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Robert T. Teranishi, assistant professor of higher education at New York University, said that his research was designed to counter the "blaming the victim" mentality in which he said people assume black enrollment declines suggest a lack of merit by black students.
The reality, he said, is that a new form of school segregation has taken hold in which in post-affirmative action California, the best way for a black or Latino student to get into a University of California campus is to attend a "white" high school.
Teranishi's research focuses on California high schools and the relationship between attending high schools with certain characteristics and enrolling at a University of California campus. He started by noting that while California is famous for its ethnic and racial diversity (in statewide totals), 88 percent of high schools have a racial majority of one group. Of those schools, he said, 44.7 percent have a white majority, while 43.4 percent have a black or Latino majority. But among new University of California students, 65.3 percent come from white majority schools and only 21.7 percent come from black or Latino majority schools.
From there, Teranishi presented data showing educational inequities in the different kinds of schools, such as studies showing that the greater the proportion of black and Latino students in a high school, the fewer Advanced Placement courses that are likely to be offered.
The cumulative impact of these inequities is such that minority students who are admitted to top University of California campuses are more likely to have attended white majority schools than other schools. At Berkeley, for example, 48.9 percent of the underrepresented minority students admitted attended white majority high schools, while 33.6 percent attended high schools that were black or Latino majority and 17.5 percent attended high schools without a racial majority. At the University of California at San Diego, the percentage of new black and Latino students coming from white majority high schools is 52.6 percent.
Teranishi said that such data should shake up people who think that some pure idea of merit is at play in selecting the best students for top colleges. Is it fair to tell black and Latino students, he asked, that to have a good chance at getting into UCLA or Berkeley, "they need to attend a white school"?
Walter Allen, professor of higher education at UCLA, said that what the data suggest are that admissions systems supposedly designed to favor merit are in fact systems that "protect privilege" and end up ripping off black and Latino people generally — either as would-be students or as taxpayers. "The poor folks are subsidizing the educations of wealthy people," he said.
Teranishi's research (disputed by some people in the comments at Inside Higher Ed) is intriguing; but it hardly proves that the students who are being rejected by the top colleges are qualified for admission. The availability of advanced placement courses, and resources in general, is undoubtedly a factor; but there may be other reasons black and Latino students from majority white schools do better -- such as a school culture more supportive of scholastic achievement.
Instead of renewing the call for crude racial-preference policies, it might be worth it to look at what those majority-white schools are doing right.
My own article on racial preferences, from 2001, can be found here.


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Before whom angels bow and archangels veil
their faces,
enable me to serve thee with reverence
and godly fear.
Thou who art Spirit and requirest truth
in the inward parts,
help me to worship thee in spirit and in truth.
Thou who art righteous,
let me not harbour sin in my heart,
or indulge a worldly temper,
or seek satisfaction in things that perish.
I hasten towards an hour
when earthly pursuits and possessions
will appear vain,
when it will be indifferent whether I have been
rich or poor,
successful or disappointed,
admired or despised.
But it will be of eternal moment that I have
mourned for sin,
hungered and thirsted after righteousness,
loved the Lord Jesus in sincerity,
gloried in his cross.
May these objects engross my chief solicitude!
Produce in me those principles and dispositions
that make thy service perfect freedom.
Expel from my mind all sinful fear and shame,
so that with firmness and courage I may
confess the Redeemer before men,
go forth with him bearing his reproach,
be zealous with his knowledge,
be filled with his wisdom,
walk with his circumspection,
ask counsel of him in all things,
repair to the Scriptures for his orders,
stay my mind on his peace,
knowing that nothing can befall me
without his permission, appointment
and administration.
Valley of Vision is copyrighted. Please do not reproduce this text in any form without permission from the Banner of Truth.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Unmounted Magnolia rubber stamps (set of 5 stamps).
To use the stamp, simply stick it onto a clear acrylic block with double-sided tape and ink it with your favourite ink pad. It's ready for use. You can now stamp around as if you would with any regular wood mounted rubber stamp.
Designed by Pauline©
Produced by Magnolia™


text:
I grew up in the DC suburbs, in a nice house with a huge front and back yard. It had lots of trees, hills, and other assorted terrain features that made it ideal for capture the flag, tag, water gun fights, and things of that nature.
One night when I was about 15 or so, some friends and I decided to play hide-and-go-seek in the dark. It was fall and the leaves were down, and my hiding spot of choice was kneeling behind the leaf pile stacked right up against the street abutting our front yard.
It was a good hiding spot, and nobody saw me. Until I noticed a bright light shining against my back. I looked behind me and a cop car had pulled up right behind me, with an officer staring intently at me flashlight in hand.
I was pretty much a goody two shoes (never even got a detention), and even I knew how bad this looked. It was the dark of night. I was crouched behind a leaf pile, trying not to be seen, in front of a very nice house in the suburbs. I had a dark hoodie pulled tight over my head, which as we all learned from the Trayvon Martin saga is a sure sign I was trouble. So given the circumstances, gut instinct took over.
I shot to my feet, whirled around, and waved at the officer, smiling as brightly as I could.
And he looked at me curiously, and then kept driving.
I won't say "and that's the day I realized I had white privilege." Putting the pieces together came much later. But looking back, it is one of the clearest examples of it I've experienced in my lifetime. And every time I read a story like this, I reflect on that moment, and remember just how lucky I am.
He said it happened as he was riding north on Weinbach approaching the four-way stop at Riverside Drive and the police officers were southbound.
Madison admitted that he was not going to stop at the intersection but said the officer startled him by making a sudden left turn in front of him.
"He did it real fast," he said. "I thought it was one of the guys (police) I knew."
At that point, Madison said he raised his hands to wave.
Madison said he has met many police officers through his job and his participation boxing in the annual Guns-N-Hoses charity fundraiser. But he said he did not know the officers who stopped him.
"The officer jumped out and says, 'What are you doing throwing your hands up at us?'" Madison said. "He is talking to me as he is coming toward me. I tried to explain, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise."
He said the officer's angry attitude made him feel angry and alone.
"It was like everything had disappeared, and I was there alone and I got scared," he said.
Madison said he knew Bolin from their community involvements and began to call him on his cellphone hoping to diffuse the situation.
However, the officer told him to put the phone down. Madison said that when he hesitated, the officer grabbed his arm holding the phone, causing Madison to flinch.
Before he knew it, Madison said, the officer had his stun device out.
"It was literally maybe inches from my face," he said. "I immediately threw my hands in the air. What he asked me to do I was more than willing to do. I said 'Please don't hurt me.' The next thing I know I'm laying down the ground and they cuffed me."


text:
Mystery Worshipper: Salskov
Wood Green Mennonite
Location: Wood Green, London
Date of visit: Sunday, 14 March 2010, 3:00pm
The building
The congregation meets in the church hall of the Westbury Avenue Baptist Church, a largish, slightly run down building that can be rather attractive with the sun pouring in through the windows, but far less so in bad weather. Some of their activities are held at the Mennonite Centre in Highgate, where I understand they intend to establish a permanent presence within the next year. The entrance to the hall was round the side. The room boasts a stage, kitchen and loo. There was a large banner reading "Mennonite Church." A square table was dressed with a white cloth bordered in blue embroidered braid, a plain crucifix, and a small modern candelabrum with tea lights.
The church
Wood Green is a small but active fellowship, with a strong sense of community. This does mean, however, that everyone is involved in running the church, and time is at a premium. They care for the sick and those with family crises, and contribute to unforeseen expenses. At least three members of the congregation are involved in mission work in South Africa and Iraq. They are a member of the London Mennonite Centre.
The neighborhood
A multicultural area, close to the Turnpike Lane tube station, with all the usual shops, banks, pubs and restaurants found on any high street. Christianity could well be a minority religion in this vicinity.
The cast
Everyone was introduced only by their given names. The leader was Sue, the preacher Veronica. Will and Julie played guitar and upright piano, and an unnamed European lady accompanied the first and last hymns on an African djembe drum. It was explained that ordination is not necessarily a requirement to lead a service.
What was the name of the service?
WorshipHow full was the building?
16. Less than usual, I was told.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
There were two greeters outside the door who hailed me cheerfully and said, "You must be looking for the Mennonite church." I was welcomed warmly, shown the loo, and led into the hall. Sue, the leader, introduced herself and handed me an information leaflet describing the service. She also warned me that visitors are invited to introduce themselves at the end of the service, but if I didn't want to do that, just to cringe obviously and she wouldn't put me on the spot.
Was your pew comfortable?
There were individual chairs with a slightly padded seat. Not at all bad. They were arranged in two rows in a semicircle.
How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere?
There was quiet chatting and socialising, and everyone seemed to be involved in setting things up. The musicians were rehearsing Vaughan Williams' setting of "The Call."
What were the exact opening words of the service?
We seemed to glide seamlessly into the proceedings, but I'm sure that Sue said, "Welcome to the Wood Green Mennonite Church."
What books did the congregation use during the service?
Ah, this is where my organisation falls down. I had written the titles down on a scrap of paper but managed to post it into the offerings box along with my Mystery Worshipper calling card and offering. So I can only say that we used a dark blue hymnal, a green spiral bound song book, and the Anabaptist Prayer Book.
What musical instruments were played?
Piano, guitar and African djembe drum.
Did anything distract you?
The room was chilly to begin with, but warmed up. In a sense, the whole service, being of an unfamiliar style, was a distraction. I was juggling books and trying to remember what had happened, while writing as discretely as possible. And that was before I dropped my pen.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what?
I found the style of worship very appealing. Ex-tempore free prayer is not what I'm used to, but it was integrated into a structured liturgy that was in other respects familiar in style. There was no arm waving or interpolated hallelujas, and the free prayer was quietly and thoughtfully delivered. There were at least six hymns, some of which were familiar. These included "The Call", sung before and after the intercessions, as well as "Amazing Grace", "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow", and a completely unfamiliar setting of "There's a Wideness in God's Mercy." There was also a gorgeous gathering hymn with a folk song like melody, words and music written in 1988 by a Lutheran whose name escapes me. Oh for my info sheet! Prayers were focused on specific issues in people's lives, and Sue suggested that in one case the congregation might like to contribute to the cost of travelling.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
14 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
7 – Veronica referred to her written notes but also spoke directly to the congregation. The PA system was a touch over-resonant, so the resident church techie made some adjustments.
In a nutshell, what was the sermon about?
This was the second time I'd heard the parable of the prodigal son today. This time it was acted out by Sue and four others, and Veronica took the story as her theme. Interestingly, she applied it to herself, saying that in her (their) culture, obeying the rules was the norm, which could actually be constricting, as it offered no opportunity for reconciliation and the generosity of forgiveness. The younger brother needed to give up his pride and independence and be vulnerable, while the moral older brother needed to give up his self-righteousness and ask his father for what he wanted. It was an interesting insight that the older brother was probably a recognisable portrait of the typical pharisee.
Which part of the service was like being in heaven?
The welcome, the orderly relaxation in which the service was conducted, and the music. I really enjoyed the hymns.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
I found myself in rather an exposed position. On the one hand, they knew I was unfamiliar with things, so writing was perhaps not an unreasonable thing for me to do. On the other hand, I'm hopeless at intrigue. In fact, Ed, one of the greeters, murmured something to me afterwards about Ship of Fools and Mystery Worshippers. I tried to look innocent, but guilt is a cradle Catholic's default expression.
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
No chance. I was duly asked to introduce myself, and several people wanted to know why I had come! I could answer truthfully that a chance look at someone's profile had alerted me to the fact that there were Mennonites in England. In fact, several of those there today were from across the pond, but they told me that there are large Mennonite congregations in the Congo and Paraguay, as well as in parts of Europe. Meanwhile, our preacher had been making the tea, and came round with drinks and very nice biscuits. Fair trade posters were in evidence, so I should imagine that it was all fair trade. I was given a lot of information about Anabaptists, Amish and associated brethren. there is a black Anabaptist congregation in my borough, and a visit is being organised by the Westbury congregation.
How would you describe the after-service coffee?
Tea and biscuits, fair trade. Teacups.
How would you feel about making another visit (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
8 – If I were not already committed, this would be a place I could feel at home. Always providing they could put up with my laissez-faire attitude to dogma.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian?
Definitely. It was an attractive combination of extempore and liturgy, free without being in-your-face.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time ?
The welcoming attitude. And that first hymn. Why didn't I ask for a copy?


text:
Skelton Truck Lines Ltd. is in a class of its own when it comes to high standards and reliable shipping. In our temperature controlled transport system, validations and qualifications are key to ensure that Skelton Truck Lines goes the extra mile by completing these protocols on every trailer in the fleet. That, paired with our validated cross-dock and warehouse ensures that temperature chain is never broken and product integrity is maintained throughout Canada and across the USA.
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text: Nitto NT830 tyre is a new tyre design with grip levels that provide maximum performance whilst having minimal road noise. The Nitto NT830 boasts innovative pattern technology and has been developed through extensive design and research. This tyre will please the most discerning driver in all aspects of driving conditions. The NT830 offers the driver confident tyre traction in high speed cornering, minimal road noise and comfortable ride in all road conditions. Nitto has used their exclusive "tread mills" technology to produce this impressive all purpose road tyre.


text:
First Olympic Appearance: 1896
by John Gettings and Mark Zurlo
Did You Know?The Dow family of fencers is believed to be the only mother-father-son trio in Olympic history to compete in the same event. Warren qualified for the United States team in 1936, his wife Helen in 1948 and their son Robert in 1972. Related Links |
One of the four sports that has been featured at every modern Summer Games, (wrestling, track & field, and swimming are the others) the sport fencing you'll see at the Olympics isn't much like what you're used to seeing in swashbuckling movies.
Although sword fighting dates back to ancient Egypt, today's fencing owes more to 16th-century European rapier combat, which depended more on thrusts as a means of attack. In competitions today, fencers earn points by hitting target areas on their opponents that change depending on the three types of swords used.
The foil is the lightest of the three swords. A point is awarded when a hit is made with the blade's tip anywhere on an opponent's torso, from the shoulders to the groin, front and back, not including the arms, neck, head, and legs. Women began to compete in foil at the 1924 Olympics.
The épée is about the same size as a foil, but it's heavier and has a larger guard above the handle to protect the hand from valid hits. That's because in épée the entire body is a valid target area. Épée combat was exclusively for men at the Olympics until 1996.
The sabre is a modern version of a cavalry sword. Bouts fought with sabres are distinguished by extravagant slashing movements. Hits can be made with either the tip or edge of the light, flexible blade; the target area is the waist up, including both arms and the mask. Women began competing with the sabre for the first time in the 2004 Olympics.
Individual bouts consist of three, three-minute competitions with one-minute breaks between them. The object of each competition is to be the first to score 15 points (i.e., hits). All bouts take place on a playing area 5-feet wide and 46-feet long called a piste. Hits are registered electronically through wires and special clothes worn by the fencers that trigger a light when a hit has been made. In team competition, each team member fences against the three members of the opposing team.
Medals are awarded for men's and women's Individual Epée Foil and Sabre, men's Team Foil and Team Sabre, women's Team Epée and Team Foil.
France dominated this sport for much of the 20th century, but in recent years Russia, Italy, and Hungary have made their presence felt.
At the London Games, the fencing competition will be held in the ExCel competition venue, which lies outside the Olympic Park and was constructed as an international conference and exhibition center in 2001. The center houses five different arenas and will host seven sports for the Games.


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Editor's Note: Today's post comes from Rick Byham, Sr. Technical Writer in our Customer Experience team. This post provides an overview of the detailed guidance document linked at the bottom.
One of the fastest ways to move database operations to the cloud is by moving your database onto an instance of SQL Server that is running on a Virtual Machine on Windows Azure.
SQL Server running on a VM is a fully capable instance of SQL Server, just like an on-premises version. As it is a full version of the on-premises version of SQL Server 2012, many applications will work without modifications. And since it is running on Windows Azure, you receive the benefits of expanding capacity without incurring hardware costs. What's great is that all on-premises SQL Server database developers are already knowledgeable about the features and capabilities.
Microsoft makes it easy to try out a Windows Azure virtual machine by providing a library of virtual machine's, including a virtual machine that is already provisioned with SQL Server 2012 Evaluation Edition.
The basic setup is quite simple. Visit the Windows Azure portal, obtain an account if you don't already have one, and then visit the library and select the Virtual Machine that contains SQL Server 2012 Evaluation Edition running on Windows Server 2008 R2. During the provisioning process you are asked for some basic information such as the name of the virtual machine and the password for the local Administrator user. You can accept the default values or customize items such as the size of the VM and Windows Azure affinity groups.
The Virtual Machine will take a few minutes to provision, during which the system will create the Virtual Machine, start it, rename it to the name you specified, and restart the Virtual Machine under the new name. SQL Server will automatically prepare itself, performing actions such as renaming the instance of SQL Server to match the VM name. After the VM is up and running, you can connect to it using remote desktop for further customization. Typical next steps are to configure the Database Engine to listen on TCP/IP, to change the Database Engine to mixed mode authentication, and to create one or more SQL Server logins. Because this virtual machine is not joined to your domain, you won't be able to use Windows Authentication when connecting to the Database Engine from a client, unless it is running on the VM. When provisioning is complete, move your database onto the Virtual Machine instance of SQL Server by using one of several techniques, such as restoring a backup.
There are a couple of tricky areas that require special attention. The VM is provisioned with an endpoint for the remote desktop connection, but you will want to add an additional endpoint for database communication. And the Windows Firewall on the VM is enabled so you will want to add a firewall rule to allow connections from the VM endpoint to the TCP port used by the Database Engine. Here is a graphic describing the connection process.
To help you understand the process and ensure you don't miss any steps, we have created a step-by-step tutorial that walks you through it. Start the tutorial here – Provisioning a SQL Server Virtual Machine on Windows Azure.


text:
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Is ordering medication online legal?
It is permitted to buy non controlled substance medication for personal use online. Please read the FDA memo for more information on personal importation of medication.
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Generic medication is simply a medication that has been manufactured by a different company, rather than the company who originally held the patent on the product. Generic medications work in the exact same manner as brand name medications and are bio-equivalent to their brand name counterparts. Generic versions of medications cost far less because they invest less money on marketing.
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text:
Part 1: Faith, Truth, and Trust
Para. 4: Faith and All of Creation
"Everything that happens in the world and each entity (found there) is meant to remind us that there's a Creator" Reb Tzadok declares. After all, we've been taught that the entire world was only created so that we might fear God [1] and to know and recognize Him [2].
And it's said that "the earth is full of Your possessions", G-d (Psalms 104:24), which means to say that everything is here in order to enable us to "possess" Him [3].
In fact, "God prepares all sorts of things and circumstances everyday so that we might remember Him", he offers. "For (since) man's not able to keep from forgetting (God)" on his own – the ability to remember Him has to come from God Himself [4]. That's why the first of the Ten Commandments reads "I am God your Lord" (Exodus 20:2) rather than starting out with an outright command to believe in Him, simply because "it's impossible to be commanded to (try to) know something" like the ever-presence of God, given that He's out of sight. So He must help us.
The help we need to remember Him is provided by the very next of the Ten Commandments which reads "you will have no other gods" (Exodus 20:3) [5]. For that statement reminds us of Godliness in general and of Godly ability [6]. Indeed, every power and ability you have – whether it's to see, to hear, etc. – should have you recall that God exists and that He Himself granted it to you [7].
(from Tzidkut HaTzaddik 232)
[1] See Berachot 6b.
[2] I.e., to catch sight of Him here and be stunned by His presence – and to thus be reminded of Him.
[3] The Hebrew term used for "Your possession" קנינך can also be translated as "the possession of You". The implication is that God can be "possessed", i.e., taken hold of or grasped and remembered by means of everything on earth.
As he often does about other matters, R' Tzadok says that he "heard" this interpretation, indicating that he learned it from Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica, his teacher.
[4] That is, it's God's own responsibility to have us remember Him rather than our own. After all, isn't He invisible and thus can't we be forgiven for forgetting His presence?
[5] The term for "other gods", Elohim, aside for being of God's own names is also an expression for a כוחות בעל – a being with power and abilities (supernatural or otherwise).
[6] That is, while there are false gods, simply remembering the existence of Godliness and governance in the world will help us remember God Himself. And while this is indeed a "false trigger" it still and all can generate a recollection of God.
[7] In short, everything on earth is and needs to be an allusion to God, given that we're not inclined to remember Him and that God Himself has to trip our memory of Him if we're to succeed at it.
(c) 2016 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of Maimonides' "Eight Chapters" is available here at a discount.
You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" here at a discount as well.
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just" and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers).
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".


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Helsinki: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Turkey has legitimate concerns over terrorism and other issues that need to be taken seriously.
Turkey has accused Finland and Sweden of supporting Kurdish militants and says it will not back the two Nordic nations joining NATO until they change their policies.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Stoltenberg stressed that no other NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey and pointed to its strategic geographic location with neighbors like Iraq and Syria.
These are legitimate concerns. This is about terrorism, it's about weapons exports, Stoltenberg said. We have to address the security concerns of all allies, including Turkish concerns about the terrorist group PKK.
He spoke at Finland's presidential summer residence Kultaranta in western Finland.
After decades of military non-alignment, Russia's war in Ukraine pushed Finland and Sweden to apply to join NATO in May. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, accuses the Nordic nations of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists and has vetoed their entry into the 30-member alliance.
When a vital key ally as Turkey raises concerns on terrorism then of course we have to sit down and take them seriously. And that's exactly what we do, Stoltenberg said.
The demands from Ankara to Helsinki and Stockholm also include lifting restrictions on arms exports to Turkey and extraditing members of certain Kurdish organizations that are opposed to Erdogan's government.
In the past weeks, NATO's chief has been trying to resolve the dispute but he did not disclose Sunday whether any progress has been made.
He was to attend an annual discussion panel in Kultaranta later Sunday together with Finnish and Nordic politicians, foreign and security policy experts and military representatives.
Stoltenberg will visit Sweden on Monday for talks with the Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. (AP)


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Sample Art from page 15 of OPERATION AJAX. |
By Chris Wilson
When video game artist turned college instructor Daniel Burwen read Steven Kinzer's historical accounts of CIA and other now declassified covert governmental operations, Burwen was inspired to bring true history to life. Using the technology made popular by the iPad, Burwen (Cognito Comics) teamed up with Daniel Brazelton (Tall Chair Inc.) to bring iPad users, comic lovers, history buffs, and teachers a technology-based comic titled OPERATION AJAX via an iPad app.
OPERATION AJAX is an historical account of the United States' first governmental sanctioned coup. Inspired by Kinser's book detailing the CIA's involvement in the coup of Iran in 1953, ALL THE SHAH'S MEN, Burwen created a "historical narrative" or the telling of an historical event sprinkled with small amounts of fictionalization in order to create a cohesive story.
OPERATION AJAX is an historical account of the United States' first governmental sanctioned coup. Inspired by Kinser's book detailing the CIA's involvement in the coup of Iran in 1953, ALL THE SHAH'S MEN, Burwen created a "historical narrative" or the telling of an historical event sprinkled with small amounts of fictionalization in order to create a cohesive story.
Sample art from page 2 of OPERATION AJAX |
"This is all based research. They are real events. It is a legitimate telling of history. We have the evidence," said Burwen. The research is based mostly on declassified governmental documents but also including news reports, photos, and other texts. Because it is inspired by Kinzer's work (and Burwen emphasized it was inspired and not adapted) that Kinser is editing the comic to ensure historical accuracy.
Burwen and Brazelton were both intrigued by the story because of the relevance to today. "This story is about oil politics and BP. It is a big piece of the puzzle of what has happened in the Middle East," said Burwen.
The merger of comics and technology has exploded with the invention of the iPad. Of course motion comics and electronic comics have been around for a while, but the iPad changed the availability and access to a wider audience and opened the door for more interactivity, which will be a key aspect of the comic.
We saw a sneak peak of OPERATION AJAX last week. The art is typical of mainstream American comic realism with bright colors and solid shadow work. The narrative structure starts out in the thick of the coup with a CIA operative (who goes unnamed in the comic because his name was redacted in the declassified documents) taking the reader through the events as he saw them, but also offering scenes of the narrator as an older gentlemen looking back on his place in history, giving the storytelling some complexity. OPERATION AJAX is not simply a timeline of events, which is a common mistake in the genre history comics, in my opinion.
Sample art from page 13 of OPERATION AJAX. |
The team was very hush-hush about the specifics of the interactivity components until the app and comic go live this winter; however, they did say that readers will be able to control their experience making it as rich and deep as the readers chooses. Copies of actual documents, photos, news articles as well as other items will be available to the reader (if he or she chooses) without even leaving the comic.
Brazelton commented when he reads and comes across references to names or events with which he is unfamiliar he feels compelled to stop reading to look the reference up. "I'm the type of person who has to research every asterisk," said Burzelton. The idea is that the interactivity –– the reading of the comic combined with the checking of the research –– is a seamless and natural activity whereby the reader is never taken out of the story.
During my demo, I noticed the comic is similar to a motion comic. The big difference, as Burwen pointed out, is that motion comics are closer to movies on the spectrum while The Active Reader's approach is closer to a comic experience because the comic is not voiced (something students have not liked in our experience) and the reader can easily control the pace.
The Active Reader iPad app will debut this winter in the Apple App Store. The comic will likely be split into chapters, the first being free and the other nine likely costing between $1.99 a $2.99 each, although they could not confirm an actual cost yet. It was indicated that readers will have the opportunity to buy the entire comic for one reduced price.
While there are no plans to create a teacher version for an interactive whiteboard, the iPad does have video out capabilities, which means it could be cabled to a projector and then displayed on a Smart Board.
I am very excited to see the end product and we will preview it when we receive the full-blown comic. I think Burwen and Brazelton are on to something big, fun and educational.


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Emmanuel - God With Us
By, Toni Smothers
Scripture Reading for the day: Luke 2:5-21
Scripture Quote: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)
Jesus came to us as an infant, born through the power of the Holy Spirit to the Virgin Mary. Joseph, her betrothed, believed when the angel told him that Mary was truly a virgin and that he should take her to be his wife. The faith that Mary and Joseph demonstrated was tremendous.
Jesus was born in a stable. He was wrapped in bands of material, and was laid where cattle were fed. Shepherds came from all around to see the baby the angels told them had come to be their Savior.
Jesus had a very poor beginning, yet, because of His life, we have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness - when he sent Jesus to dwell among us, to teach us and show us by His example, how to love in its truest sense.
Today's meditation: Celebrate Christ's birth and what His coming has done for believers everywhere!
Memory Verse: "But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." Luke 2:10-11 (NIV)


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Feb 12
Primacy: In Hospital Marketing, Clicks Count When Driving Business to Your Site
In a change of pace, and in the spirit of patient engagement, the following graphic from Primacy speaks to the importance, and the need to engage patients online to educate them and bring them to a practice's door.
According to Primacy, an award-winning agency known for creating digital experiences with impact: "Investing money in your hospital's website can drive traffic online and to your door."
Primacy analyzed the traffic and paid search activity of five hospitals during 2012 to see if any patterns emerged. It turns out some did. Take a look at the infographic below to see which clicks matter the most.


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Different Types of Health Insurance in California
Different Types of Health Insurance in California: Whether you buy group or individual health insurance in California, the options you have regarding the different types of health insurance are generally the same. In some groups you can even choose from available plans. These different types are traditional health insurance, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and preferred provider organizations (PPOs).
California goes beyond the Federal requirements for offering health insurance to its residents. Examples of this include Industry Advantage plans (IAHP), short-term health policies, Insurance for high risk Individuals and special plans for children and teens.
Additional Health Insurance in California
The traditional health care delivery system is based on a fee-for-service type of arrangement. In a fee-for-service system, you pay or each itemized medical service you receive. In the days of the frontier, "Doc" often received a chicken as payment. Today, physicians are paid with money, lots and lots of it. Fee-for-service health insurance recognizes this practice and is designed to reduce or even eliminate your duty to pay directly for your medical care. Traditional health insurance comes in three parts: Different Types of Health Insurance in California
Start Or Expand Your Business With Unsecured Loans
California has four basic options for choosing a health care plan:
- 1. Health through an employer or association
- 2. Health Insurance through Income eligibility such as Medicaid
- 3. Health care for high risk individuals such as those that have had cancer or a heart attack
- 4. Private Insurance
Hospitalization covers defined expenses incurred while in the hospital. Generally, the insurance will pay for all of the covered services rendered by the hospital staff. However, if the insurance benefit is an indemnity payment, the payment will be for a fixed sum regardless of the actual expenses incurred. This fixed sum will usually be far below the daily charge actually made by the hospital. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
This part of a traditional health plan covers the expensive costs of medical care other than the bill from the hospital. Services such as doctor visits, treatment charges, etc., are covered here. Medical/surgical usually has a deductible and requires co-payments by the insured (payments you make for charges not covered by the insurance), typically 20 percent of the doctor's fee. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
Catastrophic or major medical
There are usually lifetime maximum payments that hospitalization and medical/surgical plans will pay, after which the well runs dry. Unfortunately, these maximums may not be sufficient to pay for all of the care required if a major illness or injury should strike, since such afflictions can eat up hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars worth of health services. Thus, catastrophic coverage adds to your umbrella of protection in an amount sufficient to protect you from the horrendous expenses of such serious and prolonged illnesses. These policies also fill in some of the gaps not covered by hospitalization or medical/surgical. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
Health Maintenance Organizations or Private Insurance in California
The health maintenance organization (HMO) is a relatively new player in the health insurance game, although it has been around in a limited fashion since the 1930s. The idea behind an HMO is to pay one premium and receive all of your health care at no or a nominal additional cost. The point is to save money compared to traditional health plans that cost more to purchase and require more out-of-pocket payments from the insured. What you, the insured, give in exchange for reduced cost is a substantial loss of your freedom to choose who will take care of your health needs. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
Preferred Provider Organizations
Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) seek to give both the benefits of traditional health plans and the money savings of HMOs. They do this by paying higher benefits as a reward for your using the doctors or hospitals they preselect for that purpose.
Disability Insurance
Disability insurance does not pay for health care; rather it pays for lost wages caused by a disabling injury or illness. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
How Health Insurance Is Priced
Ask anyone how health insurance is priced and you will get a simple answer: expensively! Beyond that, there are underwriting criteria used by health insurance providers, whether they are for-profit or, like Blue Shield/Blue Cross, nonprofit. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
Underwriting Criteria
The older you are, the more likely you are to get sick; therefore, the higher your health insurance premiums will be.
Number of people covered
Many people buy family coverage rather than individual policies. This means that there will be adults as well as minor children protected by the same plan. Some companies will charge based on the size of the family. Others charge a basic family rate without regard to the number of members. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
Unlike life insurance, where women get the better end of the bargain than men, in health insurance women often pay higher premiums. This is based on health insurance industry statistics which indicate that the female of the species tends to need medical care more often than the male.
Health history
Insurance operates on statistical probabilities. If you have had a poor health history, statistically you are more likely to have a more expensive health care future. This, in turn, means that you will pay higher premiums-if you can get health insurance at all. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
The more likely you are to suffer injury or illness because of the work you do, the more likely the health insurance industry will be to charge excessively for benefits. This may be well and good for professional deep-sea divers. But the industry has begun to stretch the concept into areas that have nothing to do with the inherent danger of the work. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
In your application for health insurance you will be asked questions about your personal habits. Your answers will have a lot to do with the cost of your premiums. If you smoke, you will probably pay more for health insurance. If you drink to excess, you will probably pay more for health insurance. If you are known to be under a great deal of stress, you may pay more for health insurance. California does reward the health care Insurance consumer with lower premiums if they have practiced good health policies. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
One of the most important things you can do as a health care consumer is to engage in preventive care. Not only will you be able to spot serious diseases at an early stage, thereby increasing your chances of effective treatment and cure, but you should be able to save money as well, since it is usually far less expensive to treat a disease when it's a molehill rather than a mountain. Different Types of Health Insurance in California
About The Author:
Medical-Ins.com is a leading broker of health insurance in California. We provide detailed information and cost breakdowns of Blue Cross, PacifiCare California and many more. Visit our site for a free quote and to help sort through the various health insurance plans to find the more affordable option for your family.


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The BET Awards air on Sunday night, and at least one notable person is highly unlikely to be in attendance: Lil Nas X.In case you missed it, the pop star is presently incensed with the network because his name was nowhere to be found when nominations were announced earlier this month. That same day, he sent out a now-deleted tweet: "thank you bet awards. an outstanding zero nominations again. black excellence!" And for the last few weeks, the masterful social media provocateur has been trolling BET andteasing "Late to Da Party," a new song that dropped on Friday and includes the repetitive chant, "F*** BET!"
I can hear the snark chiming in already: So ... you mean to tell me a super famous wealthy celebrity is out here complaining about not being nominated for a totally subjective award? Who even cares?
I hear you. Theego is strong with this one. But – it's not quite that simple.
Lil Nas X's dismay has stemmed in part from the sense that his very overt queerness – still relatively rare for a pop star of his status, especially a Black male one – had something to do with the omission. In another since-deleted tweet, he wrote, "I just feel like black gay ppl have to fight to be seen in this world and even when we make it to the top mfs try to pretend we are invisible."
BET's response, in part, was that the network "love[s] Lil Nas X," and that its Voting Academy is made up of "nearly 500 entertainment professionals ... No one from BET serves as a member of the Voting Academy."
So it's crucial to note here that Lil Nas X has been nominated for two BET Awards and performed at the ceremony twice in the past; last year's ended with him sharing a passionate kiss with one of his male background dancers. He's also won two BET Hip-Hop Awards, and received two nominations at last year's ceremony. And since coming out in 2019 at the height of "Old Town Road" pandemonium, he's garnered an unprecedented and overwhelming amount of support from fans and celebrities alike.
But! He's also faced plenty of homophobia and derision from online trolls and celebrities, too. (See, for one, rapper Boosie Badazz, who seems to have asickening, violent obsession with antagonizing him.) And his flamboyance has beencriticized by other queer people, who have accused him of being too "in your face" about his sexuality, especially following that BET Awards performance. His suspicions about why he was snubbed this year, after releasing a critically acclaimed and commercially successfuldebut album, haven't just appeared in a vacuum. (Meanwhile, his collaborator on "Industry Baby," the polarizing white rapper Jack Harlow, curiously scored a nod for Best Male Hip Hop Artist, and is also set to perform Sunday.)
Lil Nas X's contentions with BET speak to a paradox that's played out in high-profile fashion over the last decade: How to square the ostensible subjectivity of entertainment awards with historical biases among awards voting groups? Drake and Frank Ocean, for instance, have protested the Recording Academy and the Grammys, accusing the organization of being dismissive of Black artists. Ocean declined to submit his album Blonde for consideration – "[The Recording Academy] just doesn't seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down," he told theNew York Times. For this year's ceremony, Drake withdrew his two nominations for Certified Lover Boy, piling on to a long run of criticisms he's had for the Grammys – "I'm apparently a rapper, even though 'Hotline Bling' is not a rap song," he said duringan interview in 2017, adding, "The only category that they can manage to fit me in is in a rap category, maybe because I've rapped in the past or because I'm Black."
Like Lil Nas X, Drake and Ocean have won awards from the same institutions they criticize, but I don't think that, or the fact that there are undoubtedly some self-serving interests at play, necessarily invalidates those arguments. Awards ceremonies do have a lot of issues to contend with, starting with who, exactly, is doing the voting, and how. Just last year, it was announced that the Grammys would eliminate its secret nominating committees, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been working to diversify its membership against the backdrop of #OscarsSoWhite. The disgraced Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Golden Globes, came under intense scrutiny last year for its lack of Black membership. The industry seems to know it's got a problem.
Often the retort to accusations of bias with these awards is that perhaps the work wasn't good enough to be nominated, or win; "subjectivity" and "meritocracy" are easy ideas to get behind. But those two things are exactly that – ideas that are rarely, if ever, borne out in practice. Lobbying, expensive campaigning, and so many other factors go into putting these awards together every year, that it's impossible to suggest with a straight face that the only barriers to becoming a nominee or winner lie with the art itself. You need only recall how Green Book won Best Picture over, among other things, Roma and Black Panther, or Macklemore – Macklemore, people! – won Best Rap Album over Kendrick Lamar.
Back to Lil Nas X. The BET Awards are not the Grammys or the Oscars or even the Golden Globes. To the outside world, they're more like MTV's Video Music Awards, a ceremony where it's all about the fashion and the performances, and where almost no one's going to remember who won the year prior, much less who was nominated. I can't recall ever seeing an artist, movie, or show presented as a "BET Award-winner."
Yet they do seem to matter to the artists and the industry itself, and for Lil Nas X, there's something about feeling rejected by his Black peers, in a predominantly white industry that has found every way to shun or dismiss them all at some point or another, that makes it particularly upsetting for him. When someone on Twitter pointed out his Grammy wins, heresponded, "this is my point exactly how can i get acknowledged by the most acclaimed award show in the world and then not even just 1 nomination from my own people? is that not crazy?"
OK, "most acclaimed award show" seems like a stretch, but I get his point. Awards shows are faulty metrics of talent or artistry, but they're also a part of the game. They exist to feed egos, but when you're Black and queer, that recognition – or lack thereof – just hits different.
This piece first appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.
Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Ice-Cream Cone Coot and Other Rare Birds
Arnold Lobel ~ Parent's Magazine Press, 1971
Finally discovered my son's all time favorite book. We've always been Frog & Toad fans. The boy is obsessed with the audio book collection and sometimes makes me repeat the story "A Swim" (from Frog and Toad Are Friends) some five times before moving on. It totally cracks him up.
Anyway, I was absolutely delighted when I stumbled across a never-before-seen-by-my-eyes Lobel classic that is all about birds (kind of). That is to say, it is all about imaginary birds... and it's only been in my possession since 11 o'clock this morning and already we've read it nine times. HE LOVES IT. This book and my son belong together. It was as if Arnold reached from the grave and created this book just for my son to enjoy. He tried to sleep with it tonight, but once he dosed off, I went back in and snatched it up. Make no mistake however, it will be the first thing I hear when he wakes up tomorrow, "WHERE IS MY ICE CREAM CONE COOT!?!" So, without further delay...
All the birds inside this book are very strange and rare, and if you travel to the zoo you will not find them there. Don't look for them in nature books, in parks or pet shop cages, The Drippet, Piffle and the rest live only on these pages.
Goodness. The awesomeness of this book is hard to put into words. Probably easier to put into names as we are introduced to the likes of The Milkbottle Midge, The Garbage Canary, The Jackknife Niffy, The Steampresser Sparrow, The Dollarbill Dodo, The Wetweather Wren, The Waterglass Goose, The Glove Dove and...
The Ten O'clock Tit Trush takes to the skies.
He soars high above us, and time really flies.
Needless to say, my son is hugely biased as this one is full of birds, but even still... The rhymes are impeccable. The bird illustrations imaginative and colorful. Really, you don't have to love birds to like it. Everything Mr. Lobel touched is gold in my book... Consider this 24 carat.Also by:
The Terrible Tiger
Red Tag Comes Back
Oscar Otter
The Star Thief
Mouse Tales
Prince Bertram the Bad
The Secret Three
Benny's Animals
Miss Suzy
Martha the Movie Mouse
Terry and the Caterpillars
The Strange Disappearance of Arthur Cluck
Read along on Facebook, tumblr, Twitter and Etsy
18 comments:
- Roberta said...
I read this to my three year old just the other day... she loved it!
- May 20, 2009 at 9:08 AM
- Unknown said...
What a stunning book, looks fabulous!
- May 20, 2009 at 12:49 PM
- A said...
I've never heard of this, but it looks super fun!
- May 20, 2009 at 1:18 PM
- Happy Reader said...
Wow! sounds like a great book! I would love to read it to my dd some day
- May 21, 2009 at 2:57 PM
I LOVED this book as a kid! Thank you for posting d my copy to it! I want to find my copy to save for when I have my own kids.
- May 21, 2009 at 3:09 PM
- daysease said...
Ooh, love that it, seemingly, encourages kids to think outside the box...Fun!!!
- May 23, 2009 at 9:12 AM
- Burgin Streetman said...
my son now demands this first before all others and has started making up his own bird names. too cute.
- May 28, 2009 at 12:22 PM
I am 16 and I loved this book as a kid. I still do. Thanks for the post. =D
- June 23, 2009 at 8:15 PM
I'm a new mom and will be buying this book for my daughter!! My three sisters and me loved loved loved this book when we were little!!
- July 22, 2009 at 9:32 AM
Absolutely love this book as much as my five year old.
I'm getting a tattoo of the gramophone gullfinch. - November 9, 2009 at 5:18 PM
Hey - I've never seen this Lobel book before - I can see how it would get you inventing more crazy birds!
- November 17, 2009 at 4:42 PM
- Dolly said...
I love this book also-and gave one to my sister for her 40th b-day. We had a fabulous time reminiscing about Ice Cream Cone Coot:)
- September 8, 2010 at 10:12 AM
- Emily M Hughes said...
This used to be one of my favorite books as a kid too, and I still love looking at it. Seeing that your family is as much of an Arnold Lobel fan as mine, I recommend his picture book, "Giant John". I still remember the smell of that particular book, and I always got hungry when reading it- go figure!
- February 21, 2011 at 9:19 PM
- Burgin Streetman said...
i love giant john! just haven't gotten around to posting on it yet. so many books so little time. thanks for reading!
- February 21, 2011 at 9:32 PM
This was my favoright book when I was a little girl (I am now 33). I will for sure be getting this for my little boy!!
- November 2, 2011 at 10:22 PM
- Holly said...
Thanks for sharing this great review with all the photos! I have ordered my own copy of this book.
- June 16, 2018 at 1:27 PM
- IanG said...
Have just remembered the fun I had reading this wonderful little book to my boys all those years ago!!
- July 21, 2020 at 6:28 PM
- IanG said...
I have just been reminded of the fun I had reading this wonderful little book to my boys all those years ago!!
- July 21, 2020 at 6:30 PM


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Artiss Coffee Table Marble Effect Side Tables Bedside Round Black Metal 70X70CM
Artiss Coffee Table Marble Effect Side Tables Bedside Round Black Metal 70X70CM
Simple and modernistic. Our Artiss Coffee Table makes for a resounding statement in style, function and practicality that fits in brilliantly with any discerning home decor. Featuring a black powder-coated metal tube base topped with a premium E1 grade MDF tabletop with elegant marble-texture laminate finish, our coffee table instantly makes an impression in your living room with its minimalist cues. The round table is smooth with safe rounded edges, whilst the unique X-shape leg design gives the coffee table loads of character as well as providing a very stable base. Not least, heavy-duty fixings and anti-slip rubber feet complete this charismatic ensemble. Wherever the coffee table is used, rest assured that it will be an astounding presence.
Marble-texture-laminate tabletop
E1 grade MDF board
Sturdy X-shape black powder-coated metal tube base
Smooth and safe rounded edges
Heavy-duty steel fixings
Anti-slip rubber feet
Easy assembly
Tabletop material: MDF with marble texture paper lamination
Frame material: Steel
Overall height: 45cm
Table diameter: 70cm
Colour: As shown in gallery
Weight capacity: 50kg
Package Contents:
1 x Artiss Coffee Table
1 x Assembly Manual


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Yunus Emre
Our editors will review what you've submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Yunus Emre (born c. 1238, Turkey—died c. 1320, Turkey) was a poet and mystic who exercised a powerful influence on Turkish literature.
Though legend obscures the facts of his life, he is known to have been a Sufi (Islamic mystic) who sat for 40 years at the feet of his master, Tapduk Emre. Yunus Emre was well versed in mystical philosophy, especially that of the 13th-century poet and mystic Jalāl ad-Dīn ar-Rūmī. Like Rūmī, Yunus Emre became a leading representative of mysticism in Anatolia but on a more popular level; he was venerated as a saint after his death.
His poems, which are devoted mainly to the themes of divine love and human destiny, are characterized by deep feeling. He wrote in a straightforward, almost austere style and mainly in the traditional syllabic metre of Anatolian folk poetry. His verse had a decisive influence on later Turkish mystics and inspired the poets of the renaissance of Turkish national poetry after 1910.


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Free delivery for orders over €40
Free first exchange
Discounts on group orders over 150€
Cotton Blend
For color and material consistency, we recommend washing with items of the same color. After a few wash cycles you will notice that the material is softer and more comfortable. Items made from this blend can be found in our Classic Collection.
Pure Cotton
100% cotton is a natural and airy material. It relaxes during wear and contracts during wash - about the same way jeans do. We recommend washing them with similar, white materials to keep the consistency of color. After a few wash cycles, the material is softer and more comfortable to the touch, with reduced transparency. Items made from this material can be found in our Classic Collection.
The easiest way to place an order is through our web shop cute.hr - moreover, you can send the order to [email protected] or by private message on our Facebook or Instagram page. To deliver your order, we need the following information: name, surname, address (street, house number, city), telephone number and payment method (cash on delivery, general money order, bank account transfer, internet banking).
You can pay for your online order by card, payment to our account (general payment slip/internet banking/ bank account transfer) or cash when receiving the package. Payment is also possible with Cute gift vouchers. Currently, when paying by card, it is not possible to pay in instalments.
We deliver on the territory of Croatia and the entire EU. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cute models can be ordered at www.cute.ba, and for shipping conditions to other countries, please contact us by e-mail at [email protected].
You can find a size guide with each product on the web shop, and if you have already worn Cute products, you will easily choose models from the Flex and Wellness collections by comparing the S-M-L system with the Cute Classics. You can see a Cute size chart with instructions that will help you get the most accurate measurements here :)
We use 4 different materials to make Cute products; 100% cotton, Cotton blend (60% cotton, 40% PES), FiberFlexTM, and Silky SoftTM. For each product, the fabric and maintenance of the material are listed. Read all the details about how to maintain our materials, as well as their advantages and disadvantages here.
Cute women's sizes 34 - 52 in the Classic collection are smaller than regular ones, so you will definitely need one to two sizes larger than your usual size. The new collections come in the S-M-L system that corresponds to regular sizes, so when you buy the Flex and Wellness collections, you can choose the size you normally wear. The size chart is always available for easier selection.
Delivery to EU member states is free for orders over 40 EUR. For orders below 40 EUR, the delivery price is 3 EUR.
If we have all the products you order in stock in the main warehouse, we deliver most packages within 24 hours. After we hand them over to the DPD delivery service, you can expect your package between 3 and 5 working days. The status of the package can be tracked on DPD's website using the tracking code that we send you in the email after we submit the order to DPD.
We send the package tracking link in the notification email as soon as the delivery person picks up the package. You can also see the package number on your Cute profile.
We might not send some packages within 24 hours if the products are in a different storehouse or production. In case of a mistake or eventual shortage of the ordered product, we will contact you for further arrangements regarding the shipping and delivery.
You can return a product ordered online and get a refund for it. Please note that the product can be returned if you have not worn or washed it within 30 days of delivery. For a refund, it is necessary to send a request through the Cute portal for return / exchange. Returns to Cute boutiques are free, and collection by the delivery person is 3,5 EUR (the amount will be deducted from the amount of the return). If you paid for the order by cash on delivery, when filling out the refund form, you must enter the IBAN of the account to which you want the refund. Refunds are made within the statutory period of two weeks.
Most Cute products are produced in Croatia, and all products are designed and developed in Croatia within the Cute team. We are glad that we can proudly say that Cute is a Croatian brand.
We listen to your wishes and requests and are constantly expanding our supplies. We are glad to be guided by your advice, so please send it to prijedlozi@cute or pass it on to our employees in the boutique.
Call us on +385 97 741 7219
or write us at [email protected]


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Reaching for More.
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Hilga Crooks climbed Mt. Everest for the first time at the age of ninety!! That's not all, she went bottom to top seven more times in the next eight years. She found a better place in life. She arrived at ninety and asked, "What can I do that's more exciting than listening to my arteries harden and await the death that is presented to every human?" She reminds us of the middle-aged Grandma, raised in Milwaukee, living in Philadelphia until the divorce in her late 50's. Most women in such a position ask "Why me?" Mrs. Myerson decided to ask, "How can I help?" Moving to the African continent, she
worked on communes into her late sixties. | |||||
For 397 months, I've read an average of thirty to fifty books per month. I did not read thousands of books, I read a book or two per day for thousands of days. Do you understand the difference? You have that same magic inside of you, provided you're focusing on something that you are passionate about, something that makes you either whoop, holler, or just feel good all other. Masters and Millionaires ShortcutsDozens of self-made millionaires shared this particular gem with me. It is HUGELY, rapidly effective.
There's no doubt how you respond when a younger person comes to you and says, "I really respect and admire you, can you help me with__________________?" They studiously avoid any disagreement whatsoever. They are not asking the prospect to buy the product so much as they are asking them to believe that the salesperson is presenting a value to the customer first, and the salesman second. A vital part of this is avoiding conflict. Agreeing, then resolving
together. 2) Every time they hear what is called an objection, they do what half of all salespeople never ever do.* When they hear the objection, the first thing they do is agree with the objection. They then use the objection -- are you ready for this?-- as the specific reason why the other person should say yes. It's a fantastic technique, and usually works at least once in the first three or four times you try it out. The phrase I've heard and used myself most often is, "Yes, sir, that's how I feel too, and that's why our solution may have special appeal for you." Then, offer two solutions, and leave him or her with the choice of those two. Don't ask IF she wants, ask her WHICH she'd prefer. Please, stop being so smart; you're outthinking yourself. Your hair just may stand up straight when you begin realizing the enormous impact you always get simply by asking more people more times each. It is the
single most powerful magic trick you can instantly use for faster, better results in any human effort, from brain surgery to politics, guitar or piano playing, raising children or bicycling, ad infinitum, which means never-ending, limited only by your
personal imagination. | |||||
In the next ten days, like every ten days of your life, you will be asking people (including yourself) for certain things. Should you bother to keep track, most people will say yes to you on the first try, especially salespeople, gas
station attendants, etc. When someone says no to you, find creative and different ways to ask that person no less than seven times. You will be astounded with your results. When you ask once and hear the word no, you might hear the old saw that claims that "No" does not mean "NO!" It means "Not yet." It means, "You have not yet given me enough reason to say yes. An effective comparison is found in sales. One of the longest studies done on top sales producers (Prudential Insurance's 87-year study, with help from Princeton University) found that roughly 48% of all sales calls end without the salesperson ever asking for the sale, for a variety of reasons. Yet with every one of the producers in the top ten percent, they would take every single no they'd hear, and try to find out why they were hearing a no, so that they could ask again, a different way, resolving the concern of the buyer. Empirically speaking, those people who ask each person seven times will generally hear up to four times as many yeses. This SuperShortcut is so simple that you glide past it every day. If you really think you know your math, think again. When you ask ten times you may hear "yes" one time in ten. When you ask forty times, you'll get as many as ten to fifteen "Yes" responses. It doesn't matter that it disagrees with the rules of math. What does matter is that hundreds and hundreds and more hundreds of the best closers and billionaires, champions and millionaires use this regularly to get what they want. Hush up and ask more. It works fast, and will double your results in anything you wish... ... at a far, FAR higher rate of acceleration than you're getting today. Examining a recent Forbes Magazine list of the 400 richest people in America, a mind-grabbing 251 of them have been stone cold broke -- more than once!! When you include the 6,800,000 Americans who are currently earning eighty thousand dollars per month or more, we find again and again that they simply ask more times for what they want. They ask more people, and they ask people more. These incredible supershortcuts and techniques are brought from the mouths, the words, and deeds of thousands and thousands of extraordinarily successful people, using a broad, universally agreeable definition of success: Measurable results. Every human task fits this. We can modify this definition, never eliminate it. Measured progress towards an identified benefit. Whatever YOUR definition of success is, there's a way to measure it in your field of interest, correct? We'll identify precisely where you are on the map, and where you are determined to be in 100 days, and 1000 days. I'm proceeding on the assumption that you can identify at least one thing, if not more, that you need to be world-class at before you die.The MrShortcut Best-Life Net warrants that one of the most important and productive actions you can take in the next sixty seconds is to state, out loud, your determination that you can and will be world-class at ____________. If you truly don't know what you'd pick from a genie granting you three wishes, or even just one wish, keep reading, by the time you're done the seed will be planted for you to water, and allow to germinate. It will
flower. You see, it's part of the human condition that everything we do from birth to death has only two causes: pain or pleasure. It is the motivation for every thought and act we commit to in life. Whatever it is you're doing, or thinking about doing,
is to avoid pain, or gain pleasure. For some people, these two most primordial, basic functions get confused. If you're not too screwed up, there's still hope for you, provided you clam up and get busy on this day, before you next sleep. Fair
enough? It's common knowledge that more than a thousand lower and mid-level employees at Microsoft became millionaires thanks to the vision and work of Bill Gates and his associates and partners. Many thousands more made a million or more dollars from stock in his company. Larry Ellison, at Oracle, and other exceptional men and women, have been credited with directly creating hundreds and hundreds of millionaires. In a nutshell, it's your turn. The only true value I get is for you to close your mouth, open your eyes and ears - to those who have done it better than you- and will continue to do it better than you until the moment you begin doing as they do.It's one of the most basic facets of science. Duplicate an action enough times, and you will assuredly duplicate the results of that action. The more you write, the more you make. The more you write, the more you make. Even if you only use a fraction of what's in here, there are dozens of shortcuts that are as good as
tailor-made, just for you, in YOUR particular career field, whether you're a household word, or housewife, a Harrier jet pilot or a hooker, a typist or a tyrant: this is the best day to create a useful map, recipe, blueprint, because even more convincing
than my own use, or my students' successful use of these high-powered shortcuts: Name 1000 role models of this generation. Each of them uses most or all of these Shortcuts of masters and millionaires. they ALL begin in writing. With life, it's the smaller components we call "seconds." Just as we can take the light bulb, and add it to other items to be part of a truck,
the individual seconds of your life, and mine, and everyone who lives and breathes, those seconds become hours, days, weeks, months, and years. Add up all the items, and the total is called "My Life." It's broken down to smaller steps, correct? In any and every worthwhile thing you personally have ever accomplished, and repeated at will, it is exclusively because you knew precisely what you wanted, you knew what you had to do to get there , and you did it as many times as it took to get it done. Now, we get to use your skills for higher achievements, with results appearing as soon as the next hour or less... of YOUR life.Just get the recipe correct. Like a corrected map or blueprint of your home, we work backwards, live forwards. You would not bake a cake without a specific, QUANTIFIED recipe. You would not dream of driving to another city without a map. You would not consider building a house without a blueprint. How could you possibly think of treating your life as something not worthy of building, rather than just taking as it comes?
What do these things have in common? They are written, and they are capable of
being measured by QUANTIFIABLE smaller steps. Period. If you don't know exactly where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else.
That's not rah-rah: if you don't know precisely where you're headed in ten years, it's unlikely that it'll be the place of your dreams. As long as your actions of today are the same as yesterday,
you're an ass if you believe you'll get any improvement in results tomorrow. Science tells us that such things can't happen... ...or at least that they haven't happened in the past few thousand years. Improve your actions today, you'll reap fruits in each of your tomorrows, through every day that you embrace your own internalized MrShortcut Best-Life Net, your own personal mission to succeed... at higher rates of speed and efficiency than you have been accustomed to.
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Best Test Boost Bosses Cold Cure! Computer Shortcuts 1 Computer Shortcuts 2 Critics Current Cybernetic Dating II Decide Doctors Dreamdare Failure Focus FreePowerFree Power Goals Goalsheet Health Hopeless? Hugs Iceberg Important Impossibilities Last Ruby Lawyers Lovely Masters Masters and Millionaires Meddestiny Millionaires Minute Mission Mirror Site 1 Mirror Site 2 Mirror Site 3 Naysayers Pareto Pay You! Piano Popcorn Reach Ruby 2 Ruby 3 Satisfaction Science Shorcuts Shortcuts Socks Viola Who Will Blythe IV Write Last Ruby Desk I Desk II FreePower Power Mouse Toy Secrets Age 14 100 Grand Goals Who ? Ouch! Cash IQ Boost Shortcuts 7 Shortcuts Hugs HEALTH Psoriasis Fulcrums Mission Want Common Cold MrShortcut on Great Shortcuts - the best shortcuts of all timeMrShortcut went and built for you what may count as the world's biggest website. It was done, as you might expect, with shortcuts, although it's still astonishing that he created more than five hundred different unique versions... of each one of five thousand of his best essays, with hundreds of other essays and chapters for which there are only a hundred or so different versions of each. You have hugely untapped resources inside of you, and all around you. That's why we're here. The goal of Masters and Millionaires Shortcuts, the goal of the MrShortcut Best-Life Net, is no more complicated than you tapping just a bit more into the resources at your immediate disposal; the resources that empowered masters and millionaires, champions and billionaires... to get to the top of their ladders. Now it's your turn. Let's go for yours. The more we learn, the more we tend to live, and the more we tend to give. Again, let's go for yours. Never, ever, EVER let a day go by without grabbing at least one or two of your daily tasks, treating it as an opportunity to produce at world-class, and you are guaranteed to see larger results, quickly. Make the most of your best shortcuts to success. The fruits are as close as the shortcuts. Learn to see more between the lines; +- some PowerGems are concealed. Welcome. Step up and swing. With your mind in mind, Mister_Shortcut with 1,000,000 unique web pages © EasyStreet, USA MrShortcut All rights reserved for those who feed hungry people with my share of your profit.Meanwhile, you can feed people NOW with a free click In Memory of Monsignor Bernie Kellogg, obm, and a dedicated student, herein known as MrShortcut | |||||


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Palestinian-Israeli citizen calling for peace, making her voice heard through Online Model United Nations [guest post]
I have a dream, I dream of a world with no racism, with acceptance no matter what religion, colour, language, or ideology.
My name is Salam, I am 18 years old, and I was rejected my entire life by the people around me, something that made me so insecure.
I was born in a country that defines itself by religion. I was treated differently because of my religion, because of the way I dress. Basically, because I was not Jewish, I was never welcomed in the state of Israel, even though I am an Israeli citizen!
There is a whole wide community of undefined citizens just like me. I am a Muslim Arab that wanted to make my voice heard – to share my story and help my community – and found the perfect opportunity through this inspiring great program called Model United Nations.
I had a dream but I didn't have a voice until I joined the Online Model United Nations program!
Why is this program so important to me?
Well for the first reason that it accepts anyone no matter who they are, for the first time in my life I felt like I was welcomed to something, that people actually accepted me for who I am. I was part of a greater community, and I felt comfortable sharing my story.
All the conflicts facing the world today could be easily solved by sharing our stories together, by meeting one another, because most humans are led by their government or leaders who decide for them who they are, but human nature tends toward a peaceful safe environment, deep down inside all human beings are the same, nobody cares about religion or colour or anything else for that matter, all these titles that were given to separate us, we all eventually just want to live a happy peaceful life.
And that can't be done unless people realize who they really are. All people around the world should share their stories, especially in this time when it's just a click away to communicate with anyone, anywhere.
Even though the status quo over here is somehow steady, I shouldn't be afraid of sharing my story because it might jeopardize it, neither does anyone else, nobody should be forced to live hand to mouth, we all should share our stories. It's the thing that gets us closer!
And we shouldn't just not care about each other, I mean when I share my story I would love to get a response from someone else, telling me their story and how they can relate.
O-MUN gave me a voice, and the chance to meet students from all around the world and share my story, not just online but also in international conferences. I never thought I would meet students from Islamic and Arabian countries before, but I am so glad I did because it changed my whole perspective. Most things that are presented to us by the media are not true, we can't jump into conclusion or start a conflict based on a misleading statement.
So let's take an advantage of the Internet and let it unite us, such an incredible online program that united me with students from all around the world.
Hopefully someday we can all look over our differences, live together peacefully and create our own superior united government that unites us all.
We all should be free to be who we want.
Thanks to O-MUN for making my dream seem more realistic and achievable. And, of course, for the person behind all of this, Ms. Lisa Martin!
Now it's your turn to share your story!
Previously in this series
- Upcoming guest series – Online Model United Nations
- Connected global youth and the Online Model United Nations movement
- The nuts and bolts of online debating
Salam Keadan is 18 years old. She is one of the Middle East and Africa Assistant Directors at O-MUN and hopes to study Liberal Arts at TAU International, She has recently started an O-MUN club at her school, Al-Qasemi High School in Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Israel.
You can find her on Facebook and share your story!


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Starting with its inflammatory title, your article "Quebec's War on English: Language Politics Intensify in Canadian Province" contains several misleading and biased statements concerning Québec's language policies. Adopted by successive governments since the seventies, those policies aim to ensure that the French language flourishes on a continent where some 8 million Francophones cohabit with more than 300 million Anglophones while, at the same time, preserving the rights of Anglophones whose contribution to the development of Québec's economic, political and cultural development is vital.
Anglo-Quebecers enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the country and have access to a network of English-language medical, educational and social institutions. Thirty-five years after the adoption of Bill 101, the proposed Bill 14 continues to respect the rights of the Anglophone minority while ensuring the vitality of the French language and maintaining the delicate equilibrium between individual and collective rights.
It is absurd to claim that Québec is "at war" against English. The Québec nation promotes inclusiveness and is renowned worldwide for its creativity and economic vitality. Quebecers of all origins are proud of their unique identity. We cordially invite you to visit and see for yourself.
André Boisclair, Québec's Delegate General to New York


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The Ancien Hôtel des Abbés de Cluny, rue de Cluny, was originally built for Pierre de Calus vicar of Cluny-en-Bourgogne, in 1340. It was rebuilt, in its present style, between 1470 and 1510.
In 1833 Alexandre du Sommerard, an art collector, lived in the Hôtel, and brought in his Medieval and Renaissance collections. When he died in 1842 the State bought the Hôtel and the collections : a museum was opened, in 1844.
A striking example of the flamboyant gothic style, the Hôtel de Cluny is the only XVth century private mansion left in Paris, except for the Hôtel de Sens. Thirty four rooms (old stained glass), are open to the public who may see Medieval and Renaissance paintings, sculptures, tapestries, laces, clothes, jewellery, bronze, enamel, ivory, china, ironmongery arms, etc. A visit should be paid to the Gallo-Roman Thermal baths which stood, there before the Hotel was built.


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The University of Montreal in Quebec presented a conference on the cultural, aesthetic and historical hybridizations between video games on heavy metal. The presentations, occurring on March 15th, are available via video at the bottom of this post.
Although the conference was presented in French, the video is fully captioned in English. Professors Dominic Arsenault and Louis-Martin Guay presented their research as the cornerstone of the conference, covering the origins of their interest in the topic and some of its history.
That history moves us through the arcade era from pinball machines to stand-alone video games, then takes us through the home gaming revolution with 8-bit machines, and finally to 16-bit gaming and now modern game as technology evolved and became cheaper. It compares the music, imagery and traditions of both metal and video game cultures.
At the peak of this is Professor Arsenault's attempt to meld metal and classic gaming, covering "experimentations in transfictionality, sound design and concept for 8-bit metal that's not just metal covers, 8-bit covers, game-themed metal or chiptunes." Arsenault, who believes metal and video games are a natural fit, has presented related research at other conferences to great success.
Our two cents here is that metal and video games arose almost in parallel and both emphasized the solitary youth whose parents, fractured by divorce and social chaos, withdrew in an age of nuclear terror. As a result, both genres tend to focus on conceptual settings that emphasize both escapism, and a tackling in this new escapist context of ideas that threaten the solitary adventurer in real life. By placing those threatening ideas in an otherworldly context, they can be addressed as removed from their painful (and boring) day-to-day reality.
13 CommentsTags: academia, Heavy Metal, nuclear war, videogames


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Fill A Truck
March 9, 2019 @ 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Support SAFE Haven by purchasing much-needed items from our wish list! At the Walmart in Wake Forest, you can purchase supplies from our wish list without transporting them to the shelter. All donations are tax deductible.
Caring for our cats and kittens requires a lot of time, love, money and supplies. Donating the items on this list help us with the day-to-day care of our animals, supports our operational needs and helps feed hungry dogs and cats through our Pet Food Pantry.
Learn more about the our Donation Wish List here.


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Five Ways to Eat Watermelon
The best way to eat watermelon? By the wedge, bare feet dangling into a pool or lake. But here are five other pretty good ideas
If watermelon were a brand, it would be a very successful one. First of all, it has a name that tells you exactly what it is—at more than 90 percent water, it's the juiciest fruit going. It has attractive packaging. Plus, it's got impeccable timing. It doesn't even bother making an appearance until summer really heats up and all anyone wants is something cool, sweet and hydrating. If they could only figure out that seed problem. (Sorry, so-called seedless watermelons are neither truly seedless nor, in my experience, as good as the original.)
The best way to eat watermelon? Straight up, by the wedge, bare feet dangling into a pool, lake or other body of water. But here are five other pretty good ideas:
1. Salads. It's Greek. It's salad. But it's not Greek salad. Toss together some watermelon with feta cheese and olives and you've got the basics of a classic Aegean summer dish. For a twist: Grill the watermelon, as Recipe Girl does, to caramelize the sugars. Jacques Pépin adds fresh mint and Tabasco sauce. The Food Section gives equal billing to another quintessential summer fruit, tomatoes. Bobby Flay takes it in a Southwestern direction by swapping in jicama instead of olives and feta and adding lime juice.
2. Drinks. Watermelon is practically a beverage already, but it's also a natural in cocktails and nonalcoholic drinks. You can mix up a Mexican-style agua fresca with lemon juice and mint. What's Cooking in America makes the novel suggestion of blending watermelon puree with rosewater and lime juice. Imbibe magazine offers a spicy watermelon margarita recipe for those who like that hot-cold, salty-sweet combination. Or just cut to the chase and spike the whole melon with vodka (recommended only if you have a large group of friends to help finish it off).
3. Soups. The most ubiquitous summer soup isn't necessarily made with tomatoes; a watermelon-cucumber gazpacho from Salon comes with a Spanish cultural history lesson. I'm intrigued by the addition of buttermilk and rosewater (apparently not as novel an ingredient as I thought) in a Bulgarian chilled watermelon soup. Thai-spiced watermelon soup with crabmeat from Epicurious also sounds delicious.
4. Dessert. Watermelon only needs the slightest nudging to be taken into the dessert category—Wicked Good Dinner explains how to make a watermelon granita by simply freezing the pulp with some salt and sugar and adding fresh basil. "Watermelon" ice cream pie is adorable but it's made with lime and raspberry sherbet; Emeril Lagasse offers a recipe for real watermelon-flavored ice cream with chocolate chips (they look like seeds).
5. Pickled. You don't have to be a freegan to want to minimize food waste. Why throw away all that watermelon rind when it only takes a couple of days or so to turn it into pickles? Seriously, according to The Bitten Word, they're not very complicated to make, and if you've never tasted sweet-sour pickled watermelon rind you are missing out on one of the triumphs of southern pickling. Pickled pig's feet, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about.