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Andy Strachwsky's Asia Photography Tour 2012 @ PASM Workshop – 2-3 June 2012 – Special Discount for Readers
[Update: 17 May 2012] Special discount for PASM Workshop members, now for HK$1,980. Email to email@example.com to enroll.
It's finally here, Andy Strachwsky from unknownphotographer.net is finally bringing his new LIGHT workshop to Asia and PASM Workshop will be hosting the Hong Kong seminars and workshops. S$375 (HK$2,320) for early bird registration, definitely a bargain for a 2-day workshop. Check out the following video where Andy will tell you what this tour is all about.
Andy Strachwsky, a lighting specialist and a professional retoucher for many years taught photography, lighting and retouching workshops around the world including Colombia, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Germany, England, Spain, Canada, Singapore, Honk Kong, Malaysia and the United States. He also did a workshop for a company called creativeLIVE which was transmitted LIVE globally over the Internet with thousands of viewers.
During the tour Andy Strachwsky will conduct a seminar intended for the beginning photographer. Professional lighting adviser and retoucher Andy Strachwsky from unknownphotographer.net will go over the basics that you need to take your photography to the next level. His simplistic, laid back and real approach to photography is a refreshing breath of air in this industry that is polluted with marketing. Andy will go over everything you truly need to be able to take the photographs you want. He will be talking gear, lighting, composition and how to further yourself in the industry. If you are just starting out and you feel like you don't know where to go, join us for this one of a kind photography seminar!
He will also conduct different levels of photographic and post-processing workshops. Begins by understanding the dynamics of light, explore complicated multi light scenarios using a variety of modifiers. Andy will also cover the topics of color and light, as well as balancing different temperature lights. The whole workshop will feature a high fashion workflow with a heavy lean towards posing and communication with models and pre-visualization as well as a complete understanding of the physics of light with special participations of Fashion Photographer Richard Chen, Beauty & Glamour Photographer Borj Meneses and Stylist Don Cristobal.
SINGAPORE | PHOTOGRAPHY SEMINAR – Date: MAY 26, 2012
SINGAPORE | ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING & RETOUCHING – Date: MAY 27, 2012
HONG KONG | INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING & RETOUCHING Featuring Don Cristobal – Date: JUNE 02 to 03, 2012
PHILIPPINES | PHOTOGRAPHY SEMINAR Featuring Richard Chen & Borj Meneses – Date: JUNE 08, 2012
PHILIPPINES | INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING & RETOUCHING Featuring Don Cristobal – Batch 1: June 09, 2012 / Batch 2 :June 10, 2012
MALAYSIA | PHOTOGRAPHY SEMINAR – Date: JUNE 16, 2012
MALAYSIA | ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING & RETOUCHING – Date: MAY 27, 2012
To sign up and know more about the detailed Itineraries please chose the country you wish to enroll at the following link, http://purpleglassstudio.com/portfolio/andy-strachwskys-light-workshop-tour-2012/.

subset: commoncrawl


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New specialty quarter honors Great Basin National Park
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Great Basin National Park is the latest star in a series of specialty U.S. quarters.
The back of the quarter features a picture of a bristlecone pine tree emerging from rocky ground, with the name of the park emblazoned above the picture. The coin entered into circulation this month.
Great Basin is in east-central Nevada, near the Utah border. It was established in 1986 and draws about 100,000 visitors each year.
It's known for its ancient forests and prime stargazing conditions.
The coin is one of five to be released in 2013 as part of the America the Beautiful quarter program. Other landmarks featured this year include the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.


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When we excavated the area near our gutter (our building only has one gutter), we found that a dry well was constructed underneath our porch, which is where all of the water from the gutter ends up- right-next-to-our-house. Water, of course, is not something you want near your home -at all.
Steve started doing some research on the internet trying to figure out what we should do about this, and found that a dry well should be a minimum of 10 feet from the home- ours is about 3 feet, except it is under our porch, so in a way, it's kind of right underneath a part of our house.
He also did research on rain barrels, which I would love to have, but there are a few obstacles.
1. For a 1/2" rain on a 1000 square foot roof, 200 gallons of rain water is generated. Most rain barrels are 55-80 gallons. We would need two or more and that would take up alot of space on our small patio. We could do one barrel and then have an overflow that goes somewhere else. Or add another gutter. All projects we are not up for right now.
2. In our cold Chicago climate, the rain barrels would need to be disconnected in the winter as with all the freezing and thawing, they would surely crack. This means that we would have to have a backup drainage system for that part of the year.
We determined that because we are not up for relocating our dry well right now, we will not be doing rain barrels. But maybe we will at some point. I really would like to.
My feeling is that if it's been okay this way for 100 years, a few more years won't kill us (or the house). We are fortunate in that we pretty much live on sand and so have excellent drainage, which may be why this location was thought a fine spot in the first place.
How has this changed our plans for our patio repair?
Well, we have decided that we don't want to pour concrete over something that will relatively soon need to be excavated and corrected and so we have opted to rebuild the dry well (it needs it!) and place 12" square concrete tiles over that area. This way, we are not cementing in something that will be removed in a few years.
Our patio will be a bit hodge-podge, but at least it will be one level and I can camouflage it with beautiful containers strategically placed. And it will be much more functional. So without further ado, here is what we have accomplished thus far with our patio and refreshed dry well.
We were pleasantly surprised to discover the foundation for our porch has a limestone footing and several courses of brick.
In this photo you can see the gravel bed that we laid to prevent the sandy soil from washing away underneath. We also laid bricks and chunks of excavated concrete in the bed to help secure the drainage pipe not pictured).
What is Steve doing with those dreadlocks you might ask? This are actually something called yoakum rope and it's used to seal the pipes like a kind of caulking. So many things to learn about. I googled "yoakum" and I can't find anything on it. I guess there are some things you can't find on the internet, but I find that hard to believe. Anyway, thanks to this post, now there is some info on this bizarre product.
After rebuilding the dry well, we leveled the soil and put another layer of gravel, which will help support the concrete tiles. We have to add more gravel and playsand and then the tiles will go in.
And then we have that strip to patch with concrete.
I am actually really pleased that we will have this all done in the next few weeks and be able to enjoy our patio this year. It's no showplace, but it will work for us until we undertake the big project of rebuilding the back porch and laying a new patio. And just fyi, building a back porch is a job we would hire others to do. We aren't that crazy. Laying a patio,that we would do. But just this morning after yesterday's backbreaking work, Steve said that if we ever do a whole patio job, we will budget in weekly massages on Sundays. Sounds like a good idea to me!


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If there's one lesson observers have drawn from the "greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression," it's that our outdated system of global economic governance failed to respond and needs a major overhaul. A closer look at the performance of international institutions since 2008, however, paints a rosier picture. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Tufts professor Dan Drezner argues in a provocative new CFR working paper that "the system worked." Despite dire predictions, major economic powers cooperated within multilateral institutions, both old and new, to prevent a global financial collapse, forestall a descent into tit-for-tat protectionism, adopt new rules of financial regulation, and adjust the governance structures of global bodies to reflect power shifts.
Drezner's benchmark for comparison is the international response to the Great Depression. This is apt, since global stock capitalization as well as housing prices actually plummeted more as a percentage of precrisis levels during the first ten months of the Great Recession. In contrast to the early 1930s, the global response this time around was robust. This global economy has recovered, if unevenly. Industrial output, global growth, international trade, and foreign direct investment (FDI) have all rebounded much more smartly than they did in the several years after 1929. With the exception of FDI, all now exceed their precrisis peak.
At the onset of the global credit crisis, numerous experts (including this one) predicted a descent into tit-for-tat protectionism and beggar-thy-neighbor trade and monetary policies. In fact, nothing of the sort occurred, thanks to self-restraint and concerted action on the part of the world's leading economic powers. As Drezner notes, "the combined effect of protectionist actions for the first year of the peak of the financial crisis affected less than 0.8 percent of global trade." Considering that the Doha "development round" of WTO trade negotiations was in the doldrums at the time, this is a monumental achievement. Perhaps more surprisingly, the commitment to an open global economy enjoys broad support not only among political elites but indeed publics in most trading nations.
Even more impressive was macroeconomic coordination among the finance ministries and central bank governors of the world's leading economies. Much of this coordination occurred under the aegis of a new institution, the Group of 20 (G20), which met for the first time at the leaders level in Washington in November 2008. The G20 nations took dramatic action, injecting unprecedented liquidity into the world economy—including by providing unlimited currency swaps, bolstering the resources of the IMF and World Bank, and pursuing massive expansionary policies (particularly noteworthy in the cases of China and the United States).
In parallel with these steps, G20 members negotiated major new financial regulations designed to prevent similar crises in the future. These included more stringent capital requirements (Basel III), agreed within an expanded Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, as well as new macroprudential standards for systemically important cross-border financial institutions, hammered out within the new Financial Stability Board (FSB), an expanded and stronger successor to the feckless Financial Stability Forum. While analysts continue to debate the adequacy of these rules and the time frame for their full implementation, the speed with which they were agreed is impressive by historical standards.
Why the difference with the Great Depression? In a word, institutions. In contrast to the early 1930s, today's nation-states inhabit a world that is chockablock with multilateral institutions and frameworks covering virtually every conceivable sphere of transnational activity. Institutions are particularly useful during times of crisis. Beyond narrowing the potential range of interstate conflict, providing outlets for the peaceful settlement of disputes and establishing norms of legitimate conduct, they serve as valuable repositories of technical expertise, sources of implementation capacity, and focal points for potential cooperation. For all their shortcomings, the major institutions of global economic governance—including the IMF, World Bank, WTO and finance ministers' G20—proved resilient, flexible, and adaptable. The IMF—regarded by many as irrelevant before the crisis—got a new lease on life, as well as a major injection of capital. Ditto the Bank. Despite its Doha failure, the WTO maintained the integrity and openness of the global trading system, and its binding dispute resolution mechanism provided an anchor in a turbulent sea. Finally, the G20, elevated to the leaders level, rose to the occasion, providing direction to more formal institutions like the IMF and the Bank, including changes to quota shares and governing boards to reflect the shift of global economic power to the BRICs and other developing world.
If global institutions performed reasonably well, why do they continue to get a bad rap? One answer, Drezner speculates, lies in the unevenness of the global economic recovery, most notably in the United States, Japan and Europe. The relative stagnation of the mature economies—where most of the commentariat live, incidentally—makes it tempting for analysts to judge global institutions as a failure. But in so doing, they make a double mistake. Beyond overlooking the overall health of the recovering global economy—particularly compared to the dire predictions of 2008—they err in attributing current economic difficulties to the multilateral system, rather than to persistent political gridlock and economic mismanagement by their own national governments.
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The Complete Series
Law & Order: Trial By Jury is the third spin-off series from the highly acclaimed Law & Order series. In this spin-off series, the show focuses on an aspect the original series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent rarely touch upon in detail, the court room. In most Law & Order episodes, the cases are wrapped up with a plea bargain or at the point where we know the party is guilty without a doubt and it is clear they are going to jail. In Law & Order: Trial By Jury, the focus is not catching the criminal, but the perspective from the district attorney's office and the defense as they trudge along through the trial procession. The series was short lived and produced a meager thirteen episodes, of which only twelve were aired on television. The series was not as well received as hoped and part of the reason is the untimely death of cast member Jerry Orbach.
In the end of the fourteenth season of Law & Order, Orbach's character Lennie Briscoe announced his retirement to his partner Ed Green. It was intended for Orbach to join the cast of Law & Order: Trial By Jury to help attract viewers. Unfortunately, his health did not allow for it. Orbach only appeared in the first two episodes. And sadly, the series did not have the oomph afterwards. Still it wasn't terrible and probably should have had more than thirteen episodes.
The biggest attraction, besides Orbach, is Bebe Neuwirth. She plays A.D.A. Tracey Kibre. Most people should be familiar with Neuwirth from her reoccurring role of Lilith Sternin from Cheers and Frasier. Neuwirth makes a very convincing A.D.A. She was one of the main reason I enjoyed this show as much as I did. The other A.D.A. is Kelly Gaffney (Amy Carlson). Carlson gives a suitable performance, but not quite as enticing as Neuwirth. Overseeing the D.A.'s office is the familiar face Fred Dalton Thompson as Arthur Branch.
On the investigation side, there is Hector Salazar (Kirk Acevedo). Salazar is a seasoned detective from the 64th precinct who took early medical retirement and found himself working for the D.A.'s office. Acevedo is decent in his role, but not particularly strong. After Orbach left the cast, Chris Ravell (Scott Cohen) joined as the second investigating detective. The series also features a variety of guest stars including Sam Waterston, Dennis Farina, Jesse L. Martin, Richard Belzer, S. Epatha Merkerson, Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Candice Bergen, Lorraine Bracco, and Peter Coyote.
This first and only season of Law & Order: Trial By Jury consists of thirteen episodes, with two crossover episodes with Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. (Crossover episodes are two-parters with part one from one series and part two from another series.) One of the bonuses included with this set is the first part of the crossover episode with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I thought the inclusion of the crossover episode was a great (and at the same time too bad the other crossover episode wasn't included) because you get to see the entire story versus trying to get all the details out of a thirty second recap.
"Skeleton (2)" is the continuation from Law & Order episode "Tombstone (1)". In the first part (episode not included) detective Green is shot. It was a pretty dramatic episode in itself with a back story leading up to Green's shooting. "Skeleton (2)" picks up with Branch giving the case to Kibre. Kibre, Gaffney, and the D.A. investigators who work along side detective Fontana to catch Green's shooter. The second crossover episode includes "DAY (1)" and "NIGHT(2)". In "DAY (1)" the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit regulars investigate a serial rapist whose wealthy and influential mother has been hindering the investigation. In "NIGHT (2)" the case is handed over to Kibre and Gaffney after A.D.A. Novak is assaulted and put in the hospital. This two-part episode is one of the more powerful stories, which is more or less due to the dramatic nature of the story and great performances from Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay.
As for the eleven episodes only found in this series, they are all quite entertaining. The pilot episode "The Abominable Showman" is worth noting. It introduces the cast and sets the tone for the series (less investigation, more time in court!). The story covered in this episode deals with a smug theater producer who is on trial for murder. The catch is there is no body. The next episode "Forty-One Shots" is an interesting tale. In it, a career criminal was shot forty-one times in a standoff with the N.Y.P.D. is put on trial for killing a police officer. The story really gets interesting when hints of police corruption arise. Again, these are the only two episodes Orbach appears in.
"Vigilante" introduces detective Ravell, who repeatedly finds himself working on cases with the D.A.'s office. In "Vigilante" a reformed child predator is murdered by a neighbor parent after the pedophile made contact with his daughter. The case turns out to have a twist and turns out to be pretty darn exciting. "Baby Boom" is a somewhat twisted episode with guest star Elizabeth Moss (The West Wing). Moss plays a nanny who is accused of murdering the child under her care. Moss gives a stellar performance as the seemingly innocent villain.
"Boys Will Be Boys" is a very odd and creepy episode. In this story a transsexual male is murdered. The D.A.'s office quickly becomes aware the motive might be because he was engaging in relations with straight men without informing them about being a transsexual. The story, of course, goes much deeper. Giancarlo Esposito (Homicide: Life on the Street) guest stars. "Blue Wall" is also a fairly intriguing episode with cops gone bad. A gay man dies after being sodomized in police custody. Two officers are put on trial for his death. Unfortunately for the D.A.'s office, none of the other cops will talk about the incident. Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire) guest stars.
Overall, I enjoyed getting to watch the complete series of Law & Order: Trial By Jury. While the series is not nearly as strong as the others under the Law & Order banner, Law & Order: Trial By Jury has merit. The different approach with more focus on the court proceedings is an interesting perspective and change from the common format of the other shows. Neuwirth also gives a stunning performance as the lead A.D.A. for the series. I think the show ended prematurely and could have become just as successful as the other Law & Order shows given time and some stronger cast members to work alongside Neuwirth.
Episode Guide1. The Abominable Showman 2. Forty-One Shots 3. Vigilante 4. Truth Or Consequences 5. Baby Boom 6. Pattern Of Conduct 7. Bang & Blame 8. Skeleton (2)9. The Line 10. Blue Wall 11. NIGHT (1) from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 12. DAY (2) 13. Boys Will Be Boys 14. Eros In The Upper Eighties (unaired episode)
The DVD
Video: The video in this release is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality looks good. As found with the other season sets from the Law & Order series, there is a slight roughness, grain in the picture, and hints of edge enhancement. Overall it is a solid picture.
Audio: The audio track supplied with release is English 5.1 Dolby digital stereo sound. The sound quality is good, the track is pretty clean and spoken dialogue is easily heard. Like most TV on DVD releases it is fairly flat and there is not much to it, but it fits the presentation well. This release also comes with subtitles in English and Spanish and supports closed captioning.
Extras: The extras included feature deleted scenes for episodes "The Abominable Showman", "Forty-One Shots", "Vigilante", and "Truth Or Consequences" with a total runtime of 5:48, a short featurette "A Different Look at Law & Order" (6:33) with the cast members giving short dialogues about the show's different format, and the first part of the crossover episode with Law & Order: Special Victims Units.
Final Thoughts: Law & Order: Trial By Jury takes a very different approach than the other shows under the Law & Order banner. The focus is on the courtroom and trial proceedings instead of a balance of law and order. This includes jury selection, grand jury hearings, the defense, the prosecution, and other related aspects. The approach works and some pretty dramatic and entertaining stories follow. However the show has weaknesses in its cast and a few fluffy tales. In the end it had promise and probably should have lasted longer than it did. Fans of crime dramas should really enjoy this set.


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Sexiest Actresses of 2011
Following the success of the past few of years countdowns of the sexiest actresses of the year, we've decided to do it all over again! So, without further ado, here's our selection of the sexiest actresses of 2011 – from Olivia Wilde and Mila Kunis to Brooklyn Decker in that yellow bikini! Click through the photos to get a little hotter under the collar…
Roll your mouse over the left and right-hand sides of the image and then click to view more pictures.
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Check out the sexiest actors of 2011
Alternatively, see our sexiest TV actors and actresses of 2011


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But first – Richard Branson, in person… kind of a fox! And a little anecdote about Chad Kroeger of Nickelback at the very, very end.
Dita is tiny but not tiny, does that make sense? She's very short, maybe 5 ft 2 and slender but not emaciated and when she gets naked her legs are surprisingly cut – great muscle definition, no little twigs supporting a pair of huge knockers and in spite of that corset 16 inch waist thing, she's actually very well proportioned. And flawless. Even under a pound of foundation, you can see immediately, she has the most amazing skin. All over her body.
Am fascinated by her hair. She was fascinated by her own hair too. Kept asking if it was ok even though it didn't seem to move. She doesn't seem to move. When Dita's not dancing she's eerily immobile, kind of like Nicole Kidman's forehead but all over. During the press conference she licked her lips after looking like a mannequin for 10 minutes and it freaked me out. Speaks in hushed intimate tones with the cadence of a woman from an era past. Very polite. Very posed. Very intense eye contact. She is to the end 100% always in character.
But back to her body – her body is sick. Somehow she's managed to work her way in to a 16 inch waist corset which is how she opens her show, debuting a new routine called The Black Swan. Big deal made about how it was the premiere and when you think of someone rehearsing and presenting a whole new dance piece, you're expecting some crazy ass moves, even acrobatics.
Such is not the case with Dita Von Teese. Because really it's just glorified stripping. Not even aerobic or athletic stripping. Just old school stripping. Only labelled burlesque. Which is classy stripping. Almost an art form. So they say.
But honestly, what you get after paying a thousand dollars a seat is a beautiful woman taking her clothes off. They are vintage clothes, of course, but they're still clothes. And they still come off. Slowly. And teasingly. And her bustier detaches in 6 stages. With a complicated set of clasps that she deftly removes to the beat of the music. But for all intents and purposes, at the heart of it, she's just getting half naked, and then she proceeds to get more naked, only after a while she pulls out a couple of lovely fans and waves them around until the grand exposé which of course is a set of amazing breasts, fake but perfectly shaped, nipples concealed in nude colour glitter, standing up on their own but with a lovely lovely slight sag and an ass that is so delicious you want to smear peanut butter all over it and eat it with an apple.
And then… and then she sashays over to the massive black swan in the middle of the stage and pats the gold beak from which water starts running all over her body. So she's lathering it into her hair and all over her torso and writhing a little, and you're sitting in a ballroom 700 strong and all of a sudden you're back in your living room, watching a video with your parents when a love scene comes on and it's like ick…I'm watching two people doing it with my parents sitting next to me on a couch. And you can't make eye contact with anyone around you because you don't want to lock eyes in that uncomfortable moment when either of you wonder what kinds of dirty thoughts are going through your heads so you force your eyes to stay riveted on Diva getting wet and naked on stage and then you wonder whether or not people will notice that you're riveted and think you're a perv but you can't look down because you don't want to look like a prude either.
Only 10 minutes later, it's over. She's flattened her back against her Swan Lover with one leg bent at the knee, knee raised up to her waist, mouth open looking suggestively out at the crowd, totally owning her close up, a Goddess in a room full of mortals and the only thing I could think of was: what the F*CK was she doing with Marilyn Manson???
Afterwards, with some distance between the experience, comes the admiration. Just short of respect but admiration nonetheless. Dita Von Teese has somehow made stripping "exclusive" and "elite" and similar to any product in any other industry, she's taking something that's been around forever, branded it her own, and turned it into a powerhouse business. Arty stripping is her business. And she's never been called a slut.
Fascinating, non?
Best of all though? Right before Dita unpeeled her dress, Chad Kroeger who was sitting at the table next to me, got up with his buddy to go the bar.
Chad Kroeger who I'm told routinely makes appearances at Vancouver's "high end" peeler bar called Brandy's (where Ben Affleck's finger cost him his engagement with Jennifer Lopez) couldn't be bothered to sit through the Rolls Royce of erotic dance.
Do you love it, or do you LOVE it?


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1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
Gluten-free flours can be replaced by wheat flour.
Eat plain, add a cinnamon-sugar topping before baking, and/or make crumbs for other recipes.


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Home › Classroom Resources › Calendar Activities
Calendar Activities See All Calendar Activities
Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students. View by day, by week, or by month.
September 8, 2020
Jon Scieszka was born in 1954.
Students review Scieszka's tips for encouraging young people to read and then create their own, sharing ideas with adults in their community through a letter.
Grades K – 8
Celebrate International Literacy Day!
Celebrate International Literacy Day by starting a literacy movement in your community.
Grades K – 12
Types of Calendar Activities
Authors & Texts
Birthdays, publication dates, and more
Historical Figures & Events
Notable people and happenings in history
Holidays & School Celebrations
Special days and how to observe them
Literacy-Related Events
Celebrations that promote and encourage literacy


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I'm new to SP. I have done tons of reading and am a .Net developer but I'm looking for the best, out of the box, way to do the following (any guidance would be greatly appreciated as I'm always looking for the BEST way to do things):
- Daily personnel accountability by section
- One admin per section would go into SP each morning
- They would have a list of personel in their section (this list can be hand editted--doesn't have to pull from AD)
- They would mark each person on their list as Present, Absent, Sick, etc...
- Reports could then be generated for all sections individually or together for the whole organization. Daily records would be stored so that history reports can be run.
- KPI indicators could be used against this data in a Dashboard for the whole org, then drill down by section, then to detail
I have played around with the lists, the Access grid, etc. But those aren't storing the daily record. Should I think of this in terms of InfoPath forms being submitted each day?


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This year marked the 10th Anniversary of the Trans Health Conference. The conference, held earlier this month in Philadelphia, featured transgender pioneers Earline Budd and Jamison Green as the opening plenary keynote speakers. An estimated 2,000 people from across the country were in attendance including service providers and researchers, transgender people, and parents of transgender children. Focusing on the theme 'Looking Back, Looking Forward', the conference also featured various spiritual opportunities, social events, and workshops/educational sessions discussing topics such as science, justice, advocacy, social determinants of health, employment, psychology, and sexuality in the trans community.
One of the highlights of the conference was the Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. The report, put forth by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, is the first of its kind, summarizing many key demographic, health, and social issues facing the transgender community. Interviewing 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming study participants from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the report now makes hard data available for advocacy efforts, activists, and researchers.
Some startling findings in the report state that rates of HIV within the transgender community are over four times higher than the national average, with rates even higher among transgender people of color. Higher HIV prevalence coupled with the finding that up to 19% of the sample population reported refusing medical care due to their transgender or gender non-conforming status implies that the transgender community may be at an even higher risk than initially estimated. The benefit of having this data is that it can now be used to assess local or regional levels of need, discrimination/stigma, poor health outcomes, incompetence of health providers, prisons, cultural competency, resilience, etc. of the trans community, allowing for more targeted and efficient health interventions.
View the Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey Executive Summary here.


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December 3, 2012
Biz Stone started his General Session talk on Oct. 14 by saying that he wanted "to tell a bunch of stories." And for the next 30 minutes, Stone, a co-founder of Twitter, shared anecdotes from his life and key takeaways with attendees.
Casually dressed in a black sweater, jeans and sneakers, Stone discussed attending high school in his native Wellesley, Mass., where he wanted to play sports. However, Stone didn't care for any of the sports that the school offered. After doing some research, he asked the school's administration if he could start a lacrosse team. Despite the faculty's incredulous response, Stone made it happen, and he eventually excelled in the sport.
"I got exactly what I wanted, which was to get on a sports team," he said. "The big takeaway for me: Opportunity can be manufactured. This was a key lesson learned for me."
Stone later dropped out of college at the University of Massachusetts to design book covers at Little, Brown and Company in Boston. There, he learned another important lesson: Creativity is a renewable resource.
"No matter what, there is always another jacket design I can try if sales and editorial didn't like this one," he said. "For me, the goal was create an award-winning design for designers that also solves what the sales and editorial team wanted."
When the company relocated to New York, Stone decided to go West, where, in 1999, he became of creative director of blogging startup Xanga, a role that eventually led him to Google, where he teamed with Evan Williams — one of the other founders of Twitter along with Jack Dorsey.
After Williams left Google, Stone joined him at Odeo, a podcasting company. Eventually, the passion for podcasting waned, and Williams and Stone struggled with how to recreate the business. This dilemma led to another lesson from Stone: "You really have to be emotionally invested in your company in order for it to succeed."
While a core team kept Odeo operational, employees teamed up to brainstorm other possible business ventures. Stone paired with Dorsey, an engineer, and together, they built a prototype of Twitter in two weeks.
"We showed it to our colleagues and they were underwhelmed," Stone recalled to some laughter from the audience. "They thought it was lame. That didn't stop us. We were excited about our potential."
In 2009, Time magazine named Stone one of the "Most Influential People in the World" for Twitter's role in bringing vital, real-time information to millions of people worldwide and helping raise awareness of social issues and natural disasters.
"If we were to be a triumph, then we were not just to be a triumph of technology, Twitter was going to be a triumphant of humanity," Stone said. "It didn't matter how many servers [we had] … it only mattered that people were basically good … if you give them the right tools, they'll prove it to you every day. That's what got us up every morning to work on Twitter — that it wasn't about us, it was about people doing amazing things around the world."
Last year, Stone co-founded The Obvious Corporation, which focuses on building systems that help people work together to improve the world.
"Having access to unlimited information is not necessarily going to make us smarter or allow us to do anything more important," he said. "What we have to do is understand that information. Time on the Web needs to be spent looking at relevant information that can help us make better choices and do more important things."
With Obvious, he wants to help redefine the success metrics of capitalism to include the following elements:
"The new definition of success will be these three things. Or at least we should aspire to these things," Stone said. "If we do that, we're not just going to have a better world to live in, but we're all going to have more fun. And work isn't going to be work — it's going to be fun."
— John Elsasser
Biz Stone on how public relations evolved at Twitter [video]


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Developing nations to push intellectual property agenda
Developing countries have formed a group to promote their interests at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The Development Agenda Group, led by Egypt and made up of eighteen developing nations, marks "another step in the confrontation between rich and developing countries over intellectual property rights (IPR)".
Developed countries tend to promote IPR as a way of encouraging innovation, while poorer countries often believe that IPR obstructs access to essential medicines and helps rich countries steal indigenous knowledge.
Ambassador Hisham Badr, permanent representative of Egypt to the United Nations, said that although WIPO has had a development agenda since 2007 it has been hard to implement.
"The Development Agenda Group commits itself to actively contributing to mainstreaming the development dimension in all areas of WIPO's work," he said, adding that the group is open to all countries and "aimed to build coalitions among pro-development groups in the agency".
The group comprises Algeria, Brazil, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uruguay and Yemen.
Link to full article in Reuters


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Seasonal Dreams > autumn introduces spring, 2016
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brut carniollus
Brut Carniollus is a visual artist and photographer specialized in photography based digital collage and digital graphics executed as original digital UV prints. His work is exhibited and awarded worldwide. His exhibition history can be found at https://carniollus.com. Since 2012 he also serves as official paparazzi of renowned international artist symposium Slovenia Open To Art. Since 2017 he is a member of The Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies and is represented by 10dence Gallery, NL and Singulart, FR. He ...


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Stepdad Arrested In Mom's Death, Boy's Disappearance
Amber Alert Issued Thursday For Boy, 11
Montgomery County police said the stepfather of a missing 11-year-old boy was arrested and charged Thursday in connection with the death of the boy's mother.
Police said the boy, William McQuain, of Germantown, remains missing. An Amber Alert was issued for him on Thursday morning.
Officers found the boy's mother, 51-year-old Jane McQuain, dead in her Briarcliff Terrace home Wednesday night. Investigators said there was trauma to her body, and they consider her death a homicide, but they declined to elaborate pending an autopsy.
Police spokeswoman Rebecca Innocenti said an SUV owned by Jane McQuain was found about 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the Charlotte, N.C., area. About an hour later, William's stepfather, Curtis Lopez, was taken into custody there and charged with first-degree murder.
Authorities said William was last seen at his mother's Germantown home on Sept. 30. Investigators said they were hopeful that they'd find the boy with Lopez, but he was nowhere to be found.
"They were like two peas in a pod," one of the boy's neighbors said of him and his mother. "You see mother, you see son. Every time she'd go somewhere, he'd go somewhere."
William is a sixth-grader at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. According to a district spokesman, the school calls home when a child is absent, and guidance counselors get involved after four consecutive absences.
It's unclear if the school followed that protocol in William's case. He hadn't been at school for almost two weeks, officials said.
According to the Amber Alert website, the boy is 5 feet tall, about 85 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of William is urged to call police at 301-279-8000.
Stay with WBALTV.com and WBAL-TV 11 News for updates.


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Wisconsin had not even appeared in the AP poll since mid way through the 1963 season. The early '70s were not halcyon days in Madison. Under the tutelage of John Jardine, a former Purdue offensive lineman who never held another head coaching job, Wisconsin continued a woeful run of form. From 1964 through 1973 under three different coaches the Badgers had posted a woeful 34-74-5 record, including two winless seasons in 1967 and '68. In eight seasons from 1970 to 1977 Jardine went 37-47-3. The Badgers' eventual 7-4 record in 1974 would be his only winning year. Wisconsin did not make a habit of beating anyone in those days, least of all visitors ranked fourth by the AP.
Osborne's approach in Lincoln was essentially one of continuity—sustaining what Devaney had established. The tradition of Nebraska's "black shirt" defenses began in 1964 when Devaney first moved to two-platoon football and simply needed to differentiate the defensive and offensive squads. The system quickly evolved into black and grey shirts for the defense, black shirts being awarded on a daily basis to players who had earned them in the previous day's session. The myth of the "black shirts" only grew under Osborne, who appointed the young Monte Kiffin as defensive coordinator. All-American defensive end John Dutton led Kiffin's first unit, and while the 1974 black shirts lacked a clear standout they would only give up more than fifteen points on three occasions. On offense Nebraska ran a prototypical power-I, producing multiple 500-yard backs every year. Jeff Kinney ran for 1037 yards in 1971. Tony Davis posted 1008 two years later. With opposing defenses lined up to stop the run, and assisted by talented receivers such as Johnny Rogers, the great 'Husker teams of the early '70s also gained yards through the air. Jerry Tagge exceeded 1300 yards passing each of his three seasons from 1969-71. Dave Humm exceeded 1500 yards every year from 1972-74. Simply put, Nebraska outmatched Wisconsin both sides of the ball.
Certainly Nebraska's sixty-point explosion the previous week gave cause for concern. After the teams exchanged punts early on, Big Red seized the initiative with 6:00 to play in the first quarter. Nebraska took a 7-0 lead on a 22-yard breakaway dash from wingback Don Westbrook. A national television audience watching on ABC likely sensed another runaway victory, but on Nebraska's next possession David Humm went down with a hip pointer and left the game. That Humm missed the following two Nebraska games but still finished the 1974 season with 1435 yards and12 TDs is sufficient indication of his talent. In his place, career backup Earl Everett went just 3-of-7 with an interception. Everett and Humm's combined five completions were good for a paltry forty-seven team passing yards. But so long as the untested understudy had only to hand the ball off, Nebraska continued to look marginally the better team. With 6:14 in the second quarter to play Wisconsin drove half the length of the field before levelling on a nine-yard pass from Bohlig to backup wideout Ron Egloff. After another exchange of punts Nebraska answered with a drive of their own, capped by a six-yard scoring dash from tailback John O'Leary seconds before time expired. As a sophomore the previous year O'Leary had gained 326 yards on 73 carries. Classmate Tony Davis had topped a thousand. Davis and O'Leary would combine for 1025 yards in 1974, before totaling 1118 yards as seniors in 1975. One of the greatest runningback tandems in Nebraska history made a combined 162 yards against Wisconsin, but after O'Leary suffered a concussion early in the second half just four yards shy of a century Davis had to carry the load alone. Missing a thousand-yard passer and a 500-yard back the 'Husker offense sputtered.
Nebraska extended its slender lead to 17-10 five minutes into the second half on a thirty-yard Mike Coyle field goal. The black shirts gave up yardage that threatened the 'Husker lead only begrudgingly and in tiny increments. Wisconsin rushed for a team total of just 77-yards on a massive forty-four attempts. The 1974 Badgers were far from second-rate on the ground. Marek would finish the year with 1207 yards on 241 carries, including thirty-points and 304-yards against Minnesota that remain first and second on their respective lists of single-game school records. Alongside him Ken Starch added 637 yards on 110 carries while Mike Morgan gained 461 on 85. Against Monte Kiffin's immovable defensive front, however, the Badgers managed virtually nothing.
Jardine had little option but to shift to the passing game. Bohlig, a talent at least equal to his now-departed opposite number David Humm, answered the call with a 242-yard performance on 14-of-21 passes. He began to find holes in front of the Nebraska secondary, allowing his receivers to maneuver Wisconsin inside the ten-yard line shortly before the third quarter expired. With 14:16 to play in the game the Badger's struggling ground attack gained a one-yard score through Bill Marek, reducing the deficit to just 17-14.
The teams then exchanged punts for the fifth time before Tony Davis, who finished with seventy-six yards, shouldered most of the load in a drive that carried Big Red inside the Badger ten with barely five minutes remaining. A touchdown would have decided the game, but without two of its leaders the 'Husker offense reached only the two-yard line in three attempts. Osborne faced a difficult decision. Nebraska gained 258 rushing yards on the day in sixty-two attempts. The odds favored a touchdown on fourth-and two, and with the black shirts still holding Wisconsin's ground game in check the danger in falling short seemed relatively limited. But Osborn elected to kick, extending the 'Husker lead to just 20-14.
Wisconsin had less than four minutes remaining to go seventy-one yards after running the ensuing kick back to its own 29-yard line. On first-and-ten the Nebraska defensive front blew past some shoddy blocking and gang tackled the helpless Bohlig for a six-yard loss. Osborne's gambit seemed momentarily judicious. A 73,000 home crowd, which had been electrified by their team's goal-line stand, began to sense an anticlimax. Then, on second-and-sixteen, Bohlig again dropped back. His protection held long enough for him to find receiver Jeff Mack on a seam route at the Wisconsin thirty-five. Bohlig hit Mack in a crowd of 'Husker defenders perfectly in stride, allowing the flanker to break free and sprint the length of the field. The 77-yard touchdown set up a game-winning PAT attempt, which Vince Lamia duly converted to the delight of an already jubilant crowd.
Needing a field length drive with barely three minutes remaining Osborne called a typical off-tackle running play on first down. A resurgent Wisconsin defense swarmed to the ball, forcing Osborne to call a pass play on second down. Nebraska quarterbacks have never been known for making quick yards through the air under any circumstances. Required to do so for an unlikely late comeback Everett threw an interception. A handful of ultra conservative running plays later the clock expired as glory-starved Wisconsin fans stormed the field.
The day was an aberration. Big Red finished the 1974 season 9-3 with a win over Florida in the Sugar Bowl. While the Badgers limped to 7-4 they would not post another winning season until 1981. That one-point win over a depleted Nebraska team easily constituted the greatest win of John Jardine's disappointing eight-year tenure, and possibly of two barren decades for Wisconsin football. For Big Red, a streak of annual bowl appearances that began in 1969 would stretch to 2004. 'Husker fans soon forgot their fourth-quarter loss in Madison.
Big Red has not returned to Madison since that day, or played Wisconsin in any other location. On 1 October 2011 Nebraska will play its first Big Ten game at Camp Randall stadium. Over the last decade it has been the Badgers that have enjoyed the high watermark of school history, while Nebraska has languished—relative, of course, to admittedly lofty expectations. Husker fans will hope for a win, however narrow, that might prove not an aberration but the spark for a renewed dynasty.
Whatever happens, Wisconsin will not be held to seventy-seven yards on the ground.
[Sources: USA CFB encyclopedia; ESPN Big Ten encyclopedia; New York Times; Huksers.com,History of the blackshirts; cfbdatawarehouse.com; huskersmax.com; photos, Madison.com]


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About Us
Welcome to the official Louisiana State University Alumni Association Chapter for alumni and friends of LSU living in the Washington DC metropolitan area.
If you have any questions or comments, email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Recreational Sports
Softball season is in full swing. Represent LSU on the field in the Capital Alumni Network league!
Our District Tiger Scholarship will help one DC-area high school graduate to attend LSU on merit.
Polish off your business cards and bring a smile to our networking events and higher education receptions.
OUR EVENTSThroughout the year we organize professional networking events, Louisiana-themed social dinners and happy hours, recreational sports teams, family days at the Nationals ballpark, and more!
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OUR SERVICEWe also participate in several community service and outreach programs around the DC area, including National Park Service projects, Toys for Tots donations, and high school recruiting for LSU.
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OUR HOMEWe live more than 1000 miles away from our beloved alma mater, Louisiana State University, but we still hold dearly the traditions and spirit of our Tiger heritage. Meet our university and everything it has to offer.
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JOIN US!Your annual contribution includes all regular membership benefits of the main LSU Alumni Association in Baton Rouge, and gives you access to our Chapter's special events and programs in the Washington DC area.
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Well, it's finally here - my 200th blog post! Due to my incredibly erratic posting habits, it has only taken me four years to get here (!), but it has definitely been fun.
To celebrate, I decided to celebrate with a lovely little Raspberry Red Velvet cupcake, topped with Grand Marnier-laced Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Yum! The cupcake recipe is from a book called Sparkle Cupcakes (which, if you so choose, you can purchase by following the link). I've now baked just two of the cupcake recipes from this book, and honestly I find them not quite so light and fluffy as my usual go-to recipe (which is Billy Reece's Vanilla Vanilla recipe). However, there are some wonderfully interesting flavour combinations in this book, and I will make more of them. This RRV cupcake, for example, is delicious - I love red velvet for its beautiful texture and dramatic good looks, but the only criticism I sometimes have is that it doesn't really know what it is, flavour-wise. Is it vanilla? Is it chocolate? What's going on? Well these cupcakes don't dither at all - the beautiful raspberry twang comes through loud and clear, with a subtle chocolatey thing going on in the background... mm-mm!
Unfortunately I can't share the recipe with you, as it's from a cookbook and I don't like violating people's copyright, but to be honest it would probably be completely possible to replicate this just by adding some raspberry puree (or leftover raspberry coulis) to your regular red velvet recipe... If you try it, let me know how it turns out! Highly recommended as a flavour combination!


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Jo Ellen Whitney
It has always been difficult to make determinations regarding what information can be provided to a family member once a patient or long-term care resident has passed away. Items such as a Durable Power of Attorney or Healthcare Power of Attorney expire at the time that the patient dies and who is the patient representative can be an emotionally complex question. The state based rules on who can access information can be complicated, particularly when there are competing claims on multiple claimants.
In general, in Iowa and pursuant to the HIPAA rules, the control of the information rests with the primary personal representative of the decedent. In other words, when a person passes away, there are statutory constructs about who owns or has the right to release the records. The first of these is the executor or administrator of the estate. The executor is the person appropriately appointed by the Court. Just saying you are an Executor doesn't make you the Executor anymore than saying you are the Easter Bunny makes you a bunny. If there is no Will or Estate or in the gap that frequently occurs between a death and beginning the probate process, under Iowa laws we typically shift to kinship assessments. A living and competent spouse of the decedent is the first line where information can be released or consent can be obtained. If there is no living and competent spouse, the adult children of the decedent would have equal rights to the records. Third in line, would be the parents of the decedent. Fourth, the siblings and if such closer relatives are not available an assessment can be made in regard to more distant relationships. These are exclusive determinations. In other words, if a spouse is available, no one else has a specific legal right to consent to the release or use of the record. This is true in circumstances even where the spouses are estranged and may not have seen each other in years. There may even be a new partner, but unless there is a legal document naming the new partner executor, then the prior marital relationship would control.
HHS recognizes that it received a significant number of comments regarding the difficulty of providing information to others that may have been involved in the deceased patient's care. HHS therefore amended Section 164.510(B) which permits the disclosure of the decedent's protected health information to family members and others who were "involved in the care or payment for care of the decedent prior to death". This release would be possible unless providing such information is inconsistent with the decedent's express wishes. In other words, if the patient or the patient's executor says information may not be released to a certain person, you cannot release that information even if there had been a prior and existing relationship.
The intent of this change was to ease the burden on facilities and others so that basic information could be provided to family members regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of a patient/resident without violating HIPAA. NOTE: disclosures are limited to protected health information which is relevant to the person's involvement in the individual's healthcare or payment for healthcare. A minimum necessary standard applies and relevancy determinations can be difficult, particularly with someone who has had a long-term or chronic illness and multiple family members have been involved in care at different times. Careful application of the minimum necessary standard will be important here. Another issue will be education of family members as to what information can be obtained and who may access such information. Family members do not always agree and a clear delineation of these legal issues may be necessary in helping family members to avoid internal problems in the provision of information.
Problems can arise regarding how you determine whether or not someone was involved in an individual's care. HHS refers back to its prior guidance as assistance in this matter. Note that the term family member is defined at 160.103 and includes relatives of the first, second, third or fourth degree and treats relatives by marriage or adoption in the same manner as "blood relatives."
There are also other changes contained to the rules regarding a decedent's information. Previously, HHS had proposed that there be fifty year limit on the privacy requirements for health information. In other words, fifty years after a person died, his/her information would be open to researchers and others who want to access the data without obtaining consent. 164.510(b) now implements this rule placing a fifty year deadline on the protections for a decedent's information. Certain state continuing protections may apply past the fifty year deadline particularly in relationship to certain "highly confidential" information such as psychotherapy notes. HHS is clear in its comments and statements to the rule that the fifty year expiration of the privacy requirements is not a fifty year requirement to maintain records. This should not affect an institutions' record destruction policies in any way unless you are the type of institution that has been keeping records for 100 years "just in case." You now might be able to clean out a few warehouses and destroy those records at 51 years. This change in the rule should benefit researchers, genealogists, historians and family members who are seeking information about ancestors regarding anything from chronic illnesses to adoptions.


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(CNNMoney) — When it comes to budgeting for the federal government, things are about to get strange.
Starting Friday, federal agencies will be forced to make cuts to their programs without knowing what their actual budgets for this year will be. Why? Because Congress never passed a budget, just a stopgap funding measure that expires soon.
Another unknown: Whether Congress will undo or lessen the impact of those forced cuts after they go into effect.
There's little expectation that Congress this week will avert the $85 billion in funding cuts known as the sequester. Congress and President Obama agreed in 2011 to unleash those cuts if they failed to come up with a smarter way to reduce deficits.
Sequesters aren't new. First conceived in 1985, they've been triggered a few times in the past, but Congress often passed legislation that overrode them or lessened their impact. They're intended to be undesirable because they require across-the-board, uniform cuts to all nonexempt areas — i.e., cutting the good and the bad by equal measure.
What's new this time around, however, is the uncertainty agencies face regarding their spending levels for the rest of this fiscal year, said budget expert Charles Konigsberg, who worked for the Senate budget committee when sequestration was created.
Here's what he means: On March 27, funding for the government expires unless lawmakers pass a new funding bill. That funding bill would be a separate law from the one ordering the automatic cuts. If they don't appropriate more funding, the government would shut down all but essential services, creating a whole new set of planning headaches for agencies.
Everyone has known the automatic spending cuts were a possibility since 2011.
For much of the past year, however, agencies had been told by the White House to spend as if the cuts weren't going to happen because they still seemed avoidable and planning for them would "divert scarce resources from other important agency activities and priorities."
Then Congress, as part of the deal to avert the fiscal cliff in January, postponed the sequester for two months. So now agencies only have seven months to make the cuts by Sept. 30, the end of this fiscal year.
The White House budget office's controller, Daniel Werfel, said on Feb. 8 that his office had calculated at that time that spending would need to be cut by 13% for defense programs and by 9% for nondefense programs.
But agencies won't officially learn the exact percentages of the cuts they must make until Friday, when the White House releases a formal sequestration order along with a report to Congress.
It's not clear whether anything the White House puts out Friday will be a surprise to the agencies. Nor is it clear how prepared agencies are for the cuts or any adjustments they might need to make going forward.
Meanwhile, House Republicans may propose giving the Obama administration leeway to let each agency decide what to cut. Democrats are likely to oppose such a proposal.
In any case, the discussion is getting really weird, said Joe Minarik of the Committee for Economic Development and a former chief economist at the White House budget office.
"The Congress for centuries has jealously guarded its power of the purse — especially from the executive and its nameless, faceless 'bureaucrats,' " he wrote in the blog Back in the Black.


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March 1, 2012 — Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R) has postponed a vote on a bill (HB 1077) that would require a woman seeking abortion care to first undergo an ultrasound, his spokesperson said Wednesday evening, the Scranton Times-Tribune reports. The spokesperson cited concerns raised by the medical community and said there is no timeline for considering the bill (Swift, Scranton Times-Tribune, 3/1).
The House Health Committee recently voted 15-7 to approve the measure, and a floor vote had been scheduled for March 12.
The Pennsylvania Medical Association and the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the bill would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and mandate an unnecessary test (McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/29).
Although the bill does not state that a specific type of ultrasound must be used, it would require that the image be of sufficient quality to determine gestational age, which some say could mean that women would need to undergo a vaginal ultrasound (Scranton Times-Tribune, 3/1). Specifically, the bill states that if the embryo is too small to be viewed, the physician would have to measure the "gestational sac."
Since Friday, six of the bill's 103 co-sponsors have withdrawn their support over the requirement. One of those six, Rep. Thomas Killion (R), said, "I think the way this bill is written is problematic." He added, "We need to hold some hearings on the bill. It's nowhere near ready for prime time."
The bill also would require a physician to offer to show the woman the ultrasound images and explain the development process. Further, it would require the doctor to offer the woman a chance to hear the fetal heartbeat and provide the woman with a copy of the ultrasound image in a sealed envelope (Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/29).


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Subliminal Self Hypnosis MP3s, CDs and Hypnotic Tapes by Potentials Unlimited
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A series of suggestions are first given to bring about a pleasant state of relaxation or light hypnosis. You will then consciously hear the same suggestions as in the subliminal portion. This combination helps you balance and co-ordinate the activities of your conscious and subconscious mind, creating a unity of thought and action – an essential component to your success.
When played at your regular bedtime, you will probably drift into a natural sleep. But your subconscious mind never sleeps. Repeated playing of this tape at your bedtime will enrich your mind with suggestions designed to bring about the desired changes.


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JUNE 11 RECAP: South Africa vs Mexico
ESPN Zone - L.A. LIVE & Anaheim: Galaxy defender Sean Franklin and midfielder Dema Kovalenko signed autographs and took photos with fans at ESPN Zone LA Live, while midfielder Michael Stephens met fans at ESPN Zone in Anaheim. Fans at the event had the chance to win Galaxy tickets and other prizes, plus meet the ESPN 710AM Street Team, Galaxy Street Team, Miss LA Galaxy and the Galaxy Futboleros!
JUNE 12 RECAP: USA vs England
ABC News World Cup Fever!
CBS checks out the action in Hermosa... WATCH!
Party at the Pier!: Hundreds of South Bay residents flocked to the Hermosa Pier Plaza on Saturday for the historic USA vs England Match. Bars along the plaza were filled to capacity with the remaining fans crowding into the plaza to view the match on the huge 13' x 20' screen. Galaxy fans enjoyed meeting and taking photos with midfielder Dema Kovalenko as well as face painting and the exciting tricks of the Galaxy Futboleros!
Photo Gallery: Hermosa Pier Plaza
Daily Breeze: "...Many of the hundreds of people who stood under the 20-foot outdoor television wore American flags draped over their shoulders, the Stars and Stripes painted on their faces and "Go USA" printed on their T-shirts..." Read Article | Photo Gallery
Fan shot video from Hermosa Pier Plaza...Watch!
ESPN Zone at LA Live: Galaxy assistant Coach Cobi Jones was on hand for the pre-game festivities before the U.S.-England World Cup match and signed autographs for fans in the main viewing room. However, there was one tense moment as the autograph session wrapped up when a group of England fans presented an England flag for him to sign. Always happy to sign most items, Jones refused this request as he flashed a quick smile and laugh while graciously declining to sign while the crowd in attendance quickly booed the England fans off the stage. Then, ESPN 710 AM Radio's host A. Martinez sat down for an extensive Q&A with the Galaxy legend talking about the club's quick start to the 2010 MLS season, his World Cup experiences and the all important U.S.-England showdown. There were also two surprise guests at the viewing party as Galaxy forward Bryan Jordan and former teammate and FS West guest commentator Alecko Eskandarian joined us at the ESPN Zone to watch the game. All in all, it was a great atmosphere!
Chalk Talk with Cobi Jones: Miss Cobi's interview? Listen here
ESPN Zone LA Live
Photo Gallery 1
Photo Gallery 2
ESPN Zone Anaheim: Fans at the ESPN Zone in Anaheim had the chance to meet Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders! Fans at the event had the chance to win Galaxy tickets and other prizes, plus meet the ESPN 710AM Street Team, Galaxy Street Team, Miss LA Galaxy and the Galaxy Futboleros!
Other Viewing Parties around SoCal: Fans packed in at Official Galaxy Pub The Olde Ship in Santa Ana, starting to line up at 5:30 a.m.! "...The gathering, according to one of the servers, was bigger than the
New Year's Eve crowd. The fans came dressed in their favorite U.S. or England jersey, with
the nation flags draped across their backs, whistles and horns blaring. 'I've never experienced anything like this,' Peter Zirbes, 23, said
of the atmosphere. 'I've been to UCLA football games, but this is above and beyond that....'" Read More


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The release engineering (releng) project provides builds and test frameworks for the Web Tools Platform (WTP) Project.
The WTP build officially supports only the Linux environment (some parts could maybe run on Windows, but limits would be hit with at least path lengths).
The Releng project does not translate or internationalize it's scripts and tools.
Themes and their priorities communicate the main objectives of the project and their importance. These will be prioritized based on the community feedback. New themes could be synthesized from the requirements submitted by the community.
The sections to follow defines the plan items in the Releng Tools project. The plan items are grouped under the respective themes where applicable. Each plan item corresponds to a new feature, API or some apsects of the project that needs to be improved. A plan item has an entry in the Eclipse Bugzilla system that has a detailed description of the plan item. Not all plan items represent the same amount of work; some may be quite large, others, quite small. Although some plan items are for work that is more pressing than others, the plan items appear in no particular order. See the corresponding bugzilla items for up-to-date status information on ongoing work and planned delivery milestones.
Following are plan items that are not yet categorized into a theme.
Back to the top


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OTR - Stepford
A few weeks ago a reader sent me a landmark to a place she thought I might use for photography. I journeyed over and explored the pristine plots of Stepford. The sim is a " modern-day, themed, gated community " where you are encouraged to wear your very best and be mindful of the neighbors and neighborhood. A day spa and tennis courts add to the ambiance of this upper class locale.
Hair: Amacci Hair Shyla ~ Brown Auburn
Skin:[:T:] Zoe / sunkissed :: 02 Purity - [:T:] Rosy cheeks 2
Clothing:Ibizarre Neelie Dress
Shoes: ABOMB Chic Wedges - Linen
Accessories:DECO - Cat's Meow Glasses - Coconut; Berries Inc summer freebie bag (NLA)
Poses by: BehaviorBody - LAP
Clear Cold Clouds
The left side of my brain has had a bit too much exercise of late, so I took myself out for a walk in lovely Edo Japan. My Revenge neck piece is from Aglaia. A statement making accessory for stunning photo shoots, it is on sale this weekend.
Hair: Calico Ingmann Tracy - Blood
Skin: [:T:] Zoe / sunkissed :: 04 Electric - [:T:] Zoe / sunkissed / lips :: Ruin
Clothing: PARADISIS Cold Kiss : Sweater black
Poses by: LAP
The Greens of Spring
Posted by Chic Aeon in color challenge on Friday, February 25, 2011
The color wheel has spun and found itself back in green territory for week 16 of our 52 color palette. This was not an easy outfit for me. I love these colors, I truly do. Somehow, despite my adoration, they are missing from my inventory. Happily I found enough pieces to complete a look. It is easy and carefree and I have been wearing it often this week. To be fair it isn't "exactly" Electric Lime, but close will have to do this week.
Working on a magical pond has been my focus these last few days. I hope to have it on the oceanfront sometime soon, but for now it is housed in a surround skybox which is both cozy and comforting. It will likely make it to the Marketplace sometime in the not too distant future, but today it is simply my personal retreat and backdrop.
I am attached to my new project as I am to my new outfit. The process has been a joy and the discovery rewarding. Much of my morning was spent at the Particle Laboratory, a long time established place of learning that I somehow skipped in my SL education. With the help of visuals, examples and notecard, I finally found just the right combination for my misty hot pool. Poses have been added to various rocks and relaxing is just a click away. The pool isn't finished yet. More effects are on the To Do list, and despite my best efforts I am learning more LSL than one might imagine of a fashion blogger.
Along with my easy living and carefree attire, I have come to bond with ZOE, the new skin out from Tuli. She and I seem to be a good fit.
Hair: Calico Ingmann Tracy - Copper
Skin:[:T:] Zoe / sunkissed :: 04 Electric - [:T:] Zoe / sunkissed / lips :: Ruin
Shoes: BAX Prestige Boots Black Leather
Accessories: ~*INDIE ROSE*~ Ornate Bangles *Green* ; Scooter Jeans Scarf - Medium - tinted Olive; DECO - Swank Glasses - Mustard
Poses by:
OTR: Toxian City - Salimar
I haven't been out on the road much lately, but long ago and what seems like very far away, I bookmarked a spot called Toxian City. The photo in the Destination Guide intrigued me. Gorgeous textures and empty streets; a photographer's dream. Now Toxian City is listed as a DCS2 Combat Role Play area. It is, however, visitor friendly. The website assures potential travelers that they will not be bothered if they are not wearing a meter. A video shows you a bit of the landscape.
My attire for the very early morning hours is a bit out of place here. This isn't a futuristic sim and my headdress and arm accessories from *Solidea Folies* do seem to hint at a time we have not envisioned. The pieces are organic in nature, moving slowly in the currents of the wind. The shop is filled with some of the most bizarre and original work I have seen in SL. Imagination reigns!
The picturesque village of Salimar, home to Soidea Folies, is a place I would love to visit in corporeal mode. Quaint and comfortable, fussiness is left behind in favor of history. Narrow passageways lead to tiny shops and landmarking is pretty much mandetory.
My minimalist outfit is part of a new release from BLUE BLOOD. There is of course MORE to the Florence outfit including a short skirt as well as a very nice long-sleeved underlayer suitable for mixing and matching. The texture work is lovely as always. The tiny panties dip enticingly. It is amazing how naked you can feel while in theory fully clothed *wink*.
Hair: (Posh) ; Oh Darling ; Midnight
Skin: [:T:] Zoe / sunkissed :: 02 Purity
Clothing: +++BB+++ Florence BLACK
Shoes: BAX Prestige Boots Black Leather
Accessories: *Solidea Folies* Hugo headpiece-mask/browny; *Solidea Folies* arm browny
Poses by:Posemaster; Diesel Works
On the Horizon
Posted by Chic Aeon in hunts on Monday, February 21, 2011
We seem to be in that last week of the month doldrums place. New release are a bit skimpy, a typical occurrence, and I find myself looking forward to the month to come.
On the horizon are two hunts that I am looking forward to. STEAM 4 (could it really be FOUR - yes it could) begins with the turning of the calendar. TextureMania 2 begins at the same time. I plan to do both hunts in their entirety. It won't happen on day one of course -- only so much time to spare, but both hunts have proved to be wonderful in the past so how could I pass them up? My tiny prefab shop is participating in Steam 4. Always nice to be included.
While you are waiting for the new month to begin, you might want to dig deep into your closets and pull out any deviousmind garments lurking there. Dust them off, mix them with other items in your inventory and enter the new Mix and Match contest. No great photo skills are required, and you don't have to worry about me as a competitor. Since Chandra sends me most new items, it would be in bad taste to enter *wink*. Still, it is fun putting together an unusual look!
I had a theme in mind of course when I added accessories to parts of the Mortisia outfit. STEAMPUNK! I think it turned out quite well. Entries should be on a plain colored background. I stayed within the rules, just to show you an example. Have fun!
Hair:Maitreya Piper II - Copper
Skin: [:T:] Zoe / sunkissed :: 02 Purity
Clothing: !dM Mortisha ; e! Buttoned Corset (Chocolate) 2
Accessories: ::IZUMIYA::PB_Glove; Steamy Victorian - Cogitator; Ibizarre Lace Scarf
Poses by: BehaviorBody
Teal in Twilight
My outfit choice for our week of teal is the Franken-Fae dress from Angelwing. This is not the complete outfit. Wings, jewelry and other accouterments were left for other times and places. Still there are so many lovely details to consider; it is truly a special outfit.
My backdrop is richly detailed, extremely photogenic, filled with drama -- and did I mention free? Find it on a hunt at Panther3D Textures and Sculpts. I was actually there looking for sculpty plant maps when I spotted both the hunt sign AND the gift. It is not easy to find the black rose. In fact, at least when I was there a few days ago, it was close to the last place I looked. If hunting isn't your favorite pasttime, you can purchase this outdoor pose prop (or home addition) for a very reasonable price (see explanation below).
The prop includes three menu driven animations.
Note: I heard from the designer in the wee hours of the morn :D. Only part of the info above is correct. From her note:
I went back over to the shop and could easily see the difference. This is actually wonderful news -- especially if you are a shopper. Both the hunt prize and the larger version are great, and now both in my possession thanks to Adaarye Shikami :D. So whether you opt to hunt for the smaller entry piece or go for the large and very impressive courtyard, I am sure you willl be impressed.
The prop is actually two pieces. The smaller front piece is free or you can purchase the large pack courtyard with fountain. It has a ton of animations in it. All drama filled heart broken omgz I'm dyin'! type poses
She also sent me a winter build prop (one that I had noticed and admired during my hunting time there) so I am set for all types of weather. A lovely present with which to great the morn.
My poses of the eve are a few of the giant new set out from BehaviorBody. The 60'S Models set is filled with what I call "natural stance" poses as well as some fun and dramatic departures. The 60s were all of those things of course. The full set comes with pose stands, hud and mirrored poses.
I am wearing the new Zoe skin from Tuli. Find it at the skin fair!
Hair: .:[ Tiny Bird ]:. Kissy Kissy - Stein Silver
Skin: [:T:] Zoe / sunkissed :: 03 Discotheque
Clothing: **Angelwing** Franken-Fae dress
Shoes: NLA
Poses by:BehaviorBody
Posted by Chic Aeon in skins
Meet Zoe, Tuli's release for the Vanity Universe Skin Fair. If you glance from time to time at the style notes at the bottom of my posts, you have probably seen that Tuli's Gina 04 from the Dressing Room is my everyday skin of choice. Zoe is similar to Gina. There seem to be more air brushed contrasts of light and dark and subtle differences that give Zoe a world
Note: I received a urgent plea from a reader to look up the word "wizened" as Zoe was SO beautiful. Indeed, I used the word incorrectly. What I MEANT to say is that she looks wise beyond her years. That word, it seems --- even in the middle of my night when typing -- is "wisened". What a difference one letter can make. Hopefully many of you read my intent and not my typing. Interestingly enough the spell checker doesn't understand that wisened is a word -- and there may have been my problem. :D
One of my favorite additions to the new skin line are the eight (yes EIGHT) different tattoo eyebrow colors. I often do a little cringe when I wear hair that contrasts boldly with brow colors. Having a large assortment of brow choices definitely solves that problem. Lip tattoos -- in abundance -- are also included. AND if you are in a new Version 2 viewer you can stack tattoos. Here I am wearing black eyebrows and an earth toned lipstick. The possible combination are vast.
So if you are a Tuli fan -- or even if you are not *wink*, try out the demos and see if Zoe is a good fit for you. Zoe comes in four skin tones with several makeups, pale, fair, sunkissed and tan.
The Skin Fair runs from 20th of February 2011 till the 6th of March 2011.
Inventing Our Environment
Posted by Chic Aeon in shopping on Thursday, February 17, 2011
If you have been reading this blog over the years, you know that I have a checkered career in content creation from clothes, to poses, to props to prefabs -- and then there was the long term jewelry stint. I have tried my hand at most of what SL let's us create, but I have never built a whole environment.
When I heard a detailed explanation of the rules I was a bit daunted. Build everything -- or almost anyway -- on our parcels. Obviously I had plenty of lovely items in my inventory. When I first moved in I put a fair amount out on my land. But over the last week or so I have systematically replaced the work of other designers with my own. Now all my work isn't the same quality of the things I have replaced. Some is, some isn't. But in the doing I have discovered something. The joy of living in a space that you have truly created. I know now how to make fanciful foliage groupings and trees from my own textures. Rocks and a very cool sculpty bed with homemade poses sits beyond my sim boarder in the open air gazebo you see in the background.
My house has more fancy scripting that I ever expected I could (or would) create and it is a lovely spot for visitors and for me. All in all it is quite lovely and definitely feels like "mine".
Along with some old favorites in this post are some great new boots from Baby Monkey. The Biker Boot details are impressive, with the shoes not really matching. One tongue is down, one up -- a realistic touch and a bit of quirky fun. Low on scripts which is a priority for me with classes and crowds, they are high on style and that makes them a winner in my book.
The very pretty oriental planter which looks so lovely in my new garden is Meditation on 3 from Pocket Gardens. The prim bamboos are lovely and a departure in style from earlier Pocket Garden groupings. Newness and change; both good things. It can't stay long, but it will have an honored slot in my inventory waiting for another place and time -- and home.
Hair:A&A Amnesha Hair Ash
Skin:[:T:] Gina / tan :: 05 Equinox
Clothing:SD Hold Me Tightly Sweater Pink; [[[ SWANSONG ]]] Timeless Jeans (Sunrise)
Shoes:BM Biker Boot V2 right Wine
Accessories:Gems & Kisses - Gems - Black
Poses by:Diesel Works
Designers -- PLEASE
Posted by Chic Aeon in comment
So I know I have been lax blogging lately. I have lots of irons in the fire and only so much time.
And that brings me to a once again plea.
Designers --- PLEASE send us photos with your review copies. I can't be alone in this. Some of us get tons of review copies and only have so much time. I try to faithfully go through everything sent to me. But when I get a pack of 12 or so new releases with absolutely no hint of what they might be?
You got it. They go in the trash. That is not what I want and presumably not what you want since you sent them. So please include some vendor photos in a notecare (best) or at least package with vendor pictures on the box.
I am guessing that 90 per cent or so of the bloggers out there really DO care about this issue.
I and the blogger community at large (I am guessing) wish you the best of success. We just need a little help doing our "jobs".
Center Stage
I used to have a landmark in my "photo op" folder called RED STAGE :D. Like many places, it disappeared over time. I thought of that red satined theater today when I was trying out the new Showdolls stage prop from POSEUR. I have to admit that it is nice to stay home and work*.
The stage works very well, with good on-off lighting that makes for super easy shadows. The textures are superb and I felt like I could reach out and stroke that luscious drapery. Optional stardust particles add to the fun if you so choose and the set up looks great out in the world with Hollywood style metal framework.
Happily I had a new cabaret set from deviousMind. Chandra keeps me well supplied with risque wear and this one is darling. I have my favorites of course and this new Queen of Hearts set has some great pieces. I love the headress. So vintage, so much fun. The pasties are to die for and who knew I had the widest spanning nipples around? Not I. Parts are adjustable of course with click resize for easy fitting. The heart tattoos ad and extra touch and the garter is much fun. All in all a great set!
The Showdolls stage comes with its own collection of poses as you might expect, but you can also use the stage with other props. Here I added the new Playtime set from *chanimations.
Want to play poker? Even if you lose -- it will be fun!
Hair: (Posh) ; Oh Darling ; Midnight
Skin: []::Tuli::[] The Dressing Room :: Gina 04
Clothing: !dM Queen of Hearts
Shoes: BAX Prestige - black
Accessories: !dM Queen of Hearts
Poses by:POSEUR and *chanimations
Patterns on Patterns
Posted by Chic Aeon in shopping on Monday, February 14, 2011
A quick late night post to highlight a couple of fun new releases. These Peace & Love Inc. Low Jeans from *TuttiFrutti* are some of the most fun I have seen in awhile. Bold patterns reminiscent of those Peace and Love days for sure. They come with two sets of prim bottoms. I chose the bell bottoms to keep in the retro theme, but the scrunched rolled up cuffs are equally nice.
For the technophiles among you, we have the new 2REAL LED belt buckle with belt. You can type several different messages into the programmable memory and your words scroll across your belly button. I can imagine the fun some guys would have with this. The belt itself has plenty of style choices so if you are someone that loves to play with your clothing, this may be your next toy. It has a very interesting and new to me resize script which lets you choose width and depth separately so it can accommodate both gals and guys.
Hair:Calico Ingmann Tracy - Dark Raven
Skin: []::Tuli::[] The Dressing Room :: Gina 04
Clothing: *TuttiFrutti* Peace & Love Inc. Low Jeans; PARADISIS Cold Kiss : Sweater ; 2REAL LEDBELT BUCKLE v1.1
Shoes:ABOMB Chic Wedges
Accessories:::MEZZO::Square long necklace Black
Poses by:EverGlow
28 Kisses
There has been an advertisement on television the last few weeks talking about the number of first kisses we each have. The magic numerals are 2 and 8. Twenty eight first kisses.
I am pretty sure I haven't fulfilled my quota *wink*. I remember Bobby in first grade as well as my last kiss. There were some fairly stellar ones along the way. I am not complaining.
Still, there are a few empty slots to fill.
I am wearing part of the new Elaine set from Blue Blood. The poses are some of my personal favorites from a large collection out at EverGlow.
Hair: A&A Cookie Hair 1
Skin:[:T:] Gina / fair :: 04 Galaxy [:T:] Gina / fair / lips :: Ruin
Clothing:+++BB+++ Elaine BLACK
Shoes: BAX Prestige Boots Black Leather
Poses by: EverGlow
Queen of Hearts
One photo packed full of newness. Hair from Amacci, jewelry from Aluinn, oh so skimpy outfit from Vextra Fashion and a group gift backdrop and pose set from (*chanimations . Lots of goodness wrapped up in one small package :D. Enjoy!
Hair:Amacci Hair Coralee II ~ Sangria
Skin: [:T:] Gina / fair :: 04 Galaxy with [:T:] Mask 2 (tintable)
Clothing:*VEXTRA FASHION* "Bree" black / red
Accessories:Aluinn's Journey Jewelry Set
Poses by:(*chanimations - "Queen of Hearts"
Soft Desert Winds
Posted by Chic Aeon in color challenge on Friday, February 11, 2011
There is something about the desert --
its soft breeze and warm caress, its elemental nature that reminds us of our pasts.
My choice for RED week is a fantasy outfit from Deviance. It speaks of times forgot or yet unborn. My locale? A sandy new dreamscape from Garden of Dreams.
Hair: Calico Ingmann Tracy - Blood
Skin: [:T:] Gina / fair :: 04 Galaxy; [:T:] Mask 2 and lipstick
Clothing:Deviance-Enchantress- red
Poses by:BehaviorBody
The Attitude That Comes With Feathers
There is more than just feathers inside the "FrouFrou" box from DeviousMind. It comes complete with attitude. Boasting plenty of choices (this being one of the most covered up) you can while away the hours in burlesque mode -- with or without a partner to show off for.
A perfect accompaniment for this costume is the new Timeless Diva pose set from BehaviorBody. The set comes with 18 poses plus mirrored versions, hud and pose stand. There are some very nice sits included in the release also. Show off that attitude with grace and style.
Hair: Amacci Hair Paula ~ Black Coal
Skin: [:T:] Gina / fair :: 04 Galaxy
Clothing: !dM FrouFrou - red (new)
Shoes: BAX Prestige black
Accessories: dM FrouFrou - red
Poses by: BehaviorBody - Timeless Diva (new)
Flower Fields and Butterfly Dreams
The plaid jacket is by +KiiToS!!+ which is apparently being renamed to "pivaaca". The longer red coat is by ::C'est la vie !:: . My poses are new releases from HelaMiyo.
I was promoted at the school yesterday which earned me a larger piece of land. It was a lovely afternoon decorating in Asian theme. I spent most of my prims outside in the garden areas. The partially walled retreat complete with Chinese flags at the entrance is filled to the brim with flower fields from UrbanizeD. So pretty! The house in the background comes complete with multi-choice indoor and outdoor textures for the windows. AND -- drumroll, please -- I actually made the script myself. Well sort of. I had the help of a great teacher who spent two hours with us. I made a lot of changes to the script and will make more, so I am a PROUD little builder at the moment. On off recessed lighting adds a nice touch for the evenings. And, no -- this isn't a sales pitch. I doubt the tiny house will ever make it to the Marketplace.
I am making progress with the new Kirstens Viewer 21(4). A kind soul explained where the camera controls reside (right where they should be of course) and I am making headway on the depth of field settings which are needed to balance out the sharp contrast of foreground and background if you have a distance shot like this one. So all is well in my corner of the world.
Hair: A&A Amnesha Hair Ash
Skin:[]::Tuli::[] The Dressing Room :: Gina 04
Clothing: P-Coat *Check* Open ver.; ::C'est la vie !:: woolcoat(red)
Shoes: BAX Prestige black
Poses by:HelaMiyo (new)
Hitting the Books
Hence, the office-like setting seems very appropriate. The new Sofia Desk from Cheeky Pea comes completely set up with everything you might need for your home workspace. There is even a painting and flowers. And of course COFFEE.
The furniture (or prop) comes complete with twelve Single Animations, nine in the chair and three reached from the table leg. So two people can pose at the same time,
Still, I am enjoying the new S21 viewer. Multiple attachment points and tattoo layers (yeah) and I suspect I can tint those white based makeups now too.
So far, I have not found how to open the camera control pop-up. There is no View menu in S21 and the forums have not answered my call as yet. So if any of you stumble across it, please let me know. And until then expect to see a few photos at odd (or at least unplanned) angles. *wink*
Click on any small photo for a high rez version.
Hair: A&A Amnesha Hair Ash
Skin: [:T:] Gina / tan / lips :: Sienna
Clothing: :. WoE .: Ginger Sweater (Clay); [Miseria] Delirium Jeans - Coal 1
Shoes: A-BOMB Khitten Shoes- Leather/Thick Heel(
Accessories: MIEL SEN NECKLACE
Poses by:The desk and Diesel Works
I'm in LOVE!
Posted by Chic Aeon in comment on Monday, February 7, 2011
Just a quick COMPLETELY UNRETOUCHED photo from the BRAND NEW Kirsten S21 viewer that came out today. My blurry morning led me to the website where I downloaded this new version. You can get rid of the blur and keep the shadows. I am in heaven.
I turned everything on that I could think of including things I have no idea about and I have clear, beautiful photos with none of that "artistic" blurriness that was so frustrating for me.
The earlierS20 version crashed for me, but improvements in the server code have since solved that. The new S21 Interface works so well. I am a happy gal. I am sure there will be things that I miss, but I am going to give this a try for awhile. Maybe not today during class; that would be a bit tricky since I don't know where everything is, but definitely in my off hours.
Oh, that shine on my shoulder is most likely my facelight on dim which I don't need. But you get the idea. Works great for me. Two thumbs up. Find it HERE.
Got to run. Styling notes in my previous post.