text:
A tightly winding country road led me through the dry Marin County hills early on a sunny November morning. I made a right turn onto a private road, and pulled up to a guard booth. A young man was seated inside. On the upper sleeve of his uniform shirt was a red patch bearing the words skywalker ranch. He got on the phone to check that his boss, George Lucas, really had a nine a.m. appointment, and then told me to go ahead.
I drove past a guesthouse, a private fire station, and a hillside covered in grapevines. Up ahead was the main house, a monstrous version of the ideal American family home circa 1930. This is not Lucas's residence, but the place where he spends his workdays. His head of public relations, Lynne Hale, was waiting on the steps of the grand front porch. I parked my rented hybrid and followed her through the front door; she led me upstairs and into a large corner room, Lucas's office. She pointed to a certain chair and told me it was his favorite. I said, "I won't sit in that one, then," and we shared a nervous laugh. Then Lucas stepped into the room.
I had interviewed Lucas once before, for the February 2005 Vanity Fair cover story on Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, but that had been by phone. I had been informed, for that one, that he would give me 10 minutes of his time. But once I asked him about "mitichlorians," which are the physical manifestations of the Force in his elaborate Star Wars universe, we were off to the races, and the interview lasted more than an hour.
Lucas came up with the idea for Indiana Jones in the early 1970s, at around the same time he was hatching his Star Wars saga. To better understand some of the obscure talk that follows, readers should know that each of the four Indiana Jones movies concerns the search for a supernatural object, which Lucas sometimes refers to as the MacGuffin. In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), the sought-after object is the Ark of the Covenant, which contains the Ten Commandments. In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), it's the Shankara Stones, magical artifacts well known in the East. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), the object is the Holy Grail. There were many others in Lucas's TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which ran from 1992 to 1996 on ABC and the USA Network. In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is scheduled for a May 22 release, the supernatural object is … well, I'll let Lucas explain, below.
Lucas is a very soft-spoken billionaire. His speech pattern is a jumble of quick bursts that alternate with long pauses worthy of an absent-minded professor. In his favorite chair, he sat in a slumped posture, Nikes up on the coffee table. Over the years he has complained about how much he dislikes writing scripts, directing movies, and serving as the head of Lucasfilm Ltd.—which are his three main professional activities.
During our conversation, he made sure to point out that Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, something of a flop with critics in 1997, is the highest grossing of all his movies. Later, in fascinating detail, he described the machinations of storytelling in general and of creating Indiana Jones in particular.
His detractors say he's in it for the money, but after interviewing him twice and watching his movies repeatedly, I'm convinced he's driven by a huge, restless imagination.
Quotes from this interview appear in my February V.F. cover story, "Keys to the Kingdom." Most of the rest of our conversation is below.
How did you feel about the reception to Revenge of the Sith? And did you complete the story to your satisfaction?
I'm happy that the whole thing is finished, finally, so that was very satisfying, to have it complete and in one piece. It was a great sense of completion. I was happy with how it turned out—as well as I could have hoped. The reception is always lukewarm for those movies, so that's not new. There were a lot of great reviews mixed in.
I notice that people only remember all the good reviews. The only one that got better reviews than that and moved the needle slightly toward good reviews was Empire. That was the least successful of the movies. In box office?
Yes. The most successful, in terms of worldwide box office, was Phantom Menace. So that's the number one. [Laughs.] Kids prefer the prequel trilogy.
People who are over 40 love [Episodes] IV, V, and VI and hate I, II, and III. Younger people like I, II, and III and don't like IV, V, and VI, or they like I, II, and III better and think IV, V, and VI are kind of boring and slow. And of course the older people say, "Oh, I, II, and III—it's too jittery, too fast, too complicated, it's too digital," or whatever they want to say. But definitely one generation has grabbed hold of one of them, and the other generation has grabbed hold of the next one. One of the key characters that helped us realize what was going on was Jar Jar Binks, because the kids that are under 10 years old, he's one of their favorite characters. For people over 40, they cannot stand him—it's a hate thing. You know, they've always been for 12-year-olds, and that's never changed. People don't want to think of it that way. They want to think those films are for grown-ups. Even though they were 10 years old when they saw it, it's still very important to them, so, for them, it's a grown-up movie, as opposed to a kids' movie. The pre–Jar Jar Binks was 3PO. Everybody hated 3PO. I mean, it was like they couldn't stand him. It really had to do with his character. They don't like his character, and they don't like Jar Jar Binks—but they're not designed to be likeable characters. They're comic relief.
Well, they're comic relief, and they're kind of annoying, but they're designed to be like that.
They try to put the brakes on the action.
Yeah. Lethal Weapon, I know a lot of people who don't like Joe Pesci in the Lethal Weapon movies—I love Joe Pesci, I think he was a great asset to that movie, but he's not a very likeable character. People don't realize that things are done for a lot of different reasons. But, hey, in the end, I'm very happy with it, and that's what I care about. I like the change in tone between the two trilogies. The second trilogy is dense.
It's also about young people. I knew I was in trouble when I started that, when I started with a 10-year-old. If I was working with a studio, that would never happen. But that's the story, and I'm going to tell the story. A lot of people look at it and say, "Those things are no-brainers. They're always going to make money," but at the time it was 50-50 whether it was going to be what it turned out to be, which was successful, or More American Graffiti, which was not successful. You just never know. Making an assumption that a film is going to be a giant hit is a dangerous assumption.
You know, people think, "Indiana Jones … ," but if it's screwed up, then it won't be that big of a hit. But I don't think it's going to be screwed up. I think this Indiana Jones film would be a giant hit regardless of whether the first three were there or not. This is a very funny, adventurous, and exciting movie—maybe not as fresh as the first Indiana Jones film was, because then we weren't competing with action pictures. Maybe once in a while there was a Bond film, but that series languished, so there wasn't much in that arena. The biggest surprise with Indiana Jones was the fact that here was a fresh, exciting, exuberant action picture that, from my point of view, was reasonably realistic, considering it was in the Saturday-matinee-serial mode. But there wasn't anything in there that was so outlandish. It was all credible. A slight stretch of the believability quotient, which we held onto very carefully.
But now, since then, people have gone berserk. Now there's five or six action pictures every year. One gets bigger than the next, more outlandish than the next, then on top of that you throw comic-book heroes into that mix and they can do anything. So it doesn't have that kind of same spin on it, but it might be interesting for people to see a movie that is reasonably credible, and still has all the action, and is also very funny. It's a very unique little niche that a lot of people have tried to get into, but very few people have made it. A few people have, but only about 10 percent of the people that tried. We try to keep a sense of immaculate realism in the film, even though it's predictable.
Indy can get hurt.
It's one of the few times when the hero gets beat up and he also looked like he got beat up, and he actually continues through the movie looking beat up. He didn't suddenly the next day come out, "Oh, yeah, my broken neck, my broken nose, that's all fixed now, nothing like a good night's sleep." … One of the reasons we do a lot of stunt work is, somebody did do it and somebody did survive it. That was even harder on this one than before. Because before, we were sort of playing with ourselves, and James Bond had already gone to the moon side, unbelievable. From Russia with Love was the only one that sort of said, "We're gonna try to make this realistic." Which is fine.
So we don't feel we have to compete with the genre at large, either the believable part or the comic-book part. We just had to make a good story and tell it well, and, yes, it's an action movie, but it's important for us that there's a real supernatural mystery going on. Only Indiana Jones films are supernatural mystery movies. They're always going after some supernatural object. It's not a pretend object. It's not something that we made up. It's something that actually exists, or people believe exists—whether it does or not is in dispute. But for every person who says, "I don't believe that," there's another person who says, "Well, I believe it. I heard about it, and I saw it," and there's stories. Even with the lost ark, when we did it, there were always people saying, "People are going to think it's Noah's Ark, people don't know what that is," but there's information that comes up around it. It was the same thing with Steven [Spielberg] with Jaws. They said, "Let's make it a 30-foot shark." He said, "There is no such thing as a 30-foot shark. They have caught a 21-foot shark. We'll make it a 24-foot shark." That's where the difference is. We try to keep it within the realm of reality, but stretch it just a bit to make it more interesting and have more fun with it. And also, it's based on some kind of real mythology that exists that people actually believe in. Shankara Stones was a bit of a reach, [laughs] but in Asia it's not. As many people believe in the Shankara Stones as believe in the Holy Grail. That's just Western, Eastern audience. But it's the same thing with the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail has mythical connotations, has been ascribed with several powers, but nothing very specific. So we had a time when we were going to do it and we rejected it, and we thought we better add to it some sort of healing property, to give it something to grab onto—which have been alluded to in the history of the Holy Grail.
That movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, holds up. Is the story responsible for the speed of the action?
Well, you'd be surprised. When you break those movies down, in terms of the relationship between sitting around talking and hard-core action, they're all about the same. And the hard-core action, there isn't that much of it, relative to some movies, like Speed. Speed is pretty much action from beginning to end. Some movies are just completely action. Indiana Jones films aren't. You have the opening set piece, then a university scene …
Yeah, it's a very stylized kind of thing. We start the movie with the end of another movie, the end of an adventure, and then he goes back to the school, and we have him in school, and he starts a new adventure. That's always consistent in all the movies. And usually the beginning teaser is around 15 minutes, give or take 5 minutes, and in that, it goes pretty fast. Then it sits around for a while. You know, it'll probably sit around for half an hour, with nothing happening. Even in the first Indiana Jones, it takes quite a while to get to the fistfight in the Tibetan bar. And then, after that, you sit around for a long time—it's mostly a mystery from then on, until the snake sequence. Because there's a lot of energy, and because it starts off so fast, you're kind of trying to catch up with it, and then, when it relaxes, you're sort of saying, "Oh, thank goodness, I can catch up now and figure out what's going on." And then we sort of kick in this mystery. There's always a mystery of something or other. And so that usually takes over, and it's interspersed with action set pieces as the story demands it. You need respites in the action, so the audience won't get tired of it.
Yeah. Indiana Jones aren't action movies. They're primarily mysteries with a supernatural object. So it's kind of like X-Files. X-Files came out of this idea—instead of taking archaeological objects, they took Bigfoot and aliens and psychological mythology instead of the physical—but it amounts to the same thing. It amounts to a belief in the supernatural. Do you remember where you were when you came up with Indiana Jones?
I was in my office. The first idea that came up was when I was working on American Graffiti. I have a tendency, when I'm working on one thing, to doodle around and work on other things, to avoid what I'm doing. And it came out of that, before I even had a deal to write American Graffiti. And that came out of [Francis Ford] Coppola challenging you?
He just said, "Look, why don't you, for your next thing, if you're going to continue in this world of theatrical features, why don't you try something funny, warm, and fuzzy?" I'd been working on Apocalypse Now, which, when I was working on it, was more of a satire, more like Dr. Strangelove—but we couldn't get that movie made at that time. That was with John Milius?
John Milius wrote the first draft, and he was writing on it, and we sort of got the script done, and so about the time I finished THX, I was ready to go on to Apocalypse Now. We started to prepare it … [but] it was kind of a hopeless exercise. So I said, "O.K., well, I'll do American Graffiti instead," and so then I was working on American Graffiti, and that's when I came up with it. Saturday matinee serial—that was the initial thought, was the Saturday matinee serial. Were you living in San Francisco then?
Yeah, I've pretty much lived here all my life. I mean, were you living in the city then?
No, I was over in San Anselmo. [Thinks about it.] At that point, I lived in Mill Valley, a little place in Mill Valley. Did you come up with an Indiana Jones treatment or outline?
I had a bunch of things like that. I'd given it to Phil Kaufman. I'd given it to a couple other people, saying, "Here, do this movie, this is great, this'll be fun," and people would start and sort of fiddle with it and drop out to do something else. So I couldn't get anybody interested in it, and it wasn't until Steven, when I basically told him the story on the beach. I just told him the story and he got it like that. [Snaps his fingers.] He had a lot of enthusiasm. That was when you were waiting for the grosses of Star Wars to come out?
Well, not quite. He had taken time off from Close Encounters, the editing of it, but Star Wars had been out for a few weeks. I left the day it had opened, and I didn't call anybody or ask anybody or anything. The first I knew Star Wars was a hit was CBS News, with Walter Cronkite saying, "Oh my God …" You were in Hawaii?
I was in Hawaii, then Steve came—"Oh, it's a giant hit. You really ought to call Fox and find out what's going on." So we knew. Is Indiana an independent film, like the last Star Wars movies?
Well, it's all but independent. But when I did Star Wars, the original idea was one movie. It was going to go from Darth Vader coming in the door killing everybody, to Luke Skywalker realizing that Darth Vader was his father, to them in essence being redeemed. That was the movie. The only problem was, it was 250 pages. And at that point I had $3 million to make it with, so it was like, Yeah, right, that's not going to happen. So that's when I said, "Well, maybe I'll just do the first act," because it was a three-act thing. And I said, "Well, I'll just make that the first act, and I'll put those two on the shelf, but I will get this made, I will get this thing made." So most of the deal points were really designed for if the film failed—and the chance was 9 out of 10 that it would—that I would be protected in terms of being able to do the sequels that I wanted to do, if nobody else did. So that was how I got those rights and everything. And then the next step was in order to really make the leap of having control over my films, which is really what it's all about. I put all of the money I had, all the money I made on American Graffiti, all the money I made on Star Wars, and I put it up against doing The Empire Strikes Back. So that was everything I owned—my house, everything was put into Empire Strikes Back. That was about the same time we were gonna do Indiana Jones, and, if I had more money, I would have financed both of them, but I couldn't possibly do that. I mean, I almost lost everything on Empire, because it went over budget. So I made a very tough deal for that film, which everybody in town turned down, every single studio. You mean for Raiders?
For Raiders. The toughest deal anybody had ever seen. Finally, Michael Eisner looked not at what he wasn't getting, but looked at what he was getting. And he was worried primarily about the fact that I said I could get this thing done for $20 million, and he didn't believe it, because Steve was attached, and I said, "Steve is my friend. I've sat down, I've talked to him, and we're going to pull this thing off." Steve had just come off three giant, huge, mega-disaster movies, 1941, Close Encounters, and Jaws. Both went double over budget, double over schedule. Of course, he was forgiven overJaws, because it was a mega-hit. He was sort of forgiven over Close Encounters, because it was a big hit, but 1941 was not, and, therefore, they don't forgive anymore. And I had talked with Steven. He was a friend of mine, and I knew that he didn't want to do that. He was caught in some circumstances beyond his control. And I said, "We'll just do this very tightly. We'll do it like television, and these are the rules, and that's how we're gonna play," and he agreed, and so I had complete confidence in him. Like the Danish Dogma rules, but these were B-movie rules.
Yeah, they were B-movie rules, and Steve worked in television—he knew how to do this. And he just needed to be pulled back and say, "Hey, we're in the real world here. This is what we're gonna do." He hasn't gone over budget since 1941.
Well, not really. Mostly he's never gone over budget. And his budgets and his schedules are very small. Steve and I make our films, at the most, around 70, 75 days, and that's just what we do. We don't do 150 days. I never have. I sort of moved up from 30 days to 70 days, and he moved down from over 100 days. All these people now, making movies for 150, 200 days, it's outrageous. It saps everybody's creative energy, and it costs way too much money, and a lot of these movies now, it's costing $300 million, and that's outrageous. I mean, I'm used to the $100 million tent-pole mega-buster, $115 million, or something like that, the low hundreds. This one [Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull] cost a little bit more than that, but of course it's got Steve and I and Harrison in it. If you subtract us from the mix, then it's down to a more reasonable amount of money. This is the first time I've ever worked in Hollywood. So you had to play nice with executives?
No. We don't talk to them. It's just the way it's done. It's very, very expensive. More crew members. More people. More expenses. More demands. If I had done it the way I did all my other movies, we would have saved money. But Steven wanted to stay home. He didn't want to travel all around the world. He wanted to be with his kids. Family comes first. So you didn't go to Australia, like you did for the last Star Wars films.
Yeah. We shot in Hawaii, and on the East Coast, New Haven, and we shot in New Mexico, and Los Angeles. Were you there a lot?
I checked in on the set. The great thing about working with Steven is, it's minimal supervision. We agree on everything, and so, it's not like I say, "Well, you wanna cover it this way?" There's nothing to do. We think very much alike. Ron Howard and I do the same thing. It's not like, "What are you doing?" or anything like that. We're very simpatico. So that's easy. I'm producing a whole bunch of other stuff, too. Steve can direct and produce things—I can't. But I can produce four or five things at once. Karen Allen is a strong presence in the first movie. There's something about her, and she and Indy have a history.
They do have a history, and they had a great relationship in the first film, so this is continuing the story of their relationship, which is a lot of fun, and she's a great character. Again, Steve and I, in the end, are storytellers. We may get accused of being overly emotional, but, you know, we're of that theory that art is the communication of emotions. That's what it is. What does art do that something else can't do? It's communicate on an emotional level, not on a rational level. So we go for the heart, and try to make it as exciting as possible. Then that blends with what I call circus, which a modern critic would call an amusement-park ride, which is, you know, the gladiators, or horse races, or football teams, or things like that, which are exciting and are emotional. What do you see as the difference between the Indiana Jones character and Han Solo?
Well, they're both cynical characters. It's hard for a writer to write a particular kind of character—especially if you've written several of them—and have them be completely different, because they come out of you. And then you put the same actor in the characters, it makes it even harder, because, unless the character is written to compensate for the fact that you've got the same actor—which is why I was sort of reluctant to put Harrison in the role in the first place. But it has some similar qualities, which, most distinctively, is cynicism. This movie is set in 1957, is that right?
Yeah. Were you tempted to give it that Hitchcock action-movie look? Or did you want to stick with the matinee-serial look?
Well, we're sticking with having it look pretty much the way the other ones did. Steven decided, and that was out of my control. I mean, I had a lot to say about the 50s. Ultimately, he wanted it to feel like the other movies, and it does. And the scary part of this movie, ultimately, is that it looks like it was shot three years after Last Crusade. The people, the look of it, everything. You'd never know there was 20 years between shooting. And I think people will be amazed. It's like sitting in a big old comfortable chair you sat in: "Gee, it's just the same." Did you see a lot of B science-fiction movies?
Yeah, I was 10 years old when that was going on. The one that I remember the most was the least science fiction-y, which was Forbidden Planet.… There's a whole genre of movies just exactly like Republic serials that had a heyday, like 10, 15 years, because this was really before television, so it sort of took the place of what television shows are like today. Television shows are like B movies, but some of them now on cable are like A movies, but generally it's just stuff. You watch it, and it's fun, and it's great, it's exciting and all that stuff. The idea was, you take that B genre and move it to the next level. Before Saturday Republic serials, there were silent comedies which were basically like that, the entertainment cannon-fodder.… I was happy that I could say, "Well, this has roots. It's sort of an homage to a particular genre, and it fits and it works and all that stuff." That's what really got me started. And it got me very inspired, and after 15 years we finally got it right. Because it's one of those things like, we didn't have to do it. Steven knew as well as I did, because by the time we really got down to the end, I'd already done the pent-up-expectation movie, which was Phantom Menace, and I said, "You know, we're not going to win on this—at all. We live in a new world now. Critics will hate it. The fans will hate it. But it'll probably do well, and the only reason we can ever do this is to have fun." And maybe after five years people will accept it.
Well … the motivation for the whole thing, to go more than three, was to have a good time. We had fun making those movies, they were fun movies, we liked them, and … of course it's hard to go home again. Things change. But the eerie part of this movie—I call it the Motion Picture, the Movie of Dorian Gray, because nobody changed. Everybody looks exactly as they did, Steven is directing exactly as he did, and everybody had a wonderful time. And I think we got a great movie. I know the critics are going to hate it. They already hate it. So there's nothing we can do about that. They hate the idea that we're making another one. They've already made up their minds. And all they're going to do is go to the movie to say they saw it, but they could already write their review today. The fans are all upset. They're always going to be upset. "Why did he do it like this? And why didn't he do it like this?" They write their own movie, and then, if you don't do their movie, they get upset about it. So you just have to stand by for the bricks and the custard pies, because they're going to come flying your way. You know it's gonna come. Will this be Titanic? Probably not. Will this do O.K.? I think, yes, it will. So there's not much to worry about. Do you remember first meeting Steven Spielberg? And are you more colleagues or friends? Do you talk about personal things, or is it mainly about movies?
We're friends. We've been friends forever. He saw THX—I didn't really know him then—when we were students. He came over to U.S.C. to get one of the camera guys to shoot this film Amblin' he was doing, this camera guy who was a friend of mine. I'd heard about him then. To do this real movie on 35-mm. When we did Raiders, we just did it without thinking of if it might destroy our relationship. But we ended up doing it and we ended up working well together. We're very much alike. We think very much alike. There's not a lot of arguing. We have the same agenda, creative agenda, which is to make people feel emotions, make people feel like they've had an experience, and we complement each other. So in that way it's been a great adventure for us. And in the beginning we had a relationship where, if we had a disagreement, Steven would say, "This is why I think it should be this way," and I would say, "Well, O.K., look, it's your movie, you do it the way you want." "Wait a minute—you're the producer. It's your movie. I'll do it the way you want." So out of that, we compromised into something that worked, because nobody wanted to do it just because they had the power to do it. Will he give a cut to you soon?
He's editing, he's editing. Will you take a pass at it?
Well, I'll go over it. But all I am is a different point of view. I've tried to recut his stuff before, and it's really hard, because he shoots it exactly the way it's supposed to be. We joke that he shoots the movie and I shoot around the movie. When I shoot, I shoot all kinds of footage, I'll shoot everything I can, and then get it in the editing room and make a movie out of it. He makes a movie before he shoots it, so he knows exactly what he's doing. That's very hard to do. That really is genius. He can see the movie in his head and he can articulate it and make it happen just the way he sees it, and it turns out perfect. You can be kind of like John Ford, which is, you shoot everything in a wide shot and then cut it together. Yeah, that's fine, but we don't live in that world anymore. This world is cinematically more complex. You have to have more angles, more shots, more things to make it move. We've graduated quite a bit from the slow, single-camera reality that existed a long time ago. Now people expect things to really move—and to do that and still know where all the pieces are going to be, I haven't worked with anybody who can do that as well as Steven. It's amazing to watch him do it. But we're friends first and collaborators second.
Exclusive Q&A: Steven Spielberg
Video: The Annie Leibovitz photo sessions
V.F. Classic: "Raiders of the Lost Backyard," by Jim Windolf (March 2004)
Official site: indianajones.com
Did you see the new Coppola movie?
Mmm-hmmm. I saw it quite a while ago. He's doing what I want to do. You've said you're going to make experimental movies again.
I've been saying it ever since I finished American Graffiti. [Laughs.] But you get to a point where you just want to enjoy the creative process, and we've all gotten to a point where we've earned that, so now the thing to do is to take advantage of it to make movies to express ourselves, without too much outside interference, and let the chips fall where they may. Those guys have won all their awards, they made all their money, we've all done our stuff—there's nothing left to do except have fun. I'm one of the few who slipped through this entire process making the movies I wanted to make without too much interference. I had a little bit on the first couple, but I bought my way out of that whole thing. Steven has managed because he loved Hollywood. He loves the studios, he loves the system, and he goes along with it, so he doesn't fight. He can function within the system.
He functions within the system. He rides the horse. The horse goes where he wants to go, and they go together.
Jim Windolf is a Vanity Fair contributing editor.


text:
Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Mancini defends Hart after mix-up
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini refused to criticise goalkeeper Joe Hart as the club's stuttering start to the season continued with a 1-1 draw against Blackburn.
Hart was involved in a mix-up with Kolo Toure that led to Blackburn taking the lead at Eastlands. The pair failed to cut out a long ball from Morten Gamst Pedersen and Nikola Kalinic was left with an open goal in the 24th minute. City responded and equalised in the 55th minute through Patrick Vieira but were unable to find a winning goal.
"It was a strange goal," said Mancini. "It can happen. This is football. Joe Hart is a good goalkeeper."
In contrast, Paul Robinson, recently retired from England, was in commanding form between the posts for Blackburn.
But although he made a string of fine saves, manager Sam Allardyce gave a modest appraisal of the goalkeeper's qualities.
Allardyce said: "Paul has played better than that for us. He put himself in the right position to make those saves. That has helped us get a point."
Allardyce was, however, thrilled at the way his team remained committed to the cause, especially as Ryan Nelsen (foot) and Michel Salgado (thigh) came off in the first half with injuries.
"We have measured up to a club that should brushing us aside in terms of the quality of players they can afford, the wages they can pay and the limited budget we work on," said Allardyce.
"But good organisation, team spirit and hard working side can always cause an upset. Manchester City fans would see this result as an upset.
"Even towards the end we might have nicked another goal when Kalinic was through but Joe Hart made a good save. But hopefully this will boost our confidence."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Shopping and Payment
Choose a link to select a section
- Using Your Shopping Bag
- Payment Method
- Promotion Codes
- Student Discount
- Sales Tax
- ClubMonaco.com Pricing Guarantee
Using Your Shopping Bag
When you shop at ClubMonaco.com and add an item to your bag, that item will be saved in your Shopping Bag. The Shopping Bag holds items you wish to purchase after you are done shopping. Items you place in your Shopping Bag will remain there until you purchase them, remove them or move them to your Wish List. They will remain there even after you leave our site. However, if you have an item in your Shopping Bag that is out of stock before you complete your purchase, the item will automatically be removed from your Shopping Bag
Your Wish List allows you to save items that you're thinking about buying. This feature saves your selections even after you leave our site, making it easy to relocate and purchase your favorite items in the future.
To move items from your Shopping Bag to your Wish List, sign in with your ClubMonaco.com login and password (you can get one here). Even if you leave the site and come back, you can still access your Wish List, but only by signing in with your login and password. Items will remain in your Wish List unless you remove them or move them to your Shopping Bag, but placing items in your Wish List does not guarantee availability.
Payment Method
We accept credit cards from:
- American Express
- Discover
- MasterCard
- Visa
- Banks located in these countries
We also accept these other forms of payment:
- PayPal
- PayPal Credit
- Credit Card Gift Cards*
Unfortunately, we do not accept:
- CODs
- Layaway plans
- Personal checks
- Money orders
- Credit cards issued by banks located outside of these countries.
- See All Countries
- Credit cards with billing addresses outside of these countries.
- See All Countries
To make ordering even easier, we can store your credit card information in your ClubMonaco.com account once you register online. This information is secure and cannot be accessed by anyone other than the account holder. You can read our Privacy Notice just to be safe.
For added security, your billing address at ClubMonaco.com must exactly match the address on file at your credit card company. Your order process may be delayed if these addresses are different.
Your credit card will not be charged until your order ships. However, if you are using a debit or check card for payment, the funds will immediately be deducted from your account.
*Credit Card Gift Cards (such as a gift card from American Express or Visa, or any other Credit Card Gift Card not associated with Club Monaco) can only be redeemed for orders less than the full amount available on the gift card. Orders cannot be split between two forms of payment when using a Credit Card Gift Card.
Promotional Codes
Got a promotional code? Great! Here's how to use it:
1. Enter your promotional code on the Payment page or the Review Your Order page.
2. Codes are case-sensitive.
3. Click Apply.
If your promotional code is valid, the discount will be applied to your order in your payment summary. You can use only one promotional code per order.
We reserve the right to cancel orders if an unauthorized promotional code is used.
Student Discount
We are pleased to offer students 15 percent off their order when they shop online or in our stores.
To shop online: Simply visit this link and enter your student email address ending in .edu. We will then validate your email and send you a promotional code within minutes to use during checkout. This code will expire at the end of the month, at which point you will need to request another code in order to shop. This code is only valid when shopping with the email you registered. The Student Discount offer is valid on regular and sale-priced merchandise, but cannot be combined with any other offer, is not valid on previously purchased merchandise or the purchase of gift cards, and cannot be redeemed for cash. This offer is not valid on handmade jewelry, fine jewelry, vintage, home, beauty, Collection, Club Monaco leather jackets, select shearling, or third-party products.
To shop in stores: Simply present your student ID at checkout in a Club Monaco store at the point of sale. The discount will be applied to your purchase.
Sales Tax
We include applicable sales tax for all orders based on your shipping address. We will estimate the sales tax amount until your order has shipped and your shipping confirmation has been sent.
State and local governments require that we charge tax for items shipped to any state where there is a Club Monaco store, warehouse or contact center.
ClubMonaco.com Pricing Guarantee
If ClubMonaco.com makes a permanent price reduction on a product featured on our Web store, you are welcome to request a reimbursement for the price difference within seven days of your ship date. We can make price adjustments on items purchased at the full retail price only. Promotional sale prices are not considered permanent price changes, so they are not included in this guarantee. If you'd like to receive credit for a price difference, you can call Customer Assistance at 1-888-733-6410.
We work hard to make sure that the prices on ClubMonaco.com are accurate, but sometimes we make a mistake. If we've listed the incorrect price for a product, we have the right to refuse or cancel orders placed for the product listed at the incorrect price, regardless of whether the order has been confirmed and your credit card has been charged.


text:
Editor's note: The Coastline Pilot looks back on the past year in Laguna Beach High athletics. Listed below are some of the main highlights reported on by or to the Independent.
The Laguna Beach High girls' water polo team completed another undefeated run through Orange Coast League competition and entered the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs with a No. 3 ranking. The Breakers scored postseason wins over Beckman and Santa Barbara to reach the semifinals. There, they fell against Newport Harbor for the fourth time in the season, this time by a 7-6 score.
Seniors Yoshi Andersen and Melena Masson were named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 first team.
In girls' soccer, Laguna turned in a record season. Coach Bill Rolfing's Breakers put together a 14-game unbeaten streak midway through the season and didn't lose a Orange Coast League match in winning its first league championship. Laguna had its season end in a first-round loss to Santa Monica in the Division 4 playoffs.
Senior midfielder Marina Paul was selected to the All-CIF Division 4 team. The team's leading scorer, Paul, also was named the OCL MVP.
In boys' soccer, Laguna entered the CIF Division 4 playoffs as a wild-card entry. The Breakers won a wild-card road game at El Segundo and then played third-ranked Crescenta Valley to overtime in a first-round road game before falling, 3-2. Laguna ended the year 9-7-3. Senior forward Joe Rousseau and junior forward Reece Barton made the All-Orange Coast League first team.
Laguna's boys' basketball team won the Orange Coast League title for the sixth straight year and reached the CIF Southern Section Division 4-AA playoffs. The Breakers ended the year 16-11 after dropping a first-round game to JSerra. Juniors Cole Kesler and Jake Dalke shared the MVP award for the All-Orange Coast League.
In girls' basketball, Laguna nearly broke into the win column on several occasions, but ended the season 0-18.
The boys' and girls' swimming teams nearly rose to the top of Division 3 at the CIF Southern Section Swimming and Diving Championships at Riverside Community College in May. The boys' team finished runner-up to the division title, and the girls' team placed third.
"I am very proud of what our teams accomplished this year," Laguna Coach Kari Johnson said. "We had the best combined finish at CIF in our school's history. Every member of our team did an excellent job. We all did our best and it paid off."
The boys' team won CIF event titles on two fronts. The Breakers' 200-meter medley relay team of freshman Erik Juliusson, junior Caleb Scott and seniors Billy Wild and Erik Henrikson won in a school-record time of 1 minute, 37.82 seconds. Wild also won the 100 butterfly in 51.66 to set a school record, which he previously held.
Laguna previously had claimed Orange Coast League in the boys' and girls' competition. It was the fifth consecutive league crown for the girls, and fourth for the boys.
The baseball team was under new direction in 2012 as first-year coach Mike Bair took over the program. The Breakers posted an 18-9 season that included a second-place finish in the Orange Coast League. They also won a game in the CIF Division 4 playoffs before they were eliminated in the second round by second-seeded La Salle of Pasadena.
Seven Breakers made the all-league team, including sophomore Grant Wilhelm, who was named Pitcher of the Year.
On the softball diamond, Laguna turned in a season that included several firsts. First-year coach Alan Ludloff's young squad finished in third place in the Orange Coast League and made the CIF Division 5 playoffs. The Breakers went 15-8, the 15 wins setting a program single-season record. They also played the first home playoff game in program history. Their season ended in a wild-card game loss to Silverado of Victorville. Ludloff said the team also set 12 school records during the season.
Junior pitcher Haley Putnam was named to the All-CIF Division 5 team and became just the third Breaker to receive Southern Section honors.
In boys' volleyball, Scott Panaro's first season as coach featured an undefeated (10-0) Orange Coast League season and a trip to the quarterfinal round of the CIF Division 2 playoffs. The Breakers increased their winning streak in league games to 86 and league matches to 38.
"It is awesome to win league in my first year," said Panaro, whose No. 3-seeded Breakers defeated Malibu and Santiago of Corona in postseason play before being eliminated by West Ranch.
Senior setter Jack Winn was named MVP of the OCL and also earned a coveted spot on the All-CIF Division 2 team.
In boys' tennis, Coach Don Davis saw his initial season capped by an undefeated (8-0) Orange Coast League run. At the league's postseason tournament, it was an all-Laguna singles final where No. 1-player Teague Hamilton turned back No. 2-player Morgan Lebby in the title match. Second-seeded Laguna reached the quarterfinal round of the Division 4 playoffs, where they fell to La Quinta of Westminster.
On the golf course, Breakers senior Tim Peterson competed at CIF Southern Section Individual Regional Tournament where he shot a 77 and missed advancing by just three shots. He was the lone Breaker to qualify for the tournament.
Laguna track and field athletes turned in outstanding performances in 2012. The boys' team won the Orange Coast League title and the girls' team finished runner-up. Senior Natasha Strickland capped a banner four-year varsity career at the league finals by winning the girls' 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Strickland won both events at league finals in each of her four years.
Three Breakers — Strickland (girls' 1,600 meters), Spencer Anderson (boys' 110 hurdles) and Ricky Delatorre (shot put) — reached the CIF Southern Section Division 4 Track and Field finals at Mt. San Antonio College in May. Strickland finished in eighth place, Anderson was ninth and Delatorre placed sixth.
Laguna moved up a division in boys' water polo for the 2012 season, and the Breakers advanced all the way to the Final Four in Division 2.
The No. 3-seeded Breakers, a two-time defending Southern Section champion, reached the Division 2 semifinals where they were edged by No. 2 Santa Barbara. During the season, the Breakers again went undefeated in Orange Coast League play
Senior Riley Thomas was tabbed MVP of the OCL. Riley and all-league pick Camron Hauer also were named to the All-CIF Division 2 first team. All-league pick Caleb Scott was second-team All-CIF and all-league picks Duncan Lynde and Maxx McCarter (goalie) were named third team All-CIF,
"I was really proud of our guys, and what they did this year. "It was a big challenge," Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said of the season, and making the move from Division 3 to Division 2.
The Laguna Beach girls' golf team advanced three athletes, Jackie McMahon, Mary Kate Quellmalz and Leslie Dwight, to the Orange Coast League finals in October. McMahon, Laguna's team captain, finished in third place and secured a spot at CIF Southern Section Individuals. The junior shot a 39 on the back nine holes at Mesa Linda Golf Course in Costa Mesa.
The Breakers ended their year 5-8 overall, and 5-4 in league.
The Laguna girls' volleyball team went through yet another undefeated march through Orange Coast League competition and the No. 4-seeded Breakers advanced to the CIF Division 1-A quarterfinals where they were eliminated by Capistrano Valley. Laguna, which defeated Louisville in a first-round playoff game, reached the CIF quarterfinals for the 37th time in the 41-year history of the girls' volleyball playoffs.
Sophomore outside hitter Alyse Ford was named the OCL MVP and also to the All-CIF Division 1-A team.
In girls' tennis, Laguna again won the OCL crown and won three postseason matches to advance to the semifinal round of the CIF Division 2 playoffs, and was invited to play in the inaugural, 16-team CIF State Southern California Regional tournament.
Six Breakers, singles players Brooke Michaels and Bailey Jaeger, and the doubles teams of Chloe Mansour/Dominique Willette and Katelyn Bo/Sarah Nederlander, competed at the CIF Individuals.
At the end of the Orange Coast League season in November, Michaels captured the league singles title and Mansour/Willette the doubles title. The league singles and doubles finals were all-Laguna affairs.
The Laguna Beach boys' and girls' cross-country teams emerged with top-five finishes in the Division 4 preliminaries in November and each earned a spot at the CIF Southern Section Championships at Mt. San Antonio College. The Laguna boys were one of 16 teams to advance to the Division 4 final from prelims. The Laguna girls' team, which won the Orange Coast League title, took fourth in its heat and reserved a spot in the Division 4 final.
At the CIF Southern Section Championships Division 4 finals the following week, both Laguna teams fell just shy of advancing to the CIF State Championships in Fresno. The boys' team was just 10 points short and the girls' team only nine points away from earning a trip to State.
Both Jack Crawford (34th) and Grant Barton (38th) had top-40 finishes in the boys' Division 4 race. Eliza Romero (29th) and Pearl Shoemaker (40th) finished in the top 40 in the girls' Division 4 race.
"We had a lot of good individual performances but just as a whole we have to pull it together," Laguna Beach girls' coach Steve Lalim said. "Usually our strength is in our numbers and our tight pack, but we just couldn't pull it off."
A season that began for the football Breakers on the final day of August, took them all the way to the fourth weekend of November and into the record books once again.
Laguna ran up big scores and big wins during the 2012 season. The lone blemish during the second-ranked Breakers' first 12 games was a tie game against University in nonleague play back in September. They were 11-0-1 before their season came to a halt in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division semifinals in late November at Garden Grove.
Senior Drake Martinez was named MVP of the Orange Coast League. Senior Blake Hester (Defensive Player of the Year), senior Spencer Anderson (Lineman of the Year) and senior Robbie McInerny (Special Teams Player of the Year) nabbed the other top league awards. Seniors Larry Stewart, Robert Clemons III, Adam Farsheed, Steven Harrison and Joe Casey were named to the all-league team.
A few weeks after the season ended, so did Head Coach Mike Churchill's reign as head coach of the program. He resigned after two seasons. His replacement is Corey Brown, a varsity assistant who also was head coach of the Laguna frosh/soph team.
Under Churchill's two-year reign as head coach, Laguna rose to become a league champion and CIF Southern Section contender. His first team, the 2011 squad, went 10-3 and reached the semifinal round of the Southern Division playoffs. His final team, the 2012 group, won an outright Orange Coast League championship, again made it to the Southern Division semifinals, and finished 11-1-1.
Among the numerous individual and team program records the Breakers set over the past two years, this year's team won the most games (11) in a single season in school history.
"I think my two years as head coach here is special in this respect: nobody, two years ago, would have told you that football was important at Laguna Beach High," Churchill said. "The kids on this team the past few years have made it special. The community was re-energized by their success, and alumni would call or e-mail me, telling me how great it was that Laguna football was relevant. That, to me, was the most rewarding."
In the week following Churchill's announcement, longtime Laguna girls' volleyball coach Lance Stewart stepped down from his post.
Stewart coached the Laguna girls' volleyball program for 12 seasons (1989-90, 2003-2012). During that time, his teams won 10 league championships including eight straight between 2005 and this year. Eleven of those teams earned a final CIF Southern Section ranking of No. 4 or higher. His 2006 and 2007 teams won back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division II-AA titles, and the 2006 squad captured the CIF State Regional Division III title.
"It's been enjoyable. I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't," Stewart said. "I'm going to miss the kids, most of all. It's been a great ride."
Twitter: @MikeSciacca


text:
Get the Flash Playerto see this player.
Short review: Not sure precisely what you're looking for, but the Willy growing in your pants is hard and needing urgent attention? Then check out the diversity here
Content Amount: This web-site promises inexhaustible access to over 70 porno websites, enough for every appetite and yours is enormous! Prime Porn Pass takes care of diversity, giving your Willy plenty of choice from pornographic stars to novices, everything your devil can handle right currently and so much more for tomorrow, so you can find what gets the nectareous job done for you and have an explosive sexual climax. Now isn't that what you want?


text:
Dr. John R. Deni
Research Professor of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) Security Studies
JOHN R. DENI is a Research Professor of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College's (USAWC) Strategic Studies Institute (SSI). He is also an adjunct lecturer at the American University's School of International Service. Previously, he worked for 8 years as a political advisor to senior U.S. military commanders in Europe. Prior to that, he spent 2 years as a strategic planner specializing in U.S. security cooperation and military-to-military relations. While working for the U.S. military in Europe, Dr. Deni was also an adjunct lecturer at Heidelberg University's Institute for Political Science—there, he taught graduate and undergraduate courses on U.S. foreign and security policy, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), European security, and alliance theory and practice. With degrees from the College of William & Mary, American University, and George Washington University, Dr. Deni has spoken at conferences and symposia throughout Europe and North America. He is the author, editor, or co-editor of seven books, including NATO and Article 5, along with authoring several peer-reviewed monographs and journal articles.
SSI books and monographs by Dr. John R. Deni
Rotational Deployments vs. Forward Stationing: How Can the Army Achieve Assurance and Deterrence Efficiently and Effectively?
August 25, 2017
Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
The Department of Defense can achieve deterrence and assurance objectives more effectively and efficiently through a rebalancing of its force posture. The Army should reverse the trend of the last 2 decades and forward station additional heavy units in Europe and on the Korean Peninsula, while ending lengthy, heel-to-toe rotational noncombat deployments.
Military Engagement and Forward Presence: Down but Not Out as Tools to Shape and Win
January 24, 2016
Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
Forward military presence and, when employed selectively, military engagement – can promote stability and security and can contribute dramatically to operational capacity and capability across a range of military operations, including major interstate war. Unfortunately, significant cuts to overseas permanent presence and continuing pockets of institutional bias against engagement as a force multiplier and readiness enhancer have combined to limit the leverage possible through these two policy tools.
The Real Rebalancing: American Diplomacy and the Tragedy of President Obama's Foreign Policy
October 26, 2015
Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
The Obama administration's concerted efforts to rebalance American foreign policy away from defense and toward diplomacy and development unfortunately have failed. The continuing militarization of U.S. foreign policy means the Defense Department will remain the preferred means of both legislators and the executive branch for dealing with the greatest challenges facing American national security.
New Realities: Energy Security in the 2010s and Implications for the U.S. Military
February 03, 2015
Edited by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
How are the profound, even revolutionary changes in today's global energy markets affecting U.S. national security and the U.S. military? Experts from academia, think tanks, the Pentagon, and the private sector address these and related questions in this timely, important edited volume.
Political and Socio-Economic Change: Revolutions and Their Implications for the U.S. Military
September 09, 2014
Edited by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
Managing change in the international security environment—whether revolutionary or evolutionary in nature—is never an uncomplicated task. The authors address the military implications of political and social change in the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America.
The Future of American Landpower: Does Forward Presence Still Matter? The Case of the Army in the Pacific
June 03, 2014
Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
The U.S. Army's forward presence in the Pacific theater is long overdue for reconsideration and reconceptualization. Without unduly harming America's commitment to deterrence on the Korean peninsula, the Army forward presence could be reshaped and reconfigured to enable the United States to more effectively and more efficiently achieve its objectives across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
Augmenting Our Influence: Alliance Revitalization and Partner Development
April 16, 2014
Edited by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
The role of allies and partners in the future of American Landpower is discussed.
NATO Missile Defense and the European Phased Adaptive Approach: The Implications of Burden-Sharing and the Underappreciated Role of the U.S. Army
October 18, 2013
Authored by Mr. Steven J. Whitmore, Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
NATO's ballistic missile defense initiative remains a work in progress, but a lack of interceptor and sensor contributions on the part of the European allies is likely to have significant implications for the U.S. Army. In particular, the U.S. Army is likely to face increased manpower demands, materiel requirements, and training needs in order to meet the demand signal created by the NATO ballistic missile defense program.
The Future of American Landpower: Does Forward Presence Still Matter? The Case of the Army in Europe
October 09, 2012
Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
The January 2012 announcement that the United States would reduce the number of Brigade Combat Teams in Europe captured media, popular, and scholarly attention, prompting many to ask: Is the United States turning its back on Europe as it pivots to Asia? Do the Europeans have the wherewithal to defend themselves? Are forward-based U.S. land forces necessary at all? Given the necessity of capable, interoperable coalition partners for the future security threats Washington most expects to encounter, the role of America's forward military presence in Europe remains as vital as it was at the dawn of the Cold War, but for different reasons. Dr. Deni's monograph forms a critical datapoint in the ongoing dialogue regarding the future of American Landpower.
SSI articles, editorial, and briefs by Dr. John R. Deni
Current Russia Military Affairs: Assessing and Countering Russian Strategy, Operational Planning, and Modernization
July 27, 2018
Strategic Insights: Making Good on the NSS and NDS: Competing with Russia in Europe and Beyond
March 20, 2018
Strategic Insights: Is the European Union Really That Important to U.S. Security Interests?
March 09, 2017
Strategic Insights: An EU Military Headquarters: A Cure in Search of an Illness?
November 14, 2016
Strategic Insights: Strategic Implications of Brexit
June 24, 2016
From Cooperation to Competition - The Future of U.S.-Russian Relations
May 28, 2015
Academic Engagement Notes: 2014 International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Convention
June 18, 2014
Op-Ed: Balancing The Joint Force: Defense and Military Challenges Through 2020
March 11, 2014
New Realities: Energy Security in the 2010s and Implications for the U.S. Military - Executive Summaries
January 08, 2014
Academic Engagement Notes: 2013 International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Convention
May 23, 2013


text:
Booktopia Gift Certificates are redeemable via the Booktopia website and are valid for 36 months from the date of purchase. Certificates do not have to be used in one transaction.
When you purchase a gift certificate, you will immediately receive an email with a link to download the gift certificate. You can then either forward this link to the intended recipient or download a PDF via the link to print out and give to your intended recipient. A copy of the gift certificate is also stored in your Account on the Booktopia website.
For existing gift certificate holders, if you have lost your electronic gift certificate code, please contact customer service on +612 9045 4394 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Sydney time, except public holidays.


text:
A friend of a friend in Ohio has a pit bull mix that she found as a stray and has been keeping at her house for the time being. He isn't named yet as she fears getting too attached. The problem is that Ohio has basically deemed all pit bulls "vicious" and her home owner's association will make her pay $5000 yearly to keep him. He's one year old, 50lbs, currently intact (she's planning on getting him neutered if she can find somewhere for him to go), had first shots, he gets along with her boston terrier and in meeting a cat, showed curiosity but stayed away. She has a crate for him to go with as he is crate trained. She's tried all the shelters and rescues in OH but none will take him in. I know many pit rescues are full of these wonderful dogs, but if there's anything anyone can do or suggest, we would really appreciate it! Please share!
It is best to contact me via email firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
BABYBOOMER needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 138 designs submitted by 31 freelance designers.
Everything Aging
I am a speaker and columnist on long-term care planning and aging who is a published author, and has appeared on the CBS Early Show, and gets quoted nationally on a regular basis (most recently NY Times). I'm launching a website with "advice and resources to age your way." Topics will include: body, travel, money, etc.
baby boomers (ages 45-65) and potential corporate sponsors
I would like the .com to appear in the logo
Needs to be very simple, clean, fun, warm, modern
Don't want logo to look like it's for old people - even though they may be seeing it...
* I like 2-color design.
* Don't like purple; don't want red/white/blue combo; go crazy with color choices - who wouldn've thought of Oprah's colors - and they are killer.
* the size of the logo must be albe to do a 12" x 12" reprint.
* clean, fluid, clear, friendly, smart and crisp
* the parts of the logo must equal the
whole and connect to me and make
* must be able to print well.
* vector format (Adobe Photoshop or
Adobe Illustrator). All file formats
requested: jpg, gif, tiff, eps, etc. Flattened
and un-flattened flies in PMS and
black. Would like color easy to translate to web.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
Posts Tagged 'Did evangelicals sit home?
Did the "Ron Paul Revolution" Stay Home Last Night?
I haven't seen anyone ask this yet, so I will: did the Ron Paul Revolution stay home last night?
Mitt Romney won 3 million votes less than McCain while Obama lost 10 million votes of his own from 2008.
Where did those 3 million McCain voters go?
The main part of why I believed Romney would win this time because I knew the 10 million Obama supporters would sit home…but never in my worst nightmares did I imagine McCain voters would sit home. I counted on them to show up and bring friends this time to boot Obama out.
The only thing I can think of is this:
* Ron Paul supporters sat the election out because Dr. Paul because the conflict regarding the convention and the other delegate issues
* Evangelicals went through with their threat to sit home because Romney is a member of the LDS Church
And these two groups thought allowing Obama to have a second term was worth sitting home.
Is that what happened?
I never thought that was a realistic possibility because I can't imagine ever allowing the Left to not just maintain power but actually expand their reach…but that's what happened last night.
Have you seen anyone crunching numbers to explain this today?
The Ministry of Truth will say "oh, it was all about Hispanics!" but that is a red herring. That doesn't explain dropping three million votes below McCain and a total of five million votes from Bush in 2004.
Ron Paul supporters seem to explain that first drop from Bush's 2004 numbers, sitting out to the tune of 2 million when McCain ran in 2008…and then sitting out even more this time; perhaps it's a combination of Ron Paul people and Evangelicals who sat home "to teach everyone a lesson".
That's an expensive lesson if this is right.


text:
|Safe Haskell
This module performs the translation of a parsed XML DTD into the internal representation of corresponding Haskell data/newtypes.
Note that dtdToTypeDef is partial - it will crash if you resolve qualified names (namespaces) to URIs beforehand. It will only work on the original literal name forms prefix:name.
dtd2TypeDef :: [MarkupDecl] -> [TypeDef]Source


text:
Wings or Windows?
Life is a process, a journey full of lessons and growth.
It is an opportunity for you to actualize your divine potential.
Life is also a package deal.
There is good and bad, happy and sad, healthy and sick, rich and poor, joy and sorrow, etc.
Accept all of life and know that everything is temporary except love.
Everything comes and goes except love.
Love is the most powerful force in the universe and love is God's gift and blessing to you. God's unconditional love is always available, every moment.
By sharing your love and kindness you fulfill your highest potential.
Love is your essence and true legacy.
"Kindness is a language that we all can understand.
Even the blind can see it and the deaf can hear it."
Mother Teresa
"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be."
Small steps add up to big movements one step at a time.
Be patient and supportive of yourself.
Make a small change every day and see how much you have grown in 30 days.
"Little things don't mean a lot, they mean everything."
Be consistent and move gently and steadily in the same direction and you will create great accomplishments.
🙂 Lee
The Mega Coach


text:
Continuing their streak of very good pay per view events, Ring of Honor's New Horizons is the newest offering from the company. Taped in Detroit, Michigan on July 25th, the show features something for everyone – wild brawls, fast paced action, and two incredible main event matches.
June's Take No Prisoners pay per view offered a star-making performance by Tyler Black, whose match against ROH champion Nigel McGuinness was a classic. Black's star continues to rise with this show and an awesome main event against "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. The match is a back and forth battle that leaves the viewer breathless, culminating in Black powerbombing Danielson into the corner, and breaking the top rope. The crowd's reaction to this moment is one of shock and awe, and it transmits well to the audience at home. Black walks out of the match showing he can go with the best wrestler in the world, building him up as someone to carry the company as other top stars move on.
Immediately after the match, the longstanding feud between Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs comes to a head with a violent brawl through the crowd, culminating in a ladder spot that has to be seen to be believed. The show ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, as both men are still trying to kill each other.
The Detroit crowd is red-hot throughout the show, from the opening angle with The Age of the Fall and a squash match from the Briscoe brothers to the closing brawl, which really adds to the show. Kevin Steen and The Necro Butcher have a fun no-DQ match and ROH continues its run of excellent tag matches on pay per view with Chris Hero and Go Shiozaki teaming up to take on Roderick Strong and Naomichi Marufuji, with an appearance by Lance Storm. Another ROH staple, a four-corners match with Eric Stevens vs. Delirious vs. Ruckus vs. Shane Hagadorn.
Ring of Honor is a cheap and entertaining way to spend a couple of hours, and New Horizons is worth watching. Check your cable provider to see when it replays.
Jason Clevett is sad that the only way he usually gets to see ROH is on DVD or pay per view.


text:
Exactly, no antivirus is 100% bulletproof.BTJustice wrote:Just because you use something else and it says you have no viruses doesn't mean you don't have viruses.
Even NOD32 or KAV aren't and that's why my system is protected by other security software, like Ewido (anti-trojan), Spy Sweeper & CounterSpy (anti-spyware), RegDefend, ProcessGuard.
Saying that NOD32 is the best isn't true, there is no best.
If you really want to protect your system it's better to pay for it, although free is fine too for those who can't afford it.
FYI I use KAV, but I don't have anything against NOD32 or any other.
Only against Symantec's.


text:
Our Story
Miss Universe Pageant
Miss Universe Organization
Miss Universe Cordaid Fund
Philippines Prepare for New Storm
A month after the one-year anniversary of super-typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines now face a new typhoon, Hagupit. It will probably reach the eastern province of Samar this weekend, in the same place Haiyan hit last year. With Haiyan in mind, Cordaid Philippines are preparing for the new storm in Samar.
Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013 creating a major disaster, affecting more than 12 million people and displacing more than 4 million people.
Destruction in Tacloban, Leyte province in The Philippines, 4 months after the typhoon hit the area. The storm surge destroyed entire neighborhoods in the area.
The Miss Universe Organization and Dutch development agency, Cordaid, partnered to create a global fund that will raise awareness and money for regions of the Philippines that have been affected by Typhoon Yolanda. The two international organizations have called attention to the needs of projects that are essential for the country's recovery long after the emergency relief period has ended.
Miss Universe 2013, Gabriela Isler meets women of the community during a visit to support Cordaid in Coron, Philippines.
Map of Coron, Phillippines – one of the areas supported by the Miss Universe Cordaid Fund.
Cordaid began its recovery response and operations immediately after Yolanda struck focusing on all phases of relief strategy with the protection and safety of women and children as a primary objective. A mission of the Miss Universe Organization is to empower women to serve as role models throughout their communities and across the globe. Reigning Miss Universe Gabriela Isler and former titleholders will continue to raise awareness and be the change agents for project sites that the Miss Universe Cordaid Fund will serve.
For every community project the mapping of the barangay is very important. Each map shows the traces of the super typhoon, particularly its effects on the houses of the community members.
The main goal of this partnership is to assist vulnerable communities affected by typhoon Haiyan to increase their resilience to future disaster. The projects discern two, partly overlapping, phases: early recovery and recovery leading to resiliency. Finally people will live in safer, disaster resilient houses, will have access to safe drinking water and use latrines, will take care of managing their natural environment and will have persified livelihood and marketing options. Communities are better able to cope with natural hazards and reduce impacts of a disaster by applying resilient community action plans.
The concrete form work for one of Cordaid's Resilient Community Infrastructure projects. Here an evacuation bridge is being built providing an important route to safety over a river that is usually flooded and dangerous during times of strong weather
Cordaid will remain committed for the years to come to help and ensure that communities be rebuilt with an eye to self- reliance. Cordaid is currently stationed in 36 developing countries working on more than 3,000 projects, ranging from urban housing to women's health and children's education.
A Cordaid-sponsored Community Resilience Workshop mobilizes community members to map what risks exist and how these can be reduced in future disasters.
Basketball courts are often used as evacuation centers during emergencies, therefore it is important that the roof will be repaired. Cordaid is developing a new project to start working in a few barangays in Guiuan city, too.
Although much has been accomplished, there is plenty of work to be done. The affected communities rely on YOU to help make a difference and become more resilient for the future.


text:
Annual Peninsula Event, "Ocian in View", November 7-9
October 14, 2008 by: Susan Goldsmith
Here is a press release about the upcoming annual "Ocian in View" weekend., November 7-9 on the Long Beach Peninsula. If you haven't attended this event in the past, consider coming to Long Beach to attend. It looks fascinating as always!
From Hand-Carved Canoes to Columbia Condors, 'Ocian In View' Drifts Deftly Between The Past And The Present
LONG BEACH PENINSULA, Wash. – September 2008 – History buffs and cultural connoisseurs won't want to miss this year's 'Ocian in View,' an absorbing look at the Long Beach Peninsula's provocative past. Slated for November 7, 8 and 9, 2008, the series of special events combines presentations by area experts with interpretive tours, educational programs and annual gatherings celebrating the Peninsula's unique heritage.
With its diverse natural gifts and strategic seaside setting, the Long Beach Peninsula has lured explorers throughout the centuries. "'Ocian in View' answers some of the questions about why people live here at the edge of the continent, on a little bit of land where the irresistible force of the Columbia River slams into the immovable Pacific Ocean," said Washington State Historical Society tour guide and lifelong local resident Jim Sayce. "Looking back in time allows for thoughtful and engaged commentary on what the area must have looked like to visitors in the late 18th century."
Launching the 'Ocian in View' festivities on Nov. 7, Chinook Indian Tribe chairman Ray Gardner will illuminate the past with his talk called "The Finest Canoes: The Chinook Canoe and its Role in Traditional Culture." The lecture will start at 7 p.m. at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco. Tickets will cost $10 per person, sold at the door, with first-come first-served seating.
On Nov. 8, participants can hop aboard a bus and retrace the explorations of Euro-American sailors before the days of Lewis and Clark. Called "Land in View," the modern-day adventure will be led by Sayce, sharing a wealth of tales about the captains and crews who ventured across unforgiving seas in search of the Northwest Passage. Departing from the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum at 9 a.m. and again at 1 p.m., each tour costs $30 per person. Reservations should be made early for this unforgettable three-hour trip by calling360.642.3446.
Other highlights of 'Ocian in View' include the following:
On Nov. 8, participants can treat themselves to a savory combination of hot cider and history during the 11th annual "November on the North Shore," a free Open House at the Knappton Cove Heritage Center. Guided walks will take place from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at the historic site – formerly a U.S. Public Health Quarantine Station Hospital –located 3 miles east of the north end of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. For information, call 503.738.5206.
Nov. 8 serves as the date of the Chinook Tribe Seafood Dinner, a bounty of regional seafood, salad, Indian fry bread, dessert and beverages. Prepared by Chinook tribe members, the meal will cost $15 per adult, $13 for seniors (ages 55 and older) and $5 for children under 12. Diners can join the fun from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum. No reservations are required.
Also on Nov. 8, naturalist/author/teacher Jack Nisbet will impart his vast knowledge of David Douglas, a trailblazing 19th-century London Horticultural Society botanist. Douglas made three visits to the Pacific Northwest between 1825 and 1833, and his remarkable acquisitions provided a unique look at regional plants and animals during the period of contact. The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Ilwaco's Hilltop Auditorium. Admission will be $10 per person.
Nov. 9 heralds the dedication of a California condor sculpture crafted by nationally known artist Bart Kenworthy. A life-sized replica with a 9-foot wingspan, the bronze sculpture has been erected as a tribute to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which found a 'vulture of the large kind' in 1805. The condor is posed on the ribs of a whale, with both creatures attached to a basalt rock weighing 40,000 pounds. The free ceremony begins at noon at the Port of Ilwaco's covered pavilion.
On Nov. 9, condors continue to command attention during "Columbia Condors: Forgotten Giants in the Sky," a free lecture by Oregon Zoo Research Associate David Moen. Through the Condor Recovery Program, the Oregon Zoo is involved with captive breeding of the bird, once nearly extinct and now an integral part of the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest. Moen will share his insights at 1 p.m. at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum.
Throughout Nov. 9, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center will welcome guests to a memorable Open House. Coffee, juice and cake will be served at the center, where extensive exhibits spotlight the landmark 19th-century Corps of Discovery Expedition. The free event will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Cape Disappointment State Park.
In addition, Nov. 9 features the dedication of a large-scale replica of the United States Mint nickel, created to honor the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in 2005. Photographer Andrew E. Cier – whose photograph inspired the nickel's design – will attend the free ceremony, held at 3:30 p.m. at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
'Ocian in View' is presented by a partnership of community non-profit organizations, led by the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum and the Pacific County Friends of Lewis and Clark. For general program and destination information, please call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 1.800.451.2542 or access the Peninsula's website at www.funbeach.com .


text:
Paulie Malignaggi speaks out on Ex-Girlfriend & Adrien Broner Drama
Paulie Malignaggi speaks out on Ex-Girlfriend & Adrien Broner Drama
By Johnny Benz, Doghouse Boxing (May 21, 2013)
Follow @DoghouseBoxing
(Video: Paulie Malignaggi Interview)
Tweets by @DoghouseBoxing
When it comes to Paulie Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner, it's been a war for the two of them on twitter and at public press events for their upcoming June 22nd battle. Check out this brand new video interview with Paulie Malignaggi who opens up on the drama with Adrien Broner and ex-girlfriend Jessica. The video is embedded to the left of this text... just press play and enjoy
The Real Bite
on Doghouse Boxing.
Video Description from HustleBoss: Reporter Michelle Phelps catches up with IBF welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi, as he speaks ahead of his June 22nd clash with Adrien Broner. Malignaggi addresses the ongoing drama with his opponent while also speaking on the bizarre relationship that he shared with his ex-flame Jessica, who is now linked to Adrien.
This video interview with Paulie Malignaggi has a run time of 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Just press play on the video player (top left side of this page) and enjoy. *In most cases, You can also change up the video quality and / or audio to HD (high quality) with the option button on the bottom of the video player.
More Video Interviews from Today:
Roger Mayweather on Floyd vs. Canelo
Anthony 'Lights Out' Smith - Interview w/ Jeff Mayweather
Amir Khan maybe damaged goods says Jeff Mayweather
Mayweather Boxing Club Breaks down Garcia vs Matthysse
Miguel Cotto or Robert Guerrero, Who's Better? Roger says...
Mayweather Sr. says Lucas Matthysse is Not Elite!
Marcos Maidana Q&A - Doing It All For The Boxing Fans
Josesito Lopez Q&A: "I've Paid My Dues, Big Things Coming"
Alfredo Angulo speaks out on James Kirkland rumors
Peter Quillin responds to Gennaddy Golovkin's KO Claim
Marcos Maidana vs. Josesito Lopez - Press Conference
Interview w/ Unbeaten Boxing Prospect, Craig Wyatt
Malignaggi vs Broner: Watch Emotionally Charged Video
Hughie Fury Quotes & Video
Roy Jones Jr. on Floyd Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker
Tommy "The Wisp" Williams Interview
Ricky Burns Post Fight Interview
Floyd Mayweather speaks out on Kobe Bryant
Jeff Mayweather on Floyd v Canelo & Roach's comments
"Floyd Mayweather is Badass!" says Brandon Rios
Austin Trout speaks on Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez
Angel Garcia: "Amir Khan still ain't got no Chin!"
Video: Paulie Malignaggi fires back at Broner - "Yo Momma"
Video: Adrien Broner rips Paulie Malignaggi w/ Funny Story
Robert Guerrero Post Fight Q&A: "Floyd ran", Wants Rematch
Floyd Mayweather Post Fight Q&A: On Saul Alvarez & More...
Watch Video: Ruben Guerrero's Epic Rant on Floyd Jr
Mayweather Sr: "Floyd Jr would for sure KO Danny Garcia"
Floyd Mayweather speaks on his time in jail and more
Bernard Hopkins take on Mayweather vs. Guerrero
Exclusive: Floyd Sr. points out Robert Guerrero's flaws
Floyd Mayweather - On His Dad, Miguel Cotto, Guerrero...
Malignaggi: "Video for sale of Broner getting Knocked out"
Adrien Broner speaks on Rumor he got KO'ed by Errol Jr
Leonard Ellerbe on why he confonted Gabriel Rosado
Oscar De La Hoya breaks down Mayweather vs. Guerrero
Video: Robert Guerrero's Grand Arrival at the MGM
Floyd Sr. Exclusive - "Robert Guerrero gets hit Easy!"
Saul Alvarez on his Favorite Movie, Songs, Music Artist, Cars
Ruben Guerrero mimics Floyd Mayweather Jr
Exclusive: Ghost warns of possible Melee at Floyd Weigh-In
Robert Guerrero Q&A: "Now the Perfect Time to Beat Floyd!"
Floyd Mayweather Q&A: "These guys are hypocrites!"
Paulie Malignaggi speaks on Mayweather vs. Guerrero
Oscar De La Hoya on why Floyd Mayweather Sr. is the Best
Abner Mares: "I've ability & skills to beat Daniel Ponce De Leon"
Thank you for using the New
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing Inc. 1998-2013


text:
Chipmaker AMD is taking part in the OpenJDK project "Sumatra" in collaboration with Oracle.
The project aims to bring heterogeneous computing capabilities to Java for servers and clouds. It will look at how the Java virtual machine, language and APIs, can be spruced up to allow applications to take advantage of GPU acceleration, either in discrete graphics cards or in high-performance graphics processor cores such as those found in AMD APUs.
Manju Hegde, corporate vice president heterogeneous applications and developer solutions at AMD said that the OpenJDK Project represents the next step towards bringing heterogeneous computing to millions of Java developers. AMD has an established track record of collaboration with open-software development communities from OpenCL to the heterogeneous system architecture (HSA) foundation, and with this initiative we will help further the development of graphics acceleration within the Java community, he said.
Published in News
AMD joins up with Oracle
by Nick Farrell on02 October 2012
- font size decrease font size increase font size
Wants in on the OpenJDK project "Sumatra"


text:
|System: X360, PS3
|Review Rating Legend
|Dev: Digital Extremes
|1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
|4.0 - 4.4 = Great
|Pub: D3 Publisher
|2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
|4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
|Release: March 25, 2008
|2.5 - 2.9 = Average
|5.0 = The Best
|Players: 1-10 (Online)
|3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
|ESRB Rating: Mature
|3.5 - 3.9 = Good
by Amanda L. Kondolojy
Dark Sector is a game with a rich history. It was announced almost three years ago as the first "next-gen" title for the PlayStation 3 and the then-titled Xbox Next. Early screenshots wowed early-on, but as gamers increasingly looked forward to the next generation of games, games like Assassin's Creed and Halo 3 quickly became the face of next-gen gaming, and Dark Sector faded into the background. But many people still remember Dark Sector, and now that it is finally out, the anticipation is at an end.
Dark Sector is essentially a shooter-type game with a superhero twist. You play as Hayden, a soldier with a somewhat shady reputation. Hayden has been tapped to infiltrate a biohazard zone filled with a whole bunch of mutated human experiments, and in the process of trying to investigate the situation as well as dispose of some undesirables, he becomes infected himself. One thing that is immediately noticeable to the experienced gamer about Dark Sector is how heavily it borrows from pre-existing series. The gunplay and combat is largely reminiscent of Gears of War, and has you ducking behind things and using over-the-shoulder aiming to attack your enemies. The gameplay also has you fighting many zombie-looking "infected," which physically and characteristically resemble the Resident Evil zombies. And of course, let's not forget the obvious connection between your mutated main character and the fabled mutants of X-Men.
But despite all the comparisons to pre-existing material, there is one aspect of this game that is totally original and probably the best aspect of the game: the glaive. The glaive is the weapon that you get as a result of being infected with the virus that has transformed everyone else into zombies. It's not fair, but c'est la vie. The glaive is a triple bladed boomerang-type weapon that you can throw at enemies, and it will automatically come back. And while this may not seem very cool at first, as you play the game, the glaive evolves, and that is where it gets to be fun. You learn how to steal ammo and guns from the enemy, charge your weapon with electricity and ice, and eventually (and this is the best part) you'll learn how to slow down time and control the exact trajectory of your glaive. The last element is extremely cool for gore aficionados because you are able to pilot your glaive in such a way that you can decapitate and dismember your enemies in delicious detail. Of course if you're not into that kind of thing, the slow-down technique is still pretty useful as it gives you an amazing amount of control over your kills. The glaive is definitely the selling point of Dark Sector, and it is cool enough to merit this distinction.
Online modes are probably the most forgettable aspect of this game. There are only a handful of maps, and only two ways to play: Infection and Epidemic. Infection mode pits all players against one player who is randomly selected to play as main character Hayden. Whoever the kills the Hayden character will respawn as Hayden. Infection is timed, and whoever kills Hayden the most is victorious. Epidemic mode is the more team-based online mode. There are two teams, each with their own Hayden character, and the goal is to kill the other team's Hayden. These two online modes are way too simplistic and honestly feel tacked-on. There is so much more that could have been done to create a deep and memorable online experience, and I feel that this deficiency could have been avoided.
Controls in this game are pretty simple. You move around using the left stick and look around using the right stick. You are able to aim your weapon using the left trigger and are able to fire the glaive using the right shoulder button or your firearm via the right trigger. The right face button serves as your action button and does everything from opening doors to climbing ladders. Controls work extremely well, mostly because they are so similar to controls in existing games that you've already played. But like most other facets of Dark Sector that resemble other games, this works in Dark Sector's favor and makes the controls largely accessible, especially to experienced gamers.


text:
I definitely don't need another toy line to tempt me this year, but it sounds like Goonies action figures are on the way from Mezco. It is said that they will be 7" scale, and the first wave will consist of Mikey, Mouth, Chunk, Data, and Sloth. More info at the link.
Goonies Sloth 12 Inch Figure
Page created in 0.056 seconds with 19 queries.


text:
I am a self-saboteur when it comes to resolutions. Now, instead of writing out resolutions each December, I look back and write out all the lessons I learned and things I discovered throughout the previous 12 months. It's much more satisfying.
Get In Gear For The New Year: 5 Tips For Making Resolutions
The New Year is infamous when it comes to resolutions — not because most people manage to turn over a new leaf but because we declare big goals, work towards them for a few months and then forget about them. This situation didn't come about because we don't want to achieve those goals, but because the system is more than a bit arbitrary. If you want to complete your New Year's resolutions this year, going about it a little differently may make things easier. The tips below can help you reach a goal with a little less struggle.
- Decide what you can do by Feb. 1. Most resolutions don't lend themselves to being completed in a month. But if you can set a goal to reach by the end of January, you'll have some absolutely concrete and obtainable that you can work towards, you've got a better chances of completing 1/12 of your resolution in that first month. Maybe your resolution is to build up an emergency fund containing several months worth of expenses. If you try to save every penny you can during January, you're likely to burn out about the time the end of the month rolls around. But if you set a goal of getting just $400 into your savings account, you'll be able to see the end — and you'll get a buzz when you actually complete that first step.
- Consider the underlying causes of your resolution. Many resolutions aren't as simple as deciding that you just aren't going to do a particular something anymore. If, for instance, you want to stop going out to eat in 2009 and work on eating at home more, think about why you go out to eat. Maybe the way your schedule is currently set up leaves no time for grocery shopping or cooking — and without a few changes to your schedule, you'll be back at the restaurant in a few weeks.
- Talk to your loved ones, and make sure they understand your resolution. For most people, having someone who simply knows about your goal is enough to motivate you — after all, no one wants to fail to achieve a goal and then have to tell someone about it. Furthermore, you can often get a little help. Resolutions like working out more often are easier when you have someone else to do the work with.
- Write down your resolution. If you've written down your resolution, it's just that much harder to forget about. Adding milestones or incentives and placing your resolution somewhere you'll see it regularly can help you keep your goals in mind. You might consider keeping a note about your resolution in your wallet or on your computer — somewhere you'll be inspired to take actions that will move you towards your ambition.
- Think about your resolution now. Sure, you've still got time before the month ends, but I've heard a few New Year's resolutions decided at literally the last moment. Those are the ones that typically don't make it to the next morning — let alone the next month. But spending a little time thinking about your resolutions can help you commit yourself to carrying though, and give you a chance to think about why you want to work toward a particular goal. Incentives can be a great thing, whether you're working towards a little piece of mind or towards a big vacation.
Like this article? Pin it!
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
It sounds pretty interesting.An introspection do add to life.Well all that is needed is to live in present.Wish you all a Happy n Joyful New Year
I know it's such a hard habit to break! I've tried everything (patch, gum, pills, etc) and I finally stumbled upon a great aid. Electronic cigarettes, yes, electronic cigarettes. I know it sounds strange, but they really do work! They supply nicotine in vapor form like a little nebulizer - no tar, no carcinogens, but all the nicotine. Plus they come in different nicotine levels, so you can reduce your nicotine intake over time. For me, fighting the urge to smoke socially was my breaking point. But electronic cigarettes allowed me to keep smoking while I quit smoking. Check out these sites for some more info:
The E-Cigarette is one of the newest and most successful alternatives to traditional tobacco cigarettes on the market today. Thanks to brand new technology, smokers can finally enjoy smoking whenever they want and wherever they want. The electronic cigarette looks and acts like a real cigarette in every way except that it does not burn any tobacco. Since the e-cigarette is a non-flammable and non-tobacco product this means it has none of the harmful effects that are found with smoking traditional cigarettes.
The electronic cigarette is the tobacco alternative that smokers all over the world have been waiting for. No more putting up with increased taxes and prices that make smoking nearly impossible. Smokers can finally smoke in places where traditional tobacco cigarettes are banned, giving them back their freedom to enjoy their habit wherever they want. The electronic cigarette is sweeping accross nations all around the world!


text:
Author Notes: I like macarons.....and this flavour combination works wells - sweet and richness of chocolate balanced by cool...slightly bitter matcha! —Kitchen Butterfly
Food52 Review: The Chocolate Macarons with Matcha Cream are delicious. I followed the instructions to the letter, including the part about doubling up on the baking sheets -- a great suggestion. The chocolate macarons took slightly longer to bake than the recipe suggests, and they are a bit more meringue-like than other macarons I have tasted (due to addition of the sugar in syrup form?), but as I said, they're delicious. I had no problem removing the cookies from the pans -- I tried with both silpat and parchment -- which made me very happy. As for the matcha cream, I increased the matcha to 1 teaspoon because I couldn't really taste it otherwise and used 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar. It's a perfect combination of tangy, sweet and just a little bitter, and it really does pair well with the chocolate macarons. I suggest doubling the filling if you want to have enough to generously fill the cookies, or just plan to use another filling for your extra chocolate "macs". - WinnieAb —The Editors
Serves: many
Chocolate Macarons with Matcha Cream
100g fresh egg whites (about 3-4 egg whites), sieved
125g almond meal, sieved
125g icing sugar, sieved
3 teaspoons cocoa powder (I used Hersheys unsweetened)
150g caster sugar
50ml tap water (at room temperature)
Matcha cream (recipe below)
Matcha Cream
1 tablespoon just-hot water
1/2 teaspoon Matcha powder
1/3 cup creme fraiche
1-2 tablespoons icing sugar
Chocolate Macarons with Matcha Cream
- Prepare you baking trays by placing one on top the other, before placing the silicone mats/silplats or parchment paper (in case you don't have the other two).
- Sieve the almond meal, icing sugar and cocoa powder together a couple of times
- In a mixer, start whip half the egg whites to soft peaks on medium speed.
- While the egg whites are whipping, bring the caster sugar and water (to make a syrup) to 117C (or 242F) on a candy thermometer.
- Once ready, slowly add the boiling syrup to the egg whites in the food processor and continue to whip on medium speed until they thick and shiny and are completely cooled (about 10 minutes). This forms the meringue.
- Mix the remaining un-whipped egg whites to the sifted almond-icing sugar-cocoa mixture and fold into the meringue in four parts.
- Pipe macarons on lined baking sheets, alternating the rows of piped batter.Let your macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, if you can till the tops have dried such that when you touch them, no imprint is left. You can also bake them immediately!
- Bake at 140C or 280F for 15-18 minutes. Turn the tray halfway through baking.
- When they are ready, let them cool till you can easily remove them off the sheets. If things are getting tricky, use a sharp knife to gently lift them off! For those who use parchment paper, gently lift the parchment sheet (with the macarons) off the tray and dampen the baking tray with water and then set the macaron lined sheet back on the tray. This will help the macs come of easier.
- Fill with cream of your choice by placing macaron halves and topping each half with cream. Then place another to create a sandwich and then refrigerate to set (ideally overnight) but if you can't wait......eat straight away!
Matcha Cream
- In a small bowl, mix water and matcha powder to form a paste.
- Add the creme fraiche and icing sugar and whisk together till well combined. Use this as the filling for the macarons
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Chocolate & Spice
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Gluten-Free Baked Good
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Almond Macaroons
More Great Recipes:


text:
what they need to do
Is provide a reasonably straightforward* way of downgrading again if you're not happy with an update. Even the restore function will upgrade rather than restoring the existing version.
*I realise it is pretty straightforward if you know what you're doing, but the average user would benefit from an option direct through itunes.


text:
Went past a garage sale today (August 2011) and saw some random plants inlcuding two plants I had not seen before, turns out it was a Floss Silk Tree. Must admit, when I got back and looked it up I was pretty excited!!!ome random plants inlcuding two plants I had not seen before, turns out it was a Floss Silk Tree. Must admit, when I got back and looked it up I was pretty excited!!!
Well, from an armour plated stick to fully filled tree in 4 months is incredible. This is a real fact grower. I wonder how much more it will grow at this rate? All of the horizontal branch work is brand new.
Got a shock when I saw this in early April, it was just a stick in the ground, all the leaves had fallen off, but the first thing I noticed was that it wasnt rotten, the bit that died before really rotted away quickly as I think much of this is water. Also, there are buds, so all is well, if an armour plated stick in your garden is what you want in April. Im hoping it will grow a lot in 2013.
This has made a startling spurt in growth, especially reassuring after its first dissapointing die off. Not only has it grown really tall but its stem is really thick and spikey. Even in July I was concerned about the joint where the original stem died off and it it would regrow around that but you cant even see it now if you look, its totally grown out.
Its made quite a recover. Interesting to see how its recovered from the top rotting as it looked like the rot would takeover the new growth, but it looks the other way and its got a very strong head of groth on it.
Not looking good for the winter but it has some new spikes so maybe in the summer it will really come back?
The top has died off of this but it looks to be hangining in there with some new growth. However, the bark looks a bit rotten down stem of that new growth which is a bit of a concern.
Apparently they have spiky trunks and red blossoms.


text:
Welcome to the Unser Racing MuseumThe Unser Racing Museum is a multi-dimensional museum experience utilizing modern technologies to educate and immerse the visitor in the exciting world of racing. Take a guided tour and learn about the Unser family history, then explore on your own, seeing and interacting with racing history as it happened. The museum spans the early days of racing from Pikes Peak and Indianapolis to the latest technology, including a racing simulator that puts you in the driver's seat, and interactive kiosks for young and old to learn more about racing in a fun, educational environment.
The museum has been expanded to include an all new annex, with even more racing history, cars, and memorabilia. The annex contains a wide variety of cars, from fully restored antiques, to winning pace cars and race cars. There's also a trophy room filled with thousands of unique items, a complete library spanning the history of racing, original artwork, and so much more!
There's something for everyone, including a gift shop with hundreds of items, so you can bring home the perfect gift to remember your experience by, or surprise a race fan with a one-of-kind piece of racing history, or immortalize them forever in the museum brickyard.