it! congrats, Susan! :) #9699377
Jessica Jenney 9/27/2011 5:57:15 AMCongratulations, Susan! Always loved this one. :) #9699442
Kay E. Mahoney 9/27/2011 6:13:47 AMSusan, Congratulations on your second Place Winner. #9699500
Anna Diederich 9/27/2011 7:40:17 AMCongratulations Susan! #9699946
Julianne Bradford 9/27/2011 8:16:34 AMCongrats on this well composed winner Susan! #9700080
Debra R. Harder 9/27/2011 8:29:15 AMHappy to see this beauty win, Susan! Huge congratulations on your OUTSTANDING GOLD WINNER! Deb #9700145
Mitch Spence 9/27/2011 12:31:46 PMA marvelous summer fantasy, Susan. Congratulations on your winner. #9700668
Leslie McLain 9/27/2011 12:57:25 PMCongrats on a beautiful winner, Susan. #9700734
Richard B. Hallick 9/27/2011 2:55:49 PMCongratulations on the award for a very special image. #9701010
Michele Peterson 9/27/2011 6:09:29 PMA wonderful win, Susan!! I know you are happy to see this with a gold badge, and I am so happy for you!! Congratulations!! #9701418
Donna La Mattino Pagakis 9/28/2011 12:15:57 AMBack again, this time to congratulate you on your beautiful win Susan. I'm so happy for you!!! #9701997
Dominick M. Dimacale 9/28/2011 6:38:18 AMCongratulations Susan on your Win!!!
Dominick #9702774
Mary Beth Aiello 9/28/2011 7:21:11 AMGorgeous work, Susan. Huge congrats. #9702881
Jill Battaglia 9/28/2011 11:42:42 AMBeautiful Susan! Congrats!! #9703300
Cesar J. La Rosa 9/29/2011 6:31:40 AMCongratulations on this very well-deserved Winner, Susan!!! I LOVE this photograph!!!
Monika Sapek 9/29/2011 11:15:38 AMLovely work! Congratulations, Susan! #9705432
Irene Colling 9/30/2011 8:20:00 PMA wonderful photo art creation Susan.
Congratulations on your excellent gold award image. #9708374
Mary K. Robison 10/1/2011 5:42:34 AMCongratulations on your superb Second Place Winner, Susan. #9708939
Merna L. Nobile 10/2/2011 12:14:37 PM
Youre the kind of person who makes the world a better, brighter place You worked hard for this, you made it happen, and you have a right to be proud. So enjoy these satisfying moments; you deserve every one! Merna
Susan Fox 10/2/2011 12:50:26 PMThank you all so much for the lovely comments and congrats #9711236
Phyllis H. Burchett 10/3/2011 9:09:53 AMCongrats on this fabulous and creative winner Susan! #9713362
Exif: F Number: 2.8, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/25 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 100, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 60.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS 40D
Uploaded on 8/29/2011 1:55:22 PM
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
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There is about to be a torrent of new litigation, the advent of an entire new area of law. And as a prelude to that revelation, the Supreme Court of Canada just released a decision permitting the B.C. branch of Faskens to force its partner, John McCormick, to retire at age 65.
The ensuing press reports universally declared that Canadian partnerships could continue to enforce mandatory retirement among partners. But what the media failed to report is that the Faskens decision is limited to British Columbia and that mandatory retirement of partners in Ontario, and several other provinces, remains illegal because of the different language of the Human Rights Codes across the provinces.
Any partner in Ontario forced out of their firm because of age has a viable case before the Human Rights Tribunal, which would include reinstatement into the partnership as well as other forms of damages.
But that is the least litigation-expanding aspect of the decision.
Justice Abella of the Supreme Court noted that partnerships throughout Canada have a fiduciary relationship, one of utmost good faith, to each of their partners.
The implications of that will turn partnership relationships upside down with every potential conflictual aspect of the relationship now open to litigation.
Income and termination are among the most important of these. Generally a management committee of a professional partnership determines the annual income of each of its partners. But, let's face it, fixing remuneration is a partly political game — who is in favour, who is seen as an up-and-comer, who has the support of those in power, who helped them get elected to their roles, who antagonized who in the preceding year or who is in a better political position to make a naked grab for power.
None of that would survive the court's test for utmost good faith. And how much of the partnerships' criteria — subjective as much of its determination is in assessing contribution and income — would survive a judicial challenge, let alone a challenge to the application of that criteria?
If challenged, the partnership would have to disclose all documentation and information related to the decisions respecting each partner and their assigned incomes, all information which is kept entirely confidential by most partnerships. Assuming the partner was reasonable in his or her demands, how many cases would a partnership ever permit to get to trial?
Partnerships cannot expel its partners unless the partnership agreement permits it. As Justice Abella noted, that is why partnership agreements have such high thresholds for expulsions.
In light of this decision, those criteria will be interpreted strictly in favour of the expelled partner because of the utmost good faith partnerships must demonstrate toward their partners.
The partnership should be prepared to prove that the expelled partner was the worst, based on its objectively reasonable criteria (and subject to challenge), to be selected for expulsion. And if the clauses are as amorphous as, for instance, expulsions for good reason that reason must be demonstrably justified. Dismissals for lack of work likely won't be sufficient. The court may find the partnerships' fiduciary duty to require all of the partners to accept less income before expelling any of them.
Finally, and most significantly, the damages from such cases will be vast. If the test for expulsion isn't met, since partners can't be expelled otherwise, the damages could be 10 or 20 years pay, rather than 24 months severance — the usual limitation for an employee.
In acting for partners, I have argued that they are employees. Interestingly, the Supreme Court agreed, finding that, if the relationship is one of dependency, a partner is really an employee at law. Now since the potential for damages is so much greater, partners will be motivated to argue that they are really partners and should not have been expelled.
A new world of litigation indeed. How will professional partnerships react?

subset: commoncrawl


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Daz Herring is a cigar reviewer and has been involved in the premium cigar industry for several years.
His blog, "The Smoking Gun Cigar Review," can be found at http://thesmokinggunsite.wordpress.com/, Facebook and Twitter.
In addition to his cigar interests, he is a professional musician, composer and director, having lived, traveled and performed around the world.


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All Events
Summit 2018
First Responders Gather to Test Drones for their Operations
Arizona Regional EDF
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
More Posts
13 Jul, 2018
Aerospace Arizona Association Hill Days
One of the most effective ways of communicating with elected officials about Aerospace Arizona Association's actions and views on key issues in the unmanned systems industry is through personal meetings. The Association organized a Members-Only Capitol Hill Week in Washington DC this past June 18th – 20th that included meetings and discussions with the entire Arizona congressional and legislative delegation and their staff. Our Association members were able meet congressional
21 May, 2018
Aerospace Arizona Participates as Judges in Search & Rescue Drone Competition
The drone threads its way through the disaster area, beneath ceilings and power lines, through narrow corridors, sewer pipes and hallways. Bodies and survivors lie under rubble. When it's not feeling its way through tight confines, there's wind to contend with. Pilot Ryan Davis flies the drone quickly and smoothly. There are no halting or jerky movements. At each potential location of a survivor, Davis lands and switches on the infrared camera to look for a survivor's heat signature. The drone
17 May, 2018
Aerospace Arizona Participates in XPONENTIAL 2018
Aerospace Arizona Association, represented by its Board and registered Members, was fully present at the 2018 AUVSI XPONENTIAL Conference and Exhibit in Denver Colorado. Association delegates joined more than 8,500 global leaders from across the spectrum of unmanned systems and robotics to share ideas, gain insight and witness groundbreaking innovations. The daily keynotes gave an inside view of where the commercial unmanned systems industry is headed in the coming months and years.


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Remove My Pictures from Documents on the Start Menu - This tweak hides 'My Pictures' which is shown under the Documents folder on the Start Menu. Option affects selected user, see the status bar. Reboot your PC to activate or deactivate this option. Applicable to Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Go to 1st Security Agent online Help
1st Security Agent [More] [Download] [Buy]
|Restrict access to Control Panel, disable Start Menu items, hide drives, disable DOS, boot keys, Registry editing, taskbar, task manager, and network access, hide desktop icons, apply password protection to Windows, and disable running applications. Secure Internet Explorer, disable individual menu items and individual tabs in the Internet Options dialog, as well as specific settings from each, and more ...


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Science Daily: True Love Between Grass and Clover This is really a 3-way, and possibly 4-way love affair. Clover grows better in the presence of grass, and grass grows better in the presence of clover. Being a legume, clover roots provide shelter and food for bacteria that convert nitrogen gas in the air, into organic nitrogen forms. Plant growth is partly limited by shortage of organic nitrogen, so the increase in that substance results in faster and larger growth. The extra supply of organic nitrogen stimulates the grasses. It's not clear why the grasses stimulate the clover. There is a hint that root dwelling fungi (mycorrhizal fungi) are involved. Mycorrhizal fungi are known to stimulate other plants and provide plants with a nutrient "internet". Mycorrhizal fungi make plants more drought and disease resistant, and stimulate growth.
Remember the old tales of Native Americans growing corn, beans, and squash together? That's another legume/grass interaction. I don't know if the squash adds to the plant nutritional synergism, but probably receives nitrogen from the bean roots.
That reminds me, I should get some rhizobium inoculant. Rhizobium is the bacterium that legumes use to produce nitrogen. Maybe it's already in the soil - I do have wild clovers in my yard. There are also mycorrhizal inoculants. There are big claims for those - i don't know if they are reality or myth. It may just be that a well tended, richly organic soil, stimulates and nurtures the native mycorrhizal fungi. The linked wikipedia article states that commercial mycorrhizal inoculant may outcompete the locally adapted one - I don't know if that's good or bad.
Synergy is a newer name, for the old gardeners' idea of companion planting. I can usually figure out what one plant is getting from the combo, but not the other. For example, I plant onion- and garlic- family plants (various Allium species) around fruit trees, to bring in beneficial insects that love the flowers, and in hope that I will partially deter mammalian annoyances (deer, moles). I don't know what the alliums get from it.
Seeds of CHange has a nice article about companion planting. This article from Cornell University takes a more academic approach, but has lots of advice. For example, some advice I follow, more or less: "Plant dill, marigolds, chives, onions, parsley, basil and other flowers throughout the garden. Allow parsley, carrot and celery to remain in the ground over the winter. They will produce flowers the second season and attract beneficial insects. Also, plant strong smelling herbs among vegetable crops."
I should re-read "Carrots Love Tomatoes", an old garden book on this topic. It will help with garden planning for next year. There's also this Mother Earth News article. A lot of this is collected garden wisdom, not always based on research. But experience can count for a lot.
Views: 187
I like your comment and book recommendations. Little tricks make big differences. Even in cooking. When I make any kind of stock, vegetable, chicken, beef, or fish, I use fresh parsley stems, not leaves during the sock making time. Leaves, cooked for a long time, bring out bitter flavors. When I make soup from stock, I add chopped herbs on top of a bowl of soup. Yumm.
Re-reading the companion planting book. Also a good book, Raised Vegetable Bed Handbook for the Organic Garden, by Ian Gomersall, which has illustrations. Down to earth (literally and figuratively), no nonsense, practical.
Some of the companion planting info gets complicated. I want to simplify it. Diversity is key.
I think I will border the tomatoes with basil (listed as excellent for companion planting with tomatoes), and maybe chives or garlic chives, or scallions. Parsley is also listed as doing well with tomatoe. In the more vertical bed (north of the lower bed), Looks like corn does well with beans and cucumbers, which can be planted on trellis. Just thinking at this point.
In the walkways between the beds, I'm thinking about mint, yarrow, clover. Oregano, marjoram. Whatever is aromatic and can handle some walking and mowing. Plus, the clover and grass together makes use of this information.
The soup sounds good! I'll have a use for parsley stems! The leaves can go into some tabbouleh! Which can also use the nearby-growing tomatoes and mint.
A wonderful garden plan, full of flavors and aromas to walk in and snatch leaves for nibbling. Would love to wander through.
I harvest parley by cutting it to the ground, wash in cold water, cut off healthy leaves and dry them on my homemade dryer and store in glass jars, usually old spice jars. I cut the young stems, dry them, and store them in their own glass gars. I cut stems to the depth of its jar. Don't use leaves in long cooking processes, they tend to make the stock bitter. Stems give the flavor of parsley without the bitterness.
When I make stock, I grab a dozen or so dried young parsley stems and throw them in with the Mirepoix, the "holy trinity", (2 parts onions, 1 part carrots, 1 part celery, cut into small dice).
If I want brown stock, I roast bones and mirepoix in a roasting pan for an hour at 450 degrees.
Beef stock, put bones and mirepoix, roasted or unroasted, into a soup kettle, cover to 2 inches cold water over top of bones, add Bouquet Garni (1 bay leaf, 2 fresh thyme sprigs, 5-6 whole peppercorns, 6-8 parsley stems, 4 cloves garlic, 1 T tomato paste), simmer for 8 hours.
Chicken and poultry stock, put bones and mirepoix, roasted or unroasted, into a soup kettle, cover to 2 inches of water over top of bones, add Bouquet Garni (1 bay leaf, 2 fresh thyme sprigs, 5-6 whole peppercorns, 6-8 parsley stems) simmer for 2 to 2 1/2hours;
Fish stock, in a soup kettle, brown in butter, fish bones, 2 parts onions, 1 stalk celery, cover to 2 inches over top of bones with water and/or dry white wine (I use dry vermouth), simmer 1 hour.
Source: Char Zyskowski, Taste & Technique: Basic Cooking Classes
Sorry, this should be in the cooking site, but there are so many garden products in here, I am posting it here in Godless in the Garden.
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Alas, by virtue of the definition, the arguments I face daily are often times devoid of logic and thus no response is necessary (other than to point out that my interlocutors are fucking insane), but intellectual curiosity and a man-crush on Sun Tzu leads me to hope to better understand my enemy by researching his preferred method of attack. To that end:
The Slippery Slope is a fallacy in which a person asserts that some event must inevitably follow from another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question. In most cases, there are a series of steps or gradations between one event and the one in question and no reason is given as to why the intervening steps or gradations will simply be bypassed. This "argument" has the following form:
1. Event X has occurred (or will or might occur).
2. Therefore event Y will inevitably happen.
This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because there is no reason to believe that one event must inevitably follow from another without an argument for such a claim. This is especially clear in cases in which there is a significant number of steps or gradations between one event and another.
Examples of Slippery Slope
- "We have to stop the tuition increase! The next thing you know, they'll be charging $40,000 a semester!"
- "The US shouldn't get involved militarily in other countries. Once the government sends in a few troops, it will then send in thousands to die."
- "You can never give anyone a break. If you do, they'll walk all over you."
- "We've got to stop them from banning pornography. Once they start banning one form of literature, they will never stop. Next thing you know, they will be burning all the books!"


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Don G. Loe
Don G. Loe, 87, of Heavener died Thursday, Sept. 1,2011, in Heavener. He was born in Redwood City, Calif.,but grew up in the Tacoma, Wash., and San Francisco Bayarea.On March 21, 1941, he reported to the Naval RecruitCenter at San Diego. Upon completion of basic training,he reported for duty in November 1941 on the heavycruiser USS Salt Lake City. He was on the water in amotor launch when a Japanese plane opened fire, beginningthe attack at Pearl Harbor. He returned to the SaltLake City 11 days later and saw considerable action in anumber of other campaigns: Marshall and Gilbert Islands,Wake Island, Doolittle raid on Tokyo, Guadalcanal andTulagi Island landings, Battle of Cape Esperanza,Komandorski and the invasion of Attu.He was on the aircraft carrier USS Saidor during twoatomic bomb tests in July 1946 where sailors were orderedto stand on the flight deck during the tests.In September 1950, he participated in the successfulinvasion of the Port of Inchon. As a combat engineer, hisunit assisted the First Marine Division defeat NorthKorean forces. He participated in close quarter combatuntil 1952, when he returned to the United States. Heretired from active duty in June 1967. A few years later hemoved to Heavener and once again put on a uniform as apolice officer in LeFlore County, the first Park Ranger atWister State Park. He continued to serve the city ofHeavener and his church for many years and was a memberof the Heavener Lions Club and Masonic Lodge.He was preceded in death by his baby daughter,Virginia.Family visited with friends at Dowden Funeral HomeMonday.Services were held Tuesday, Sept. 6, at First ChristianChurch in Heavener with burial in Memorial ParkCemetery. Dowden Funeral Home of Heavener handledarrangements.Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Flora Mae(Kunkel) Loe whom he met and married on one of hisliberties; one son, Donald Loe and wife Pat of Hollister,Calif.; two daughters: Kathy Morrill of Heavener, BarbaraRouten and husband Pastor Philip Routen of Haw Creek;seven grandchildren: Steven Loe, Tina Loe, Bob Morrill,Scott Morrill, Ed Morrill, Christine Routen, NathanRouten and wife Shannon; five great-grandchildren: Kaylaand Kyle Morrill; Bethany and Liva Routen, and SarahPollak.


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By Ed Harris
A Hartford Superior Court Judge has ruled that longtime caretaker Samuel Manzo is the rightful heir to the Smoron estate.
Valley Spring Farm was owned by the Smoron family for decades and ownership has been in dispute since the death of Josephine Smoron in 2009.
In the 1990s, Josephine Smoron had a dispute with her brother, Stanley Smoron, about the future of the farm. He intended to will the land to local churches, but Josephine Smoron intended it to remain as farmland. She prevailed in the dispute and would go on to change her will to designate Manzo, a longtime farm caretaker, "absolutely and forever" as heir to the land.
More trouble started when local attorney John Nugent, a court appointed conservator, created two trusts, claiming that the land was "relinquished" to three churches – The Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Southington, the Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in New Britain, and the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, also in New Britain. There was a plan to sell the land to developer Carl Verderame Jr. for the construction of a hockey rink, with the proceeds going to the churches.
The trusts were approved by former Southington probate judge Bryan Meccariello. Meccariello was censured for the handling of the estate in 2010.
"There is no question that the trusts are inconsistent with Ms. Smoron's 2004 will and even her 1996 will," Judge William Bright said in his decision.
Last June, the Statewide Grievance Committee ruled that Nugent violated ethic laws in his handling of the Josephine Smoron estate. The committee oversees the conduct of state lawyers.
"The trusts should have been denied," Bright said. "Truth be told, it probably should have never been filed."


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Former San Diego Mayor Maureen O'Connor took $2 million from a nonprofit foundation to feed a billion-dollar gambling habit that spanned a nine-year period, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
O'Connor, 66, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to a charge of misappropriating the funds as part of a deferred prosecution.
Under the arrangement, she has two years to try to repay the money taken from the R.P. Foundation, a nonprofit set up by her late husband, Robert O. Peterson, co-founder of Jack in the Box. During that time, the case will not proceed and could be dismissed if she complies with the conditions of the agreement.
O'Connor came into court looking frail. She used a cane in her right hand and at times seemed unsteady on her feet as she listened to Magistrate Judge David Bartick.
At one point, the hearing stopped when O'Connor began crying and sat down. The crying turned to sobs and her defense lawyer, Eugene Iredale, tried to comfort her so she could compose herself.
Prosecutors said O'Connor had $1 billion in gambling winnings between 2000 and 2009 — her preferred game was video poker — but her losses during the same period exceeded that amount. Iredale said she had a net gambling loss of $13 million.
Prosecutors described her current financial condition as "destitute." At one time, her fortune was $40 million to $50 million, Iredale said.
View the Video Greg Moran reports on Maureen O'Connor's Arraignment
O'Connor's health is poor. She had a large brain tumor removed in 2011 and has suffered a stroke. One of her doctors wrote that she has trouble reading, understanding spoken language at times and has memory loss.
She can't work and lives with siblings, including her twin sister, Mavourneen O'Connor.
At a news conference with her attorneys after the court hearing, O'Connor said she had borrowed money from her husband's foundation.
"I always intended to pay it back," she said. "And I still intend to pay it back. In that period of time I lost my husband, three siblings, best friends."
O'Connor teared up as she added, "I think that most of you who know me here would know that I never meant to hurt the city." She then left the room, using her cane and holding on to the arm of an escort.
Her downfall came as a shock to old associates, including Pete Wilson. The former governor and U.S. senator served as mayor when O'Connor was a city councilwoman.
"To say it saddens me doesn't describe it," Wilson said. He recalled O'Connor as bright and "a young woman of great promise" who served the city well.
He said he saw her about a year ago at then-Mayor Jerry Sanders state of the city speech. "I spent a little time with her then," Wilson said, adding there was "no clue" about her gambling problems or financial distress.
According to federal court documents, she gambled at casinos in San Diego, Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Assistant U.S Attorney Philip Halpern said outside of court that notwithstanding O'Connor's health problems, the case had to be filed.
"It is the very foundation of our legal system that no individual, no matter how high, no matter what they've contributed, is above the law," Halpern said.
The resolution of the case takes into account her poor health but also requires O'Connor to acknowledge she misappropriated the money and obligates her to pay it back and any tax penalties, he said.
She also has to get psychiatric treatment for gambling addiction. Iredale said that O'Connor's doctors have said it's possible her brain tumor pressed on centers of the brain that affect judgment and reasoning, and could explain in part her gambling addiction.
Prosecutors dispute that. "We believe the gambling preceded her medical condition," Halpern said.
The investigation of O'Connor was triggered when the Internal Revenue Service reviewed tax documents that casinos must file with the agency on gambling winnings by individuals.
Iredale said O'Connor played video poker compulsively, hours at a time. In court papers, he said that after the death of Peterson in 1994, followed by deaths of close friends and family members, O'Connor was grief-stricken and sought an outlet in gambling.
By 2008, prosecutors said she was struggling to stay afloat financially, with large debts to casinos. She liquidated savings, sold numerous real estate parcels, and took out second and third mortgages on a home in La Jolla, all to feed the gambling.
It wasn't enough, and that is when she turned to the R.P. Foundation, created by her husband in 1966. He died in 1994.
Court records show that in late 2008 O'Connor withdrew $1,039,000 from the foundation, and in 2009 took another $1,049,000, transferring the funds both times to her personal bank account.
According to the foundation's federal tax filings, the nonprofit was overseen by a three-member board that included O'Connor and her sister Mavourneen O'Connor and John McCloskey.
Halpern declined to comment on the actions of the other two trustees but emphasized that O'Connor was the only one to wrongfully siphon off funds.
The foundation is based out of a condominium on Eads Avenue in La Jolla Village. The property is owned by the Hilda E. McCloskey 2011 Trust, according to county records.
Under federal law, nonprofit foundations must grant 5 percent of their holdings each tax year.
The foundation for years made donations to groups dedicated to helping the sick and dying, including the Stepping Stone recovery center, Neighborhood House Association and the San Diego Hospice.
By the late 1990s, the foundation was reporting total assets exceeding $3 million. The holdings began to diminish in the 2000s, and declined to $2.1 million by 2008, tax records show.
The most recent tax filing, a public document that was submitted to the Internal Revenue Service in July 2011, lists no assets and an account receivable from trustee Maureen O'Connor in the amount of $2,101,900. Earlier returns show the foundation closing various trust and investment accounts, and even selling its artwork.
A federal official said it went broke and closed in 2009.
Though now broke, O'Connor is embroiled in a lawsuit stemming from her sale of a Mendocino inn. She could recoup more than $7 million in that suit, which would be used to repay the foundation, said Maria Severson, a lawyer representing O'Connor in that litigation.
Thursday's hearing marked an astonishing fall for O'Connor, whose career as a civic leader was impressive. She rose from a job as a physical education teacher at a Catholic girls school to being elected to the City Council, where she served from 1971 to 1979. She served on the San Diego Unified Port District from 1980 to 1985, before being elected mayor.
After leaving office, O'Connor kept a low profile. She authored a few essays for the opinion pages of The San Diego Union-Tribune between 2000 and 2005, but that was about the extent of her public pronouncements.Copyright © 2019, The San Diego Union-Tribune


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Tweets stream below March Madness Live online in something called the Coke Zero Social Arena. Apparently, all you need to get into the Coke Zero Social Arena is a hashtag. You can't be profane, but that's about the only rule. So Josh Levin, on this week's excerpt from Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast, tries a few tweets of his own, and picks out the highlights from the two previous rounds.
You can listen to the full podcast here or subscribe on iTunes.


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"I Am Love" (Io sono l'amore), screening this week at Mesa Public Library, is tragic in the old-school, highly personal sense of the word, almost Shakespearean with sensual but forbidden love and sudden, horrifying death all tangled in a gritty knot.
I'm talking high drama, with deep stares, meaningful prawns and powerful families on the brink of either triumph or destruction.
Luca Guadagnino's award-winning film begins on Grandfather Recchi's birthday, the day he announces who will inherit the family business as his successor.
It is also, rather significantly, the day his grandson Edoardo (Flavio Parenti) loses a race to the handsome, generous, cake-baking Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini).
Tilda Swinton plays Emma Recchi, daughter of the head of the Recchi family. She comes across as an elegant, wealthy wife and a quiet, exceedingly thoughtful mother.
Her children, Edoardo, Elizabetta (Alba Rohrwacher) and Gianluca (Mattia Zaccaro) adore and trust her — especially Elizabetta.
Emma's husband Tancredi (Pippo Delbono) seems far less engaged in his children's inner lives, or his wife's, for that matter.
However, to be fair, viewers can't see beyond the time frame of the movie, during which he is quite understandably preoccupied.
In addition to being a tragedy, "I Am Love" offers heady romance, accentuated by some beautiful but very intimate camera work.
There are lots of close-ups of well-lit food (is food love?), flowers, insects and bare skin that is normally covered by undergarments.
The nude scenes are not merely suggestive so much as languorous: the camera lingers, completely without shame.
Whatever love is, it is certainly not shame.
"I Am Love" (rated R, Italian with English subtitles) screens at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Mesa Public Library, as part of the library's Free Film Series, which currently features foreign films.
The series is made possible by Friends of Mesa Public Library.
For more information, call the library at 662-8240.
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There's no question that today's wrestling fans are as well informed as they've ever been. The influx of internet sites, books and movies that have given everyone a look behind the scenes have combined to give us more information than ever about the lives of the performers we watch in the ring each week. Sometimes, though, that knowledge interferes with the goal of tuning in to or attending wrestling events in the first place: to be entertained.
Edge is a great case in point. When the stories first broke detailing the real life personal issues between Edge, Lita and Matt Hardy, it only made sense to turn the Canadian, a face for most of his WWE career, into a heel. After all, not only would Edge get the usual heat for doing the usual bad guy shtick (cheating, beating up good guys, running down the locals in promos, etc.), but he'd also face the wrath of fans who felt, rightly or wrongly, that he was a jerk in real life.
Teaming him up with Lita was a no-brainer, and it worked as the couple was booed lustily. I have to admit that I got caught up in the angle myself. While I try to watch all the wrestling I take in from a columnist's point of view, I am first and foremost a long-time wrestling fan. I wanted to dislike Edge because he supposedly messed around on his wife with his buddy's girl, and how could you support a guy like that?
Something strange happened during Edge's all too brief time at the top of the card though, and that was his turning out to be a pleasantly entertaining heel. Yes, it was almost impossible to separate his character from the real life Lita situation, but he also went beyond it to get over in his own right during his feud with John Cena. Except for the ridiculous "live sex celebration" bit, I had to grudgingly admit that Edge was usually one of the
best things to watch on Raw for a few months. I'd even go so far as to say that there's little question he got the shaft by dropping the world title so quickly and getting no real chance to win it back.
I'm sure a lot of fans felt the same way, but in a day and age where we get an increasing number of chances to peek behind the curtain, it's becoming more difficult to draw a distinction between the character we see in the ring and the performer we think we know. When we reach the point where we have to make a subconscious choice to boo the character or boo the man, it can very easily distract us from simply enjoying the show. And naturally, the WWE doesn't make things any easier for us by turning to the real world more often for inspiration for its storylines.
All of which brings us to the biggest example of roller coaster opinion in recent memory, Triple H. You don't have to think back too far, just a few years
really, to the time when injuries were doing in "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock was getting more receptive to the siren call of Hollywood. It was about that time that just about everyone jumped aboard the HHH bandwagon, with many people declaring him the best wrestler in the WWE. He was lauded for both his in-ring and microphone work, and in truth, he carried the federation during a time when it had little else going for it.
Then, real life intruded. Triple H's marriage to Stephanie McMahon gave him a position of power that no other wrestler could claim, and mirroring the union in storylines almost guaranteed that fans would turn against him. Where The Game once got over as the top heel in the business on the strength of his in-ring work and his ability to cut a promo, many people were now down on him because of the perception that he had married into his spot. Some were booing Triple H the sledgehammer carrier and some were booing
Triple H the guy who sat in on booking meetings, and whether the WWE would admit it or not, there is a difference.
As a columnist and writer it was easy to take snide shots in Triple H's direction, especially when his character got stagnant. Injuries may have robbed him of half a step in the ring, and he certainly deserved some flak for leading off Raw for what seemed like about 100 straight weeks. It would be absolutely naive to think that his position in the McMahon family doesn't help keep him near the top of the card. But let's be honest. He's still one of the best in the business in terms of ring psychology and having good matches with all kinds of opponents. He's certainly not the wrestling antichrist that some have made him out to be.
Over the last few weeks, I'd have to say that Triple H has been downright enjoyable. Even though we've seen the "wrestler versus Vince McMahon" bit many times over, his
conflict with the boss has brought out a wittier side of his promos that hasn't been seen in years. The fans are clearly behind the build-up to what may or may not become a full-fledged DeGeneration X reunion with Shawn Michaels. And I can't help but think that part of the reason the crowd is backing him is that the WWE is no longer hitting us over the head with his real life family affiliation. We've been allowed to focus on Triple H solely as a performer, and while he may not be at his peak, he's still among the very best.
To paraphrase Austin, the bottom line is for a wrestler to entertain us. If he pulls that off, everything else can be overlooked or forgiven.
Now it's time for something I've been looking forward to for a while. Thanks to increased response to my calls for more feedback and more interactivity, a bunch of you have stepped up with excellent questions and comments. I'll try to do a couple each
week, with your e-mails in regular type and my responses in bold. In respect to old school hip hop, I'm calling the new feature:
Walkin' That Aisle: Call and Response
As always I respect your opinion, but in this case [Better late than never?, May 8] I totally disagree. I honestly and truly think this WWECW is an insult to the legacy of everything that ECW stood for. It was cutting edge counter-culture at its finest. It was small dirty venues and low production values. It was wrestlers allowed freedom to show what they could really do. It was violence personified mixed with some of the best technical wrestling the world had ever witnessed.This will be mainstream. This will be big budget arenas (it being taped as an opener to Smackdown) with flashy production. This will face the WWE move set limitations. It will be everything that ECW was against.I know that Paul E and Joey will have their hands in it, but at
this point they've already sold their souls to the devil so do they really care? It can't possibly recapture the energy it had in the past. Big arenas do not allow for the personal connection the fans had with the product. Of course 'uncle Vince' and 'cousin Steph' will always be looking over their shoulder to make sure it has enough of the crap that they somehow think makes good TV in the no longer even remotely watchable WWE.I can't see the wrestling being able to come close to what it was. I have promoted concerts and know full well that you never book an opening act that outshines the headliner. So, in this case the opener is ECW and the headliner is Smackdown. If ECW were to be allowed to do what ECW did the crowd would go to sleep for Smackdown's rest hold wrestling and 20-minute promos after the adrenaline rush that is ECW. That of course would kill Smackdown, which obviously isn't the plan.I honestly and truly think Vince is launching this just so
it does fail, so he can finally put to rest the cult status that ECW has. To end the ECDUB chants at his shows, I mean he did win the wrestling war right? How can this little piece of crap company from a bingo hall outshine his 'grand masterpiece'? It's not like this is anything new in the corporate world. Examples abound of company buying the small company that has a better product, then using its best parts in the main product and keeping the name of the smaller product only to make the smaller named product crap and destroy the legacy. That is how business is done in corporate North America. I see no reason to believe this is anything different. It is a pure and simple short term cash grab that will in the end slay the demon that is ECW once and for all.I only pray that this doesn't hurt TNA, the last bastion of wrestling available to the mainstream.Blair BurchSault Ste. Marie, ON
Hi Blair,
As a reader who has always�offered me well-written comments, I respect your opinion too. You definitely make a valid point about the supposed current plan, which is to shoot the ECW matches before Smackdown, and how the WWE would most likely be loathe to allow anything to outshine their own show. Though with the current state of Smackdown, it's hard to see how even a watered-down ECE wouldn't outshine it. In any case, one hopes that the ECW matches will at some point take place separately and this won't be a factor. We'll have to wait and see.
Vince McMahon's motivations for the ECW relaunch are, as you point out, really the heart of the matter. If he's out for a short-term cash grab and/or a chance to bury Heyman once and for all -- and both things are possibilities given Vince's track record -- this will be a distasteful endeavor for as long as it lasts. I'm still optimistic that the WWE sees this as a way to
manufacture their own alternative product. They tried to do it with the brand split, but the problem was that except for different wrestlers on each show, both "brands" were presenting the same product. If they commit to allowing Heyman, Dreamer and company to do what they do best, this could help capture at least part of an audience that only has TNA to watch for something different at this point in time. And because TNA has been relatively successful, my gut tells me Vince will at least try to make ECW succeed. My guess is by the end of 2006, we'll have a better idea of whether your hunch or mine was more correct.
As far as ECW 2.0 somehow tarnishing the legacy of ECW, I think the fans are loyal enough to just ignore it if this edition turns out to be garbage. Thus, I don't think that the old ECW spirit is in any real danger.
And hey, since rumor has it that ECW is headed for the Sci-Fi Channel (of all
places), at least Heyman can arrange for a Battlestar Galactica crossover if things start going down the toilet!
I agree that it just can't be HBK and Triple H driving the new DeGeneration-X. But who they choose to make it four will make or break D-X. I suggest Chris Masters who is getting better with the mic and in the ring. The other person is tough. I'm thinking Carlito who has that cocky attitude but he and Masters' storyline would have to take a hiatus. These are the only two I can think of. What do you think Nick?
Roy AndersonEdmonton, AB
Roy, you must have read my mind, because I feel like Carlito would be a natural. Since the new DX would be a team of faces by the looks of it, Carlito is perfectly positioned as an anti-establishment character that fans would cheer. He seems like he'd be a good fit without even tinkering with his gimmick. All you'd
need to do is teach him to crotch chop after he spits his apple.
I'm not a fan of Masters, but I will admit that he is improving. I do know that at the toy store where I work for my second job, kids are coming in asking for Masterpiece action figures pretty often. My feeling is that he'd be better served continuing on as a heel right now instead of joining DX. I'd love to see Shelton Benjamin as part of the group, but he'd probably need to step up his microphone work. As dark horse candidates I'll toss out Charlie Haas and Kenny of the Spirit Squad, who seems to be standing out a little from his fellow male cheerleaders.
That's all for this week. Keep those e-mails coming.
Nick Tylwalk has been a SLAM! Wrestling contributor since 1998, and his column, Walkin' That Aisle with Nick Tylwalk, appears most Mondays. Comments, compliments and complaints can be sent to email@example.com. If you�d like to see a response to your question or comment in a future column, please include your full name and hometown in your e-mail.


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Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Love one another
Hello again! It's late and I'm so ready for bed, so I'll *try* to keep it short :)
I had this card lying on my desk for a day or so, waiting to be blogged...
I played a few challenges with this number, so I thought I better 'tick it off' so that I won't need to load the same pages tomorrow :)
I used Card Patterns sketch 161, along with the colours/inspiration from TSTR110:
I'm also playing with FTTC162, which asks for favourite Flourishes stamps (amongst my many favourites, there's the gorgeous Cherry Blossoms set that I used here), and Crafty Friends Challenge #2, which wants us to use two die cuts. I sincerely hope that it means AT LEAST two, because I've got four :)
Speaking of which, the Spellbinders™ dies used are: S4-114 Standard Circles LG, S4-312 Blossom Three, S4-126 Classic Squares LG and S4-127 Classic Scalloped Circles LG.
I curled the edges of the largest blossom die up, and spruced it up with some Liquid Pearls. The Copic combination on the cherry blossoms is not your usual one - I used YR01, R02, R22. It works just fine :)
The papers peeking out here and there, come from My Mind's Eye paper pads. Of course!
Also, in case you're wondering, the first layer is stamped (with the solid, little cherry branches from the same stamp set). I used Clearsnap's ColorBox "Ocean" ink.
There will be two posts up tomorrow (my time), the second day of TCM release and a Waltzingmouse Blog Party, that I'm hoping to take part in. Until then, thanks for visiting!
17 comments:
This is stunning! I love the colors, your distressing and all the yummy layers! Fabulous!ReplyDelete
So pretty, Chupa! Thanks for sharing your lovely work with us in the Tea Room this week :)ReplyDelete
Fabby take on the sketch chupa, what a beauty! Jo xReplyDelete
This is stunning, love the colours and the use of that peg!!ReplyDelete
Yummy. So beautifulReplyDelete
Glad you are able to play along with us at TSTR!
- Maria Helena17 April 2012 at 19:20
I love, love, love your card....ReplyDelete
Oh no! why did I come to your blog. You just pointed out that I NEED the Blossom 3 dies. Why don't I have those yet? LOLReplyDelete
Your card looks GORGEOUS! LOVE the layers, love the coloring and the papers you chose.
Hugs and grins
Hi Chupa, love the card and I LOVE the stitching!ReplyDelete
You did a beautiful job with this sketch! I love your color choices, the great mix of patterns, and that stitching down the center. Well executed.ReplyDelete
SUPER gorgeous card, Chupa!!!ReplyDelete
This is utterly beautiful, Chupa! You are one talented lady!ReplyDelete
Ah Chupa, you have such great cards! This is one gorgeous card and I like the design, too :) The coloring and details are just outstanding! I love it all :)ReplyDelete
~ Amanda :)
Just gorgeous!! Love the colors you used. Great take on the sketch.ReplyDelete
Hi Iwona - this is gorgeous! Love this image and the Dies - perfect! Thanks for joining us at Crafty Friends - we love to see you! {{{hugs}}}ReplyDelete
Gorgeous card! Thanks for joining us at CardpatternsReplyDelete
Stunning card! Love the flowers and pretty colours. TFS!ReplyDelete
This is oh so pretty!!! Great colors, great flowers.ReplyDelete


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Style Driven: Meet Fashion's Next It Girls
Style stars don't materialise overnight. Instead, they spend weeks, months, even years making their way into our collective visual mind, before finding themselves splashed all over the pages of Who What Wear. Lucky for us, we've found actresses Mackenzie Davis, India Eisley, Maddie Hasson, and Erin Westbrook—our four favourites that will be leading fashion's new wave.
Mackenzie Davis: The Ingénue
With a handful of films coming out in the next year—including That Awkward Moment starring Zac Efron—Mackenzie Davis doesn't have time to dwell on perfecting her style. "It's a mix between sheer laziness and tomboyness, and then, like, lots of fur," she says, laughing. "Whatever effort I lack in the rest of my outfit I'll always find, a great coat to put on. I think what Miuccia Prada does is so intelligent and thoughtful, so I love wearing anything by her."
India Eisley: Acting Royalty
Nineteen-year-old actress India Eisley may be the daughter of Olivia Hussey, who played Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's iconic Romeo and Juliet, but her style is anything but dramatic. "My usual 'day to day' look is just comfort driven: a soft t-shirt, I love ALC and Joie jeans, and my favourite combat boots," she says. "If I have to dress up, it's either a little black dress, or black jeans, a blouse, and a waistcoat."
Maddie Hasson: Instagram Style Star
"When I dress, I like to imagine the girls from high school telling me, 'You can't wear a halo of pearls and red lipstick every day,'" says Maddie Hasson, star of ABC Family's Twisted. "Then I leave the house wearing a halo of pearls and red lipstick." And with style icons like Karl Lagerfeld, Solange Knowles, and Courtney Love, you know the 18 year old is totally serious.
Erinn Westbrook: Model-Turned-Actress
Erinn Westbrook, model turned Glee mean girl, is all about mixing and matching. "My style is very eclectic," says the recent Harvard grad who cites Nicole Richie, June Ambrose, and Mary-Kate Olsen as style icons. "Most often I'm 'gritty girly, pairing girly pieces with edgier ones."
Photographer: Justin Coit; Fashion Editor: Laurie Trott; Hair: Charles McNair at Jed Root; Makeup: Kristina Brown at Jed Root; Manicure: Naja at Celestine.
On Mackenzie: Theory Ganella Jacket ($455) in Tremont Wool; Denim Refinery The Vintage Striped Guess Overalls 2 ($76); AllSaints Rally Tank ($88) in Stone; Elizabeth and James Cynie Sling Bag ($645, similar style here) in Black Embossed Matte Python; Rachel Comey Hume Loafers ($391) in Black.
On Mackenzie: Brixton Tiller Felt Hat ($50); Elizabeth and James Fillmore Sunglasses ($195) in White Horn; American Apparel Unisex Denim Jacket ($85) in Medium Stone Wash Indigo; Dakota Collective Ellery Denim Shirt ($105) in Light Marble; Theory Billy Chastain Denim Jeans ($190) in Light Blue.
On India: (Left Look) Echo Design Marled Slouchy Hat ($42) in Charcoal Heather; Ecote Classic Surplus Jacket ($78) in Bright Green; Vanessa Bruno Athe Silk Georgette Dress ($451) in Ivoire; We Love Colours Solid Colour Thigh High Socks ($8) in Black; Kelsi Dagger Caroline Convertible Crossbody Bag ($248) in Tobacco; Tory Burch Carley Booties ($350) in Grigio. (Right Look) Veda Empire Moto Jacket ($880, 646.895.1399, similar style here) in Black; KAIN Label Kurke Sweater ($158) in Multi-Coloured; Joe's Jeans Rolled Tux Tee Shirt ($88) in Sassafras; Frame Denim Le Colour Rip Skinny Jeans ($199) in Film Noir; Anya Hindmarch Carker Cross Body Bag ($1,056) in White.
2014 Cadillac ELR
On Erinn: Tory Burch Cat Eye Sunglasses ($150) in Black; Express Cropped Mixed Stitch Crew Neck Sweater ($30) in Pitch Black; Tibi Plash on Silk Gazaar Full Skirt ($650, similar style here); Hue Rose Vine Sheer Hosiery ($9) in Black; Alexander Wang Eniko Peep Toe Wedges ($645) in Black; Jill Haber Niles Box Clutch ($1,885) in Iris.
On Erinn: J Brand Elyn Jacket ($595) in Dove; Suno FY Trapper Viscose Top ($295) in Fly Trapper Floral; American Apparel Suede Leather Circle Skirt ($130) in Black; Coach Madison Glitter Lizard Small Sadie Bag ($428) in Buff.
On Maddie: (Left Look) Garrett Leight Wilson Sunglasses ($355) in Amber Honey with Pure Green; Catbird You Are My Moon and Stars Stackable Necklace (starts at $48); Marc by Marc Jacobs Gable Doubleface Wool Coat ($858) in Letra Blue Multi; Cheap Monday Multi Ring Belt ($40) in Charcoal; Creatures of Comfort Marin Slip Dress ($300) in Cream Eye Print; Hue Sheer Shaper Pantyhose (3 pair pack $23) in Black; Kelsi Dagger Ryan Leopard Print Tote Bag ($149) in Purple Multi; Pour La Victoire Lizette High Heel Booties ($340) in Navy Box (Right Look) Theonne Xanthe Textured Sweater ($298) in Navy Combo; Haute Hippie Lace & Silk Charmeuse Dress ($295) in Military/Black; Paige Kadie Shirt ($168) in First Kiss Plaid; Hue Sheer Shaper Pantyhose (3 pair pack $23) in Black; Kelsi Dagger Gabi Crossbody Bag ($268) in Black.
2014 Cadillac ELR


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You could serve ham and turkey again, but didn't you just do that in November? This week, we'll give you some main course recipes that will make your Christmas dinner delicious, special and nontraditional. Today's recipe is a four-fork recipe from epicurious.com, originally printed in Gourmet magazine in October 2001.
For stuffing:
6 slices firm white sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch squares
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3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery, including some leaves
1 1/2 lb. tart apples such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
For roast:
1 (9- to 11 lb.) crown roast of pork, rib ends frenched
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 lb. sliced bacon
For pan sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup red-currant or apple jelly
Make stuffing:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread bread squares in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and bake in middle of oven until dry and lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Leave oven on (for roast) and cool bread.
Cook onion and celery in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in apples, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Reduce heat to low, then cook, covered, stirring, until apples are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in bread squares, parsley, and chives.
Make roast:
Set oven rack in lower third of oven. Sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper and put in a large flameproof roasting pan. Mound stuffing in cavity. Wrap tips of rib bones with foil to prevent burning, then wrap meat below bones with overlapping bacon strips, securing them with wooden toothpicks.
Roast pork in middle of oven, covering stuffing loosely with foil after 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 155 degrees when inserted 2 inches into center of meat (do not touch bones), 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours total.
Transfer roast to a carving board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 to 20 minutes. (Temperature of meat will rise to 160 degrees; meat will be slightly pink.)
Make pan sauce:
Skim fat from pan drippings. Straddle pan across 2 burners and add water, then deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Pour through a fine sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids.
Add jelly and any juices accumulated on carving board, then simmer sauce, whisking occasionally and skimming any fat that rises, until jelly is melted, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove all foil from roast and carve into chops by cutting between ribs.


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High-quality full spectrum recordings at a price never seen before!
The M500 microphone is easily used with a tablet PC or laptop to record bat calls and other ultrasonic signals with the highest quality.
The M500 USB Ultrasound Microphone comes in a small and durable aluminium enclosure. It utilizes the same advanced electret microphone technology as the well-known D500X detector and can be used both in directional and omnidirectional modes (with or without the directional horn).
Low-noise technology, high sampling frequency and efficient anti-aliasing filter provide highest quality recordings.
The microphone comes with an easy-to-use Windows recording program that saves the recordings as 16 bit wav files. Real-time display of the waveform and the spectrogram as well as real-time monitoring of the bat calls are also available. The program offers various triggering modes; manual and automatic, with or without pretrigger, level triggered or frequency triggered operation.
A coming version of the BatSound software will also support the M500.


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The great stuff of superheroes
This could also be called "Cash of the Titans." Featuring many classic Marvel Comics characters and a fun cast, "The Avengers" is the Super Bowl of superheroes. It's nearly 2 ½ hours of wisecracking, overblown annihilation. I loved it.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor's adopted brother, vies for world dominance by virtue of his sleek helmet, intergalactic flying monkeys and posh accent.
It's up to one-eyed Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to assemble a team to stop him — and what a team! Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow and Dr. Bruce Banner, aka Hulk, all together on a giant plane. Pity there weren't any snakes.
It's a real casting coup (and cash cow) to gather Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner (as Hawkeye) and Mark Ruffalo (the only one not wearing tights).
Downey's deadpan works overtime here much to our delight. Ruffalo is finally the right actor to portray Banner as a schlubby scientist, reluctantly recruited because of the destruction he can inflict when he's angry.
The best scenes involve trash-talking, bickering and sucker-punching the super-egos, followed by the inevitable assault on poor New York City. Grab your popcorn and enjoy the ride, folks. And stick around for the super-sequel teaser.
A pirate's life for them
Why do pirates so love the pirate life? Do they love to plunder and pillage, waving their cutlasses about, or are they most fond of — Ham Night?
In this latest Aardman Animations rollicker, "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" takes silliness to the high seas. Directed by Peter Lord ("Chicken Run") and Jeff Newitt, the jokes come fast and furious, clever and nutty enough to give both grown-ups and kids the giggles.
Pirate Captain (brilliantly voiced by Hugh Grant) sports a luxuriant red beard and is the Susan Lucci of nominees for the Best Pirate of the Year award. His hapless quests to steal more booty are hilarious, and he is a laughing stock to everyone but his shabby, loyal crew.
In a goofy twist on history, Pirate Captain meets Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) who is not a kindly dowager but tiny terror. He also hangs out with Charles Darwin, a "manpanzee," novelist Jane Austen, the Elephant Man and a little parrot named Polly.
Whether viewed in 3-D or in the cheap seats, there is no mistaking the amazing attention to detail in the handmade characters and sets. The subtlest of expressions are made just by the painstaking tweaking of a clay brow by hand, not computer. This personal touch brings added warmth and dimension to another brilliant Aardman creation.
SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a company in Irvine. JOHN DEPKO has the week off.


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Acti-Kare of Southwest Knoxville, TN provides a full suite of senior care solutions to help seniors maintain their independence and well-being in the following areas:
Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Lenoir City, Loudon, Clinton
Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care offers assistance to families through a wide range of companion care services at home, in a hospital or healthcare facility. Acti-Kare provides a full suite of senior care solutions to help seniors maintain their independence and well-being:
Acti-Kare believes in caring for the mind, body and spirit part of that is just having someone to talk with; maybe participate in the client's favorite hobby or activity or just to share a meal. Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care does its utmost to match specific caregivers to your loved one's interests and habits. Everyone needs something to look forward to and the opportunity to stay active and independent.
Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care caregivers provide light housekeeping from spring cleaning, holiday decorating to daily cleanup such as vacuuming, dusting, trash removal, organizing and tidying rooms, closets and drawers, and bathrooms too. Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care caregivers pay attention to the details.
Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care caregivers wash, dry, fold, iron and put away clothing as well as change the bed linens; we know these task can be physically taxing and can be difficult for those who have trouble moving around, have joint or other pain, with respiratory problems or who tire easily.
Remaining independence at home includes having help with those day to day tasks getting groceries, prescriptions or personal care items. Our Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care caregivers can provide these services directly, including shopping at specific stores for a client's favorite or special need items. They can also provide transportation for our clients who would like to run errands, socialize, attend religious activities and medical appointments.
Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care helps seniors keep organize and maintain bills and other important documents this will help keep down the clutter by organizing mail and paperwork around the home as well as at the direction of our clients, can assist with opening and reading mail.
Unfortunately many seniors fail to receive proper daily nutrition simply because of the bothersome task of preparing a meal and cleaning up afterwards or maybe the frustration of a restricted diet. An Acti-Kare caregiver can prepare meals that maintain a healthy diet and that follow the client's diet guidelines, as well as monitor their daily nutritional needs to insure sufficient nutrition (ask about our nutritional home delivered meal plan designed for those with special diets).


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The 49ers subtracted one of their high-spirited, special-teams aces from the roster Wednesday as Blake Costanzo headed to the season-ending, injured-reserve list.
Linebacker Kion Wilson was signed in a corresponding roster move. Wilson played for 49ers linebacker coach Jim Leavitt at the University of South Florida and was team captain his 2009 senior year.
Costanzo's injury is not immediately known. He played 10 snaps on special teams and five at linebacker in Thursday night's 23-3 loss at Baltimore in the exhibition opener. Costanzo, an eight-year veteran, re-signed in June after parlaying his 2011 stint into a tw0-year contract with the Chicago Bears.
Costanzo was one of several veteran special-teams aces battling for a roster spot, including Kassim Osgood, Bubba Ventrone, C.J. Spillman and Craig Dahl.
Other 49ers assigned to injured reserve this training camp are running back Kendall Hunter and wideout Chuck Jacobs, both with anterior cruciate ligament tears. The team has yet to announce what it will do with Glenn Dorsey, who's recovering from last week's surgery on a torn left biceps.
Wilson was cut by the Steelers on July 24. He previously saw time with the San Diego Chargers and Carolina Panthers, getting promoted from their practice squads to their active rosters in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Leavitt was USF's head coach when Wilson transferred there in 2008.


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smart add-on sharing.
Different city. Same convenience.
When you travel to other cities, you may want to pack your smart fortwo in your carry-on. Yes, you can become that attached. Instead, we'll provide you with a free car2go membership to access their smart fortwo fleet that's parked and waiting for you. Drive one wherever you want to go, then park and that's that. But you won't be tempted to bring one home because yours is already there, missing you.
Attractive: car2go is a specialized car rental service for smart car owners travelling outside of their home cities
Flexible: All smart owners are guaranteed rental service in any and all Canadian car2go locations
Convenient: car2go includes a fleet of over 800 smart fortwos in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto
Exclusive: The smart add-on feature provides all smart fortwo owners with a free membership to car2go, and specialty car2go parking spots in city centers
Sign up now!
Visit www.car2go.com and select the Canadian city you want to be your home area.
Then click on BECOME A MEMBER to fill in the Registration form.
Enter "smart" in the Promo Field.* You will receive your membership card in the mail, usually in 5 to 7 business days, and then have access to the network of smart fortwos.
Go explore the city!
With the car2go smart add-on, you can enjoy more of the urban experience at great cities across Canada.
*In Vancouver, driver abstract from ICBC is required.