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SmartBear Software SoapUI Jobs in Crawley, West Sussex
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Club L
Daisy Skater Dress
Skater dress by CLUB L. Rounded neckline to front and low cut back. Non-stretch waist and flare skirt.
Made of 95% Polyester and 5% Elastane.
Model is 175 cm tall and is wearing a size EU 34.
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Colour: White/Black
Size reviewsSmall in size
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What's new in the French learning blogosphere?
Incredibly French has an entry on the best French scarves (with pics, in English).
Stanley from Speak French Fluently explains why it is a good idea to resort to a language coach if you are seeking to pass government exams, meanwhile shedding some light on the said exams (In English).
Wendy from Le Franco Phoney introduces some instances when French words are really English (In English).
Want to practice reading in French? Vanessa-George over at Culture française offers a simple, A2 level text in French about weird, out-of-season weather. (BEGINNERS AND UP)
Authentic conversations' site France Bienvenue presents an interview about gift giving, with transcripts and explanations: Les beaux cadeaux. Check it out! (ADVANCED BEGINNERS AND UP)
Beginners' site Let's Learn French Together teaches how to tell what day it is. With pronunciation guide. Useful! (BEGINNERS)
We all heard of the Korean hit Gangnam Style, but did you know about this country's music style "le trot"? En français s'il vous plaît gives a great introduction to this particular type of music, with a historical overview and live examples, including current hits: Le Trot: un genre de musique coréenne. (INTERMEDIATES AND UP)
French wine grower Hervé Bizeul throws spotlight on Belgian cooking magazine Culinaire Saisonnier and tells us why it's a little gem. (Via French and France) (INTERMEDIATES TO ADVANCED)
French blog Tout le net en parle debates about the best Wii U (/wee you/) game. Included in the entry is a video about the game Rayman Legends presented in authentic French (ADVANCED).


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looking for simple, good vodka drinks that are not loaded with calories
- s
- soccermom13 Apr 25, 2012 03:24 PM
Just read this thread "What's wrong with wanting a drink made with vodka?," so I hope I don't sound like a total rube for wanting some good drinks made with vodka.
Here's the deal: I love wine, but DH does not. If I open a bottle, it goes bad before I can drink it. I hate beer. Every once in a while, I'd like to have a drink made with hard liquor since I don't like wasting wine.
I always have good unflavored vodka in the house because I use it in cooking. (For Penne alla Vodka, for example.) I don't have flavored vodka and don't intend to buy any. I don't want to use sugary mixes, like soda pop. I don't want to use diet pop or things like artificially sweetened lemonade. Fruit juices would be fine, because I'd get some nutrients along with the calories. I have some liqueurs at home (Chambord, Triple Sec, etc) that I use for cooking, and I could buy more liqueurs to use in mixed drinks. When I google vodka drinks, I've stumbled across drinks using an elderberry liqueur several times. It's said to be pricey but good.
So far, this is all I've come up with:
vodka plus oj
vodka plus oj plus triple sec
vodka plus grapefruit juice
Bloody Mary's, of course, but I have to be in the right mood :0)
Anyone have additional ideas for me?
I like vodka with just soda and a squeeze of lime... but you can up the lime juice and add triple sec. I believe that's a kamikaze, but if you serve it in a martini glass, nobody has to know.
Vodka, soda & pomegranata liqueur can be nice, if a bit on the sweet side (I'm not a big fan of sweet drinks in general), but you can always dilute with lime juice.
re: ferret
Hi Ferret,
Are you a guy? I have this same conversation with my DH :) Here's the difference: a. I don't like coke, but I do like some mixed drinks. b) I like the little buzz I get from alcohol. I get no buzz from coke. 3) I would much rather chew my calories than drink them, but I have not figured out a way to chew booze.
Thanks for the ideas, wyogal and linguafood.
re: soccermom13
You can chew Jello shots.
Polar Seltzer has come out with a new flavor, Granny Smith Apple. It is just water, natural flavors and bubbles. No sweeteners artificial or otherwise and no calories. I have been enjoying it plain and have thought it wills make a great warm weather drink mixed with vodka. The taste is fresh and bright.
re: ferret
Vodka has 70 calories, oops correction that's 70 per ounce. I actually measure it out for dieting purposes..... I feel like vodka may be better for you in the long run over "sugary" soda! Unfortunately my favorite mixer with vodka is Kahlua, not much better. Some Perrier with a slice of lemon is nice for a change though.
You don't want sugar, yet sugar is a component of almost all cocktails (save for a small class of drinks make with a spirits and something like dry vermouth -- the Martini being the prototype). If you really want to avoid unnecessary calories, I suggest that you try a good gin Martini, with nice fresh vermouth. This cocktail has essentially no added sugar and is a world-class drink. It may take some time to come to appreciate it. It is one of the few drinks that I could drink every night and not tire of.
Another tact would be to skip the cocktail part and grow to like spirits neat or on the rocks -- scotch, other whiskey, rum, cognac, etc. The world of whiskey has vast, as is rum.
Otherwise, I'd recommend switching to gin. It has flavor (compared to vodka), so you don't have to use much mixer to make a nice cocktail. Gin + Campari + Soda + Lime is rather like a Gin and Tonic, but with much less sugar. Gin, lemon, Maraschino (+ optional Creme de Violette) makes an Aviation (the amount of Maraschino and CdV is very small).
www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community
re: EvergreenDan
Hi Dan,
What is Maraschino? The liquid that is in a jar of maraschino cherries? Other? Thanks for these ideas.
Humm, when I read the "What's wrong with wanting a drink made with vodka?" thread, I found myself wondering if I needed to buy some gin. Maybe I will.
Thanks for these great ideas.
re: soccermom13
Maraschino liqueur. Yes, like the cherries, but in liquid form. It's a really great addition to cocktails.
Damn, now I want that Aviation (no Maraschino in the house >sigh<).
re: linguafood
Yes, but Maraschino has little to do with cherry fruit flavor. It is made from the whole cherry, including the pit. It is clear and has a unique, funky flavor. An acquired taste, too. I recommend Luxardo brand.
re: EvergreenDan
Oh, no need to convince me. In the right drink, Maraschino makes magic happen. Like the aforementioned Aviation.
Hot summer days remind me of vodka drinks. My lowbrow vodka favorites - Vodka and iced tea is one of my favorite drinks. Vodka/diet ginger ale/lime/mint - a riff on a moscow mule.... And I like vodka with crystal lite, those little single packets, cherry pomengranite is a lot like kool aid, but I kinda like it.
soccermom13, it sounds like you don't really like the taste of vodka, as you said the only vodkas you have are used for cooking. If so, then why look for vodka drinks? I am asking simply to help you find what you are looking for. If you are looking to get an alcohol buzz with the fewest calories, then fair enough. There are plenty of ways to do so without relying on vodka that will still taste pleasant. As a bartender who does not like vodka, I struggle with people who drink vodka and can't explain why on a daily basis. I enjoy trying to find something for them outside of their comfort zone.
re: TheCiscoKid
Thanks for these ideas, hounds.
CiscoKid---I asked about vodka drinks because I have a bottle of good quality vodka in the house already. But there is no reason I can't buy a bottle of good gin. I am more than willing to purchase some shelf stable items to use for some good drinks. I'd like to avoid drinks that call for items I'd use just a small amount of and then the rest of the item would go to waste before I use it again (for example, bellinis---I would open a bottle of sparking wine, make one drink, then the rest of the bottle would go to waste because I would probably only make myself a mixed drink once or twice a week.)
I do love gimlets. But Rose's Lime Juice has 10 calories per tsp (240 calories per half cup). That is a lot of calories which carry virtually no nutrients. I think a lot of women who watch their weight have these same concerns---they want a nice drink now and then, are aware that booze itself has a fair number of calories, and so are looking for drinks where the "mix" ingredients aren't too calorific. This can sometimes result in dreadful drinks. There's a restaurant in my city that has a "lower cal" cocktail menu. I ordered one and it was truly dreadful. I know the hounds on this board can give me some ideas for drinks that are delicious and still meet my criteria for being lower cal.
Thanks, hounds.
p.s. Calliope--- I hate jello :0) but that Granny Smith seltzer sounds interesting..... I am in MN, so I will have to check on the availability of Polar brand.
re: soccermom13
I make my gimlets with fresh lime juice (I find Rose's too sweet) and just a dash of triple sec (instead of simple syrup), which apparently makes 'em Rickeys. I don't care, and they are awesomely refreshing. And low-cal :-)
re: soccermom13
Another good gin drink is called a buck .... In a Collins Glass, fill with ice and take 1.5 ounces of gin, an ounce of fresh lemon or lime juice, and due to your caloric issues, top off with low calorie ginger ale.
re: TheCiscoKid
CiscoKid (and others)-
Bartender told me yesterday that she thinks gin and grapefruit juice is a very pleasing combo. Do you find this to be true?
Everyone---I got a lot of really good ideas from this thread. Thanks very much.
re: soccermom13
Yes, gin and grapefruit go well. If you like bitter, adding a little Campari or Pimm's would make it more interesting. A little Green Chartreuse would be great too. In the quantities that we are talking about, the sugar would be negligible.
www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community
re: soccermom13
Try this one
looks good but have not made it
re: Dapuma
.... and respectfully due to my belief that Hendricks Gin is not an introduction bottle for someone to re-try gin, I think said drink Dapuma cites would more likely than not work great with any more straight forward london dry gins recommended here [Bombay Original, Beefeaters, Boodles, etc.] ...
re: hawkeyeui93
Hendricks is what brough me back into the gin world so i will have to respectfully disagree with your disagreement ;p, it is not a traditional london dry gin though - previously i thought all gin tasted like pine sol before randomly trying Hendricks never realizing there were all sorts of different varieties and that gave me a baseline to start and test other flavors without the juniper dominating, however...now i do like some of the more juniper heavy (london dry) in certain drinks - however I generally side on the "lighter"less juniper forward gins more often than not
re: Dapuma
Um, Hendricks marketing person, that's not a Martini.
re: Dapuma
i think it fails in the "simple" category
Not sure on the calorie count but I sometimes have a an ounce of vodka, an ounce of grapefruit juice (fresh) and a half ounce of campari shaken and served over ice with a lemon twist. and some bitters. I'm not sure what it's called and most of the time, I prefer the drink with a good gin but it seems like a pretty light drink to me and it's delicious!
re: JeremyEG
Jeremy -- that sounds great. Sounds even better with gin. Take any two of gin, Campari, and grapefruit, and that pair of ingredients has great affinity for each other. The trio would be outstanding; I'm trying it later tonight.
If you use white grapefruit, it will be more tart (although I'm not sure if this is because it actually has less sugar or because it has more acid).
To keep the calories down, add some seltzer water and go easy on the Campari.
www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community
Since it sounds like you're really concerned about the calorie-nutrient ratio, I'd suggest sticking to fresh juices as your main flavorers/ mixers. As I'm sure you know, most liqueurs have a lot of sugar (even though you use just a small amount) and probably not too many nutrients. As you said, you can mix the vodka with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice to make a vodka greyhound (add salt to the rim to make a salty dog). You can also buy gin and make a traditional greyhound. Similarly, mix with fresh orange; combine citrus flavors etc. Obviously, tonic or club soda are other options if you really want a drink that doesn't have much sugar.
Personally, the only vodka drink I've ever found particularly enjoyable (others are drinkable but sort of average) was the Petit Zinc- vodka, cointreau (you could sub your triple sec), sweet vermouth and fresh orange juice. The vermouth adds some herbal background notes that I find to be a lot more interesting than your typical vodka and syrup drinks. The sweet vermouth is an aromatized wine, so it's semiperishable, but you can buy a half bottle (375ml) and if you store it in the refrigerator, it should keep for a few months.
If the elderberry liqueur you're referring to is St Germain (an elderflower liqueur), that might be a good option. Their website has a couple recipes that call for vodka, but my personal favorite St Germain drink is a St Germain sidecar- switch out some or all of the triple sec in a sidecar for St Germain.
It sounds like you're headed in a good direction wanting to avoid sweet sodas and fake lemonade, so I'd suggest that you explore liquors other than vodka. Maybe go to a good bar, try out a few drinks that aren't too complex, and see which spirits you like best.
Hello there.
I like to go with Vodka and Crystal Light. Crystal Light comes in various flavors and is good with the vodka, you could also add a little bit of orange liqueur as well.
Best regards, Tony
how about
Hendricks Gin 2oz
Muddle Cucumbers in a splash of simple syrup (or St Germain)
Top with soda water
Squeeze a Lemon Wedge in it as well is nice
Low cal and some veggies :)
If you are only drinking two drinks, i dont think that worrying about 50 calories per drink matters to much - bust out 100 situps and 20 pushups between drink one and two
You could mix vodka with just about any fruit juice. You could also muddle some fresh fruit and mix it with vodka and citrus or vodka and and some herbs.
When I've had a lot of fresh strawberries around that were getting a little soft, I'd muddled them and added vodka and the juice of one lemon. If you don't want it as strong, you can add a little club soda or seltzer water.
I also like to muddle white grapes with fresh basil and add vodka, some fresh squeezed lime juice, club soda and some ginger liquor.
A lot of people here like to denigrate vodka as relatively flavorless. An advantage of its more subtle flavor profile though is that it mixes well with just about anything. Just get creative with just about any mixers that you would normally like.
As something simpler, I enjoy the occasional moscow mule which is just vodka, ginger beer and a lime wedge. Not sure whether you'd consider the ginger beer soda pop or not though. Technically, I suppose it is.
re: bg90027
Thank you for all these great ideas. I am going to buy some good gin at Costco (an industrial-sized bottle :0) and then take tinnywatty's suggestion to try a few drinks at a bar to see what I like before I purchase additional ingredients such as elderflower liqueur.
I really appreciate your thoughtful answers.
re: soccermom13
Gin is the one liquor I'm not crazy about, that floral flavor just doesn't agree with me. Make sure you like it before you buy an industrial size bottle! I do always keep a small bottle for BIL in house though.
re: coll
If you found gin too floral for you, then perhaps you bought a non-traditional brand. Try again with something like Beefeater (regular), Bombay (regular), or Tanqueray (regular). These should be strongly juniper (pine-like) scented, not floral at all. Try it in a cocktail, too, where the juniper mixes with other aromas.
www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community
re: EvergreenDan
Maybe floral is the wrong word, I guess it is more the pine. I hate rosemary too. I usually keep Bombay Sapphire on hand, or Tanqueray, or last time tried a new one called Brooklyn (?I think? but I also believe it's from California?). Well now at least I know how to describe gin a little better. Instead of saying, it tastes like Pine Sol to me!!
re: coll
If Bombay Sapphire tastes like PineSol to you, and you hate new potatoes roasted in chicken fat and rosemary, then I'd say gin is not your thing -- at least at this point.
Tastes change over time. Yesterday I made my wife a drink that she gave 2 stars a couple of years ago ("So-so"). She gave it 5 stars now ("Top favorite; put into rotation"). Quite amazing how tastes change, really.
Try gin every few years. It really is one of the world's great spirits.
www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community
re: EvergreenDan
Slightly off topic, but curious, what was the drink?
re: tinnywatty
Vieux Carre -- cognac, rye, sweet vermouth, plus a little Benedictine and bitters. I made it with Punt e Mes. Fantastic. I was amazed that the cognac (well, actually brandy, since I used Germain Robin) stood up to the other ingredients.
I was flipping through the PDT cocktail book and saw the recipe. Made it. Wife raved. I then went to Kindred Cocktails to record our thoughts about it, and was surprised to see that I had made it for her in the past and that she was so-so about it. It is now back in the rotation!
www.kindredcocktails.com | Craft + Collect + Concoct + Categorize + Community
re: EvergreenDan
I always assumed it was genetic, my Mom despises gin too and always made a big deal about that fact. But I've become aware that every gin is different, so it's not like I won't touch it at all. I should start keeping notes I guess, because sometimes, some brands don't seem all that terrible.
re: hawkeyeui93
I haven't even tasted it, I just got it for BIL, but now you're making me want to try it. I will report back. What do you think about mixing it with Fresca, I don't keep grapefruit juice on hand.
re: soccermom13
One other thing I forgot to mention is that you can easily make an infusion using the vodka you already have, and then add club soda or whatever and sugar to taste to make a highball. You can infuse fruit, vegetables, herbs, even things like cacao nibs to make a low-sugar chocolate vodka. These will for the most part taste a lot better than store-bought flavored vodkas.
Also, St Germain as well as other liqueurs/liquors come in mini sample-sized bottles, which you should be able to find at any liquor store for around $2-4 or so. It's a good way to try it and you can experiment a little more than you would in a bar (also cheaper if that's important to you). Like Coll said, you should definitely try gin before buying a large bottle- for some it's an acquired taste although there's quite a bit of variation in juniper and citrus levels among different gins.
A Rickey is a great refreshing summer drink and one of the few that can be made with no sweeteners. 1.5-2 oz gin, 0.5 oz lime juice, 3-4 oz soda water. You could swap out the gin for vodka, but I'm not sure what that would do for the flavor of the drink.
Another good summer drink is the Daiquiri, you can make it with very little sugar, half a teaspoon, if you don't mind tart drinks. 2 oz white rum, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1 teaspoon simple syrup, shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. This would be a good one to try in a good bar that uses fresh lime juice to see if you like it.
Staying on the rum theme, there is also the Papa Doble which was supposedly made without sugar to cater to Hemingway's diabetes.
Caper Codders (vodka, cranberry juice cocktail, wedge of lime) could be good if you like cranberry juice


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Victory: Getting ready for the inevitableThis story is personal. If it is too personal, I'm sorry. It is sad, too. But in the end it is a story of victory. Tracy Hardin of Gastonia died three hours before this was written. She was 32 and...
Please log in to see full story.
By Mike Rouse
Published in Editorials on March 3, 2004 11:56 AM


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(77) Comments | Posted August 28, 2013 | 2:05 PM
TransCanada got schooled at their recent Energy East pipeline open house in North Bay, Ontario. Mixed in amongst the crowd of several hundred who dropped by throughout the evening, a group of 50 concerned citizens came with more than just their questions; they came in outfits that intentionally...
(0) Comments | Posted April 3, 2013 | 5:00 PM
TransCanada Corp announced their "Energy East Pipeline" proposal this week, which would involve converting their existing 50-year-old natural gas mainline that runs across Northern Ontario into an oil pipeline that pumps an astronomical volume -- 850,000 barrels per day -- of tar sands oil East.
Of course, this...
(78) Comments | Posted January 16, 2013 | 4:12 PM
Last week, a year-old letter signed by the associations representing the petroleum, gas and pipeline industry in Canada was exposed. It asked the federal government to modify six critical environmental laws that inconvenienced the signers' industries.
Five of these laws have since been chopped up into omnibus bills
(49) Comments | Posted January 9, 2013 | 6:55 AM
My goodness, what a brave thing for Theresa Spence to take on a distracted and disinterested world with only the perseverance to simply restrain from eating food. It's the same braveness the Idle No More movement has shown, to be taking on a disconnected world with only togetherness.
Now that...


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text:
Love Is What We Make It Lyrics
Love is what we make it
Girl, we've come a long, long way
Too far for us to end this way
Sometimes the cost of love is hard
And we must pay this little give-and-take
So don't you think if you and I
Were just about and let our hearts decide
Maybe it would all work out in time
So won't you stay, please don't go away.
Love, love is what we make it
We can make it so much better if we try
Love, love is what we make it
So let's make it real good this time.
Is it too late to change your mind?
Or has it gone to fall this time
Won't you hold me just one more time
Let's just say: "there's a chance for you and me".
Love, love is what we make it …
Lyrics taken from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/kenny_rogers/love_is_what_we_make_it.html


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Lottery Winner Killed Under Circumstances So Strange Cops Almost Missed It
Think winning the lottery is your ticket to a fantasy life? Guess again. Urooj Khan, a lottery winner killed in Illinois just as he was about to cash in his winning $1 million scratch-off ticket, has joined the club of unlucky folks whose jackpot is followed almost immediately by bad luck.
In Khan's case, not only did the 46-year-old die before he even got a hold of his winnings, but his murder was very nearly missed. It was first considered a death from "natural causes"!
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner, a member of Kahn's family questioned how the seemingly healthy owner of several dry cleaners could drop dead so suddenly. So the medical examiners dug deeper only to find cyanide in his blood. Since June -- when Khan died -- the case has turned from a natural death to a homicide investigation.
Talk about bad luck on top of bad luck. First and foremost, of course, is the fact that this poor man was murdered. Then add in the fact that his murder very nearly went unnoticed!
It's not exactly the fantasy we Americans have built for ourselves, is it? We think "winning the lottery" and "lying on a beach somewhere," not "lying in a morgue."
Sadly, winning the lottery in America isn't all it's cracked up to be. Crimes against lottery winners are increasingly common, ranging from simple assault to scams and, yes, to death. Khan's poisoning is only the latest of the latter. Just two years ago, a guy who won $30 million in Florida was found buried in the backyard of a woman who'd befriended him.
So what does it all mean? Should we stop playing the lottery? Should Urooj Khan's murder be the impetus for Americans to stop being so greedy?
Or maybe it's just a reminder that there is no "perfect" in life, that the grass isn't always greener on the other side, that reality is often much more depressing than we'd like it to be.
Do you still look at lottery winning as the answer to all your troubles?
Image via Jinx!/Flickr
Piping Hot Posts
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Doomy234January 8, 2013 at 11:23 AMI think the moral of this is: Dont tell anyone you have won large sums of money until the cash is safe and sound in your account. I dont think it has anything to do with bad luck, but desperate individuals who attack someone because they think the lottery will solve all their problems. Anyone who would murder somebody else for a little bit (or even a lot) of money is obviously morally and probably mentally deranged. However, waving around a winning lottery ticket is going to make you look vulnerable, and unsurprisingly in this world where we keep no secrets, someone who couldnt be trusted found out that these people had won.
- --
sunmoonandstarJanuary 8, 2013 at 11:50 AMAs far as I know the names of winners are public, if that is true I don't think they should before obvious reasons. I couldn't imagine winning and running to the news, I wouldn't want anyone to know except for the select few I want to share it with.
- --
sunmoonandstarJanuary 8, 2013 at 11:52 AMBut yeah if this dude went bragging and someone killed him for it... Did they not take the ticket for themselves then?
- --
CPN322January 8, 2013 at 1:28 PM
I've always wished I could win the lottery but I've never bought a ticket and probably won't. I hope they find the guy who murdered this poor man.


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4 years 2 months on testosterone
It doesn't always hurt, the ways my transition holds me back, but on days like this I think, my only dream in the world is to become a father, its the one thing I might never get.
How I'll feel when I get my next surgery
(Source: notorious-posts)
Have you seen my beard?!
It takes a lot to take a man like me down, to beat him senseless enough that he won't get up and fight anymore.
I've been ripped open, and cut up and bled from ever inch of the body I inhabit.
For a man like me to break, we have to be destroyed… And that's what you've done.
You called me the one thing you can never take back.
So no it doesn't matter if you've supported me from day one or if you stand up on tv and say "I love my SON". You broke a piece of me, that I can never get back, with one word.
Today my friend Alex and I took his dog to PetCo so that she could get a photo with Santa. This has been a tradition for his family for years and it being his first year since his grand mother passed away it was really important to him. When we arrived at the store they did not have a Santa because they were unable to hire one for the day…however they did have a Santa costume. Gotta say I love the BEARD! Haha
It takes a real man or woman to admit they have a problem. It's time I admit I may have one… Searching for a sexologist to handle the dysphoria I can't get a grasp on
Tomorrow is December 10, 2013, a day I never thought I would live to see, let alone celebrate with a supportive family. You see, for those that don't know, tomorrow is the 4 year anniversary of my first testosterone injection ever. That means just 4 years ago today I took the first step of a life long process to become happy and myself…I was a junior in high school and I am currently a junior in college, I don't know what you think, but I think that's something to celebrate!
Is that a girl or a boy? And you smile because today maybe you might just pass. But then you see their eyes register no facial hair, no knot in your throat, no bulge in your pants. They say it again, louder, tauntingly.
Is that a girl or a boy. This time they know the answer and they just want to see you squirm.
And you do.
And they snicker.
"IT" performed by Kavindu "Kavi" Ade.
There are no words for the emotions that this video causes.
All I have to say is wow.
Holy Shit… Just WOW 🙌
My heart melts for this
Made me cry, had to actually walk out of a room full of people and listen to it 3 times lying in my bed… This is beautiful, and tragic and perfectly damaging.
I am not perfect. I am not the best person, or friend or son or brother. I make mistakes and I let people down. But that doesn't matter because when I die people won't remember that one fight we had about that stupid thing, hopefully they will remember that time I drove 6 hours to save them in a snow storm, or when I stayed up all night to hold their hair while they were sick. Hopefully they'll remember what a good father I was or that everyday I tried my best to be better. That's the kind if man I am.
I'm watching "Boys Don't Cry" surrounded by a group of my closest friends and even with a Transman on the tv and accepting people all around me, I feel emasculated and weak… This movie gets me every time.
There something about wearing boxers and nothing else. Make me feel complete, makes me feel like a man. Being shirtless, seeing my bare chest, it's one of my biggest accomplishments and it feels just as incredible every time I take my shit off!
How do you call one of your children a freak? How do you think it? How do you say it? How could you possibly believe it? Your children are a part of you and all you've done is show us that we will be far better parents than the example you've set. It doesn't matter how much time passes or how many revelations you have, once you've said something like that, you can never take it back, and it will never be forgotten.


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The Duchess of Cambridge has been celebrating her 31st birthday on Wednesday, but is unlikely to be partying into the small hours.
As Kate is pregnant, believed to be just over 12 weeks, celebrations are expected to be low-key.
St James's Palace has said the Duchess will be marking her birthday "privately".
Kate is thought to be with her husband William at their home in north Wales where the Duke works as an RAF Search and Rescue helicopter pilot.
A romantic birthday meal at home could be on the cards for Kate who was born at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, on January 9 1982.
But there are a number of things off the menu now she is pregnant, with the baby expected in either June or July.
Mould-ripened soft cheese, pate, and raw or partially cooked eggs are to be avoided by expectant mothers, according to the NHS website.
The Duchess has been suffering from a rare form of pregnancy sickness known as hyperemesis gravidarum, that causes long bouts of nausea and vomiting.


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Home > Post > Post 2 > Post 2 News Release > 2012 News Releases > News Release
News Release
TFC Stu Recke
Public Affairs Officer
Kentucky State Police
Post 2, Nortonville
(270) 676-3313
Click here to e-mail TFC Stu Recke
Robbery 1st Degree Investigation and Arrest
Date of News Release: 01/09/2012
(Madisonville, Ky.) -- On Monday, January 9, 2012 at approximately 3:23 p.m., the Kentucky State Police Post 2 Madisonville received a call from Hopkins County Dispatch in reference to an attempt to locate two vehicles that had been involved in an armed robbery. Hopkins County Dispatch advised that the victim, Iria Kittinger, age 38 of Madisonville, KY, was in a vehicle following another vehicle whose occupants had just robbed him at gunpoint at his residence. The two vehicles were traveling southbound on the Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway.
Post 2 units located the suspect vehicle on KY 800 in the limits of Crofton and conducted a traffic stop. During a search of the vehicle, officers located firearms and marijuana.
Arrested without incident were:
- Tyrone Poindexter, age 30 of Hopkinsville, KY. Charged with Robbery 1st Degree, Possession of a Handgun by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
- Deandrea Grimes, age 21 of Hopkinsville, KY. Charged with Robbery 1st Degree.
- Jemiah Poindexter, age 24 of Hopkinsville, KY. Charged with Robbery 1st Degree and Possession of Marijuana.
All three subjects were lodged in the Hopkins County Detention Center. Trooper First Class John Komar is continuing the investigation.


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Mazda has chosen to celebrate its 90th anniversary in a subtle way by bringing out a special edition that will only be available in the Japanese market. Going on sale today, the Mazda Demio 13C-V HID EDITION will feature high intensity discharge headlights and fog lights and will be available in eleven exterior paint colors including Copper Red Mica. This particular color will be exclusive to this special edition.
The Mazda Demio compact car features a 1.3L DOHC Miller cycle engine mated to a CVT transmission. It can produce 90 hp at 6000 rpm and 91 lb-ft at 3500 rpm and can travel up to 23.0 kilometers per liter.
Pricing for this special edition Demio/Mazda2 is 1,330,000 yen with tax and 1,266,667 yen without tax. The price jumps up by 31,500 yen if the customer opts for the Crystal White Pearl Mica exterior paint color.
Hit the jump for the press release.
Press Release
As part of celebrations marking its 90th anniversary, Mazda Motor Corporation today launched a special edition version of its globally acclaimed Demio compact car (known overseas as the Mazda2) for the Japanese market. The Mazda Demio 13C-V HID EDITION goes on sale today at all Mazda, Mazda Anfini and Mazda Autozam dealerships throughout Japan.
The special edition Demio 13C-V HID EDITION is based on the Demio 13C-V model grade that features a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and achieves eco-friendly fuel economy of 23.0 kilometers per liter*2. The special edition includes a selection of functional and stylish features, such as discharge headlights and fog lights, for an affordable price. Additionally, Mazda's high quality Copper Red Mica exterior body paint is available exclusively on the special edition model.
Main features of the 90th anniversary special edition Mazda Demio 13C-V HID EDITION
Base model
Demio 13C-V (FWD model with a Miller-cycle engine and CVT)
Special equipment
Discharge headlights (with auto-leveling function)
Front fog lights
Dark tinted glass (rear door and liftgate windows)
A choice of 11 exterior body colors, including Copper Red Mica*3, which is exclusive to the Demio 13C-V HID EDITION
Manufacturer's suggested retail prices
|Drive} }
|Price (yen)
|1.3L DOHC Miller cycle
|1,330,000 w/tax, 1,266,667 w/o tax
A separate recycling fee of 10,790 yen is necessary in addition to the manufacturer's suggested retail prices listed above.
If the special body color Crystal White Pearl Mica is selected, the price increases by 31,500 yen (including tax).


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Luigi McDonald's Toys: then and now.
It's a shame I never made any of these.
Jim Henson's Muppets Paint your shirt Kit with Miss PIggy. Copyright 1989.
The Ren and Stimpy Show comic from May 1993.
The Amazing Spider-Man vs. Powdered Toastman.
Because NO ONE demanded it!
From 1993.
Only one has ever been used.
$10 and one of these awesome t-shirts can be yours!
The title has nothing to do with anything except, holy fuck, I feel old.
This is me. I was Rosa Parks. I posted it a while ago, but this quality is better. It's not just recorded off of my TV.
I think it's pretty great.
llcooljasonalexander said: I've pre-ordered the 33 1/3rd book on "Flood". Just saying. :)
Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah! Let me know how it is! I'm a bad fan and haven't ordered it yet.
I'm putting this up one more time because it's cool.
I'm trying to make more things and put them out there because for too long I've been a consumer but not a producer.
I'm trying to make YouTube videos, but I'm too shy to show those really.
But, I put this up on the internet. Sure, I didn't really MAKE it, but I took the time to tape it from a VHS and then edit it so the BBC wouldn't take it down again. Some people on Reddit even found it!
It's really fascinating. It made me REALLY like Tom Baker. But, not as much as David Tennant. I mean. C'mon.
"The Most Exciting Breakthrough in Fitness Equipment Ever!"
Wish I still has Full House shoes. :(
CLEANED out THIS blog!
THIS blog is for old stuff I find in my room at home, when I'm there.
My other blog is for my personal likes and crap. I didn't have to, but I went and reblogged everything to put it OVER THERE so that this one could be fresh and clean again.
Does anyone know how I can change my admin name on here? It confuses the hell out of me that my admin name is the same as THIS blog but when I'm using one of my other blogs it makes me think I posted something to the wrong blog.
SO if you know me personally and you love me and/or I love you, follow me here for..more recent updates than this one. Mostly neat Draw Something pictures right now, it seems.


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Electronic Insect Repellent: Don't Let those Insects Hurt YouNowadays, users decide on utilizing electronic insect repellent as they are tested safe and efficient. More consumers decide on this particular repellent on account of a number of factors. The most significant point of employing this is the reason that you might be one hundred percent confident that such repellent costs nothing from some dangerous agents that might injure your state of health. Thus, there isn't a potential that you may have irritations soon after making use of this repellent.
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Most people see insect repellents as an efficient tool. This repellent produces some sort of electromagnetic wave that repels any pest. The beauty of it is that the electromagnetic waves can still move through walls, so this can also be terrific if you want to keep your kids safer when they are resting after dark. It is a no-mess, no-trap technique of getting rid of any bugs! And opposite to a variety of other anti-pest items in the market, it mandates much less routine maintenance. There are no longer dead insect elements on the floor, and then for any other terrible items that they might leave behind. Truly, an electronic insect repellent is the best resource to suit your needs and all the others.
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There are several techniques for getting remove insects in your house. One can find some repellents, adhesive items, toxic substances, and even insect traps among other things. But none of them are as easy as connecting the electronic insect repellent in an outlet. There is no need for establishing any traps, coping with toxic substances, or suffering from animal carcasses. Any electronic insect repellent can function some other ways. The particular approach with which it performs has received lots of assessments, both favorable and pessimistic but nonetheless, it really is very much worth it.
Electronic insect repellent products are requirements for probably every single residential home in order to help clear away these unpleasant creatures. Generally, they are available in various sorts and patterns and everything you ought to do is determine the right selection in accordance with the kinds of bugs that may have swarmed your entire lounge room or backyard. Bugs are repelled by super high frequency acoustic signals produced because of the bug repellent that is not acknowledged by the individual. By doing so, those units will be reliable in providing its function.


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Sky Suite Rentals
Enjoy your next Shorebirds game from the comfort of your very own Sky Suite! These spacious and fully carpeted weather-ready suites are furnished with individually controlled heating and air conditioning units, a refrigerator, mounted televisions, couches, chairs and a full view of the playing field. Your Sky Suite can comfortably accommodate up to 25 people. It's perfect for catering to clients, staff outings, organization gatherings and more! CLICK HERE FOR 2014 FLYER!
Sky Suite Amenities
- Mounted Flat Screen TV
- Private Restroom
- Refrigerator
- Heating & Air Conditioning Unit
- 20 Balcony Seats
- 5 Window Seats
- Leather Couches & Chairs
Suite Menus (Food cost is $500)
All American: 24 hamburgers, 24 hot dogs, potato salad, coleslaw, potato chips, with lettuce, tomatos, onions, and pickles.
Shorebirds Favorite: 24 hot dogs and 36 chicken tender strips served with dipping sauce, potato chips, fresh cut fruit, potato salad, baked biscuits.
Ballpark Sliders: 24 hamburger sliders, 24 pulled pork sliders, potato salad, coleslaw and potato chips.
Chesapeake: 24 of our homemade crab cakes and 24 hot dogs served with all the fixings plus coleslaw, potato chips and fresh cut fruit.
All menus come with peanuts, fresh baked cookies/brownies, plus 24 Pepsi products
For more information about renting a Sky Suite at Perdue Stadium, contact Brandon Harms at 410-219-3112 ext. 140.


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Broccoli-Rice Side Dish
"This creamy dish cooks in about 15 minutes, so it's easy to put together before church on potluck Sundays," reports Faye Hintz of Springfield, Missouri.
8-10 Servings
Prep/Total Time: 25 min.
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 jar (8 ounces) process cheese spread
1 cup uncooked
Minute® White Rice
1/2 cup milk
Dash pepper
3 cups frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 can (2.8 ounces) french-fried onion
In a microwave-safe 2-qt. casserole, combine soup, cheese spread,
rice, milk and pepper. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-2 minutes
or until cheese is melted. Stir in broccoli, onion and celery.
Microwave, uncovered, on high for 7-9 minutes, rotating a half-turn
once. Sprinkle onions over top; microwave on high for 30 seconds.
Yield: 8-10 servings.
Nutritional Facts:
1 serving (1 cup) equals 133 calories, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 4 mg cholesterol, 318 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.
© Taste of Home 2014


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
And methinks that just because people vote down your post doesn't mean they don't understand voting. Perhaps, and here's a shocker, the majority disagrees with you. That, my friend, is the point of voting up and down. As for the now absent drama, I think the responses show that almost none of us wanted anything but drama in the first place. And yes, people could try to show up on here by being an asshat, but this response is akin to shutting down trade because people troll spam it.


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What Can Demography Tell Us About the Advent of Democracy?›April 28, 2014 // By Elizabeth Leahy Madsen
Democracy is fickle. Many of the competing theories on the best ways to foment and consolidate plural, inclusive governance or predict its rise and fall focus on political and economic forces. Yet a small group of demographers have explored population age structure as a catalyst for and reflection of a host of changes in societies that can affect governance.
For Fast-Growing Countries, Should Aging Be a Concern? Planning for the Second Demographic Dividend›September 10, 2013 // By Elizabeth Leahy Madsen
Population aging and decline are frequently described as a threat to countries' economic development and social stability. Evocative language, such as "demographic winter" and "graying of the great powers," portrays the serious consequences that many observers envision as fertility and growth rates decline and the elderly comprise a greater percentage of the population. These concerns reach around the globe, including in Africa, which has the lowest percentage of elderly among the world's major regions.
Why Has the Demographic Transition Stalled in Sub-Saharan Africa?›August 7, 2013 // By Elizabeth Leahy Madsen
In a recent post on the new United Nations population projections, I discussed the risk in assuming that countries in sub-Saharan Africa will progress through the demographic transition at a pace similar to other regions. Making this assumption is questionable because fertility decline in Africa has generally proceeded more slowly than in other parts of the world, with several cases of "stalls" and even small fertility increases over time.
New UN Population Projections Released: Pockets of High Fertility Drive Overall Increase›June 26, 2013 // By Elizabeth Leahy Madsen
October 31, 2011, was notable not only for the annual ritual of candy and costumes, but also for its designation by the United Nations as the date when global population reached seven billion. Although just an estimate – demographers are not able to count individuals in real time on such a large scale – the event was an important opportunity to present population trends to the media and public dialogue. Several babies born that day were named the "seven billionth;" in Russia, where various incentives have been implemented to try to boost an ultra-low fertility rate, Vladimir Putin visited a maternity ward to greet one of them.
Iran's Surprising and Shortsighted Shift on Family Planning›August 8, 2012 // By Elizabeth Leahy Madsen
In late July, Iran's government announced that it would no longer fund family planning programs, a dramatic reversal following 20 years of support. The change is especially abrupt for a country that has been lauded as a family planning success story, with thorough rural health services and an educated female population contributing to one of the swiftest demographic transitions in history.Although Iran's government is headed by a conservative religious hierarchy and President Ahmadinejad had earlier implemented some pronatalist policies, the decision is still surprising for several reasons. It is also unlikely to meet its objectives; irrelevant to deeper economic concerns; unlikely to be popular; and most disheartening of all, a tremendous step backwards for individual empowerment and wellbeing.
Budget Cuts Ignore Demand and Counter Human Rights
Once family planning services are as widely available and adopted as they have been in Iran, demand for them is well entrenched and unlikely to ebb. Use of family planning offers several benefits that are tangible to individuals and families as well as societies: It improves the health of women and children while also promoting higher educational attainment and household incomes. Iranian women and couples are cognizant of these benefits and unlikely to cede them. Nearly 60 percent of Iranian women of reproductive age used an effective contraceptive method in 2002, the most recent year for which data is available.
Moreover, access to reproductive health services has been widely accepted as a human right for decades. Ironically, one of the first international accords "that couples have a basic human right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and a right to adequate education and information in this respect" was affirmed in Tehran in 1968. The Iranian government's decision to limit such access is a clear refutation of this right.
Unlikely Prospects for Success
From a demographic perspective, the government's attempt to make family planning services unavailable or unaffordable is unlikely to meet their stated objective of motivating larger families and higher population growth.
The government has already tried a more common approach for boosting fertility rates, offering direct payments to families for each child at birth and each successive year until adulthood. Such financial incentives have been implemented in several other low fertility countries, but as demographer John May has noted, they are typically much less effective compared to more comprehensive approaches addressing child care, work-family balance, and housing.
It is unusual for a government to take the more draconian step of restricting public access to contraception, whether through economic or legal means. One parallel is Romania during the Ceausescu era. Contraception was banned in 1966 and without access to family planning, women turned to illegal abortion. After an initial jump, fertility rates began to fall steadily, and by 1989 the country had the highest rate of maternal mortality in Europe. Although Iran's government has not outlawed contraception outright and it should remain available through the private sector, cutting back services will create serious implications for lower income women who rely on public services. As the Romanian experience demonstrates, the desire to determine family size does not dissipate when contraception becomes unavailable.
Iran's Challenges Go Beyond Aging
The stated justification for the government's decision is to avoid population aging and eventual decline if fertility rates remain below replacement level. However, this rationale overlooks the serious economic constraints that are affecting all Iranians, particularly those of childbearing age. Until recently, the number of people ages 15 to 24, who include most entrants to the labor market, was growing steadily due to past high fertility. Youth unemployment stands around 23 percent, and a RAND analysis described the challenge of ensuring that these young people find jobs as "one of the most pressing social and economic problems the government has faced." As the country urbanizes, the cost of living has risen sharply, exacerbated by the inflationary effects of international sanctions.
"The cost of living has risen a lot and the currency has lost its value by half," said Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American who directs the Wilson Center's Middle East Program. "So at this moment, where families are under economic pressure, the government is under economic pressure. To suddenly introduce the idea of having larger families and encouraging girls to get married at a much younger age – it's one of the most un-thought, unplanned decisions taken by the Ahmadinejad government."
As these challenges diminish young people's economic prospects, they also serve to further tamp down fertility, limiting the government's chances of success at markedly increasing population growth.
Esfandiari was surprised by the decision. "Iran was seen as a role model" of the demographic transition, she said. "It will not work. Iranian women are plucky, they are thoughtful. Sixty-five percent of entering classes at universities are women. How can you convince them to have a child every year?"
Elizabeth Leahy Madsen is a consultant on political demography for the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and senior technical advisor at Futures Group.
Sources: Associated Press, Crane et al. (2008), Financial Times, Gribble and Voss (2009), Hord et al. (1991), Kligman (1998), May (2012), New York Times, Roudi (2010), Singh and Darroch (2012), UN Population Division, World Bank.
Photo Credit: "MMN," courtesy of flickr user Emdadi (Mohammad Emdadi).
Book Review: 'World Population Policies' Offers Sweeping Overview of a Complex Field›July 2, 2012 // By Elizabeth Leahy MadsenWith much attention in the international family planning community directed to the impending anniversary of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and the closing date of the Millennium Development Goals, the fact that 2012 is the 60th anniversary of two other milestones in population programming may have escaped notice. In 1952, the International Planned Parenthood Federation was created, and India became the first country to formulate a national policy to reduce population growth.
These and many other landmarks are highlighted in World Population Policies: Their Origin, Evolution and Impact, a new book by demographer John May that reviews several decades of policies, advocacy, and program interventions addressing the full range of diverse demographic trends seen globally.
Center for Global Development, is well-positioned to provide such an ambitious overview. Although the breadth of material included in the book means that some topics receive less coverage than a specialist might wish, it serves as a sound introduction to this diverse field, and offers some particularly interesting case studies.
The book's main chapters begin with a summary of current population trends, including a comprehensive array of figures and statistics about population size, distribution, and projections. Some important concepts, such as the demographic transition and dividend, are perhaps covered too quickly, and in such cases the book would have benefited from more than a handful of figures, charts, and graphs. May classifies regions and countries as demographic "hotspots," where the number of people outstrips available resources, and "coldspots," which have too few residents. He makes an ambitious suggestion that high-density countries facing resource challenges, such as Bangladesh, should consider promoting rapid fertility decline below replacement level to stop population growth, then reverse course and increase to a rate that promotes a stable population – but such a reversal from low fertility is a feat that has stymied several countries in Europe and East Asia.
Evolution of the "Population Movement"
In addition to summarizing the ways that demographic issues have been framed in the past several decades, May briefly describes the long-running debate between demographers and economists about the ways in which population is theorized to affect economic development.
Three points in this chapter were particularly striking: First, the concept of family planning as a human right dates from well before the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. In 1968, the Tehran International Conference on Human Rights defined the ability to choose family size and spacing as a fundamental right; still, some programs, such as India's under the Emergency-era government of the late 1970s, adopted coercive practices. Second, population policies are not limited to official initiatives targeting fertility, mortality, and migration, but also encompass implicit or "passive" policy measures that arise without advance planning or that have an unintended effect on demographic trends. Related to this, May suggests that "contextual variables" such as education, health, gender, culture, and religion can have a greater impact on population policies' effectiveness and demographic outcomes than government structures or funding.
Although population policies are most often designed at the national level, May's discussion of the "population movement" highlights the influence of international networks and donors on such policies. By the late 1960s, the U.S. Agency for International Development had begun funding family planning programs overseas, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was active. Although the United States has become less dominant over time, population programming remains a Northern-driven movement.
Beginning with a meeting in Belgrade in 1965, a series of international population conferences successfully raised the prominence of population issues on the global development agenda and built consensus around international goals, while also becoming increasingly political.
May's cautions about such conferences are timely given this month's London Family Planning Summit: "Consensus-building through international conferences and their preparatory meetings is often inefficient as a process, whereas such events could be used to promote learning among policymakers and experts…The gap between the conferences' resolutions and the actual policies implemented at country level is important to remember" (110).
Growth and Aging Distinguish the Demographic Divide
In his chapter focusing on the developing world, May notes that population policies have become broader in the nearly 20 years since the Cairo conference, incorporating a reproductive rights framework while also addressing new issues such as the environment, HIV/AIDS, and poverty. But under this more holistic approach, national policies are susceptible to becoming overly diffuse, with an ambitious agenda not matched by concrete action plans.
The challenges expand to policy implementation as well. Kenya is profiled as emblematic of the difficulties facing population programs in fast-growing sub-Saharan Africa, particularly political disinterest, mismanagement, opposition from some religious groups, and commodity shortages. But when implemented well, such policies can be very successful. The book offers a thorough summary of research findings on the common features of effective family planning programs (such as leadership, monitoring performance data, and opening access to contraceptive methods at lower levels of the health system), as well as their demographic impact. Several country examples are cited to show that family planning programs reduce lifetime fertility rates by 0.5 to 1.5 children per woman, while also benefiting individual and social health, income, and well-being.
While population policies have been often effective at shaping demographic trends in high-fertility settings, even in changing cultural norms about family size, May notes that their impact has been notably weaker in reversing the trajectory of declining fertility in developed countries. While countries such as France have maintained a fertility rate close to, albeit still below, replacement level thanks to generous paid parental leave, housing initiatives and public child care facilities, policies that try to boost low fertility through financial compensation have been particularly ineffective.
Developed countries are less likely to have formal population policies and tend to address demographic issues through incentives and disincentives implemented by multiple agencies. Aging and immigration are receiving greater attention in such countries, along with low fertility rates. Population aging raises policy concerns that are both economic and social, and May focuses largely on the benefit of reducing incentives for early retirement. He notes that thanks to improvements in health and life expectancy, "today's 65-year-old persons are young compared to their counterparts" of previous generations (180). Despite their economic soundness, government efforts to raise retirement ages are widely unpopular, and France's newly elected president has promised to cut the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.
What Comes Next
Some observations are intriguing and could have been further detailed. For example, May notes a recent "fragmentation" of organizations working on population issues, and suggests that "too many institutions and NGOs appear to support their own limited mandates as they also struggle for resources that are less abundant" (5). Decentralization and integration within health systems is a growing trend that could have been discussed in more detail, along with the legacy of pronatalist laws and attitudes by colonial powers in Africa, the effect of recent European efforts to tighten immigration policies, and the achievements of forums designed for collaboration on population policy issues (for example, the United Nations Commission on Population and Development or the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition).
Looking towards the future, May foresees continued integration of demography with related development issues, such as poverty reduction and equitable growth, gender and youth perspectives, environmental issues, and conflict prevention. He notes a few challenges, including sub-Saharan Africa's lag in fertility decline and the overall ineffectiveness of policies aimed at addressing the pressures of urbanization on infrastructure and resources.
In high-fertility settings, May recommends that instead of framing reproductive health writ large, policies should more specifically target family planning and women's empowerment, including education and income-generation opportunities as well as legal rights. Bangladesh is presented as a model for other countries, as a setting where cultural change and economic development laid the groundwork for successful family planning outreach efforts. Most of all, May entreats government leaders to maintain a policy focus on population issues, regardless of where they stand in the demographic divide.
Elizabeth Leahy Madsen is a consultant on political demography for the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and senior technical advisor at Futures Group.
Photo Credit: "Crowded Shopping District," courtesy of flickr user EnvironmentBlog.
The Year Ahead in Political Demography: Top Issues to Watch›June 8, 2012 // By Elizabeth Leahy Madsen2011 and the first half of 2012 have been a remarkable period for political demography, with theories about the relationships between age structure and governance validated in real time by the events of the Arab Spring. Although such game-changers are rarely predictable, the year ahead promises to be eventful as well, with new demographic research and major policy initiatives on the horizon. Below are brief assessments of some of the top issues to watch between now and next summer.
1. The Evolving Story of the Arab Spring
The Arab Spring was anticipated by few observers, but for a handful of political demographers it was a watershed of sorts. As readers of this blog know, political demography research shows that countries with very young age structures are prone both to higher incidence of civil conflict and – most relevant to the outcomes of the Arab Spring – to undemocratic governance. This nuance escaped many observers of the region's drama. Violence and conflict erupted not from raging citizens in the streets but from military and militia forces unleashed by autocrats unwilling to cede their grip on power. Young people, and their fellow protestors of all ages, were acting as a force for positive change in their demonstrations against corrupt and unrepresentative leadership. The difference in outcomes across the region, according to Richard Cincotta, can be attributed to the fact that as age structures mature, elites become less willing to trade their political freedoms to autocratic leaders in exchange for the promise of security and stability.
When considered with this important distinction in mind, the initial events following the uprising in Tunisia that quickly spread across the region played out in a neatly linear fashion. Among the five countries where revolt took root, those with the earliest success in ousting autocratic leaders also had the most mature age structures and the least youthful populations.
In Tunisia, with a median population age of 29, one month passed between a fruit seller's self-immolation and Zine El Abedine Ben Ali's flight to exile. In Egypt and Libya, where median age is close to 25 years (identified by Cincotta as a threshold when countries are at least 50 percent likely to be democratic), Hosni Mubarak and Moammar Gaddafi took three weeks and eight months, respectively, to lose their titles. Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen (median age 17), took one year to be convinced to formally resign, while in Syria (median age 21), the 15-month uprising continues to be brutally repressed by Bashar Assad's forces.
Of course, overthrowing a dictator, while inspiring and liberating to those whose rights have been repressed, is only the first step in achieving democracy. In the coming year, the countries that have already taken steps toward solidifying regime change will face continued tests as internal tensions surface. Even in Tunisia, recent clashes signal that political divisions and economic uncertainty have not been resolved. With potentially divisive elections ahead in Egypt and Libya, a holdover from the Saleh regime leading Yemen, and Syria's fate unknown, the coming year should offer political demographers further evidence of the soundness of the age structure and democracy thesis.
2. New Commitments to Family Planning
Reproductive health and demography go hand-in-hand, and two milestones for family planning advocates are fast approaching: the 20th anniversary of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, and the 2015 endpoint of the Millennium Development Goals.
These historic commitments by governments will be joined by a major initiative to generate new funding and political will this summer at an international family planning summit in London on July 11. The summit will be co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Melinda made an impassioned TEDxChange speech in support of the issue in April), and the UK's Department for International Development, for whom family planning is a priority in efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality.
Details of the summit have yet to be finalized and publicly released, but financial commitments from donors and developing countries are anticipated toward meeting a new and ambitious goal of generating $4 billion to fund contraceptives for 120 million women in developing countries by 2020. Assuming these are new users, rather than those who would be expected by projecting recent growth in contraceptive use forward, this would represent more than half of the estimated 215 million women with an unmet need for family planning.
Why does new family planning funding matter for political demography? Rates of contraceptive use are lowest and fertility highest in countries with youthful age structures. Such population dynamics exacerbate the challenges governments face in providing education, health, and basic infrastructure services, as well as supporting an economic climate conducive to industry diversification and job creation. In turn, the likelihood of civil conflict and undemocratic governance is higher in such countries.
While policies that recognize the benefits of family planning may be solid, funding and implementation often fall woefully short. In the least developed countries, less than one-third of reproductive-age women are using any contraception, and the rate has grown by just 0.4 percentage points annually over the past decade. Meanwhile, funding from all sources is less than half the amount required to meet unmet need. If the July summit motivates a new groundswell of financial support, 2012 could incite major strides toward improvements in individual health and well-being as well as demographic momentum in the remaining high-fertility countries.
3. Demographic Diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa
The current era of global demographic diversity has been distinguished by both record-low fertility rates in parts of Europe and eastern Asia and persistently high fertility across most of western, central, and eastern Africa. More than one-quarter of women in sub-Saharan Africa would like to postpone or avoid pregnancy, but are not using contraception, demonstrating a large unmet need for family planning.
The U.S. government-funded Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) program is the largest single source for detailed data on health status and behavior in high-fertility developing countries, and in turn informs estimates and projections of demographic trends. Recently, DHS reports have been released showing that contraceptive use over the past five years is growing much faster than the regional average in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Rwanda. In turn, fertility rates have dropped, ranging from a relatively modest 0.3 children per woman in Malawi and an unprecedented 1.5 children per woman in Rwanda.
These findings suggest that the pattern of demographic stagnation in sub-Saharan Africa may be shifting, perhaps due to governments' and donors' investments in family planning. However, newer survey results for Mozambique, Uganda, and Zimbabwe present a more mixed picture, with modest gains in contraceptive use in Uganda, offset by declines in the other two countries.
Click here for the interactive version (non-Internet Explorer users only).
Additional recent survey results show that use of modern contraceptive methods has barely increased in Senegal (from 10 percent in 2005 to 12 percent in 2010-11). And while modern contraceptive use increased in the Republic of Congo from 13 percent in 2005 to 20 percent currently, fertility also rose slightly, from 4.8 to 5.1 children per woman.
Approximately 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are slated for DHS fieldwork this year, including one of the continent's giants, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and several of the highest-fertility countries in the region. (Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, the demographic heavyweights in this year's group of DHS reports are Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan.)
The upcoming surveys will provide greater clarity about whether the promising signs of family planning adoption and the potential for progress through the demographic transition in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Rwanda are initiating widespread change across the continent, or whether the need for commitments such as those generated by the London summit is even stronger.
4. New Population Projections
DHS reports are critical inputs for the world's most comprehensive and readily accessible set of demographic data, the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects. This database is fully updated and revised biannually, in large part due to the steady stream of newly available estimates from the DHS and related sources, such as national censuses. The next revision of World Population Prospects, based on estimates for mid-year 2012, is expected to be published in spring 2013.
The previous revision of World Population Prospects was notable for its methodological overhaul. In addition to extending the projections until 2100, the Population Division shifted to a probabilistic technique (as opposed to assuming convergence at a single fertility rate of 1.85 children per woman) that generates 100,000 possible fertility trajectories for each country and selects the median as the medium fertility variant, commonly cited as the most likely projection. Still, the basic parameters remain the same: With fertility rates the strongest driver of population projections, low, medium, and high fertility variants are constructed around the assumption that countries will converge towards replacement level fertility, around 2.1 children per woman.
In some cases, this results in projections that are vastly at odds with recent trends. For example, in Japan, fertility has fallen by 38 percent, from replacement level in the early 1970s to 1.3 children per woman in 2010, but the UN projects it to immediately reverse course and begin rising to 1.8 by mid-century. If the projection holds, Japan's population will decline relatively modestly, from 127 million to 109 million. But if fertility stays constant at current levels, the population will fall below 100 million. For low-fertility countries like Japan, all UN scenarios assume constant or rebounding fertility rates, even though continued decline may be a plausible outcome in some cases.
When next year's projections are released, a cluster of media articles will report the projected world population for 2050. In last year's revision, the medium fertility variant resulted in a projection of 9.3 billion, an increase from the 9.1 billion projected two years earlier based on higher projected fertility in the future. Such reports often overlook the range of population totals possible depending on fertility paths: If the global fertility rate varies by 0.5 children per woman in either direction, the total population could be more than one billion higher or lower in 2050, with an even wider range possible by 2100.
Most of the projected growth in world population, and its potential range, will be driven by the high-fertility countries concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. Population projections for these countries vary tremendously based on fertility scenarios informed by the recent DHS results described above.
In Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, fertility has fallen over the past 40 years, but by a gradual 15 percent. The UN projects it to drop more than twice as fast, by more than two children per woman (39 percent), in the next four decades. In any scenario, Nigeria is on track for rapid population growth, but the potential range based on fertility outcomes is wide. If fertility declines as projected in the medium variant, the country would grow from 158 million to 390 million. And although unlikely, the constant fertility projection of 504 million Nigerians in 2050 should be kept in mind given the slow pace of fertility decline to date.
Population projections are highly wonky, but their careful production and regular revision are essential for accurate planning of economic and social needs in countries around the world. While governments with dedicated census agencies, such as those in the U.S., Japan, or India, rely on internally-generated estimates, the UN projections serve as the primary indication of population trends in countries with spottier data coverage and have tremendous utility in gauging future needs for infrastructure, housing, health care across the life cycle, education, jobs, and other investments.
By no means is this an exhaustive list of factors that will affect political demography research and policy over the coming year. Other events to watch for include the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development in June, where the priority issues of jobs, energy, infrastructure, and resources will be shaped by demographic trends, and continued attention to prospects for the demographic dividend in Africa. Political demography is inherently cross-disciplinary, and the field's researchers and practitioners will be engaged on multiple fronts in the year ahead.
Elizabeth Leahy Madsen is a consultant on political demography for the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and senior technical advisor at Futures Group.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Bongaarts (2008), Cincotta (2008), Cincotta (2012), Cincotta and Leahy (2006), Grist, Guttmacher Institute, MEASURE DHS, The New York Times, NPR, Population Reference Bureau, UN Population Division, The Washington Post.
Image Credit: "The Face of a Tyrant," courtesy of flickr user freestylee (Michael Thompson); video courtesy of TED; chart created by Schuyler Null, data from UN Population Division.
New Surveys Generate Mixed Demographic Signals for East and Southern Africa›May 8, 2012 // By Elizabeth Leahy Madsen
A Trio of Emerging Success Stories
For many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, rapidly growing populations concentrated among youthful ages are outpacing improvements in quality of life and testing governments' capacities to provide basic health services, education, and jobs. For the region as a whole, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) for modern methods increased by just 0.3 percentage points per year between 2000 and 2009, following similarly sluggish annual increases in the previous two decades.
At this growth rate, more than a century would pass before sub-Saharan Africa, which had an average CPR of less than 16 percent in 2009, achieves the same levels of contraceptive use seen today in North Africa.
Given this regional context, the release of three successive surveys showing rapid jumps in CPR was noteworthy. In Ethiopia, the percentage of married women using a modern contraceptive method jumped from just 6 percent in 2000 to 27 percent in 2011. Malawi, starting from a higher baseline, experienced an increase from 26 percent in 2000 to 42 percent in 2010. Both countries' CPR rose at a pace of more than two percentage points per year, about seven times faster than the regional average. However, the changes reported in Rwanda were undoubtedly the most dramatic. Contraceptive use more than tripled in just five years, growing by seven percentage points annually. In turn, fertility fell by 25 percent, from 6.1 to 4.6 children per woman in just five years.
Fertility Rises Elsewhere
In March, demographic surveys carried out by MEASURE DHS and funded by USAID were published for Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe (the available reports for Mozambique and Uganda are based on preliminary findings). While one of these countries had an increase in contraceptive use, the other two recorded showed no progress.
Uganda, which has one of the highest fertility rates and youngest populations in the world, experienced an uptick in contraceptive use, from a rate of 18 percent for modern methods in 2006 to 26 percent in 2011. Although not at the pace seen in Ethiopia, Malawi, or Rwanda, the average growth of 1.6 percentage points annually was above the regional average. Its fertility rate declined from 6.7 to 6.2 children per woman.
More disheartening is the very unusual finding that fertility rates are increasing and contraceptive use is stagnant in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Over the past 15 years, CPR has increased slightly and since plateaued in Mozambique, while fertility has continued to rise. Between 1997 and 2003, contraceptive use jumped from 5 to 12 percent, where it remained in 2011. Meanwhile, fertility has risen from 5.5 to 5.9 children per woman since 2003.
Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa where more than half of married women use a modern contraceptive method, but the rate has dipped slightly, from 58 to 57 percent over five years. More surprising is the increase in the fertility rate, from 3.8 to 4.1 children per woman. Fertility among the youngest mothers, ages 15 to 19, is higher today than in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Population Possibilities
The central characteristic of population trends today at the global level is their diversity. Some countries in East Asia and Europe are reaching unprecedented low fertility rates, near one child per woman, and many developing countries are nearing the later stages of the demographic transition, with family sizes around two or three children per woman. Yet most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not followed the pattern of steady fertility decline. Do the mixed results from these recent surveys indicate that demographic diversity is becoming the norm within Africa too?
Although there is tremendous variance at the country level, on average, fertility declines by one child per woman for every 15 percentage point increase in contraceptive use. However, fertility changes have multiple determinants and the effect of changing contraceptive use is not immediate. In Malawi especially, the fertility rate remains relatively high given that contraceptive use has surpassed 40 percent, a puzzle that will be explored at a national family planning conference hosted by the government and several international partners this month.
Although it is unlikely that current trends will hold exactly, the figure below shows results if the most recent changes in fertility are projected forward at a steady rate. Most countries' fertility rates would change by less than one child per woman over the next decade and all but Rwanda would remain at or above four children per woman.
The recent changes in contraceptive use therefore suggest that progress through the demographic transition will remain fairly slow in these countries. Populations will continue to grow rapidly and remain very youthful, and continued investments in family planning are necessary in order to promote the potential social and economic benefits of a more balanced age structure.
Lessons From Neighbors
The factors promoting success in the three countries where the pace of family planning use is ramping up have been carefully analyzed.
In Ethiopia, Mengistu Asnake of Pathfinder International attributes success to the government's commitment to improve access to services in rural areas by constructing 15,000 health posts and training community members as health extension workers. The World Health Organization has identified the policy empowering local health workers to distribute injectable contraceptives, a popular method, as key to Malawi's success. And Rwanda's rapid growth in contraceptive use has been linked to tangible support from policymakers at the highest levels and the introduction of community-based insurance networks, as well as plentiful funding.
The divergent trends found in these six surveys are an important reminder that demographic trends do not operate in a vacuum. Countries do not progress through the demographic transition or achieve the demographic dividend at a predetermined pace. The policy environment, culture, and socioeconomic factors have tremendous influence on health outcomes and the behavioral determinants of fertility change.
If leaders in Mozambique, Uganda, Zimbabwe, or other countries wish to alter their current trajectories, the emerging successes of family planning programs in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Rwanda prove the tremendous impact of political support and intensive expansion of services to underserved areas and people.
Note: The figures reported for contraceptive use in Mozambique vary between StatCompiler and the DHS reports, and have been updated based on clarifying information received by the author. StatCompiler was used for all other fertility and contraceptive prevalence rates, except those not yet included in StatCompiler, in which case data was drawn from the relevant final DHS report (preliminary reports for Mozambique and Uganda).
Elizabeth Leahy Madsen is a consultant on political demography for the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and senior technical advisor at Futures Group.
Sources: Asnake (2011), Bongaarts (2008), Leahy Madsen (2011), Mack (2012), MEASURE DHS, Solo (2008), Tsui (2011 and 2001), United Nations Population Division, USAID, WHO.
Image Credit: "Psychosocial support group in Zimbabwe," courtesy of U.K. Department for International Development. Chart Credit: Elizabeth Leahy Madsen.
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The fixtures for the 2006/7 FA Premier Academy League have been released.
Everton's under 18 side kick off their campaign in similar style to the senior team - with a clash with Watford.
Neil Dewsnip's side travel south on the same day as the Premiership kicks off.
In every Everton fixture list matches with Liverpool always stand out.
This time the Blues face their rivals at home on October 7 and away on March 3.
No kick off times are yet available, but as soon as they are confirmed they will appear on evertonfc.com.
To view the full fixture list, CLICK HERE.
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July 10th, 2012
Company: Muncie Power Products
Category: Computer Hardware and Peripherals
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Family Heirloom 1912 Maxwell AC Messenger, Chassis 99191, Excellent Condition! 102 years old and a Single owner car! In 1912, my grandfather John Maurer bought this... More
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1912 Case M Model 40 Touring, Restored in 04-05. Added an electric starter. Four cylinder Case engine. Many tractors, tractor equipment, collector vehicles and... More
REO: 1912, the fifth with demi-tonneau paper mache body, restored 1982, one of three I know of left, runs, drives and stops well, nickel-plated... More


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ABS 14 Open (Adult) Nationals 2013 Quali Results
Several Team ABC coaches, athletes, and friends competed in the qualifying round of ABS 14 Adult Open Nationals in Colorado Springs yesterday. We are proud to say that Megan Mascarenas, Garrett Gregor, Michael O'Rourke, and Rob D'Anastasio will be advancing to Semifinals today. Matt Lubar gave a good run, ending up in a heartbreaking 21st place, making him first out of Semis. Next year Matt!
We are also excited to watch our friends Daniel Woods, Paul Robinson, Josh Levin, Sierra Blair-Coyle, Matty Hong, and all the other great athletes who will be competing today!
Here are the ABC results from Qualifiers. 40 women and 77 men competed. Top 22 women and 20 men qualified for semis (they took more women because of ties):
1. Megan Mascarenas!!! – Megan was the only competitor to top all 5 qualis!
24. Laurel Todd
4. Michael O'Rourke – 5 tops, 8 attempts
5. Rob D – 5 tops, 9 attempts
15. Garrett – 4 tops, 63 points
21. Matt Lubar – 3 tops, 59 points
47. Stefan Lavender – 1 top, 52 points
53. Austin Lankford – 1 top, 46 points
57. Remi Arata – 1 top, 43 points
60. Nick Lyon – 1 top, 41 points
Women's Qualifier Full Results
Women's Semifinals Running Order (top 22 qualifiers in reverse order)
Men's Semifinals Running Order (top 20 qualifiers in reverse order)
Watch Semifinals Live starting at 11 am – ABS14 National Championships Semis Live Feed
Posted on February 23, 2013, in 2013, ABS Nationals, American Bouldering Series (ABS), Athletes, Coaches, Competitions, Elite Team and tagged Daniel Woods, Garrett Gregor, Josh Levin, Matty Hong, Megan Mascarenas, Michael O'Rourke, Paul Robinson, Rob D'Anastasio, Sierra Blair-Coyle. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


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GDC 2013: 18 indie games in 50 words
At GDC, we spend most of our time ogling industry legends and running madly from one amazing talk to another—but what we don't always get time to do is see lots of indie games, except in passing, and we're running so fast they're all red-shifted and wrong. Thankfully, the Indie Mixer allows a chance to quickly experience lots of games without the commitment of a single embarassing preview—a bit like speed dating as opposed to getting set up by a mutual friend.
So, here's 20 of the unreleased games on show last night with a snap judgement on each one to show that we don't mind reviewing betas, alphas, or even epsilons. You can see more about these games and the ones we didn't get to try at the event's official website.


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Spicy Soup Burns a Hole in Man's Stomach & We're Never Ordering That
I love Chinese food, but sometimes, the spiciness can be too much. I was eating some General Tso's chicken recently and accidentally ate one of those little dark red chili peppers. You know what I'm talking about. The little ones that look innocent enough but secretly are just waiting to ruin an otherwise wonderful meal by burning your mouth to smithereens. I ate it by accident and thought I'd never put out the fire in my mouth.
But that's nothing compared to what happened to a diner in China. A 26-year-old man ate a bowl of soup that was so spicy that it burned a hole in his stomach. A HOLE IN HIS STOMACH. What kind of soup was it? Because I think we should all avoid it forever.
The man ate something called mala soup, which means "numbing hot." Which also apparently means "will burn a hole in your stomach." The man chose the spiciest version of the soup, and had to be rushed to the hospital because he began throwing up blood.
Mala soup is a traditional Chinese dish usually made with Sichuan pepper and chili pepper. "The combination is known to cause a numbing sensation when consumed," according to The Daily Mail.
I am a wimp when it comes to spice. I think medium salsa is sometimes too much, so the very idea of this soup makes me cringe. I can't imagine a situation in which I would eat something that would be so spicy it made me numb. I'd have to be, like, tied down and a prisoner in some terrible dungeon. I really don't like food that causes me pain.
Some people do though, so I say, uh, enjoy! But there are reasonable limits here. Soup that's so spicy that it actually causes you physical harm should never be served to anyone, and I definitely will NOT be ordering that stuff if I ever see it on a menu.
How much spice can you handle?
Image via midorisyu/Flickr
Piping Hot Posts
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dixiechick2December 28, 2012 at 6:51 PMThe spicier the better !
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MsRkgDecember 28, 2012 at 7:06 PM^^ what she said. I like my food insanely spicy.
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tuffymamaDecember 28, 2012 at 7:27 PMI like lots of spice, but it has to actually taste good, too. Eating hot peppers for the sake of eating peppers is silly. Vindaloo curry, my dad's spicy chili, flaming oyster shooters or FIL's red hot pasta sauce? Mmm.
- -- Nonmember comment from
RosalineDecember 28, 2012 at 8:14 PMThe hottest peppers I've tried is the Thai chilli peppers and hanebero peppers. I'm kinda a wimp when it comes to peppers so I have to have a big glass of milk with me.
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dixiechick2December 28, 2012 at 9:06 PMTry ghost peppers.
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Badge83December 28, 2012 at 9:23 PMThe spicier the better.
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rhps2000December 29, 2012 at 12:24 AMHubby's fave Thai dish is yum nua (grilled beef in a spicy and pungent marinade). When the server asked how spicy he wanted it, he'd say, "make me cry". Silly me. I once sneaked a tiny bite off his plate before we got our drinks. He didn't know what was wrong or why I was gasping and sputtering for water. I like a little spice, but daaaayum! That was too spicy! That's the last time I did that too. :S
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funmommy123December 29, 2012 at 4:17 AMI LOVE spicy food! I scramble my eggs with habeneros all the time. It's really good!
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KarmaGrantDecember 29, 2012 at 1:35 PM
I like spice but not insane Asian spice like my husband likes. I like jalapeno and habanero, he likes the Korean and Thai spicy that is just entirely too much for me. My Korean mother in law loves asian spice but can't handle things like jalapeno.
- -- Nonmember comment from
JakeDecember 29, 2012 at 3:23 PMI've had mala before--the peppers numb your tongue, but not because they are super-duper spicy. It's just the effect of the pepper. It has an interesting effect on the taste of the food because parts of your tongue will be randomly numb and tingly while you eat. I don't think a guy starts throwing up blood without some kind of pre-existing condition.


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Found October 26, 2012 on Busted Coverage:
PLAYERS: Pablo Sandoval
TEAMS: San Francisco Giants
TEAMS: San Francisco Giants
We keep preaching to you guys that the World Series might be boring TV when compared to NFL football games, but some of the best stories come from baseball maniacs. Take this chick, Dawn Price. She was all smiles yesterday even after being arrested for snagging one of Pablo Sandoval's home runs. Read this. Please. (She hid the ball down her pants.) Giants fan Dawn Price told CBS 5 she was sitting in the outfield bleachers when Sandoval hit his third home run of the night during the fifth inning of Game 1. As the ball went over, Price claims she fell over the bleachers into an area behind the center field fence. "When I tried to get the ball, I went down over the railing," Price said. … Price put the ball in her pants and attempted to climb up the fence to her seat. She was hauled off by AT&T Park security and arrested for trespassing. According to the fuzz, the baseball was confiscated, but will always be stained because it was pressed against Price's "region." [CBS San Francisco] Filed under: Baseball
Original Story: http://bustedcoverage.com/2012/10/26/...
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Estação das Docas
One of the best places in Belém to eat no matter what you're hungry for. The bustling complex has almost a dozen restaurants, most with indoor and outdoor seating and open for lunch, dinner and late-night feasting. Favorites include Lá em Casa, serving pricey but outstanding regional food, and Amazon Beer, with tasty pub grub to accompany its artisanal beer.


text: Just wondering if any one has this problem as well as me. I have been box squatting for last 3 years or so and it has given me great gains and carry over onto my comp squat. What has started to happen recently is that when I set up and start sitting back, I get to just above parallel and it seems like my hips just lock, the decent completely slows down and the few extra seconds it takes to reach box is zapping the speed and power that I have coming off the box. It's becoming a staggered decent . Has anyone experienced this?