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e.g., baby food, laptop
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Deal debunked: Up to 60% off, plus take an EXTRA 20% off!
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Don't be tricked by misleading deals - get the LOZO! Search for "deal debunked" to get the LOZO on other tricks of the trade.
The "deal": "Sale: Up to 60% off, plus take an EXTRA 20% off!"
What it sounds like: 80% off!
What it's usually really worth: 30-50% off
How they trick you: Well you see 60%, and then 20%, so naturally it seems like 80% right? First of all, the "up to 60% off" means that most items probably are discounted a lot less, maybe more like 20-30% off. Then they take the extra 20% off after the discount is already applied, so you are only saving another 15% or so. Here's an illustration: Item was $100, now on sale for $80. Take an extra 20% off, but take it off the $80 price, so you are really saving $16, not $20.
How you can maximize your savings: Hunt around for the 60% off items. If the store says "up to 60% off" it means at least some (maybe 1 out of 8) of the items are discounted that much, so keep looking! With the extra 20% off you end up saving 68% in total. Not the 80% it sounded like, but still a great deal!
User Comments


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I am re-configuring my filtration system on my newer pond, so will be selling two of my three Blue Eco RDF's go (I'm keeping the third one I have). Just bought them this spring new for more than $3000, will let them go for $2000 each plus shipping cost to you (unless you want to pick up in Illinois or arrange to meet me somewhere in between).
These are the newest generation of the Blue Eco RDF.
Both have the quartz sleeve and working ballasts for UV light too. Unfortunately I only have one working UV bulb at this time (I accidently broke the other!), so whoever is first to speak for the good UV bulb for an extra $25 gets it.
Please PM me with questions...thanks!

subset: commoncrawl


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Monthly Archives: February 2014
Ecigs : The healthier option from morecig.com
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SAN DIEGO, June 30 (UPI) -- Thirty-three percent of U.S. women say no to dating an unemployed man, but 42 percent would consider it if the man had a plan, a survey indicated.
The survey of 925 single women by specialty dating service It's Just Lunch found 4 percent of women responded with an unreserved yes to dating an unemployed man, while another 21 percent said they would, but they wanted to know how the man was keeping occupied if not working.
"Not having a job will definitely make it harder for men to date someone they don't already know," Irene LaCota, spokeswoman for It's Just Lunch, said in a statement.
Many women said they fear there will be a financial obligation if they dated someone who is out of work, while others said they feared their activities would be constricted by an unemployed man's financial limitations.
It's not just about money, life coach and filmmaker Patricia Weaver said, it is about being with a man who is engaged in something.
"Even at my age, 75, and dating if you can believe it, if a man is not employed, volunteering, involved in life -- it's a deal breaker," Weaver said.
Vincent Turner, of San Francisco, said women are subtle when they discover a man is living off his savings.
"No one's going to say, 'I'm not going to date you because you don't have a job," Turner said. "You usually get the first date. But you don't get a lot of callbacks."


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Looking for healthier scones? Make these Vegan Glazed Oatmeal Chai Pumpkin Scones! They taste like fall, but without the gluten and refined sugar!
I feel that it's appropriate to assume people are more productive working at a coffee shop than at home. Literally every time I walk into Starbucks (or any coffee shop) there are no seats available because everyone is busy on their laptops either working or studying.
There is just something about getting work done with a coffee and pastry by your side. It makes working/studying so much easier and more joyful. Whose with me on this one? When ever I have the time, I go to Starbucks to do things on the blog that I hate doing, because God knows I won't do it when I'm home. So how does this tie into today's recipe? Scones.
Coffee shops have scones and scones are delicious. But scones are high calorie, have virtually no nutrients, and do nada for your body. Buttt they accompany coffee/tea really well. Hot caffeinated beverages + scones = soul mates.
Of course I would love to order a scone at a coffee shop, but that would be bad-news-bears because gluten and sugar💩💩💩
Thank God I'm a blogger and I sometimes know how to bake, so my God-given talent saved me on this one. I've done oatmeal scones before and based this recipe off of them. Also had to make a pumpkin version because everyone loves pumpkin! I also chai spices to it, Mmmmmmm!
But wait, there's more. A pumpkin chai glaze is drizzled on top of the scones, because glazes make everything better. 👈Proven fact💁. So not only do you get tasty scones that you and your coffee have been longing for, but you also get some good nutrients, fiber and homemade goodness.
Glazed Oatmeal Chai Pumpkin Scones
Chai spice and pumpkin are combined together in these delicious scones that are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea! You'd never guess they are vegan, gluten-free and made with only three tablespoons of maple syrup to sweeten them!
- 3 chai tea bags
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- Pumpkin Chai Glaze:
- 1/4 cup coconut cream
- 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- chai spice
- Cut tops of of chai tea bags and place in a food processor. Blend until tea is in fine granules. Set aside 1/3 for the glaze.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine oats, oat flour, baking soda and 2/3 of chai tea granules.
- In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, milk, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix to form a dough.
- Add dough to a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shape into a large circle and bake for 15 minutes.
- Take out of oven and slice into 8 even slices. Bake for another 10 minutes.
- To make glaze, place all ingredients in a sauce pan on medium-low heat until mixture starts to simmer, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then spoon over scones.
- Enjoy!
Like This Recipe? Pin For Later!
You May Also Like:
Roasted Strawberry & Toasted Coconut Scones {Vegan & Gluten-free}
Green Tea Pistachio Oat Scones {Vegan & Gluten-free}
Questions of the day!
What's your go-to Starbucks order?
What's your all-time favorite flavor of scones?


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Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo feels he could be in the best form of his career.
Ronaldo has helped Real to the top of the Liga table this season.
Asked if he's in the best form of his career, Ronaldo told AS: "Maybe, but there is still a long way to go to finish the season. I think I am in a good moment, I hope to continue.
"I started very well, the team is great and we have to give continuity to the season finale."


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Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has called on Syria and Lebanon to "stop hesitating" and commit themselves to "work day and night" for a peace agreement with Israel.
Peres made his call before the new session of the U.N. General Assembly on Monday in a now-familiar address that touted the advances in the Middle East peace process, Israel's unflagging determination to pursue it and its fruits for the entire region.
He chastised the Syrians for not sticking to the talks and for insisting that negotiations can be pursued only through military channels.
He challenged them to work "on all levels, combining all issues" – "ceaselessly" and "without fatigue."
Peres also went out of his way to single out for praise the leadership of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at a time when Israeli-Egyptian relations are strained by allegations that Israeli soldiers killed Egyptian POWs in 1956 and 1967.
And he pointed with pride to last week's signing of the second phase of the self-rule agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
"We decided to make the moral choice not to dominate another people" in spite of terror, the continuing Arab boycott and internal political opposition, he said.
"Nobody forced us to do so," he said. "We are not weak, we are not poor, we are not under pressure."
Israel's Labor Party "may lose politically, but winning peace is more important in our eyes than winning elections," said Peres, alluding to elections scheduled for November of next year.
"Why get elected if we don't use the mandate to change the course of history?"
In his speech, Peres echoed remarks the made during a briefing a day earlier with members of the Jewish media.
At the briefing, he defended the agreement and dismissed the significance of the political opposition to it in Israel.
"People are outraged? What can I do?" Peres said. "I don't know what would have happened if there had been a public opinion poll" when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.
"Shall we go after the golden calf because there's majority" in favor of doing so, "or shall we go to the promised land because it's the best thing?"
"Leadership has to lead, not only to represent," he said. "It is not a beauty contest."
Peres said his government has no plans to try to defuse the political tensions or win over the opposition.
"I am not a great believer in a campaign to explain our position – I think deeds are more popular than words," he said. "I don't think a government has to be popular at every moment."
Peres also expressed concern about U.S. Jewish political lobbying in Congress against the Oslo accord, which drew the wrath of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin during his recent U.S. visit.
"To go in an organized manner to intervene in the diplomacy of Israel and try to defeat the policy of the elected government of a country" is "unheard of, unprecedented."
Nevertheless, Peres was sanguine about U.S. Jewish solidarity with the Israeli government peace plan.
"Seventy percent of the American Jewish people support this policy," he said. "We're talking about a minority which is very vocal."
At the United Nations, Peres highlighted the strength of Israel's economy, which he called "an economy of brains, not of material resources." At the same time, he offered Israel's expertise to other nations and expressed its eagerness for joint ventures.
His language was cautions, however, in apparent deference to some sensitivity that Israel is poised to become the region's economic superpower.
"We gave up the domination of a people surely not to dominate any markets," he said.
"Together we shall invest and together we shall develop," he said. "A better economy is the best guarantee for peace."


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EASTER eggs, feathers, sparkles and drawings were popular hat decorations at Merewether Public School.
Like many schools across the region, the students celebrated the last week of term and Easter with a hat parade.
The children showed off their colourful handiwork with each class marching around the hall in front of families and friends.
Merewether Public School assistant principal and parade organiser Vicki McKean said the event was also a major school fund-raiser.
This year parents donated "heaps" for the Parents and Citizens' Association raffle.
The raffle of 38 prizes raised about $2000, which will help refurbish the school's private reading areas.
The 39th prize was donated to the Ronald McDonald House at John Hunter Children's Hospital.
Merewether Public School captains Lara Manning and Jack Read-Jones and vice-captains Josie Muggleton-Ryan and Angus Durie hand delivered the Easter basket.
Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern NSW CEO Ross Bingham said the school had delivered Easter donations for more than 10 years.
"I love it when children are giving to children less fortunate - it's very special," he said.


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Any problem that happens to the vaginal area may cause embarrassment for women. It may destroy the romantic moments between you and your partner, which may have some unwanted effects on your relationship. Besides, the vaginal area is signficantly important to a woman, as it enables them to perform one of the most meaningful activities in their life – giving birth. Therefore, it is a great idea to take good care of the vaginal area.
However, it is not an easy task. There are many troubles that can appear in a woman's vaginal area. Some may cause only itchiness and irritation for few days, but some can lead to more severe symptoms and last longer. One of the most common ones is vaginal discharge and it has consequences that are worthy being concerned[1][2][3].
The main cause for vaginal discharge is the infection of bacteria in this area. In addition, the change of hormones in the body can be a strong catalyst for this problem. Pregnant women are more vulnerable to vaginal discharge than non-pregnant ones. And you can say you are infected with vaginal discharge when you notice one of these symptoms in your vaginal area: itchiness, pain, odor, and even pain.
Fortunately, there exist home remedies for vaginal discharge that can show us how to get rid of vaginal discharge easily without spending too much money and time. You can combine some methods to apply at the same time, but if vaginal discharge triggers too many discomforts, you should have a discussion with a doctor.
Here are top 15 natural home remedies for vaginal discharge that any woman can apply on her own without spending a lot of money and effort to get rid of this annoying problem…
1. Yogurt
Yogurt is very familiar with women because it does have positive effects on skin and hair care[4]. However, they should know about health benefits of yogurt in the vaginal discharge treatment as well. Lactobacillus which is present in yogurt can help you prevent and stop the growth of bacteria in this area. Thanks to this substance, yeast infection can be prevented effectively and you can get rid of vaginal discharge easily[5][6].
You can use a cotton pad to apply yogurt into the vaginal area several times per day. After that, you should wash this area with warm water.
2. Tea Tree Oil
With antiseptic qualities, tea tree oil is one of the best home remedies for vaginal discharge[7][8]. It can stop the development of bacteria and help you get rid of uncomfortable odor in the vaginal area. However, it should be noted that only diluted tea tree oil is used. You do not want to worsen the itchiness and irritation by applying undiluted one into the vaginal area.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar
Like yogurt, apple cider vinegar is also very popular in treating many health problems. And now, you can learn how to get rid of vaginal discharge by using it. The antifungal and antibacterial quality of apple cider vinegar makes it ideal to remove the bacteria accumulated inside the vaginal area[9]. Another benefit of this remedy is to restore the balance of pH of the body. You can mix some spoons of apple cider vinegar with your bath water and soak yourself in it for half an hour. The vaginal odor will disappear shortly.
4. Garlic
To eliminate the uncomfortable odor, you should use another ingredient whose odor is also uncomfortable. It may sound illogical, right? However, garlic is well-known to speed up the vaginal discharge treatment considerably. It is antifungal, so it can remove all the fungus that may be the main cause for vaginal discharge[10][11][12]. You can digest some garlic cloves mixed with water before you have breakfast every day. Or you can have them crushed and applied into the vaginal area.
5. Banana
Banana has been commonly believed to be a divine fruit in the medical world, and now, it proves that the claim is true when supporting the vaginal discharge treatment. You should eat 2-3 bananas on a daily basis so that you can get rid of vaginal discharge as soon as possible. A banana contains a large amount of vitamins and calcium, which not only helps to regain the hormonal balance, but also improves the conditions of your skin and general health[13].
6. Fenugreek seeds
The problematic changes of hormones can be solved thanks to fenugreek seeds. In fact, it is one of the best home remedies for vaginal discharge. The nutrients of this remedy even enhance the production of female sex hormones.
- Put some fenugreek seeds inside water and leave them overnight.
- In the next morning, they should be strained.
- Then, consume them before you have breakfast.
You should apply this method several times per week until you notice improvements.
7. Baking Soda
The damaged pH level can lead to a series of diverse health problems, including vaginal discharge. Therefore, if you are disturbed by the itchiness or pain going beyond your control, you can make use of baking soda. You can mix it with water and drink the mixture. Or in case you want to remove the uncomfortable odor, you can wash your vaginal area with the mixture.
8. Turmeric
To know how to get rid of vaginal discharge, you should be aware of the benefits of turmeric first. With the antibacterial qualities, it can be used to prevent your vagina from getting infected with bacteria[14][15]. You should drink turmeric along with a cup of warm milk 2-3 times each day to get the best results.
Learn more about turmeric's benefits at Home Remedies for Sinus Infection.
9. Cranberry
The toxic substances that are not good for the health can be eliminated from the body if you drink a cup of cranberry juice every day. The acidity of cranberry will prevent the bacteria from causing the bad odor in the vagina. The vaginal discharge treatment will finish quickly.
10. Milk
It is certain that some cups of milk every day will boost your immunity, which is very beneficial in the vaginal discharge treatment[16]. You can use milk to wash your vaginal area to treat the uncomfortable odor and itchiness at the same time.
Milk is also used to treat other health problems such as Home Remedies for Restless Legs Syndrome.
11. Neem
With antifungal and antiviral properties, neem can be considered as one of the most effective home remedies for vaginal discharge[17][18].
- Put neem leaves on the pan and turn on the heat for 3-5 minutes.
- When the leaves are cool, have them crushed to turn them into powder.
- Mix it with water to make a paste that is applied into your vaginal area.
Learn more about neem's benefits at How to Reduce Breast Size Naturally.
12. Guava
When mixed with hot water, guava leaves can become a great remedy to remove the vaginal odor caused by vaginal discharge. It is reasonable to say that guava is a great addition to the vaginal discharge treatment.
13. Indian Gooseberry
This herb appears in many treatments for different health problems, as it provides a considerable amount of vitamin C and essential nutrients needed for the removal of bacteria from the body. In fact, you can digest indian gooseberry raw to absorb the best nutrients. But if it is not your favorite way, you can mix its powder with honey and drink 2-3 times per day.
14. Avoid Tight Clothes
When the bacteria attack your vaginal area and cause uncomfortable odor, the best way to deal with this problem is to wear fitting or loose clothes. Tight clothes may worsen the odor and itchiness, which may make you stuck on vaginal discharge for a longer time.
15. Avoid caffeine and alcohol
The secret of how to get rid of vaginal discharge lies in your diet and lifestyle. Therefore, it is a good idea to remove the proportion of caffeine and alcohol in your daily meals, because they can activate the growth of bacteria causing vaginal discharge. Instead, you should consume more citrus foods that provide your body with vitamin C, such as grapes or oranges. They will strengthen your immune system, helping you fight against vaginal discharge.
To help us reach out millions of outside readers, do not forget to LIKE and SHARE if you find this article helpful!


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Pipeline updates are highly awaited events in the pharma/biotech sector as they play an important role in deciding whether or not to invest in a particular company. These updates provide information on experimental drugs and at times give an insight into the commercial potential of the candidate once it is successfully developed and commercialized.
Late last week, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS) announced that it has initiated a randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-titration phase II study on ISIS-APO(a) in patients suffering from high lipoprotein(a) – Lp(a). The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of ISIS-APO(a) over a 12-week period.
Increased level of Lp(a) is a genetically determined indication, which is not adequately responsive to diet and lifestyle changes. According to Isis Pharma, medical awareness about the role played by Lp(a) in causing cardiovascular disease is gradually increasing.
Given that many patients suffer from cardiovascular disease resulting from high Lp(a) levels, despite having normal LDL-cholesterol levels, we believe there is need for new treatments targeting Lp(a). If successfully developed and commercialized, ISIS-APO(a) will be the first drug designed specifically for the treatment of patients suffering from Lp(a)-caused cardiovascular disease.
Meanwhile, Isis Pharma is conducting a phase II/III study on ISIS-TTR in patients suffering from familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP.TO). Last week, the company announced that it has earned a $1 million milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) pertaining to the advancement of ISIS-TTR in the phase II/III study. The latest payment of $1 million marks the fifth installment of the total milestone payment of approximately $58 million that Isis Pharma is eligible to receive from Glaxo for the development of ISIS-TTR.
Isis Pharma and partner Glaxo are also conducting an open-label extension study on ISIS-TTR in FAP patients who have completed dosing in the phase II/III study.
Isis Pharma carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector include Actelion Ltd. (ALIOF) and Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB). Both stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Read the Full Research Report on ISIS
Read the Full Research Report on ALIOF
Read the Full Research Report on GSK
Read the Full Research Report on BIIB
Zacks Investment Research


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The kid asked for only two things for her fifth birthday: A Rapunzel doll that she remembers seeing in a store with Grammy and Papoux (they came through with that) and a Rapunzel dress and accompanying long golden hair. Andrew and I cobbled together a pretty winsome costume from Frankel's, and the kid didn't notice that it wasn't name brand.
Fast forward to this afternoon, when, with no prompting and no assistance, Hazel delivered to us an envelope stuffed with a note.
The paper read:
"theog u fro the rpuzl costom a the wg."
Andrew and I are utter failures at writing thank you notes, sending birthday cards and making all those other gestures of appreciation common to decent people. But despite how much we suck, our sweet, sweet girl realized on her own that a few minutes and a piece of paper could change someone's whole day.
We will never throw it away.


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Edythe Kirchmaier posts to Facebook a few times each week. Her "Likes" include Prince William and The Cheesecake Factory, and most of her comments are about her family; others concern her charity work for nonprofit Direct Relief, which delivers medical supplies to disaster sites around the globe.
So how did Kirchmaier get more than 41,000 Facebook followers?
She is 105, the world's oldest Facebook user. That distinction brought the California resident all kinds of media attention this year. In January, her local newspaper, the Santa Barbara Independent, wrote a feature on Kirchmaier, highlighting her online activity. Producers of Ellen invited her on the daytime talk show, where the audience gave her a standing ovation and sang "Happy Birthday" as host Ellen DeGeneres wheeled out a cake ablaze with 105 candles. Kirchmaier urged the show's viewers to support Direct Relief, where she has volunteered for more than 40 years. The Today show devoted a segment to her as well.
The spotlight isn't fading as Kirchmaier approaches the 106-year mark this January. Sunday morning, Kirchmaier – who still drives her own car – will be the subject of a short profile on Super Soul Sunday, the weekly talk show on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network. The episode, which features a lengthy sit-down between Winfrey and author Anne Lamott, airs at 11 a.m. ET. A preview:


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Adapted from Arabesque
These orange slices can be served with coffee or tea, or as an improvised sweet at the end of a meal, accompanied by creme fraiche or thick heavy whipped cream. They keep for weeks in the refrigerator so you fix them in advance.
- 2 pounds unwaxed oranges (organic oranges with thick skins, which must be unwaxed)
- 2 c. sugar
Wash the oranges and cut them in thin slices, removing any pits.
Sprinkle the bottom of a large heavy-bottomed pan with a little of the sugar. Arrange some of the orange slices on top so that they overlap slightly and sprinkle generously with more sugar. Make layers of orange slices, each sprinkled with sugar and finishing with sugar.
Pour cold water over the slices so that they are only just covered. Cut a circle of foil or waxed paper and press it on top of the oranges to prevent evaporation.
Serve with the cream on top.


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BELGRADE - Serbia's Minister of Health Leposava Milicevic received on Monday a delegation of the Greek-Serbian friendship society "Ancient Greece", headed by Society President Laios Constantinos, a government statement said.
The two sides agreed that the traditionally good and friendly relations between the Greek and Serbian peoples were a good basis for developing all forms of cooperation.
The Society has forged cultural ties between the two countries, and the meeting with the health minister produced several useful initiatives for promoting cooperation in other fields, such as humanitarian drives, health protection and medical supplies.
The delegation stressed that the war against Yugoslavia did not end with the end of NATO's March 24-June 10 air strikes, and that Serbian people still need understanding and help from the others in the Balkans.
The delegation launched an initiative for a number of Serbian children to visit Greece, the statement said.


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I realised I haven't blogged for a while, so I thought I'd start a series of useful posts about designing online surveys. These tips and tricks are based on my training materials and I hope they can be useful to you.
So, first things first. It's important to consider five things when planning an online survey:
1. Population: Who is your target population? How many people are there in this target population?
2. Objectives: What is the main reason for running this survey? What's the single most important focus? Write this down, and don't be tempted to bloat the question set with loads of other questions.
3. Ethics and data protection: How can you treat people fairly, and how will you store and handle data now and in the future?
4. Timeline: How long have you got to plan it, run it, and analyse results?
5. Sampling method: Who to contact, and how? How many responses do you need to get valid data that represent the population?
Everyone who plans a survey should get into the habit of documenting the answers to this question.
To help this process I've created a single page A4 planning document. Please feel free to download the survey plan document and use for your online survey planning.
Watch this space for the second update of tips and tricks in the next few weeks!


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Don J. Easterbrook provides more background information on the historical situation at the time of the last low-to-no-sunspot period:
Galileo's perfection of the telescope in 1609 allowed scientists to see sunspots for the first time. From 1610 A.D. to 1645 A.D., very few sunspots were seen, despite the fact that many scientists with telescopes were looking for them, and from 1645 to 1700 AD sunspots virtually disappeared from the sun (Fig. 1). During this interval of greatly reduced sunspot activity, known as the Maunder Minimum, global climates turned bitterly cold (the Little Ice Age), demonstrating a clear correspondence between sunspots and cool climate. After 1700 A.D., the number of observed sunspots increased sharply from nearly zero to more than 50 (Fig. 1) and the global climate warmed.
FIGURE 1. Sunspots during the Maunder Minimum (modified from Eddy, 1976).
The Maunder Minimum was not the beginning of The Little Ice Age — it actually began about 1300 AD — but it marked perhaps the bitterest part of the cooling. Temperatures dropped ~4º C (~7 º F) in ~20 years in mid-to high latitudes. The colder climate that ensued for several centuries was devastating. The population of Europe had become dependent on cereal grains as their main food supply during the Medieval Warm Period and when the colder climate, early snows, violent storms, and recurrent flooding swept Europe, massive crop failures occurred. Winters in Europe were bitterly cold, and summers were rainy and too cool for growing cereal crops, resulting in widespread famine and disease. About a third of the population of Europe perished.
Glaciers all over the world advanced and pack ice extended southward in the North Atlantic. Glaciers in the Alps advanced and overran farms and buried entire villages. The Thames River and canals and rivers of the Netherlands frequently froze over during the winter. New York Harbor froze in the winter of 1780 and people could walk from Manhattan to Staten Island. Sea ice surrounding Iceland extended for miles in every direction, closing many harbors. The population of Iceland decreased by half and the Viking colonies in Greenland died out in the 1400s because they could no longer grow enough food there. In parts of China, warm weather crops that had been grown for centuries were abandoned. In North America, early European settlers experienced exceptionally severe winters.


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This post is syndicated (?) from The Whisky Exchange - New Products & News
Lagavulin 1997 Distillers Edition / 70cl / 43% / Distillery Bottling
The 1997 vintage of Lagavulin's Distillers Edition bottled in 2013. By far the most popular of the Distiller's Edition series this double matured Lagavulin has had a finishing period in sweet, sticky Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. A whisky that never…
Continue read this article at The Whisky Exchange - New Products & News


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- Toronto, TMX Broadcast Centre
- October 18, 2012 - 19:00
Lou Clancy, vice-president of editorial and editor-in-chief of Postmedia News
Michael Cooke, editor of the Toronto Star
Charlotte Empey, editor-in-chief of Metro English Canada
John Stackhouse, editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail
Scott White, editor-in-chief of The Canadian Press
Thursday, October 18
TMX Broadcast Centre - Gallery, 130 King St. W., The Exchange Tower, Toronto
- View the photos.
- check out The J-Source liveblog and Article.
- Listen to the podcast.
- Read the the results of ipsos reid poll, showing canadians still rely on traditional media for news. Check out the j-source summary of the poll.
- Check out the media coverage in:
- TVO's The Inside Agenda Blog by Steve Paikin
- The Globe and Mail by public editor Sylvia SteaD
- MACLEANS BY aMANDA shendruk
- Printaction by victoria Gaitskell
Newspapers came late – and somewhat reluctantly to the Web. Then they embraced "digital first," SEO and all things Internet as the way ahead. But, with digital dollars stalling, what's next? Video, longreads, quick hits? Lou Clancy, vice-president of editorial and editor-in-chief of Postmedia News; Michael Cooke, editor of the Toronto Star; Charlotte Empey, editor-in-chief of Metro English Canada; and John Stackhouse, editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail discussed the latest challenges to journalism and strategies to save the news business. Scott White, editor-in-chief of The Canadian Press, moderated.
LOU CLANCY heads up Postmedia's editorial operations. As vice-president of editorial, he assumed responsibility for digital content in November, 2011. Clancy previously held senior positions at other major media groups, including as editor-in-chief at the Toronto Sun, vice-president of editorial at Sun Media and later Osprey Media, editor-in-chief at the Kitchener-Waterloo Record and managing editor of the Toronto Star. He began his career as a sports editor/reporter at the Simcoe Reformer when Gutenberg was in his prime.
MICHAEL COOKE was appointed editor of the Toronto Star on March 1, 2009. He was raised near Lancaster in Northern England and began his career at age 17 as an apprentice reporter. He moved on to work in and around London's Fleet Street, and at Bristol's Western Daily Press. He emigrated in 1974 to Canada, where he became assistant national editor at Toronto's The Star, Canada's largest newspaper; assistant city editor, city editor and co-managing editor of The Gazette in Montreal; managing editor The Edmonton Journal; and editor-in-chief of The Vancouver Province. Michael was one of a team of founding editors of Canada's new national newspaper, The National Post, and, served as the last editor of The Financial Post. He supervised the paper's merger with the new national newspaper. Michael has served as editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun-Times, editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News, and Vice-President of Editorial for the Chicago Sun-Times News Group (100 titles). Michael has travelled extensively in Africa in the last five years, most notable doing pro-bono work for the Canadian-based Journalists For Human Rights foundation. He has given journalism seminars in many countries, with longer stays in Congo, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia and has recently become a videographer.
CHARLOTTE EMPEY, as editor-in-chief of Metro English Canada, manages 10 daily newspapers across the country and associated web sites serving 15 major markets. Prior to this role she was editor-in-chief of Canadian Living magazine for seven years as well as editor-in-chief of Homemakers magazine, where she was responsible for redefining the editorial content of both brands over all platforms including print, digital and broadcast. She has held senior positions at Modern Woman, Chatelaine and Flare magazines, and in academia, as associate dean, School of Creative and Performing Arts at Humber College. Ms. Empey is a member of the Board of Directors of Free The Children.
JOHN STACKHOUSE is editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail. He was previously the editor of the Report on Business and has also served as the newspaper's national editor, foreign editor, correspondent at large, and for seven years, from 1992 to 1999, was the development issues correspondent based in New Delhi. He has worked for Report on Business Magazine, the Financial Times, London Free Press and The Toronto Star. Mr. Stackhouse has won five national newspaper awards, a national magazine award and an Amnesty International Award for human rights reporting. He was educated at Queen's University, and lives in Toronto.
SCOTT WHITE has been editor-in-chief of The Canadian Press since 1997. He manages the editorial operations of the English service for Canada's national news service, including print, audio, video, pictures and online content. White has overseen the integration of the print and broadcast divisions of The Canadian Press and then the introduction of CP's online video service. Prior to becoming editor-in-chief, White was CP's General News editor, chief of pictures, Vancouver Bureau chief, Washington correspondent, Sports editor and Queen's Park correspondent. White is chair of the National Newspaper Awards board of governors, a member of the School of Journalism's Advisory Council at Ryerson University and a member of the International Olympic Committee's Press Commission. He is also currently enrolled in the Executive MBA program at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.


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Regattabar Kids' Summer Music Series:Mister G
A leading figure in the children's music world, Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) is a former indie rocker who was awarded the first songwriting scholarship in the history of Berklee College of Music. He toured internationally prior to earning a Masters of Education and becoming a full-time family musician and teaching artist.
His award-winning 2012 release, Chocolalala, is a collection of original, bilingual (Spanish/English) songs. Inspired by his concert tours throughout Latin America, the album spans a wide range of musical styles from bossa nova to ska, funk to folk. Audio/Video Clips Artist Official Website
Tickets: $12 - NOTE: All Kids shows are open seating. -Join us for supper at Henrietta's table after the show. Kids of all ages get a free dessert!


text: Module Name: pkgsrc Committed By: ryoon Date: Fri Jan 25 22:02:18 UTC 2013 Modified Files: pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib: Makefile.common Makefile.version distinfo Added Files: pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/patches: patch-BSDmakefile Removed Files: pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/patches: patch-aa patch-ab patch-ac Log Message: Update to 2.7.2 from 2.4.0 * Use custom BSDmakefile instead of luarocks. It seems that luarocks lacks destdir support. Changelog: 2013-01-08 Release 2.7.2 * Fixed the use of alternative allocators, and a memory leak. * Simplify the build system further. * Change rockspec to build from git now that github no longer supports downloads. 2012-10-18 Release 2.7.1 * Fixed Lua 5.1 compatibility, broken in 2.7.0. * Added ability to specify no replacement to gsub with a nil or false replacement argument. 2012-10-04 Release 2.7.0 * Added support for searching raw memory buffers (e.g. made with alien). * Fixed possible invalid code generation in C (thanks, Michael Tautschnig). * Generate LuaRock rockspecs for all modules. * Greatly simplify UNIX build system, relying on LuaRocks. * Allow POSIX REG_STARTEND to be used on any system supporting it. * Add a test set for POSIX regex engine (thanks, Enrico Tassi). * Simplify some code. * Always use Lua state memory allocator. 2012-04-13 Release 2.6.0 * Added support for Lua 5.2. 2010-12-15 Release 2.5.3 * Bug fix to rex.split. * Support for new flags in PCRE 8.11. 2010-11-10 Release 2.5.2 * Important bug fix (thanks to Enrico Tassi for the report) affecting platforms with certain alignment requirements. * Improved build system for Windows. * Minor improvements to the manual. 2010-10-04 Release 2.5.1 * Minor improvements and fixes, no changes to library code. 2010-10-03 Release 2.5.0 * Added bindings of the TRE and GNU regex APIs. * Improved and simplified the build system. To generate a diff of this commit: cvs rdiff -u -r1.2 -r1.3 pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/Makefile.common cvs rdiff -u -r126.96.36.199 -r1.2 pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/Makefile.version \ pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/distinfo cvs rdiff -u -r0 -r1.1 pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/patches/patch-BSDmakefile cvs rdiff -u -r220.127.116.11 -r0 pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/patches/patch-aa \ pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/patches/patch-ab \ pkgsrc/devel/lua-lrexlib/patches/patch-ac Please note that diffs are not public domain; they are subject to the copyright notices on the relevant files.


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2007 CWB Marius 134
Width is the best thing to hit wakeboarding if done right. Trevor did it right. Trevor rides with a style that makes his riding look effortless. Coasting into the wake and boosting a method back five eight feet skyward. The question is how can he get so high with such little edge? Width my friend. Lay your eyes on the Marius and the first thing you will see is that it is the widest board ever. This extra width means mucho surface area, which translates into lift, soft landings and great room for stickers. Wide boards are historically harder to edge, which is why most on the market are short wide boards The brilliant minds at CWB developed V-Tech to enable the first fully functioning wide, long board on the market. This deep V means rocker at the corner is nearly 3", but in the middle it is almost an inch lower. The V-Tech makes the long wide board switch edges incredibly fast, turning like a long narrow board. Gone are the days of sacrificing pop when edging hard. With V-Tech and the massive real estate packed into the Marius, bring on the pop!
Add Your Review
Add Your Review
Reviewer: Mike Breninger
11/11/2008 12:00am
Surface area of board makes for easy landings
Reviewer: T A
08/15/2008 12:00am
love the board!! takes a set or two to get used to after riding fast boards since it does ride a little slower but it is easily adjusted for. tower high jumps are effortless and landings are butter. taking inverts higher since this board is so easy to land on. buy it!!
Reviewer: Trace Parrott
10/31/2006 12:00am
Marius 134.wow.wut more 2 say.these boards absolutly rip!!!!i love them.i am curently riding this deck now and its incredible!!!!pops like an aggresive 3stage while riding a continous rocker.the huge platform for pop(wider profile) causes huge air off basicly nothing.speed suffers a lil bit cuz of its wider profile but u just ajust to it and learn better techinques on craving.this board can hold its edge like no other!all the way through the wake.i havnt ever slipped out while riding this board.not only can it hold the edge but it also has a gnarly almost sk8y feel wen neutral.the release from this board is also a strong point.even if the CF is still on it releases as if it wasnt.the shorter profile board makes 3's into 5's and 5's into 7's.insane.the wider profile makes inverts a lil trickier to (key word)"learn" but this board i found was easy to get flipping.landings...omg ther insane.makes the landing of the double up an enjoyable experiance.carvs like a slolomn ski but pops like a damn tank!this board is amazing.buy it and u wont b sorry!.


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I have my suspicions that Natural Gas may bring the peak sooner, due to economics.
Shell's Gas-to-Liquids is becoming more economical and produces fuels that today's vehicles can use.
That would allow the existing infrastructure and distribution to switch to GTL liquid fuel, running on Natural Gas with little cost to switch.
That would be great.


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At Your Web Design Team, we create extraordinary websites. We always treat every client with the very best in personal service and we know how to make your site as accessible as possible on the web. We have the skills to turn your ideas into reality, and will professionally develop your site in a style and manner that will exceed your expectations. Your Web Design Team has talented people that will be able to not only list out several unique and creative ideas, but we can also help you to develop ideas that will fit your website and marketing needs. By choosing us, you are taking the first step towards creating a strong we presence for your company.
The web development industry is very competitive. Specifically, the market in the Central Indiana area is overcrowded with various caliber companies and talent. Through very careful marketing, we have been able to penetrate, and excel in the industry without traditional ways of marketing. We work on a business model of quality rather than quantity. We bet you'll see the difference.


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Traders are selling puts in Banco Bradesco for the second day in a row.
optionMONSTER's tracking systems detected the sale of 20,000 January 12 puts in a single print for $0.99. This is clearly a new position, as open interest in the strike was 5,174 contracts before the trade appeared.
That follows 6,500 March 12 puts that were sold yesterday for $0.98. The put sellers are looking for the Brazilian lender to stay above $12 through their expective expirations, but they will be on the hook to buy shares if BBD falls below that level. (See our Education section)
BBD is down 2.06 percent to $12.57 this afternoon. Shares popped after the bank reported second-quarter results on Monday but have pulled back since. The stock was above $17 in late May but plummeted to a four-year low of $11.29 on July 5.
Today's put sale makes up almost all of BBD's option volume of 22,428 in the session so far. That is already 13 times its daily average for the last month.
More From optionMONSTER
Traders are selling puts in Banco Bradesco for the second day in a row.


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Arkansas Defeats Tulsa 19-15 - Recap
Dennis Johnson ran for 109 yards as Arkansas handled Tulsa by a score of 19-15 on Saturday at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
The Razorbacks won the battle on the scoreboard, but not at the payout window as they failed to cover the 9-point spread. UNDER bettors were rewarded when the final score pointed to an UNDER play.
Tyler Wilson completed 21 of 31 pass attempts for 272 yards for the Razorbacks in the win. He was picked off 1 time by the Golden Hurricane defense.
Trey Watts rushed for 81 yards for Tulsa, while Cody Green added 24 yards. Cody Green threw for 222 yards for the Golden Hurricane, while receivers Keyarris Garrett and Trey Watts had 94 and 53 yards respectively.
Tulsa lost the offensive yardage battle to Arkansas 407-328 yards in Saturday's game. Arkansas had more first downs as that total ended up 18-17.
Tulsa lost the time of possession battle 30:19/29:41, leaving their defense on the field more than they wanted.
Next game, Arkansas takes its act on the road to face South Carolina looking for another win. For Tulsa, they head on the road to face Houston.


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rotary dryer for sawdust/coal power/slag/clay stone
rotary dryer for sawdust/coal power/slag/clay stone:
1. good after-sell service
2. widely used
3. low energy consumption
Rotary dryer for sawdust/coal power/slag/clay stone
the raw material plate which is arranged reasonably with changeable angles in order, throws moisture materials into the rotary cylinder. then water will be separated from the materials by hot air-flow and changed into vapour to be discharged into the atmosphere.
types of raise plate.
1). Lifting type: For large or easy to bond the material in the tube wall.
2).Four formats type: Suitable for big density, not crisp or not easily scattered materials.The raise plate will be divided into four pane,and were mutually connected fan-shaped workout room, Materials and the contact surface of the hot gas than large of the lifting type, And also can increase of the filling material rate and reduce material landing height and reduce dust quantity loss and so on.
lifting blades
working flow chart


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Music by Bowie/Eno. Lyrics by Bowie.
Funny how secrets travel I'd start to believe if I were to bleed Thin skies, the man chains his hands held high Cruise me blond Cruise me babe A blond belief beyond beyond beyond No return No return I'm deranged Deranged my love I'm deranged down down down So cruise me babe cruise me baby CHORUS And the rain sets in It's the angel-man I'm deranged Cruise me cruise me cruise me babe The clutch of life and the fist of love Over your head Big deal Salaam Be real deranged Salaam Before we reel I'm deranged CHORUS (two times) Cruise me cruise me cruise me babe I'm deranged


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When I moved to South Carolina I was fully prepared to embrace my new town. That included the numerous buffets and of course Chick Bog. What on earth is a chicken bog? Well, it's a rice pilaf dish that is cooked with a whole chicken, onion and sausages in a pot. All the flavors combine to give you a hearty and delicious dish. I was originally going to make my own until I thought it was best to try it somewhere first.
Simply Southern Smokehouse located in Myrtle Beach is one of the best places to get a truly southern style buffet on the Grand Strand! A family friendly restaurant with a casual feel, Simple Southern is the perfect place to indulge in fried chicken and collards.
When you walk in the door you immediately smell the delicious buffet that is to your right. The staff is incredibly generous and guides you to the cash register to pay for your buffet then kindly assigns you a table. Once you find your table you run up and grab your plate in the buffet line. It's go time!
For my plate I chose mac and cheese, sweet potato soufflé, mashed potatoes, chicken bog, green beans, fried catfish and a biscuit. Let me just tell you, it was heaven on a plate! The mac and cheese was perfectly cheesy and creamy with a dash of pepper. The sweet potato soufflé was topped with a crispy brown sugar crust. I wasn't a huge fan of the mashed potatoes. They seemed a little bland. But then again I am used to my mom's roasted garlic mashed potatoes. High standards!
The chicken bog was interesting. I enjoyed how hearty the dish was. Any dish that incorporates rice and onions is a win in my book. The chicken was tender and flavored well. The green beans were delicious! Cooked southern-style in bacon grease these green beans were perfect. The friend catfish was my favorite part of the buffet.
Judd loves southern food! He would probably turn into a collard green if I made them enough! Buffets are always slightly intimidating to me. Being a light eater, I always feel overwhelmed once I finish my first plate. But to be fair I piled the food on my plate the first trip up!
Of course after dinner there is an entire dessert bar to top off your meal. I waddled up and chose the chocolate pudding with Oreo cookie crumbs. Despite feeling beyond stuffed I pushed through and cleaned my dessert bowl up!
If you find yourself in Myrtle Beach on vacation and are craving southern food check out Simply Southern Smokehouse.


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3 Days. 3 things to know about Wink, Texas.
1) As of 2014, Wink's population is 951. Since the year 2000, Wink has seen a population growth of 1.60% The median home cost in Wink is $39,500.
2) In June 1980, a giant sinkhole formed in Wink. In May 2002, a second sinkhole opened up about a mile from the first. The sinkholes are called Wink Sink #1 and Wink Sink #2. Number 2 is much larger and measures in places, 900 feet wide or three football fields!
3) Singer Roy Orbison spent part of his childhood in Wink. The town is home to a Roy Orbison museum.


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$5.00 Sale: $4.49
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Found these post cards of school that closed, but captions are reversed! Tis MOI pointing to the sign! Each tag has a different ribbon to represent elementary, middle, and high school traditions. Our uniforms looked like the background paper.
Entered in the following challenges:
June Simple Scrapbooking Challenge, June Two Pic Challenge
$5.00 $4.49
$0.89 $0.62
$299.99 $284.99
$6.00 $4.50
$299.99 $209.98


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|Property type
After all the fun of the day, there's no place like home. Book our Florida villa because it is the next best thing to being home. Kick back and relax by the private pool to enjoy the Florida sunshine. Enjoy a nice home cooked meal or just have a snack on the couch in front of the cable TV in an air-conditioned living room. Enjoy your home away from homewith all that Orlando and our villa has to offer.
Our villa has been designed to enhance your Florida experience with many upgrades. It is beautifully furnished, spacious and comfortable. You get a two car garage to keep your car cool in the Florida heat. Its located close enough to everything you will need and far enough away to recharge your batteries. Whether it is theme parks, golf, coastal visits, shopping or just chilling out by our private pool, you will find it here.
Great Room:
The Great Room lives up to its name. We have upgraded all the furniture offering an exceptionally high degree of comfort and luxury. There are two love seats and a couch surrounding a 32 inch TV and the patio doors look out on to a very inviting extended pool area. Vaulted ceilings give you a wonderful feeling of space and size. There is also 2 lounge chairs off by themselves for reading or just a quiet conversation. We have also added a ceiling fan in the Great Room, which will assist the full air-conditioning throughout the villa. There is FREE Wi-Fi and a phone available with FREE local and long distance calls.
The Kitchen:
Our kitchen is fitted with oven, microwave, dishwasher, coffee pot, large refrigerator freezer & all the pots and pans, glassware and utensils you will possibly need. This makes it so you can save a lot of money on eating out. At the end of a long day at the parks or on the links just whip up your favorite meal instead of visiting a restaurant. If you have small children, dinners and snacks will be much easier. Plus, if you are in the mood for an after dinner drink (or 2) by the pool you do not have to worry about who's driving. We also have a large washing machine and dryer located in the garage.
1st Master Bedroom:
This room is furnished to make sure the parents also have their little bit of luxury. The ceiling fan assists the air conditioning. There is also a hair dryer and cable TV. We have added 2 large dressers for extra storage. A pillow top mattress lets you get a good nights rest to get ready for another fun filled day. Sliding glass doors give a lovely view and access to the pool area. There is also a large walk-in closet with plenty of room. An alarm clock is available if needed.
Let's not forget you also have a large en-suite bathroom, which includes an upgraded walk-in shower and your own private door to the pool area. Don't worry about linens, pool towels or luxury bath towels as they are all taken care of and included free of charge.
2nd Master Bedroom
Now this is what makes this villa nice. A 2nd master suite so if two familes are sharing the villa, there are no problems over who gets the master suite. It has a large closet, dresser and underbed storage to provide plenty of room for your things. It also has a ceiling fan, hair dryer and an en-suite bathroom to finish off the luxurious feel. This bathroom has a tub and shower for a nice hot bath at the end of a long day. Don't forget there is also a cable TV and a pillow top mattress for a restful sleep. This room is also equipped with an alarm clock, if desired to get an early start to your day.
Disney Themed room:
This room has been decorated with Cars, Toy Story and Winnie the Pooh to cater to the smaller guests. It has it's own closet and dresser. There are two twin beds that are just perfect for little dreamers but can still be used by the bigger kids. Very comfortable for the kids to get a good night sleep after returning from the days adventure. This room shares a third bathroom off the hall, which also has a hair dryer.
4th bedroom:
This room is furnished with relaxing in mind. It has 2 twin beds with soft colors and shares a bath off the hall with the Disney room. There are nice Orca pictures on the wall that our son picked out special for this room.
West Facing Pool and Spa Area:
Our luxury west facing private pool and spa area is simply fantastic. It has an upgraded pool with attached spa, extra large deck area and comfortable pool furniture. There is a pool screen surrounding the lanai area to ensure the Florida bugs are kept out and you can sunbathe in peace. On your return from whatever your days adventures, the pool and spa will be waiting for your enjoyment. Just imagine sitting by your own pool in the evening relaxing at the patio table and maybe having dinner or a snack, simply wonderful.
The pool has heating facilities and we recommend that you budget for this during the cooler months between October - April. There are pool alarms on all windows and doors leading to the pool area to provide a degree of safety for children (however old).
Please come and enjoy your home away from home. We are sure you will enjoy it as much as we do.
Keywords: villa,private pool/spa,gated community,close to disney
Todd, thank you so much for another wonderful Christmas spent at your lovely Davenport home. Two years in a row and it was amazing!! As always, you were a pleasure to deal with and your home was very clean and in good repair. We enjoy that it is in such a quiet, mature neighbourhood but yet minutes from everything. We will definitely try to return again very soon and we will recommend your home to anyone who is looking for a relaxing stay in Florida.
All the best for a Happy 2017!!!! Greg & Diane
We had 4 golfer staying here. There was plenty of room and a nice area for watching football after our round of golf. There was an nice selection of pots and pans for making breakfast before golf. All in all it was a wonderful place and we would stay again. My only issue is that there was no instructions on wifi ccid or password, what to do with garbage and recycling, where to put the used towels and sheets, etc. We want to be accommodating guest and other units we have rented helped us by leaving these instructions. Wonderful place. Thanks Todd
Overall we did not spend much time in the house as we were on vacation and park hopping. The televisions in the 2 queen bedrooms were old models w/ no remote controls and no cable so I could not lay in bed and unwind after putting the kids 2 bed and the kids had 2 share the tv in the living room which was a smart tv....However the house did have WiFi so we were able 2 watch, stream etc what we wanted on our tablets.
Perfect house for family vacation. After spending the day at the parks it was nice to come to a relaxing peaceful house. Well kept and spacious no bumping into each other, loved that the house had two rooms with there private bathroom. I will definately recomend this home and would myself rent again hopefully in the near future for another Orlando Vacation.
Great property to use. Covenient to Orlando and lakeland. Pool was a hit. There is a staff to call if something is broke. We had to utilize the pool repair as a valve broke. We enjoyed the screened in room.
It was nice to be able to rent a grill to cook outside.
Televisions are outdated. The tv in the livingroom did not work and someone had moved the small bedroom tv to sit next to it.
Overalll fit our needs.
My wife and 2 year old daughter had a great time staying here during our week long trip to Disney. It was a great way to enjoy peace and quite together after fun-filled days at the Disney parks. The house is really big so we didn't feel cramped like we would have in a hotel room (huge plus for being able to relax). The pool was well maintained and enjoyable. Many of the homes in the neighborhood are rentals and it was nice to know there were a lot of other out-of-towners around. Great trip! Recommended!
|Cleaning Fee
|Damage Deposit
* Approximate monthly price. Actual pricing will depend on the days of the month you stay.


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I landed in Kabul ,Afghanistan back in June 2005 as an employee of Military Professional Resources Inc (MPRI) with duty as a civilian-military advisor to the Afghanistan National Army (ANA). My assignment was at Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) out west along the Jalalabad Road — can't tell you how often a certain part of my anatomy was in my throat traveling down that road. You see, we weren't authorized to carry weapons — I had a big knife but than again y'all know the maxim of "never carry a knife to a gunfight."
It was a rewarding experience developing and instructing an Afghan staff officer course — it quickly became one of the most requested. We were invited to the graduation ceremonies for the new soldiers and watched when they took their pledge to Afghanistan — of course we'd also wonder who among them were infiltrators.
Well, I did so well in that duty, I was rewarded with a jewel assignment — downrange Advisory Team Leader for a deployed Afghan Army Corps (U.S. Light Infantry Division equivalent). I was assigned to work with the 205th Corps based in Kandahar.
I landed in Kandahar in October of the same year and what a difference — but this was where I felt most at home, in the zone, and with the combat troops. I quickly got on board with the U.S. Special Operators and the 173rd Airborne Brigade paratroopers who were there — many with whom I had served on active duty. We were breaking new ground in southern Afghanistan and the following year the command in RC(S) — Regional Command (South) — would go over to the NATO forces. First were the Canadians, then the Dutch, last the Brits.
Great memories, but as I departed Kandahar for good in November 2007, there was truly a feeling of sorrow as I bade farewell to one of the best teams of Interpreter/Translator teams I had ever seen — one of whom I was later able to get along with his family here to America. And three more were able to sign on with an American contractor and come to America for training.
But mostly we felt what we had accomplished over the two-and-a-half years in Afghanistan was incredibly fragile and could be easily lost. It was the same feeling I had when I visited the border crossing town of Spin Boldak, gazed over into Pakistan with binoculars and saw the black turban-clad Taliban walking freely in the open.
I left with the feeling that we would not seal the deal.
And so this week, we folded the flag and proclaimed the end of Afghan combat operations. As reported by Fox News, "The U.S. and NATO closed their combat command in Afghanistan on Monday, more than 13 years after invading the country in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks to target al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Though quickly routing the Taliban-led government that sheltered the militants, the U.S.-led coalition soon found itself spending billions of dollars rebuilding a country devastated by almost 30 years of war while an insurgency grew as the invasion and occupation of Iraq quickly took America's attention. As NATO's International Security Assistance Force's Joint Command, which was in charge of combat operations, lowered its flag Monday and formally ended its deployment, resurgent Taliban militants launched yet another bloody attack in the country. And with President Barack Obama allowing American troops to go after both al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the country into the next year, the fighting likely won't be over anytime soon."
This is the failing policy of optics. We declare combat operations over but sadly, no one told the enemy — and as I always say, they do have a vote.
We don't have signed surrender document and the enemy is still on the battlefield — heck, we're releasing the enemy from detention because of political campaign promises and misguided benevolence. This operation isn't even ending as the Korean War did with an Armistice and a separation. We just said "we're done." That is not the right message to convey to this enemy — as well as releasing CIA reports believing this is consistent with "transparency" — I call it selective transparency of partisan politics. But this along with other actions doesn't just incite the enemy, it emboldens them to believe we don't possess the intestinal fortitude to defeat them.
"I don't think the war will slow or stop during the winter, as attacks on cities are not contingent on the weather," Afghan political analyst Wahid Muzhdah said, according to Fox News, "I believe attacks in the cities will increase — they attract media attention." Monday's ceremony saw the NATO flag of the command folded and put away amid the foreign troop withdrawal. From Jan. 1, the coalition will maintain a force of 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, down from a peak around 140,000 in 2011. As of Dec. 1, there were some 13, 300 NATO troops in the country."
You can expect the Taliban to launch a surprise urban attack similar to that which the Vietcong did during Tet. In Vietnam, Tet was an abject failure, a complete defeat for the Vietcong — however, that was not how Walter Cronkite and the media portrayed the operation. And if you've ever read General Giap's memoirs — it was the spark to embolden the communist North Vietnamese — they learned the way to defeat America was not on the battlefield but in the newspapers — the media. And if you don't think the Taliban and other Islamic terrorists and jihadists don't understand that platform, you are dead wrong — as we reported here on the purpose behind ISIS using social media to broadcast beheadings and their savage actions.
The image of folding your flag while the enemy is still in the field is completely absurd, and will serve as a massive propaganda tool. And 13,300 NATO troops? Heck, you had half that number on Kandahar Airfield running support operations when I was there.
"The Afghan security forces are capable," Campbell told The Associated Press. "They have to make some changes in the leadership which they're doing, and they have to hold people accountable."
We heard that before in Iraq, but at least this time we're not just going to cut and run. The Afghans are tough fighters, but the key is to make them loyal soldiers to defend their country — and eliminate the corruption. And I'm truly encouraged by the new Afghan civilian leadership — which far exceeds that of Hamid Karzai. But the combat multipliers such as attack helicopter and air support will be necessary.
An indicator of how much more dangerous it has become for the ANA is the now record-high casualty figures they face, rising to 6.5 percent this year, to 4,634 killed in action, compared to 4,350 in 2013. Fox says, "by comparison, some 3,500 foreign forces, including at least 2,210 American soldiers, have been killed since the war began in 2001. President Obama recently allowed American forces to launch operations against both Taliban and al-Qaida militants, broadening the mission of the U.S. forces that will remain in the country. They also will be permitted to provide combat and air support as necessary, while Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also considers resuming controversial night raids that could see Americans take part."
So my closing question is why did we fold a flag, stating that a combat mission has come to an end, if we are still going to be engaged in combat?
Austrian military strategist Carl von Klausewitz spoke of the "Fog of War" — this resembles blind absurdity. I'm getting that same sinking feeling I had when I loaded up on the C-130 back in November 2009 departing Kandahar.


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Vacation rentals in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland (holiday rentals, cottages)
> SlowTrav > United Kingdom & Ireland > Trip Planning
Recommended Guidebooks for the UK and Ireland
Pauline Kenny
Start your trip planning by reading guidebooks. These books will help you decide where to go and how to plan your trip. Bring your favorite guidebooks with you; good guidebooks and maps will make your trip more enjoyable. We always carry a shoulder bag full of books, maps, printed out web pages (including pages from this site), tourist brochures, restaurant listings. We keep this bag in the car whenever we go out, so that if our plans change during the day, we still have all the information that we need. When we leave the car to go touring, we take the one book and map that we need. With some guides you can tear out the pages about your destination and slip them into your pocket.
On Novels and Memoirs I have listed memoirs written by people living in England and some novels that I recommend reading to prepare for travel in England.
If there is a link for Amazon, the book can be ordered from them. If there is only a link for Amazon.co.uk, then it is not available in the US, but you can order from the UK or pick it up when you are there. If there is a link for both, compare prices and availability. Sometimes it is best to order from the UK.
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The following cases were heard in Spencer District Court on April 13, 2012, by Judge Matthew Eckert:
Jason R. Didier (no birth year provided), resident fishing without a license/permit, guilty, $50 and court costs, paid.
Charles Adam Cooper IV (1987), excessive windshield/window tinting, guilty, $50 fine; operating on a suspended/revoked operators license, amended to no license in possession, guilty, $20 fine and court costs.
Dear Savvy Senior,
What can you tell me about life settlements? I have a life insurance policy that I really don't need any longer and I've heard that selling it can produce a nice payout.
Interested In Selling
Dear Interested,
If you don't need your life insurance policy any longer, are having a difficult time keeping up with the premium payments or could just use the money, a life settlement is definitely an option worth considering.
How it works
What? I'm expected to be the "best parent" without a manual to learn from? When I buy anything other than groceries or clothes, there is always a manual or an instructional book provided to help learn how this thing should work, and what to do when it doesn't.
But, I'm expected to raise this "thing," or "child," to make it sound human, and be able to do it with little to no previous experience.
When you try to picture what a farmer looks like, you probably don't picture a woman. But women operate more than 30 percent of the more than 3 million farms in America — making them a large part of raising your food.
A projected lottery pick, Indiana's Tyler Zeller will not be available for the NBA draft.
"I grew up hoping that one day I would get the opportunity to play in the NBA, but at this point, I'm not ready for my college experience to be over," Zeller said in a press release.
What curious logic for a 19-year-old — not ready for the college experience to end.
Kentucky's spring wild turkey season has been so successful the past 15 years in part because of the timing of opening day.
The Spencer County Lady Bears enjoyed a nice trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., over spring break and headed back on a good note, winning three consecutive games to finish the week a 3-3.
During Monday night's Fiscal Court meeting, Spencer County Attorney Ruth Hollan, center, discussed how Spencer Countians came together to help fellow Kentuckians in West Liberty after tornadoes hit the area March 2.
•Make it, Take it Teen Night
Make it, Take it Teen Night at the Spencer County Public Library on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Get your henna tattoo to start the summer off right. We travel to India for hot spices and a taste of another culture.
•Book/movie sale
April 20-21
Need books or movies? Spencer County Public Library Book Sale April 20 and 21.
•Adult computer classes April 7, 18, 21
One of the most anticipated rites of spring is dusting off the tiller and heading out to the vegetable garden for a little soil play. It is one of those things you can't plan for, though. It becomes a waiting game because we can't do it if the soil is too wet; we don't want to do it if it is too cold; and we only have the time to do it when the weekend rolls around.
Copyright © 2018
The Spencer Magnet is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Spencer County, KY and the surrounding area.


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Monthly ArchiveJune 2006
Animation &Books 30 Jun 2006 07:33 am
– Grendel, the opera, directed and adapted by Julie Taymor from John Gardner's novel recently opened in San Francisco to good reviews. There's an excellent review on the site The Lemmings Were Here, and there's another by animation composer, Ross Care, at Music From The Movies. (You'll remember Ross' commentary on the Bambi dvd.)
The opera is set to open July 11th at Lincoln Center as part of its Lincoln Center Festival.
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
For those long-hearted animation afficionados, you'll remember that there was an animated feature based on this same book. Grendel Grendel Grendel was an Australian film directed by Alexander Stitt. Stitt was a commercial director/producer down under. He put all his chips into this film and gave it a dynamic style. As a matter of fact, his house style seemed to be limited animation without outlines on his characters. Unfortunately, the script and the direction was bland, and the dynamic book died as a film. It also wasn't distributed widely, nor was it marketed well.
At the bottom of this page, I've included a saved copy of the NYDaily News review, in case you're interested.
I have some interest in this opera and animated film because of my connection to the book.
Back in 1976, when I'd first started working at Raggedy Ann & Andy, I was thoroughly grabbed by the book and felt that it would make a wonderful animated feature. I did the unconscionable move of the innocent; I wrote to the author, John Gardner, c/o his publisher. I told him that we could make a great film and would somehow raise the money. It wasn't the greatest concern. (I said I was innocent.)
Believe it or not, John Garder wrote back and said he was interested. The fact that I'd worked on one of his favorite animated shorts, Cockaboody, gave him a bit more interest in me. We eventually hooked up, and he gave me a couple of stories to tell just with that first evening when we met at his home in Bennington, Vermont. It was a real trial of an evening which ended with an all night bout of martini drinking and conversation.
I ended up with the rights to the book, and John Gardner, himself, would write the screenplay. The problem was that I was that innocence I spoke of. A real neophyte, I didn't raise the money, and the project stagnated in my hands.
I came close when an executive at United Artists was sold on it, and wanted to go. She was a real mover in the company and had clout. Unfortunately, UA collapsed in scandal, and MGM bought the company outright eliminating all execs, including my contact. I came close in selling it to Cinema V, who had just had a good hit in Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky.
I have no doubt that I would be able to sell it today if I went out with the materials I had in hand and that selling point, John Gardner's name. I'd also found a couple of celebrities who were willing to connect to it – including Paul McCartney. But it wasn't to happen.
Gardner had a hard divorce, came down with cancer (which he overcame), and owed a lot of back taxes. He had to sell the project to an Australian filmmaker who offered cash. My last ditch effort before he sold it was to call Roger Corman. Corman took my call (the magic of John Gardner's name) and tried to think how we could raise, at least, the $25,000 to secure the rights. He asked me to give him a week. At the end of the week, Corman decided to let it go, and I had to surrender.
I did get invited to the Alexander Stitt film when it played in NYC. It only stayed at that one theater for a couple of weeks, then it too disappeared. But I got an interesting lesson in life. I also have some incredible memories of John Gardner; I illustrated a couple of his books.
I look forward to Julie Taymor's opera.
Photos 29 Jun 2006 06:56 am
Grim's 100th Birthday Party
(Click on either image to enlarge.)
– Back in August 1990, a crowd of animation folk gathered to celebrate Grim Natwick's 100th birthday. At one point, during the celebration, a photo was taken of many of the elder statesmen positioned on the stage.
It was a blast being there; events like this probably occur in LA often enough, but they're truly rare in NYC. I spent a good part of the evening talking with Bob Little, who had painted BG's for many – if not – most of the Paramount cartoons, and I had a great time doing so. I thought it funny that we both had to fly out to LA to meet.
I recently located this photo that Tom Sito sent me, and thought it'd be fun to post it. Below the original, I've posted a key to identify those on stage. I'm not sure why Walter Lantz didn't make it to the photo, but he was most certainly there. Only one person remains unknown in the picture. (Please let me know if you recognize the gentleman in the back row.)
Animation Artifacts 28 Jun 2006 07:32 am
Spunky & Tadpole
Spunky and Tadpole is a dark spot in my unconscious memory of bad animation that I
somehow have an affection for.
Jerry Beck listed it as one of the ten worst animated series ever created. (I don't agree with that, certainly not with all those abominable Hanna-Barbera/Filmation/ Ruby-Spears shows that were so godawful and unwatchable. At least Spunky and Tadpole had a bit of style; perhaps because it stands out, it can be recognized as bad. It was bad; just not among the very worst. But I'm splitting hairs; bad is bad.)
There seems to be very little recorded about the production of the show. A couple of vhs copies of the series exists in the remainder bins of the internet and can be bought for little. The only credit listed anywhere on-line is that of a director, Art Moore, whoever he may be. I haven't been able to locate any information about him either. (Someone on a chat room thinks he may be the producer of The Regis Philbin show.)
The show went into distribution via syndication in 1958 and was virtually knocked out of business by the rise and popularity of Hanna-Barbera's product, Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear. Spunky & Tadpole were featured on local programs that had local hosts introducing shorts. I was surprised to find out that as many as 150 episodes of the serialized cartoon series were produced.
The cast included: Joan Gardner as Spunky, Don Messick as Tadpole. Ed Janis replaced Don Messick in the last episodes.
This cast means the show was probably done in LA.
(Click on images to enlarge and properly view the excellent inking.)
Some time ago, I still couldn't resist buying a couple of cels which were selling on Ebay for just about nothing. They still amuse me.
- Speaking of good animation acting, Mark Mayerson has another chapter in his provocative series on Acting in Animation. I enjoy these posts; they get my mind working on a sore subject. (Sore subject because Bad Acting is pretty much all I see these days. Lots of jerking from pose to pose animation.)
Animation Artifacts &Daily post 27 Jun 2006 08:25 am
Film Dope
– Magazines are very important to me. The most treasured, unfortunately, do not publish anymore. There are these two that have given me such amazing information and insight that I will always treasure them.
- I have about half a dozen issues of Michael Barrier's Funnyworld magazine, and I hoard them all preciously. The magazine was the first I'd found to value animation as a real art and give critical information about the films and the form.
Fortunately, Michael Barrier continues to post articles, reviews and invaluable information on his website. I can also reread Funnyworld articles. I value his writing and insight.
– Right in line with Funnyworld was the British publication Film Dope. This magazine printed an alphabetical listing of film makers, and people important to films. Actors, cinematographers, directors, costume designers, musicians and cartoonists all were blended together in alphabetical order, and one-by-one their careers were offered and analyzed. A formidable chronology of their work was detailed and a short critical commentary was printed.
Until 1996, the magazine was published on poor paper in a lackluster printing method, but the material was always spectacular. Wonderful scholarship and solid information was the norm. (Only once did I locate an error or oversight in their catalogue. Not that I'm the greatest arbiter.) Their opinions were often a bit ascerbic, but they usually had significant points to make, and I always enjoyed the writing style.
To give an indication of the magazine, I'm posting the entry for Ub Iwerks. About the only place to find back issues is on Ebay.
(Click on any image to enlarge and make it readable.)
The magazine was packed from inside cover to inside cover with such material. No ads.
Current magazines that I love are few, too. I have a hard time getting through a week without The New Yorker magazine. I also love Amid Amidi's Animation Blast and wait patiently for each issue knowing there will be a payoff. Both thankfully still exist.
Animation &Daily post 26 Jun 2006 07:55 am
Robot Heads
A Scanner Darkly opens on July 11. This is the animated film adapted by Richard Linklater from the Philip K. Dick story. It's done in the same rotoscoped style (or whatever computer folk call it) used in Waking Life.
There's an unusual side story to the opening of this film. I caught this article in Saturday's NY Times: A Strange Loss of Face, More Than Embarrassing.
The "Face" in the headline is really the head of a robot designed by "computer whiz, David Hanson". This was an android version of the late author, P.K. Dick. The robot would sit and answer questions in a presumably lifelike manner.
Hanson enroute to LA accidentally left the head on his plane in an American Tourister rollaway bag. When he called the airline, they'd located the head, put the bag in a box (so they said) and shipped it to the owner. Unfortunately, the head never arrived .
Gone was the interview between Letterman and the robot-P.K. Dick. Gone were the personal appearances. How did it affect the publicity plan for A Scanner Darkly? My favorite line in the article comes at the end. A studio exec said, "He was perfect for the film. Now he's disappeared — and that's perfect for the film too."
(The robot-head.)
Real life.
- Mark Kennedy has been posting some beautiful thumbnails by Bill Peet on his blog, Temple of the Seven Golden Camels. These drawings from Sword In The Stone are an inspiration. By the way, if you don't own Bill Peet's autobiography, you're missing out on one of the great books available.
Animation &Animation Artifacts 25 Jun 2006 07:39 am
Babbitt Runs
– AWN has an interesting (though somewhat dated) article about a seminar held at School of Visual Arts to hear what came of some of its more luminous animation graduates.
(pictured) Tom Sito, John Dilworth, Yvette Kaplan, Chris Chris Prynoski and Alex Kupershmidt responded to questions which were compiled by AWN writer, Joe Strike.
The program was part of an exhibit of art by the ex-students of SVA. I reviewed the art and the opening here though I didn't get to the seminar.
- I'd also recommend everyone go to Oscar Grillo's blog. He has some beautifully drawn images of his take on some classic comic strips. I'd love to see some animated film versions of the characters as they look here. This man is an artist.
- On my Lou Bunin posting, Mark Mayerson asked: "Somewhere I remember seeing a drawn walk cycle of a dodo bird that Art Babbitt did for Bunin's feature."
The answer came from Mark Harding: "The Babbit cycle is on page 189 of Shamus Culhane's Animation, From Script to Screen."
I thought I'd post these two pages from that book. There are two more of these studies for Bunin's film, and the book includes an enormous wealth of other animation referential material. It's a must-own for animation fans.
(Click either image to enlarge.)
Kentridge 24 Jun 2006 07:52 am
Flip Book
- There's a good interview at Cartoon Brew by Amid Amidi. Garrett Gilchrist has recently completed a compiled version of Richard Williams' film The Thief and The Cobbler: Recobbled Cut. Garrett had sent me a copy of this compilation, and it's the real deal. He's done some magnificent and laborious work getting it to the wonderful condition. It's like watching an excellent rough cut of the film. See it (in 17 parts) on You Tube. Garrett's website is OrangeCow.org.
- Thanks to Rhett Wickham at Laughing Place. There's a great article posted there about John Lasseter's guidance on future animation projects. It seems clear that 2D animation might not be dead after all.
- The South African artist, William Kentridge uses animation as part of his art. He's made a number of flip books that are stunning pieces. I'm posting a small part of one of these here to show the fingerprints of art. You'll note he used an existing book and just painted his images on the pages. Of course this proves we can make Art without expensive tools; we just have to do it.
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
Animation Artifacts &Trnka 23 Jun 2006 08:08 am
Graphis Trnka Article
To continue with my interest in animators that leave fingerprints, I return to the father of all puppet animators, Jiri Trnka. I have this Graphis Magazine article from 1947. This was published before any of the great Trnka films: The Hand, Archangel Gabriel and Mother Goose, Midsummer's Night Dream.
Regardless, there are still some beautiful images in his earlier work.
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
(Note: Graphis printed in three languages; all of the English is included.)
Animation Artifacts &Comic Art 22 Jun 2006 07:23 am
The Toonerville Trolley
- I've been a big fan of the "Toonerville Folks" for a long time. I didn't find the strip for a while. When I was young, a local TV channel, an ABC subsidiary, ran a lot of old silent Aesop's Fables. They had classical music backing them up; usually Bizet filled the bill.
One year they upgraded by throwing a number of the Van Buren shorts in betwen the Terry silent films. These Van Buren films, many of them directed by Burt Gillette or Tom Palmer, were odd. There were a number of films with Greek gods as their stars. Then came the shorts with Molly Moo Cow and those with the Toonerville Trolley characters.
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
I liked these and learned from the credits that they were adapted from a comic strip by Fontaine Fox. So, I sought out the comic. Of course, in those days, prior to computers, all you had was the library to research things. My local branch had only one or two examples of the comic strip which ran from 1915 through 1955.
The animated shorts were made in the mid-thirties when Van Buren tried a run to improve their films. Neither sound and color nor the acquisition of the rights to this strip didn't help; even the "terrible tempered Mr. Bang couldn't help." The studio closed before the decade had ended.
In 1978 I worked with R.O. Blechman as his Assistant Director to put together the PBS show, Simple Gifts. This was a packaged of six segments adapted around Christmas with a number of different illustrators designing the segments. One of them, the one I was most attracted to was The Toonerville Trolley. Blechman bought the rights from King Features (at an enormous price) for a four minute film in the middle of the program. I'd worked hard to get the piece to animate. I even did a one minute sample of the film in my off time at night, and I thought it was pretty good. However, Blechman was afraid of losing me in the operation of his studio. (We were doing more commercials than show, and I hated it.) Bill Littlejohn did a nice job of animating the entire piece which was completely subcontracted out to him. That was probably appropriate since Bill worked at Van Buren when they produced these shorts.
Story & Storyboards 21 Jun 2006 07:52 am
Starting Off With A Punch
One of the most violent films I can think of is Raging Bull.
The show starts with an incredibly lyrical, slow-motion sequence in B&W with blood-red credits, in small type, (designed by Dan Perri). Over this very slow motion footage of a brutal fight an operatic aria plays on the soundtrack, and the live action cutting flows beautifully with the music.
(All of these images from the opening of Citizen Kane – another brilliant opening sequence – can be enlarged by clicking them.)
We have been pulled into the story, we're captured by the imagery – actually the images mixed with the beautiful vocal. Because of the slow moving images, we're not thrown by the violence we see on the screen as Robert DeNiro gets beaten violently. It's sublime poetry.
Finally the credits end, the last image hits us with a JOLT – normal speed and the loud smash – as DeNiro's face gets brutally punched. We're into it.
From this we cut to the story of Jake Lamotta, DeNiro's character. We're slowly drawn into the story of the fighter, and we've already adjusted to the violence we can expect to come. But it's not going to be in slow motion anymore.
Martin Scorsese knows how to open his film. He slowly pulls us in, allows us to adjust to the incredible violence we'll see, and then introduces his characters – slowly.
We haven't been hurled into a violent film and been expected to sit patiently with an unlikeable character for two hours. It doesn't work that way. We have to learn who these characters are, see their vulnerable spots and then be allowed to watch them be heels.
The topical sentence, the first sentence of a novel is probably the most important. The same is true for film; that opening sequence sets the tone for the whole movie. Crash! Boom! Bang! or lyricism.
Making films is a difficult proposition. Anyone can assemble images, but complex difficult storytelling is an art. Scorsese is one of our greatest artists.
Enough about Art Onto another subject: Money.
The grosses for Cars may not be as overwhelming as Disney had hoped, but it's obvious that it will be a smash in merchandisiing. Per the Jim Hill article I linked to yesterday, Disney guessers had hoped for $300 million domestic from the Pixar film but have now lowered their sights to $200 million for the film that cost $125 million. But the real money will come from the merchandising per this Daily News article. They expect to wrangle $600 million this year. Should Michael Eisner be thanked now?


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Casa Do Zouk (meaning "House of Zouk" in Portuguese) is an exciting new event dedicated to Brazilian Zouk lovers, being held at Mantra on View Hotel (formally Outrigger Resort) in Gold Coast – Australia on July 19 – 22 July, 2018.
Casa do Zouk is very pleased to announce it will be hosting a Brazilian Zouk Dance Council registered Jack & Jill Competition during the event weekend.
Jack & Jill competitions are designed to highlight skills in social dancing and the ability to dance well with a variety of partners. Competitors enter as individuals, are randomly assigned partners and dance to music selected by the event. Don't miss the chance to be part of this exciting competition.
With amazing international and national instructors, great parties and performances, along with superb access to all that the Gold Coast has to offer, what more could you want!
- Renata Peçanha and Jorge Peres (Brazil)
- Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann (USA)
- Carlos da Silva and Fernanda da Silva (Brazil/Czech Republic)
- Bruno Galhardo (Brazil)
- Leo Fortes and Robertinha Stephanie (Brazil)
- Kadu Pires and Larissa Thayane (Brazil/Australia)
- Leonardo Neves and Becky Neves (Brazil/New Zealand)
- Artur Liebscher and Layssa Liebscher (Brazil/Australia)
- Alisson Sandi (Brazil/Australia)
- DJ Kakah (Brazil)
- 31 Brazilian zouk workshops
- 2 samba de gafieira workshops
- 2 kizomba workshops
- 2 west coast swing workshops
- Zoukieira party (50% samba de gafieira and 50% Brazilian zouk/west coast swing party), Thursday 9:30pm to 2am
- Party and shows, Friday 9pm to 4am
- Masquerade party and shows, Saturday 9pm to 4am (dress to impress!)
- Brazilian colours themed party and Champions Jack & Jill, Sunday 9pm to 4am
The samba de gafieira immersion course is a series of 5 specific samba de gafieira workshops taught by world renowned samba de gafieira teachers Kadu and Larissa, Renata and Jorge, Leo and Becky, Carlos and Fernanda from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The immersion course will be held at Mantra on View on July 19th from 4pm to 9pm and it can be taken in addition to your Casa do Zouk full pass or on its own.
This course is suitable for intermediate level and above dancers.
- 5hrs samba de gafieira workshops
- Thursday night "Zoukieira" party (50% zouk/west coast swing and 50% samba)
The west coast swing intensive is a series of 4.5 hours specific west coast swing workshops taught by 11x west coast swing world champions Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann from LA, USA.
The intensive will be held at Mantra on View on July 19th from 10am to 3pm and it can be taken in addition to your Casa do Zouk full pass or on its own.
This course is suitable for beginner to intermediate level dancers.
- 5hrs west coast swing workshops
- Thursday night "Zoukieira" party (50% zouk/west coast swing and 50% samba)


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Our Asheville bed and breakfast is located in a historic neighborhood called Montford. Montford rules for a myriad of reasons not the least of which is Asheville's Historic Montford Music & Arts Festival, which by the way can be found on Facebook under exactly that name. This year the festival will be held on Saturday, May 21.
We are especially delighted with this years music round up because it, very much like our Montford neighborhood, is an eclectic mix of musicians all bringing their own spectrum of music delivered straight from their hearts. This year, for the first time, there will be two stages. One- acoustics only.. behind Nine Mile Restaurant right down the street from our inn. Our guests love this place for not only its easy access but also the stellar, fresh as a daisy and reasonably priced food. Check 'em out.
If you find yourself with a song in your heart, a foot that can't stop tapping and no where to go that Saturday, even if you are not flush with cash…no worries…. It's free. Find your way to Montford Avenue and Soco in our fair Asheville neighborhood and you will be smack dab in the middle of awesome arts, fab food, perky plants and the magic blend of music you are yearning to hear and Montford will welcome you with open arms.
and Gary Wiles Innkeepers At Cumberland Falls Bed and Breakfast Inn Your Asheville Bed and Breakfast


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Avalanche 4, Capitals 1: Defenseman Nick Holden scored his first NHL goal while captain Gabriel Landeskog added a goal and an assist as Colorado pulled away from visiting Washington.
Fourth-liner Patrick Bordeleau and PA Parenteau also tallied for the Avalanche, who are off to the best 16-game start in franchise history (14-2-0). Defenseman Erik Johnson added two assists and Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves â 29 over the final two periods â to beat his former team for the second time this season.


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[acx_slideshow name="Home Slideshow"]
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