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The high cost of saying 'no'
Published on - May 28th, 2013 (Modified on - May 31st, 2013) (by April Dykman)
This post is from staff writer April Dykman.
Before I became a full-time freelancer, I worked in the communications department at a large non-profit.
The organization hosted several events every year, from small local workshops to huge statewide conferences, and we always needed to fill some holes in the event schedule.
This was never easy. Many times it was on my department to come up with extra presentations. That meant that my three bosses always had to present, which involved a lot of work and travel.
The presenters didn't have to be managers, though. Anyone could've done it. But for the most part, no one ever volunteered. We were writers, editors and designers, and we all seemed to prefer to hide out in our cubicles. When a boss asked for volunteers, we'd avoid making eye contact until the uncomfortable moment of silence had passed.
No one wants to put themselves out there
We didn't have to step up and put ourselves in an uncomfortable position, so we didn't. As long as we kept a low profile, we were safe until the next request for speakers…
Or were we?
I was avoiding a nerve-racking situation and getting to stay inside my warm and fuzzy comfort zone, but that actually came at a cost.
First, my bosses couldn't have seen me as much of a leader. I was just one of the nervous herd. That might not seem like a huge deal, until you want to move up the ladder or need a glowing recommendation letter, that is.
And second, I was missing out on a big opportunity to beef up my resume and to learn and practice a new skill. And when we avoid making presentations or decide to skip a networking event, who knows how much we're losing in terms of valuable relationships and future income? Whether you avoid these activities altogether or you seldom do them (and therefore probably do them poorly), there's no telling how much that costs you over a lifetime.
That's not an earth-shattering revelation. We all know that relationships and exposure are important. So if we know how important a cold call or networking event can be, why do we do everything we can to avoid them?
Why we don't seize opportunities
There are a few reasons why we don't put ourselves out there more, even though we know we should.
First, we're, like, engineered to avoid pain. I think that's a direct quote from an evolutionary scientist.
But in all seriousness, these activities are really uncomfortable. Standing up in front of a room of 50 people and speaking to them? Walking into a networking event where you won't know anybody? Picking up the phone and calling a stranger?
Just thinking about those situations makes me want to crawl under the covers!
But why is it so terrifying?
"We're afraid we'll fail, and that makes us conservative," says Joe Apfelbaum, the CEO and cofounder of Internet marketing company Ajax Union. "We're afraid we'll be mocked, laughed at, or that people won't agree. But 'safe' is not where you make money."
The other reason that we don't put ourselves out there more often is that we undervalue how much we stand to gain. "Oh, it's only one networking event," we think. "What does it matter if I skip it?"
It might matter a lot.
Apfelbaum recalls one networking event he wanted to skip. "I wasn't in the mood, and the people who would attend weren't really the type of people I network with," he says. But he decided to make the best of it, and one of the attendees became a customer. And it turns out, that that new customer has an investor partner who wants Apfelbaum to handle marketing for every company in his portfolio.
Of course wild success stories like that are great, but what do you do if you're scared to show up to the event in the first place?
Try saying, "yes, and…"
Last summer I took a 6-week improv class. That was a big stretch for me, to not be able to hide from the spotlight. To be forced to fail on purpose. A couple of times I thought my overtaxed perfectionist brain might explode. Fail? On purpose?!
But one of the best things I learned was the "yes, and…" approach. If you aren't familiar with it, it's a cardinal rule of improv theater to agree with what your fellow actors say ("yes") and then to add to it ("and…").
That's because you want to avoid a scene like this:
Person 1: I am a T-Rex! RAWR!
Person 2: No you're not. The T-Rex is extinct.
Person 2 rejected what Person 1 said, and the energy dropped. Instead, if you accept what's being said and build on it, the scene works a lot better:
Person 1: I am a T-Rex! RAWR!
Person 2: Yes, and that's an asteroid hurtling toward us!
I don't mention this improv tactic to convince you to sign up for improv. I mention it because "yes, and…" isn't just for improv. It's for real life, too. Imagine if I had used it at my old job:
Boss: "Is anyone willing to give a presentation at our summer leadership conference?"
Parallel-Universe April: "Yes, I'll give a presentation, and here are three ideas for topics…"
Boss: "My hero! Take the rest of the day off!" *high fives*
Had I taken that approach, I would've had many opportunities to practice and improve, gaining skills that would make me more valuable both then and in the future.
I could've honed my skills even more by joining the public speaking group Toastmasters, which met right at my office. One of my bosses was a member.
I could've been a problem-solver for my boss — someone who enthusiastically took work off her plate.
Pretty powerful. But wait, there's more…
How to get more confident saying, "yes, and…"
Apfelbaum says he "had butterflies the first dozen times" he gave a presentation. "I was an expert in online marketing, but I was still scared to death," he says. But nowadays he's a speaker, a Google trainer, and the founder of the weekly web series GrowTime.
So I wanted to know how he did it. How did he go from a timid "yes" to an enthusiastic "yes, and…"?
Mostly, he practiced and practiced. And as he got better, he became more confident. Here are five tips and tricks he learned along the way:
Start with people you know. "Everyone should know what you do," he says, including friends, family members and business contacts. "If you're looking for a job and no one knows what you're good at, they can't recommend you."
Read, read, read. "Books are such a great resource," he says, "and they spark new ideas." So Apfelbaum read everything he could on public speaking, networking and cold calling. (He found books by Zig Ziglar and Brian Tracey particularly helpful.)
Don't take it personally. "When you cold call and get shut down or people ignore you at a networking event, they aren't rejecting you, they're actually rejecting your process," he says. For instance, "at my first networking event, I approached a woman to introduce myself, and she basically ignored me," he says. Later he learned that he could've avoided that awkward moment if he had known what her body language was saying. "She was facing the other way when I approached, and she needed to be facing me for my introduction to go better," he says."If your process is bad, you're going to get rejected a lot."
Study yourself and others. The better you get at networking or speaking, the more confident you'll feel. For instance, when it comes to making presentations, "watch other speakers," says Apfelbaum. And pay attention to your own habits, too. "I realized that I was using the word 'basically' over and over," he says.
Stay in touch. So many times we make a great connection with someone, and then their business card gets lost under the seat of the car. Instead, immediately after you meet someone "connect with them on LinkedIn and send a thank-you email," he says.
"The top sales writers say that if you're out of sight, you're out of mind," says Apfelbaum. "And I put my own twist on that: If you're out of sight, you're out of your mind."
When he puts it like that, I realize that I do need to get out there more, to learn about networking events in my area and make more connections. "Yes, I'll attend that event, and I'll introduce myself to at least three attendees!" Baby steps, people.
How about you? What's one way you can use the "yes, and…" this month to boost your career?
You can follow Joe Apfelbaum on Twitter. He has written a (free with sign-up) ebook on networking.
This article is about Career, Interviews, Self-Improvement
Like you stated everyone likes staying under the radar. Then those people will be the first to get upset or mad when there is a person volunteering. After the person starts getting new positions learning new things and making more money of course. I wouldn't say you have to always say YES but you need to look at the situations carefully. Can you grow, can you meet new powerful people, is this an opportunity for you to shine, etc. Networking events are great and really like those 5 tips.
I think there is a fine balance to have and I think it can be easy to fall into the trap of just saying no to whatever you're asked. I do think it comes down to either being afraid of what others might think or maybe just apathy at times. I have never been a fan of public speaking, but I know how it can be a positive impact on your career. I would always volunteer to take on new projects in former jobs to help set myself apart and get noticed that way.
Say yes to anything (even scutt work) that makes your boss's life easier. This will start making you indispensable in the organization and encourage your boss to speak well of you. The end result is that you'll be positioning yourself for bigger raises, bonuses, and promotions.
But know when to say "no". If taking on a little project will cause a big important one to go down in flames, you're better of bowing out.
Being a valuable asset to your boss and your colleagues can make you a valuable asset to your organization.
Fear is the most powerful emotion of all. It can override every rational response. You can partially tame it, but that's about all.
I think it is very important to test ourselves particularly in a safe environment. I recommend starting to test ourselves while still a teenager with the safety of our parents. Some limits may be grades, sports, public speaking etc. Growth comes from testing ourselves and feeling uncomfortable.
I was a born introvert. It wasn't until I started to say – "frick-it" and just go up to people and strike up a conversation that I really started to get ahead.
The advice in this article is great for people like me that have to force themselves to get involved and put themselves out there.
I'm an introvert by nature, but I have made myself an extrovert for professional matters. It's possible, but it does take a lot of work. Most people think I'm a social butterfly. What they don't know is that I would rather be at home reading a book or writing.
Great considerations. At the same time, it's important to think critically–any answer, yes or no, should come from a genuine and well-thought-out place.
The unfortunate thing is that most of us realize the lost opportunities by saying "no" in our early and late 20s or 30s, when we've already missed out on some amazing chances to speed up our careers or get in the fast lane. At least for me, I became very comfortable in my own skin in my early 20s, after I graduated college. I just realized that, chances are I will never see these people again, so be outgoing and friendly. Since then, it has made a huge difference in my life.
This is amazingly timely for me.
I have been putting calling someone about a web page because I didn't want to call at the wrong time. Today I promised myself I would call. I found a spare moment and called. Of course it was the wrong time. I came here to get myself out of the funk and read this article.
i agree with what you say…it is hard. I hate networking events because it is so hard to walk into that room and find someone you don't know to talk to. Check out Quiet by Susan Cain. She does a great job explaining what goes on in the introverts mind with stuff like this.
Just as others have mentioned above their is a fine balance of saying I believe as well. I know this from running my own business.
I love this quote
"We didn't have to step up and put ourselves in an uncomfortable position, so we didn't. As long as we kept a low profile, we were safe until the next request for speakers…
Or were we?"
In the mind of an executive, if nobody knows what you do in the organization then it can't possibly be all that critical to the company and guess what? Those are the first people on the chopping block when budgets are lean. Speaking up and being present isn't just about being promoted, it's also very much about not being laid off either.
There are at least four people that neither my boss nor I knows what they do all day and…their team is at risk of getting cut when budgets are redone this year.
Love this. I've been trying the 'yes and' technique just for the last couple of weeks after reading an artlicle about it in Psychologies. Great to see this post add to the debate. For fellow bloggers, I've found that it works well when replying to firms seeking sponsored posts etc that I don't want to take. Rather than rejecting outright I now try 'YES, I'd be happy to collaborate AND this is how . . .' I then set out my terms (ie banner ad rather than guest post) It's been working better than my old method for sure!
Thanks for the great tips! As a former teacher, I can vouch for the power of faked confidence (like the improv classes) in situations when you are feeling uncertain, or simply not at your best. When you teach, your students depend on and feed off of the manner in which you project yourself. Over time, the fake confidence gives way to real confidence, like Joe said.
So true. I love the statement "We're afraid we'll be mocked, laughed at, or that people won't agree. But 'safe' is not where you make money."
We have to determine what it is we really want and find the way to get it. The truth is, no one is really looking at you. Living under the shadow of what other people will think is a sad way to live.
Others are dying to go for it. We give them permission when we take the first step. That is the reason it goes all quiet when questions are called for after a presentation, and after a brave soul casts the first stone, the floodgate opens…
Won't work if a boss has the mindset of "who can I fob off this work to?" and "there's always another potential employee".
In that case you're not valued, you're just treated as a patsy. And the higher management won't think much of you either, since you're not significant enough for them.
They won't really care one way or another on your contributions.
Early in my career, I attended a luncheon and the guest speaker was Suzie Humpries in Dallas. She was a local celebrity-of-sorts, a local radio personality for many years. Her talk was about the crazy way that she got to where she was at in life. All from saying YES to things she was most unsure about. The matra coming out of the luncheon, was "Volunteer for it! You can always learn it later!". That has held true for much of my professional life, and as such I've been privelaged with many important projects and skills I otherwise would have never learned. You just never know…..
Thanks for the wonderful article it has really helped me. You efforts putting this blog together was worth the while. Congratulations again on a good job Ellen.
I think that you were right on with this article. Alesha, What motivated you to call this blog "Something Is Wrong, It's Too Quiet…", not that the title does not go with the content, I am just wondering. I like this one Alesha.


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Singapore's transport minister, Lui Tuck Yew, has called for Asian nations to liberalize air transport policies, and build connectivity and infrastructure in the region. He was speaking at the Aviation Leadership Summit, held on February 9 in Singapore.
Open skies
The Single Aviation Market (SAM) of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is not coming about as fast as some had hoped–the aim had been by 2015. This is despite the advantages they see through liberalization of air services under a single and unified air transport market.
Not long ago it was a real struggle for charter operators to get slots into Japan's Narita International Airport and every other Japanese airport for that matter. Thankfully, for charter operators around the world, Japan has adopted a much friendlier approach to business aircraft operations.
The Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) and Japanese Business Aviation Association (JBAA) announced on October 21 that the county is implementing new charter operations regulations based on FAA Part 135 standards.
Congress threw the gauntlet at the European Union last month when a bipartisan group of House Transportation Committee leaders filed legislation to ban U.S. air carriers from participating in the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Singapore concluded bilateral "Open Skies" agreements (OSAs) with Denmark, Sweden and Norway late last month. The new deals will allow Singaporean air carriers to fly between Singapore and any destination in Scandinavia, via and beyond to any third country without any restrictions in terms of passenger capacity, service frequency or aircraft type. In return, Scandinavian airlines now enjoy the same rights into and through Singapore.

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A Ketubah Shows the Promise That Turned a Young Printer Into a Renowned Artist
Julius Bien is remembered for his maps and Audubon lithographs. But his talents were apparent at age 23 in a wedding contract.
As their ketubah makes clear, Cornelius Roos married Caroline Elsasser at New York's flagship Reform synagogue Congregation Emanu-El on Jan. 11, 1852. The wedding contract includes many other names: the groom's father Raphael Roos, the bride's father Asher Elsasser, the officiant Rabbi Leo Merzbacher, and witnesses E. Lyons and J. Cahn. But the most significant name on the ketubah might ordinarily be overlooked, since it appears in small letters along the bottom border of the page: printer Julius Bien, who would go on to have an illustrious career making maps and lithographs of animals, landscapes, and machinery. Jan. 11, 1852, might not have been Bien's "big day," but it's his story that's the most striking in retrospect.
Today, artwork bearing Bien's name can be found at institutions like the Brooklyn Museum, New York Public Library, Butler Museum of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Smithsonian American Art Museum. The ketubot Bien produced early in his career—including the one for Roos and Elsasser, currently housed at New York's Jewish Museum—did not propel him to mainstream national fame. Instead, he received recognition for making high-quality maps of the expanding country for the government, prints depicting technological advancements like the railroad and reproducing, in lithographed form, Audubon's Birds of America. As a lithographer, Bien was celebrated for advancing and making accessible 19th-century American knowledge production. Initially, Bien's success at illustrating American intellectual progress makes his ketubah, a document mired in tradition, seem anomalous. But on close inspection, Bien's concern for associating progress and American identity manifests in the ketubah. The marriage contract established as progressively American both the immigrants it served and the brand name "Julius Bien."
Since Bien's name alone is in print while the other names on the ketubah are handwritten, it has a sense of fixity in the face of variation; the parties directly involved in the wedding are incidental in comparison. Here his name serves to advertise his ability as a printer of ketubot and to establish his lithography business as a powerful, stable institution, despite the fact that at this point he was working alone with a single press, struggling to establish a reputation for himself among New York's many independent lithographers. Julius Bien wanted his name to stand for something.
Perhaps Bien's efforts at associating his name with intellectual and technological progress arose from his German past. In his homeland, Bien participated in the Revolution of 1848. When that liberal reform movement collapsed, he settled in New York City in 1849 as part of a wave of intellectual German immigrants called, appropriately enough, forty-eighters. As James M. Bergquist, emeritus professor of history at Villanova, writes in "The Forty-Eighters: Catalysts of German-American Politics," "trying to generalize about the forty-eighters is a risky enterprise … but their political searching after coming to America kept them in active political discourse." Bien saw his art and his participation in New York's Jewish community as inherently political.
According to Claudia J. Nahson's book Ketubbot: Marriage Contracts From the Jewish Museum, the ketubah's text follows a template so its authority is recognizable to Jews the world over. To further facilitate universal understanding of its terms, the traditional ketubah is written in Aramaic, the ancient language initially used among Diasporic Jews to communicate across geographic and cultural boundaries. Bien's ketubah also lends permanence and legibility to a step in the couple's Americanization; it reflects and promotes Congregation Emanu-El's Reform program and in so doing marks the wedding as a distinctly Jewish-American one. Some intellectual German-American Jews, Bien among them, sought to help their less-educated brethren integrate into American society by ridding Judaism of archaisms they deemed unnecessary.
Perhaps the feature that most obviously sets this ketubah apart from others of its day and marks it as a product of both Reform Judaism and Bien's work is its two-column format, one for English text and another for Aramaic. At this time, some of the congregation's ketubot were written only in English, or had English on the recto and Aramaic on the verso, but on most bilingual versions the English was a strict translation of the Aramaic. On Bien's ketubah, the columns share equal space on the page, suggesting equal significance and value for their contents. Although it is unclear whether or not Bien composed the English text himself, it certainly falls in line with his interest in adapting Judaism to suit the age. It certifies that "the Minister of Imanu-El" has "solemnized according to the form and custom of the Synogogue [sic] the marriage between, and have thereby joined together into Holy Matrimony, Mr. Cornelius Roos and Miss Caroline Elsasser." Keeping the "form and custom of the Synogogue" vague reflects Bien's hope for the ease with which American and Jewish traditions can coexist. The contract reflects a union not only between Caroline and Cornelius, but also between Jewish and American cultures.
Bien's interest in depicting the progressive nature of American Reform Judaism and the compatibility between Jewish and American marriage also comes through in his illustration of a wedding atop the two columns of text. The image appears to capture a moment during a typical ceremony, simultaneously a reminder to congregants of what happened at their own wedding and a model for how a Jewish-American wedding ought to be remembered. To an American in the 21st century, the image might seem benign, but it does not capture any traditional Jewish wedding rituals performed in Europe (or other American synagogues) at the time. The groom is not depicted smashing a glass, nor is the couple wrapped in a prayer shawl or drinking wine from a kiddush cup. Instead, the bride and groom are encouraged to stand hand-in-hand by the presiding rabbi. None of the eight figures—a bride and an older couple (presumably her parents) to the left, a rabbi in the middle, a groom and his parents and one other witness on the right—look straight ahead. All are solemnly engrossed in the ceremony, as though an outside observer caught them unawares during an intimate moment. As a result, the scene looks like an unself-conscious snapshot of American Jewry even though through it, Bien was actively showing that Jewish weddings could look just like American ones. Bien's use of this image reflects the long-term goal he later writes about in the Jewish magazine The Menorah to "surround the cause of Judaism with greater dignity, and to make it more honored and respected by their fellow-citizens of other faiths."
Fashionability and appearance were important to Bien, and not only for aesthetic or artistic reasons. Bien urged his fellow Jewish Americans, "If a society is to endure it must satisfy the various demands and requirements of the times." In Bien's view, Judaism need not be marked by old-fashioned garments or rituals. One way for American Jews to keep pace with their fellow citizens was to conform to secular American marriage customs, including their aesthetic codes. To be sure, Bien did not advocate complete secularization or assimilation through his illustration: A Jewish wedding could look American and still retain Jewish significance. The tablets and lions in the background are traditional Jewish images on ark coverings; the Torah is always behind the scene, literally and figuratively.
The Talmud Says God Can't Protect Jews From Persecution; They Must Take Precautions
A 'mezuzah,' like Judaism, is designed for life in this world, not for a messianic future, or for martyrdom


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"BG's are NEVER won by a couple of DoT's on each player"
"BG's are NEVER won by a couple of DoT's on each player"
Maybe not, but a group of 20 allies rushing a GY can be broken by it. I've SL/SL'd enough BGs to do it a few times. I try to hide behind a tree and just tab, SL, Corruption, Curse of Agony, tab, SL, Corruption, CoA, rinse and repeat. DoTs don't have anything visual to give away where I am, so I can keep behind the tree, and keep DOTing everything in sight. Makes it real hard when everyone in your attack group is losing 750-1000 a tick. With SL running on 4-5 people, I have a basically infinite mana supply.


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Specifications for the
Bushnell Turtle (1775)
Midget Submarine
Country of Origin: United States
Initial Year of Service: 1775
Operators: United States (American Colonies)
Crew: 1
Length: 8ft (2.44m)
Beam: 3ft (0.91m)
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1 x limpet keg mine containing between 130 and 150lbs of gunpowder (slung outside).
Ship Class: Turtle
Number-in-Class: 1
Ships-in-Class: Turtle


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UN.GIFT Publications
UNODC Coalitions against trafficking in human beings in the Philippines
Feb 07 2011
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This report summarizes the results of six individual research studies carried out in the context of the project on "Coalitions Against Trafficking in Human Beings in the Philippines". The project was launched in 1999 as a joint venture between the Government of the Philippines, UNODC, which was responsible for the technical cooperation component, and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, charged with the research work. The project's main goal was to improve existing levels of information on trafficking in human beings from the Philippines in order to provide an effective tool for policy makers and practitioners. For interested institutions, organizations and individual researchers the full version of the report is available upon request.
- US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2014
- 3rd General report on GRETA's activities
- Walk Free Global Slavery Index 2013
- UNESCO: Model curricula for journalism education: a compendium of new syllabi
- ILO: Marking progress against child labour: Global estimates and trends 2000-2012
- IOM: A Situational Analysis of Aruba's Response to Human Trafficking
- Report by OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, following her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12-14 June 2012
- Current Status of Victim Service Providers and Criminal Justice Actors in India on Anti-human Trafficking
- OSCE: Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal in the OSCE region
- EHTN Case Study: Beulah London
- OSCE: Trafficking in Human Beings Amounting to Torture and other Forms of Ill-treatment
- US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2013: Country Narratives J-M


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Congratulations!!! And thank you everyone for contributing such good tips!!!
Adina mama to B 4/06 and E 8/13/12 (on her due date!)
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Then, we asked: "If the rear axle is solid, why the need for alignment?" Soffe was simply checking the thrust angle, or the relationship between the location of the front wheels and the rear ones. Our Mustang is "square."
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Chris Martin from Coldplay covers Fight For Your Right To Party
I hate when people cover songs that I feel are untouchable. I'm not a huge fan of Coldplay but when Chris Martin sang this I felt it was such a beautiful tribute for MCA.
I'm still sad about him passing but I'm glad the people in the musical world are showing their love through tributes and such. RIP Adam
Uk tour 2012 pt 1
5+ to your editing work :) ahh Waqas Ali and u are not shook the camera wow it`s big step for the job cameraman :) U also can do this :) thank u guys hope my dream come true soon :)
Mista Nador
İsam is modest & looks stylishly, gorgeous as always :) VIP……. but pic`s quality worse :(
On our Way to Bradford the roads to the City are blocked so we ridning loca
Isam thoughts: Man u watched at this??? give my iphone back))) don`t make me to feel regrettableness okay?! :) Isam, Salam Aleykum :) Just wanna try for when u read you smile to my comment :) care yourself… aww & don`t forget Waqas Ali recording u :D
outlandishdk: Waqas Ali`s cooly views ;) amazing. Waqas take your cam. and shoot Isam B like => we here, we here )))) I can`t forget :D hehe u`re amazing, guys, amazing… love your short videos :D Allah sizi korusun Amen :)


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Pennsylvania surgeons separate 8-month-old conjoined twins
Philadelphia, PA, United States (4E) – Surgeons at a Pennsylvania hospital have successfully separated 8-month-old twin girls who were joined at the lower chest and abdomen Wednesday.
According to officials of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, it took a seven hour procedure and a team of 40 physicians, nurses and medical personnel to separate Allison and Amelia Tucker of New York, who shared chest wall, diaphragm, pericardium and liver.
CHOP lead surgeon Holly Hedrick announced the operation was a success and the girls could live healthy independent lives.
Hedrick said "like all separations of conjoined twins, this was a very complex surgery, but it went very well and as expected."
"We expect that Allison and Amelia will receive the care, therapy and support to allow them to live full, healthy and independent lives," added Hedrick.
The twins, who are recovering in the Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit, are closely being monitored by hospital specialists.
The girls' mother, Shellie Tucker, told the Times before the surgery that while both girls have fiery personalities and laugh and coo, they will be able to work on sitting up on their own, and learning to crawl, among other milestones, after surgery.
She and her husband lives in Adams but they have been staying for the last eight months at the hospital or at a Ronald McDonald House in Camden, New Jersey.
Amelia and Allison were born March 1 at 35 weeks' gestation. The babies have gone through several tests and procedures. A medical team of more than 100 people have been caring for them, in preparation the lengthy surgery Wednesday.
Officials revealed the surgery was the 21st separation of conjoined twins executed at CHOP.
The hospital said conjoined twins happen once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births, and most are stillborn. Around three-quarters of such twins are female and are connected at least partially in the chest, sharing organs. Twins with separate sets of organs have better chances of successful surgery and survival.
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Video is Choppy
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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More real than reality
Models, obviously, are three-dimensional as well. When you look at a model up close, its contours are obvious. Placing a model under a bright light source make the model's contours even more obvious.
At arm's length, though, the ins and outs of a 30mm infantry model are far too subtle for ambient room light to pick out. You need to give natural light a little help in order to make the model look like a shrunk-down person. That's where shading and highlighting come in.
Watch your language
Shading makes the model darker in certain areas in order to reinforce natural shadow. Models can be actively shaded by washing them with ink or paint, or by blending a darker color with the base color. Models can be passively shaded by building up colors from a very dark basecoat.
Washing is a technique used to shade or give definition to a model. I'll cover this distinction later, once we get to painting. A wash is a liberally applied, very thin coat of ink or paint. With its low surface tension, the wash naturally flows into recessed areas of the model and dries there. When the wash is dry, the washed areas appear darker than the raised areas around them.
Inking is simply washing with ink, as opposed to washing with paint.
Highlighting makes the model lighter in certain areas in order to reinforce natural light. Models can be actively highlighted by drybrushing them, or by blending a lighter color with the base color. Models can be passively highlighted by starting with a light basecoat and shading it appropriately.
Drybrushing is a technique used to highlight a model. When drybrushing, load a stiff brush with paint and then wipe most of the paint off. Draw the brush across the raised surface to be highlighted. The trace amounts of paint remaining on the brush will adhere to the raised surface without flowing down into the crevices, and with a softer edge than a standard brushstroke. Drybrushing tends to leave a powdery finish on smooth surfaces, so it works best on highly textured surfaces like dirt or fur.
Line highlighting is another technique used to highlight a model. The name says it all. Paint a thin line in a light color along a contour or edge that would naturally catch light and reflect it. This works best for simulating glossy surfaces, highlighting edges and corners, or highlighting fine detail like straps and trim.
Blending is a technique used to blend two colors or tones together. The smoothness of a blend refers to the seamlessness of the transition between one color and the next.
Wet blending and wet-on-wet blending are two terms for the same blending technique. This technique is similar to one used in traditional oil painting. To wet-blend, lay down one color on the model. While this color is wet, take a second color on the brush and lay it next to the first color, working the two together in the middle where they meet. This method is useful on large areas like cloaks and warjack plates, but can easily build up unwanted texture if you're not careful.
Layering and wet-on-dry blending are two terms for the same blending technique. To layer, thin one color to translucency and paint it on top of the other color. Once the translucent paint is dry, paint another layer on, but leave an edge of the first layer showing. By building up many thin layers in this way, the transition appears smooth to the eye. Layering is a more laborious process than wet-blending but gives potentially smoother results.
It'll come out in the wash
A dark brown wash is a fast and easy way to make the straps pop. The wash sinks down into the contours between the straps and around the rivets. Presto, instant definition.
Note that definition isn't the same as shading, however. You can clearly see each strap now, but the upward-facing surfaces of the model are exactly the same color as the downward-facing surfaces of the model. Another controlled wash on the downward-facing surfaces is necessary to obtain true shading. Note the difference between the two circled areas. The arm has not been shaded; the leg has.
Painting on the edge
Tiny leather straps are a perfect candidate for line highlighting. With a nicely pointed brush, I painted a thin line of beige across the top of each strap. When highlighting edges like this, it works better to use the side of the brush's tip rather than the point.
Add water and blend until smooth
I find that wet-blending a large area like this is quicker than layering it. I start by roughly blocking in the various areas of shadow. This makes it easier to turn the model around without losing track of where the dark and light areas should go. The blocked-out areas look pretty natural even before blending.
You have to turn the model upside down to see how much the paint exaggerates the contour of the model.
Once the rough areas are blocked in, I blend them together. If you're working with Model Color, I recommend putting a smidge of drying retarder in your paint before you start this process. Other brands of paint dry slowly enough where you should be able to stick with distilled water. The paint should have a thin consistency; not translucent, but not quite as thick as your basecoat.
Working with one edge at a time, I lay down a stripe of the lighter color slightly overlapping the rough edge. Quickly, without rinsing my brush, I pick up a small amount of the darker color and lay it alongside the lighter color. I've now got two wet colors side by side and a mix of the two on my brush. I draw the brush along the axis of the blend several times, starting on the dark edge and working over into the light edge.
Make sure to do this with long, deliberate strokes. Don't stab at the model or go over and over the same area. You'll dig holes in the paint that are very difficult to fix.
After the first blending pass, I let the paint dry completely and then see how the blend looks. It's tempting to overwork the blend while the paint is drying. Don't do it. You'll just pull paint off the model and have a big mess to fix later. If the blend is rough, I'll smooth it out by wet-blending the intermediate tones over the rough areas, leaving the good parts of the blend alone. I work my way through the entire cloak like this until I'm satisfied with both the smoothness and placement of all the blends.
Layering is well suited to a smaller, more contoured area like the face. To paint this part of the model, I thin several colors down to translucency. I mix in some Glaze Medium or Thinner when I'm thinning so the paint doesn't lose too much adhesion. Since I'm starting with a midtone for my skin color, I paint thin layers of dark and medium brown into the hollows and light pinkish brown onto the higher areas. As in wet-blending, it's important to paint very deliberately. Layering depends on thin, translucent coats of paint to achieve its effect. If you flutter your brush over and over the same area, you'll build up the color too quickly and wind up with a hard edge. Wait until one translucent layer is dry and then paint the next layer on, paying close attention to where the edges of your layers fall.
Using washes, line highlights, and blends, I'm able to shade and highlight the entire model. I'm not drybrushing anything because most of the contours are smooth. If Eiryss had some fur trim going on, that would be a good candidate for drybrushing. As it is, I'm avoiding the rough, powdery finish that drybrushing leaves in favor of more tidy methods.
Until next time—


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Technology site V3.co.uk reports that this week Google could be releasing Gingerbread, the lastest version of it's Android mobile operating system software, following a tweet from Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez, a member of the leadership team at the Open Handset Alliance concerned with Android.
"Prepare your Nexus One (Developer version) for Android over-the-air update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days," he wrote (translated from Spanish).
Although Google declined to comment, the rumor seems credible as Google recently added a Gingerbread man to the stack of giant cakes outside the Googleplex. These cakes represent every version of Android.
Can you name all the Android updates?
The Original Search Marketing Event is Back!
SES Denver (Oct 16) offers an intense day of learning all the critical aspects of search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search advertising (PPC). The mission of SES remains the same as it did from the start - to help you master being found on search engines. Register today!


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Recent Tweets by @ESAsummit
Join the Mailing List
2013 Event Program
February 19, 2013
Breakfast General Session: Finding Your Place in the Residential Interactive Services Market (8:00 am – 9:15 am)
It's no longer a question of "if" but "how." As ESA's recently launched industry public relations program underscores, the residential market has quickly moved to "Security+." System sales increasingly include not only intrusion and fire alarms but also remote control of thermostats, lighting, doors and cameras, used as much for premises information collection (like what the cat is up to) as for security. With mass marketers in the space with low-cost and do-it-yourself solutions and high-end A/V contractors increasingly awake to the opportunity for lighter technology and more affordable plays, where do security integrators position themselves in the market? What solution enhancements and add-ons are coming to create opportunities for differentiation, increased margin and winning in this competitive space. This session will walk through a newly introduced market map that will help you visualize the products and services your company will need to offer to win certain types of customers.
Moderator: Brandon Savage
Speaker: Michael Pope, President, Safety Technologies, Inc.; Patrick Egan, President, Select Security
Seminar – Technology Leadership: Teaming for Success on Commercial IT Solutions (9:30 am – 10:30 am)
ESA's 2012 Target Trends Survey shows security integrators are aggressively growing their IT solutions offers to compete effectively, grow revenues and add RMR. In this session, you'll learn how an SDM 100 security integration company is teaming with an IT managed services provider to address targeted commercial prospects with solutions that will mean accounts that yield thousands of dollars in RMR each. Is this kind of win-win scenario in your company's future? Attend the session and find out.
Moderator: John Galante, President, AE Ventures
Seminar - Executive Leadership: How to be Customer-Focused without Losing Your Shirt (9:30 am – 10:30 am)
All that buzz about customer experience improvements could sound like it would break the bank. But a customer focus doesn't mean mindlessly yielding to customer demands or investing huge sums in new programs. It means creating an experience that delights customers, which can ultimately allow you to improve your company's profits. In this session, Kristen Simmons, customer experience expert and Managing Partner of Lightswitch, will share real examples of how companies inside and outside our industry have used low-cost means to improve their customer experience — and business results.
Speaker: Kristen Simmons, Lightswitch
Seminar - Revenue Leadership: Easy and Essential Sales Reporting and Activity Tracking (9:30 am – 10:30 am)
Finding the right balance on sales activity reporting and tracking is always a challenge. Management wants visibility into sales actions and results like no other function in the company. And the measurements that are instituted aren't just about management information; they should be designed to help the sales focus on appropriate targets with winning measures. Ideally, tracking and reporting aren't seen by the sales team as a burden but a useful guidance that helps them maximize opportunities. In this session, we hear from both an experienced sales leader and teacher and young gun about what really works.
Presenter: Jay Stuck, VP of Sales and CMO, SecureWatch24
Seminar - Chapter Management: Apprenticeship: Training the Future Workforce (9:30 am – 10:30 am)
ESA's federally-recognized National Apprenticeship Program for Protective Signal Installers (Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers) addresses the industry's need to remain competitive by investing in the development and enhancement of the skills of the electronic security industry.
Speakers: David Koenig, Capital Fire & Security, Inc., Tracy Dalrymple, ESA Operations Manager, Training and Certification
Seminar - Technology Leadership: Interactive Services in the Light Commercial Market (10:45 am – 12:00 pm)
Much of the focus on interactive services to date has been in the residential market, where mass marketers are playing for keeps with interactive services and independent integrators really feel the need to match or better their offers. The commercial market, however, has just as much receptivity to interactive services and better price points with less competition. In this session, we'll show you how to translate your residential interactive services know how to the light commercial sector and begin winning larger more profitable project and expanded RMR.
Speaker: Greg McLochlin, Honeywell
Seminar - Executive Leadership: Sourcing High Quality Human Capital: Where to Find Tech, Sales and Administrative Talent (10:45 am – 12:00 pm)
With the market heating up, the age-old question of where and how to find talent is back near the top of management challenges. And it's not all one flavor. You need to fish in different ponds to find your tech, sales and administrative talent and you need different bait and incentives to complete the acquisition. In this session, you'll get both a batch of best practices and a look at emerging information-age resources for tackling this critical management challenge.
Moderator: Shannon Murphy, VP of Sales & Marketing, ESA
Panelist(s): Laura Lacomble, Senior Human Resources Manager, RFI Communications and Security Systems; Jay Stuck, VP of Sales and CMO, SecureWatch24; Pam Petrow, CEO & President, Vector Security
Seminar - Revenue Leadership: Must-Do Digital Marketing & Lead Generation Programs (10:45 am – 12:00 pm)
Most security integrators are taking the plunge on professional website development and maintenance, email marketing and some level of social media. The goals? A simple and practical general awareness and interest for your company's products and services among both customers and prospects…generate leads. In this session, ESA Sales & Marketing Professionals Group vice chair Lisa Matthews leads a panel of ESA SMPs and digital marketing resources to outline the essentials every security integrator should be executing.
Panelist(s): Lisa Matthews, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Safety Technologies; Erica Wood, Chief Security Officer, American Fire & Security; Jeff Martin, President, AVS Systems
Seminar - Chapter Management: Day to Day Operations of a Successful Chapter (10:45 am – 12:00 pm)
This session will provide chapter management best practices, legal structuring of a chapter and day to day operational procedures. Perspective will be offered from an ESA Executive Director on the day to day operations of a chapter.
Speaker: Jean Novy, Executive Director – Wisconsin Electronic Security Association and Kentucky Electronic Security Association
Luncheon General Session: State of the Art in Retail Security & Complementary Technology Solutions (12:00 pm – 1:30 pm)
Retail consistently ranks in the top three vertical commercial markets served by ESA members. It's a market energized by constantly evolving threats and criminal tactics along with the rapid introduction of new security technologies to address the threats. It's also unique in the related opportunities it presents to security integrators in IT categories like automatic data capture, data security and secure transaction processing and business intelligence categories such as the use of IP camera systems and analytics for merchandise and customer service analysis.
Moderator: Tom LeBlanc, Editor-in-Chief, Commercial Integrator Magazine
Panelist(s): Steve Paley, President, Rapid Security Solutions, LLC; Dan Briggs, Vice President, Business Development, MSA Systems Integration; Don Childers, Director of Technical Training, Alarm South/Security Central
Seminar - Technology Leadership: State of the Art in Video Verification and Video Alarms (1:45 pm – 3:00 pm)
For two years, ESA's annual MegaTrends survey has pointed to consistent strong expansion of video verification with traditional alarm sensing. Now that the technology and techniques are relatively widely deployed, we take a look at integrators who are doing the best job of configuring systems for reliable verification, responding effectively at the central station level and doing the best job of selling this feature enhancement to end-users.
Speaker: Morgan Hertel, Rapid Response Monitoring Systems
Seminar - Executive Leadership: Leading Organizational Change on Technologies, Products, Services and Culture (1:45 pm – 3:00 pm)
The security industry has never experienced an era of more rapid and fundamental change than today. Technology and business model evolution are driving the need for transformation in staff composition and skills. For an industry that's resisted change for so long, it's a shock and a challenge. In this session, you'll hear the insights of executive peers. What are the top issues? What's the conceptual framework they are using to address them? And, most important, what techniques are they using to win company-wide support and engagement for change?
Speakers: Dee Ann Harn, CEO, RFI Communications and Security Systems, ESA EMP Chair; Sam Fiske, General Manager, Smoky Mountain Systems; Joe Nuccio, President and CEO, ASG Security, ESA ILG Chair
Seminar - Revenue Leadership: Sales Team Compensation & Incentives–Plans that Work (1:45 pm – 3:00 pm)
Compensation and incentives are important ingredients in the magic elixir you serve your sale team to achieve your company's desired growth. In this session, you'll learn what's working from industry leaders and get a first glimpse at the ESA Sales & Market Professionals Group first ever annual compensation survey.
Speaker: Bob Ryan, Senior VP, Sales and Marketing, ASG Security
Seminar - Chapter Management: Dissemination of Information (1:45 pm – 3:00 pm)
This session will discuss various mediums to disseminate information and tips for using each. Tactics of press releases, e-blasts, newsletters and direct mail will be discussed as well as targeting specific audiences with a call to action that is appropriate for that audience. Additionally, building distribution lists and tracking responses will be covered.
Speaker: Kevin Lehan, Executive Director – Illinois Electronic Security Association, Public Relations Manager for EMERgency24
Seminar - Technology Leadership: Beyond IP & LANs to Cloud Based Architectures–New Tech Proficiencies Required (3:15 pm – 4:30 pm)
Just when you thought you knew everything you needed to know about networks, the technology revolution takes us from local area networks to the cloud…and an increasingly eclectic cloud it is. This executive level session will provide an overview on how to architect networks with the appropriate routing, application performance, and security technologies for the cloud. In addition to looking at fixed, at-premises networks, we'll cover mobile connections to the cloud. Attend this session and get a better sense for the new network knowledge and proficiencies you'll need to cope with the next big tech change.
Speaker: Don Childers, Director of Technical Training, Alarm South/Security Central
Seminar - Executive Leadership: Valuations Update–New Products & Services Transform the Account Valuation Landscape (3:15 pm – 4:30 pm)
RMR-based offers of home and building control, video and access control are still relatively new and the security industry's financial analysts are still sorting out valuations based on account longevity and profitability. This session offers a snapshot of where we stand in these categories and explains where the consensus is forming on key metrics that influence account valuations up and down.
Moderator: George De Marco, Security Industry Consultant
Panelist(s): Rich Perry, Security Networks; Richard Ginsburg, G3 Capital Partners; Amy Kothari, Alarm Capital Alliance
Seminar - Revenue Leadership: Marketing to and through Responding Authorities (3:15 pm – 4:30 pm)
Most electronic security companies fear their connection to responding authorities, but enlightened players understand responding authorities can be powerful sources of leads and endorsements if you have the right relationship and marketing techniques. Learn more from the guys on the front lines of our industry's relationship with public safety.
Presenters: Ron Walters, SIAC; Stan Martin, SIAC
Seminar - Chapter Management: Legislation and Licensing (3:15 pm – 4:30 pm)
Forget what they told you in school about the legislative process – learn how it really works! This session will touch on local and state legislation. You will learn what you need to know about being successful when proposing a bill. Methods of contacting legislators and/or local politicians will be uncovered. Members will be called to action to contact their legislators and/or local politicians!
Speakers: Maria Malice, President Arizona Alarm Association, Vice President, Cops Monitoring, Kevin Lehan, Executive Director – Illinois Electronic Security Association, Public Relations Manager for EMERgency24
February 20, 2013
Breakfast General Session: Experience The Experience Experts (8:00 am – 9:30 am)
At ESX 2012, former Mazda CMO, Kristen Simmons, introduced ESA members to the concept of tending to the customer experience as the key competitive battleground in today's marketplace. In this panel discussion, moderated by Deborah O'Mara of Security Dealer & Integrator magazine, Kristen is joined by two other experience marketing experts from the high tech and home building/real estate sectors to help further enlighten security integrators on the need to engage in this new dimension of marketing, customer service and business planning. You won't want to miss the insights provided by these three powerful voices on the experiential approaches to selling consumer technology services and lifestyle enhancements—the very spaces your company lives in on a daily basis.
Moderator: Deborah O'Mara, Editor-in-Chief, Security Dealer & Integrator Magazine
Panelist(s): Kristen Simmons, Lightswitch; Esther Lopez, Sr. Director of Customer Experience, Cross Country Home; Amy Westwood, Director of Technology, Celebration Associates
Luncheon General Session: ESA MegaTrends Meet ESA MegaMinds (12:30 pm – 2:00 pm)
ESA's annual MegaTrends Survey has become a source of information on industry direction that the industry looks forward to each year. The study pinpoints trends in product and services mix, technology and applications and operational investments among security integration companies. This year's reporting will be leavened by insights from the some of the brightest executive minds in electronic security. The chair and vice chair of ESA's Integration Leaders Group and its Executive Management Professionals Group will provide their take on the trends, why they are happening and a look at what their companies are doing that aligns with the trends.
Moderator: Merlin Guilbeau, ESA Executive Director
Panelists: Joe Nuccio, President and CEO, ASG Security, ESA ILG Chair; Michael Pope, President, Safety Technologies, Inc.
February 21, 2013
ESA Breakfast Presentation: Honing Human Capital: New Challenges for a New Era in Security (7:45 am – 9:00 am)
Developing and managing human capital (a.k.a. staff) is one of the most critical responsibilities of company leaders. In this session, fueled by recent ESA Professional Group research studies, we'll provide insights from industry leaders charged with executive management, operational management and sales management within their organizations as well as perspectives from the next generation of leaders on topics including:
- Sourcing and on-boarding new technical and sales staff
- Training and developing existing staff
- Cross training and other requirements associated with interactive services
- Effective compensation, incentive and recognition strategies
Hear from some of the best on what the key issues, strategies and tactics are, then dig in deeper with questions and contributions of your own.
Moderator: John Galante, President, AE Ventures
Panelists: Dee Ann Harn, CEO, RFI Communications and Security Systems, ESA EMP Chair; Dana Klesh, Owner, United Alarm; Trevor Block, Senior Vice President – Field Operations, Guardian Protection Services, ESA ISP Co-Chair; Todd Gaito, Sales and Marketing Manager, Wayne Alarm, ESA YSP Chair
ESA Industry Luncheon and Update (12:00 pm – 1:15 pm)
ESA will discuss new member benefits and initiatives as well as provide a sneak peak on new NTS courses and content under development. Learn ways you can save your business thousands of dollars by utilizing ESA's new Member Savings Program with partners that offer discounts on health services, office supplies, payroll services, gas, and many more! You won't want to miss this!
ESA Silver Finale Reception (6:00 pm – 7:15 pm)
Sessions Eligible for Florida Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
The ESA Leadership Summit is excited to announce that many of the seminars in the program are eligible for Florida Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
The seminars listed below are also eligible for National Training School (NTS) CEU credits of 0.1 for each course.
The following seminars eligible for CEUs.
Tuesday, February 19
- Finding Your Place in the Residential Interactive Services Market (8:00 am – 9:15 am)
- Stepping Up Your Commercial IT Solutions Play (9:30 am – 10:30 am)
- Easy and Essential Sales Reporting and Activity Tracking (9:30 am – 10:30 am)
- Sourcing High Quality Human Capital: Where to Find Tech, Sales and Administrative Talent (10:45 am – 12:00 pm)
- Must-Do Digital Marketing & Lead Generation Programs (10:45 am – 12:00 pm)
- State of the Art in Retail Security & Complementary Technology Solutions (12:00 pm – 1:30 pm)
- State of the Art in Video Verification and Video Alarms (1:45 pm – 3:00 pm)
- Leading Organizational Change on Technologies, Products, Services and Culture (1:45 pm – 3:00 pm)
- Sales Team Compensation & Incentives–Plans that Work (1:45 pm – 3:00 pm)
- Beyond IP & LANs to Cloud Based Architectures–New Tech Proficiencies Required (3:15 pm – 4:30 pm)
- Valuations Update–New Products & Services Transform the Account Valuation Landscape (3:15 pm – 4:30 pm)
- Marketing to and through Responding Authorities (3:15 pm – 4:30 pm)
Wednesday, February 20
- Experience The Experience Experts (8:00 am – 9:30 am)
- ESA MegaTrends Meet ESA MegaMinds (12:30 pm – 2:00 pm)


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Vacuum Cleaner Bags
Vacuum cleaning systems that offer the best cleaning ability – is that what you are seeking? It's also likely that you believe that cleaning ability is related to power or suction. Actually, it's not. While there's no single factor that determines the cleaning ability of the vacuum cleaner you use, understanding how vacuums work and how you can help maintain your vacuum cleaner to perform its best is important. Changing your vacuum cleaner bag is an important step in maintaining the efficiency of your vacuum cleaner. While most vacuum cleaners come with an indicator to help you determine when your cleaner's dust bag needs to be changed, you can perform a check yourself to see if it is over 50% full as that's when you need to replace it. Don't wait until the dust bag in your vacuum cleaner is completely full as it can reduce the suction and cleaning capacity of your vacuum cleaning system. If you use your vacuum cleaner frequently, it is recommended that you change vacuum cleaner bags once a month, especially if you are cleaning a large area over 2000 square feet or if your pet sheds a lot.
What you need the most when you are considering vacuum cleaner bag replacement is a bag that is well-matched with the model of your vacuum cleaning system. You can find original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or replacement type bags online. While both serve the purpose, that is enhancing the cleaning capacity of your vacuum cleaning system and providing you an easy way to get rid of all the dirt that you vacuum cleaner collects, you can choose one according to your budget and cleaning needs. At GoVacuum, we have got a vast range of vacuum cleaner bags from the biggest and the best brands around. You'll find them here at great prices and shipping offers. We are the vacuum cleaning system experts and can recommend the right bag for your existing system all while staying within your budget.
Castex Portapack Vacuum Cleaner Bags10 PackThese are 10 generic Castex back pack vacuum cleaner bags for the Portapack back pack model 900005. The cardboard collar measures 6.75" X 6.25". Bags made by Envirocare Technologies. Fits Castex part number 900005. Learn More
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Genuine Castex Envirofilter Lite Trak/ Viper Vacuum Cleaner Bags, 10 Pk.Genuine Castex Envirofilter vacuum cleaner bags for the Viper and Lite trak models. 10 Bags per package. Castex part number 900000. Learn More
Hoover Type Y ZVac Vacuum Bags (10Pk)Superb quality and filtration- this is a 10 pack of Hoover ZVac Type Y Upright Vacuum cleaner bags for the Hoover Windtunnel Upright Models. Learn More
Kenmore ZVac 5055, 5057, 50558 canister vacuum bagsMake the switch to our 15-pack ZVac Kenmore 5055, 5057 and 5058 vacuum bags and enjoy great savings. Learn More
Eureka ZVac RR Vacuum Bags (15 pack)Eureka ZVac RR Vacuum Bags are the replacement vacuum bags for the Eureka Ultra Smart Vac uprights. Designed for easy installation and superior filtration, the Eureka ZVac RR Vacuum Bags (15 pack) makes for an excellent choice. Learn More
Eureka ZVac MM Canister Vacuum Bags (15 pack)Eureka ZVac MM Canister Vacuum Bags provide genuine like quality and designed for easy installation within the Eureka Mighty Might canister vacuums. GoVacuum offers free shipping on the Eureka ZVac MM Canister Vacuum Bags (15 pack). Learn More
Electrolux ZVac Style U Upright Vacuum Bags (15 pack)Electrolux ZVac Style U Upright Vacuum Bags (15 pack) are engineered to deliver high quality filtration while optimizing the vacuum's airflow. Fits the Electrolux Discovery, Epic, and Prolux models of upright vacuum cleaners. Learn More
Oreck ZVac CC Upright Vacuum Bags (15 pack)Oreck ZVac CC Upright Vacuum Bags are for the Oreck XL upright vacuum cleaners with the docking station system. High quality replacement vacuum bags that are mostly biodegradable. 15 vacuum bags total. Learn More
Kenmore ZVac 5055, 5057, 50558 HEPA cloth vacuum bags (15 pack)Get our 15-pack of ZVac Kenmore HEPA 5055, 5057 and 50558 vacuum bags and breathe easier. Our generic bags are perfect for allergy sufferers. Learn More


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Memoir: I came out to my Muslim family after a decade of silence—and the fallout was brutal
"At home, I was in the closet. My dad grew up in a village in Pakistan, my mom in a Swiss farm town. There were mosques and churches and cultural norms. In both cases, any liberal views on sexuality were obscured by mountains…. I decided to [come out] via email. It didn't take long to write—I'd been drafting it for a decade."
By Sabrina Jalees via Toronto Life
Spotlight: Morishima Akiko [Yuri Kuma Arashi]
Since it was just announced that Morishima Akiko will be working on the manga for Kunihiko Ikuhara's new anime, Yuri Kuma Arashi, I want to spend a little bit of time talking about her, for the benefit of Ikuhara fans who might not be familiar with yuri.
First of all, if you're not familiar with Kunihiko Ikuhara, he is the creator and director of Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum. Ikuhara is a visionary director who is incredibly skilled at combining wordplay, symbolism, humour and tragedy into his work. Seriously, if you haven't seen Utena or Penguindrum just… just go watch them. You'll thank me.
It seems that Ikuhara always makes very conscious decisions about who he wants to work with on his projects, and there's a good reason why he chose Morishima Akiko for this one.
Morishima is a yuri mangaka; that is, she creates romantic stories about girls/women. She is probably best known for her distinct art style; her characters often have soft, cute features and round cheeks. But more important than her art style is what she writes about. She is a very unique mangaka who spends a lot of time breaking the "rules" of yuri and subverting tropes:
She often writes about adults: If you're familiar at all with yuri, you know they are almost always about high school girls, but Morishima often writes about women who are 20-30 years old.
Why is writing about adults so important? Well, to answer that question, we need to know a bit about what Japan thinks of homosexuality. Basically, the culture in Japan is still quite homophobic, and this is reflected in subtle ways in the yuri genre. Most mangaka will include elements in their work that are non-threatening, so they are still appealing to a wide (potentially homophobic) audience. Writing about school girls is non-threatening, because there is an extremely pervasive idea in Japan that girls may "experiment" in their youth, and will form temporary pseudo-romantic relationships with other girls before they "grow up", move on, marry a man, and become "normal". Most yuri is not explicit about this eventuality, and the story ends while the girls are still in school, leaving it up to the reader's interpretation. Other elements that make yuri non-threatening are all-girls schools, avoiding LGBT issues that characters would realistically face, and avoiding any mention of homosexuality at all. If the reader is uncomfortable with homosexuality, these elements help them interpret the story in a non-threatening way (as teenage hormones or experimentation or friendship or whatever).
However, writing about adults does not allow this interpretation. If an adult chooses to be in a homosexual relationship, it is a serious decision. It isn't just based on hormones, or pseudo-romance. There is no room for interpretation: they are straight-up not heterosexual. And that's pretty threatening to a homophobic society!
Pardon my wordy detour! I get excited about this stuff!
She writes about LGBT issues: When Morishima does write about high school girls, she subverts safe yuri tropes, and draws attention to society's harmful views of yuri. For example, in Hanjuku Joshi, a snide upperclassman directly tells the main couple that their love is just a pseudo-romance, and they'll grow up and marry men eventually. Directly addressing the issue in this way leads to the couple reassessing their love and overcoming the hurdle together (and causes the upperclassman to reassess her love life, as well). By addressing the issue instead of pretending it doesn't exist, Morishima is challenging the reader to reassess their own interpretation of yuri in an active way.
- She writes about LGBT stuff!: Morishima has several series about adult lesbians living normal, social lives with other LGBT friends, and has written several times about gay communities such as Shinjuku Ni-choume, which I've never seen mentioned by other yuri mangaka.
Basically, Morishima Akiko is a talented creator who is genre-savvy, hyper-aware of gender/sexuality issues, and actively works to challenge society, and if that doesn't sound like Ikuhara, I don't know what does.
If you're interested in reading some of her work, here are some picks:
(Note: some of her work is NSFW.)
- Hanjuku Joshi [NSFW] - Probably the most well known of Morishima's works, about a girl who dislikes how feminine she is and her classmate who is her complete opposite.
- Honey Mustard - Story about two coworker friends who used to date, who both fall for the same girl. (Has a crossover chapter with characters from another of her short stories, Office Romance: Women's Division.)
- The Conditions for Paradise [NSFW near the end] - Story about an office lady who relies on schedules and stability, and her travelling friend who drifts in and out of her life.
- 20-Year-Old Girl x 30-Year-Old Maiden - Comedic story about two inexperienced girlfriends with a big age gap.
- Happy Picture Diary - 4-koma about the regular life of a couple in their 20's.
You can read more on Dynasty (including a bunch of one-shots that I didn't mention)!
Alan Cumming Defends His Bisexuality Despite Being Married To A ManAlan Cumming spoke at length about his sexuality in a new Instinct interview.
I love him and appreciate this strike against bi invisibility, but mostly I'm enjoying mentally editing the headline to reflect other things that don't affect whether a person is bisexual. "Alan Cumming Defends His Bisexuality Despite Being Allergic to Strawberries." "Alan Cumming Defends His Bisexuality Despite Not Having Watched Final Season of The West Wing." "Alan Cumming Defends His Bisexuality Despite Feeling like Beyonce's New Album is Great, but Maybe Not Worth All the Hype, If He's Being Totally Honest."
Alan Cumming Defends His Bisexuality Despite Learning How To Juggle Flaming Torches In Aruba!
bisexual guys are assumed to be secretly gay
bisexual girls are assumed to be secretly straight
both are assumed to secretly like men
see what i'm getting at?
Don't forget that gay men are gay because they lacked a "strong male figure". And lesbians either haven't found the right man or are gay because of a guy.
Bisexual "Privilege"
I am so tired of hearing about how I am supposedly privileged as a bisexual, and of having my sexuality outright invalidated by both the queer and straight communities.
I knew I was bi when I was fifteen, but I didn't come out until I was nineteen. At that point, I was in the beginning of a long term relationship with a straight man. He reacted, initially, in a bad way, but in an hour or so, he was alright again. The people around us were not. To my face, the people we knew were open and accepting. Behind my back, they asked him if he was afraid I'd leave him for a woman.
My own family, when I finally came out to them, asked me the most ridiculous questions. How could I live with a female roommate? As if I was inherently attracted to everyone and everything and unable to control my raging sexuality (she was so not my type). Was I leaving my boyfriend for a girl? They assumed it was impossible for me to be monogamous, because I'd always want something else. I'd never be satisfied. Why couldn't I just pick one? Hadn't I always had a hard time getting along with women anyway (internalized girl-hate in me and in the women around me)? My younger sister reacted with horror, afraid of being seen as "gay by association". Later, when I dated a woman, my mother reacted with surprise - "I know you said you were bisexual, but I always thought you'd end up with a man."
That's the thing about being bisexual, is that after so many years of being treated this way, you start to internalize biphobia. I have often questioned my sexuality, because I have been in relationships with men, but not really women. There are a lot of factors in this - mostly that straight men approach me all the time, but conversely, I am shy and can't readily tell which women around me are even queer in the first place. Finding straight men to date is a helluva lot easier than finding queer women. But even so, I find myself justifying my sexuality to myself, and to others, when I've never had a real relationship with a woman - sexually or otherwise. As if that lack of experience negates my feelings.
Sometimes I FEEL like I'm not really bi, like I'm just being a "special snowflake"; but those feelings of uncertainty have nothing to do with my sexuality, and everything to do with my supposed failure to meet the expectations that society has of a bisexual woman.
My sexuality is fetishized by most of the people with whom I engage in a relationship. Its true validity is negated by nearly everyone who expects me to just end up with a hetero man (and if I do, then I was never bisexual at all!). It is erased by straight and queer people alike. I'm "too straight", never queer enough.
And that's bisexual privilege - always having to defend my sexuality, even to other queers. Never being queer enough. If I'm with a hetero man then I supposedly experience "straight passing privilege", which really just means further erasure of my identity.
It's all garbage, and anyone who buys into this crap should stop it immediately.
it's been over 2 years since dragon age 2 came out and people are still complaining that it's unrealistic to have four bisexual people in the same city
#i'll believe in a mine full of dragons before i believe in four bisexual people being in close proximity of each other


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Bouncing ball time. Last April, I wrote about how the Stanford Daily newspaper was selling links for those seeking to rank better on Google, ironic given that Google was born out of Stanford University and is very anti-link selling. Then last May, the newspaper decided to abandon paid links along with doorway pages it hosted for third parties. Today, SEW Forums moderator AussieWebmaster notices that paid links and hosted web pages have come back, such as you'll see at the bottom of the paper's home page here and a hosted page here.
Nope, I don't see the use of nofollow as Google's Matt Cutts recommends, nor is the page banned by robots.txt from being indexed. Far from it, it's ranking well.
AussieWebmaster -- Frank Watson -- oversees a site for currency trading terms, which is why the Stanford-hosted page came to his attention. It currently ranks fifth out of about 40 million pages that Google has indexed for the term forex.
Well heck, at least the page carries Google's own AdSense ads on it :)
Want to comment or discuss? Visit our Search Engine Watch Forums thread, Paid Links, Hosted Doorway Pages Back At Stanford Daily.
The Original Search Marketing Event is Back!
SES Denver (Oct 16) offers an intense day of learning all the critical aspects of search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search advertising (PPC). The mission of SES remains the same as it did from the start - to help you master being found on search engines. Register today!


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|Barry Schoenborn
|John Wiley & Sons
|5 mrt. 2013
The easy way to brush up on the math skills you need in real life Not everyone retains the math they learned in school. Like any skill, your ability to speak "math" can deteriorate if left unused.
Learn to: Get the skills you need to tackle everyday math problems Know which math to use when shopping, driving, and investing Brush up on basic math skills and concepts Brush up on the math skills you need in your everyday life Need to sharpen your math skills to handle everyday encounters, like calculating restaurant tips, understanding interest rates, and figuring out percentages and odds? Packed with real-world examples, Math For Real Life For Dummies gives you plain-English explanations of the simple math formulas and operations you're likely to encounter in the workplace, the kitchen, and even when playing games. Brush up on the basics get basic math from counting and simple arithmetic to broader concepts like statistics Math to the rescue discover how to do the calculations that spring up while shopping, cooking, dining out, trying to lose weight, and more Manage money with math get a handle on the general principles, specialized terms, and strategies to create a budget, better manage your bank account and check register, avoid credit card debt, and invest more wisely Room for improvement see calculations you can do in your head and games you can play to build your math skills and sharpen your critical thinking Open the book and find: Math tricks that help you perform quick calculations in your head Ways to apply math formulas and principles to craft, home improvement, and yard projects How to make conversions, understand statistics, calculate odds, use percentages, and more Math solutions for day-to-day activities such as cooking, dining out, shopping, and banking Ten games that build math skills


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wilde-whimsy said: I LOVE your tumblr, so I have a question for you.
How do you feel about movie-adaptations of books? I make it a point to read the book before I even think about watching the movie, but if it's a book I really like, I don't watch the movie period. Something about it just moves me the wrong way a bit.
[But if I have no emotional attachment to the book, I'll watch away. Go figure.]
Do you watch the movies of the books you like?
Thank you!
Me personally, I tend to watch the film adaptions just out of curiosity. I always envision things in my head, so I wonder how the director will portray it on screen. I always, always, always read the book first though. I absolutely loathe when people say "Oh, I love Harry Potter…y'know, the films?" It actually makes my stomach turn.
Anonymous said: Harry Potter series. I promise, you will never once regret it.
Yeah, I run a Harry Potter blog (mugglenet) :) So I know what you mean, haha!
turveytops said: Not sure if you are still accepting Book Bucket submissions, but I have one which I thought I just couldn't pass up adding!
Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Genre: Classic Adventure
Summary: The ultimate adventure story of epic proportions, Treasure Island is the original pirate story combining elements of betrayal, bravery, treachery and courage, presented with authentic nautical attitude, to form the most suspenseful novel I've read in many years.
Just wanted to display what the perfect submission for the Book Bucket looks like. I'm sorry, I love you all but for a literary blog…something like: MAH BOOK IZ CALLED TWILITE AND IT'S YOUNG TEEN FICTIN AND IT'S REALLY GOOD, PLEASE HAVE YOU REAd?
Yeah. No.
quirrellmort said: I just wanted to say I like you so much more now that I found out you're a Nerdfighter. DFTBA.
FUCK YES. Are you kidding?! John Green is like my favourite author (next to JKR)! I love everything that man does. And Hank is adorbs.
Which books do you guys hope to get for Christmas?
(Or equivalent holiday. No discrimination, sorry, it's just what I celebrate!)
Got a new book yesterday, as a secret santa present.
It's called Battle Royale. It's a Japanese fiction about 42 ninth grade students who get sent to an island and have to fight to the death. It was banned in Japan, it seems sort of similiar to the Hunger Games (but this one was published first). Anyone read it?
I'm going to be away for a few days, due to the Christmas holidays.
As soon as I'm back, I'll post the Book Bucket so far and update about all of the exciting novels I got for Christmas. If you wanted to follow my personal blog, I may be able to update there through my blackberry…so check me out.
- Has been around since 1997 and it's still alive until now.
- Has sold more than 400 million books. And that's just for the series. It doesn't include Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
- Has been translated in over 69 languages.
- Been…
spraynard said: Hi, when will you be doing the Book Bucket thing? ^_^
Early next week! I've got a couple hundred messages to sift through. I'm going to be compiling it by the number of people who liked the book and then just by the overall quality of the mini-review, as well as my own opinions/experiences. Soon! It'll be good, promise :)
I just finished reading this book called "Will Grayson, Will Grayson"
By John Green and David Levithan. There's this conversation of Will Grayson and his buddy. goes like this:
Buddy:so you're g a y?
Will: yes
Buddy: So you put your thing where he defecates?that's disgusting
Will: Well, you put your thing on where she U r i na tes and have her monthly period.
Buddy: Oh, I haven't of thought
Cool eh.
I agree. I was totally disappointed, considering John Green is my second favourite author.
and now has died of Dysentery. I'm sure there's no connection at all. I'm trying to catch up with my non-Comic Book books that I have in my apartment. DC hurts me a bit right now anyway. I don't like the Pacing of Brightest day,(Emerald Warriors and Birds of Prey are both decent. It's just the…
Kind of harsh, but very interesting :)
So, did the queue just decide not to work today? Because all of my posts for today on here and on MuggleNet are both just…gone…
Honestly, I love Tumblr but they need to get their act together. This should be a proper blogging platform, this isn't the project of some recent web design graduate. There should be some professionalism happening here.


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Summer Apparel
By: Jessie Scott
Stay cool this summer with these innovative clothing products.
MORE FROM JESSIE SCOTT more +
2014 Farm Beautiful Winner By: Jessie Scott08/13/2014 @ 10:38am Congrats to Dick and Sharon Haas the winners of the 2014 Farm Beautiful Contest.
Ag Uses for Off-Road Vehicles By: Jessie Scott08/12/2014 @ 5:19pm ATVs and UTVs are critical pieces of equipment on this Minnesota farm.
10 Ag and Tech Facts By: Jessie Scott08/08/2014 @ 5:36pm Tech facts compiled by Laurie Bedord.


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Laksa Bar
108 Little Lonsdale St
Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laksa-Bar-Melbourne/185406064869705/
(Got too lazy. But I'm back, hopefully for much much longer before I get lazy again - it's a given.)
The first of my weekly Thursday lunch dates with a fellow Melbourne Uni friend! I've got a two hour lunch break, so that can get you pretty far out and back to class in time.
The first week, we went to Laksa Bar at the insistence of one of our other good friends. Be warned, they're closed on Sundays which we found out when we tried to go a few Sundays ago - sad. It's located between Russell and Exhibition Streets so just a short walk from Swanston St and the 'main' city area.
Being named Laksa Bar, we both went straight for the Laksa. There were two options when we went (March) - the House Curry Laksa or a lighter (skim) version. There, you can match it with your meat of choice (chicken, soft shell crab) or tofu as a vegetarian option. And lastly, you can pick either a small or regular size.
I got the Chicken House Curry (pictured), and my friend got the soft shell crab House Curry - both regular sizes… The regular size is massive! Apart from the noodles, they give you a whole bunch of other surprises in your bowl - fish balls, fishcakes, bean sprouts and crunchy other things. Needless to say, we weren't able to finish it BUT that had no relation to how deep the flavours were. The broth was a good level of spicy, and filled with all the typical flavours you'd find in a curry laksa - rich but not too oily.
As a little cute touch - bibs are available at the front counter to counteract any splashes from eating the laksa. Handy especially for all the business workers that come here during their lunch break.
Would definitely recommend for a quick easy lunch (or dinner) that's quite affordable but very filling.
Good Food Month 2013
Get on it guys! :D
A whole bunch of foodie offerings for the whole month - very very excited.
themidnightwanders asked: shouldn't you be studying for exams? why are you visiting all these restaurants? :P
A mix of procrastination/study break/I just really like food, exams won't stop me/I don't have exams (just a whole bunch of assignments).


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North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District's fuels crew will continue the hazardous fuels reduction project in the Galena and Davis Creek through February 26th, 2013, weather permitting.
This project is a cooperative effort between North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, Washoe County Parks Department and Nevada Division of Forestry. The debris or "slash" piles were created as a result of a hazardous fuels reduction and defensible space project over the last year, to help minimize the risk of wildland fires in the area.
The project's safety plan calls for cancellation of the controlled burning based on weather conditions each day, such as significant wind activity or precipitation. The burning piles are expected to produce smoke that may be visible throughout the area. Smoke resulting from the pile burns will affect the surrounding areas for approximately 24-36 hours. People that are smoke sensitive are advised to please stay inside and close their windows and doors as much as possible until the smoke dissipates. For further information, please call the Fire District at 775/831-0351, ext.0 to speak with someone in person or visit www.nltfpd.net.
From North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District
KTVN-TVPhone: (775) 858-2222Fax: (775) 861-4298
Mailing Address:4925 Energy WayReno, NV 89502


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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The United Way of Central West Virginia has raised more than $70,000 to help workers affected by a chemical spill.
The organization established an emergency fund following the spill in Charleston for workers who lost wages or had work hours reduced. The fund will provide up to $200 to help pay utility bills.
United Way of Central West Virginia director John Ballengee tells the Charleston Gazette (http://bit.ly/1hDMkSM ) that workers in all nine counties affected by the Jan. 9 spill can apply for utility assistance. The aid will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ballenge says workers must apply in person at one of the fund's assistance agencies.
A list of assistance agencies is posted on the United Way's website, www.unitedwaycwv.org .
Information from: The Charleston Gazette, http://www.wvgazette.com


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When: Saturday, November 2, 2013 and Saturday, April 5, 2014.
Where: Greater Waco Area
Volunteer with Us
Baylor students—sign up to volunteer as part of an organization you are a member of, with a group of friends, or as an individual! Staff and Faculty, join in the fun by registering with your department, getting your class involved, or joining with one of the many student groups going out! You are also invited to bring your family and join the celebration at Dewey Park for the Block Party which follows Steppin' Out from 2-5. Sign Up Now!
Request Volunteers
We would love the opportunity to serve you as part of our community. Acceptable job requests include: yard work, gardening, trash clean up, window washing, and painting (conditions apply). We would be glad to work with you to accommodate any other job requests.
Register your job request HERE.
Contact UsWe are here to serve you!


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Let's discuss something:
While Jill Stein is doing this:
And Cheri Honkala is doing this:
The Republican candidate is making an absolute fool of himself:
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And the President is talking about Big Bird.
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Stein/Honkala 2012!
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Think of the great theater roles, like Hamlet or Lear. Then consider the king who predates them all, Oedipus, that guy who has a problem with his father and an even bigger issue with his mother.
"Oedipus, for me, is the first fully realized dramatic character in the history of the theater," said Jim Svendsen, artistic director of the Classic Greek Theatre Festival, now in its 43rd year. "He's a prism with so many different sides. Like Shakespeare's characters, he's filled with contradictions. We love to watch him take his journey on the stage. We love and hate to see him succeed."
Written some 2,500 years ago, playwright Sophocles' classic tragedy is considered one of the greatest dramas ever told. Sigmund Freud might have popularized the idea of an "oedipal complex," yet it's the myth-based character's struggle with identity issues that helps the story remain relevant for contemporary audiences. And the drama's "nifty plot construction," as Svendsen describes it — with its reversals, surprises and inevitable tragic ending — is what draws theater, TV and film writers to return to the archetypal story again and again.
This year's production features a nine-member chorus. "We have music, dancing and choral speaking," said Sandra Shotwell, a University of Utah theater professor who directed the show, now on tour in Salt Lake City, Provo and Ogden. "This is the root of the dramatic musical."
In the play's original text, the playwright notes that Oedipus sings, which inspired producers to commission original music from composer Cathy Neff, formerly of Ogden. And in a first for the annual Greek production, the music is performed by professional oboist Hillary Coon. The oboe, Svensen said, is the closest modern relative to the aulos, the reed instrument played by the Greeks.
The music is paired with choreography by Solange Gomez, with movements that support the text and would be suitable for a Greek chorus of old men and women, Shotwell said.
The play consists of a series of arguments between characters. Onstage from the first to the last line of the play is Oedipus, portrayed by U. student Ryon Sharette, a veteran of two previous Greek Theatre productions.
Of course, it is Oedipus' passion and arrogance that lead to the character's inevitable downfall. But not without a few comedic moments along the way. Contemporary audiences are often fascinated and repelled by a line spoken by Oedipus' mother, Jocasta. "Many men dream of sleeping with their mothers. Don't worry," she tells her son.
"Don't be afraid to laugh in a Greek tragedy," said Svendsen, offering one of the insights from the orientation lectures he presents before every performance. "The ancient Greeks loved to laugh — there's comedy in everything. Look for the irony. Look for the black humor."
Go Greek
P The 43rd annual production of the Classical Greek Theatre Festival, based at Westminster College, continues its run of Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" in various Utah locations through Sept. 29.
When • Monday, Sept. 23, 5 p.m.; free orientation lecture at 4 p.m.
Where • Brigham Young University's de Jong Concert Hall, Provo
Tickets • $11 ($4 discount for students with IDs; $1 discount for seniors and BYU alumni); 801-422-2981, byuarts.com/tickets.
When • Today, Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29, 9 a.m.; orientation lecture at 8:30 a.m.
Where • Red Butte Garden amphitheater, University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $15; $10 for garden members; $7 children and students; 801-585-0556; tickets.redbuttegarden.org/TheatreManager/1/online
When • Wednesday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.; orientation lecture at 6:30 p.m.
Where • Wildcat Theater, Weber State University, Ogden
Tickets • $10; 801-626-7000; weberstatetickets.com


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Jill / Canadian / Writer. Musing on music from the past and present with thoughts, photos, songs, and lol-worthy things. Loves alt rock and great synth hooks. Essentials: David Bowie, NIN, Dave Grohl, U2. -
-Featured / Linked By: Tumblr #Music, The Rolling Stones, Nine Inch Nails, Know Your Meme,
everywhere now reminding me i am not who I used to be i'm afraid this has just begun consequences for what I've done,...
Oh skinnydumpling!