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(Express-News File Photo)
"Yeah! He broke his perfectly good guitar!" Fans cheer as Kiss' Paul Stanley holds up the pieces of his axe at a Verizon show in 2003. The band is coming back to town in September.
(UPDATE: The show is now posted on the AT&T Center Web site; which notes that tickets go on sale June 23.)
"Better late than never," might well be the reaction of area KIss fans to the news that their heroes, who skipped San Antonio in favor of an Austin gig their last time in Texas in December, will make it here this time.
Led by original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Kiss will play the AT&T Center Sept. 19, according to a LiveNation release. It will be their first S.A. show since their 2004 jaunt with Poison that stopped at the Verizon (they also co-headlined with Aerosmith at the Verizon in 2003).
Tickets go on sale June 4 in "select markets," according to the release, but no specific sale date is listed, and the AT&T Center Web site doesn't have the show listed yet.
Billed as The Hottest Show on Earth tour, the new shows will include a mix of the expected ("Detroit Rock City," "Rock and Roll All Nite") and tunes not heard by American audiences in years, according to LiveNation.
The tour opens July 23 in Cheyenne, Wyoming (the band is playing Cheyenne Frontier Days, which has a certain Spinal Tap quality to it), and hits Texas for three shows in three days. The S.A. show is preceded by stops at the Cynthia Woods Mitchel Pavilion outside of Houston, Sept. 17; and at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco (north of Dallas), Sept. 18
Kiss is also partnering with Guitar Center for a battle-of-the-bands competition to give unsigned bands a shot at opening for them in 22 markets. Presumably, S.A. is one of those.


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Business Litigation and Consumer Rights Law Firm
Proudly Serving Clients in the Chicagoland and Tampa Bay Areas
Shakfeh Law LLC is a boutique firm offering personal service to individuals and businesses in need of legal counsel. Shakfeh Law is owned and run by sibling business litigation lawyers Danya Shakfeh and Abraham Shakfeh. As a multi-service law firm, the attorneys at Shakfeh Law can assist you with such matters as:
- Civil litigation and disputes
- Contract review
- Illinois and Florida consumer rights protection
- Landlord/tenant disputes and evictions
- Debtor's rights
- Business law
Affordable Legal Representation and Advocacy
Whatever your legal needs may be, the attorneys at Shakfeh Law can provide you with a personal consultation, address your questions, and let you know if you have a strong legal case. With personal attention to detail, the firm's attorneys work directly with clients to help them understand and protect their rights under the law.
Whether you're a single mother whose been illegally evicted or the representative of a multi-million dollar business in need of an Illinois business attorney, Shakfeh Law will listen to your side of the story, present you with sound legal advice, and provide you with professional representation throughout the duration of your case.
When you come into Shakfeh Law, you won't be treated like a case number. Instead, you'll receive the personal attention that you deserve. Few other firms offer the same level of client focused service and attention to detail as Shakfeh Law, Ltd.
Work Directly with a Lawyer Dedicated to You and Your Case
Take the opportunity to speak one-on-one with an experienced attorney who will serve as your dedicated legal advocate and provide you with the insight you need to protect your rights.
Simply call (630) 517-5529 to schedule a consultation at our Illinois office or call (813) 228-0101 to make an appointment at our Florida office. You can also have Shakfeh Law contact you by sending your information through our quick and easy form. A friendly staff member will get back to you promptly to arrange a meeting with one of our lawyers and begin the process of developing your case.

subset: commoncrawl


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When Valentine's comes around with hearts and flowers and love, it is nice to remember that we all are loved in this wonderful world full of beauty at every turn.
This 5″ by 7″ painting on aqua board is a perfect gift for your sweetheart. This painting is specially priced at 175.00 today. I promise speedy shipping, an easel to stand it up in immediately, and an email straight to your sweetheart with a photo of what is coming if you like.
"A hundred hearts would be too few
To carry all my love for you."
Art is love.


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Group Meetings
We have instituted monthly group meetings for attorneys who are establishing their own practices. At our start-up meetings, our law practice advisors offer main considerations for the establishment of a law practice, and take questions from attendees.
Our start-up meetings run for roughly an hour. You can find our upcoming meeting dates on our Events page, here.
Register for a Meeting
If you are interested in attending, please first complete our and execute our .
To complete these forms electronically, you must (1) download the documents (before entering any information), then (2) complete the fields, and then (3) save changes. Please email your completed forms to Rachel.
You are welcome to complete our forms manually, and submit scanned versions via email. You can also send copies to the attention of Rachel Casper, by fax to (617) 482-9909, or by postal mail to 31 Milk Street, Suite 810, Boston, MA 02109.
We will contact you to confirm the date you plan to attend upon receiving your forms.
Start-Up Materials
In the time prior to the meeting, you may wish to review our start-up kit, here.


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For those new to the sport, this course aims to provide participants with plenty of climb time. Introductory skills will be taught allowing you to take an active role in your climbing experience.
- Common knots: Learning how to properly tie yourself into the climbing rope is the first step becoming a self-sufficient climber.
- Equipment usage: When used correctly climbing equipment can be a lifesaver. When used incorrectly…well. Following the course you should have a thorough understanding of the basic equipment used and how to properly use it.
- Climbing technique and tips: Climbing is not about brute strength. Good technique will help conserve strength allowing for a more enjoyable experience.
- Belay technique: The ability to properly belay a climber is imperative. You will learn how to safely get your climbing partner up and down the route.
- Climbing commands: Good communication between the climber and belayer is crucial. You will learn and use the recognized communication allowing you to safely climb/belay.
- Terminology: Crimp, Gaston, Match, Dihedral? Many terms used by climbers just aren't by the rest of society. Here we will help you begin to decipher exactly what those words mean.
- Grading system: 4th class, 5.6, 5.10, 5.14b? We will provide insight what these numbers mean.
- Become comfortable with basic climbing setups: In order to focus on the climbing you must first trust the climbing system. We will discuss the components of the top rope setups being used.
- Leave No Trace climbing principles: As the climbing community expands, so does its impact on the environment. We will review and practice techniques that will minimize our impact.


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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Economic data to be released this week won't add any cheer to holiday celebrations, economists said.
"The string of bad economic news won't take a Christmas-week break," said Avery Shenfeld chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto.
Durable goods orders are expected to have another significant decline as business caution has postponed any capital spending. New home sales should drop to the lowest level since the 1981-82 recession, and consumer spending should drop for the fifth month in a row.
"We're going down and we're going down very fast," said Nigel Gault, director of U.S. research at HIS Global Insight.
"At this point, we're not looking for signs of a turnaround, we're looking for any sign we're going down more slowly -- and I don't think we'll get that in any of these numbers."
Durable goods
The single most important indicator will come on Wednesday, with the release of the durable goods report for November. Orders are the start of the economic engine and can give clues to the strength of the economy in coming months.
Economists forecast that orders for big-ticket items will drop 3.0% in December following a 6.9% decline in October.
The drop will be widespread, with weakness in core orders, which strip out defense and commercial aircraft.
Decisions by General Motors Corp GM, +0.86% and Chrysler LLC to shut down their plants for a month due to flagging demand will weigh on orders going forward.
New and existing home sales
Economists expect another weak month for home sales.
New home sales are a better indicator of the housing market than existing home sales data, which are now skewed by foreclosure sales, analysts said.
New home sales are expected to fall 7.6% to 400,000 units. This is a level not seen since the severe downturn in the early 1980s.
Home sales have rarely fallen below the 400,000 level, which is a "threshold of extreme distress," Gault said.
New home sales have fallen sharply since they peaked at 1.40 million in July 2005.
The decline in existing home sales will be more moderate. They are forecast to drop 1.6% to 4.90 million. It is somewhat easier to forecast existing home sales, as pending home sales data tend to lead existing sales by a month or two.
Consumer spending
The consumer spending data for November will likely be one of the confusing reports that give government economic indicators a bad name.
Consumer spending is likely to fall for the fifth month in a row. Economists expect spending to drop 0.7% in November, after a 1.0% drop in the previous month
Gasoline sales and continued auto sales should lead the index lower.
But sales adjusted for the sharp drop in inflation in November may turn out to be higher in the month. This could lead to some optimism that consumers have not stopped shopping.
Even so, Gault said that it would take more than one month of stronger data to convince him that shoppers are responding to store discounts in any major way.
The personal consumption index, the Fed's favorite measure of inflation, should moderate in November, as other measures of inflation have shown sharp declines in recent months.
Income should be flat, given the weakness seen in the November unemployment report.


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This project is not covered by Drupal's security advisory policy.
This module provides configurable actions upon events that will expire URLs from caches like reverse proxy caches, internal page caches, etc.This module make more sense when Minimum Cache Lifetime setting is set to a value other than none.
There is now integration with the following modules:
- Boost - deletes expired pages (files) from the file system.
- Varnish - integrates over an administrative socket.
- Fastly - Varnish/CDN caching
- Purge - expires urls by sending purge requests to Varnish, Squid and Nginx over HTTP.
- Acquia Purge - allows Drupal sites hosted on Acquia Cloud to automatically purge pages from their Varnish powered load balancers..
- Memcache Storage - allows to delete pages that were cached in a memcached instances.
- Akamai - provides an integration with the Akamai Cache Control Utility (CCU) Web Service
- Recacher - Page cache warmer.
- Panels Cache Expiration - provides expiration of panels cache based on events from Cache Expiration module.
- Nodequeue Expiration - provides expiration of pages based on events from the node queues.
- CloudFront Expiration - provides integration with Amazon CloudFront service.
- Workbench Moderation Expire - provides integration with Workbench Moderation module.
Migration from 7.x-1.x to 7.x-2.x
There is no migration map from 7.x-1.x to 7.x-2.x branch. The latest branch provides absolutely new level of pages expiration. To have a proper migration process it is recommended to uninstall and delete 7.x-1.x. version of module, then download and install a 7.x-2.x branch release.
Features and integrations
Module's features may extend if next modules are enabled:
- Drush - provides drush commands to expire urls (xp-url), paths (xp-path), nodes (xp-node), users (xp-user), comments (xp-comment) from the command line shell and scripts. To use Drush integration you need to set up $base_url in your settings.php.
- Rules - provides actions for the Rules module to allow more advanced cache expiration scenarios.
- Token - provides modal dialog with list of available tokens.
- References and Entity reference - module may expire referenced entities' urls.
Current (7.x-2.x) branch has configurable expiration rules out of the box for:
- Nodes
- Comments
- Users
- Taxonomy
- Menus
- Files
- VotingAPI votes
Road Map
Similar Modules
Project information
- Module categories: Drush, Performance and Scalability
- 38,946 sites report using this module
362,350 downloads
- This project is not covered by the security advisory policy.
Use at your own risk! It may have publicly disclosed vulnerabilities.
Development version: 7.x-2.x-dev updated 16 Jun 2015 at 13:58 UTC
Development version: 7.x-1.x-dev updated 19 Feb 2014 at 08:23 UTC


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Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young had an MRI performed on his injured right quadriceps muscle Monday, but results had not yet been received back by the team.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher said in his weekly press conference that Young was sore and would not have been able to practice if team had had a practice for Monday.
"He has a thigh strain. We did an MRI just to clear up how we go about treating it," Fisher said. "He could not practice today, if we had practice today, but it's not as bad as we thought. He'll be day-to-day. Our treatment path will be to try and get him back on the practice field as fast as we can."
Young suffered the injury on a scramble to the left with 6:54 remaining in Sunday's 13-10 loss at Tampa Bay.
If he cannot go, backup Kerry Collins would assume the starting role. The Titans travel to Houston, Young's hometown, to face the Texans on Sunday.
Fisher would not offer specifics when asked if the Titans would need to place a third quarterback on their 53-man active roster. The Titans have former MBA star Ingle Martin on their practice squad and have had David Greene and Paul Thompson in for tryouts last month.
Also, wide receiver Brandon Jones, who was inactive for Sunday's game because of a knee injury, underwent an arthroscopic procedure on Monday afternoon and will likely be out for a week or two.
Running back Chris Brown's ankle is still sore, as Fisher pronounced him "day-to-day" and admitted that third-string running back Chris Henry could be active Sunday at Houston for the first time this season.


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TORONTO (Jun. 23)
Eighty percent of all Reform rabbis in this country polled on the sentiments of their converts to Judaism replied that the converts have been assets to Jewish life, it was reported here today at the convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, central body of the Reform rabbinate.
The report said that free pamphlets were in preparation, one by Rabbi Bernard Bamberger of New York, former CCAR president, directed to the non-Jew seeking a faith; the second is by Rabbi Robert Kahn, whose appeal will be to the unaffiliated Jew. The third already completed is by Rabbi David M. Eichhorn of New York, to interpret to the Jewish laity the philosophy of mission and the reasons for engaging in this sharing of religious insight.
The program is not necessarily intended to win converts only for Reform Judaism, the report said. If applicants are more suitable for admission to other branches of Judaism, such as Orthodoxy or Conservatism, referrals will be made, the report said. For male applicants over 21, circumcision will not be required, the report stressed.
Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmund, of Boston, speaking at the convention, was pessimistic about Jewish campus youth. He reported that, despite the fact that there is an acceptance of and cordiality and cooperation toward Judaism, the overwhelming majority of Jewish students have no such interests, and identification with Judaism is seldom considered a serious option."
As for intermarriage, Rabbi Zigmund said, the ultimate decision of the individual "is unpredictable" however sincere the commitment. "As long as we consider a college education as essential, " he said, "and as long as the campus is an open market in which people and ideas circulate freely, boy will meet girl and girl will meet boy, regardless of background, commitment or solemn promise."
He summarized the situation by stating: We are not winning a substantial number of the college generation to deep and serious commitment. Our young people are Jewishly illiterate, and they feel that Judaism has nothing to say to them in the modern world. The sad thing is — they do not even ask." He stressed that "no walls can be built thick enough to keep our Jewish youth in or keep non-Jewish influences out. An integrated assault is necessary, and by all elements — and at an earlier stage." He pleaded for Jewish youth to go to Israel, and find stimulation there.
Mark Eli Saperstein, of Lynbrook, L.I., son of a CCAR member and a recent graduate of Harvard University, agreed that students are Jewishly illiterate and deplored that historic normative Judaism seems foreign and repugnant to a student from a Reform background. He said students also are repelled by the "middle class vulgarity" about them. Religious needs, he said, are not felt by the students. Chairs of Jewish studies, he declared, will, however, attract men of top academic caliber who will draw Jewish students to their courses and lead them to an understanding of their faith. For this, all Jewish national organizations, he said, must cooperate, and it should not be left to B'nai B'rith alone.


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Kirsten Gillibrand debated the last candidate she ran against, Joe DioGuardi, twice.
Gillibrand, like Obama, talks about transparency, but doesn't walk the walk. How can NYers trust her about anything?
The one and only Long/Gillibrand debate will be this Wed. at 7 p.m. on YNN and NY1. If you don't have access to tv at that time, you might be able to pick up YNN on 900 AM radio, especially if you live in the Capital District.


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welcome you to the Somerset Country Inn.
Nestled in the heart of the Laurel Highlands
vacation region, the Somerset Country Inn provides
you and your family with a warm welcome from your
hosts, Joyce and Dan. When you're out enjoying
all our area has to offer, you'll come back to an
inviting home away from home. Relax, put your
feet up and spend time with family and new-found
friends at the Somerset Country Inn.
See area attractions
Get a
good nights rest for a fresh morning start at the Somerset Country Inn!
We can't wait to have you make yourself at home in ours!
Somerset Country Inn
(814) 443-1005
329 North Center Avenue
Somerset, PA 15501
Our previous guests aren't afraid to let us know
just how much they enjoy the house specialty, our
French toast stuffed with cream cheese then topped
with an amazing blueberry sauce. The breakfast
table includes fresh fruit, breakfast meats,
assorted breads such as Friendship or Amish, Juices,
steaming hot coffee and specialty teas.
Children welcome!
Not many bed and breakfasts welcome children into
their inn, but here at Somerset Country Inn we have
a room devoted especially to children. The
room comes fully stocked with toys and books and
features a bathroom with a bath tub for younger
children. Somerset Country Inn is fun for the
whole family!
Wireless Internet!
We understand the importance of tools like the
internet and email. That is exactly why we
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Now you can check e-mail, plan the day ahead of you
or simply just browse the internet from any room at
the Somerset Country Inn!
Contact us today to book your stay!
view all rooms -


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No Child Left Behind needs updates
Sometimes, it's hard out there for an education secretary.
On May 2, Secretary Arne Duncan wrote an open letter to the nation's teachers, calling teaching "an important and honorable profession" and pledging to treat them with "dignity" and "respect."
Story Continued Below
Then came the reaction: "Teachers Question U.S. Education Secretary's Respect for Them" (Huffington Post). "Teachers Furious at Duncan" (Daily Beast).
Arne, I feel your pain. Just remember: It's not personal; it's political.
The Obama administration has been criticized by the organized education lobby for sticking with the high standards and accountability introduced by the Bush administration. The No Child Left Behind Act remains the law of the land, to the consternation of some. As it comes up for reauthorization in Congress, the voices of opposition have formed a chorus, demanding changes that would eviscerate the law.
That is why I am grateful the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is leading a nationwide coalition to renew and update the law for a new generation of children.
Signed into law in 2002, No Child Left Behind sets goals for student success in reading and mathematics, the fundamental building blocks of learning. It also sets consequences for failing to meet those goals.
Ah, yes, the "F-word" — fail. It was one of the complaints I heard most often when I served as secretary: The law will stigmatize schools by labeling them as "failures."
This is nothing compared with the stigma of a young adult failing to get a job because he or she lacks math skills. Or the stigma of a college freshman put on the remedial track after failing an entry-level course. Or the stigma of a dropout whose school failed to provide challenging, engaging and relevant coursework.
One of my great joys as secretary was visiting schools that made the hard choices to turn themselves around. Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville, Ga., was one of them. Its student body, three-fourths of whom were born outside the U.S., had not met state academic standards for more than five years. After hiring a new principal and adopting a high-quality curriculum, the school finally reached its goals in 2006.
Curiously, the teachers I met weren't "furious." They were dedicated professionals who insisted on excellence from their students. They worked hard and deserved the credit. But so did our insistence on accountability for results for all students under No Child Left Behind. While the school has not been perfect every year, its educators now know what works.
One of the law's overlooked lessons is that when poor performance is caught early, it can be fixed. And we catch it by testing students, collecting the data and disaggregating it by student group.
This transparency has been a game-changer. States now do a much better job of measuring dropout rates and other important indicators. As Andrew Rotherham, who writes the blog EduWonk, noted, "We have better numbers because states are finally starting to count actual students."


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Megan McArdle doesn't view this latest attempt to "fix" Obamacare with any great optimism:
Mitch McConnell is once again announcing that the Senate is going to come out with a new health-care bill and try to hold a vote next week. That exhaustion you feel is the same despair that seeps over you when a pair of ill-matched friends announce for the 17th time that they're getting back together.
As with those friends (we all have them, don't we?) there seems to be no set of mutual goals upon which a durable partnership can be built. Many Republican legislators want Obamacare to die. Others would probably attend the funeral with ill-concealed delight, but they don't want a reputation for having killed it. Still others would like to be able to tell voters that they "did something" about Obamacare, even though in reality they are loath to actually, you know, do something — because their states would lose money, or voters would lose insurance.
[Wearily] So what can be done here? Realistically.
As an exercise on paper, the answer is easy:
- Stop trying to make this a tax-cut bill, and focus on reforms that can pave the way to fiscal stability, and dismantling many of the perverse incentives that have so distorted our health-care system.
- Leave Obamacare's taxes intact. (Yes, even the dumb ones, of which there are many.)
- Turn Medicaid into a fixed grant rather than an open-ended entitlement, either by making it a block grant, or switching to a flat per-beneficiary payout — but don't try to make block grants a confusing cover for very deep cuts to the program.
- Provide generous funding to stabilize the individual health-insurance exchanges, but demand in return very wide latitude for states to decide how they stabilize their insurance markets — including jettisoning any of the Obamacare regulations they think are getting in the way.
- Meanwhile, move the system more aggressively toward health-savings accounts plus catastrophic insurance — and get Democrats on board by offering to have the government fund some portion of those health savings accounts for low-income citizens.
Is that my ideal health-care system? No. But it gives Republicans some of what they want (a more consumer-driven, pro-market program in the individual market, and a big start toward reforming the bloated and byzantine mess that is the Medicaid program). It gives Democrats some of what they want (money for people who don't have very much of it, plus they don't get splattered by the fallout of Obamacare exchanges melting down). In theory, it could pass.
And in theory, I could play third base for the Yankees, if Joe Girardi were willing to hire me. The truth is that after years of complaining about obstructionism, Democrats have developed a sudden taste for the stuff; there's a substantial faction of both politicians and voters who want the Democrats to stand by and do nothing, nothing, that Republicans might like. And even among those who think they want bipartisan compromise — well, I spend a lot of time listening to those folks, and when you get down to it, frequently their idea of a "compromise" is that they get a huge government program that costs hundreds of billions of dollars, and Republicans get trivial increases in the size of health-savings accounts, and maybe to twiddle with a few of the outer decimal points on growth rates. In other words, what they think is a vision of compromise is too often actually a vision of America ca. 1992, when Republicans were a minority party who had to come begging for crumbs.


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Something was missing from Perry's State of the State message
Published 2:49 am, Thursday, January 31, 2013
After giving his seventh State of the State assessment to Texas' lawmakers on Tuesday, you could readily tell that Gov. Rick Perry was dealing from a position of strength through the state's surging economy.
He boldly accounted for the state's sound financial position and delivered the expected message of conservative themes — small government, low taxes and defiance of Washington.
It is a message that has played well for Perry in Texas but has failed to attract much national attention. But Perry brought a new twist to his State of the State party this time around, recommending $1.8 billion in unspecified tax relief for Texas taxpayers.
It was a stark contrast to his address two years ago when the state struggled with a $27 billion budget shortfall and an anemic economy. Lawmakers responded with deep cuts to education, health care and other programs.
Texas has rebounded from the recession better than most other states, in part because of soaring revenue from oil and gas production. Perry credited conservative policies for the state's success.
Perry also dropped another bombshell, saying for the first time that he supports taking $3.7 billion from surplus to build highways and water facilities. The governor has been reluctant to tap the state's rainy day fund but said the need for water and transportation projects is great and the spending would be a one-time thing. In our view, he is making the right call here.
While Perry extolled the virtues of the state economy and its financial well-being, many Democrats think that Texas under Perry's stingy budgets has badly shortchanged public schools, health care and other programs. They called for restoring deep budget cuts of two years ago.
We are especially concerned about the proper funding of public schools; his message didn't offer much relief for these critical concerns.
In many ways, we would agree with the governor that if the state can be run efficiently on less revenue, the taxpayer should benefit. Perry said Texas has more money than it needs and he called for amending the Texas Constitution to allow the state to return tax money it collects but doesn't spend.
That sounds good in theory, but most of the state's revenue comes from sales taxes, so direct refunds to taxpayers would be difficult. We would like to know more about how this would be accomplished. Naturally, we wonder how much Perry is motivated by the national spotlight or a potential re-election campaign in 2014.
He appeared to steer clear of troubling issues. Although Perry has aligned himself with social conservatives, he didn't mention abortion, gay marriage or other subjects on the agenda of the religious right. He also didn't deal with immigration.
We think Perry played well to his conservative base as a whole but we aren't sure if he really addressed the State of the State as a whole.


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Your cable bill cutting into your grocery bill? You can relax a bit — starting March 1, 2016, Canadian TV providers will be required to offer us a basic package of channels for $25 a month. And if we want more, we'll get the option of ordering our cable "a la carte."
So there's the good news first. But as it turns out, the new model will inevitably prioritize some channels over others. Here's a look at who might lose out under the new model:
More: Vanderpump Rules: 6 Reasons Lala needs to stay away from Jax
Sports fans will have to pay the most when choosing channels a la carte. "Clearly the most expensive (channels) will always be sports," Gary Pelletier, president of the Canadian chapter of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, tells The Canadian Press. "At the end of the day, for sports watchers, their cable bill will probably stay the same or increase, maybe... In the case of someone who doesn't watch any sports at all, their bill will probably decrease."
Smaller channels like W Movies and Cosmo could suffer too — they may face a "subscriber melt," Corus Entertainment president Doug Murphy tells The Canadian Press.
Networks like Bell Media say they're focusing on promoting established favourites, like TSN, Discovery, E! and Space. "We've taken a top-to-bottom review of our portfolio of channels and our first priority was to really make sure that the key brands... are all in their best fighting shape," Tracey Pearce, senior vice president of specialty and pay channels explains to The Canadian Press.
More: 5 Teen Mom 2 spoilers for Season 7
Several U.S. cable channels aren't keen on the new pick 'n' pay model, as it means they'll actually have to fight for subscribers rather than getting them by default. Mario Mota, an analyst for Ottawa's Boon Dog Professional Services tells The Hollywood Reporter that the unbundling of Canadian TV could cause less popular U.S. channels on Canadian TV to suffer from a lack of subscribers, but warns the unbundling will hurt Canadian channels most: "Pick and pay in Canada will not likely break a U.S. channel, but it could (break) some Canadian channels," explains Mota.
Under the pick n' pay model, Canadian channels will have to fight for their mere existence.
Rogers Media's vice president of programming and content, Hayden Mindell, tells The Canadian Press that his survival plan entails focusing on providing the best content he can: "I'm just focused on getting the best shows I can get and trusting that people will — as they have for decades now — continue to go after those shows they really want."
But you know what? Despite the risks, most Canadians would do almost anything to cut down their cable bills. And considering the fact that so many of us are switching over to streaming TV on the Internet, Canadians clearly need to try a new model. Let's just hope we don't lose too much in the process.
And you'll see personalized content just for you whenever you click the My Feed .
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where you can share your stories, ideas
and CONNECT with millions of women.Get Started


text:
Saint John will no longer add fluoride to the city's water.
Despite the urging of dentists and doctors at Monday's meeting of city council, the majority of councillors decided the treatment was not a worthwhile expense and voted to stop the practice.
For Coun. Ray Strowbridge, the decision came down to dollars and cents.
"The business case for the way fluoride is delivered in this city is an epic fail," he said.
City staff reported that last year it cost $177,000 for fluoride to be added to the water system, with people consuming only 1 per cent of the fluoride added.
Coun. Donna Reardon made a motion to continue the treatment.
"It's more holistic than just a budget," she said.
The vote by councillors was tied 5-5, so Mayor Mel Norton had to cast the deciding vote. He voted to stop adding it.
"This is one of those choices that we're forced to make in light of certain financial realities and priorities as a community," said Norton.
"We are trying to be exceptional stewards of the taxpayers' dollars in this city with a view to also being sensitive of providing an exceptional quality of life," said Norton. "As so on that basis, I'll cast my vote with the nays."
Norton reasoned that health care is not a city responsibility and the city's limited dollars should be spent on recreation and roads.
Dr. Jeff Clark, the president of the New Brunswick Dental Society, reacted to the decision by saving he was "very surprised and disappointed that council put dollars ahead of the health of unfortunate children in the community."
Clark says the Town of Oromocto is now the last community in New Brunswick that adds fluoride to water.
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text:
GAIL ahead in truncated tennis final
Bangalore: GAIL led ONGC 1-0 when bad light curtailed play in the final tie of the 33rd Petroleum Inter-unit Tennis Tournament here Wednesday.
After Saketh Myneni put GAIL in the lead beating V.M. Ranjeet 6-1, 6-4, the second rubber was tied at one set all between Vishnu Vardhan and Ramkumar Ramanathan when bad light stopped proceedings.
Ramkumar won the first set on tie-break at 7-6 (0) for GAIL and Vishnu hit back for ONGC taking the second set at 6-4, before play was called off for the day. The match will resume Thursday morning at 9.
Myneni provided a solid start for GAIL when he took the opening set quite easily after breaks of serve in the second and fourth games before Ranjeet managed to win his first service game in the sixth, but could not do much more.
Ranjeet curbed his erratic stroke play in the second set with a much better display and kept passing Myneni with solid returns. In fact, he had a good chance of breaking his rival in the sixth game and had two break points before Myneni rallied to make it deuce with an ace and went on to hold serve.
Myneni then seized a decisive break in the ninth game which saw Ranjeet slump with a double fault and two mishits. Myneni then served out the set for the match that lasted 90 minutes.
The contest between Vishnu Vardhan and Ramkumar provided lot of sparks. The young Ramkumar matched the fire power of his Olympian rival in good measure and in the first set. Both hung on to their serve grimly till the tie-break that Ramkumar won quite comfortably.
Varshan came back strongly to take the second set, at 6-4 with his booming first serve to tie the match when rain clouds triggered bad light, forcing stoppage.
IOCL defeated OIL 2-0 to finish third as Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna beat CS Mohanty 6-3, 6-4, and Vasudev Reddy overcame Anshuman Dutta who retired after losing the first set 3-6.


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I can breed Snivys for anyone that wants one.
I'm looking for any pokemon not catchable in Black or White.
I can breed Snivys for anyone that wants one.
I'm looking for any pokemon not catchable in Black or White.
looking for the japanese pokecenter snivy! will trade any two of the following:
movie reshiram
movie zekrom
movie arceus
movie pichu
movie celebi
wi-fi thunderus and tornadus
gamestop jirachi
fal2010 mew
all untouched, with their original moves
PM me if interested!
White2 FC: 1077 7567 6538
White1 FC: 1507 2540 5128
Always looking for events!
I currently live in Taiwan(GMT+8)
I have Japanese Pokemon Center Tohuko Snivy's for trade. I'm seeking near flawless, or flawless shinys. RNG'd by YOU.
^ Click the userbar for Pokemon Giveaways!
Pokemon Plus | Movie 2011 Giveaway | Legend Pack Giveaway
I have all breedable pokemon and the shinies listed in my sig. Right now I am more looking for legendaries and shinies than the items...Make sure you look at who owns the shinies before offering, For mine I am still looking for jirachi and deoxys but will take some other legendaries and shinies but for Jons I will ONLY accept shinies! Thanks! PM me if you are interested.
Native Vivillon: Polar
Have:Elegant, high planes and Modern. Looking for any others.
Friend safari: Pawniard, liepard and cacturne
Need a female snivy, nothing to offer though..... -_-
I have a lot of Snivy´s that I can give away for free, or for a pokemon from previous gen I don´t have yet.
My pokemon black friend code: 4985 8159 6562
I haven't done any online trading before, but I really want a Tohoku Pokemon Center Snivy. Unfortunately, I don't have much to offer. If you can help me out, shoot me a message.
Me too, is it possible to trade your snivy for any pokemon that i have? I just bought the game today. After many months I'm back to pokemon. Just pm me if you're willing to help me.
Am I need of a Snivy. Can offer ANY starter pokemon. PM if interested.
White FC:1463 9919 7835
Hey I can breed snivys. I am looking specifically for bublasaur, squirtle, Cyndaquil, totodile, turtwig, and piplup. i will look at all offers though. thanks,
My 3DS FC: 3669 - 0527 - 6850
I have some Snivys I'd like to be rid of. I need a vullaby, a tornados, a reshiram and various gen 1,2,3, and 4 pokemon, but I will take most anything.
Pokemon X Friend Code: 0834-2018-2824
Safari: Poison Type
I got a lot of free snivys hanging around, all level 1 just hatched, can train them if you need.
I want/need any starter except snivy, preferably from eariler gens
PM me with any questions or offers
Last edited by kano6913; 30th December 2011 at 12:55 AM.
Offering a Lv 1 hatched Snivy. Nothing special, sorry. Make me an offer, doesn't have to be too amazing. PM me.
I am no longer active. Do not FC or contact me. I won't respond.
Looking for female Snivy, Servine, or Serperior with the ability Contrary. Level and whether or not it is UT makes no difference, it just has to be legit.
I can offer all other starters and just about anything else. I don't breed IVs, but if theres something with a pariticular nature that you want I should be able to breed it. I also have a few spare shiny Rhydon that I could offer. PM me with offers and we can work something out. Thanks!
Spoiler:- Friend Code and Current Breeding Project:
3DS FC: 2922-0216-0446 - IGN: Tony
Currently breeding: Adamant Intimidate Growlithe in Moon balls w/ Close Combat, Flare Blitz, Morning Sun, Crunch
I have a bunch of Snivy's up for trade.
I'm looking for a female Tepig, Oshawott or Zorua. Nature and IV's not important.
Have 2 Male Snivy, just hatched, up for trade. Working on a few more as well.
Looking for all previous starters except Charmander.
Let's make a deal. (Also have a handful of Tepig and Oshawotts)
Legen...wait for it...dary!
Add me for Friend Safari entries.
I hardly battle, breed, or trade. I try to offer even trades when I can, but if you're feeling generous, I'll gladly accept any help in filling my PokeDex.
Seeks - Japanese/American Snivy
Gives - DW Female Gligar, Rotom or Larvitar (+Stealth Rocks)
My friend code. PM me if you want a battle.
I have allot of fresh lv.1 Snivys up for trade.
PM me with your offers.
I have 5 Snivys up for trade. Looking for any other starter. PM me if you want to make an offer.
Last edited by Mshadows; 9th January 2012 at 1:04 AM.
White Friend Code - 2150-8335-7625
Spoiler:- Wanted Pokemon::
, any other gen 1-3 legendaries.
Spoiler:- Needed for Dex:
(will trade back)
Spoiler:- Can Breed:
Can also offer the Musketeer trio
I have snivy's available, just hatched. Looking for a charmander, turtwig, piplup, or cyndaquil. PM me if you want to trade
This request is kind of out there, but I'm looking for a level 100, properly EV'd, Japanese Serperior. I have tons of things to offer including Japanese events. PM me for offers!
Looking for just lv.1 Snivy. Don't care for natures or other stuff. Ill trade one of my hatched Lv.1 Zorua. PM if you want it.
3DS FC: 3239 7352 9608 Sun&Moon IGN: PsychoDon904
Moon is my version of choice so my copy of Sun is pretty much my backup of Breeding pokemon and events.
NOTICE: I have a full time job from Monday - Friday (2pm - 10:30pm) So I'll won't be available If you are interested in whatever trades I'm involved to. Also I won't be active as much here like back in the XY days until I get more Pokemon to breed and offer.
I'm looking for Snivy or any of it's evolutions.. I don't have Black or White yet. I don't have much to offer in return, except that I can breed you a starter from Kanto, Johto, or Sinnoh, as well as most of the Pokemon from Kanto.
I am seeking a Snivy with Contrary, pm me with what you are seeking for it!
Still have a couple Snivy available for trade (as well as a handful of Oshawott (3) and Tepig (5) ). I can't guarantee Nature, Moves, or Ability, but if we can help each other out, let me know. I have a list of other available pokemon on my Visitor Wall as well that I try to keep up to date.
Looking for Cyndaquil, Totodile, Torchic, Chimchar, and Piplup as far as starters are concerned. Also interested in a lot more previous generation pokes.
Legen...wait for it...dary!
Add me for Friend Safari entries.
I hardly battle, breed, or trade. I try to offer even trades when I can, but if you're feeling generous, I'll gladly accept any help in filling my PokeDex.


text:
Eco-Friendly Spa Coupon from Greenbacks
Greenbacks, a new program from the folks at Live Green, offers huge, limited-time discounts to certified green businesses and events.
Their current deal – available until this Friday, June 18th – is $120 worth of spa services at Holeco Medi Spa for just $60 with coupon code vrg1. Holeco Medi Spa, is a beloved, eco-conscious medi spa and healing center that uses only organic and non-toxic products.
To redeem this offer, register at www.greenbacks.livegreen.net, type in vrg1 and you'll only have to pay $60 for a $120 gift card. If you are already a Live Green member, you'll get this price anyway!


text:
Logan Crawford is an Emmy Award winning Broadcaster, Newsman, Actor, and - of course - voice over artist. He's the voice of the world's top companies, including: AT&T, Toyota, Subaru, Southwest Airlines, DuPont, Citibank, Mercury Insurance... and many others! FOX, ABC, NBC, and UPN are among the broadcast networks where Logan has told America's story over the past 2 decades - with a distinct and memorable speaking voice.
English (North American), English
North American
Middle Aged
Special Skills
Audiobooks, Business, Documentaries, Educational, Internet, Movie Trailers, Radio, Television
The World's top companies - from AT&T to Subaru to Target - trust the connection Logan Crawford makes with listeners and viewers
The State University of New York - MA: Communication Arts
Fordham University - BA Communications and Media Studies
The School for Film and TV - Acting
HB Studios - Acting and Voice Overs
Computer & Software
Avid ProTools
Special Equipment
Complete voice over and broadcasting studio
Delivery Methods
Online... email... CD
Turnaround Time
Service Description
Logan Crawford can deliver as much - or as litle - as you need. From a compelling and unique voiceover... to a completely produced spot - including professional prose.
Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, CreativeMarketPowerGroup - Chuck Wall
"Logan is one of the most outstanding guys I have had the opportunity to work with in the crazed business of commercial production. Unlike many actors, Logan takes the lead in understanding the nuances of his character and really puts the client's interests first. Plus, he's funny and that helps bring the work in faster and better." December 22, 2008
Voice Over Clients
AT&T, Toyota, Southwest Airlines, Subaru, Mercury Insurance, Citibank, DuPont, FOX, Columbia Pictures, HBO, AstraZeneca, ABC, NBC... and many others
Payment Terms
Hire Logan as a voice actor. Payment is made through Voices.com SurePay, an escrow service that guarantees your work is done to your satisfaction. Send payment securely by Visa, Mastercard or PayPal through Voices.com then download your files from the website.
Watch a video to see how to make a payment
Next Steps
To contact Logan Crawford about your project, request a quote today. We'll walk you through the process step-by-step. It's fast and easy.
Hire Logan Crawford as a voice actor. Working with Logan Crawford is fast and easy. We'll walk you through the process step-by-step.
Request a quote for your project today.


text:
Oh they look lovely!
Sadly mine seem to have been attacked by slugs but as with everything, lets wait and see!
They are in a sunny spot, had lots of rain recently, but not today so watered them in.
Thank you
That's fantastic!
Thank you sotongeoff. They have such a lovely flower, I didn't realise they were so tough!
I've pinched some of this from my mums garden and it's looking a bit sorry for itself, should it pick up after a few days?
New gardener here so fret about my plants and need all the help I can get
Lots of good advice here for a fellow new gardener, thank you
The Sparaxis are showing their first flowers now, am so pleased! Colourful flowers for free
Did anyone use the offer earlier in the year for the free bulbs from T&M? If so, how are yours getting on?
My Sparaxis look like a couple of them are about to flower, Brodiaea just shoots at the moment as are the Acidanthera and Iris, nothing from the Freesia, Allium Moly or Crocosmia.
This is my first year of gardening so finding my way at the moment but really enjoying it
I took cuttings from two different plants last year and so far they seem to be doing really well. The one that is doing the best was just plonked into the ground!
I saw five different kinds of bumble bee in my garden today, is so lovely to see them. They seem to adore the heucheras and alliums. Have any of you used bee houses for them?


text:
JERUSALEM, Jan. 2 (JTA) — The Knesset this week approved a $58 billion budget for 1997, much to the liking of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Parliament passed the budget Wednesday in a 60-42 vote. It includes huge spending cuts and more funds for Jewish settlements. The budget cuts $2.2 billion from existing programs. It allocates some $9.5 billion for defense, $5.5 billion for education and $3 billion for health. It also includes more than $11 million for Jewish settlements. There was no real controversy in the coalition over the budget itself, in contrast to the vote earlier in the week on the related economic arrangements bill. Netanyahu, who had submitted the budget to the Knesset, acknowledged that some battles lie ahead. Addressing a meeting of industrialists Thursday, the Israeli premier said the government's next challenge is the implementation of the approved spending cuts. In addition, the lawmakers agreed to reduce benefits to discharged soldiers and delay putting a longer school day into practice. But they rejected a Treasury plan to cancel a half-point tax credit for married, working women. The Treasury will now need to find an alternative source to fill its gap of some $90 million.
News Brief


text: Ok so you have basically outfitted yourself with everything in the world you will need for survival in a SHTF situation. You even managed to buy an acre of land nestled away in the hills within 100 yards of a small river that no one ever goes to, to fish. Adding a small trailer to the property and a shed. You have set up everything you might need there. You know your route, alternate route, and alternate alternate route to get to your survival retreat. You have run simulations heading there using all 3 routes and even stored a few supplies along the path that is most likely the way you will take. At home you have your bugout bags ready, weapons and ammo standing tall waiting for the word. But back in you're mind you keep feeling that you have forgot something, but you cannot place just what it is so you unpack bags and repack them checking off everything on the list. This still does not ease your mind as to just what you forgot. You watch and wait for a sign that it is time to head to the hills, and it comes just as you thought it would. So grabbing your bugout bags and weapons/ammo you jump in your truck and head out. Arriving at your safe heaven without an incident. No one knows your there and it is highly doubtful that they will expend the efforts to come looking for people way out in the middle of no where's vile. Three months into the SHTF you are doing extremely well everything is going good for you, when you are down by the river fishing one day suddenly it hits you like a ton of bricks just what you forgot. It would seem you forgot emergency care for dental needs. Now that your tooth is killing you from the Abscess that you did not notice coming on. You wander just what you have to treat it with? Basically this little exercise is to remind everyone to not forget your teeth. If you develop tooth and/or gun problems while you're in the SHTF situation and are not prepared for it you got some real problems. This alone can take you out of action and in extreme circumstances can even result in death. Take care of your teeth and gums today to help prevent future problems, but don't forget to prepare for this happening when you don't need it to. opaww


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Another day, another history teacher who lives in Orange County fighting a case involving sexual relations he had with an underage teen girl from one of his classes in Los Angeles County.
Thursday, it was Anaheim's Steve Andrews, who was convicted of multiple, repeated sexual acts with a 13-year-old girl he taught at Lorbeer Middle School in Diamond Bar. Today, it's Cypress' John Gilbert Orellano, who already pleaded no contest to sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl he taught at California High School in Whittier. Now she's suing him claiming he began luring her when she was 15.
Steven Andrews Guilty of Repeated Molest-y Acts with 13 y.o. Girl He Taught at Middle School
The Whittier Union High School District is also named in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, where the school system is accused of general negligence, negligent hiring and retention of an employee, negligent supervision and breach of mandatory duty.
The now-18-year-old woman's actual complaint states the district should have known Orellano was often alone in his classroom with her and that he should never have been hired in the first place in 2010 due to problems he is alleged to have had at previous schools where he taught.
Orellano, 37, who was also California High's junior varsity boys basketball coach and later resigned from the school district, is accused of sexual abuse of a minor in the suit, which seeks unspecified compensatory damages from him and Whittier Union.
A short time after the then-15-year-old began her sophomore year in the 2011-12, Orellano befriended her, complimented her on her looks and invited her into his classroom at lunch and after school, according to the complaint, which adds she went on to serve as his teacher assistant during her junior year.
This led to an exchange of text messages that, according to the suit, were part of a "calculated plan to have [her] become emotionally attached to him." The texts would eventually become very personal and then quite sexual, the complaint alleges.
The teen eventually believed she was in love with Orellano, and their sexual relationship started early in 2013, states the suit. She was 17 by then.
School administrators found out about the text messages in March of that same year and launched an investigation that led to Orellano being suspended and later resigning. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was also notified, which resulted in an investigation by sheriff's Special Victims Bureau detectives who later booked Orellano at the Norwalk Sheriff's Station in May 2013.
Under a deal with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, Orellano pleaded "no contest" in July 2013 to a felony charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. As part of the agreement, another count of unlawful sexual intercourse and two counts of oral copulation with a minor were dismissed.
In September of that same year, Orellano was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation. He was not ordered to register as a sex offender.
Email: email@example.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!


text:
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- adj. comparative form of giddy: more giddy
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Children often find the dark frightening, but a power outage when you're safe at home can create darkness of a cozier and giddier kind.
If this bill fails again, the insurance industry will be giddier than a multi-million dollar lottery winner ......
I don't think I've ever seen the title character of Bones giddier than on her visit to a body farm this week, with decomposing bodies delighting her at every turn.
I felt giddier and giddier with every passing second, a surreal, exciting thrill ride.
The more outfits Lisa tried on, the giddier she became.
Here it ' s useful to revisit one of the giddier commentaries during the crisis, suggesting Steve Jobs should run the company, as if GM ' s problem all along had been insufficiently gifted management.
Wylie Dufresne greets Marcel and his team at WD-50, where Marcel is giddier than a kid on Christmas morning, and Carla embraces the challenge of marrying her classic approach with Wylie's modern inspiration and style.
I saw someone, actually a fellow Brown student, ask her to sign the crossword puzzle, and she could not have been giddier.
Halloween is my favorite holiday, one that gets me giddier than I already am and truly brings out the kid in me I think the extra sugar rush helps, too.
It falls apart toward the end, when the mature adults turn giddier than their children.


text:
What is this page?
This is a collection guide. It is a description of archival material held in the Special Collections Division,
J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. The materials described here are physically available in our
reading room. To see what's been digitized in this collection, click on the thumbnail at the top right of this page
or look for hyperlinks in the container list and/or the preliminary inventory.
This collection consists of papers which accumulated in a Washington, N.C., office building over a number of years through successive use by various companies.
Most of the correspondence deals with the shipment of merchandise, tracers for misplaced goods, and complaints for overcharge or delay. One letter includes a price list for coffins (1894). Other correspondence concerns expenses for the spring term at Greensboro Female College and mentions some of the subjects being taught (1900).
Other items include shipping papers of the Styron Transportation Company, which operated the steamer
Aurora (1894), and receipts for the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company (1893-1894). Also among the financial papers are various receipts, invoices, and contracts (1890).
Among the miscellaneous items are minutes of the North Carolina Christian Missionary Convention (1891), advertisements, and tickets for the steamer
Many of the items in this collection concern J. A. Burgess, an agent for the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company.
October 2, 1967, Correspondence, receipts, shipping records, church minutes, advertisements, etc. Gift of Mr. Thomas H. Sloan, Washington, N. C.
Gift of Mr. Thomas H. Sloan
No restrictions
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
J. A. Burgess Papers (#22), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Processed by D. Lennon
Encoded by Apex Data Services
This page is only for requesting materials that you wish to view in person in the Reading Room at Joyner Library.
It does not permit you to view the materials online or to request their photoduplication. If you would like to request
materials for photoduplication, please visit our Copying and Permissions page.


text:
Five benefits of using multimedia to build your expert brand in academia and beyond
Our Bookphoria team has just returned from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where we were honored to be part of the STARTALK program. We delivered our presentation on the use of multimedia for academics so that they could build their expert brands to be both in and on demand.
Because of the economic situation and development of technology, more and more academics need to find new ways to promote their courses and programs. Some start information businesses or consulting practices as full-time or part-time options. All academics need to enhance their presentation skills and online visibility to succeed in their professional endeavors. In order to stand out in the crowded industry, academics must position themselves as a known authority in their field. While being subject-matter experts, they often lack marketing skills and may dislike self-promotion.
The good news is that you can build your expert brand without having to push sales on your clients or spend endless hours figuring out how to make social media work for your business. Multimedia storytelling offers a perfect solution to combine what you know and love (education) with effective promotion. In multimedia storytelling, you pair different elements of your expertise with various media platforms to develop engaging content and build unique client experiences by offering your own blend of edutainment.
According to Getty Images statistics (2012), 92% of people want brands to make ads to feel like a story or game. Multimedia solutions allow you to advertise your expertise across multiple channels that your audience already uses to build stronger emotional connections and higher engagement with your business. Here are five benefits of using multimedia to build your expert brand:
- You grow your visibility and influence online.
- You engage your audience and make your presentations appeal to multiple senses and modes of learning by using games, animation, interactive activities, infographics, scenarios and digital stories.
- You leverage your content by re-purposing and remixing publications, video and audio information products, and marketing materials.
- You stock your toolbox with ready-to-use multimedia learning modules to enhance your branding and marketing as you educate your clients.
- You create an engaging and dynamic expert portfolio that showcases your unique strengths and expertise to prospects, conference organizers, as well as potential employers.
Bookphoria is here to help you build your expert brand to be both in and on demand. Sign up for our complimentary consultation at http://bookphoria.com/register-for-your-complimentary-consultation/


text:
The family is one of nature's masterpieces." - George Santayana
It was before lunchtime on a Sunday, and the park had already been crowded when they'd arrived. Emily didn't mind, as she's quickly gotten to speaking to some other moms, while Addy and Nate went to play. It was a new park that her mother had suggested, a place many of her circle took their children. Emily had only bothered going, because it was actually within walking distance from their home.
The playground had a swing set, sandbox, teeter-totters (for big kids and the little ones), and climbing structure with slides, tunnels and whatever else. Addy had looked positively gleeful at the sight, but Nate had been more subdued. He had turned two barely a week ago, and was still very attached to his Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Penelope, who babysat frequently.
Emily glanced toward where the kids were playing in the sandbox, and then tuned back into the conversation. She almost winced as the topic changed to politics.
She was almost thankful minutes later when she heard a soft cry followed quickly by an ear-drum shattering screech. The group of four mothers all turned immediately to the sound, which came from the sandbox. Emily took off toward it.
Addy had her arms around Nate, who was crying quietly, but with big tears sliding down his cheeks. Next to them, a little boy around Addy's age was screaming and crying on the ground. Addy was actually glaring at him. One of the other mothers quickly scooped the boy up.
Emily had a hand on each child, gently stroking Nate's face, when the other little boy spoke.
"Mommy, she punched me!" He was holding his head, crying hysterically, and pointing at Addy.
She looked at her four year-old pointedly. "Addy, is that true?" She nodded, but didn't speak. "Adelyn Morgan, we do not hurt other children, you know better than that!"
"But he was mean, Mommy!"
"It doesn't matter, you do not hit people. Ever. It's not nice. You have to say you're sorry. Now."
Addy screwed up her face. "But he pushed Nate first!"
"Chad, is that true?" The other mother asked her boy.
He was still crying, and nodded through his tears. His mother sighed. "You do not push other children, especially babies. Say you're sorry."
The boy continued to cry, so Emily nudged Addy. "You go first."
"I don't want to." She thrust her little arms over her chest.
Emily stared at her daughter with wide eyes. So strong-willed, and so young. She and Derek were in for one hellish ride. "Addy, why are you behaving like this? You always get along with other kids."
Suddenly, the four year-old let go of her brother, and threw her arms around Emily, who nearly lost her balance and fell back. "Addy? Sweetie, what happened?"
Addy pulled away, and there were no tears, but her eyes were reddening like she was fighting them. "He said that Nate isn't my brother, cause he's brown and I'm not. And, he said Daddy isn't my daddy if he's brown, and that mommies and daddies are supposed to be the same color. He said brown daddies always go away, and that brown kids are stupid. Is Daddy going away, Mommy?"
"No, of course he isn't, sweetie." She held Addy tight against her body, and looked over at the other mother. "I'm not sure where you're son picked that up, but you might want to have a talk with him."
The mother looked miffed. "He's allowed to have his opinions."
"Are you kidding? You're kid's a budding racist, and that doesn't trouble you?"
"And, yours solves problems with violence. Frankly, I think you have the bigger problem, and you know what they say about glass houses."
Emily bit her lip, and amassed a year's worth of patience. "Addy's never hit another kid before today. How many toddlers has your son pushed to the ground? Or perhaps I should rephrase, how many dark-skinned toddlers has your son pushed?"
Before the woman could answer, Emily scooped up Nate, grabbed Addy's hand, and headed back to where she'd parked the stroller. But not before Addy turned back to the boy, and yelled at him. "Nate isn't stupid!"
Emily tugged her along, ignoring the people in the park. She buckled Nate in, and snapped Addy into her cat backpack. The tail was a leash, which Emily had tied around the stroller. Last year, Addy had gotten into a habit of running off, and she and Derek couldn't take anymore of the inevitable panic attacks when the girl disappeared.
Without looking back, they headed straight out of the park, and back home.
Morgan was at the house getting ready for the barbeque they were hosting in the evening. It was part Nate's Birthday party, and part celebrating the last barbeque of the year with the team. He'd pulled hot dogs, hamburgers, shrimp and pineapple kabobs from the refrigerator in their basement to defrost. He'd also grabbed a bag of tater tots for the kids, and was still shucking the corn for the adults. The team was bringing side dishes, and some deserts, and they had an ice cream cake for Nate downstairs.
Domestic life had taken root quickly, and he hadn't really had the time to stop and notice since. What Derek Morgan did know, was that he was a very happy man who loved his family more than anything in the world. Six months ago, they'd put Clooney to sleep, and that was the first time he'd slowed down and really thought about his life. Clooney had been his roommate and pal for so many years, it had hurt like hell to let him go. Addy had cried and clung to Emily. She'd also had tears hanging in her eyes.
That had surprised him a little. He hadn't really expected there to be anyone else to cry over Clooney when he died. But then Addy had happened, and then…god, he still wasn't sure how to explain the trajectory of their relationship.
"Hey, hey!" He yelped, swatting the black cat off the counter. "Those aren't even cooked. Aren't cats supposed to be smart?"
Sergio looked at him, licked his chops, and then swished his tail. Morgan rolled his eyes. "You do not need a snack, glutton."
They'd decided to get a cat as a way to distract Addy from Clooney's loss. Nate didn't really get the old dog, but Addy had loved him. And Clooney had loved her too. He'd gotten into a habit of sleeping on her bed, at least until the end, when it was harder for him to get around, let alone jump on her bed. So, they got Sergio, because a cat would be easier than a dog, and Emily had just liked him.
She'd said he seemed smart. Morgan wasn't so sure about that.
His head bobbed up when the door opened, surprised to see Emily and the kids coming in the door. "Hey," he said. "That was kind of short…"
Emily looked pissed. Addy looked red-eyed. Even Nate looked unhappy.
"Alright, I'll bite. What happened?" He asked.
"Can you put Nate in the living room, and make sure the gate is closed?" She asked.
"Sure." He took his little boy, and bounced him gently to get a smile out of him. Emily was behind him with Addy, making for the attached dining room, as he set Nate by his toys. "Alright buddy, you hang out here a bit while I talk to Mommy."
"Go Mommy," Nate said.
"Yep, that's right. I'm going to talk to Mommy." Then Derek did just that. Emily had Addy on her lap, and the girl was being surprisingly clingy. "You want to fill me in?"
"Our daughter slugged a kid at the park today."
"You did what?" He demanded, looking at the four year-old.
"In her defense, the kid deserved it."
"Emily!" He admonished.
"He did, trust me." So Emily launched into a detailed account of their morning at the park. Morgan grew angry, but though not explosively so. He'd heard worse when he was a kid.
He sighed. "First thing. Adelyn Rose Morgan, you cannot hit other kids. I don't care what the reason is, you don't ever hit anyone. Do you understand me?"
She nodded, and continued to cling to Emily. "I'm sorry, Daddy."
"I know you are, I just need you to know that you can't do that."
"Daddy is right. If another kid if being mean to you or Nate, you need to come and tell Daddy, me, a teacher, or whatever adult is with you. Okay?"
"I promise."
"Good," he said. "Now, as to what that boy said. Kids can be really mean, but that doesn't mean what they say is true. Most mommies and daddies are the same color, but not all. You know Grandma Fran is white, and you've see pictures of Grandpa Joseph, and he's darker than me, right?"
Addy nodded.
"And, even though Grandma Fran is white, both your aunts and I are all dark-skinned, just like Nate is, even though Mommy is white."
"Why don't I have dark-skin?" She asked.
"Well, because you look like Mommy." And, she did too, more and more everyday.
"And Nate looks like Daddy," Emily added.
Addy looked thoughtful, and then turned to him. "And you aren't going away, Daddy?"
That made his chest hurt. He opened his arms, and waved his little girl over into his arms. Addy cuddled close to him, and Derek held her tight. "I'll never, ever leave you, Little Princess."
"I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, angel." He kissed her and then sent her to play with Nate. He turned to Emily. "Well, this day is starting off well."
Morgan could feel the warmth of the sun against his head as he stood manning the grill, beer in one hand, spatula in the other. His backyard was filled with happy chatter and the squeals of young children. Five years ago, though it may have sounded nice, this scenario wasn't something he considered a possibility. Not when there were always killers to catch, rapists to chase down, and pedophiles to lock behind bars. Not when a very similar job had left him fatherless at ten, and his mother a grieving, struggling widow.
Some days worrying about that still got to him. He wanted to watch Nate graduate college, and walk Addy down the aisle at her wedding. Derek had walked Sarah down himself at her wedding three years ago, and he figured he'd do the same for Desi. He didn't want Nate to have to walk Addy, to have to be the man of the house way too young. He didn't want to leave Emily to care for the kids alone and cry herself to sleep, like his mother had done nearly every night for a year.
But looking at the three of them now, despite those risks, he wouldn't change anything.
"Make sure those burgers are cooked through, undercooked meat is responsible for 60% of food poisoning cases."
He turned to find Reid beside him, sipping a cocktail in a tumbler. "Thank you, genius."
"You're welcome," he said, smirking. Morgan rolled his eyes.
"So, this is where all the testosterone is." Rossi appeared, Hotch beside him, both carrying beers.
"It's a cookout, man. Where else would the guys be?"
"I half expected Prentiss to be grilling," Hotch said.
"Hey hey now, we may wear the pants equally, but I am still the man of the house." Morgan shot him a look and flipped a burger.
"I still can't believe how much Addy looks like Emily," Rossi, though now Grandpa Dave to the kids.
"Oh believe it. More everyday. And not just in the coloring and her face, she's tall and thin like her mama too."
Reid squinted and studied the little girl, who was running around with Jack and Henry. "Actually…how tall is she?"
Morgan raised his eyebrows. "41 inches last time we took her to the doctor."
"When was that?"
"Just after her birthday."
Reid scratched his chin, and Morgan exchanged looks with their amused colleagues. Then the genius spoke. "Assuming she grew a half an inch in the last month, Addy is only in the 83rd percentile for a girl her age, Emily is in the 92nd for an adult female. Addy could make that up by the time that she's an adult, but at the moment, she doesn't quite have her mother's build. Although…she probably does for weight. What's—"
"Oh, no. No, Reid. Emily hears you talking about her weight, and I'll be roasting our testicles on this grill." Derek Morgan was raised with ladies, and he knew his girl. You do not talk about a woman's weight unless you are a masochist.
Rossi chuckled. "The fact still remains, she looks like her mother. You'll have your hands full, Derek."
He nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it. Beautiful and curvy, that's what she's going to be."
"I think about high school, and I'm grateful Jack is a boy." Hotch shook his head.
"Oh don't worry. I've got that taken care of."
Rossi cocked his head nervously. "What did you do? You didn't pre-order a chastity belt or something did you?"
"Of course not. I just went down to the local Sports Authority, and picked myself up a brand new, 34 inch, maple Louisville Slugger." He'd stashed it in the attic the day he'd realized just how much his little girl looked like Emily.
Reid frowned. "What are you going to do with a baseball bat?"
Morgan looked over his sunglasses at the younger man. "Any teenage boy puts his penis anywhere near my daughter, and I will make sure he becomes intimately acquainted with my brand new Slugger."
Hotch smiled and Rossi chuckled. The older man looked at the Unit Chief. "Keep your law license active, you may be providing a criminal defense in ten years."
"Ten? If it's only ten years, you better believe that kid is ending up in the hospital." He knew kids were having sex younger and younger, but not his, certainly not a 14.
"Like I said, keep it active." Rossi smirked.
"Grateful I have a boy," Hotch repeated.
Emily appeared then. "Hey guys. Derek, how's the food coming?"
"Burgers and hot dogs are done. We can start the kids eating, while I finish up with the shrimp kabobs."
"Okay good, Nate is starting to whine, and I'm starting to sympathize with your mother."
"I was a growing boy. No matter what my sisters tell you."
"Of course you were, dear," she teased, pecking him on the cheek. She turned to Hotch. "Can you help me with these plates?"
He nodded and helped her carry the food toward the tables.
Morgan turned to Rossi. "Can you check the cooler for me, see if we need to put more drinks in it?"
"Sure, beer and juice inside?" Morgan nodded. Emily was adamant about not giving the kids soda. When they went out, sure, but never at the house.
"Reid, you want to try and get your Goddaughter to eat?" Addy was the exact opposite of her brother. While he gobbled food like he hadn't seen it in days, Addy was always too busy with something to sit long enough to finish a full meal.
"What makes you think I can get her to eat?"
"Well, Em, Rossi and I have all failed. I figure you're worth a shot, besides, she likes you." Emily had told her once that Uncle Spencer had saved both their lives, so now she had a special affection for her Godfather, her hero.
"I guess I can try…" Reid walked away then, face screwed up with uncertainty.
Morgan chuckled to himself. The kid had his work cut out for him.
Emily had fastened a bib around Nate's neck, hoping to protect his clothes as he ate. He had a habit of eating quickly and because of that, somewhat clumsily. She adored her son, but as easy as Addy had been, he was turning out to be that much harder. At the moment, he was shoveling a forkful of pasta salad in his mouth, while the other hand stood at the ready with a piece of hotdog.
Garcia chuckled. "Is there anything he doesn't like, Em?"
She thought about that. "Tofu. I gave it to him once, and he spit it out like it was poison."
"That's because it practically is poison." She looked up to find Derek with the shrimp kabobs and a cheeky grin.
Emily rolled her eyes, and looked at her son. "Yep, just like your Daddy."
Nate shoved another piece of hotdog in his mouth. He put away a lot of food, but it didn't show. He burnt it all off trying to keep up with Addy.
For the next several minutes they settled into a quiet hum as food was passed around, and the adults began eating. The four kids continued nibbling their food, oblivious to the action around them.
"Oh god, Emily, these shrimp kabobs are amazing." JJ said, holding up the kabob she was working on.
"Yes, they are. Even Jack likes them," Hotch nodded to his son.
"Oh, I didn't make them." Emily smiled.
The whole table turned to look at Derek.
"What?" He demanded. "My sister gave me the recipe."
"Is domestic life turning you into Martha Stewart?" Rossi asked, smirking so hard it must have hurt.
Derek sighed. "I have two kids to feed, and we share the cooking. When I run out of ideas, I call Sarah. The woman is an encyclopedia for food."
"He's right," Emily came to his rescue. "She has saved us many times."
"Well, pass this recipe onto me, Morgan." JJ had nearly finished her kabob.
Will smiled at her and drawled. "I see a lot of shrimp and pineapple in my future."
"If you prefer, I could feed you chicken nuggets or spaghetti and meatballs, like Henry." Will chuckled and kissed her on the cheek.
"Oh Morgan, I wanted to ask you," Rossi began. "I heard a rumor the other day about your unit doing regional trainings for local police departments?"
"Yeah, they're going to be sending us around the country to explain HSKs."
He used the abbreviation, as they'd gotten into the habit of doing around the children, and he used it unenthusiastically. That project would force him to be away for weeks at a time. Emily was stressed at just the thought of handling the kids by herself.
"Do they really need all of you? Can't they send your team without you?" Garcia asked.
"There's four of us, and we'll be traveling in pairs. So yeah, they need me," he said.
The tech turned to her then. "Then what happens if you get called out on a case?"
Emily sighed. "We're still trying to figure that out. I might ask Fran to come stay while he's away."
"Oh, bet she'd love that, seeing so much of her little grandbabies."
She nodded. That was part of the reason Emily was leaning toward the idea, that and it would mean she didn't have to stress about if they got a case or not. It still needed a bit of discussion though, and firm dates for when he'd be out of town.
"Reid, did she actually eat all of that?" Derek suddenly asked. Emily looked first to him, then to Reid and Addy. Her daughter's burger and sides were mostly gone, and she was gulping the last of her juice.
Reid nodded. "She seems to like everything."
"How did you do that?" Emily asked. The genius offered only a bewildered shrug. Emily glanced at Derek with raised eyebrows, before turning back to Reid and smiling. "You have a standing invite to dinner here. Anytime."
After dinner was cleaned up, and everything had died down a bit, Emily found herself being dragged away by Derek. Everyone else was occupied and didn't notice him leading her toward around the side of the house. Emily gave a little gasp when he pushed her up against the wood siding of their house, and pressed his mouth against hers in a breath-stealing kiss. She reciprocated, her tongue running over his bottom lip, and sliding between his lips. Derek tangled one hand up in her hair, and held her close with the other.
When he finally broke away, Emily offered him a dimpled grin. "Did we just sneak away to make out?"
He smiled back, charm oozing from every pore. "Not quite, though I won't say I didn't want to do that all day."
"How's that different from any other day?" Maybe it was because they hadn't been together long, but even with two kids, their libidos were healthy and active.
He pecked her on the lips. "I actually brought you over here for the peace and quiet. There's something I've been trying to do, trying to say for a couple months now."
"Oh, am I going to like it?"
"I sure hope so." He cleared his throat though, and she noticed how his blink rate suddenly increased and a thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. Emily went to open her mouth to ask him what he was so nervous about, but found a fingertip pressed a against her lips.
"Let me get this out before you say anything, okay?" Emily nodded, and watched him swallow.
"Eight years ago you walked into my life. And one morning you spilled coffee all over yourself, and told me you were a nerd. I realized at that moment that I could fall in love with you." Her mouth opened slightly, but he shook his head. "And don't give me that "'I'm about to run for the hills' look, Emily. I said I could, I didn't say I did, so relax." He cleared his throat again. "Now, after I had that thought, I immediately squashed it. You were my partner, and honestly, I knew you could do a whole lot better than me. But then, a few years later something so amazing happened."
She raised her eyebrows, and he grinned. "You popped out our daughter on the jet. She was so tiny, and you were so scared, but you were both so beautiful. And, when I held her that first night in the NICU," he paused, and she'd swear she saw tears in his eyes. "I knew that I was meant to be her father. I don't know how, I just felt it." Derek inhaled. "And after that, those old feelings they started coming back, and it was harder to ignore them. I couldn't tell you when it happened, it might have even been before Addy was born, in fact, it probably was, but I fell in love with you. And, I'll tell you, I'm the luckiest bastard in the world, because you fell for me too. Then two years ago this past Wednesday, you gave me a son."
He stopped again, turning his head away, and this time she was sure he was blinking away tears. She was struggling to keep it together too.
Derek moved the arm he'd had around her waist, and when he looked back at her, there was a velvet box in his hand. He opened it to show her a diamond on a white gold band, flanked on either side by small sapphires. "Eight years ago, I knew I could fall in love with you, but I never imagined how happy I would be. If I had known, I'd have said to hell with it all, and swept you off your feet years ago. That's why today, I want to tell you that I want this forever. I want to everyday for the rest of my life to be spent with you. So Emily, will you marry me?"
Instead of trying to answer around the tears caught in her throat, Emily threw her arms around him, and held him tightly. She managed to whisper a choked "Yes," between breaths.
After she'd gotten herself together, she pulled away, and allowed him to slip the ring on her finger. He held her hands, and Emily smiled at him through the tears still in her eyes. "Do you remember that case we had in Kansas City several years ago, a bunch of homeless people went missing, it turned out that some guy had an H.H. Holmes inspired death house?"
He nodded, but his eyebrows were arched in confusion. "Yeah, that one was pretty sick."
Emily nodded. "We went out canvassing together, and ran into this old woman. She was dragging around a shopping cart, and smelled like she hadn't bathed in months. You told her to be careful." She smiled. "You said that God needs all of his beautiful ladies. That was the moment I realized I could fall in love with you. You are the kindest, sweetest guy I know, and you'll do just about anything to protect anyone, no matter who they are. And sometimes, that scares the hell out of me, because I'm afraid it's going to get you killed one day." She stopped and wiped tears from her eyes.
"But, that's so much of why I love you. You challenge me and you inspire me, and I never imagined the fulfillment I'd find in our life together, or the comfort I'd find being with you. I never had anyone to depend on growing up, and I spent most of my life that way, but with you, I can be in your arms and just breathe, and for that moment, everything will be okay. I never knew what 'safe' really meant until I met you, I'm not even sure I really knew what 'love' meant either. And, I can't even imagine saying 'yes' to anyone but you."
Derek captured her lips again, this kiss even more passionate than the first. His arms wound around her hips and upper back, and Emily had one arm around his shoulders and her opposite hand touching his face. She felt her back hit the house as he backed her into it, and couldn't find the will to care. His groin was pressed up against hers, and she could feel her body growing hot. She had the fleeting thought about yanking her pants down there and then, but they were fortunately interrupted by a chuckle.
They broke apart, and when Derek moved more toward her side, she saw Rossi standing there, smirking at them. "So this is where you two got off to. Snuck away to make out like a couple of teenagers?"
"Not quite," she said.
"That part was definitely fun though," Derek added. Emily rolled her eyes at him. He shrugged, and she met his eyes for a seconds-long silent conversation. Then she held up her left hand so Dave could see the ring.
His smirk turned to a wide smile, and he soon pulled Derek into a hug, patting his back, before moving onto Emily, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek. Then he stepped back and looked at them happily. "Avere una famiglia significa avere qualcuno da amare, avere una casa significa avere un posto dove andare, averli entrambi è una benedizione."
Derek leaned close to her. "Uh, what did he say?"
"It's a proverb. Someone to love is family, somewhere to go is home, and both is a blessing."
They took it for what it was, part "congratulations" and "don't fuck it up", and intertwined their hands. Emily was only a tinge nervous. This was big, but it was right. They hadn't screwed up yet at least.
"We should get back," Rossi said. "People are looking for you guys. The birthday boy is starting to nod off on his favorite aunt's lap, we think it might be time for the cake."
"Right, we should do that." Then she turned to Derek. "You are responsible for keeping Garcia reigned in on wedding plans."
He gaped. "No one can keep that woman reigned in on anything, except maybe Hotch."
They shared a look, and a grin. Dave chuckled. "Poor Aaron."
Derek Morgan was feeling happy and a little lighter as he held his fiancé's hand when they rejoined the group. It took less than a minute for Garcia to see them, and spot the ring. Her eyes widened, and her mouth erupted in a squeal that jolted Nate awake with a startled cry.
He saw Emily and wiggled his arms. "Mommy! Mommy!"
She picked him up and kissed his head. Garcia was cringing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare him, but oh my god! Is that why you guys disappeared?"
"Oh my god what?" JJ demanded. "What's going on?"
Garcia pointed to Emily's left hand, which was running over Nate's curly hair. Then she squealed again, though this one far more subdued.
JJ chuckled at Garcia, and moved from her spot leaning against Will to hug both her friends. "Congratulations, guys. And Derek, nice job with the ring. It's gorgeous."
He smiled. "Thank you."
After everyone offered their congratulations, the party became more subdued again as he and Garcia went to get the cake. He'd pulled it out of the freezer, and was removing it from the box when Garcia suddenly touched his arm. He set the cake on the counter and turned to her.
"God Derek, I'm so happy for you. I'm so happy that you and Emily found each other, and that you let yourself fall for her. I know it isn't easy for you to trust anyone, so I know what it means that you let someone into your heart." She paused and touched his face, her voice trembling with emotion. "You, my brave, strong knight, who will never admit to being the hero you are, I always knew you needed someone who could be the hero when you weren't feeling strong enough. I might be your solace, but Emily is your rock, she is your place to be vulnerable, and your port when the waters get too rough to sail. I think you guys were already sort of that before you got together, and it makes me so happy that you've finally gotten to this point." She wiped away tears and sobered up a bit, and smiled. "I know she'll take good care of my dark knight."
Derek smiled at her and took her hands. "Thank you, babygirl. That means a lot." He glanced behind him, satisfied that everyone was still busy. "Now, I'm going to tell you right now, the ceremony is going to be small—" He held a finger up when she went to speak. "Small, Garcia. But, I'm pretty sure I'm still going to need a Best Man. I was thinking of switching that to be a Best Woman though."
He watched her mouth open and eyes widen as she caught his meaning, and then her tears started again. She waved her hands at her face, as if that would stop the tears. "Oh, of course, I will!"
He barely stayed upright as she leapt at him, and hugged him. Derek chuckled to himself, and patted her back. "I think we better be getting this cake out there before it melts."
"Oh right, of course. Let me get the candles set up." She pulled away and stuck two candles on the cake, lighting them with a kitchen lighter.
Derek carried it out, and put it in front of where Emily was sitting holding Nate. He looked wide-eyed at the flames, and when he reached a hand out, Emily quickly pulled it back.
"No fire, Nate." She helped him to stand on her legs. "Okay, you need to blow out your candles now. Like this." She imitated blowing.
Nate watched his mother with a blank face, but then turned to the cake, and offered a blow heavily laced with spit. The candles were still lit.
"Nice," Kevin said, who was standing with his arms around Garcia. "Spit cake."
Morgan chuckled, while Emily winced. She spoke to Nate. "How about Mommy helps you? Is that okay?"
His little head went up and down, so Emily leaned forward and blew out the two candles. Everyone clapped, and Emily handed him the knife.
"Cake," Nate said. "Want cake."
"Yeah Buddy, this is your cake, so you get the first piece." He cut his son a slice that was reasonable for a two year-old, and handed it to Emily with a spoon.
She had Nate sit down again, and then held the plate for him, while giving him the spoon. Morgan had gone back to cutting when he heard her sigh. "Oh, Nate…"
The team all started laughing, and he turned to see Nate had dove into his piece of cake with a hand, and shoved a chunk messily into his mouth. He stuck his hand in his cake again, and stuffed it into his mouth, smearing chocolate all over his face.
Emily dropped the spoon back on the table, and shook her head with a laugh. Derek met her eyes, and grinned.
Everyone had gone home, the backyard and kitchen were cleaned, the kids were bathed and in bed, and Emily was so damn tired she could collapse right there and then. Derek came into the bedroom from their bathroom, walking stiffly.
"God, let's not do that again for a few months. Sometimes all this is harder than a case."
She nodded. "I would rather bust into the house of another delusional, cannibalistic serial killer than try to get Nate in a bath, or Addy out of one."
Derek chuckled. "Yeah, but this is more fun."
"True." She smiled.
He came around to where she was sitting on the bed, putting lotion on her arms, sat beside her, and wrapped his arms around her. "You know coming up in a couple weeks, we've got another important date."
She frowned, and tried to think. "I'm at a loss, unless we've got a third kid no one told me about."
He laughed. "No, two is plenty. Two Saturdays from now, four years ago, you asked me to officially adopt our daughter."
"Huh, I guess so." She leaned into him.
"That was the first commitment I made to our family. You and Addy."
"Yeah you. We can kid ourselves about it, Em, but there was more between us than Addy even then. I think we were the only who didn't see it."
She sighed. "We were figuring things out the best we could."
"We were, and I think we did pretty well at that. I have no regrets, and I can't imagine I ever will."
She tilted her head and kissed him. "Neither do I. We probably could have done things more easily, though."
Derek laughed. "Yeah, definitely. I overheard some cadet talking the other day about the woman who went into labor on the BAU jet. He said the story had to be complete bullshit."
"Pssh, shows what he knows."
He kissed her head. "I want to do something special that Saturday. A new tradition, maybe."
Emily looked at him. "You have something in mind?"
"I was thinking a nice dinner, but I don't imagine that will work with a two year-old and a four year-old in tow. Maybe, we can take the kids to a zoo or museum?"
She thought about that. "Or…we could take the kids out during the day, and then leave them with their Auntie Penelope, while we go to a nice dinner. They'd be in bed by the time we got home."
Derek smiled and swallowed, as she rubbed his thigh suggestively. "Hmm, that sounds like a very good plan."
She kissed him softly on the lips, and all the heat from earlier rekindled like it had never been put out. Within minutes, she was straddling him as he lay on the bed, working the button out of his jeans. Derek's hands were underneath her shirt, slowly traveling the expanse of her back. When his fingers hit her bra, he let out a frustrated sigh.
"You're wearing one of those front closing ones again."
Emily stopped working on his pants, and quickly unhooked her bra. "I don't know why they annoy you so much."
"They trip up my moves."
She chuckled. "I already know all your moves."
His eyes twinkled at the challenge. "Oh, you think so do you?"
Suddenly, they were rolling and she was pinned beneath him. He wiggled his pants off, and then tugged hers down, as his lips found her neck. She inhaled sharply, and his lips moved only long enough to get his shirt over his head. He kissed over her throat and collarbone, hands running over her legs, fingertips barely brushing the fabric of her panties. She was soaking wet already.
When her top and bra were out of the way, his lips moved to her breasts, and her back arched into his touch. She was already breathing heavily, and not to be outdone, reached a hand into his boxers. His breath in was sharp, and his movements over her froze. Her fingers gently teased his tip, and ran along his shaft.
"God woman," he muttered.
She smiled and kissed him, continuing her ministrations until his fingers slipped into her panties. Her body tensed and flushed with heat as he stroked her, and she set her hand to go to work again, but this time a bit faster. It was only minutes until they reached their limit, and underwear came off. She gasped as he slid inside her, and wrapped her legs around his back, linking her ankles.
Hands on his back and shoulders, she rocked with his rhythm and kiss his mouth as they built intensity. He quickened his pace, and she made hers match, breaking the kiss to breathe. Emily pulled him close, and flicked her tongue over his collarbone. He moaned. His pace grew even faster, pushing her body closer and closer, pushing his own body closer. His timing was always good, she hit her peak when he hit his, their bodies tensing with their climax.
They flopped together in a mess on the bed, his body partially covering hers. After a few minutes of catching their breath, he rolled off her, and she rolled onto him, curling up against him.
"I love you," she said.
He kissed her head. "I love you too."
Okay here it is, the last Addy story. I'm happy, relieved and a bit sad all at the same time. I've been writing this series for almost two years, so it feels a bit odd to let it go. But, it's good. I can move on to write other things now. I really enjoyed taking this little journey with you all, and want to thank everyone who read, favorited or reviewed any of the stories in the series. Without that, it wouldn't have gotten this far. I hope this rather long epilogue didn't disappoint.
The Addy Series is officially complete.


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Silently Stylish
We don't care if Brad is in Black Label, Clooney is clad in Valentino or if Woody shuffles down the red carpet in Reeboks. The actor we'll be watching most closely at Sunday's Oscarfest is a fictional one: George Valentin.
Well, more accurately Jean Dujardin, the actor portraying him in "The Artist." Concocted from a picture-perfect mix of swash (think Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., as Robin Hood, Zorro or the Black Pirate), smolder (his near-namesake Valentino in anything), and the endearingly silly (think Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood in full "Dueling Cavalier" mode), Dujardin's performance as the eponymous artist has propelled him from well-known Gallic farceur to sensational international leading man in true Old Hollywood style.
And style, in fact, has more than a little to do with his ascendance. (Take a look at him doing some major smoldering of his own on the cover of this month's French GQ, suave in «un smoking» by Armani.) While critics point to his fizzy physical comedy, his loving embodiment of stars of a bygone era or that nifty pencil mustache, we think they're silently barking up the wrong tree.
The buzz in the D.net screening room has more accurately nailed the secret of Dujardin's (and George's) screen success: This is a guy who can truly work a set of tails. In fact, we can't remember any performer since Astaire for whom a full-dress suit has done so much—and vice versa.
White tie is Valentin's armor, his avatar and a mode of dress that ties up his identity as onscreen star and private man. Recall the monumentally scaled portrait of a formally clad George that looms over his mantle and later makes a surprising and haunting reappearance. Or starlet Peppy's sweet interlude with his tailcoat, in which she dreamily rehearses what it might be like to be in George's arms.
For us, the scene (and it's one of the few that Uggie hadn't a chance of stealing) that captures Dujardin's performance at his most assured and moving takes place when an on-the-skids George is mesmerized by a set of tails in a haberdasher's window. Trying to fit his own reflection on the mannequin's torso to recapture the briefest glimpse of his sartorial glory, Dujardin lets us see George's pride, loss, vanity and heartbreak—a medley of emotions that requires, like "The Artist" itself, not a sound to convey its music.