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2009Q1 Reports: Office
Priscilla Rasmussen 12 January 2009
ACL Business Office Report
First, all the best to everyone throughout 2009 and, my sincere thanks for my contract renewal and raise…much appreciated!
Graeme Hirst and I continue working on setting up a good system for transferring financial information back and forth and getting our accounting scheme in place.
John Kirby, my assistant, continues to be invaluable to me in many aspects of keeping the office, memberships and publications in order. Mainly, though, as many of you have seen when he accompanies me to our conferences, I am finding bringing him along when possible allows me greater freedom to attend meetings, put out logistical fires, and do all those things I need to do but am torn in half when trying to also manage the registration desk full time. So far, I have only brought John to meetings I was able to drive to and had negotiated his stay as part of the hotel contract (or got agreement to use some of our earned credit nights) so his involvement would not cost anything to ACL other than his working hours. Of course, I'd really benefit from having him come to both Boulder and Singapore but hadn't wanted to introduce more costs to the conferences. If possible, though, bringing John along (if he can come) would be excellent!
Our Office three-year lease comes to an end as of April 1st. Within the lease is an option of two one-year extensions "at no more than 5% increase per year". I intend to work with the realtor to lock in the first year (2009/10) option at the best (lowest) possible rate. It occurs to me that, beginning April 1, 2010, I might make three rooms in my home available as the office (Graeme and Kathy McCoy have both seen my space at home). This would reduce the ACL Office rent as well as making it more convenient for me. I mention this just as a possible option for the future for you to mull over since my expectation is that less space will be required to house fewer hardcopies of both the journals and conference publications.
Regarding moving the office to my home, first some background: ACL has always paid 75% of the office rental; AMTA pays 10%; ARCS (my company) pays 15%. These percentages were derived based upon the amount of time I spend on ACL and AMTA activities and the remainder covers whatever other events I might pick up through ARCS (Digital Government Society, WISE, ISI, etc). So, currently:
$850 Rent = $630 ACL/$85 AMTA/$135 ARCS (expected increase April 1st to $900 = $675 ACL/ $90 AMTA/$135 ARCS) Plus security system (around $400/year) and electric utilities (around $1,000/year) Yearly ACL office rental cost = $630 X 12 = $7,560 + $400 + $1,000 = $8,960 ACL currently pays separate phone/fax/internet regardless of where the office is located
If we were to use my loft and its closets as the "main office", one bedroom as storage/mailing/etc. that must always be accessible, and half my barn for historical and publication storage, this equals about 600 sq ft of my 2000 sq ft. So, with the same 75% ACL, 10% AMTA, and 15% ARCS of the 30% of total sq. ft. space:
30% of $1,763/month I pay for my house = $528.90/month 75% ACL = $396.67 Plus 25% of electric monthly average of $185 = $52 X 75% = $39 So, ACL's monthly portion would be $396.67 + $39 = $435.67 = $435.00 Presumes house security and water are part of my household expenses and not chargable; ACL continues to pay phone/fax/internet
So, ACL would stand to save about $311.66/month = $3,739.92/year or $11,000+ over the next 3 years.
Publications: Publications orders seem to have leveled off to only a small amount per year now. We have a few "standard" book resalers who faithfully order small quantities of the newest publications but have very few orders from the membership these days. And, we have almost no requests for workshops or older copies of main conference proceedings (I think there were only 1-2 older main proceedings ordered in all of 2008). So, I believe we need to further reduce our hardcopy ordering for future conferences. And, by the end of the month, the online Publications Order Form will be updated to reflect our newest publications, including Coling 2008.
Membership: I will summarize here the important points of the two spreadsheets I have sent to this group as excel files: Total membership at the end of 2008 was 1602, comprised of 1137 Regular, 463 Student, and 2 Unknown type members. Three took advantage of the ISCA discount to first-time members and eight were from hard-currency problem countries. The worldwide composition is 214 Asia/Pacific Rim, 59 Canada/Mexico, 439 Europe, 10 South America and 880 USA. Conferences generated memberships as well as through direct membership applications: 426 through ACL 2008 and 110 through EMNLP 2008.
We had a record-breaking total of 2,123 members in 2006. For 2007, after taking out fraudulent and conference no-shows who did not pay at all, we ended the year with 2,104 total members. Sadly, my optimism of coming close to the 2,000 mark did not materialize by the end of 2008. Our final membership count is 1,602. My best guesses of why we see this slippage in members are that NAACL hosted ACL this year and did not hold its own event and EACL did not hold a European conference in 2008 either. Conferences seem to generate quite a lot of one-time members who must become members to attend our meetings. For example, ACL 2007 in Prague totaled 1082 registrants, of which 533 were one-timers who did not renew for 2008. Another approximately 250 registrants from 2006 Coling/ACL renewed only for 2007 but not again for 2008. It seems many of these were Europeans who do go to Colings and EACLs moreso that to US-held meetings. We had 425 brand new memberships in 2008, most of whom attended either ACL 2008 or EMNLP 2008 and will hopefully renew for 2009. I would expect in 2009, with three conferences, one in each geographic area of the world we represent, our membership should increase over the 2008 numbers.
We begin 2009 with the multi-year members who carry over into 2009 plus some anxious renewals that have come in even before our online membership form has been updated. The total membership for 2009 now stands at 254. The membership form should be updated online within the next week or so. And, lastly, with our changes to memberships and benefits and the decision to eliminate the Joint membership option, I want to let you know there were only 22 such memberships to be effected.
Walker Fund: Thanks to the Executive for their approval of increasing Student Travel Awards funding beyond the previously typical 1-3 Walker Fund awards (basically never exceeding 10% of the roughly $30,000 in the Walker Fund account). I received a total of 34 applications for Student Travel Awards and was able to extend the $10,000 to make meaningful awards to 14 students. Unfortunately, two students were from China and, in the end, could not get visas to attend the conference.
ACL 2008 in Columbus ended with a final count of 804 total registrants. The last of the invoices was recently paid so we can begin to finalize the bookkeeping. I believe there should be a reasonably healthy surplus.
EMNLP 2008 in Hawaii was also a success with a final registration count of 227. Holding EMNLP immediately following AMTA 2008, in the same hotel, resulted in a good amount of "cross-pollination" which helped the attendance at both meetings.
The planning for ACL/IJCNLP 2009 in Singapore continues; I expect my involvement to intensify in the coming months.
EACL 2009, to be held in Athens, Greece, promises to also be a wonderful meeting. The Office continues to provide advice and support as requested. Registration opened mid-December.
And, NAACL 2009, in Boulder, Colorado, will be an exciting meeting, with the beautiful mountains surrounding our venue. The planning and budgeting is shaping up quite nicely and most everything is now in place.
The Office has also been heavily involved in negotiating the final NAACL 2010 contract for Los Angeles and this contract is now in place. My next steps are to finalize the Banquet contract with the Library which is nearby the hotel. Also, in April 2009, Jan Hajic and I will conduct the ACL 2010 site visit to Uppsala, Sweden. Joakim Nivre is pulling together a site visit agenda for us now. And, Ido Dagan has just issued the ACL 2011 Call for Bids so, hopefully soon, we will have those proposed bids for review.
Conference Sponsorship:
I am very pleased to report that, for ACL 2008, we received commitments totaling $33,000 which is a very healthy amount of support, indeed! Additionally, two workshops (BioNLP and SIGdial) found their own support of their 2008 workshops, totaling $5,250. EMNLP 2008 received support from Google in the amount of $4,000 and $500 from Microsoft. Many thanks to all sponsors who helped to make our conferences and workshops successful!
Unfortunately, so far for the three 2009 conferences, non-local support has been very slow to materialize, although I have just received a Gold Level ($5,500) sponsorship check from the Rosetta Stone for NAACL 2009 (through Martha Palmer and the local team) and have invoiced CNGL for a 3-pack sponsorship.


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What to do if you are a LGBTQ Student and Bullied… Infographic
For a lot of LGBTQ students, those perceived to be LGBTQ and the friends of LGBTQ students, bullying is a serious reality. But that doesn't mean it can't be stopped. You have a legal right to be who you are … Continue reading →

subset: commoncrawl


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This iconic barber shop sign themed vibrator sleeve is prepared to shave your lustful cravings. It utilizes a small silver bullet style vibrator. Suggest printing at .2 mm layer height with supports. Due to variations in printers you may want to use some electrical tape to make sure the vibrator is snug in its hole. Warning: this design may require quite a bit of work to remove the supports and sanding if you do not have a dual extruder equipped with PVA dissolvable filament.
36 mm diameter, 150 mm tall


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Mango Love[CD]
~ Esther & Howard
Product Notes
The Music... In the context of music making and playing, Esther and Howard are a couple from opposite sides of the world who share the same love for and style in playing music. Their guitar dialogue is a mixture of finger picking and dynamic strumming within a framework of folk-pop songs. Energy, Communication and Feeling are the primary aspects. Duality in balance - masculine and feminine - structure and improvisation - loud and soft - fast and slow - thought and feeling. Lyrically, the theme is most often reflecting the state of heart within the domain of relationship - a fancy way of saying: They play original Love Songs The Album... "Mango Love" - is Esther and Howard's upcoming release. The addition of gorgeous cello competes the triangle on the album - this comes from the delightful Adrianne Wininsky who elegantly anchors the force created by the pair. A true home made labor of love form conception to gestation to birth - all on the Carpet of Truth - this led to the creation of Carpet of Truth Productions - Enabling artistic integrity and dominion over all aspects of the project. It is the intention of Esther and Howard to work with solid global distributors and promoters to enable Mango love to reach any corner of the globe where it will be appreciated. With the interest of making the world a better place Esther and Howard intend to further the causes they believe in like animal and human rights with the abundance brought from Mango Love. Her and His-Story... Esther (Bertram) has a mother from Finland but grew up at the polar opposite sunny place in the world, Australia. Coming from a young hippy separated parents' background, Esther found music early on as a stable world that supported her sensitivity and need for creative expression. She completed a diploma at a conservatorium before going on to do a bachelor of arts, majoring in Composition at university. She received the conservatoriums prize for composition both years she attended. It was then she built her 1st home studio and began producing. Almost directly from study in 2001 she moved to Germany and toured with her electronic chill duo Pixiefish and played at many big festivals. As the summer ended and the festivals died down, under a friend's recommendation Esther began doing solo street concerts in Berlin, which surprisingly were very exciting and profitable. She soon joined the Germany based "Godfathers of Worldbeat" (Rolling stone) world music cult band Dissidenten as the singer for their live remix project and toured extensively Germany and Spain for the following 3 years. In this time she collaborated with the Drummer and percussionist Marlon Klein and he produced her 1st 2 solo albums "Urban Angel" 2004 and "Alchemy of the Heart" 2007 which were both released independently and distributed nationally throughout Germany. They went on to play many venues and festivals in Germany, Spain and Finland to support the releases. Simultaneously Esther won an EMI songwriting competition and collaborated with House music producer/DJ Tyree Cooper. Esther then moved to the U.K. and in early 2007 began work on her 1st solo electronic project (Yet to be named and released) and in June 07 met her partner in life (and later to be discovered in music also) Howard. Their meeting was strong enough that within weeks, an album worth of material was written. It is these songs that have now become the creation 'Mango Love'. Howard (Tonkin) is a graceful English man, born and bred in the U.K. Howard's story is not as focused around music making yet he has had a strong connection with music from childhood where he unknowingly counted rhythms of 13 beats on his fingers, only recently to discover he has flamenco in his blood. His sensitive teenage years led to his involvement in his 1st funk/soul band D'svibes and in was then he realized that guitar playing was to be his loyal friend he could always turn to when the outer world didn't communicate to him in the same way the rhythms and melodies of his inner world did. Howard then split from a music dominated life to complete and MBA and went on to manage various large cooperate companies. Some time after as a kind of pendulum swing to what seems to be an outwardly opposite world, Howard discovered his interest in psychotherapy and began his extensive deep training to become a therapist, later to realize both of these worlds are remarkably related and connected. It was then music resurfaced - maybe as a bridge between the worlds? When he met Esther in 2007 Howard's deep connection with music was obvious when after a late night jamming session they realized what they had uncovered. There was a kind of force present between them when they played - another aspect of their connection was found - they were both drawn to connecting with it further. Together they worked on the material Esther had written and decided to make an album based on their guitar dialogue that mirrors their heart dialogue. Howard has begun the journey of learning the ancient yet still potent rhythms and melodies and musical communication of Flamenco music, which is beginning to enter the duo's music more each day. Together they have already played in Venice, the UK and various venues in Spain, with upcoming festivals in Sweden and The Czech Republic on the schedule for this summer to support their new release. Esther & Howard are ready to spread their mango Love globally to all those thirsty for a sample from the Carpet of truth. May the Mango Love nectar flow.... **************************************************************************************** Previously played Venues & Festivals... "Festas da Cidade" SantiagoDC / Spain "Sage Club" Berlin / Germany "Faces Festival" Karjaa / Finland "The Fusion Festival" / Germany "Festival Fiesta de San Isidro" Madrid & Salamanca / Spain "Las Dalias" Ibiza / Spain "Gedächtniskirche Streetfestival" Berlin / Germany "Festival de Musica" Granada / Spain "Työväen Musiikkitapahtuma" Valkeakoski / Finland "Pirineos Sur" Huesca / Spain "Etnimalaga" Beach Festival Playa Malaga / Spain "Masala Festival" Hanover / Germany "Breminale" Bremen / Germany "Viertelfest" Bremen / Germany "Festival Kloster Banz" TV Performance BR / Germany "Festival Plauen Malzhaus" / Germany "The Love Parade" Berlin / Germany "Antaris Festival" / Germany "The VOOV Experience" / Germany "Healthy Concerts" Brighton / England "Festival de Cine - Teatro Guerra" Lorca / Spain "Anfiteatro de Maracena" Granada / Spain "Tropikal" Bilbao / Spain "U&D Festival" Würzburg / Germany "MIDEM Majestic Hotel" Cannes / France "Lauenhäger Bauernhaus" / Germany "Ramsden Memorial Hall" Oxford / England "Mikrokosmos" Magdeburg / Germany "Marktplatz" Hamm / Germany "Marktplatz" Brilon / Germany "Köln Sommer @ Schokoladenmuseum" / Germany "Sommerbühne" Detmold / Germany "Neumarkt" Herford / Germany "Sommerfestival" Herten / Germany "Festival Marktplatz" Plettenberg / Germany "Jazz Nights @ Kulturetage" Oldenburg / Germany "Kulturkiste" Uedem / Germany "Laboratorium" Stuttgart / Germany "Zimmer 16" Berlin / Germany \'Lauenhäger Bauernhaus\' Hülshagen / Germany \'Ramsden Memorial Hall\' London / UK \' Mikrokosmos\' Magdeburg / Germany \'Marktplatz\' Hamm / Germany \'Marktplatz\' Brilon / Germany \'Schokoladenmuseum\' Köln / Germany \'Sommerbühne\' Detmold / Germany \'Neumarkt\' Herford / Germany \'Sommerfestival\' Herten / Germany \'Festival Marktplatz\' Plettenberg / Germany \'Jazz Nights / Kulturetage Oldenburg / Germany \'Kulturkiste\' Uedem / Germany \'Laboratorium\' Stuttgart / Germany \'Irish Pub\' Parchim / Germany \'World Village Festival\' Helsinki / Finland.
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DAMN IT'S COLD OUT! It\'s as chilly as the reception Jay Cutler would get at Curley\'s Pub!
In fact…
It\'s so cold...Mel Gibson is holding a cross burning...just for the heat.
It\'s so cold...smokers huddled outside workplaces are setting their own butts on fire.
It\'s so cold...they\'re leaving the ice cream in the bowl while cutting State Senator Mike Ellis hair because it\'s warmer that way.
It\'s so cold...Rick is sleeping with a sheep...just for the body heat.
It\'s so cold...in Fond du Lac they\'re chiseling people off the fire hydrants.
It\'s so cold...Press Gazette headline writers have their heads up their butts...just to keep their ears warm!


text: New Employee Orientation New Employee Orientation (NEO) is fast-paced, fun and interactive. In this one-day session, you will receive lots of helpful information to prepare you for your new position at Legacy. New Employee Orientation is held every Monday at Legacy Meridian Park in the Community Health Education Center (CHEC) Orientation begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. and will end by 4:30 p.m. Please arrive no earlier than 8 a.m. and no later than 8:15 a.m. Lunch is provided. Please wear business clothes to orientation. Jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, flip-flops, etc., are not appropriate. If you are not dressed appropriately, you may be asked to go home and change. If you have questions about your schedule after your first day, please contact your supervisor. The orientation process will continue at your specific facility. How to find us New Employee Orientation is held at: Legacy Meridian Park in the Community Health Education Center (CHEC) 19300 SW 65th Ave. Tualatin, OR 97062 Please park in the Legacy Education Center Parking. Download the Legacy Meridian Park Map During inclement weather, we cancel new employee orientation if Portland Public schools are officially closed. If you have any questions, call Legacy Employment Services at 503-415-5405 during business hours. Outside business hours, call Legacy's Storm Management Hotline at 503-413-3500.


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Moscow (Nov. 11)
Five leading Jewish members of the Soviet Russian Arctic expedition, which has just concluded the first uninterrupted crossing from Vladivostok to Murmask, were yesterday awarded the highest Soviet orders and diplomas for "distinguished bravery in their scientific work."
The Soviet ice-breaker Litke, on which the expedition traveled, carried in its crew Boris Bronstein, vice-commander of the expedition; Oliek Kuskin, chief radio operator; Lev Bronstein, brother of Boris, chief cameraman, and Benjamin B. Jugodoff, hydro-biologist, all of whom were honored.
The Litke expedition is one of a number of daring explorations and scientific enterprises carried on by Soviet bodies.
Adventurous Jewish scientists and explorers have played a prominent part in the Soviet exploration of the Arctic. The ill-fated Chelwuskin expedition under Professor Schmidt was saved by the Jewish supply officer, the only man killed when the Chelwuskin sank.
Five daring Jewish aviators were decorated for their work in saving all the members of the Chelwuskin expedition from the ice floe on which they were marooned.


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20151027 - Under the Sea with Questacon - 27 October 2015 - 11:30 - Stream 3
Under the Sea with Questacon//
Provider: Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre
Contact Email:
Date: 27 October 2015
Start Time: 11:30
End Time: 12.3
Duration: 1 hour
Closing Date: Bookings Close 26-Oct-15
Availability: DEC and Non-DEC
DEC Positions: 4
Non-DEC Positions: 1
Price: Free
KLA Syllabus: Primary
KLA Stage/s: Stage 2,Stage 3
KLA Year/s:
Key Learning Area/s:
KLA Topic/s:
KLA Keyword/s:
Event Overview: Our oceans are massive, and they are mysterious. Less than 10% of our deep oceans have been explored in any great detail. Nevertheless, what we do know is fascinating!
This virtual excursion introduces students to the wonderful diversity beneath the waves, and looks at the challenges people face in ocean exploration. They will explore biodiversity, buoyancy and technology. Your students will even get to try and build their very own submarine!
Booking Instructions:
Additional Booking Instructions: During this workshop we will be running experiments and activities that you can participate with in the classroom. These activities all use simple materials.
Upon registration we will send out a teacher's resource outlining what you will need to prepare for your students.
Further Information:
Cancellation Policy:


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West Coast Imaging Welcomes You!
A specialty fine art lab, West Coast Imaging exists to make museum-quality
prints that reach the expressive limits of printmaking.
Our customers choose us because they value
our quality, customer service, collaborative relationship, and
unique services. By working with us, you gain a partner who is
working with you to express your vision and satisfy your clients' needs.
Because we are a small studio, you work directly with the people
who handle your jobs, and can directly access the immense experience
of our staff. As a small lab, we can customize our products and
services to meet your unique needs.
As a PhotoShelter print provider, we make it easy for you to provide
the highest quality prints to your customers from your PhotoShelter
We've put together this quick-start
guide to help you get set up to sell our products through your
PhotoShelter website.
Getting Started With PhotoShelter
Step 1: Create
a PhotoShelter account.
Already a PhotoShelter subscriber with sales set up? Skip ahead
to Step 2!
PhotoShelter is your complete solution to sell, display, and deliver
your photography, and it allows you to easily link your account
with West Coast Imaging, so we can fulfill your print sales for
you. You can learn more about PhotoShelter in their product tour
or sign up for an account, which begins with a 2-week $1 trial.
Once you're registered with PhotoShelter, you should:
- Upload your photos.
- Create galleries to display on your website.
- Pick your site's look and feel.
- Get set up to sell.
Step 2: Create your product list.
Sending orders to West Coast Imaging for printing is simple. Once
you've made a sale, just visit the invoice page, choose
us as the vendor, and click send!
First, though, you'll need to define which products you'd
like to make available for sale. Our system makes use of PhotoShelter's
self-fulfillment platform, which means you enter whichever items
you want to offer, describe and price them how you like, and determine
which shipping options you'd like to offer.
The system is designed so you can enter any product and shipping
options you like, but if you plan to use West Coast Imaging, make
sure that what your offering matches our printing options (look
at the pricing tab) and shipping methods (in the shipping methods
tab), which we've outlined for you in this section of our website.
Be specific when naming your products
When you
enter your product into PhotoShelter's database, we recommend including
the paper type and mounting type in the name of your product. The
more specific you are in naming your product, the less opportunity
for error, or miscommunication with your clients.
For example, if you want clients to be able to
order an 8x10 print on Fuji Matte, then call your product "8x10
Matte Print" (not just 8x10 print)...if you want to offer
the 8x10 on Fuji Matte, mounted to Gatorfoam, then call it "8x10
Matte Print on 3/8" Gatorfoam".
Step 3: Set Your Prices.
Once you've defined the prints and products you want to sell,
your last step is to create or edit a pricing profile. Here, underneath
the "Self-Fulfilled" header, you'll indicate
how much you want to charge for each item.
Then, select the images you want to price for sale (either from
your archive or a gallery), use the pricing command, and select
the pricing profile you want to use for this group.
Congratulations - you're open for business!
Now, whenever sales come in, send them to us
for printing and shipping – we're excited to continue
our work with you.
Please note that we will bill you directly, so after your first
sale (if not beforehand), please give us a call at 800-799-4576
to provide a credit card number or paypal email address.
Print Options & Pricing
This price list shows what we will charge you
for each print that is ordered through PhotoShelter. How much you
actually charge your clients, and the print sizes you list for
sale, is up to you...but this provides you with the base price
for each image size.
* Square foot pricing applies to prints 320" and
Prints on 3/16" Gatorfoam
Prints on DiBond
Ultimate Canvas Wraps
Pricing for standard sized Canvas Wraps
are listed below. We can create custom sizes for any need,
and are not limited to whole inch sizes. Custom sizes are
billed at the price of the nearest size that covers both the
height and width of your custom size print. For Example, a
16.5x24 Canvas Wrap would be billed at the 20x24 price. We
can print canvas up to 60 inches wide, and we're up for any
challenge you bring us!
more about our Ultimate Canvas Wraps,
and what makes them different from other canvas wraps on the
Finished Wrap Size on 5/8" Stretcher Bars
Shipping Options
We offer a variety of shipping methods. You may
choose to enable any or all of these methods, but please keep in
mind that express shipping will require fast action on your part
after the point of sale!
Also, please note that the shipping costs you
enter on PhotoShelter are what your buyer will pay you. We recommend
increasing the cost of your prints slightly, to accommodate fluctuations
in shipping charges.
This is what we charge YOU for shipping each
1. Handling fee: We charge a $10 handling fee
PER box we ship for prints over 11x14 in size. This covers the
cost of our packaging materials. We package your prints EXTREMELY
well, with a professional presentation. This means your customers
are much less likely to receive damaged prints, which keeps everyone
happy. Learn more about our shipping practices in the "How
We Ship" tab on our FAQ page.
2. Actual Shipping: In addition to the handling
fee, we charge you the published rate for FedEx shipping, shipping
from our studio at ZIP code 93644. Shipping costs range from $8
a package for Fedex ground...to $50+ per package for Fedex Overnight.
We can ship using Fedex Ground, 2nd Day, and
Standard Overnight, UPS or the US Mail.
We can charge your account directly if you provide
us a FedEx or UPS account number.
PhotoShelter prints are given first priority
by our imaging staff, and we work to complete each order as quickly
as possible, without sacrificing quality. When we have prints
with surface damage and other defects, we reprint them until
we have an excellent print to send you. This adds time to each
order. If you need it yesterday, we have RUSH services that come
along with RUSH charges. All rush projects must be approved by
West Coast Imaging, prior to us accepting the order. If you are
working on a deadline, even if it's
far in the future, please be sure to let us know so we can work
with you to meet your objectives.
Website Copyright 2011, West
Coast Imaging
All Rights Reserved


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Wanting the Unavailable
Attracted to the Unavailable: 10 Ways to Overcome this Self Sabotaging Pattern Why are we attracted to the emotionally unavailable? What can we do about it? Obviously, if we lose interested as soon as someone becomes available, that won't work because all we'd be doing is forever chasing and never having a relationship. So how do we get … read the full article


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The front page of the April 25 issue of Newsweek caught my eye, for two reasons. On the left side, mid-page, it featured in bold black capitals the following blurb: "The Beached White Male." Hmmm, I mused, another sob story about the white man in search of his lost mojo. I wondered: should I pick it up? I am not normally a big fan of the magazine but since Tina Brown took over as editor several months ago it had picked up its lost steam.
I was still wrestling with indecision when a banner over its masthead redirected my attention: "Arnold's wild road trip," accompanied by a picture of my friend behind his Terminator glasses. The picture had to be over twenty years old. I took the magazine home, then settled down to read what I fully expected would be a ho-hum where-to-now story about Arnold's plans, now that he was no longer governor of California. You know, public relations.
I couldn't have been more wrong. The feature, by Lloyd Grove, was as flattering as it was, well, brutal. Consider the pictures he paints of Arnold's post Mr Olympia image: "Still strapping in shirtsleeves, a fine specimen of aging movie star, he has lost an inch and a half from his previous six feet two height, the 31-inch waist has ballooned to 36 and the vaunted 57-inch chest has shrunk by half a foot. The famous face is framed by eternally reddish-brown hair (the handiwork of his favorite Beverly Hills salon) and layered with a coat of tan: the blue eyes are notched by crow's feet, the granite jaw draped by incipient folds of skin."Lower down, I read Arnold's own take on the man in the mirror: "I'm not competing, I'm not ripping off my shirt and trying to sell the body. But when I stand in front of the mirror and really look, I wonder: What the fuck happened here? Jesus, what a beating!
I cracked up. Arnold, my friend, rest assured I know precisely what you mean. And you're not alone! The Newsweek article came to mind yesterday, while I was talking on the phone to someone in Saint Lucia. I was saying something about the latest Frederick-Kenny potboiler and the latter's Sunday evening TV address, when my friend said: "You know, there are some naked pictures of you on the Internet." Now I prefer the word nude to describe undraped physiques, male or female. Nude implies art, for me anyway. In the case of the particular Internet images, however, naked was precisely the appropriate word, conjuring as it does, nitty gritty raunch. Unpretentious sex.
I venture to say my friend on the phone has quite likely never used the word nude. She is, after all, first and foremost, Looshan. She is also an unyielding pillar of her church. For her, naked is naked is naked—and absolutely sinful. Quite possibly a long way ahead of political corruption, child rape and so on. Takes all kinds, you know? I said I knew all about my naked pictures on the Internet. They had been in circulation way before the arrival of the worldwide web, from way back when the United Workers Party sought to use them as a tool by which to embarrass me into silence—and failed. I was writing articles for the Voice as were hardly flattering of the day's administration. A particularly nervous hack that I've since learned is a closet faggot came across the pictures in his favorite magazine, passed them on to the UWP's dirty-tricks department, and . . . In due course Kenny's Labour Party would pick up where Compton had left off, with similar intent, and with similar results. Following a House session, the brother of a particular SLP MP had distributed copies outside the building. And now, dear innocent reader, you're asking why grown, seemingly macho men would be interested in nude, I mean, naked, images of Rick Wayne at age 19? Hey, as I say, chacun á son gôut. You get your fix any way you can.
And my friend on the phone said: "But there's an article with the pictures. It's called Gay for Pay."
"Well," I said, somewhat taken aback. " 'Tis the season of elections. They're at it again."
And my friend said: "You know, I told Tetanass (not his real name) about the pictures but he couldn't access them on his computer. Then Soanso (not his real name) called to tell me how I could get them for myself. He kept saying, Omigodomigod, I don't know how to tell Rick about this." You know, in my present, er, condition, chances were I could keel over with shock. And nobody, especially Soanso, wanted that on his delicate conscience. Yeah, right. I've neglected to identify Soanso and Tentanass to protect their homophobic identities. (Then again, is there a live Saint Lucian male who is not homophobic? For crissakes, even the tall guy in the poom-poom shorts, tube top and heels is homophobic!)
Oh, but I'm so damn lucky. With such great friends, I have no need of enemies.
Well, anyway, following my telephone conversation I went prospecting on the Internet and finally struck gold. There it was: Gay for Pay! But the reference also included images of Arnold Schwarzenegger and, of all people, Malcolm X. Yeah, that's right. Surprised me too. But I thought, niiice. In my hour of need I couldn't ask for more powerful images to lean on. Arnold and Malcolm X. Of course, I was altogether familiar Arnold's nudes, dammit, I mean naked photos. They had resurfaced ineffectively during his two successful campaigns for the office of governor. Then there were those of the movie star Burt Reynolds when he was young and buffed, Charlton Heston around the time he played Moses, and Tony Curtis and, well, the list is long. I suppose you could argue some of them were gay for pay, which is to say they got paid for pretending to be what they were not. And I guess that includes actors and comics, such as Martin Lawrence. Whatever! Anyway, somebody is always publishing new pictures, whether of Britney Spears flashing her hairless girly bits or of Paris Hilton doing what Looshan women of a certain age would not even contemplate. You know, like doing it to yourself in the bathtub. But Malcolm X, hey, the things you can learn from the Internet?
So now let me admit I'm writing this little piece with twin purpose. One, to spare my political friends and frenemies alike the trouble of engaging in yet another mission impossible. After all, we've been there before with "Rick Wayne's naked pictures." Their impact on what I choose to write or say on TV about Saint Lucia's pretenders was always and remains today absolutely nil. My second purpose for bringing this up? I mean, it's not as if they show current-day Rick Wayne. Which returns me to Arnold's numbing line: What the fuck happened? Jesus, what a beating!
But seriously, folks, the Rick Wayne in the cited Internet pictures is someone I barely remembered. So, nice to be reacquainted and afforded an opportunity to relive some of the best days of my life, when that waist was all of a glorious 29 inches, biceps 19 inches on their way to a record-setting 21 inches. Truth be told, as I gazed in absolute wonderment at myself on the Internet, yeah, naked as a jaybird, I had a hard (now don't
jump to conclusions!) time deciding which body part I miss most. I'll leave it to others to comment on what they might consider the 19-year-old Rick Wayne's most precious asset. And perchance some might wish to query its current functionality, you need only request a test run, but nicely. Homos—in or outside the closet—need not apply. The only relief I can offer them are those nude, I mean, bollocks-naked, shots on the Net. And remember, beggars can't be choosers.
Still think I'm not the nicest guy you never fantasized about?


text: Nana Beach Hotel puts you within a 15-minute drive of Thung Wua Laen Beach and Chumphon National Museum. The restaurant is the perfect spot for a bite to eat, and after having fun at the outdoor pool, you can unwind with a drink at the bar/lounge. A poolside bar and a children's pool are other highlights, and rooms offer patios and flat-screen TVs.


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Bob Toski Junior Golf Launches
Legendary golfer Bob Toski launches he's junior golf tournament website featuring yet another WordPress backend. The Twenty Fourteen theme is just too good not to use. The default green accents were just a bonus. They're offering scholarships to a few lucky juniors too. Be sure to check them out at http://toskijuniorgolf.com.


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January 26, 2010
Top Ten Benefits of Facilitation
By using facilitation as a tactic, you can ensure that you free up your people in all sorts of ways when they work together – after all, it's there to make the process work.
But what exactly are the benefits?
Facilitation is a simple skill whereby the process to an end result is supported – especially in meetings – to ensure that the participants are able to contribute fully, without worrying unduly about the activity. They do the content, thinking and debate, the facilitator enables it to happen.
So, what exactly are the benefits of using facilitation in the workplace?
Here are ten of them…
1. Freeing
Because a great facilitator focuses specifically on the process, everyone else can get on with the purpose and outcomes and concentrate fully.
2. Structure
Meetings follow a precise route, engaging those present and reducing concerns. In the future, the process creates a 'safe space' for members to meet and contribute.
3. Clarity
The facilitated meeting clarifies roles and enables the leader to be fully 'present' – thus reducing their focus on the clock and their own, often internal, agenda.
4. Neutral
When using an internal or external facilitator, they bring a process-focused neutrality to the proceedings and have no role in the issue.
5. Value-Creating
Facilitated meetings create value. The synergies released once the process is clear, enable a freedom of thinking that provides for much better solutions.
6. Experiential
If used as a learning exercise, as well as a real activity, Facilitation is learnable. Like anything new, those present can be a little resistant, but still, with post-meeting review, lessons learned make subsequent occasions progress quickly.
7. Timely
Meetings which are facilitated are timely. With the focus created by a skilled facilitator, there is no wasted time, so building confidence, trust and team spirit.
8. Contributory
More individuals on the team are able to say their piece, because the rules are agreed upfront. Any minor transgressions are reflected upon quickly in the facilitated process. So everyone's input is valued and inappropriate behaviors are controlled.
9. Progressive
Because the process is fair and 'managed', there is an understood commitment to outcomes and actions. Accountabilities are very clear, written down and agreed.
10. Clarifies Roles
Pre-meeting discussion between the facilitator and key players clarifies the roles of those involved in the activity. Thus a lead will have a clear understanding that his or her role is broader than driving his or her own solutions. Hence team skills are improved and the leader begins to appreciate the true value of the bigger team ethic.
When meetings are facilitated, progress happens. Facilitation in other situations can work too, so it can be used as a valuable tool to generate successful outputs, when people get together to work effectively and efficiently towards a common goal.
Filed under Blog, Developing Your People, Focus on Results, Managing Me by Martin


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- Sleep
- Golf
- Play
- Eat
- Meet
- Weddings & Events
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mindy Quesenberry
July 2, 2013
Media Advisory
Who: Phases Fitness
What: Celebrates their sixth year in business
Where: Phases Fitness at Heritage Hills Athletic Club, 2810 E. Prospect Road, York
When: July 2013
Why: This year marks the sixth anniversary of ! Opening their doors in 2007, Mindy and Brian Quesenberry have been dedicated to providing specialty programs to suit clients' needs and promoting health and fitness in an educational, goal-oriented atmosphere.
Nationally accredited fitness professionals, Mindy and Brian have expertise in personal training, sports conditioning and group fitness. They began their adventure in a small studio space on Pauline Drive in York and grew into two spaces after high demand. Eventually, group fitness was added to their offerings as well as nutritional services.
In August 2012, the Quesenberry's joined the Heritage Hospitality family with the continuing growth of Heritage Hills Athletic Club. During this transition, the club gained not only their new equipment but new personal trainers for members to work with. "We couldn't be more excited for the Phases team," said Matt DeRose, owner of Heritage Hospitality Management. "There was an immediate impact on our fitness programs with the transition. We look forward to celebrating many other milestones together." Mindy's new role includes Director of Fitness at Heritage Hills Athletic Club and Phases Fitness, certified personal trainer, nutrition specialist and group fitness instructor.
"The success of Phases Fitness truly comes from the members and dedicated staff," said Quesenberry. "Together we have built a place where people achieve their personal best. More people are moving and getting results due to the sense of community we have. We feel with our recent partnership with Heritage Hills Athletic Club, we can now provide members a top notch facility to get the best of both worlds. It has been a pleasure for us to watch Phases grow and cultivate the health and fitness world."
The step that Phases Fitness has taken with coincides with the long term goal: to provide the community with a full-service fitness and recreational facility that offers quality programs for our guests.
For more information, contact Mindy Quesenberry at (717) 718-5503; (717) 757-4833 or at .
Heritage Hills Athletic Club is owned and operated by Heritage Hospitality Management. Heritage Hospitality properties include Heritage Hills Golf Resort and Conference Center, Knickers Pub, Ironwoods Restaurant, Serenity Spa and Salon, AvalancheXpress Snow Tubing and Ice Skating, Heritage Hills Athletic Club, Kidz Camp at Heritage Hills, UK Soccer Camps, Bogey Macaws American Grille, Springwood Golf Course, Loxley's Restaurant, Heritage Hotel Lancaster, Maewyn's Irish Pub and Double JJ Resort in Michigan.


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The Ottawa Senators close out the pre-Christmas schedule with a game in Nashville against the Predators. Who will come out on top? Our prediction panel weighs in.
Senators prediction panel: Game 36
The Ottawa Senators close out the pre-Christmas schedule with a game in Nashville against the Predators. Who will come out on top? Our prediction panel weighs in.
Ottawa Senators at Nashville Predators
James Gordon, SenatorsExtra.com editor/Citizen hockey writer
Senators 1, Predators 4
This season is shaping up a lot like the one that resulted in Cory Clouston's hiring. At this point in 2009, the Senators were a disappointing 12-15-5 and headed into the Christmas break with a 6-4 loss. I don't see them coming away with a Dec. 23 win this time out either. The Preds are stingy in their own end and are particularly tough at home. Hard to pick against them here.
Record: 19-16
Exact scored predicted: 1
Wayne Scanlan, Citizen columnist
Senators 1, Predators 3
With only two regulation losses, Nashville is a pretty good home team, though Preds have lost five in OT on home ice. They like to pressure, play tight defence, and should have enough to handle the Senators in their current state.
Record: 22-13
Exact scores predicted: 2
Ian Mendes, Sportnet.ca Senators reporter and blogger
Senators 4, Predators 2
The Preds are red-hot and the Sens are anything but. But I'm going to roll the dice on this one because Nashville plays the night before.
Record: 19-16
Exact scores predicted: 2
Graeme Nichols, writer/editor, The Sixth Sens blog and podcast
Senators 1, Predators 3
The only positive to take from this game is that Mike Fisher won't be too far removed from Carrie Underwood's home.
Record: 22-12
Exact scores predicted: 3
Russell, host, SensUnderground podcast
Senators 1, Predators 4
Sorry sens fans, but the Preds are red hot right now are are sure to take advantage of the stooge-like play of our defence. Besides, who can possibly concentrate on hockey with Barry Trotz's moon-sized head blocking out the sun.
Record: 19-16
Exact scores predicted: 2
Peter Raaymakers, writer/editor, Silver Seven Sens blog
Senators 2, Predators 5
Nashville is rolling. Ottawa is not. Little reason to expect the Senators to turn it around against a better team in another city in a different time zone two days before Christmas, really.
Record: 20-14
Exact scores predicted: 2
Jeremy Milks, writer/editor, Black Aces blog
Senators 2, Predators 3
This is likely the first of 40 or so meaningless games the Senators will be playing the rest of the season, and a win or a loss will make little difference at this point. The Senators are a touch better on the road lately but the Predators are a team with a lot of heart and should be able to handle this one just fine. Bring on the holidays.
Record: 20-15
Exact scores predicted: 2


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Bing has replaced the Bing Shopping with Product Search. The feature integrates product results within Bing search results instead of showing them in separate destination. Bing continues to offer paid and free ways to have the product listed in the results.
Here's a screenshot of how the new integrated experience will look like. The shopping results will appear above and at the side of the regular listings.
Products Ads, which is in beta phase, will also be added to Bing's new product search experience. It will appear on Yahoo and Bing & will be different from the regular ads because of the pricing and images information.
Inclusion of Rich Captions
Bing has also unveiled a new feature "Rich Captions" for merchants that would turn their regular search listings to product listings. The feature will let merchants include price of the product and its availability information in the search results displayed on Bing.
Bing will look at the results it delivers for a particular query. In case a particular page matches the page provided in a product feed, it will add price and availability information into the web search results.Bing Replaces Bing Shopping with Product Search!,


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Sunday, October 09, 2011
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Commitment to the Crematorium
It seems rather fitting that on a year when we finally got the ruthless leader of the biggest terrorist organization this world has ever seen ... we also managed to get Bin Laden.
Friday, October 07, 2011
The Weak Ender
Kristin Cavallari was bounced from Dancing With The Stars, and of course, Jay Cutler was on the sidelines doing nothing while HIS teammate was eliminated.
More coming later ...
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


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Jump to music examples or tips
If Carmen Rizzo were in a circus, he'd be its best juggler. It's amazing how this Hollywood-based producer, composer, and remixer keeps artists, songs, technologies, concerts, films, studios, continents, and even trustees aloft. Appropriately, one of his remixes appears this year on Cirque du Soleil's 20th Anniversary CD.
Two rare moments at once: Carmen Rizzo, separated from his laptop and adjusting hardware synthesizers.
Sinead O'Connor, Billy Corgin, Alanis Morrisette, Paul Oakenfold, Perry Farrell, and Pete Townshend have all put Rizzo's talents to good use on both sides of the studio glass, and he's worked with a number of lesser-known critical favorites as well, including Ekova, Delerium, Grant Lee Phillips, and Niyaz, a new Persian band in Paris. And two hits Rizzo co-wrote with Seal, "Bring It On" and "I'm Alive," will appear on Seal's Christmas 2004 greatest hits disc.
Rizzo also drove the creation of the new "Best Electronic Album" category for the Grammy Awards through his tireless work with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Expect to see him at the podium in March 2005 with whoever wins this long-needed new Grammy.
But today, speaking from his cozy "Suite 775" studio space within view of the Hollywood-and-Vine sign, Rizzo is mired in a technical problem. He's doing the radio and surround mixes for BT's remix of The Doors' "Break On Through" for an upcoming Warner Brothers project. And instead of breaking through, he's experiencing a computer breakdown.
Carmen Rizzo aglow between studio sessions at Suite 775.
What caused your technological train wreck?
I'm trying to rig my studio for surround mixing for the first time and having problems with the wiring for my recording card. I've been on my hands and knees trying to figure it out, so this is a good time to take a break. I borrowed a card from a friend and will be back up and running soon, but it's frustrating when technology stops a session.
The worst part [about technology] is that we dive in a little too deep and get consumed with what something can do versus what we personally can accomplish with it. The result is we don't really get that much music done. Sometimes I actually produce more music when I give myself less equipment to work with.
I always say to people I work with, "Use what you know best." Often someone will say, "Oh man, have you seen the new Pro Tools?" Or "Isn't it amazing what Logic can do now?" Yet, there are just as many, if not more, boys and girls producing entire albums with just an MPC3000 [sampling drum machine] and a keyboard or using just an iBook with one or two software programs. All that really matters is that we're using the tools we know best.
Do you approach your personal compositions subtractively as well?
Oh, sure. For instance, I was in Paris recently and I only had a laptop and an Oxygen [MIDI controller] keyboard to play my Native Instruments soft synths. I found myself actually producing more music and getting more done because that's all I had. It was a constant reminder that I was getting so much done with so little technology around me. There's a lot to be said for being inspired by, and challenged by, handicap. I know Prince, and have recorded a lot with his camp, and that's how they work, too. Prince will get a new piece of gear and issue a personal challenge for them all to use only that one tool to create a song.
Do system crashes like today's happen often enough to hamper your ability to make your deadlines?
No; this is not the norm at all, and in an hour or two, I'll have it taken care of and actually be able to do even more with my setup than yesterday. Today is an oddity. Anyone working with a computer, which is most everybody these days, is vulnerable to the downtime of computer problems no matter how simple their commitment to technology.
Carmen Rizzo plots his next hit song.
What's the best thing about music technology?
For me, it's speed and choices. People use software plug-ins versus hardware gear, or soft synths versus keyboards, because the response is instant. In a single click, you are right back to where you left off the night before.
And if you want to go through five zillion sounds, it's right there at your fingertips. On a creative level, you can really paint your own landscape. Another thing that is very important to me about technology is portability. Whether it's transporting files over the internet or showing up in person with my laptop, I'm ready to work as soon as I open my laptop. That's very important.
What was your portability like back in '94 when you worked with producer Trevor Horn on Seal's big second album?
I remember flying to London for that record. I was using an old MPC and keyboards and programming Trevor's huge Synclavier [sampling workstation]. I think they spent $5,000 just for my cartage bill for all the racks of gear I was carrying around! Today, I just show up and open my laptop. Even at today's inflation, that $5,000 could buy a great laptop, Pro Tools, all the software synths, an interface box—and I could fly first class this time! [Laughs.] Simply put, I just can't work without the portability of today's technology.
Related Reading
GarageBand: The Missing Manual
What's in your traveling music rig?
The Oxygen8, a La Cie FireWire drive, a 1.5GHz Apple Titanium laptop, a backpack, and a good pair of headphones. I'm using the latest Panther OS and Pro Tools 6.3.1. Or, if I'm working in [Ableton] Live and not running it with Pro Tools at the same time via ReWire, then I take my little M-Audio 410 Firewire [audio] interface box. [ReWire is Propellerhead Software's free utility for streaming audio and MIDI controller data between programs.]
[For software], it's all the Native Instruments stuff, Live, and Pro Tools—that's my main sound design and sequencing package. I was fortunate to be able to beta test Native's Battery 2, which isn't out yet, and I love their Reaktor synths and the FM7 [synthesizer].
I've been a longtime user of Live as well. Live 4 is amazing because you can now sequence with it and use MIDI and access VST [effect] plug-ins and VST keyboards and drum machines, whereas before you could only access [effect] plug-ins. So it's a whole new game and a lot deeper.
But going back to the subtractive aesthetic, isn't that a lot of new technology to take on and learn?
Yes, but this is a good example of some new technology that I'm more than willing to sit down and learn. Live 4, or any big technological step with music software and hardware for that matter, is a whole new level that's well worth my time to learn.
You travel extensively with your portable rig. What's the weirdest place you've worked on music?
I've worked in Italian villas in the country, apartments in Paris, hotels in London, and on the Eurostar going through the Chunnel. I take that Paris-to-London trip under the channel a bunch and always work down there. I've worked on headphones in trains and airplanes, but I try to stay away from working in Metro trains or New York subways! I've never been mugged, but carrying expensive gear, man, you're taking a chance pulling out a laptop and keyboard and [Digidesign] Mbox [audio/MIDI interface] in those kinds of places.
How does the setting affect you artistically?
It's inspiring. Rural settings, trains, planes, or in the middle of city life.... I prefer the latter because when I take a break I get to walk out onto a city street, and I'm instantly renewed creatively. I'm also inspired by chaos and being in the middle of lots of people and the changing landscapes of a city. My studio here is right on Hollywood Boulevard, so when I walk out to get a coffee or food, I'm in the heartbeat of this wild city.
It is people that inspire me, be it in Hollywood or Paris or London or Rome. I'm very fortunate that I'm still able to travel to record and work with artists all over the world. That's my lifestyle, and that's been and continues to be an important accomplishment for me.
Carmen Rizzo during a sound check for Paul Oakenfold at the 2003 World Beat concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
Creating the new "Best Electronic Album" Grammy category was no small feat.
Thanks; it was a labor of love. I was very fortunate to have a great team working with me, including BT and Jason Bentley and Junkie XL and Crystal Method and everyone. It was sort of my brainchild and I spearheaded the whole thing, but en route, I got them on board to help carry the fire. Hopefully, it's going to change a lot of people's lives in the future.
What was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome with NARAS in establishing that Grammy Award?
Old versus new. With all due respect to NARAS, change is hard. They were very supportive in theory, but to make it a reality took an awful lot of work. [I was] speaking and spreading the love at many seminars and conventions and panels around the U.S.—Winter Music Conference, SxSW, the Billboard Dance Summit—and then authoring and proofing a bulletproof proposal putting forth how electronic music has positively affected popular music. Think Cher and Sting and Madonna embracing electronic music in their biggest hits lately.
I was also fortunate enough at that time to be a NARAS Trustee and speaking in front of all the other Trustees and Governors about this new category, which counts about 40 people. It took two years of standing in front of them and all the hard work on everyone's part to accomplish the new award.
Visit carmenrizzo.com for more of Rizzo's music and photos, and a studio walkthrough movie.
Paul Aiden: The Underdog (MP3/2.9MB)
Delirium: Truly WB (MP3/1.9MB)
Dido: White Flag (MP3/1.9MB)
Niyaz: Dunya (MP3/3.1MB)
Southern Sun (MP3/2.4MB)
"I always have my [PalmOne] Tungsten T2 handy in my travels," Rizzo says. "I constantly use it to record my own voice with ideas [using the bundled Voice Recorder application], but it's even handier for recording a great subway musician, a colorful seller in a street market, or P.A. announcements in an airport or train depot. There is tons of recording time available with my T2, so I always have it nearby."
Tungsten to Titanium. Rizzo transfers his roaming recordings to his computer whenever he synchronizes his T2 with his Macintosh PowerBook. The process automatically converts the audio files into QuickTime files on his desktop.
"Once you're in QuickTime, you're just laughing at how easy it is," he says. "You can do whatever you want with it [then]. I always have my Palm Pilot with me and I've made, honestly, some really great samples just using it. It's a wonderful little personal recorder. It's a good way to create sound design and samples. A great voice of someone selling cheese in a market...all the great sounds you hear on the road. I just pretend I'm writing on my Palm Pilot while I'm actually recording them! It might not be as good a quality as using a [external] microphone, but often that's exactly what I'm going for in those types of sounds on my records."
"When you go into the waveform [editing window] of a sample in [Ableton] Live, try doubling the tempo," Rizzo suggests. "Or adjust the tempo incrementally up or down by hand. Either way, you instantly can get some wonderful time-stretching effects. It's an amazing sound that's super easy to create for drum loops or vocal samples. It can get a sort of 'stepped' sound when you've gone too far, but it's a sound that is still in time. I generally do it on the slower side, asse opposed to speeding things up."
The highlighted field shows the tempo Ableton Live determined for the selected audio file in beats per minute (BPM). Clicking the ":2" or "*2" buttons below it will cause the program to double or halve the file's duration without changing its pitch. That can produce interesting sonic effects.


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Are you interested in having Watt speak at your school or event? Each year Watt speaks to many groups across the country. His presentations are sure to keep even the fidgitiest audience glued to their seats while encouraging reading, writing, perseverance, and getting outside. If you would like to plan an event, please request the appearance form by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com . We are also happy to provide speaking references at other schools and professional organizations if you would like to determine if Watt is a fit for your group.
Bulk book ordering for educators and librarians:
Farrar Straus and Giroux
Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Tel: 212-206-5356
Fax: 646-307-5290
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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The Pitchfork Music Festival is this Weekend July 13-15th.
Saturday Tickets sold-out today. But there are single-day passes still available for Friday and Sunday. You can buy them here. The other days' tickets will probably go soon given the line-up that includes Feist, Dirty Projectors, Big K.R.I.T., Japandroids, A$AP Rocky, The Olivia Tremor Control, Willis Earl Beal and more; and Sunday's, which includes Vampire Weekend, Beach House, The Field, AraabMUZIK, Chavez, Kendrick Lamar, Ty Segall, Iceage, Dirty Beaches, and more.
And if you can't make it to Chicago fest than you can watch the fest on You-Tube.
Full Schedule after the jump.
FRIDAY, JULY 13 – gates at 3pm
8:30 (GREEN) Feist
8:20 (BLUE) Purity Ring
7:20 (RED) Dirty Projectors
7:15 (BLUE) Clams Casino
6:25 (GREEN) Big K.R.I.T.
6:15 (BLUE) Japandroids
5:30 (RED) A$AP Rocky
5:15 (BLUE) Tim Hecker
4:35 (GREEN) The Olivia Tremor Control
4:15 (BLUE) Willis Earl Beal
3:30 (RED) Lower Dens
3:20 (BLUE) Outer Minds
SATURDAY, JULY 14 – gates at 12pm
8:40 (BLUE) Grimes
8:30 (GREEN) Godspeed You! Black Emperor
7:40 (BLUE) Danny Brown
7:25 (RED) Hot Chip
6:45 (BLUE) Chromatics
6:15 (GREEN) Sleigh Bells
5:45 (BLUE) Schoolboy Q
5:15 (RED) Wild Flag
4:45 (BLUE) Nicolas Jaar
4:15 (GREEN) Flying Lotus
3:45 (BLUE) Youth Lagoon
3:20 (RED) Cults
2:50 (BLUE) Liturgy
2:30 (GREEN) Atlas Sound
1:55 (BLUE) Lotus Plaza
1:45 (RED) Cloud Nothings
1:00 (BLUE) The Atlas Moth
1:00 (GREEN) The Psychic Paramount
SUNDAY, JULY 15 – gates at 12pm
8:30 (GREEN) Vampire Weekend
7:40 (BLUE) The Field
7:25 (RED) Beach House
6:45 (BLUE) King Krule
6:15 (GREEN) AraabMUZIK
5:45 (BLUE) Oneohtrix Point Never
5:15 (RED) Chavez
4:45 (BLUE) Kendrick Lamar
4:15 (GREEN) Real Estate
3:45 (BLUE) The Men
3:20 (RED) Ty Segall
2:50 (BLUE) Thee Oh Sees
2:30 (GREEN) Iceage
1:55 (BLUE) Milk Music
1:45 (RED) Unknown Mortal Orchestra
1:00 (BLUE) A Lull
1:00 (GREEN) Dirty Beaches


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A number of people I spoke to about the finals of this year's American Crossword Puzzle Tournament informed me that it was practically a point-by-point replay of last year's finals. I wasn't at last year's tournament, due to illness, so I'd like to thank all of this year's finalists for replaying the event for me. It was very exciting.
It's a wonderful thing, watching three brilliant minds compete at the same difficult crossword, on big boards in front of an audience of six hundred puzzle fans, complete with color commentary from a pair of announcers. It's a wonderful thing, I say, but also terrible, because I'm friends with these people. I am delighted — no, awestruck; gobsmacked; more than a little impressed — for Tyler Hinman, who brought home a fifth consecutive win. As Merl Reagle reminded us, over those five years he has solved forty tournament puzzles without making a single error. And he's still only, what, twenty-five years old? A person can't even think about this for long stretches of time. The mind can take only so much boggling.
But if Tyler has won, that means two other finalists lost, and in this case they were my friends Trip Payne and Francis Heaney. These two had a tie score for every puzzle straight through the weekend — the tournament's tiebreaker rules aren't even equipped to deal with a freak event like this. Luckily for everyone but a guy named Dan Feyer (who was winning going into the final puzzle, but who then slowed down just enough to cast himself down to fourth), no tiebreakers were required: Both Trip and Francis slipped into the finals.
The final puzzle was a beautiful, elegant themeless crossword by Patrick Berry. All three took a little time finding a way in to the grid, but after about five or six minutes it was clear that Trip had a slight edge. He had a few more words filled in, and a bit more momentum going than the other two. He's been itching for another win, and heaven knows he deserves one, and I really started to think this might be his year.
And then he broke our hearts by writing the answer ALL ALONE for the clue "Basic." I was baffled how he made the jump from that clue to that answer, although a few people have tried to explain to me that there's a perfectly reasonable connection between the two. If someone wants to reassert that connection in the comments, please be my guest, because I still don't see it. (The correct answer was ALKALINE.)
Actually, that's not when our hearts broke, because mistakes happen on the big boards all the time. People really started groaning when Trip moved away from that corner, obviously content that he had filled it all in correctly. We had all seen enough of these finals to know what was coming: After the whole puzzle was done, he would give one more quick check, looking for blank squares, but there was no way he was going to check each answer to make sure it matched its clue. He was, in short, toast.
A few minutes later Trip was the first to complete the puzzle, and then came the terrible and unbearable moment: He removed his earphones (worn so he can't hear the announcers) and heard not applause but Awwww. "You're kidding!" he said to us, and then turned around to try to figure out where things had gone wrong.
Two minutes later, to my almost complete disbelief, Francis Heaney wrote ALL ALONE in his grid. Did I mention how he and Trip had been marching in lockstep throughout the entire tournament? Apparently that was going to extend to their errors. Francis has been in the finals one other time, and has consistently been in the top ten for years. He too absolutely deserves a year of being called the best crossword solver in the country, and God knows I wanted that for him. I think at this point I was clutching and pulling large clumps of my hair. See your mistake! SEE YOUR MISTAKE!
But no. Francis, like Trip, wandered away from that corner, never to return. A few minutes later he completed his grid, took off his headphones, and was informed by the audience that he wasn't having quite as good a day as he had thought.
Meanwhile, just to add to the drama, Tyler was completely stuck. He had a mistake of his own, and it was blocking any further progress: For the clue "Item in stocks," he had written BOND instead of BONE. By that point, Trip was sitting with us in the audience, and people were whispering to him: If Tyler can't find his way out of this in the next four minutes, you can still win! Trip just rolled his eyes: Listen to yourselves.
There was, perhaps, the slightest molecule of chance that Tyler, believing he could do no better than third place, would simply give up and stop solving. But Tyler has been in enough of these finals to know that people make mistakes: Why, just last year he was the last to complete the grid, but the only one to do so cleanly… so he won. Maybe that would happen again this year. Anyway, he wasn't about to give up. And he still had a long, long time to stand there and consider where he had made his mistake. This was Tyler's tournament to lose, even if he didn't know it.
With maybe three minutes to go before time expired, Tyler yelled, "Ohhhhh!" and it was over. He erased BOND, wrote in BONE, and saw the well-lit path through the rest of the grid. He turned around expecting the polite applause due the third-place finisher and observed himself receiving a standing ovation. Five times in a row! It was a thrill to be there to witness it.
People occasionally compare Tyler to Tiger Woods, but some folks do it ironically, maybe with a little unintended wink, as if their achievements can't really be compared. Golf versus crosswords! How amusing to consider the two things at the same time!
I think we can dispatch with the irony now. Tyler won five grand this weekend whereas Tiger won millions last year, but they do what they do in the exact same way: They march through their respective occupations perfectly. Their opponents know that they will not make mistakes. This automatically exerts a psychic pressure that I think has a real effect on the competitors around them. Would Trip and Francis have made the same error (and I mean the same error) if it wasn't Tyler standing at the board between them? I don't know. Quite possibly. But I don't think you can say so absolutely. It is not easy to share the stage with someone who hasn't made a single mistake in five years. Congratulations once again to Tyler. You are amazing.
In less dramatic news, I came in 120th. I was error-free as long as you don't count puzzle 5. Unfortunately, they counted puzzle 5. This is the annual killer-diller, a crossword so hard it almost isn't a crossword anymore. It's certainly nothing like a New York Times crossword, except perhaps for the Saturday puzzle they publish in Hell. This year, I barely got past the halfway mark of that damn puzzle.
This gets me thinking: I'm a perfectly decent solver (error-free on six out of seven puzzles! Don't they have a trophy for that?) but I need to do something more if I expect to break in to the top 100. And what I need to do is improve at that damn fifth puzzle. So, for you crossword-loving readers, a question: If solving the Times puzzle every day isn't enough to prepare you for the fiery chasm of puzzle 5 (and it clearly is not)… what is?


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Sara Ramirez, M.D.
Dr. Ramirez is a dedicated, caring physician who values patient relationships and enjoys being able to provide total women's healthcare in adolescence, childbearing years and beyond menopause.
She completed her undergraduate studies with honors from the University of Miami. She returned to her native Midwest to attend The Chicago Medical School. During her OB rotation she realized that a career in Ob/Gyn was her passion. She did her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami.
After residency, Dr. Ramirez was in private practice in Miami. She became an advocate for women's healthcare, feeling that an educated patient is a satisfied patient. Being fluent in Spanish, she became a sought out lecturer and made appearances on Spanish television including Despierta America and the Christina show.
The satisfaction of delivering healthy babies, and the challenges of a technologically advancing field, enables Dr. Ramirez to take care of normal and high-risk pregnancies and perform many gynecologic surgeries including advanced laparoscopic procedures. Her interests also include managing the infertile couple and menopausal patients.
Dr. Ramirez settled in California in 2000 after meeting her husband and joined Mission Ob/Gyn after the birth of their first son. She later had twin boys and as a busy mom she relates well with her patients. She enjoys playing tennis, cooking and spending time with her family.
She is Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of the Peruvian American Medical Society (founded by her mother). She has been active on several committees at her affiliated hospitals as well as role of chairman of department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Dr. Ramirez believes in giving back to her community and has volunteered many hours at charity clinics and recently led a group of physicians and nurses on a medical mission to her native Peru.


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NoiChan LSDJ Showdown – 1 Week Remains
Shortlink: noichan.org/10990
May 24, 2013 in Events, Site News
Just a friendly reminder that contestants are allowed to submit 2 songs to this year's LSDJ showdown, and that the deadline for submission is at the end of the month.
Get it in there, son.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Luftek - store
NeX - store
Visit these shops so we can do this again next year!


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Quick Details
- Place of Origin: Guangdong, China (Mainland)
- Brand Name: nicespace
- Model Number: 2015SK-115
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- Size: 24*12*8cm
- MOQ: 1000pcs
- Logo: Accept Customized Logo
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Spotsylvania Circuit Court
|For basic and general information (Code 540): 5077600, 5077623 (Judge)
|Google Map
|Mailing Address
|Postal Office Ninety-Six, Spotsylvania, VA 22553
|Street Address
|9115 Courthouse Rd, Spotsylvania, VA 22553
|5822169 and 5827973 (Judge)
|WWW Link
|About the area
This territory was founded back in the 1720´s, it's another "topping" of the Washington Metropolitan Area and part of the journey of the Virginia Railway Express. A section of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park provides good stimulating tourism material to the residents of this county. More than 35 communities form the geography of these 412 square miles.
|Hours of Operation
|The day starts at 8:00 am for the court clerk and it will be reaching the end at 4:30.
|Tips from Lawyers
Other Courts in Spotsylvania County: Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania Magistrate; Spotsylvania General District Court


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John Huston once said: ""There is a willful lemming-like persistence in remaking past successes time after time. They can't make them as good as they are in our memories, but they go on doing them and each time it's a disaster. Why don't we remake some of our bad pictures … and make them good?" This Distracted Globe recycles itself and examines the best and worst remakes.
In Surubaya, Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), an executive with Petrox Oil Company, gambles on infared images that reveal an island hidden behind a perpetual fog bank in the South Pacific. He believes the island is a huge reserve of petroleum, while a primate paleontologist named Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) stows away on the expedition, believing a large ape described by explorers is behind the fog.
Before being tossed in the brig, Jack spots a raft on the horizon. Inside is Dwan (Jessica Lange). She tells Jack that she's an actress, and survived the explosion of a movie producer's yacht because everyone else was below deck watching Deep Throat. During the voyage, the two become attracted. Penetrating the fog bank, the explorers discover the island is inhabited by a tribe living behind a giant wall in fear of their god, Kong.
The natives kidnap Dwan. They offer her as a sacrifice to a gigantic ape, who crashes through the jungle and grabs her. Kong is awesome and terrifying, but develops a soft spot for the feisty Dwan. Jack leads a rescue mission, which has the misfortune of catching Kong while crossing over a chasm on a log. Almost everyone is killed except Jack, who is able to rescue Dwan while Kong is distracted wrestling a giant python.
Kong chases the couple back to the village, where Wilson has learned that the island does not have usable oil reserves, but does have a giant ape he could use to promote his company's products. Using chloroform, he traps Kong and transports him to New York for his public debut. Kong doesn't care for the arrangement and breaks loose, grabbing Dwan and making his way to the World Trade Center, which shares a skyline with his home.
The unprecedented success of Jaws in June 1975 got Universal Pictures thinking about big creatures that could be turned into blockbusters. Producer Dino De Laurentiis was ahead of them. He had already entered into negotiations with RKO for rights to remake King Kong. Universal joined the bidding, and believed they had a deal, until RKO announced the sale to De Laurentiis, whose version would be distributed by Paramount.
De Laurentiis briefly considered a co-production, but rejected Universal's script, which was set in the 1930s. De Laurentiis had a script by Lorenzo Semple Jr. that took place in the present day. In spite of a 40-foot tall mechanical ape constructed by Carlo Rambaldi that kept breaking down, it was clear De Laurentiis would beat Universal into theaters, and they pulled the plug on their version.
John Guillermin was hired to direct, and Barbara Streisand came close to agreeing to star before passing. The search for an unknown leading lady brought Jessica Lange – an actress and fashion model who had never appeared in a film before – to the attention of De Laurentiis. Using Rambaldi's 40-foot mechanical model to play Kong proved impractical, and makeup artist Rick Baker performed almost the entire role in an ape suit he designed.
A perception exists that the De Laurentiis remake of King Kong was a disaster. Not only did it gross $90 million worldwide on a budget of $24 million, but critical reception was good. Pauline Kael in The New Yorker, Charles Champlin in the Los Angeles Times, and Roger Ebert wrote positive reviews, with Kael commenting, "I don't think I've ever before seen a movie that was a comic-strip great romance in the way this one is. It's a joke that can make you cry."
This is the King Kong I grew up with, not the 1933 version, and watching them back to back as an adult, this is actually the one I prefer. The only things missing are Willis O'Brien's lovable stop-motion effects, and the dinosaurs running amok on Skull Island. Everything else in the beloved original version ranges from antiquated to laughable.
The '70s remake of King Kong is an improvement in every category that counts: script, casting, direction, music, visual effects. Instead of trying to make a quick buck, De Laurentiis spared no expense, using forty years of advancement in the arts and sciences to make a bigger and better movie. The script doesn't make fun of itself, and builds a tremendous sense of mystery, awe and terror until Kong is revealed.
Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange could have been cast in every movie of the '70s and '80s, as far as I'm concerned. Lange is terrific in this, playing a baby doll starlet who reveals herself to be a hip, sexually liberated chick. She stands up to Kong, instead of just screaming like Fay Wray. It took another six years for most people to realize Lange wasn't playing herself, but could actually act.
The thunderous musical score by John Barry and exquisite lighting by Richard Kline – who Rick Baker credited for making Kong work – are first rate. Instead of recycling the blatantly sexist "it was beauty killed the beast" theme of the original, the remake treats its characters and tragic title beast with a lot more sophistication, presenting Kong as a mythological creature exploited and destroyed by the greed of the modern world.
"This is one biblically awful piece of cinema, yet it gets two stars because it's just so damn funny," writes Scott Weinberg at EFilmCritic.
Sam Kelly & Shahir Daud at The Lumiere Reader say the remake of King Kong is "surprisingly upbeat and humorous, melding the original's sense of tragedy with an up-to-date evocation of greed."
"This might rank as one of the most uneven movies ever made, ranging from exceptionally good to downright awful, with special effects at times both impressive and laughable," says Vince Leo at QWipster's Movie Reviews.
"They will discover an uncharted island that is the home of the most incredible creature on the face of the Earth." View the original theatrical trailer here.


text: Description: These cute pricks got some really harsh time when found themselves in hands of a couple of skillful and cruel men! You will see them immobilized, miserable, beaten up and forced to do loads of sexual stuff! They even had to fuck each other, but you better see it by yourself!


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Posts Tagged 'chemistry'
Burning to learn
In central California's Yosemite National Park, it doesn't take much to set the forest on fire. A discarded cigarette. A match. Or, as is often the case, a bolt of lightning. On July 31, 2011, thunder boomed as a severe storm pelted the park. The lightning struck [Read More]
The smell of old people
When most people talk about "old people smell," they're complaining about something unpleasant. But in a new study, scientists report that the scent of the elderly isn't that bad. In fact, it's rather pleasant, at least compared to the intense odor of a [Read More]
Meat from scratch
If all goes according to Mark Post's plan, he will appear on television in October and devour a hamburger that costs about twice as much as most houses do in the United States. Yes, as Charlotte the spider might have written, that's some burger. "It's not [Read More]
Self-cleaning clothes
Cleaning clothes usually requires soap and water to remove stains and smells, and a tumble in the dryer or an afternoon on the clothesline to dry. The time and energy needed to turn a heap of dirty laundry into a pile of clean clothes might make people wish for clothes that [Read More]
Drugs with Bad Vibes
Question: Which has the biggest impact on global warming: A coal-fired power plant, 1,000,000 cars, or the global total of inhaled anesthetics – those dreamy drugs that knock you out for surgery? This show from the Loh Down on Science has the answer. It aired [Read More]
Sea Changes
Every day, the ocean absorbs about 22 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is about the weight of 15 million hybrid automobiles. Just as you can't see the carbon dioxide that comes out of your own body each time you exhale, you can't see the gas as it dissolves into [Read More]