text:
Piraeus, the port of Athens, Greece. is popular both as embarkation/disembarkation point for Eastern Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruises, as well as a stop (sometimes overnight) on voyages in that part of the world that originate and end in other ports.
Most passengers who come to Piraeus, opt for shore excursions to Athens that take in the Greek capital city's highlights (about a half hour away from the port) including a visit to the ancient Acropolis where many visitors feel transported back in time to the Golden Age of Greece. Points of interest of the Acropolis include the Theater of Dionysos, passed on the marble walkway that leads to the top of the hill, and the iconic, 2,400-plus-years-old Parthenon, where in ancient times a colossal golden statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom stood. Other Acropolis highlights include the Propylae, the monumental gateway of the Acropolis; the Temple of Athena Nike where Athena was worshipped as the goddess of victory in war (nike means victory in Greek); the Erechtheion and its Porch of the Caryatids (its six graceful statues are replicas, with five originals residing in the New Acropolis Museum, and one, removed by Lord Elgin in the 19th century is housed in the British Museum in London). And, of course, from the height of the Acropolis, 230 feet over the city, the view of Athens and its surroundings is spectacular.
Typical Athens city tours include, in addition to the Acropolis, the sight of the ruins of the Temple of Zeus, with just a handful of its original 134 columns still standing but still making for a dramatic sight; Hadrian's Arch, erected in honor of the Roman Emperor in the 2nd century A.D.; Constitution Square with the Parliament Building on one side of the Square, where recent demonstrations protested government austerity measures in the Greek capital; the Royal Palace, where the Evzones guards keep watch in elegant uniforms. Another stop on most city tours is the Olympic Stadium, built in 1895 for the 1896 Olympics, the first Games of the modern era.
The Plaka, an area of quaint, winding streets surrounding the Acropolis, beckons with many shops, restaurants and tavernas. Antiquities aficionados have the National Archeological Museum, in the heart of Athens, with exhibits chronicling the cultures of Greece beginning with the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations to the present.
Other popular shore excursions sold onboard ships include day trips to Cape Sounion in the southernmost point of the Attica Peninsula with the Temple of Poseidon, god of the sea dating from the 5th century B.C. with only some columns from it remaining. A colossal statue of Poseidon used to stand in the temple, but only parts of it have survived and are in the Archeological Museum of Athens. Visitors can see the word "Byron" carved on one of the columns –the British poet, Lord Byron, carved his name on the base of one of the columns during an 1810 visit to the site.
Flavors not to be missed include Greek pastries, made with plentiful nuts, fruits and honey –baklava, anyone? Other "musts" include a taste of the potent libation ouzo, of course, and iced coffees –particularly delightful as you climb the Acropolis and go about exploring. Before or after your visit to the Acropolis, stop for a coffee or other libation and a pastry at Zonar's Café at the foot of the Acropolis near where tour buses drop off. The café has a terrace with a wonderful view of the Parthenon and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Popular souvenirs of Athens, in addition to ouzo, include excellent olive oils, handicrafts, carpets and leather products.
Passengers who have already visited Athens, or who have two or more days in Piraeus, may wish to spend a little time in this port city that has served Athens for more than 2,500 years and that was the setting for Melina Mercouri's "Never On Sunday" film. Highlights of Piraeus include the Archaeological Museum with finds from the area, the Municipal Gallery with modern sculpture and superb seafood particularly at restaurants in the area of the small harbor at Mikrolimano.
Cruise lines that call at Piraeus include Azamara Club, Celebrity, Costa, Crystal, Cunard, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, Silversea and Windstar.
IF YOU GO – For additional information on Athens, visit www.visitgreece.gr.


text:
Phillies finish 4-game sweep of Brewers, win 9-1
Garza tagged with loss after 6 no-hit innings
Jimmy Rollins broke up Matt Garza's no-hit bid with a single in the seventh before sparking a seven-run outburst an inning later, helping the Philadelphia Phillies complete a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers with a 9-1 win Thursday.
Rollins greeted reliever Will Smith in the eighth by singling to left to drive home two runs. Garza (6-6) had just been pulled from the game to a standing ovation but could only watch helplessly from the dugout as his shutout evaporated.
The Phillies sent 12 batters to the plate in the eighth and got RBI ground-rule doubles from Ryan Howard and Cody Asche. Philadelphia swept a four-game series for the first time since taking four in Cincinnati in 2011.
Rookie David Buchanan (5-5) struck out five in seven innings for the win.
The right-hander tossed one of his best games of the season in allowing just four hits. Carlos Gomez scored the Brewers' only run with a solo shot to left-center to lead off the sixth for a 1-0 lead with Garza' no-hit bid still intact.
It ended quickly after Rollins led off the seventh with a hard chopper past diving first baseman Mark Reynolds for a single into right.
What followed was a swift and startling change of fortunes for a team clinging to its lead in the NL Central despite having lost five straight and nine of 10.
Perhaps more disappointing for the Brewers is that they were swept at home by the last-place team in the NL East that had been swept in its previous series in Pittsburgh. This should certainly be a season highlight for Phillies fans in a summer otherwise filled with trade talk.
Asche and Dominic Brown each joined Rollins with two RBIs in the eighth. Things were going so well for Philadelphia that pinch-hitter Cesar Hernandez got to come up to the plate twice in the inning.
The Phillies' eighth finally ended after Hernandez's infield single was overturned to an out following a Brewers replay challenge.
Howard added a two-run shot in the ninth for his 15th homer of the year.
Gomez's homer was his 14th of the season. Otherwise, Milwaukee's lineup continues to struggle. After climbing to a season-high 19 games over .500 on June 28, the Brewers have watched their 6 1/2-game lead whittle away with second-place St. Louis due in town for a weekend series.
NOTES: The Phillies swept Milwaukee in four games on the road for the first time. ... OF Ryan Braun returned to the lineup after missing a few games with a sore back. He hit fifth for the first time since 2008. ... Manager Ron Roenicke said he hoped to have a decision when asked whether struggling RHP Marco Estrada would start Saturday against the Cardinals. Estrada has allowed a major league-high 278 homers. ... RHP Yovani Gallardo (5-5) opens the St. Louis series on Friday, while Philadelphia returns home to open a weekend series with Washington by sending RHP A.J. Burnett (5-8) to the hill.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|System: PS3, X360
|Dev: Namco Bandai Games
|Pub: Namco Bandai Games
|Release: November 23rd, 2010
|Players: 1
|Screen Resolution: 480p - 1080p
|Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Nudity, Sexual Themes and Strong Language
There are also a few puzzle moments, if you can call them that, that come into play when trying to open doors during the campaign. There isn't much thinking involved during these areas, as they mainly consist of impaling enemies on spikes, throwing them into giant gaping mouths, or simply pulling a lever behind a separate doorway.
The cel-shaded textures give a gruesomely cartoon-ish feel, which is by no means a bad thing, but sadly the quality is lacking. The environments are all unique, but again, the texture quality takes away from anything noteworthy. On the other hand, the audio is well done, albeit juvenile in its approach. There is a large amount of swearing and adult-themed talk in the narrative from the Terror Mask, which can get annoying. Suffice it to say, it's not a game you want to play with any children present. The soundtrack is an outstanding highlight if you're a fan of the metal/hardcore genre of music. The track list features a decent collection of bands including Lamb of God, Mastodon, and The Haunted.
Splatterhouse can run a modest eight to ten hours of gameplay, depending on whether you go after collectibles. Aside from Dr. West's gramophone journals, there are some provocative photos of Rick's girlfriend, Jenny, which can be pieced together during your time in the game. Yu can unlock a horde mode game-type, called Survival Arena, after defeating specific stages in the campaign, in addition to unleashing the entire classic series for your retro-gaming pleasure. These additions add to the game's overall replay value.
If you decide to take a stab at a harder difficulty on your next playthrough, you'll be happy to note that all of your previously purchased skills will carry over. It will surely be a welcomed aid to all the achievement/trophy hunters out there looking to score some extra points.
Taking a look back at the entirety of this revamped Splatterhouse will reveal that Namco Bandai Games has delivered exactly what they promised. A fun, classic experience that features over-the-top gore. This game was all about fan service, and while some moments missed on the execution, it's hard to deny the overwhelming nostalgia factor. It's hard to recommend Splatterhouse to anyone who wasn't previously a follower of the franchise, as the game's overall lack of polish will deter most newcomers. However, if you're willing to take the risk and judge it in a not-so-serious light, then you may very well find something to satiate your inner blood-lust.
James Trujillo
CCC Freelance Writer
Game Features:


text:
It's just a matter of time before the games are played in front of digitized screaming crowds because everyone is watching on TV:
Fireman Ed is hanging up his helmet.
New York Jets fan Ed Anzalone writes in a guest column for Metro New York newspaper Sunday that he will no longer lead the "J-E-T-S!" chants at home games or wear his firefighter's hat because "confrontations" between him and other fans "have become more common."
The former New York City firefighter, who left the Jets' 49-19 loss to New England at halftime Thursday night, says that MetLife Stadium has become divided over support for quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. Anzalone, who used to wear Bruce Harper's No. 42 jersey, has been wearing Sanchez's No. 6 this season.
Anzalone says his choice to support Sanchez has led to more frequent incidents, and doesn't want "to lose my temper and make a stupid mistake."


text:
A 35-year-old woman on a first date plunged to her death Thursday after the railing on her 17th-floor New York City balcony gave way, police said.
Jennifer Rosoff went outside for a cigarette around 12:50 a.m. when she either sat on the railing or leaned on it. Her date told her that she probably shouldn't do it, and then moments later, she fell and landed on construction scaffolding at the first floor, authorities said. Police spoke to the man and cleared him of any possible wrongdoing.
Emergency crews pronounced Rosoff dead at the scene. The medical examiner will determine a cause of death.
The gray brick high-rise building on Manhattan's Upper East Side was built before World War II. Only the higher-floor corner apartments have balconies, and the city's buildings department issued a partial vacate order for them.
A photo of the corner balcony of the apartment where Rosoff lived shows the top two metal railings bent down in a V-shape. Buildings officials took part of the broken railing to examine how it could have given way and plan to determine whether the other balconies are structurally sound.
Courtesy of the Associated Press


text:
Brad Meltzer, Michael Koryta, and David Baldacci appear at the Apple Store in SoHo on May 24th at 6:30pm.
Join us for an introduction to three authors who are at the height of their careers. Brad Meltzer, best-selling author of "The Book of Fate," will talk about his new thriller, "The Inner Circle." Michael Koryta, author of six titles, discusses his newest supernatural thriller, "So Cold the River." And meet David Baldacci, whose tremendously successful first novel, "Absolute Power," was adapted into a major motion picture and turned him into a household name.
Apple Store, SoHo
103 Prince Street, New York City, NY 10012


text:
This section describes basic information about deploying your Oracle Application Express application. It also shows you how to create end users and to determine the URL of your application.
This section contains the following topics:
After building your application in your development environment, you need deploy it so that end users can begin using it. Deploying involves the following steps:
Collect your supporting object definitions (CREATE object statements, sample data, images, files, and so on). Review the Database Dependencies report to determine which supporting objects to move. See "Viewing Application Reports" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's Guide.
Define your supporting objects. This includes the object definitions you collected in the previous step and other supporting objects, such as messages and prerequisites.
Export the application with its supporting objects.
Import and install the exported files.
Using Oracle Application Express greatly simplifies the deployment process. It enables you to migrate the application definition, associated files, and all supporting objects in just a few steps.
See also:
"Deploying an Application" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's Guide.
After moving your application to a production environment, you must now create user accounts within Oracle Application Express for all your end users.
To create end user accounts:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration links list on the right, click Manage Application Express Users.
Under the Tasks list on the right, click the Create End User link.
The Create User page appears.
Under Account Control:
Set Account Availability – Select Unlocked.
Require Change of Password On First Use – Select No if you do not want to force this user to change his or her password at first log in.
Under User Identification, enter the appropriate information:
User Name – Enter a user name for this end user.
Password and Confirm Password – Enter a case-sensitive password for this account.
Email Address – Enter the valid email address for this end user.
Accessible Schemas (null for all) – Leave this blank to allow the end user to access all applications in the workspace, or enter a colon-delimited list of schemas to restrict the end user's access.
If a user does not have access to the schema that an application is built on, the user cannot access the application.
Default Schema – Accept the default value, that is, the schema you set up for this guide.
User is a developer – Accept the default, No.
User is a workspace administrator – Accept the default, No.
Selecting No limits the user to only accessing and using the application, not modifying the application itself.
Under User Groups, you can select a user group.
You can use groups to restrict access to various parts of an application. Groups are primarily useful when using Application Express Authentication.
Under Additional Attributes, you can enter additional user information.
Click Create User or Create and Create Another.
See also:
"Managing Application Express Users" in Oracle Application Express Administration Guide
After deploying your application, you must now publish its URL so end users know how to access it.
To determine the URL:
Log in to Oracle Application Express on the production environment.
Select the application.
On the Application home page, position the mouse over the Run Application icon.
Note the URL that displays in the status bar at the bottom of the page.
For example:
apex.oracle.com is the URL of the server.
pls is the indicator to use the
apex is the database access descriptor (DAD) name. The DAD describes how Oracle HTTP Server connects to the database server so that it can fulfill an HTTP request. The default value is
f?p= is a prefix used by Oracle Application Express.
11563 is the application being called.
1 is the page within the application to be displayed.
3397731373043366363 is the session number, which is unique for every user's access to the application. Do not include session numbers as a part of the URL communicated to end users.
To run this example application, you would go to this URL:
See also:
"Deploying an Application" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's Guide


text:
Virginia 3D Laser Scanning Services
The Industry's Most Experienced Company – TruePoint 3D Laser Scanning
At TruePoint Laser Scanning, we provide our clients with quality 3D laser scanning services through state-of-the-art equipment and software, expertise in engineering and architecture and superior client service. If you're looking for 3D laser scanning services in Virginia, call TruePoint Laser Scanning today.
3D Laser Scanning with State of the Art Equipment in Virginia.
We remain on the front end of the industry in 3D laser scanning technology and use only state-of-the-art equipment and software from companies such as Autodesk Products, Bentley, ClearEdge 3D, Leica Cyclone, Kubit PointSense and more. We will work with you to make your project successful. We deliver custom and cost-effective solutions for your laser scanning project.
TruePoint Delivers Exceptional Service in Virginia.
TruePoint is a highly experienced team of 3D laser scanning professionals who deliver exceptional service with a fast response, technical expertise and long-term client commitment. You can trust our team to provide the best experience in laser scanning by walking you through the entire process from pre-planning to final deliverables. TruePoint brings expertise in many areas, including engineering, architecture, information technology, and construction. Having this combination of knowledge is integral to providing you with the best laser surveying service and deliverables that save your team time and money on your next project.
TruePoint provides laser scanning services for many different industries.
- Architectural and Historical Documentation
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- Commercial Sites
- Construction
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- Manufacturing and Assembly Facilities
- Office Buildings
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Reasons to Use TruePoint 3D Laser Scanning Services in Virginia:
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- Extensiveness - Three-dimensional coordinates (x,y,z or Northing, Easting & Elevation) are captured from all exposed surfaces within the scanner's range and field of view at a high level of detail, including poorly illuminated areas. Laser scanners can operate in total darkness or bright sunlight.
- Non-Contact - Laser scanners are non-contact measurement tools that can "see" up to 300 yards. Work interruptions or facility downtime to accommodate surveying is virtually eliminated.
- Safety - Entering roadways, working from elevated positions or near hazards is largely eliminated. Scanner positions are typically located safely on the ground and in non-hazardous areas. TruePoint utilizes Class 1 Laser Scanners which means that the scanners are also eye safe. This is imperative for active sites so that areas do not need to be quarantined off during the scanning.
- Re-Usability - Scan data and derivative models can be re-used for later unanticipated inquiries, or even totally new projects. Return trips to the site are minimized or eliminated.
- Versatile - Laser scanning can support land surveying, 3-D modeling, Facility Information Management, Building Information Modeling (BIM), forensics, and much more.
Contact us today to learn more about TruePoint 3D laser scanning services in Virginia (VA) and 3D scanning in Richmond.


text:
Every parent does it. You can't help it.
You compare your kid to every other kid whenever in a social setting.
ie: Is my kid keeping up with his/her peer group? She's almost 4, but she's much taller/more coordinated/smarter/kicks more ass than that other kid that's a similar age.
For me, nothing is worse than company picnics/baseball games/family outings. I feel like all my co-workers are staring at Darling. (I do admit she is a rather magnetic personality.)
Not only are they staring...they are judging...with their ThankGodIDon'tHaveKids/ThankGodI'mABetterParentThanThat eyes.
Paranoid and self conscious, aren't I?
YEP. That's the Theme of the Week here at Moxie Central.
Tonight was Company Picnic Night. Darling was the oldest (at 3 years and 50 weeks). All the other kids were in the 2 and under crowd. They all were docile, happy to eat the hot dogs and ice cream and look cute in their minimum mobility.
My kid? The Kid Who Knows She Has An Audience?
She was refusing to eat a banana because it looked funny.
She was the one meowing like a cat and wanting to crawl on her hands and knees when she wasn't wanting to hop over to the barbeque grills like a bunny.
She's the one who wanted to eat ice cream with her fingers.
She's the one who asked my boss what was his name and where did he live?
She's the one who was bossing around the littler kids (DRINK YOUR JUICE!!! DON'T DO THAT!!!) and sat down and threw a tantrum when it was time to leave.
You know, the one who had to be carried to the car screaming that she didn't want to go home as my boss' docile, hardly a peep out of him, 1 yr old son sat staring almost as horrified as his father was.
The kid who's mother felt the judging eyes of co-workers searing into her back as they left.
Let's be honest. We're raising her to be expressive of her feelings (yet trying to harness that into a disciplined channel) She's going through the independence stage. She's learning self-determination and setting new boundaries. WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO TEST THEM IN PUBLIC?!?
The other parents in my work clique haven't got to the charming Turning 4 Tantrum Stage yet. My child is one of the most stubborn people I have ever met in my life. She even gives me a run for my money. Poor Handsome calls our clashes Stubborn Offs. Neither of us will bend or break.
I call it Discipline, she thinks of it as Totalitarianism (if she knew that word).
She has a shirt my MIL gave her that says, "WARNING: Irish Temper and German Stubborness".
And how true it is, Constant Reader, how true it is.
I hope someday my co-workers will understand (be blessed with their own tantruming kids)...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Why I Hate Company Picnics...
Every parent does it. You can't help it.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:23 PM 4 comments
So, A Sumarian walks into a bar...
The world's oldest joke? Aparently it's from 1900 BCE.
Fart jokes. It's always fart jokes.
Here's the official list of the oldest jokes.
Meh. I guess you had to be there.
If you've never checked out Shoebox Blog, well, you should. Mildly entertaining.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 1:57 PM 0 comments
Cat Decisions....
Is 4 too young for a cat?
Darling has become cat obsessed. We have one. But Fraidy won't go anywhere near Darling. The cat that would curl itself around my pregnant belly and purr, will now dash and hide whenever Darling, who has never hurt him or even hardly petted him, is in the room.
Darling's aunt has a new kitty. One that Darling is obsessed with. She's very gentle with the cat, and is now big into pretending to be a cat.
I'm worried about Fraidy's mental health. It's been about 2.5 yrs since he's had other cats around him and he just keeps getting more and more reclusive. It's like having a ferral housecat that you only see once in awhile. Maybe a playmate would help.
Plus, Darling is just now getting chores to do every night. Feeding and watering a cat is within her skill set (with parental supervision).
But she'll be just turning 4. We'd let her pick it out (or let the cat pick her out) but what if they don't get along after awhile.
What to do? New cat or no?
(And dogs are not an option. Period. Fraidy would go into cardiac arrest.)
Thoughts? Advice?
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 1:30 PM 4 comments
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Current Irritations
1. Our jackass neighbor that parks his POS car 1 ft from the edge of our driveway facing the wrong way on the street.
2. Crappy Wednesday night tv.
3. 6:45 am Thursday morning meetings.
4. Cat urine.
5. Mud.
6. Books that the author rushes the ending on.
7. Dirty dishes that aren't dancing to the diswasher on their own.
8. Bitchy, petty, shallow girls.
9. Tinkerbell stickers that don't stick to the walls, even though they are wall decorations.
10. Not enough sleep, not enough time and too much work.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:06 PM 1 comments
Distracted side note: Why is flood pronounced "Flud"? It makes no sense to me. Does that word follow pronunciation rules? I had to spell check that just to make sure it was right.
Anyway, it's flooding in KC today. Sorry, it's probably my fault. Ask and you shall receive and all of that.
We lost power last night. How do I know? Not from the blinking microwave/DVR clocks. Nope. It was Darling waking up SCREAMING like she was being disemboweled at about 3 am this morning. Her CD she listens to wasn't playing and the hall light was off. She freaked.
Aren't you jealous that you didn't get the priveledge of explaining the complexities of electricity to a 3 yr old at 3 am? Some of us are just lucky.
Needless to say, I didn't get back to sleep.
Handsome and I discussed flooding on the way to drop Darling off this morning. My most traumatic flood experience came when I was about Darling's age. I grew up at a suburban lake and was spending the night with my grandparents' (in the house that one day would be where my family lived when the grandparents moved back into town).
One particular night, my Grandma rushes into the second floor sunroom where I was sleeping (probably at 3 am) and picks me up, abruptly waking me up. I start to freak and ask what's wrong.
She tells me to look out the window. The lake has jumped the seawall and is flooding the entire yard. The next door neighbor is swimming (!) through our yard to rescue my grandparents' white German shepard from the backyard kennel and my grandfather is fiddling with the breaker box and cursing in German (He did this when I was around and he wanted to mask his fury, I always thought it was cool to listen to him.)
Anyway, I remember being terrified for my toys that were downstairs. My grandpa had to wade thru knee deep water to rescue a water logged stuffed animal, Monkee. He was a relatively good sport about it.
Needless to say, we survived, but I had a huge fear of the lake for a couple of months afterwards. This happened in about 1980 and it took the homeowner's association another 12 years to put in better floodgates. Just in time for the 1993 floods, which never affected us, but we had some pretty cool, but nowhere near as dramatic flooding in my childhood.
Handsome grew up in middle Missouri near Hermann, MO. Ya know, right in the Missouri River flood plain. One little town, Rhineland, was literally picked up and moved by FEMA onto the bluffs above the flood plain.
Handsome's family has about 80 wooded acres with a "wet weather creek" running through it. Apparently, the night he was born was a particularly stormy night and the creek became a rushing river o' doom. MIL called FIL at work to come take her to the hospital since they lived in the middle of nowhere and she couldn't ask a neighbor to drive her. FIL speeds along their not so gravelly road and realizes he is on one side of the creek and his wife is on the other side. The bridge is completely submerged.
What's FIL do? Swims across the creek (scary) grabs MIL, hops on the tractor and drives on over the bridge. Handsome, their first child is born less than 15 minutes after she arrives at the hospital.
Whew. Death defying, huh?
I'm going to go listen to They Might Be Giants now.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 12:24 PM 2 comments
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Baby Making Pressure
*If you're a guy or a single person who hates women talking about babies, stop right here. Come back later, I need to parentally vent. I don't want to torture you. Thanks, Moxie*
I understand when it comes from my mother or my husband.
I tolerate it when it comes from my MIL or well-meaning friends.
When it comes from my almost 4 yr old, Darling Daughter, I can't take it.
Scene: Last night at the Moxie Family Compound. Darling is swimming in her big green inflatable pool. She swims up to me, lounging in my post-work-I'm-finally-relaxing splendor and says:
Darling: K is my sister and M is my brother.
Me: No, they are your friends at preschool. I'm sorry but you don't have any brothers or sisters. Not yet. (I hastily add).
Darling: But I want some.
Me: Did Grandma tell you to say that?
Darling: What?
Me: Maybe someday.
Darling: I'll pray to God and the angels for a baby sister.
Me: (freaking!) Ok.
Here's the thing: I want another child. I can't believe Darling is almost 4 yrs old. Another child, if it's going to happen needs to happen soon. Handsome has been very supportive, no pressure. He understands I'm just not sure we're ready, financially or emotionally, for another child.
Darling's potty trained, mostly sleeps through the night. She's semi-self sufficient. I hate the idea of splitting my time as a working mom any more than it already is. I feel like it would be unfair to her (and being a stay at home mom is not an option).
At the same time, I hate the idea that she might grow up as an only child. I loved having 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Handsome is just as close with his 3 brothers and sister. Who's going to be there for her after Handsome and I are gone? There's no bond like a sibling bond. I want to give her that.
Conceiving Darling was a snap. First try and we were pregnant. About 2 years ago we thought we were ready and tried again. After about a year of monthly disappointments and bittersweet news of every woman around me (it seemed) getting pregnant, Handsome (more than me) and I decided to give it a rest for a while.
It was the best thing for my mental health. Nothing hinders either one of us physically from having another child according to the doctors, but I felt like such a failure. It was so easy the first time, we're both the oldest of 5 child families, why shouldn't I be pregnant with the snap of my fingers?
Now, 2 years later almost exactly from when we put the "trying" on hiatus, I'm feeling the pressure big time once again. Everyone around me seems to have big, expectant smiles and to be asking when the next one is coming.
Shut up already. Ok?!
I don't want to deal with it. About 6 months after we quit, our marriage hit a very rough spot and took a nasty skid that looked like we were going to crash into divorce. Things are so much better now, but I'm still really hesitant. Pregnancy, childbirth and infants can strain a marriage that's just now feeling really good again.
Darling's preschool is so expensive, the thought of paying infant care prices makes me cringe. Even when she goes to kindergarten, we'll be paying Catholic school tuition (thanks KCMO School District)(don't tell me to move to the suburbs or JOCO. I don't want to.)
I'm just depressed and upset today. I don't know what to do. I'm scared to set myself up for failure. All the crap like miscarriages and deformities and just every other possibility that didn't bother me when I was pregnant with Darling scares me now.
Sorry I'm so down.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 3:18 PM 7 comments
Please help. This is no way to treat a soldier
I just read this article over on KC Blue Blog. If you have any compassion in your heart, please read this and click thru to where you can sign your name to the petition asking for an investigation.
It makes me sick to my stomach that Army could try to cover this up. Rape-Murder is not suicide. From the descriptions given of how she was found, how could you possibly think that her condition was self inflicted?
To cover it up is disrespectful not only to the brave women that serve in the military, Lavena's family and Lavena herself, but to the dignity, integrity and equality of the military itself.
I hope you'll sign the petition. Think if that was your daughter, your sister, your mother...Help the Johnsons and American justice.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:30 AM 1 comments
The Book I've Been Waiting For
OMG! I'm so getting this book. I read the first couple of pages and I'm not sure if it's a sleepy time fairy tale or a nightmare waiting to happen.
All I know is I'll sleep easier after W. is out of office.
Think this will be on Reading Rainbow?
The old school, "Moon" version was Darling's favorite book for awhile. I'm glad she's moved on after months and months of this book every night to other stories.
It was one of my favorite books as a little girl too and I can't wait to read the parody. There's something very soothing about thinking it's less than 6 months until he's out of office.
Here's a very good review on "Goodnight, Bush"
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:42 AM 0 comments
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Really Bad Timing
My MIL and FIL (and Handsome's Grandma and Aunt) came up Thursday night to watch Handsome's latest show. After the performance the lobby was filled with the usual congratulatory and semi-honest hugs and compliments.
In the middle of all this joy and celebration, my MIL announces to her mother, sister and children, "They found a lump in my breast and I went in last week to have it removed. It wasn't cancerous but I didn't want anyone to know until it was over."
Shocked silence.
Handsome's mom, aunt and grandmother just lost a sister/daughter to breast cancer in January.
Needless to say, her announcement was a real killjoy.
Yes, everyone was happy it wasn't cancer, but not so happy she didn't say anything about it until after the fact. They are a very supportive family and I think a little hurt she didn't say anything sooner.
And, she could have picked a better time and place to have announced it.
I was irritated that she did that, but maybe I'm just over-sensitive. I'm not sure what I would have done in that situation, but I probably would have told someone other than just my husband. I suppose everyone is different. No one ever said that tact was a strong suit of my MIL...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 1:52 PM 2 comments
Friday, July 25, 2008
Homage to Fuck
So...based on Erin's post...I give you an homage to my favorite curse word...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:38 PM 1 comments
Friends Don't Draw On Friends, Drunk....
That's all I'm sayin'.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:47 PM 0 comments
Thursday, July 24, 2008
One of the Most Memorable Days in KC Sports History
It was 25 yrs ago today.
George Brett and the pine tar bat incidient.
I remember my father going wild, raving against the injustice to our favorite Royals player. I didn't get what all the fuss was, since I was only 6. But, boy, I was mad because my Daddy said it was unfair.
Happy anniversary, George.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 2:53 PM 0 comments
The Stripper and the Pizza Guy
Remember the story I told about my stripper roommate?
Handsome and I ordered pizza last night. The guy who delivered it was rather attractive and I commented on it to my very tolerant husband. (Neither of us have a problem with the other spouse's window shopping. As long as the other doesn't actually consider buying the merchandise. Or even touching it.)
Handsome suggested I should have paid him like Roxie paid the pizza guy during that fateful summer. I didn't think it was funny.
During the Summer of the Strippers, Roxie decided one night she wanted pizza.
We were going out with some friends (not friends of Roxie, or we would have invited her) and she was lamenting her lack of funds and we sort of left it at that.
After we came home, we noticed a pizza box on the kitchen table. I said to Handsome, "Oh good. She got her pizza."
Handsome started laughing, "That's not all she got!" pointing to the Papa John's hat sitting next to a set of keys.
Both of us were shocked. I was completely scandalized.
We had a friend in college who had once told us that when he worked as a repairman for AT&T he would have frisky housewives try to seduce him all the time. We thought he was totally making it up, because if you knew the guy, you couldn't see that really happening.
Now we began to wonder. I mean, who seduces a pizza guy just to get free pizza? Stuff like that happens on bad tv shows and in pizza guys' fantasies, not in real life. This was one of the first signs that maybe Roxie was starting to go off the deep end.
We tiptoed past her room and the next morning, (after the hat and keys were gone), I asked her if she'd shagged the pizza guy just to get a free pizza.
She laughed and said, "Basically. But it's ok. I knew him from when we were in school. I knew if I booty-called him, he'd bring me a free pizza. It was a small price to pay."
Stay tuned for other crap I remember.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 1:43 PM 2 comments
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
You're not trying hard enough...
If you haven't discovered this awesome website, well...
You're just not trying hard enough...
more graph humor and song chart memes
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:25 PM 0 comments
For George....
So, the last post was a Beatles song, aptly performed by the illustrious Joe Cocker.
I would be remiss in allowing anyone to believe that a Beatles song could be sung better by someone who was not a Beatle.
There is no greater band in the history of the universe than the Beatles.
Don't fucking try to debate me unless it's the Doors.
Nirvana is close-ish...but not quite.
I remember the day John Lennon died. It was the first time I ever remember seeing my father cry...I was 4 at the time, but it was dramatic for my parents and it stuck with me. It was truly the day the music died, sorry, Don McLean.
The day George died, I wept. I was 25. I understood then what the world lost...
I was at work.
I read the MSN boards and someone said, "This is the day my guitar truly, gently weeps... rest in peace, George."
I had to go back and think.
In my pre-teen years, I remember George doing this shit:
I then learned what a writer he was and when he died, I learned what he quietly gave to the Beatles...
God bless the poetry The Beatles gave my youth, even if it wasn't my generation.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:53 PM 2 comments
Secret Asian Man or Secret Agent Man
Handsome sent me this video today, knowing that I always thought "Secret Agent Man" was "Secret Asian Man" as a child....
To all of us who create our own lyrics, I give you this...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:41 PM 1 comments
You're a Tease, Mother Nature
Dear Mother Nature,
I'd like to file a formal complaint with you. Yes, I know you're busy with hurricanes and floods in other parts of the country, but here in KC, we could use a good, solid rain.
Look at your planner....yep, see...it's been a while. I think you're due, sweetheart.
That little temper tantrum of thunder and lightning last night was pretty, but you really didn't put any really feeling into it. The ground is still really dry this morning.
I'm not trying to be pushy or anything, but my flowers are wilting despite my best efforts and if you don't get around to it soon, my lawn is going to fry. Not that I'm one of those lawn-obsessive people, mind you. I'd just like a bit of relief.
So, if you can squeeze it into your tight schedule, I'd appreciate.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 12:29 PM 0 comments
Creepy UPS Guy
The UPS Guy that delivers to our office looks relatively normal at first glance, late 20's, clean cut, but I assure you he is not all there. He gives off "creepy" vibes and talks in the most obnoxious voice about the weirdest shit.
Submitted for your consideration:
About 20 minutes ago I was outside our office, walking into the building. He's getting out of his truck, carrying our vital, urgently sent packages and I hold the door open for him.
UPS Guy: "Thanks, it sure is going to be a hot one today,"
(High of 88 predicted, much better than the 95 plus from last weekend)
Me: "Um, yeah."
UPS Guy: "Make sure you drink enough water and Gatorade today, you don't want to pass out."
Me (thinking in my head): WTF, I'm wearing a skirt and heels, it's obvious I don't work out in the elements, but an over air-conditioned office.
Me: (saying out loud): "Ok, you be careful too"
See, this wouldn't be really that weird if I hadn't have had a similar run-in on the Monday before Thanksgiving.
Him: "Have you started thawing your turkey out yet?"
Me: "Well, we're going to my mom's..."
Him: "Don't leave it out on the counter to thaw. That's how people get sick."
Me: "Ok."
Him: "I started thawing mine in the fridge last week, just so it'll be ready."
Me: (walking briskly away) "That's good advice, thanks."
I guess the guy's got some major issues with health. I can't figure out why he would completely, out of the blue, totally unprompted by any sense of camaraderie, give health advice like that to complete strangers.
Maybe I just attract the weirdos. I don't know.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 12:02 PM 2 comments
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Since I know you're not doing anything...
If you're in the KC area, check out the KC Fringe Fest. It's July 21-27th and it was really amusing last year.
I can't go this year since my MIL and FIL are coming into town, I've got to see my husband's non-fringed show, go to cast parties, work at the museum and attend a paranormal investigation. Plus, squeeze in time to see a very dear friend of mine who is briefly coming into town.
But you should totally go.
It's only $5 for an admission button and $5 per whatever show you would want to attend. Cheap! I would recommend the improv groups. I know a lot of them and they are actually really great. The art was really cool last year, I didn't get to hear any of the musicians, but like anything, I'm sure it's hit or miss. Some of it looks questionable, but who am I to judge?
Anyway, go out, support local artists, and enjoy more art than you can fart.
Not in KC? Fringe Fest is actually a worldwide event. Check out the history here. Pretty awesome concept, if you ask me.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 12:09 PM 0 comments
Man-scara and Guy-liner
Subtitle: Honey, your gay is showing...
As an actor, my hubby's got a stage make-up kit. He's actually probably better than me at putting make up on, but of course, my daily spackle doesn't include cool scars and occasional facial disfigurements.
Handsome's latest show opened last weekend and he was running low on supplies. Here's how the conversation went:
Handsome: "I need to stop off and get some more stage make-up, I've been borrowing Gay Friend's guy-liner"
Me: "His what?!?"
Handsome: "His guy-liner. And his man-scara."
Me: "Are you serious?"
Handsome: "Yeah, I ran out during dress rehearsals."
Me: "No, what did you just call that stuff?"
Handsome: "You heard me."
Me: "Hand it over."
Handsome: "What?"
Me: "Give me your Man Card. Those terms just officially terminated your manliness."
Handsome: "Johnny Depp wears it. Pirates are manly."
Me: "You, sir, are no pirate."
Handsome: "ARRR!!!"
Me: "Keep working on it."
Handsome's not even remotely gay, but he does have distressing blips on his gay-dar. Like the fact that he likes Barry Manilow, is in musical theatre, cries during chick flicks and can do his own make-up so well.
The only thing saving him is his lack of fashion sense, his affinity for contact sports and his general handiness around the house. Oh yeah, and he likes girls, not boys.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:44 AM 8 comments
When it rains, it pours
I've always hated that phrase. Sometimes it sprinkles. It's not always a huge storm.
Any way around it, this has been an incredibly busy freaking week and a half.
And there's no sign of it getting calmer until at least next week which seems like light years in the future.
This latest shitstorm of activity literally blindsided me. I wasn't expecting to be this busy. Sure I knew I had all this stuff on my calendar, but with a few extra irritations/opportunities thrown in, I'm now officially over my head.
Luckily, I'm usually a good swimmer.
I've had about 5,000 ideas for posts, I just haven't had the time to write anything. Which just makes me itchy to type. I'll start correcting that.
Maybe this week...we'll see.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:35 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sorry Guys...I'm Lazy
I wanted to update my profile this weekend, but I got hella busy. Opps....enjoy the Red Necks in my previous post or the ones found here in the meantime. I still love you...Stay tuned...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:33 PM 0 comments
Moxie Loves the Ignorant RedNecks...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:30 PM 0 comments
Friday, July 11, 2008
Semi-Organized Changes
Stay tuned, Constant Reader. I'm going to attempt to shake some stuff up around here in the next couple of days/weeks (in my own good, but limited time). Now that I've said it out loud to the whole blogosphere, maybe now I'll actually do it.
Phase One: I've updated my blog roll to reflect my Google Reader blogs, so if you don't see your blog posted, let me know and I'll add you!
Phase Two: I'm also going to put my limited web design skilz to use and maybe come up with a better masthead/layout.
That will truly be interesting. Pardon the freaky electronic dust as I start my project soon.
Have a great weekend!
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 10:11 AM 0 comments
I know my ABC's...
A is for age. 31
B is for Burger of Choice. I'm going with the Lew Burger at Lew's Bar and Grill. It's perfect. Honorable mention goes to Red Robin and Westport Flea Market...
C is for Car. A silver Ford Focus. Sensible, reliable and cheap.
D is for daughters. I have the greatest little gal ever. I can't believe she's going to be 4 in another month or so.
E is for essential item you use every day. Cell phone. Which is constantly ringing.
F is for favorite tv show. No question about it. Mad Men on AMC. Brilliant and Season 2 starts July 27. But I also like "30 Days" and "Cities of the Underground"
G is for groceries. I'm currently in a cooking rut, relying on the easy, well-worn recipes. I need to shake it up a bit and hit the store with a list of ingredients. I did just discover a new recipe blog A Year of Crockpotting. Interesting stuff.
H is for how often you embarrass yourself. That's pretty hard to do, even though I'm semi-klutzy...
I is for ice cream. Foo's Fabulous Frozen Yogurt...Turtle Concrete.
J is for juice. I'm not a huge juice freak, but Darling's on a big Mango Juice kick right now, so that means I am too.
K is for kids. One beautiful little daughter.
L is for Lipstick. I have never found lipstick that looks remotely decent on me. But, I can't live without my kiwi lipgloss.
M is for Mexican food. I love it. My favorite is probably Manny's for "real Mexican" but I also love Chipotle (is it weird to crave cilantro rice?)
N is for number of piercings. 3 in my ears (one in the cartiledge)
O is for Optometry. Contacts. I'm blind.
P is for People You Were With Today. Co-workers, then hopefully tonight my hubby, daughter and my BFF. I'm dying to meet her 2 new Great Dane puppies.
Q is for Quiet Time. This is essential for my mental health. I love the 8:30 to 11 pm slot in my day. Darling's asleep and Handsome isn't home from rehearsal yet. Just Moxie time.
R is for Biggest Regret. I'm not sure I really have any that are too serious.
S is for sports you play. I played softball for my college team and taught Red Cross swimming for 11 years, but I like most sports.
T is for tattoo. None. Needles kind of freak me out a bit, so does searing pain. But if I ever did get one, it would be a Celtic Trinity Knot.
U is for what is unique about you. Probably my fear of garden gnomes, the fact that when I'm pissed, I curse in German, and that I can read Tarot cards scarily well.
V is for Vegetables you Love. I love veggies in all forms. My iron must be low because I'm craving beets, red cabbage and a spinach salad.
X is for number of x rays. Just one when I broke my arm falling on ice when I was 13.
Y is for Yummy Food you ate today. So far, just a Pop Tart. But I'm gearing up for lunchtime. Maybe a little Sweet Tomatoes for my veggie fix?
Z is for Zodiac. My zodiac signs are split. I was born on the Aries/Taurus cusp and while I'm technically a Taurus, I do have a splendid temper and passion for life.
Check out Average Jane and I, Shane's...pretty interesting memes!
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:08 AM 1 comments
Thursday, July 10, 2008
To Forgive Is Divine, but is it really human?
So, my BFF and I were discussing the relationship of one of our really close friends tonight. Said friend shall be named Wronged, because, well, she was.
Wronged's husband cheated on her 2 years ago with a girl, Horse Face, we'll call her, because, well, she is.
It was a 2 night stand that he promptly cut off once he tamed his "passion"/trouser snake. She continued to carry on a psycho-stalker obsession that I'm pretty sure he didn't encourage. (Who knows, really?)
Wronged found out about it about 6 months after it happened and confronted him. He confessed (eventually) and they are trying to work it out. Counseling, talking it through, all that...
Good for them. Sometimes I think people give up on marriages that could be salvaged too soon. Sometimes it's just best to walk the fuck away. I don't know what's the right thing to do, but I'm proud of them for trying.
So, BFF and I were talking. I've been with Handsome for 11.5+ years and she's been with her hubby, Tony Soprano (we'll call him that because, well, he looks like him) for going on 9 years. We both are Catholic, moderately spoiled wives. Neither Handsome or Tony is likely to cheat.
But what if? What would we do? Tear his balls off or forgive and try to forget?
Wronged has been having a really hard time lately. Only a VERY few of us know what happened and Horse Face is in the Circle of Friends. There's no escaping her without it being obvious/questions being asked.
I respect the self control Wronged has shown in not scratching the bitch's eyes out for this long, but as BFF and I agreed, how incredibly hard is it to keep up the facade so no one else can see the seething anger and resentment she must feel?
Wronged is focused on fixing her marriage but because of Horse Face's nonchalant attitude is unable to forgive her/move on.
BFF and I both agree the marriage relationship is the most important thing to mend, but BFF argues that Wronged should forgive Horse Face.
I say she owes Horse Face nothing so compassionate as forgiveness. If it was just a one time stupid drunken mistake, sure, forgive, move on.
But it wasn't.
For months, this "friend" of Wronged deliberately tried to re-seduce her husband.
Why forgive if there is no sense of remorse or desire for true forgiveness?
Maybe I'm just cold and evil. But, I just don't think Wronged should offer unearned forgiveness. This isn't very Christian of me. I know it's mean, but when there are children involved and you're supposedly friends, how could you cheat with someone else's husband and just not care? (Believe me, she doesn't care. It probably makes her feel powerful that she caused such a scene.)
Am I right or is BFF right?
I always think forgiveness should be given, but in this situation...I just don't know. I love my Wronged friend, and walking a mile in her hypothetical moccassins just makes me cringe.
What would you do?
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:50 PM 4 comments
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Stop Thief!
Handsome and I totally ripped off Quik Trip for $33.
Yesterday Handsome went to fill up the car with gas. When he put his gas id card in, it told him to see the cashier. He did. The cashier said we drove off last week without paying for our $33 worth of gas.
Handsome balked. Told him he always came into pay for gas. The cashier said, "No big deal, sometimes we switch to the next user before the last person pays so the system gets messed up."
And then he voided the $33 from last week.
Handsome makes it out the door and to the car before he realizes what happened.
Last week we went to QT. He filled up at the pump and I went inside for essential road trip snackies. I misunderstood Handsome who told me to let them know we had gas on pump 11. I paid for snacks alone and took off. I thought he was paying at the pump, as he sometimes does.
Handsome did not pay for the gas.
We just ripped off QT. I kind of feel bad about it. But then again, gas is expensive and we have absolute brand loyalty to that chain (Handsome will drive on fumes to get to QT). They are starting to get a bigger chunk of our paychecks each week.
Besides, it would be ridiculous to go back in a say, "Oh yeah, we really do owe this" because well, we'd look dumb.
I still feel like a thief...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 12:05 PM 6 comments
Monday, July 7, 2008
Nope, still seething....
What's wrong with me?
Moxie Meltdown occured at 16:00 hours today. Now it's almost 22:00 hours.
And I'm still seething...
I'm not like this usually. I'm calm, cool and professional when it comes to disagreements. Then in private I rave at Handsome and release my anger on his sympathetic ear.
He listens. He makes me laugh about it. We hug. I'm done.
'Cept he's at rehearsal and I'm still in a frothy lather of anger.
It's nights like this that I crave stress relief in a softball bat and a whole lotta balls (in a batting cage, stop cringing boys)...
Or a really stiff, hard drink....
Or both...
I'm not going to sleep when I'm this angry...
That's a problem.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:43 PM 0 comments
Speaking of Incredible Fireworks...
So how was your 4th of July?
Did you swell with patriotism?
Did you blow up Chinese fireworks in the name of Uncle Sam?
Did you sit on your butt and do nothing?
I went to my Mom and Dad's and had a little of this...
and some of this...
and a whole lotta this...
Don't worry, I'm not on vacation anymore, you will soon be returned to your regularly scheduled Moxie fix....
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:14 PM 0 comments
Today I spectacularly lost my temper.
I was so filled with rage and indignation I was actually physically shaking. All because of a service provider. I won't get into details because I'm weary but ho-LEE SHIT (!) was it a blow up, kids!
Bigger than the Fourth of July fireworks.
Bigger than the eruption of Pompeii.
Believe me, when I say it was bad.
Handsome is usually the one that blows up, not me. I play the good cop to his freak out in situations. I'm the calm, cool, collected one. I never yell at worker bees.
I think I scared Handsome a bit....I might have even scared myself at my loss of control.
He's never seen me blow up at piss poor customer service in the almost 12 yrs we've been together.
Justified wrath can be beautiful. And quite the rush.
I should have used that adrenaline rush to have wild, thrashing sex with my gorgeous husband, but the moment passed and people would have stared (sorry, TMI). But it would have been incredible.
I feel righteous and cleansed any ol' who...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:16 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Summer of the Strippers....
Ok...I know there's a few people who are curious, from cryptic past posts...so I'll divulge it at last.
Summer 1998. Handsome and I have been dating a year, living in our first apartment and my weakness for lost causes shines thru.
We come home from a churchy function and a roving ska band is using our apartment to shower before they hit the road for Tennessee. There are towels, half naked men, drugs and tattoos everywhere.
But not Roxie. She was busy making out with a stranger in her bedroom.
It was the last straw....
Let me explain Roxie....
She was one of my best friends in high school. She was a year younger than I was but we met when I was a freshman and she was an 8th grader in our foreign language class. (Kanst du Deutsch sprechen?)
It was immediate connection for both of us. I was the good girl and she was the one who shook me up. Made me really challenge my bourgeoisie background.
Even though we grew up in the same small suburb outside of KC, we were inseparable and if you believe in reincarnation and that there are people you are always destined to meet, she's on my buddy list.
Even though we were as different as night and day. I used to call her my "Punk Rock Girl". In fact, we'd blare that song and sing/scream it in her car with all the windows down on warm, summer, teenage nights.
When I went away to college in KC, we lost touch for that year, only occasionally checking in. Some friendships don't need daily reminders...
Then, my sophomore year she started coming around a lot more. She moved out of her parents' house, was going to Longview Community College and every so often would show up on my doorstep at my college.
If ever there was someone who danced to the beat of their own drum it was her. Yet she was one of my greatest creative inspirations, even now, 10 yrs after our friendship ended.
She was the one who opened me up to "Trainspotting", Nutella, the English punk rock band Pulp, and creativity for the sake of art.
Ours was sometimes an unspoken friendship.
Like the night she wrecked her car and my roommate and I went and picked her up, not questioning why or how ...
Like the night she broke up with her boyfriend and I saw the bruises on her arms and I just held her when she cried...
Like the night she unexpectedly showed up like an angel after I was raped....when I took/smoked some drugs I shouldn't have and she rescued me and took me to my room and put me to bed, even though I begged her to let me die.
Things we never talked about afterwards because we didn't need to.
My junior year, she ended up in a bad spot. She moved in. She needed a place to stay and of course I'd say yes....
She needed a job.
So, she became a stripper.
I was surprised. I was the one with the athletic body and big boobs. She was the one who looked like a 6th grade school girl (her act I guess). I never thought she could/would do it, but she did.
Do you have any idea the look on the face of the checkout girl when we paid for our groceries in $1 and $5 bills?
Then it got out of hand. She spiraled down. She asked another girl, Trixie to move in with us without asking Handsome and I if it was ok. At our parties, she'd show anyone who wanted to see her clit ring. Weird people started hanging around Roxie and Trixie. In our apartment...our home...I got scared.
Trixie wasn't bad. She was a voluptuous blond from our hometown that was trying to earn money for college (cliche, I know, but in this case, it was true. She went back to school after that summer, easily able to pay tuition.) We developed a decent friendship.
Roxie got jealous and paranoid.
By the time we moved out, we weren't speaking. She left a huge stain of red and blue tempra paint on the carpet of her bedroom. (I still have the painting she painted and gave me for my high school graduation)
She moved out without a single word. Handsome and I did our best to get the paint out of the gray carpet, but it was a mess.
We haven't spoke since that time 10 yrs ago...
I think of her from time to time.
She's still a stripper. She moved back in with her parents.
I found her on MySpace last year and tried to contact her. Just to tell her I missed her and wanted to see her again, that all was forgiven. Water under the bridge and all of that. She just wrote back and said, "Sorry, I'm not her, hope you find your friend."
I know she's embarrassed that she hasn't moved on. That I married Handsome, have a child, a house, a real career. I know she always wanted those things but they just never seemed to land in her lap.
And that's how she liked fate. Nothing hard, nothing demanding. Just easy....
I still miss her. There's a little piece of me that isn't there any longer. Every time I hear someone speak German I think of her. Every time I see Nutella next to the Peanut Butter on the grocery store shelves. Every time I listen to Pulp.
I hate unfinished business...If not now, our next life...I hate that thought.
I miss my friend, but I rest easy for now.
Because I tried.
Because friendships are ultimately 2 way streets.
I did the best I could.
And I still love her.
For you, Roxie...tonight, 'cause I miss you...
Hey, wherever you are, Roxie, I hope we can mend it this time. I hope you "Choose Life" because you choose another strip tease and you know what this means...I hope you find the electrical tin opener someday...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:21 PM 5 comments
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Good Advice I was too young to understand at the time...
I watched "Romeo+Juliet" tonight and it sparked my Baz Luhrman....
I remember this the year I graduated high school (1995) and especially college (2000). Years after the fact, I realize the wisdom that I was too idealistic/too young too understand...geez, Kidz these days should take it more to heart than I did...
Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen!
Wear Sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You're not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind…the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time it's 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:51 PM 2 comments


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On March 12, Imani, an 18-year-old gorilla at the San Diego Zoo, gave birth to a 4.6 pound baby via caesarian section. The infant was treated for pneumonia and other complications after birth at the animal hospital.
But 12 days later, baby and mama were reunited! Imani immediate cradled her baby in her arms and has been doting on the newborn ever since.


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|巌流 Ganryū
|Naruto Shippūden Episode #242
|Appears in
|Voice Actors
|Ninja Rank
Ganryū (巌流, Ganryū) is a jōnin of Kirigakure.
Ten years ago, Ganryū and his team were sent on a mission to retrieve a document taken by Kumogakure, with the assistance of Iwagakure. However, when the document was retrieved, the Iwa shinobi betrayed the Kiri team and killed Junsai and Suiren, the latter sacrificing herself to save Ganryū. This incident would become known as the Tragedy of Yosuga Pass which began the hostilities between the two nations. Since that day, Ganryū has held a deep hatred against Iwagakure.
He has a very deep-seated hatred for Iwagakure and will openly and readily attack shinobi from that village or any one that sides with them even going against the will of the Mizukage to exact his revenge. This is due to the fact that they betrayed him greatly in the past; an incident which resulted in the death of his teammates. Despite his belligerent actions and mindset, Ganryū ultimately believes that his actions will bring about peace, believing that aggression between the villages early on in the Alliance will force the Kage to consider a lasting peace treaty. He has, however, had a change of heart after coming into contact with Naruto Uzumaki, whom he has put his trust in to bring peace to the shinobi world.
Ganryū has dull-black hair and dark eyes. His face is usually set in a hard-lined expression and he wears the standard attire of the Kirigakure-nin inclusive of flak jacket and forehead protector on a white cloth along with the jade-green bangle that his teammates wore. He also carries a large cleaver-like blade strapped to his back.
As a jōnin, Ganryū is undoubtedly a skilled shinobi. This is seen mostly in his preferred style of fighting, which is kenjutsu. He wields his cleaver-like blade with great proficiency able to deal several strikes consecutively barely giving his enemy time to retaliate. He is also supposedly skilled enough so that even Chōjūrō, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, was unsure if he could beat him in combat.
Part II
Paradise Life on a Boat
After hearing of the formation of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Ganryū and a team of Kirigakure ninja plan to wait on a small island where messengers from Iwagakure are to meet up with them. Ganryū and his team attack the messengers, Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi, in hopes of killing them to break off the alliance with Iwagakure. With the arrival and interference of both Naruto Uzumaki and Chōjūrō, he and his team retreats. Later during the night, Ganryū decides to ambush the Iwa ninja while they are resting alone, telling his team he will take every shred of their anger and hatred. Naruto finds Ganryū, where the latter recognises Naruto as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki who defeated Pain. Knowing what he has been through, Naruto convinces Ganryū to give up on his revenge and assures him he will bring peace to the world, which is what Suiren wished for. Suddenly, Kurotsuchi arrives and attempts to kill Ganryū but Naruto steps in and protects him. Chōjūrō arrives to apprehend Ganryū for his crime and he surrenders. Chōjūrō also gives Ganryū a box containing Suiren's bracelet which was to be given back to Ganryū from Iwagakure to strengthen their bond and apologise for their betrayal. He was later imprisoned for his crime.[1]
Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation
After Gaara's speech, Ganryū approaches Kiri and Ittan, who had been bickering, and explains that he was excused for his crimes and is allowed to participate in the war. Before strapping on the Shinobi Alliance's forehead protector, he tells them that since they had felt the same pain of loss, they could unite as one to defeat the Akatsuki.
- Like several characters, he seems to be named after an actual place; in this case, he was named after Ganryū Island, which was the site of the infamous duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojirō. Kojirō himself was also known as Ganryū Kojirō, so it is possible Ganryū was named after Kojirō himself.
- In Naruto: Shippūden episode 218, Ganryū was mentioned briefly by other Kiri ninja.
- He wears a white forehead protector cloth, which is usually seen on Kumogakure shinobi. Also, his flak jacket has a pouch in front which is usually seen on those belonging to Iwagakure-nin.
- He is the second anime-only character to make an appearance in a canon arc.
- (To Naruto) "If an incident of revenge occurs here, the Five Kage will be forced to think seriously… about the difficulty and risk involved in maintaining an alliance. And they will be forced to think about peace."[2]


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"The Bearded One" James Harden remains the story in the young NBA season as he put up 45 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in Atlanta last night to lead the Rockets to their second win. Harden shot 14-19 from the floor and hit 2 3-pointers. By the beard of Harden! Have mercy! J-Hard now has 82 points in the first two games with his new team. It looks like James has definitely elevated his game to another level so far in Houston and although its extremely early the Rockets are quickly emerging as one of the NBA's teams to watch. Based on his performance to date Harden is playing like a top 5 fantasy pick. Sweet sassy molassy! He is playing so well right now I am getting all excited just typing this. Maybe its the Novembeard chill in the air, but the dude is sick right now, and its almost a shame he's been cooped up on the Oklahoma bench so long. Oh yeah, and he has a beard! A beard! How great is that? Throw in America's Asian sweetheart Jeremy Lin (21 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast) at point guard? Umm, did the Rockets just become my favorite new team? Uhhh, yeah I think so, YUP. Here we go Houston! #LetsGoRockets2012
Here's what else happened last night in fantasy basketball.
Omer Asik – Failed to get a point (0-7) but grabbed 19 rebs. Omer-gehrd! He couldn't buy a bucket but that's a lotta rebounds. I'll take it!
Brandon Jennings– 21 pts, 2 reb, 13 ast, 6 stl. Dished all over the new look Celtics and made them look bad–or maybe he's that good. Spoiler: he is that good.
Tobias Harris – 18 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast and 2 3pm. The nevernude seems to have all but locked up the starting SF job in Milwaukee, and the 8-11 FG tells me he could be a decent scoring option going forward, and there's a great chance he's available in your league. Just keep an eye on his for now, he did have 3 turnovers. Tobias, you blowhard!
Rajon Rondo – 14 pts, 4 rebs, 11 asts, 3 stls. Pretty nice line, but its his scowls and attitude that will really break down opposing fantasy teams. You know I love you, Rajon, even if you don't care for me very much.
Jose Juan Barea – 21 pts, 5 asts, 4 rebs in 28 min off the bench. How can you not love this guy? J.J. might finally have a chance at starting job if he can keep outplaying Luke Ridnour (9pts, 1 ast), but the force is strong with that one. Until then he should provide a nice spark of the T'Wolves bench and perhaps even for your fantasy team.
Kevin Durant – 23 pts, 17 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk. Now don't you feel silly for drafting Lebron over him?
Damian Lillard – 21 pts, 7 asts. 18 asts and 44 points in his first two games. Officially, The Omen is this year's "sexy pick" to win the Rookie of the Year. I guess that makes Anthony Davis the "unsexy pick." Is it his eyebrow that's the turnoff? I dunno, I kind of like it.
Kevin Martin – 19 pts with 3 3PM in 29 minutes off the bench. Well, I guess the value hit he'd take moving to a bench role isn't happen. K-Mart clearly has just slid right into Harden's sixth man dominance role, and picked up right where he left off. Once again the Thunder pull off a brilliant trade. Don't you wish your team was like that?
Randy Foye – 20 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 4 3PM. Can't say I'd expect this from him every night out, but tonight was Randy's night!
Anthony Davis – 8 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk in just 14 min. Left the game early with a concussion after taking an elbow from Austin Rivers to the head. One hopes his massive brow absorbed most of the impact and he's gonna be okay but Davis will not play Saturday as he'll undergo tests. Luckily, Ryan Anderson was absolutely on fire 19 pts, 6 reb, 5 3pm in his place.
Grevis Vasquez – 13 pts, 10 asts, 4 reb in 37 minutes. Now has 23 assists in his first two games. If General Grevis isn't owned in your league yet, now's the time to to scoop him up.
Lebron James – 23 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 2 3pm. Now don't you feel silly for drafting Durant over him?
Rashard Lewis – 16 pts, 6 reb, 4 3pm. The heat are so stacked I wouldn't count on Lewis for any consistency, but he will have his games. And that's more than you could say about him last year.
Carmelo Anthony – 30 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 4 3pm. Melo took 28 shots, more than double anyone else on his team. This trend should continue. In the fantasy world we call that a "jackpot."
Steve Novak – 17 pts, 5 3pm. Honestly, as long as he's hitting the tres who cares what else he does. That's why we own him!
Nate Robinson – 16 pts, 5 rebs, 12 asts, 1 stl. Little Nate came up big for Chicago as the Bulls blew out Cleveland by 29 points. Kirk Hinrich (9 pts, 6 ast) started the game but Nate ended up playing 10 more minutes (Hinrich is nursing a groin injury. Ow, my groin!). Robinson should to see consistent minutes and could certainly be worth a flier while the Bulls wait on their fallen savior.
Lou Williams – 22 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl. Can you say sixth man of the year? Because Lou has been saying it to himself over and over in the mirror all offseason.
Danilo Gallinari – 23 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk. The Rooster Cogburn showed some true grit last night contributing across the board, but the Nuggs were still unable to get their first win. A favorite dark horse team pick in the Western conference this year so far Denver has looked like they've flown the coop. Get it? Because Rooster? Ahh, forget it.
Glen Davis – 29 pts, 10 reb, 2 blk. Big Baby threw quite the tantrum in Orlando's home opener with 29 points. I wonder how the Magic fans feel about their new starting big man. Physically, they couldn't have found a player more different than Dwight Howard. Howard is a specimen, a chiseled action figure of a man, Davis is mostly just, well, skin. Some flab. He looks like he's real soft, too. But hey, 29 points, maybe Baby is the answer. I'm not saying drop your Dwight Howard's for him, but he's still out there in a over a quarter of Yahoo and ESPN leagues so go get him.
J.J. Redick – 21 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb, 3 3pm in 35 minutes off the bench.With Afflalo and Tukoglu nursing injuries Redick should see and bump in court time and even if he doesn't start he should see 25+ minutes on a nightly basis. His stats won't overwhelm, but the his nice percentages and 3-pointers can help any fantasy team. He should be owned.
Kemba Walker – 30 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 3pm. I will take one of everything from the second year guard out of Uconn. Where were you last year Kemba? Nice of you to finally show up, I mean, someones gotta score on this B-Cats team. The 30 points were a career high for Walker. Bigger news here: THE BOBCATS WON A GAME! Sound the alarms, inform the press, twit the twittersphere! The parade will be held in downtown Charlotte tomorrow afternoon and the game ball has already been shipped to Springfield. #LetsGoBobcatsNBAFinalsorBust2012
Brandon Knight – 13 pts, 5 reb, 10 asts, 2 3pm. He's not the most exciting player to own, sure, but he's locked in as the starting point guard in Detroit and that's worth something, right? Right!? Hey, he's better than Rodney Stuckey (0-7 FG, 1 point).
Goran Dragic – 15 pts, 10 asts. Ahh, yes. Starting to look like the top 25 player we all thought he could be this year.
Marcin Gortat – 16 pts, 16 rbds. They call that the sweet sixteens. Marcin should see his share of rebounds based solely on the fact that's he's the only true center in Pheonix. Goran to Gortat! And he scores! Phoenix Suns basketball, folks.
Stephen Curry – 26 pts, 5 reb, 7 asts, 1 stl. Curry owners you can exhale now. Whew. After scoring just 5 points in the season opener Stephen went bananas tonight and proved my he's been such a popular pick. If he can stay healthy, and he's proven he cannot, Curry can compete with the best shooting guard in the league.
Mike Conley, Jr. – 21 pts, 3 rb, 7 asts, 5 stls. Oh, hello there 5 steals. Nice to see you, you should stop by more often. Believe it or not, The Grizz are looking like one of the more fantasy relevant teams in the NBA so far. Marc Gasol added 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Zach Randolph had 15 points with 14 board and Rudy Gay scored 18 with 8 rebounds. If fantasy stats translate to NBA success even a little the Grizzles could be tough to beat this season.
Chris Paul – 18 points, 15 assists. Now don't you feel silly for drafting Lebron and Durant over him? No? Well, yeah you're probably right, but Paul is still really good at basketball.
Kobe Bryant – 40 points, 6 rebs, 2 stls. Mamba! Well maybe that newbie at the draft wasn't so crazy for taking him so early? 5th pick!? You is crazy, yo! Well, yo, Kobe was on last night, and it sure is fun to watch him when he's in the zone like that. Unfortunately, other than his usual partner in crime Pau Gasol (10 pts, 14 rbs) the rest of the team didn't show up. Sure, Steve Nash didn't play but come on, Dwight Howard (13 pts, 8 rbs) what's your excuse, bro? Big Baby is doing things in Orlando and your struggling in LA? The Lakers fall to 0-3 on the season (taking the L to the Clippers, too!) and to most Lakers fans, this is pretty much the end of the world. However, to everyone else it's pretty much the greatest thing in the world.
Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap, as fantasy basketball continues next week, all week long! As always, questions asked answered in the comments.


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UnNews:"To the Moon for real this time!", says Obama
This article is part of UnNews, your source for up-to-the-microsecond misinformation.
17 May 2012
In shocking news from the White House today, President Obama has announced, "It's for real! We are going to the Moon this time!"
President Obama told news reporters that he had recently been told by his daughters that certain conspiracy theorists believe that neither the US nor Russia ever made it to the Moon. "So I asked my daughters, how can we fix this?" said the President, "And what do you think they replied? Let's get the Hubble Space Telescope on to it!"
The President asked the Space Telescope Science Institute at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, to point the Hubble Telescope to relevant parts of the Sea of Tranquility and other areas of the Moon where Moon landings have purportedly taken place.
"We were expecting to find relics left behind where the Moon landings took place," said Head of Telescopy Lewis J Lee, "You know... like the buggy, the American flag, the odd boot, and miscellaneous Coke cans and empty Doritos bags. But what we found was - nothing... absolutely NOTHING!"
President Obama has opened the books on this debacle by also implicating Russia. "It was never a Space Race", he said, "Just a way to invent polystyrene that justified the incredible cost."
When questioned about why America is now at last going to the Moon, President Obama replied, "Because we can, because we should, because it's there, and because we have a budget for it."
President Putin of Russia could not be reached for comment, but released this press statement:
"The peoples of the Unified States of Russia are pleased that America has finally admitted that its Moon landings were a hoax. We always assumed that they had been filmed in black and white from a disused Hollywood studio. We would like to state that it is Russia who won the Space Race, and we were also so environmentally responsible that we left no traces of any human disruption to the Moon before returning through that radiation belt to our beloved Earth."
|This article features first-hand journalism by an UnNews correspondent.


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Unique app recognised by national health awards.
Increases vaccination rates by challenging myths and misconceptions.
Our games make collaborative group learning affordable. They're effective, portable and reusable with very few overheads.
You don't need a facilitator because players manage the game. Training happens in the workplace not offsite.
Games encourage structured discussion about specific performance, safety and change issues. Players learn from each other and support each other. Our games provide all the structure and information for highly effective group work.
Just like the rest of us, they work in teams, live in families and relax with friends. We all talk and collaborate face-to-face every day. We value real conversations with real people - the most meaningful things happen face-to-face.
We've been designing games since 2004 and some of the world's largest organisations trust us to develop games for them:
Group learning is best but it's not always possible. That's why we develop HTML5 mobile versions of our board games that work on any device. They work in tandem with our board games or as unique standalone learning experiences.
Our digital games are not gimmicks. They focus on content and learning outcomes while still being fun.
With over 20 years working in business and management consulting we know how business works. We use games to solve complex problems and improve performance by bringing people together. We get them talking and thinking.
Your challenges and issues are unique so the game we make for you will be unique too. Whether you want to improve staff induction, address team-working or inject new life into your external CSR programmes, we can help you to make it happen.
It doesn't matter what sector you're in because board games work anywhere. We help clients in healthcare, hospitality, education, banking, pharmaceuticals and many more.
Learn how to weave games into your organisation.
We've been working in partnership with the NHS and social care providers since 2004 to help them improve patient safety. The games we develop with these partners address specific clinical and organisational issues common to many other providers. Consequently, our games are being played by doctors, nurses, support staff and patients around the world.
We have developed over 50 games for clients in health and social care and our pipeline of new games is growing all the time. Many of our games are developed from ideas brought to us by health and social care professionals to solve specific problems that they've identified.
We sell many of these games directly to health and social care organisations to help them improve staff training and patient awareness.
It's easy to weave our games into your training and learning programmes. These case studies will help you understand how different organisations use our games to make positive changes to performance and culture.
Client: McDonald's Restaurants UK
Issue: McDonald's wanted a way to engage more effectively with new starters during induction meetings in their 1,250 UK restaurants.
Outcome: Since the game was introduced there has been a 35% increase in the number of staff who feel prepared for their first shift, while 96% of them feel confidence interacting with customers.
Client: NHS England and Nutricia
Issue: Dysphagia is a poorly understood medical condition, and our clients wanted to create a tool to help frontline staff understand how to spot and manage it effectively.
Outcome: Feedback from players has been consistently positive. Studies to evaluate the game have concluded that it helps to improve knowledge and management of dysphagia.
Client: Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
Issue: The RUH Bath Trust wanted an interactive activity to help new staff understand the requirements of the Care Certificate in their new roles.
Outcome: Feedback from players has been great - staff tell us that the game really helps them think about how they treat patients and how they can improve patient safety.
The game is engaging, informative and facilitates communication, which in turn helps to improve confidence, competence and commitment of employees from their very first shift. Importantly, it's fun and this puts new employees at ease and sets the tone for what they can expect from their job at McDonald's.McDonald's Restaurants Ltd.
I had the privilege of working with Focus Games during the development and testing of the Sepsis Game. Without exception, it has been enthusiastically received as a valuable and useful teaching resource. I am always happy to recommend the game.Michael Surkitt-Parr Head of Patient Safety, NHS Improvement.
Health Education England has been working with external developers to identify the most effective tools to support employers. The Care Certificate Game has been selected as one of the resources that we endorse.Health Education England.


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Bruce Springsteen's 'Jack of All Trades,' Featuring Tom Morello, Hits the Web
You can fill more than a few lunch pails with Bruce Springsteen songs about the thoughts and struggles of the workingman. Make some room next to the thermos for 'Jack of All Trades,' a moving new ballad from his upcoming album that's now being streamed on the Internet.
Built around a simple piano figure and a minimal drumbeat, 'Jack of All Trades' finds Springsteen singing in a mournful voice throughout, capping the verses — which reference household chores, financial inequality and other subjects — with the weary refrain "I'm a jack of all trades/we'll be all right."
The nearly six-minute song features an electric guitar solo from Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. Springsteen fans will remember that Morello joined Springsteen and the E Street Band for a version of 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's anniversary celebration at New York's Madison Square Garden in October 2009.
'Jack of All Trades' is the latest in the one-new-song-per-weekday online rollout of Springsteen's 'Wrecking Ball' album leading up to its March 6 release. There are seven songs to go, with the last one scheduled to be streamed March 2.


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Top 10 Ways to Give Your Kid a 1970's Summer
Such contrast from 1970s until now and the humor in this blog explains it so well ! Please let me know your memories of summer vacation!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
It is officially the end of May. The Pinterest pages, Facebook feeds, and family magazine features are loaded up with all the activities you should do with your kids summer. AS. IF. As if we need more activities. MORE I say! As if I am sitting here, ok, really lying here in my end of school year coma, thinking, "OMG! I CANNOT wait to tackle that homemade moon sand recipe we will dye ourselves with the skin of organic vegetables, then shape our homemade sand into a perfect replica of the Millenium Falcon! " Or, "Why yes, I am going to schlep 4 kids to that new science museum two hours away, where we will eagerly wander through the exhibits, each completing the 10 page scavenger hunt I created last night. Then we will come home and 'discuss' at great length the scientific theories we learned, because, brace yourself, what if we don't keep our minds active ALL summer? GASP! Wait, hold it! We must, just MUST go to the dollar store and buy 125 pool noodles to construct a backyard water park! We will invite the neighborhood kids over, serve vegan popsicles, watermelon chunks cut out like dolphins, and a vegetable crudité platter shaped like a palm tree. And what summer pool party would be complete without nitrate, skin, meat, additive, and taste free hot dogs on gluten free buns covered in artisanal ketchup?
I am done. Sort of like I how I was done with the school year, but I am already done with summer. And by done, I mean I am done with all the forced smile inducing, uber planned and supervised, over the top summer life experiences I am supposed to provide for my kids. You know what I want my kids to experience this summer? The same type of summer I would have experienced in the late 1970's. The exact same one. I survived it, and they will too. As a matter of fact, it must have been pretty memorable because 30 years later I can tell you exactly what it entailed. It entailed FUN. Fun we made all on our own. What. A. Concept.
My top 10 ways to give your 2014 kids a 1970's summer.
1 . Let them watch TV. Plenty of it. But only the TV Land channel. I want my kids to watch The Love Boat, The Carol Burnett Show, The Jefferson's, Charlie's Angels, My Three Sons, The Six Million Dollar Man, Gilligan's Island, $100,000 Pyramid, and my personal favorite, Hart to Hart. Seriously, what little girl in the late 70's didn't want to be an amateur detective married to the CEO of Hart Industries, driving around in a yellow Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster, while sporting a matching lilac pant suit and perfectly coiffed butterfly winged wavy brown hair? Because I sure as hell did.
- Eat whatever you want, and/or whatever can find. There will be no more pantries full of organic vegetable chips, and non-GMO graham crackers. No more refrigerators full of anti-pesticide fruit, free range eggs, and cold pressed juice. This will be the summer of Frito-Lay and Red Dye #5. I want to see my kid's reaction when I tear open a tiny envelope of cherry Kool-Aid, sprinkle it into a BPA laden plastic pitcher, dump 4 cups of regular, granulated, white, and maybe even generic sugar (not raw, stevia, or agave,) then add water from the tap, and viola! You are hydrated! I will be over here drinking a Tab. Lunch will be fried bologna and a blue can of Planter's Cheese Balls, and for dinner we will pile in the car and go pick up a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, a styrofoam quart of mashed potatoes, and O. M. Geee, dessert will be pineapple upside cake! Made from canned pineapples in…….wait for it……syrup!
- Make them play outside. Like all day. All. Damn. Day. Hot? Drink from the hose. Run through the sprinklers. Swim in the pool until your hair feels like straw, turns green, and the bottom of your feet are calloused from the bottom of the pool. Search for ladybugs, play hide 'n seek between the houses, run down the street gutters after a rain storm. Read under a tree. I hear this lady named Judy Blume writes good stuff.
- Send them to the movies for the entire day. I will drop you off at around 11 and pick you up for dinner. Its' real simple. You sneak from one theater to the next. Nobody cares.
- Spend three nights in a row at your best friend's house. No, you don't have to call to check in every hour. And yes, it's totally ok their parents will be at work and nobody will be home all day. It will give you plenty of time for #1, 2, and 3.
- Make stuff, like from stuff you find. No trips to Hobby Lobby for pre-cut, pre-stuck, pre-fabricated crafts. Find crap in the garage and assemble it into something you can play with. No, you can't Google how to do it. Ropes are fun.
- Have them put on a talent show. A real, genuine, sing and dance and entertain the hell out of me talent show. I promise I won't upload it to Youtube or share it on Facebook. I pinky swear. No, there is no theme, no requirements, no directions, no anything. No, there is no right way to do it. You have an imagination. Please use it.
- Play this until you want to throw it against the wall, or smash into 1,000 pieces. It's the original train your brain app.
- Build a fort in the backyard. No, I am not gonna help. Yes, you can use the $125 Pottery Barn Kids duvet cover from your bed. I don't care anymore. Making a memory trumps 400 thread count cotton.
- Finally, learn to find the amazing in the ordinary. Trust me. You will need this skill in your 40's. I pinky swear.
What are you going to do with your children this summer? Do any of you remember doing any of the 1970's summer "play" ? Tell me what you think!


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Gymnastics in Australia is divided into eight Gymsports, each with their own gymnastics movement style and governing rules. There is a Gymsport for everyone, with a range of pathways and programs which develop incredible skills for fitness, performance, competition or to just to challenge yourself.
Use the links on the side of this page to find out more about each GymSport:
Each Gymsport is managed by a Technical Commission who work with Gymnastics Australia to support and develop their Gymsport and the athletes and officials within their community. This includes hosting the Australian Gymnastics Championships for each Gymsport.


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One sign of the profound implications of some forms for technology are the types of questions that they force one to ask after considering its implications. Last week at the Internet Archive Books in Browsers meeting one of the questions that kept arising reflected on the impact of the move to digital distribution in our information exchange environment. Eric Hellman first posed this question in his presentation about his forthcoming service GlueJar, although several asked similar versions of the same question:
"What is a book [in a digital context]?"
What made a physical thing a book in the analog context is no longer what makes a thing a book today. Certainly, there still are physical things we call books. But in our new digital age, books are much more complex things. Books are no longer just the text. Nor are they even constrained by a certain text length or form, given the potential provided by a linking environment. Using semantic markup and linked data opportunities, there are no longer constraints about even the content of the item. During his talk Networked books and networked reading, Kevin Kelly described the ultimate goal of every Wikipedia entry should be one where every word or phrase in a text is hyperlinked to another richer document.
There are even more complex content forms, which might still be variations on the single digital media form of a book. The text of a file might be rendered with text to speech technology so that a digital text file is now possibly also an audio book. This could be an author or dramatic reading included as part of the package, or simply machine processed reading. As translation tools improve even a text expression of an item (to use FRBR terminology) could also be a simultaneous expression in other languages, simply rendered onto the screen. Even the idea that a book is a self-contained thing that could be packaged, distributed and preserved is an open question, as we consider the possibility of a book that links outside to a live streaming embedded video.
All of these questions about what is a book and what are the implications of a networked multimedia experience that we are now faced with, present a variety of challenges for the information distribution community. For the editors and publishers, who are lovingly and carefully creating their content, which enhancements of the content-expression does one focus the most attention on. This directly goes to the cost of content creation and the potential return for the authors and publishers. Hugh McGuire during his presentation said that Ebooks should be no more difficult to create than a website, which is fine but of course putting together a great website isn't an easy piece of work either.
From a cataloging and library perspective, where do those various elements get described and stored within a catalog? How best to expose those forms and how they will be indexed and ultimately served to patrons and users is again another challenge both for search and discovery services. Finally, the preservation of this digital content stream is nearly painful in its consideration. This is due, in part to the fact that these different media forms are developing and changing at different timescales by different constituencies. The expertise in text preservation, video preservation, and software preservation are not usually held by the same people.
Often the technical questions drive deeper philosophical conversations about the meaning and impact of the changes at hand. It is likely that with ebooks we have entered that phase, where the questions and the answers to those questions will drive much of our forward momentum for decades to come.
I was asked at the end of a panel discussion at the Frankfurt Tools of Change meeting what will we be working on five years from now. I punted on the question, not that there aren't a variety of things that we need to accomplish. However, I expect that we will likely be trying to answer some of these deep philosophical questions we are beginning to pose now. The answers to these questions are not obvious, but their implications are profound. In all likelihood, we'll be working our way through these questions for many years to come.
There are so many angles and issues to address, purely from a standards and technology perspective. This does not take into account the other vexing problems of cultural nor business challenges that ebook present us. This is absolutely not to say that we are spinning our wheels and being unproductive. These questions and issues are difficult, complex and interwoven. Coming to some resolution will take time, energy, attention to detail and sustained commitment.