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Stats Suggest That At Least 1 Player In This Pile Is Gay
BuzzFeed reports:
This provocative two-page spread leading into an article in the January 2012 issue of Philadelphia Magazine about the challenges of being openly gay in professional sports. The article by Robert Huber is well worth the read, but the image speaks volumes.
There are currently no openly gay athletes hailing from the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL, though a handful have come out after retiring.
The statistic referenced in the image is, according to Huber, the "generally accepted rule of thumb [that] suggests that 10 percent of the population is homosexual. There are more than 100 players currently on our four local pro teams. So it's clear that whatever teams we get behind, some of the players we're now applauding or booing are gay."
The graphic pictured above does not appear alongside the online version of Huber's piece.
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These were great. I left the bacon off
Mini Quiches
Photo: Antonis Achilleos
Five ingredients and 5 minutes of baking gets you these mini quiches, tasty pastry cups filled with egg and cheese and topped with bacon.
Yield: 6 quiches
More From Real Simple
Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
- Calcium: 66mg
- Calories: 320
- Calories from fat: 1%
- Carbohydrate: 19g
- Cholesterol: 218mg
- Fat: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Iron: 2mg
- Protein: 11mg
- Saturated fat: 5g
- Sodium: 219mg
- 6 hard-cooked eggs
- 6 prebaked puff-pastry shells
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1/3 cup grated Fontina cheese
- Crumbled bacon
- Slice eggs crosswise and place 1 in each prebaked puff-pastry shells (found in the frozen-food section). Top with fresh sage and grated Fontina cheese. Bake at 400° F until the cheese melts (about 5 minutes). Garnish each tiny quiche with crumbled bacon, if desired.
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Mini Quiches Recipe at a Glance
- COURSE: Appetizers, Hors d'Oeuvres, Snacks
- CUISINE: French
- MAIN INGREDIENT: Eggs
- COOKING METHOD: Bake
- PUBLICATION: Real Simple
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This item is discontinued.
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Get a boot that won't let you down, check out the Danner 16012 Workman Insulated Waterproof Work boots today! Order these high quality Danner boots online before they're gone!
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text:
It was a whirlwind week.
She got me completely twisted.
I knew from the start she was a G. I knew she had the power to break my heart, but I think it's what I needed. Sometimes you have to feel pain to feel alive again.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a cutter. I'm in no way depressed. I love my life, to be quite frank. I just needed that surge of heartbreak to remind me again. I feel revitalized...well...it doesn't happen all at once, but I can feel it flowing back through me.
I have a purpose again. I have a renewed energy. She gave my heart CPR.
Most guys would be ecstatic to have the experience I did.
I look at it like skydiving. It was exhilarating. It was a fantastic rush that forever changed my life. I wasn't bored anymore. I wasn't simply going through the motions. I looked death straight in the eyes, and I survived to tell the tale. I even did it with a smile. Some people get addicted to it. Personally I only needed to do it once for myself. I'd do it again for someone else if they needed the support though.
Love, on the other hand...love is different. While most guys would be happy to brag to their friends about having a one night stand with a hot girl (granted my one night stand lasted a week, haha), I'm actually sad now that it's over. I miss her. She has a certain rhythm in her movement I've never seen before. I could actually feel the music in her. She talked with a syncopation. She flowed like water. She was an angel.
Maybe I'll never see her again. If I don't, I'll always have an amazing story to tell anyone who listens about how it's possible to hold your dreams in your hand, if only for a fleeting moment. That is a gift in itself, and I will always be appreciative. I'm not going to give up that easily though. Too many people in this world give up on their dreams and relegate themselves to living a so-called "normal life" because they're too scared to jump out of the plane.
I was one of those people for too long.
I like the rhythm she moves to, and I'll never give up on my dreams...
About the Author - Brian Penny creates music under the name Mr. Versable. He tweets under the name @Versability. He believes in true love, and won't rest until he's found his...oh, and his last blog cost Bank of America a whole lotta dough!


text: Kroger announced Monday that they're recalling cake Mardi Gras King Cakes made in stores in four states, including Georgia, because it may contain pecans not listed on the label. The cakes were also sold in stores in South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. Customers who purchased the product between December 30, 2012 and February 4, 2013, should return the product to stores for a full refund or replacement. The product is specifically labeled:• Bakery Mardi Gras King Cake Cinnamon, in-store made, with "sell by" dates of February 7, 2013 and before, under the following UPC Code: 4157327767.Kroger has removed affected items from store shelves and initiated its customer recall notification system that alerts customers who may have purchased recalled Class 1 products through register receipt tape messages and phone calls. Consumers who have questions about this recall may contact Kroger toll-free at 800-KROGERS (800-576-4377). For more information, please visit www.kroger.com/recalls.


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Hello, Friends! It's WTF Wednesday with Mark! »
You guys, it has been a long couple of weeks. Since I last wrote, I have had two root canals, started summer school, and am about to get two more root canals (I used to have a really bad dentist). I've been flossing more, sleeping less, and spent the Fourth of July week (yes, the whole week) in Modesto, which was so incredibly hot and stifling that I did nothing but sit in Allen's parents' air-conditioned house and eat burritos. I also set off some fireworks. Allen has an amazing video of me running and screaming from a sparkler, which suggests that perhaps I should stay away from anything that is fire-based in the future.
I wish Allen's parents had a pool so that I could have escaped the 100 degree wearer, but the only pool owned by that family belongs to Allen's aunt and uncle who chose not to invite me over for a dip. Because I am a reasonable adult, I did not sneak over there in my American flag speedo. Not like these awesome bears who don't give a shit about your pool party. Bears, you see, just want to have fun. And cool off. And not have to beg Allen to allow them to turn a fan on.
I bet Allen wishes I were more like this cat and less like those awesome bears. Because this cat is obedient, and will roll over and stand and raise its paws, and those bears will just pee in your pool and then also throw water balloons at your children.
Speaking of water balloons, I went to Allen's family reunion this weekend and emptied approximately 375,000 water balloons on the children there. Then, when I ran out, I just started filling buckets with water and throwing them at the kids, laughing as they scrambled away, learning a harsh lesson about the world. The harsh lesson being that everyone gets punished when Uncle Mark isn't invited to swim in the relatives' pool.
That's it for this week! I am all tuckered out, and still have to spend the next 15 hours writing PowerPoints. (Pro tip: Don't take on a new highly theoretical summer class just because you think it will be fun! It won't be!) Expect a super-sized dose of anger next time!
Send me links for next week and have a Wednesday full of pools parties!
[photo from This Blog Rules via Buzzfeed]
∞ posted at 12:16 by youtalkfunny
Hello, friends! It's WTF Wednesday, with Mark! »
You guys, video games get me really stressed out. So much so that sometimes I can't sleep after playing. That's when I have to start looking at beautiful things to calm me down, like this flooded meadow in Austria. Okay, stop reading here for a second, watch the video, and then let's talk about it!
[Can't see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!
Did you watch the video? No, dude, did you watch it? It is BEAUTIFUL! I don't know if it is wrong to find wrecked things this beautiful, but when I saw the video I tried to wake Allen up so that he could watch it with me and then we could plan a trip to Austria to dive there in person, but he just kicked me. Then I realize how expensive equipment and learning I dive would be so I gave up on that dream as well, but I think that along with the salt flats of Bolivia, this is one of the top five places I would like to go someday but probably never will because I hate outside.
Hating outside pretty much means I also do not enjoy many of the animals that can come visit me in my home (I do in they, but I'm not going to go out and look for them). I have also never found birds (except the Mockingjay, holla!) to be particularly cute or exciting, but then Buzzfeed ran a piece on fat birds and I was in LOVE. Look at these gorgeous monsters! They're fat, they're proud, and they look like they want to give me some serious cuddles followed by one hell of a pecking! Not that I'm going to go out and look for them, though. Fuck outside!
And fuck zoos! Fuck zoos with a rock! That's right, zoos are the worst and this polar bear is going to show you what's up by cracking the glass in his enclosure with a rock. And then he is going to eat you and cuddle with me. And the birds.
[Can't see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!
That's it for this week! Please send me links and PS3 recommendations for next week, and have a harpy-free Wednesday!
[image via Buzzfeed, uncredited because that's how Buzzfeed rolls.]
∞ posted at 13:56 by seriousmeaveness
Hello, friends! It's WTF Wednesday with Mark! »
Please don't feed the raccoons.
You guys, the cruising life is not for me. I spent the last week on one of Carnival's horrific floating frat houses, and between the exciting dinners with my family (not a dry eye or unflipped piece of furniture in the place), the delicious cafeteria food, and the loud people (not to mention children; children everywhere!!!) I feel about as relaxed as if I'd only worked an 80-hour week instead of my usual 60.
I am really glad to be back on dry land. Now that the shaking and rolling that is charmingly referred to as "sea legs" is behind me, and Allen is once again talking to me after being forced to spend a week on the high seas together, things are good again. I was even excited to get back to work and see my coworkers! It doesn't hurt that there's a potluck on the first day back and I just ate my body weight in delicious potato and cauliflower curry.
Let's see what's going on the internet these days. That's something else I was excited about, getting back to my websites and catching up on everything Lindsay Lohan did this week (nothing).
Sloths are really in right now, did you know that? After Kristen Bell freaked the fuck out over being near one, people are going crazy for these adorable animals! (Quick question: Are sloths dangerous?) Even Animal Planet is getting in on the act, and running either a web series or a real series (I am not in the habit of watching animal shows, only ladies fighting in pretty houses) on sloths and how awesome they are. They're even getting them at their most intimate and running clips of baby sloths getting potty-trained, which is awesome because baby animals peeing and pooping is adorable and I love it and they smile an make noises and when I do that I just have to spend a night in jail.
[Can't see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!]
Raccoons are also adorable but I have a feeling i'm the only one that thinks so. And I bet I would also freak out if raccoons were coming into my neighborhood and eating all my Doritos. Although, I've never really liked Doritos. When we first came to the U.S. my mom tried some and declared that they tasted like rat droppings (how she knows this I have no idea. She also claims root beer tastes like bee poison. Life in Russia was hard.). I've been off of them ever since. Also, when I was a kid, a raccoon climbed into my aunt's window and killed her or something (that's what my aunt tells me, but she is also still alive, so…), and it had little human hands (again, just repeating what I'm told), and I've been scared shitless of them since. But they're cute from afar, right?
Here are some dogs chilling with fans and being all cute. Just the idea of laying on the floor with a fan makes me want to take a nap. Did I mention that everywhere we went in the cruise was super hot? I am surprised I do not get heat stroke. Or maybe I did, and that's why I'm so excited to be at work. YOU DECIDE!
That's it for this week! Please send me links for next week and have a Dorito-free Wednesday!
[Photo by Brad Woodard / KHOU 11 News]
∞ posted at 15:51 by seriousmeaveness
Hello, friends! It's Mark's WTF Wednesday! »
You guys, this has been an amazing whirlwind of a semester and I am so excited to be done with it and spend a few weeks just sitting at home, listening to audiobooks, and latch-hooking a rug in my muumuu. True story: My parents bought me one at Ross because I liked my mom's so much when we were on vacation! I have really been enjoying audiobooks lately. I feel that listening to The Wind-up Bird Chronicles is the only way I am ever going to get through the entire thing. This is my current life goal.
Of course, none of this is to be! Soon I will be embarking on a Carnival Cruise Lines adventure with my entire family and returning to summer school, which is four hours per class! I remember how I thought being an adult would be super fun because I would get to do whatever the fuck I wanted and eat cinnamon toast crunch all day. Now, I don't even get a summer vacation! Being old sucks!
What doesn't suck is getting submissions from all of my friends (read: you). This week, I am especially grateful to Kim who sent me a "WTF is this?" submission and saved me from doing hours of internet research! WTF are we WTF-ing about, you ask? Ducks! Ducks in frocks! Ducks in frocks strutting down a runway looking like Lady Gaga on a good mental health day! Kim doesn't know how she feels about it, but I think we can both agree that the two ducks in pink dresses and hats are f-I-e-r-c-e! The ducks don't look that upset, but I certainly can't make any sense of it. What do you think?
What's more WTF than ducks is Lazarus hamsters rising from the dead. Actually, I don't know what's more WTF: the hamster that dug its way out of a boxy grave, or the family he was living with not knowing that hamsters hibernate if they are too cold. That's why you need to keep the heat up! They're desert animals! Bunny used to hella like to chill on a heating pad. She used to like to poop on it, too, but I mostly remember the sitting. Get a book on hamsters, there are like five hundred.
That's it for this week! We've been a little slow in true WTF-ness, so please pay it forward and send me links for next week. Paying it forward is probably a bad example, though. Hayley Joel Osment's career died at the end of that movie!
Have a safe Wednesday!
∞ posted at 16:28 by youtalkfunny
Hello, friends! It's Mark's WTF Wednesday! »
You guys, two epic things happened in the past week! First, I turned 28 and then I got monumentally sick. I was so sick, in fact, that I showed up to my own awesome birthday party woozy and coughing up a storm, but still managed to have an awesome time and offend my mother with my horrible jokes. She sat in a corner of the room the entire night and sent me pictures of myself from her phone with desperate captions begging me I calm down and stop swearing so much. I couldn't do it! I love to swear! Maybe that's why I'm still sick.
You know how sick I am? I am writing this post from bed, where I am curled up with my knitting, Charmed queued up on Netflix (I am just starting to watch this show! Ten years late!), and my phone all ready to call up Allen and make demands of him. He doesn't buy it anymore, though. Allen used to be at my beck and call when I was sick, but now he just tells me to stop pretending I'm going to die and drink some Theraflu. Can you imagine that he and I will have been together for four years on Sunday? Gross! I hope things don't get too serious!
Man, am I feeling ornery this week. That's why I'm please as punch (take that!) that a zoo couldn't get pandas to mate in captivity. Not only did pandas Sunshine and Sweetie fail to produce an heir, but they straight-up wrestled instead of doing the deed. I can relate to this because this is what also happens in my personal life. Every time I try to hug Allen at night, he kicks me. Hard. Then he blames me for bothering him because I should know that he is a very precise sleeper and cannot be touched. He also does this fantastic thing where, as soon as I have left the room during the night (even for as little as 30 seconds) he will roll himself into a sushi with ALL of the covers. Then, when I try to get them back, he kicks me! Four years, you guys!
Since this has kind of turned into my "grumpy anniversary post," let me show you a video of a dog freaking out on an escalator (as dogs are wont to do) as the dude accompanying him laughs it up.
That is some adorable shit, you might be thinking, but how are you going to relate that to your own relationship? Easy, you guys. Allen is also a very particular escalator rider! He has to stand on his own step and look serious the entire time! And woe betide anyone who attempts to get on the step with him; he will put his arms out like a plane and prevent you (this is also how he dances), and if you still persist he will kick you. And by you, I mean me. And by kick, I mean ask politely to step up or down. Allen, like this adorable dog, knows that riding the escalator is serious business.
Let me end this for you with a clip of a baby otter squeaking. I'm going to post it without comment and not even relate it to Allen. This, I feel, is the way anniversary present I can give him because I am not sharing any more of his personal history and embarrassing moments.
That's it for this week! Send me links for next week and have a love-filled Wednesday!
∞ posted at 13:32 by seriousmeaveness
Hello, friends! It's WTF Wednesday! »
You guys, spring break is over for another year. I spent all of last week working on things that I didn't have time for and then recovering for three days because Allen and I chose to go see The Hunger Games at the midnight opening instead of waiting a couple of days to see it at a reasonable hour.
That shit was off the hook (pardon my French!), and I am delighted to tell you that Allen and I loved it! (I know, it wasn't word-for-word, but I have all the books and can re-read them whenever I want.) Allen was incredibly embarrassed the entire time (as usual) as I insisted on making conversation with the other people in line, and then screaming "Every man for himself!" as I pushed past groups of schoolgirls to get good seats. One young lady got confused, ran into a pole, and rolled into the entrance. In the spirit of the event, I shouted "Stop slowing me down!" as I jumped over her, but was later chastised by Allen for not being nice to children…at a movie about children killing children. However, when I brought this up to him, he just shook his head and went to buy popcorn, leaving me to contemplate my own horridness.
Due to this movie (and all the dystopian fiction I read), I do not have a positive view of the future. I think the fact that the Denver Zoo has come up with a car that runs on poop is an omen that we are only years away from sending our children into an arena to bludgeon each other with bricks. A car that runs on poop, you guys. How does that even happen? More importantly, why am I so upset and worried that it is only a short time before Allen is forcing me into a high-fiber diet so that he can drive me around. Can you imagine the smell? Why does the article not mention the smell? Do you think there might be a smell? Can you imagine hipsters pooping into buckets in order to ride motorized bikes? Why am I so obsessed with poop? Why can't I stop?
Here's a question: How do snakes poop? I have never considered this before, but then I read about this dude who had 400 snakes in his house, and I started thinking about whether snakes produce pellets or, uh, goo. Also: Why are snakes so scary? I am sure they do not want to eat me, but I remember my second grade teacher reading us a book about a boa constrictor eating a kid, and I didn't know English too well and didn't understand that it was fiction. That was a horrible year for me.
Something that isn't poop but is super-gross anyway is Alicia Silverstone feeding her baby like a bird and then posting the video online in (I assume) a desperate attempt to stay relevant past the mess that was Excess Baggage. That was her worst movie—until this monstrosity. Listen, do whatever it is that you like with your obviously distressed kid, but do not post it online. That means you too, Jennifer Coburn, and that one mom who starved her seven-year-old and wrote about it for Vogue.
That's it for this week! Please send me links for next week and have a Wednesday not fraught with thoughts about poop!
[photo by Eric Bégin via Flickr]
∞ posted at 14:03 by seriousmeaveness
Hello, friends! It's WTF Wednesday! »
You guys, I am getting old. I went to the doctor yesterday and he told me that my body is no longer able to process wheat in a way that will not give me the worst cramps in the history of cramps. (Can dudes take Midol for cramps? Please advise.) So today, instead of eating a delicious seitan sandwich, I am chugging potato-leek soup out of a carton and crying into my grapes (of which I have two varieties. I find that the added salt really gives them a kick!) while the people I often have lunch with look at me pityingly. Perhaps one day I will learn to enjoy a gluten-free low-sodium diet, but until then I am going to milk it for all it's worth. Especially with Allen, who might buy me video games to cheer me up. (Note to Allen: Buy me video games!!)
Maybe not eating wheat will make me more pleasant to be around (according to my brother, King of Celiac Information), but I doubt it. I don't even know how I will process that kind of change as being grumpy is part of my overall gestalt and is what makes me incredibly charming and fun to be around. However, there are cracks in my foundation already, as I found this video of penguins rolling around in first class adorable, as opposed to unsanitary or annoying to passengers who have popped a benzo before takeoff. Also, I didn't even wonder whether penguins bite or scratch (side note: Allen and I were trying to clean Ms. Cleo's cage this weekend and I was holding her so that we could chill. She was OK until she suddenly went into attack-rabbit mode and scratched my arms up in a way that looked like I had been cutting myself. I've had to wear long sleeves all week.)
Oh, here's something adorable and more my speed: wild swine terrorizing plants and people. Watch out, upstate New York! I think this is partly delightful. I know that people's crops are getting ruined and such (which sucks, especially now that I am only eating vegetables covered in my tears), but it seems a fair turnabout considering how many people eat pigs. Pigs are taking it back! (Wasn't there a show about evil gangster street pigs in Saturday mornings in the '90s? I really enjoyed that!)
Finally, I bring you the latest in a long string of reasons to hate the entire Trump family. If it's not them being mean to Joan Rivers, it's them hunting and then posing in front of their kill with douchey smiles. Awesome! Why doesn't everyone travel to a foreign country to kill giant animals? Also, why is the defense of "the animal wasn't even endangered" ever accepted by anyone? The Trumps aren't endangered animals, but no one is shooting them! Also also: why does the young Trump on TV use so much product in his hair? Isn't there a shortage of that?
That's it for this week. Send me links for next time, and have a douchebag-free Wednesday!
[photo of potato-leek soup by Shawn McClung, and penguin in South Africa by *Kicki*]
∞ posted at 15:53 by seriousmeaveness
Hello, friends! It's WTF Wednesday! »
You guys, Dance Moms! How was I even alive before this show? There is nothing more awesome than coming home after a long day of work and watching some ladies yell at each other while their daughters cringe in fear. It gets even better when the dance teacher rolls in and yells at everyone so hard that her vocal chords break and she can't even talk. This is also usually the time that Allen gets annoyed and takes the computer into the other room so he doesn't have to hear me giggling. He tried to watch second season with me, but was frustrated and dismayed when he learned that no one on the show had learned anything from season 1, and everyone was still screaming, shouting, and whining about dance lessons. I tried to discuss this with him, but he was already in the other room, battling zombies with his army of adorable plants.
Allen doesn't think there is anything more disgusting than Dance Moms, but I think that a giant hissing cockroach giving birth could be considered a little grosser. I mean, in reality, birth is a beautiful thing and a miracle of nature, but in photos it is often both frightening and pornographic. Since I have already suffered through the photos, I thought I would let you (possibly) lose your lunch over a sight even more frightening than A Serbian Film. Obviously the photos are safe for work, but probably not for your fragile mind.
You ever think about octopuses? I do, sometimes. Generally not on a pleasant way because as a child I had a fear that an octopus would strangle me. I also had fears about being pushed underwater in the Dead Sea and being eaten by a shark. I thought octopuses were both mean and scary and saw them as completely unrelatable creatures. Except now I learn that these evil sea-dwellers—whose dreams consist only of inking me in the face and dragging me to a watery grave—also like HDTV. You know who else likes HDTV? I DO! And Allen won't buy me one! Octopus: 1, Allen: -2,084.
You're still freaking out about those roaches, aren't you? Or have you started watching an entire season of Dance Moms? Either way, you're going to need some of this virtual eyewash to wipe your trauma away! Enjoy! Polar bears!
That's all for this week! Please send me links for next week and have a non-traumatic Wednesday!
[Photo by Steve Dunleavy via Flickr]
∞ posted at 15:40 by seriousmeaveness
Hello, friends! It's WTF Wednesday! »
You guys, by the time you read this I will have ruined Valentine's day. Yes, you read that right, Allen will have suffered on that holy day of love just as much as he suffers living with me every other day of the year. And this time I didn't even mean to make it horrible! Damn you cold and flu season!
Around Thursday of last week I started suffering from the plague. I don't know if you guys have ever had plague but it is pretty bad. Pustules and vomit everywhere, sweat upon brows, demonic screaming. And worse than the symptoms is Allen's reaction. Instead of putting on some crazy plague-doctor outfit and trying to heal me he makes me a glass of lemon juice and tells me to take some Theraflu and stop telling people that I am dying because I will be disappointed when I actually do die and no one believes it. I asked him once how I would know if about that if I were already dead, but he just shook his head and told me to be quiet because the commercial break was over and The Simpsons was on. Real nice, buddy.
Since I am home alone I thought I would cheer you up with some things that will make you go aw and vomit rainbows. Then we could be twins, except I'm not vomiting rainbows, I'm vomiting the Boca Burgers that I ate for breakfast. I was also going to spend this time teaching myself how to play "video games" on my Omnichord but Allen has informed me he does not like that song. Allen ruins everything!
Here's a kid who doesn't ruin anything. Sophia is just chilling at the zoo when she sparks a personal connection with a lion. This is one of those "I don't know if it's adorable" moments because she is at a zoo, but she also seems to be communicating with the lion on a deep level, understanding his frustration at being behind a glass wall for the amusement of humans. I was almost hoping that this would turn into one of those Harry Potter moments and Sophia would somehow allow the lion out using only her mind and magical powers. I wish I had magical powers. If I had magical powers I wouldn't be sick and also bored.
Let's drop Sophia for a second, because I want to whine. You know what the worst part of being sick is? It's your belief that you're just going to chill at home and have a good time, but then you're miserable and bored and nothing good is on TV and you don't want to do any of your hobbies and you're all alone an afraid that people think you're faking. Fuck the flu.
You can't trust anyone these days, not even animals. I know this video is meant to be a joke, but I fully believe that out companion animals can drive people away. When I was first dating Allen he almost broke up with me because Ms. Cleo hated him. She would be all nice with me, and then when I handed her over to Allen, she would try to eat him (she is like half his size, she is such a big rabbit) and he would curse in Spanish and ask if we could go to a room that was less dangerous. Now that Ms. Cleo lives with us, she and Allen are more friendly toward each other, but I would not put it past her to barrel out of her cage at some point, murder him, forge an intricate suicide note, and hide the body. All because she wants attention, not because she likes me.
Finally, if you've always wanted a beautiful piece of taxidermy on your life but could not resolve your interests in animal heads and your cruelty-free tendencies, I give you crochetdermy by artist Shauna Richardson. So cool, right? No animals are harmed and the pieces are beautiful. I feel that it's kind of like fake meat. We have fake venison and fake squid and fake beef, so what is the innate harm in a fake animal mounted on one's wall? Perhaps it is even a good anti-hunting conversation piece!
That's all for this week. Send me links for next week, and have a safe Wednesday out there!
[Crochetdermy hare and baboons by Shauna Richardson. Plague doctor illustration from jaggitha via Flickr]
∞ posted at 12:48 by seriousmeaveness
Hello, friends! It's WTF Wednesday! »
You guys, I am going to end this semester with superpowers. This is not because Allen and I have been experimenting with disastrous chemical compounds or doing dry runs of superhero vs. villain (Allen is the reluctant villain, of course) in our spare time. No, it is because I spend one evening a week yelling at people in a darkened basement. This by itself is OK, because basements aren't that scary and I have full audio/video hookup to play as many Real Housewives videos as I want, but I am also across the hall from the "cancer risk" lab and next door to "possible radiation." Down the hall is a room full of cut-up dead people that scared the shit out of me when I was forced to visit it in high school (not as a punishment but as a science learning experience).
I've been trying to figure out what kind of power I will develop, and I've narrowed it down to something that would have to do with being slightly dangerous, overwhelmingly adorable, and able to take naps in any location or position (god, I love to nap). In short, I will likely be able to morph into a sloth at will.
Being a sloth will be awesome because sloths are really in right now. For instance, only recently, amazing celebrity Kristen Bell (omg! I have all of Veronica Mars on DVD! I once cut a whole week of college just to watch two entire seasons of that show!) had a full-on panic attack upon discovering that a sloth was nearby.
Could you imagine how awesome it would be if your superpower was to make other people have anxiety attacks of happiness? No one would be able to rob a bank while I was nearby! Murders would be a thing of the past! "Adore my cuteness!" would be my battle cry!
After fighting evil (Allen), I would happily go and hang out with my sloth friends on a sloth farm and eat bananas and leafy greens. I would just have to make sure the other sloths wouldn't be as adorable and try to take over my turf. They've already beaten Lady and the Tramp. Check out the two adorable sloths that are sharing some sort of bean. Adorable.
Although I would be a sloth I would also be an honorary opossum and chill with my pals Pear and Pearl. I know I've featured Pearl before but this was before I knew that she was certified in the art of animal psychoanalysis.
I went to school for many years in order to practice therapy on humans, but I can't even come close to the way Pearl handles rapport, alliance, and resistance. I wish she would open her own graduate school where I could supplement my degree with a Ph.D in hanging out with adorable animals. Call me, Pearl, I want to enroll!
That's it for this week. Please send me links for next week, and try not to rob a bank this Wednesday. I haven't gained my superpowers yet!
[baby sloth photo by Lucy Cooke. Can't see the videos? Watch them on Vegansaurus.com!]
∞ posted at 16:13 by seriousmeaveness


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You follow them on Facebook, read their Tweets, pay money to see their movies and listen to their songs. It's time to finally meet your idols. A website called IfOnly.com hooks you up with celebrity meet-and-greets and even a lunch date or two. Run by San Francisco entrepreneur Trevor Traina ( Danielle Steel's stepson), the site can set up a pow-wow with Shakira for a mere 15K or a 50K meal with Mike Tyson. "We believe that true luxury is not another bauble or thing," reads the site, "but rather the extraordinary experiences we remember and share." Bring your camera.
Root, root, root for the home team with something a little more stylish than a number jersey. Doral-based apparel company Peace Love World's latest collection gets its inspiration from our NBA champs. Get game-day chic by throwing on an "I Am Heat" baseball-style cap or accessorizing with a "Believe" iPhone5 case. Shop for tops, zip-up hoodies and sweat suits at the AmericanAirlinesArena. More stores: www.peaceloveworld.com
Our city gets a bad rap sometimes, but not from cosmetics company Nars, which has come out a pretty homage, the Nars Loves Miami palette. Director of global artistry James Boehmer says the peachy, tawny blush, bronzer, eye shadows, gloss and nail polish were inspired by our attractive female residents. "Miami women are sexy, exuberant and not so serious and that spirit is reflected in the colors," Boehmer told Ocean Drive. $75 at counters at Bloomingdale's Boca, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour.
Even though the weather's cooling down a bit, we Miami gals need all the help we can get to keep from melting. Thanks to Cargo Cosmetics for coming out with a long-wearing, waterproof eyeliner with the rich, creamy feel of a liquid and versatility of a pencil. Swimmables are available in six highly-pigmented shades that stay in place for up to 14 hours. Avocado and sunflower oil create a velvety texture for smooth application and blendability. $18 at www.CargoCosmetics.com, Ulta stores.
Prying eyes recently caught baby North West out and about with her famous parents in a Santa Barbara, Calif., park. Turns out the young lady may have a better stylist than her mother Kim Kardashian. The 5-month-old pampered princess was wearing a smart cashmere cardigan and leggings from UK brand Hucklebones, known for its close attention to tailoring and comfort. Too bad the line doesn't come in adult sizes. Link to the USA site: www.hucklebones.co.uk/shop/index.php/baby.html
Even if you're a Marlins fan you can likely still appreciate superstar NY Yankee Derek Jeter, who revealed his new fragrance, Derek Jeter Driven Rush from Avon last week. Described as "powerful and intense," it is meant to get your adrenaline pumping. Not sure if it improves your game, though. "The scent was inspired by the excitement I've always had from playing the game I love," he says. $28 at www.avon.com
Time to throw one back! LIQS, a line of ready-to-drink "cocktail shots" has arrived. Brough to us from party animals/NYC entrepreneurs Michael Glickman and Harley Bauer, LIQS features craft cocktail quality recipes packaged into unique, innovative ready-to-drink plastic cups. "The sophisticated drinker is no longer satisfied with low-grade spirits and artificial ingredients," said Bauer. "Our blend of premium spirits and natural flavors make enjoying expertly mixed shots convenient in any setting, from boating, pool or beach parties, home entertaining and catered affairs to music festivals and sporting events." Sold in packages of three for $9.99 at Crown Wine & Spirits, Big Daddy's Liquors, I Love Liquor and other South Florida retailers. www.LIQSshot.com
Madeleine Marr


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Hillgrove High's Dominic Early committed to Furman on Monday.
The 6-foot-6, 175-pound small forward was also considering offers from Wofford, Western Carolina,and Gardner-Webb, among others. He got looks from Clemson, East Carolina and Winthrop.
"I think Furman got a steal with [Early]," said his AAU coach, Kenny Loyd of the Georgia Netburners. "Many games during the summer, he led us in scoring. He has NBA range with his 3-pointer, he leads the floor very well and he is starting to incorporate a very good midrange shooting game."
Last year at Hillgrove, Early averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds. He has a 3.4 GPA and plans to major in Computer Science.
September 24th, 2010
1:39 pm
[...] wing forward Dominic Early of Hillgrove (Powder Springs, GA) pledged to Furman. Categories: Prep Basketball News & Notes Tags: Anthony Gill – 2011, College of [...]


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3 Drawer Nightstand
Brushed Nickel Hardware
Bedroom Storage Bench
Show Details
5 Drawer Chest
3 Drawer Vanity Desk
6 Drawer Dresser
The Chelsea Collection brings the modern/contemporary look of today without losing the quality and craftsmanship of the past.
Copyright © 2011 The L.J. Gascho Furniture Company. All Rights Reserved.


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For Dr Who fans
In the film, Susan is a little girl and is seen to be extremely intelligent for her age and for the fact that she's a regular human child. She doesn't seem to be very scared considering she's on an alien planet and she is quite patronising to the adults. TV Susan is easier to relate to despite the fact she is an alien, she's kinder, more helpful and fun.
In these scenes where the Susan's write to the Thals under Dalek supervision, TV Susan is a lot more playful and giggly, and the Daleks seem to prefer the minimalist approach to decor; whereas film Susan writes the letter around the Daleks and their apparent taste for lava lamps in groovy designs. As a rule, the film opts for much more of a camp feel with its psychadelic colours, Thals with glittery eye shadow and salmon coloured walls in the city.
Helen Mirren looking adorable
RoboCop remake delayed until February 2014


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VLC 1.0 "Goldeneye" Now Out
After its debut almost eight and a half years ago, the VideoLAN Client (VLC) media player is finally available in version 1.0.
Even though VDPAU and ffmpeg-mt are still not integrated, VLC developers haven't been sitting on their hands and have brought a few key enhancements to the "Goldeneye" release. VLC now plays DTS TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus surround audio format introduced by Blu-ray, and an uncompromised Blu-ray Linear PCM surround audio no longer shocks the player. The sound format popular on mobile phones, the QCELP codec from Qualcomm Purevoice, is also supported. An improved decoder for WMA 1/2 and RealVideo 3 and 4 is also there.
The demuxer for Blu-ray's M2TS sound format was also improved, as also for the RM and RMVB Real Media containers. The Matroska demuxer also supports Dirac, MLP and RealVideo with MKV files. There's finally an implementation for Blu-ray and AVCHD rendering, although this is still "experimental".
Goldeneye also provides single frame stepping, more precise speed controls, timeshifting, on-the-fly recording for all media, improved subtitles support, surround support for Pulse Audio, on-the-fly decompression of GZIP and BZIP2, a send scanner for the popular DVB-T sticks, global hotkeys, HTML playlist export, numerous improvements in the the QT interface, and compliant interface toolbars.
Issue 168/2014
Tag Cloud
Internet Giants Launch Collaboration to Improve Open Source
TODO group will focus on open source tools in large-scale environments.
Fedora Announces New Partition Manager App
New tool will look like GParted but support a wider range of storage technologies.
Mozilla Releases a New Firefox
New public key pinning feature will help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
Tool Predicts Which Websites Will be Compromised
Carnegie Mellon researchers say 3 million pages could fall down the phishing hole in the next year.
SSH Key Management Guidelines
The US government rolls new best-practice rules for protecting SSH.
Knoppix 7.4 Released
Klaus Knopper announces the latest version of his iconic Live Linux system.
PHP Attack Puts WordPress and Drupal at Risk
All websites that use these popular CMS tools could be vulnerable to denial of service attacks if users don't install the updates.
Heartbleed Bleeds On
According to a report, many potential victims of the Heartbleed attack have patched their systems, but few have cleaned up the crime scene to protect themselves from the effects of a previous intrusion.
Drone Brain Goes Open Source
DARPA and NICTA release the code for the ultra-secure microkernel system used in aerial drones.
Password Management Services Vulnerable to Attack
Should you trust an online service to store your online passwords?


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The AppLift SDK is in full compliance with Google's latest policy change regarding ads in Android apps.
|Advertiser SDK
< 100 kb
|AppLift SDK
< 150 kb
Best-in-class monetization with the AppBrain interstitial
|User friendly banners for app monetization
|Effective control over your app with Remote settings
|Conversion event tracking for campaign finetuning
|Integration time
|< 20 minutes
|< 20 minutes
|Get it on GitHub
|Get it on GitHub
The AppBrain AppLift SDK is present in over 30,000 apps and is downloaded onto millions of phones every day.
The main benefits of AppLift are:
This section explains how to integrate our SDK into your Android app. There are a few steps to getting up and running:
Please contact us directly at [email protected] if you need any assistance, and we will be happy to help you.
In case you want the AppLift SDK, copy the file
appbrain-applift-sdk.jar into the
libs/ folder in the app project directory (if this folder doesn't exist yet then create it first). In case you want
only the features from the advertiser SDK, copy the file
appbrain-advertiser-sdk.jar instead.
The AppBrain SDK needs the permission to access the internet. You probably have these permissions in your app already.
Please make sure the following lines are in your AndroidManifest.xml outside of the
<application> tag:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
Also there are several required activities and services which are needed for the SDK.
Please add these lines to your AndroidManifest.xml inside the
<application> tag:
<!-- AppBrain SDK -->
<activity android:configChanges="keyboard|keyboardHidden|orientation|screenLayout|uiMode|screenSize|smallestScreenSize"
android:name="com.appbrain.AppBrainActivity" />
<service android:name="com.appbrain.AppBrainService" />
<receiver android:exported="true" android:name="com.appbrain.ReferrerReceiver" >
<action android:name="com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER" />
Now your app is ready to use the features of the AppBrain SDK.
If your app uses proguard to obfuscate your code before packaging it in your APK, you need to add the following lines to your proguard config file:
-keep public class cmn.Proguard$KeepMembers
-keep public class * implements cmn.Proguard$KeepMembers
-keepclassmembers class * implements cmn.Proguard$KeepMembers {
-keepattributes *Annotation*
-keep class android.webkit.JavascriptInterface
-dontwarn android.webkit.JavascriptInterface
# This is only needed when you don't include the Google Play services:
-dontwarn com.google.android.gms.**
To use AppLift, you need to make sure it is initialized.
You can initialize it by calling
AppBrain.init(this) in your
Activity or
AppBrain.initApp(this) in your
import com.appbrain.AppBrain;
public class ExampleApplication extends Application {
public void onCreate() {
If your app does not use an own
Application class (which also needs to be declared in the AndroidManifest), you can also do it in your
Please make sure you call
init in all
Activity classes where you use the SDK.
import com.appbrain.AppBrain;
public class ExampleActivity extends Activity {
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
The AppLift SDK allows you to put industry-standard 320x50 dip banners into your app. This can be done either in XML or programmatically.
In a layout XML file, you can add a banner to your app using the following code:
android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>
By default, the banners choose a random design, color, text and button text, and are internationalized to the language that's set on the users' phone.
If you want to configure the design, colors, text or button text explicitly, you can do so by adding
xmlns:appbrain="http://schemas.android.com/apk/lib/com.appbrain" to an element in your layout XML
and then using
appbrain:title and
appbrain:button values with custom values to lock the settings to particular values. You can see the AppLift SDK Demo app's
main.xml file as an example, or for more information refer to the AppBrainBanner javadoc.
If you want to instantiate the banner programmatically, you can use the following piece of code:
import com.appbrain.AppBrainBanner;
public void addBanner(ViewGroup parent) {
AppBrainBanner banner = new AppBrainBanner(getContext());
If you include a banner in layout XML, the
requestAd() method is automatically called, but in code you need to call it yourself.
The AppLift SDK Example app contains a "banner playground" where you can experiment with what a banner looks like with different settings:
AppLift banners are easy to integrate into either Admob or AdWhirl mediation placements.
Please view the dedicated pages about integration for either Admob mediation, AdWhirl or MoPub integration.
The AppBrain interstitial is an activity to ask users if they are interested to see the AppBrain offerwall, which promotes free apps to your users. Each app a user installs from the offerwall will generate revenue for you.
The interstitial is the main way to generate revenue with the AppLift SDK.
The best moments to show the interstitial are at a natural pause moment in your app, for instance when an important event just has completed, such as sending a photo or finishing a game level, or when leaving the app.
To show the interstitial when the user leaves your activity, you can use this code:
public void onBackPressed() {
if (isFinishing()) {
If you use the maybeShowInterstitial function, the AppLift SDK automatically makes sure the interstitial is only shown occasionally (by default once every 3 days), which is why the maybe is in the method name. Therefore it's safe to call this method in multiple places without having to do your own rate limiting.
If instead you always want to show the interstitial when the method is called, use:
The default interstitial leads to the offerwall. In case you don't want to use the interstitial, you can access the offerwall directly.
The AppBrain SDK can set the
OnClickListener of a
View for you so that it opens the offerwall directly:
AdService ads = AppBrain.getAds();
Button button = new Button(context);
ads.setOfferWallClickListener(context, button);
A similar method is available for opening the offerwall from a menu item:
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
AdService ads = AppBrain.getAds();
MenuItem item = menu.add(ads.getOfferWallButtonLabel(this))
ads.setOfferWallMenuItemClickListener(this, item);
return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
It is also possible to show the offerwall directly via
showOfferWall. However for using this method you need to request approval.
In our experience, the use of the interstitial gives up to 10x more revenue than other simple integrations using the offerwall directly.
If you do feel you have a need to integrate without using the interstitial, please contact us at [email protected] to discuss this.
Using showOfferWall without approval won't generate any revenue.
The AppBrain SDK will regularly check for updates to "remote settings". These are values you can set in the AppBrain developer dashboard for your app. With these settings, you can control your app remotely without having to launch a new update. The things that can be controlled range from very simple things, like the text of a welcome message, to turning major functionality in your app on or off.
All settings are
String key-value pairs. For example to show a customizable welcome message:
// get latest value for welcome_message, defaults to "Hello"
String welcomeMessage = AppBrain.getSettings().get("welcome_message", "Hello");
// show as toast
Toast.makeText(this, welcomeMessage, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
If you run this code, it will show a toast with "Hello".
Now you can go to the AppBrain developer dashboard for your app and set the value for
welcome_message, e.g., to "Hello from AppBrain".
Once the app has fetched the updated settings, it will show this new message instead.
Note: The SDK fetches the settings at most once per day (when
init is called), therefore it will use the old value if you have already started the app on this day.
If you're testing, you can use "Delete settings" in the Android settings page for your application to force a refresh, or uninstall and reinstall your app.
The AppLift SDK and the smaller AppBrain Advertiser SDK allow you to track "conversion events" in your app. This can be any event you find useful to track, for instance a user signing up for your service, or a completed in-app payment. On the AppBrain developer dashboard you're able to see the number of conversion events in your app per day. Every event can have an integer value you assign to it. The dashboard will show you the sum of the values of the events and the average event value. For an in-app payment you could for instance set the value to the number of cents of that was spent.
The type of event you track is given by a
String that you assign. The maximum length of this string is 20 characters.
Example code for tracking an in-app payment (we assume that
AppBrain.init() has already been called in the
public void trackSuccessfulIabPayment(int cents) {
AppBrain.getAdvertiserService().sendConversionEvent("iab", cents);
Apps which are developed with the Unity game development tools can easily integrate with AppBrain AppLift using our AppLift Unity plugin.
This tutorial describes how to integrate AppBrain AppLift into your Unity app.
AppBrain SDK overview and documentation | SDK integration policy | SDK terms | AppLift javadoc


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Health IT
The data systems that carry and store information from medical devices like blood pressure readers and glucose monitors are being tagged as low-risk by the Food and Drug Administration so they do not have to comply with regulatory controls, according to a new FDA policy guidance issued June 20.
The guidance doesn't apply to systems engaged in active medical monitoring or systems that control the delivery of medicine or oxygen, or modify patient data. It's meant to cover the storage, transfer, conversion and display of medical device data.
Mostly, the guidance is designed to alert manufacturers and developers of apps and systems that use historical medical data -- such as output information from a ventilator or the display of stored medical images -- that concerns about regulation shouldn't slow down product innovation.
"Because they pose such a low risk, FDA does not intend to enforce compliance with the regulatory controls that apply to medical device data systems. FDA believes that this will encourage greater innovation in the development and maturation of these systems," Bakul Patel, a senior policy advisor at FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote in a blog post.
FDA's guidance gives some long-sought regulatory clarity for companies such as Apple and Samsung that are looking to make health apps an integral feature of their mobile offerings and a new generation of wearable computing devices.
Under the new policy, apps that are "used as a secondary display to a regulated medical device and are not intended to provide primary diagnosis, treatment decisions, or to be used in connection with active patient monitoring" meet the definition of the low-risk medical device data systems, and will not be treated as regulated devices under FDA rules.
The move is in keeping with an April report from the FDA, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT, which proposed a risk-based approach to government regulation of the new generation of health IT data products. The stated goal of the approach was to give developers room to experiment, innovate and pivot without the long lead times required for medical device approval.
About the Author
Adam Mazmanian is a staff writer covering Congress, the FCC and other key agencies. Connect with him on Twitter: @thisismaz.
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The following information is a Web Extra from the pages of Farm Journal. It corresponds with the article "Fourth and Wrong." You can find the article in Farm Journal's 2012 Seed Guide.
Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie provides tips on how to avoid mistakes that cut yields before you plant.
10 Tips to Tackle Seed Selection
Think of seed selection as profit enhancement. Even if you do everything else right, from tillage through marketing, you lose yield and profit if you plant a hybrid that isn't right for your soil types and conditions. That crucial decision process begins with your own fields and local test plots.
Seed selection provides ample opportunity for expensive mistakes. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie has witnessed most of them. Here are the 10 mistakes he most frequently sees—so you can avoid them.
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Daisy Collage Round Labels
- Bright blooming daisies make the perfect gift tags for all your packages.
Watching flowers bloom and spring come alive is so fun! Sending spring-filled wishes to your friends is too with this set of personalized gift labels from artist Laura Kelly.
�2008 Laura Kelly for Doodle Licensing, Inc.
- Self-adhesive labels measure 2"
- Sold in sets of 80 labels (4 sheets, 20 labels per sheet)
- Personalized labels are perfect for marking gifts, packages and more


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Records 1 to 10 of 570
|Kocher Selected to 2014 IWLCA Division I Academic Honor Roll
|The IWLCA placed rising junior Kristin Kocher on the 2014 Division I Academic Honor Roll. All student-athletes were nominated by their schools and have achieved at least junior status academically and had a cumulative academic GPA of 3.50 or greater.
|Women's Lacrosse Named 2014 IWLCA Academic Honor Squad
|The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) selected the Rutgers women's lacrosse team as one of 84 NCAA Division I programs to be named a 2014 Academic Honor Squad. The recognition is the eighth in a row for the program dating back to 2007.
|Twenty-Three WLAX Student-Athletes Placed on BIG EAST All-Academic Team
|The BIG EAST Conference announced Thursday that 23 members of the Rutgers women's lacrosse team were named to the 2013-14 All-Academic Team.
|Big Ten Announces 2015 RU WLAX Opponents
|Rutgers women's lacrosse received its 2015 Big Ten Conference home/away opponents Tuesday, as the six-team league is set to participate in its inaugural season.
|WLAX Assistant Coach Katie Hertsch Named to 2014-15 U.S. Team Roster
|Rutgers women's lacrosse assistant coach Katie Hertsch has been selected to the 38-player roster for the 2014-15 U.S. Women's National Team, US Lacrosse announced.
|Rutgers Set to Host 2015 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament
|Rutgers has been tabbed as the host site for the 2015 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament, the league announced Thursday. The 2015 campaign marks RU's inaugural season in the Big Ten, as well as the first year of women's lacrosse for the conference.
|Women's Lacrosse 2014 Season in Review
|The Rutgers women's lacrosse team capped off its final campaign in the BIG EAST accomplishing numerous feats, highlighted by claiming a berth to its first postseason since the 2008 season.
|Intrabartola, Martinelli Selected to Play in IWLCA North-South Senior All-Star Game
|Defender Chelsea Intrabartola (Commack, N.Y.) and attacker Katrina Martinelli (Moorestown, N.J.) of the Rutgers women's lacrosse team have been named to the 2014 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Division I North Squad Senior All-Star roster.
|Intrabartola & Assistant Coach Hertsch Selected for Team USA Tryouts
|Recent graduate Chelsea Intrabartola (Commack, N.Y.) and assistant coach Katie Hertsch of the Rutgers women's lacrosse team were two of 88 players selected for the tryout pool for the 2014-15 U.S. Women's National Team, U.S. Lacrosse announced Wednesday.
|WLAX Posts Perfect APR Score in 2012-13
|The Rutgers women's lacrosse team posted a perfect 1000 Academic Progress Rate (APR) in 2012-13. The Scarlet Knights maintained its perfect multi-year score of 1000, which is based on the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.


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Faculty/Staff Development in Ecuador
Faculty/Staff Professional Development Tour
August 8, 2014
Have you always wanted to go abroad but have not had the chance? Do you have a particular research or teaching interest in Ecuador or the Amazon? Are you interested in participating in an off-the-beaten-path experience? If so, consider applying for Longwood's first faculty professional development tour to Ecuador. See one of the most bio-diverse places on earth, learn about the debate surrounding drilling in the Amazon, interact with indigenous communities who rely on the jungle, learn how economic activities are impacting the environment and these communities and how nonprofit organizations help give them a voice in the political system.
- Explore another culture that is very different from your own.
- Learning valuable information to bring back to your classroom or research.
- Have an incredible learning adventure.
Longwood's delegation will depart around August 8, 2014 for approximately 10 days.
We will partner with SELVA, a Dutch NGO working toward protection of the Amazon jungle. SELVA's activities include researching drilling and seismic activities, environmental testing, purchasing land in areas at high risk for deforestation, establishment of an Amazon water ambulance service, working with the indigenous tribes to protect their quality of life, and administration of medical clinics. SELVA initiates litigation that promotes protection of the Amazon. For example, they are heading to court to legislate the actions of a Chinese oil company that invaded their private land and cleared it to create a petroleum discharge storage pond. They have also been in court to try to stop the expansion of drilling in highly sensitive areas of the Amazon.
This faculty development opportunity is sponsored by the American Democracy Project.
Please read the following document to learn more about this Professional Development program:
Faculty Learning Tour Information
Important Information
- Priority goes to full-time teaching faculty with limited travel experience or whose research/teaching significantly connects to the destination and learning objectives. Second priority is full-time teaching faculty who are experienced travelers and wish to learn more about Ecuador and the Amazon.
- If spaces are not filled by faculty, opportunities will be opened up to nonteaching faculty and staff (second call will be made).
- To be eligible, participants must be returning to Longwood in fall 2014.
- Participants will be required to attend meetings/lectures prior to departure and will have some assignments upon return.
- Cost to participants is approximately $999. (NOTE THAT THE TOTAL COST PER PERSON IS AROUND $2300.)
- The first $300 is a nonrefundable deposit and is due upon acceptance into the program.
- If a participant withdraws from the program, he or she is responsible for reimbursing the university for all unrecovered funds (nonrefundable airline tickets, deposits for SELVA tour, etc.).
- Any funds that are being paid by departments must be Foundation funds that can be put into an agency account. Otherwise, they will have to be processed as reimbursements to the participant.
- Applications are due to Melanie Marks by 5:00 (Hiner 205) on January 24 and will be reviewed by the Study Abroad committee. Notifications will be made around January 31.
- Nonrefundable deposits ($300) are due mid-February). A payment of $350 will be due in early March. The balance will be due in late March.
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- Faculty Learning Tour Application (interactive .docx - If you try to open this form from the website, you may receive an error message. To avoid this, right click the link, click "Save Link As" and save the file as a .docx document on your computer before opening.)
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#grilledcheese will be mine next time
Did you get the wings? They're SO great at Kodi
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Pierre Kirby Approved.


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Arizona Cardinals
With fourth place finish, 2013 schedule set for Arizona Cardinals
There is plenty of uncertainty about the future of Arizona Cardinals following yet another loss Sunday to the Chicago Bears.
However, in defeat the Cardinals did wrap up fourth place honors in the NFC West, solidifying at least one aspect heading into next season: their schedule.
In 2013, the Cardinals will play home games against the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.
Their road games will feature matchups against the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.
Seven of their 16 games will feature showdowns against teams headed to the postseason in 2012.
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Cardinals Audio
- Jake Plummer - Former Cardinals and Sun Devil quarterback - Wednesday October 1Former Arizona State and Cardinal quarterback Jake Plummer discusses the latest in college football
- Wolf's Film Room - Wednesday October 1Ron Wolfley presents his game plan for the Arizona Cardinals offense this week in Denver.
- NFL Power Poll - Wednesday October 1The top five teams in the NFL according to Doug & Wolf.
- Herm Edwards, ESPN NFL Insider - Wednesday October 1Herm Edwards discusses the latest national and local storylines in the NFL.
- Impromptu Power Poll - Tuesday September 30Top five most disappointing NFL stories according to Doug & Wolf.


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Anastasia Krupnik
Lois Lowry
Children's Fiction LOWRY
Lois Lowry
Children's Fiction LOWRY
Summary: Anastasia's 10th year has some good things like falling in love and really getting to know her grandmother and some bad things like finding out about an impending baby brother.
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Age: 10
Mother is pregnant; loves to make lists in her notebook.


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Aochalong Villa Resort & Spa, Phuket
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Vote: New Entries for Monday 4.2.12
Small Cool Contest
Who has the smallest coolest home? It's up to you to decide. Click through to check out today's entries and then vote for your favorites.
• Teeny-Tiny: deRaismes' Vintage Finds
• Teeny-Tiny: Alexa's Paris in Park Slope
• International: Geoff's Southern Exposure Studio
• Teeny-Tiny: Jennifer's Gathering Place
• Teeny-Tiny: Nick's First Apartment
7 Comments
This reminds me, this weekend we watched HGTV's Househunters in Paris. There was this woman looking for a condo for around $140k. I had to rewind as I saw a condo for 75 square feet!!! It was so small that she could barely fit in it and she had to poke her head out of the skylight!!! It was fun to watch though as I think everyone can learn good design from small spaces. Love the new Small Cool 2012 posts!
Not a comment on which place is coolest, but I do want to compliment Geoff on that turquoise sofa!
@sherrybinnh - thanks! :)
One more Expedit and I'll die.. (;
I understand why someone would want to break up a studio with a large shelf or curtain, but it's nice to see spaces where one embraces the singular room. Sometimes breaking up a space leads to low, inadequate lighting and rooms that look very cluttered. Just my 2 cents.
I had a studio once and I used an expedit (sorry YB, you might 'die' now) as a room divider. I found it really helped me enjoy my space more. It prevented me from seeing the front door from my bed and also made me feel like I had a bedroom. Seeing as these people have to actually LIVE in these spaces, they probably can pick out their own arrangements. Just sayin'


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Arson investigators are searching for clues after a fire sent residents of a Detroit apartment building into the streets early Monday morning.Residents tell FOX 2's Al Allen the fire started in the stairwell of the five-story building on the 700 block of Whitmore near Woodward and McNichols on the city's west side. "That doesn't sound like a cooking fire or something like that," said Robert Nichols, who lives in the building.Residents were safely evacuated. No injuries were reported and officials say the building sustained minimal damage.Smoke detectors were equipped throughout the units, Allen reports.
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Cavern Entrance
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- 3.71 / 5.00
- Date
- 09/20/2012
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- fantasy
- cave
- perspective
- ink
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Author Comments
Kins of in the same vain as my Dungeon Entrance I did some time ago.
A 1 point perspective scene done in ink.
I got some rapidograph pens off e-bay for real cheap and I love the hell out of them. They are a little temperamental, but oh but its like black gold from their tips. Ahhh
What was I talking about again?
Oh yeah... Pens.
My lastone was done with a Precision V5, one of my all time favorite pens. And this one done with rapidographs.
I like both of these pictures a lot, but I really wish I had gone in to more planning with my shading on this one.
Also my Dungeon entrance was was something like a 3x4 or something close to that, this was 8x10, or close to that.
um.... ignore me, and vote damnit.
Rated 4 / 5 stars Sep 29, 2012
Cool, man. But, I think the right wall of that cavern are little cramping. It looks like a lava melt (for me). The others..........GREAT. Love the shade, Keep it up!
its not you man... its the acid trip the pic is on... seriously, I should have never gotten those grateful dead stamps it asked me for....


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The Free Press of Mankato, Nov. 22
Review Senate building deal
A new $90 million Minnesota Senate office building that escaped a rigorous public vetting process before its approval last year should be slowed or halted until it can be reviewed by the Legislature and garner public support.
The project was, according to a news report in the Star Tribune, "included in the tax bill late in the session with little debate." The project was not vetted by the House Capital Investment committee, a public process for vetting the vast majority of state bonding projects. Chair Alice Hausman told the Star Tribune she was frustrated by this process and suggested that some Capitol projects seem to get special treatment. She said: "Some have gone to the head of the line."
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk defended the way the bill was approved in a statement to Minnesota Public Radio this fall after former Republican legislator Jim Knoblach filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the maneuver. Bakk said it went through the typical process for such projects, which include being vetted by legislative counsel and the public finance experts at the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget.
He said other projects have been included in the public finance provisions of the tax bill over the years and this was consistent with that. The project will be funded by revenue bonds versus typical general obligation bonds that would come out of the bonding committee.
Bakk may be right on the technical legality of including the project in the tax bill, but he should consider the perception among taxpayers that the process does not seem consistent with sound public scrutiny.
This sleight of hand legislative maneuver came at a time when dozens of projects around the state — some more worthy than a new office building — were rejected because there wasn't enough money.
The approval of what appears to be a pet project of Senate leadership erodes credibility of the bonding process and the public finance process. The proposed new Senate building should have to go through the bonding committee like other projects.
Some are already raising questions about the need for the project.
Democrat Hausman questioned the necessity of a five-story office building with attached parking to accommodate Senate offices that currently take up two stories. Supporters of the project have apparently told Hausman that when the Senate moves out of the state office building, the House can have two more floors, to which Hausman replied: "We don't need two more floors."
Proponents of the Senate building said it will house Democrats and Republicans together, that it will have expansive meetings rooms that can accommodate 300 people and allow more access to legislators and the legislative process.
Gov. Mark Dayton suggested the building is needed to house legislators outside the Capitol and that the office building is part of a bipartisan plan for the larger Capital renovation project. He seemed to wince at the opulence planned for the building, which will have a four-story glass wall overlooking the capital, a reflecting pool and a fitness center.
Bakk, a carpenter by trade, told news outlets last summer that he would like the building to be architecturally significant and a monument to Minnesota.
Accommodating public access is a worthy goal. One can argue having both parties in the same building also might be a good idea. The problem here is the way it was quietly approved without the proper vetting.
We suspect the project was approved quietly for fear that taxpayers in a tough economy would find it excessive. That's a reasonable assumption lawmakers ought to seriously consider. While some Minnesotans are struggling to meet their basic needs, they see their representatives treating themselves to a pretty obvious "want."
If there project is needed and if there are benefits to the public in terms of public access and participation in the legislative process, legislators should have no problem making their case.
They should reverse direction and get some kind of public support. The project should go through the regular legislative vetting process. That would restore some credibility to the fairness of the legislative system for approving building projects. It's also the right thing to do.
St. Paul Pioneer Press, Nov. 23
Overcoming inertia at MnSCU and beyond
The pull of the status quo is strong.
Individually, we get comfortable and would rather not change. In organizations, it's easier to do things the way they've always been done.
At the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, a new blueprint for system-wide change is meant to overhaul the way the state's largest higher education system -- and one of the nation's biggest -- does business, the Pioneer Press reported last week.
The system's "Charting the Future" plan is intended to increase collaboration across the system of 31 colleges and universities on 54 campuses in 47 communities. The plan "is essential to our ability to serve students in a permanent environment of scarce resources, continuous change and increasing expectations," according to the recommendations.
It will be a challenge, and leaders know it. "This is going to be hard; it's going to take persistence," Chancellor Steven Rosenstone told reporter Mila Koumpilova.
It takes a strong will to overcome the inertia that keeps organizations on familiar paths.
"Being successful at innovation requires a higher level of risk than maintaining the status quo," Jim Mulder, retired executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, told us.
In our public bodies, where risk-takers risk losing office, "we have zero tolerance for failure," said Mulder, who is completing a doctoral thesis on leadership, conflict management and innovation in local government. And a 24/7 news cycle makes it even more difficult, he said.
Mulder's concerns apply, as well, to prospects for Gov. Mark Dayton's promised "Unsession" drive to streamline state government during the 2014 legislative session.
Public officials "want to be in win-lose games," Mulder explained, but "innovation typically is thought of as a win-win" proposition.
"Right now in our political world, that doesn't work very well," said Mulder, who ran for lieutenant governor in 2010 with Independence Party candidate Tom Horner.
The MnSCU chancellor will encounter resistance. When it comes to transforming his organization to one that "plays as a team," Rosenstone will fare best if he can find a way to create an "all boats float" environment, Mulder said, so that success of the organization is based on "the total success of all the campuses."
That can't mean, however, that everybody's happy at every stop along the way, or that every bit of change-pain is shared equally. To govern is to choose, as the adage goes, and choosing what measures define success is key.
Concerns have been aired, and that will continue. Among them is over-centralization, and, in his meeting with us, the chancellor took pains to emphasize that more collaboration doesn't mean more control from the system office in downtown St. Paul.
The plan also has been labeled by some as "metro-centric," said Kevin Lindstrom, president of Minnesota State College Faculty, the bargaining representative for those at the state's two-year schools.
Lindstrom said the plan "relies on population trends to justify moves regarding offerings and campuses." That's a concern when it comes to campuses in greater Minnesota, where "their value extends way beyond just simple population trends."
And there are lots of moving parts to consider. "When you look at how programs are put together, they are integrated; they build on each other," said Nancy Black, president of the Inter Faculty Organization, which represents faculty at the seven state universities. "If you have change in one part of the program, it's going to affect the rest of the program."
Rosenstone said he would present an implementation plan to trustees in January and that he expects the process to take three to four years.
When it comes to change, "We have to start somewhere," Lindstrom said. "This is as good a point as any."
At this point, Rosenstone's reliance on the promise of a collaborative spirit is probably well-advised. But neither he nor his board should underestimate how much force is necessary to overcome inertia. If they can generate that force from within, great. If not, they'll have to exert it from without.
Duluth News Tribune, Nov. 25
Restore Duluth Heritage Preservation Commission's role in preservation
A history-rich community like Duluth has no shortage of folks watching out for landmarks, cherished structures and other pieces of the past that demand to be saved and that tell the stories of who we are and from where we came.
For decades, the Duluth Heritage Preservation Commission appropriately and rightly has been a leader in such efforts, including its responsibility to "recommend to the Duluth City Council designation of heritage preservation landmarks and districts," as is mandated in the commission's bylaws, which were adopted in 1989.
Inexplicably, however, the commission's responsibility for recommending landmark designations was stripped away by the city. It happened when a sweeping, new Unified Development Chapter was adopted in 2010. Suddenly, only a structure's owner could offer a nomination for historic designation, according to the UDC.
City councilors voted for the chapter but had no idea they also were reducing the heritage commission's important and longtime historic-preservation role, City Councilor Sharla Gardner said in a News Tribune report this month. "It was a mistake that got by everyone when the UDC went through," she said.
Councilors' failure to fully read and understand what they were approving aside, Gardner and fellow City Councilor Dan Hartman deserve credit for coming up with a plan to undo what apparently was accidentally done. They have a resolution to restore the heritage preservation commission's role. It's expected to be considered for the first time today when the City Council meets. With full support from all councilors, the resolution can be adopted at the earliest opportunity, which is Dec. 9.
This apparently unintentional and certainly unfortunate consequence of the UDC came to light in October when the heritage preservation commission was considering its nomination of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Duluth. The commission learned it no longer had the ability. And the church's owner, the St. Mary Star of the Sea parish in Duluth, objected. But the parish's reason for objecting — that it would be wrong to force landmark status on a property owner — was a bit of a puzzler.
Landmark status wouldn't be forced on anyone simply through the restoration of the heritage preservation commission's nomination ability. Any nominations from the commission would have to withstand a review by the Minnesota State Historical Preservation Office. Then the matter would go to the Planning Commission and a public hearing. Finally, the nomination, if still alive, would go to the City Council and yet another public hearing. The City Council would make the final call. And if a property owner were still unsatisfied, the case could be appealed to a district court judge.
"I would hope this proposal (to restore the commission's nomination role) is not controversial once people understand how many safeguards are built into the process," Planning Commission member Drew Digby told the News Tribune for the story on Nov. 16.
There's more at stake here, too, than just a sound process for identifying and, hopefully, ultimately saving our city's history. There's lots of money at stake. The change threatens Duluth's U.S. Department of Interior-issued status as a Certified Local Government. The status allows the city to receive state and federal grants for projects related to the city's heritage. Tens of thousands of dollars a year are in jeopardy.
The City Council has good and logical reasons to undo what it accidentally did. Undoing so would allow the Duluth Heritage Preservation Commission to get back to doing what it has done so well for so long: watching out for landmarks, cherished structures and other pieces of our past, giving them, with attention, at least a fighting chance at being saved and preserved for future generations of Duluthians.


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The Meyerhoff Gallery is home to major exhibitions by local, national, and internationally known artists. It is one of a number of sites for the annual Faculty, Foundation, and Commencement exhibitions. Meyerhoff Gallery was dedicated in 1981 in recognition of the interest, leadership, and generosity of Robert and Jane Meyerhoff.
Click here to download a PDF of Meyerhoff Gallery floor plans.