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Rear foyer ideas???
Rhonda H
December 29, 2012 in Design Dilemma
I need some ideas for curtains and accessories in my rear foyer.
IMO what you have is fabulous. I wouldn't add curtains and the most interesting hanging lamp + 2 wall sconces are enough accessories. Gorgeous.
December 29, 2012 at 1:12PM Like
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
I, too, love your space. It would be wonderful to have an iron railing, but then you'd have to change all the railings in the house. Perhaps you could add a small antique painting at the landing.
Rhonda H
I like!!!!
December 29, 2012 at 1:37PM Like
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
Ordinarily I think big on art, but the setting is so perfect that I think it needs to be the center of attention.
December 29, 2012 at 1:38PM Like
I would NOT cover the window!!!!
December 29, 2012 at 1:59PM Like
Julie Thome Draperies, Inc.
I think the window would benefit from a window treatment. Depending on the style in the adjoining rooms, I would envisage long full single panel, pulled to one side, perhaps with a swag sitting over the panel, or a pretty shade inside or outside mounted if you felt the panel was too overpowering.
December 29, 2012 at 2:11PM Like
Cynthia Taylor-Luce
Yes, Julie, I've done something similar with a long gauzy panel that was edged in a beautiful matching trim that weighted the curtain beautifully as it was drawn back with a tieback. Because there's nothing to hide here, I'd still like to see any treatment be a semi-sheer one.
4 inch shutters
December 29, 2012 at 2:34PM Like
It looks lovely as is. Perhaps a minimalist sheer roller screen, but no drapes. Would love to see a larger wrought iron chandelier.
Lovely space!
Lovely space!
December 29, 2012 at 3:06PM Like


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A day after the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, many people around the nation took to the streets to have their voices and opinions heard.
Many around the Charleston spoke out Sunday about the trial.
"I've seen a lot of people react as if this was a very racist decision," Robert Herron said. "That Americans are just showing how much they hate African Americans, and I think that is a very unjust thing to say."
However, for a community that is just decades removed from countless years of segregation and what some would call second class treatment, the reaction was focused on family.
"If you have children at your home and in your family, hold them a little bit longer," Reverend William Swinton said during his sermon Sunday. "Kiss them, a little bit longer. Love them a little bit longer."
Even James Island native turned Atlanta Falcons star Roddy White joined the conversation saying on his Twitter, "All them jurors should go home and kill themselves for letting a grown man get away with killing a kid."
White later apologized for the tweet calling it, "extreme," and said he was shocked and saddened by the verdict.
Others around the Lowcountry focused not on the black and white races in the case, but the black and white facts.
"I don't know what people expected with the justice system," Daniel Drylie said. "It's not about what happened or what you intuitively think happened. It's what you can definitively prove, and there was such a lack of evidence either way in this case."
Some hope this case will open the door to a national dialogue on race relations.
"I think this is a good area for discussion," Drylie said. "It's an opportunity to improve things."
That sentiment was echoed by President Barack Obama who released a statement Sunday night which said in part:
I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities.
As the national debate continues over the role race should play in this case, the African American community in Charleston seems to be wrapping themselves around in prayer.
"If we live in a world where children can go to the store to buy Skittles and be approached and ultimately murdered, we need to pray," Rev. Swinton said.
The national chapter of the NAACP said they have reached out to the U.S. Attorney General about pressing federal charges against Zimmerman. Neither the Martins nor George Zimmerman himself have made any public comments since the verdict was given.
210 W. Coleman Blvd.Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
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Fax: 843.881.3410
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subset: commoncrawl


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Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Hollywood Hills and Suburban Thrills
Chapter 23 Reviews
Haley starts work
"I'm so sorry. Did he wake you up?" he sat up and grabbed his boxers.
"No, I've been up since 4. I'm too nervous to sleep. Have you seen my pants?"
"Oh, what time is it?"
"7:45. I have to be at my new job in an hour and I can't find my pants." She leaned down and checked under the couch. "I still have to take a shower, and find something to wear. What do you wear when you're the boss?"
"The same thing you wear any other time. Why don't you go get ready and I'll make you breakfast. And find your pants."
"Oh, no. I think you need to shower too." She grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the bathroom. She kissed his neck as he reached in the shower and turned the water on. In one swift move she stripped her clothes off and jumped under the running water, pulling him in with her. He pushed her up against the wall, attacking her lips. She wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him closer and pressing her body against his.
"Fuck, you're so sexy." He breathed heavily as she wrapped one of her legs around his hip. He thrust deep into her, making her moan and bite her lip.
Pete had been banished to the kitchen while Haley got dressed for work. Their 'shower' had gone a little longer than expected, not that she was complaining, and as a result she was running late. She had kicked him out of the bedroom when every item of clothing she put on, he tried to take off. So, he decided he would make her breakfast after all. He was just putting the toast on a plate when she stomped into the room. "This is a disaster." She whined, stopping in front of him.
"What do you mean? You look good." She was wearing skinny dark jeans tucked into shiny black stiletto boots, and a black and white striped tee under a gold sleeveless tunic, with a shiny black belt. Her hair was straightened, with her pink bangs swooped over one eye and the ends of her hair flipped out and sticking up a little.
"Look at my face. My lips are all swollen, and you gave me 2 hickeys, that as hard as I try, I can't cover up." She gave him an angry look.
"It's not my fault." He shrugged, grinning. "Maybe you shouldn't look so hot in the morning."
"I look like a slut." She pouted.
"No, you look like you have a boyfriend that can't get enough of you." He grabbed her butt and kissed her firmly on the lips. She leaned into the kiss for a moment, before squealing and pushing him away.
"No, don't! You're going to make it worse." She laughed. "I need ice." She grabbed an ice cube out of the freezer and held it up to her mouth. She turned back around to notice him placing the plates on the table. "Wa r oo oing?" she mumbled, trying not to remove the ice from her lips.
"I made you breakfast." He smiled.
"Aww, that's so sweet."
"I made eggs and toast." He guided her over to the table and sat down next to her.
"You can actually cook?" she looked down at the plate, smiling.
"I can make eggs and toast." He shrugged.
"Oh my god, that was so good." Haley said when she finished her last bite. "But I'm going to be late."
"I'll drive you." Pete said, standing up and placing the plates in the sink.
"Ok, so tell me honestly." She stood up, smoothing down her shirt and held her arms out for him to inspect her outfit. "Does this make me look like Lindsay Lohan?" Pete stopped for a second.
"No." He motioned towards her head.
"Ok, one more question. Hoodie, or no hoodie." She held up a hot pink hoodie, holding it up.
"It'll make you look less like Lindsay Lohan." He nodded.
"So I do look like her?" Haley panicked as she pulled it on.
"Not with the hoodie. If you had the long hair and the giant suitcase purse, then you probably would."
"My purse has unicorns on it."
"Then definitely not." Haley smiled and leaned in, kissing him lightly and wiped her lip-gloss off his mouth, giggling. "What?" he wrinkled his eyebrows.
"I'm taller than you in these shoes." She smiled, standing up straight and looking down at him.
"You're only an inch shorter than me. You're probably taller than me in most shoes." He grabbed his wallet and keys. "Let's go, so you're not too late."
"Oh, now I'm nervous again. What if they don't like me?"
"They have to like you, you're the boss." He smiled as they walked out to the car.
"Do my lips look any better?" she asked, when they got to the car.
"Not really. They just look red and cold." Haley sighed, and dropped the melting ice cube out the window, wiping her wet fingers on her pants.
"It's all your fault." She glared at him.
"Hey, a lot of girls pay hundreds of dollars to get ass fat injected into their lips to make them look like that. Isn't your way a lot more fun?" he looked over at her.
"I guess so. How do you know girls pay hundreds of dollars to get ass fat injected?"
"I saw it on TV once. I think it scarred me." He laughed. "So what time are you done?" he wanted to change the topic away from his TV habits.
"I think around 5ish." She shrugged.
"Ok, I'll come back around 4:45, and just wait."
"You don't have to do that. I can call you when I'm done."
"No, it's ok. I don't want you to have to sit around waiting. Besides I have some phone calls I have to make, that I can just do from here just as easily as from home." He reached out and placed a hand on her knee as he drove.
Haley rode up in the elevator alone to the fourth floor. Her nerves felt like it was the first day of school. The elevator stopped at her floor and, instantly, her knees started shaking and her palms were sweating. She peered out as the doors slowly opened. She stood frozen to her spot until someone popped up from around the corner of the wall. "Oh my god, you're here! EVERYONE! SHE'S HERE!" a short guy with spiky blond hair and bright orange sneakers with a matching tee shirt and a white hoodie grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the room. "I'm Tim. I'm your assistant. We've been waiting for you. I love your outfit. Let me show you around." His words all ran together as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder and started gesturing with the other.
"I'm sorry I'm late." Haley stuttered as Tim guided her around the office. Tim, it seemed was every gay stereotype you could possibly imagine.
"Oh, that's all right. Everyone else just got here about half an hour ago." He waved it off. "So, do you want us to call you Iona or Haley? We were debating."
"Haley's fine. It's what's on my driver's license." She shrugged.
"Ok, Haley. Let me show you around. This is the kitchen, it's fully stocked. I hope you don't mind, I did some in depth Googling, and found all your favorite foods."
"That's on Google?" she scrunched up her nose.
"Yeah, it's a little creepy. So we have coffee, tea Red Bull, diet Coke. Then an assortment of candy in this drawer. Some crackers and cookies, cereal, basic junk food. And some yogurts, and general snacks in the fridge."
"Awesome." She nodded I approval.
"Then we have the main office." He led her back out into the main room. There were only five desks in it. It wasn't like any office she had ever seen. The walls were bright purple and had HEATHERETTE written across one wall in big block letters like the HOLLYWOOD sign, and ROK N ROL (the name of their branch of the company) across the other in what looked like spray painted grafitti letters. The carpet was leopard print, except giant, the spots were about a foot across. All the furniture was black and white plastic. "In this corner, we have Kimmy, the designer. She does the actual drawings that we send out. Then Kyle does the marketing and public relations stuff. Like, if we want a product placement on a TV show or something. Ali and Tara have this whole half. Tara gets the fabric samples and color swatches, before we start a collection, and Ali handles all the finished garments after we get them back. And this is my desk." He pointed at one right in front of them.
"Cool." She nodded, a little overwhelmed.
"That's not it. Your office is in here." He opened a door next to them. Her office was decorated to coordinate with the rest of the office. It had the same carpet, except the walls had black and white stripes going up and down and her desk was clear plastic. Her desk chair looked antique, if not for the gold legs and the lime green velvet cushion, that matched the curtains draped over the window and the fuzzy rug under the desk.
"This is the coolest office ever." Haley squealed.
"I know, isn't it?!" Tim gushed.
"I match my office." She looked down at her outfit.
"It must be fate."
"You know, I've never had an office before." She looked at him.
"Aww, you're losing your office virginity. I thought that might be the case. I got you a present to mark the occasion." He pulled out of his pocket a pack of Post-Its with a bow wrapped around them.
"Sweet! Post-Its!" Haley gasped. "I'll put them on my desk, in MY office." She sat down in the chair. "I don't have any drawers." She looked around. "Where am I supposed to put my stuff?"
"I thought of that. I got you that little set of drawers in the corner." Haley turned around to where he pointed, and saw a black cabinet with 4 drawers and a shelf that blended in perfectly with the black stripe on the wall.
"Oh, I didn't even see it there." She opened the top drawer and put her Post-Its in it. "Awesome." She smiled. "So, if everyone just got here this morning, when did you have time to Google food and buy a cabinet?"
"I came in yesterday, before everyone else to make sure everything was ok." He nodded and glanced at his watch. "I should probably get back to work. The phones won't answer themselves. Is there anything you want me to do? Errands, phone calls, I am your assistant." Haley tried to think of anything.
"Um, if you wouldn't mind, I need a car. My boyfriend has been driving me everywhere, and I feel bad."
"Sure, I'll get some prices. Anything in particular?"
"Something small, I'm horrible at parking. And I can't drive stick. Not too flashy, but cute. Pick something. Just not one of those little 2 seat sports cars."
"Oh, no. Eew." Tim shook his head at the thought.
After Tim left, Haley was sitting in her office wondering what she was supposed to do when there was a knock on the door. "Yeah?" Haley called, as the door opened and a girl with long straight black hair poked her head in.
"Hi, I'm Kimmy." She said cheerfully. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah sure, grab a chair." Haley pointed at another green and gold chair in the corner.
"Wow. Your office is awesome. We weren't allowed to see it until you got here."
"Tim was barricading the door." She laughed. "So, I wanted to talk to you about some of the designs. Just get right to work." She placed a few pieces of paper on the desk.
"Great. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing." She leaned in, whispering.
"That's ok. That's why I'm here. You say, 'I want this and this with some of this'. I draw up a couple sketches, and we go from there. Adjusting and changing whatever doesn't work. But you get the final say." Haley nodded in understanding.
"Ok, I get it. You're going to have to start slow, though. Let's see what you've got." She sat up to see the drawings Kimmy was holding.
"So, these were just some ideas I had for a starting point. The great thing about a new line is that we can really do anything. We don't have any set style we have to incorporate."
"Oh yeah, I never thought of it like that."
"So, these are some different directions we can go in for themes. We can do the glam rock look, with sequins, leather, more form fitting. Brit Punk, with jeans, zippers, plaids. Or, since we're supposed to be mall friendly, we could do some deconstructed denim, stuff that looks like you made it yourself. That's all I have so far. I was just working off the top of my head."
"I really like it. What if we combined them? Some denim, some shine, some do-it-yourself. Like the best of all each."
"I like it. The rock fan goes to Vegas. But doesn't look like a groupie." She nodded enthusiastically. They talked about ideas for almost two more hours before Kimmy got up to leave. "I think we have our theme. See, you're better at this than you thought. Do you want me to shut this?" she pointed at the door.
"No, I don't really like being separate from everyone."
Haley followed her out and sat in the chair next to Tim's desk. "What's up?"
"Here's a list of cars I found. They're all new, at the dealerships and are available now." He handed her a sheet of paper with several photos of cars on it.
"I like the Mini Cooper." She handed it back.
"Good choice. I'll arrange a test drive if you want."
"Sure, maybe for this afternoon." Tim nodded and circled the photo on the paper.
"I'm just about to order lunch for everyone, do you want anything?" he handed her a menu to look at.
"I'll get the Asian chicken salad." She said reading the menu.
"Ok, I'm going to pick it up. I'll be back in half an hour." As he got up, Haley looked around and saw Kimmy sitting at her desk talking to another girl with blond chin length hair.
"Hey." She got up, walking towards them.
"Hi. We haven't met yet. I'm Ali." The girl reached out and shook Haley's hand.
"Hi. Can I ask you guys something?" she leaned against the corner of the desk.
"Shoot." Kimmy said as Ali leaned on the opposite corner.
"So, I know Tim was all excited about my office, but do you think I could move my desk out here?" she wrinkled her forehead.
"Is it the stripes? I thought they might give you a headache." Kimmy turned to look in her door.
"I just feel weird being separated from everyone else. I'm out of the loop. I feel like the boss."
"Of course. We can scoot everyone over this way a couple feet and put you in that corner. OH! They had these cool room divider things that were frosted glass at this store I was in the other day, we could get a couple of those, to just define the corners, and paint the stripes in there." Ali offered.
"It'll be like the entire room's out here." Haley said.
"And you can hang out with us and everything. It'll be great." Kimmy smiled.
"What'll we do with the office though?" Haley wrinkled her forehead.
"Hmm." Ali scratched her chin. "I'll put the word out, and get ideas from everyone."
"We should probably move the furniture before Tim comes back and has a fit." Kimmy said, standing up.
"Come on everybody. We've got work to do." Ali called over to Tara and Kyle who were still at their desks. "Kyle, you're a boy. Do the heavy lifting." Tara was a little taller than Haley, with wavy brown hair to the middle of her back. Kyle was really tall and really skinny, and his hair looked like he spent hours making it look like he just rolled out of bed. With everyone moving stuff, they had Haley's office moved into the main room in about 10 minutes. The only problem was that her desk weighed about 1000 pounds. Everyone was on an end trying to push and pull it through the door when Tim returned carrying bags full of everyone's food.
"What are you doing?!" he gasped.
"She wants to be part of the group, do you have a problem with that?" Ali said as the desk almost ran over her foot.
"Why didn't you say that before?" he looked at Haley.
"You were so pumped about everything. I didn't want to upset you." She shrugged. He glared at the group for a moment before breaking.
"If you angle the desk this way a little, it'll open the space up." He pointed, and Kyle shifted the desk over. "Much better."
"We're going to get these glass dividers, and paint the stripes on the wall…" Ali started to explain everything to him.
They were all sitting around the tiny kitchen eating their lunches in silence when suddenly Ali gasped. "I know what we can make the other room!"
"What?" Tara asked.
"Well, there's barely enough room for all of us in here, and eating our lunch by ourselves at our desks is kind of depressing. We can put a table in there, and a couch and make it a sort of break room/dining room thing."
"I like that idea." Haley smiled and everyone nodded.
"Ok, so I say since we're going to work together everyday, we need to know something about each other." Tara said cheerfully. "We should go around the circle and get to know everyone."
"Ok. But you have to go first." Haley shrugged.
"Ok, well my name is Tara, I'm 27 and I grew up in Dallas. I went to school in New York for fabric and textile design. I live with my boyfriend, he's a lawyer, and I have a cat named Muffin. Next."
"Well, I'm Kimmy, I'm 23 and I just graduated from design school. I was born in Hong Kong, but I grew up right here in L.A. I live with my sister in the ghetto. I'm double jointed, see." She twisted her arm freakishly far around her back.
"Ok, eew. I'm Tim, I'm 25, I'm from New Jersey, I went to UCLA. I too live with my boyfriend, although we don't have a cat named Muffin. The woman next door thinks he's my cousin."
"Is he as flamboyant as you?" Kimmy asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he feigned anger.
"Come on. You're like the love child of Elton John and Boy George." Ali giggled.
"Ooh, good one." Haley nudged her.
"Ok, maybe you're right. He's a hair stylist. Your turn." He pointed at Kyle.
"Well, I'm Kyle, I'm 26. I'm from Colorado, I went to school for advertising. I was a pro BMX rider when I was a teenager, but I broke a couple vertebrae, and they said I couldn't ride anymore. I live in Venice Beach with a couple of my buddies."
"And by buddies, you mean…" Haley smiled.
"I like GIRLS. Why is that so hard for you guys to get?"
"You work in fashion." Tim shrugged.
"And you have very artfully sculpted hair. I don't think it moves." Ali tried to poke his hair, and he swatted her hand away.
"Um, I'm Ali. I'm 22. I'm from San Diego. I actually went to cosmetology school, to be a makeup artist. I started volunteering and interning at Fashion Week events and photo shoots and stuff and moved into fashion, and worked my way here. I live with my grandmother in the Valley. She makes me go to bed at 9:00. I have to get out of there." She groaned while everyone laughed.
"Well, I guess that leaves me. My name is Haley, but I went by Iona for the last few years. I don't know what to tell you that you haven't heard from the tabloids already." She sighed. "I have a twin brother, he's in a band…"
"The Academy Is, I know." Ali squeaked. "I'm sorry, I'm sort of a groupie. I'll get over it." She blushed, making Haley laugh.
"That's alright. Um… I have a dog named Snoopy, but she lives with my brother back in Chicago. She wouldn't leave. I'm homeless, all my stuff is in boxes. That's about it."
"So who is he?" Kimmy asked.
"Who is who?" Haley was confused.
"The guy who branded you. They look fresh." She pointed her fork at the 2 bite marks on Haley's neck. Obviously, the concealer did nothing.
"Is it Pete Wentz? Perez Hilton said it was Pete Wentz." Ali bounced. "Ok, now I'm just embarrassing myself."
"Just go with it, you'll get all the teenybopper out of your system and it won't faze you anymore." Tim placed a hand on her arm to make her calm down.
"Yes, it is Pete Wentz." Haley blushed. "We've been going out for a couple months, just he's been here and I've been in Chicago."
"So you had to release all your pent up energy in 24 hours. I get it." Tara nodded. "So, you're living with him?"
"I'm staying with him, I'm going to find my own house. It's too new, I don't want to mess things up by moving right in."
"But all you stuff is at his house?" Tim cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, so."
"You've moved in. You're not going anywhere." Tara shook her head.
"How do you know?"
"This morning, I asked if there was anything you needed me to do. You said find you a car, so you didn't have to borrow your boyfriend's. You didn't say find you an apartment so you didn't have to borrow your boyfriend's." Tim said, knowingly.
"He has a point." Kimmy nodded.
They finished their lunches, and went back to work for the rest of the day. Haley was preoccupied with what Tim said. He DID have a point. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get her own apartment, or if she had just told herself that it was too early to move in. Pete did rearrange his closet to make room for her. "There's a creepy looking car downstairs, that's just sort of sitting there." Kimmy said, looking out the window. Haley looked at the clock, almost 5:00 already. She glanced out the window—yup, it was Pete's car.
"Oh, that's Pete. He's coming to pick me up, he's probably just early." Haley shrugged as Ali bolted from her chair and across the room, plastering her face against the window.
"Oh my god, Pete Wentz is in that car? Holy crap!" she gasped.
"What are you sitting up here for? Go home with your man." Tim picked up her purse and pushed her towards the door.
"We've barely done anything all day, we're not going to start now."
"Fine, but if I'm leaving, then so is everyone else. I want all of you gone in the next 10 minutes. I'm the boss." She turned and walked to the elevator with a smile. She hopped in Pete's car just as he was ending a phone call with what sounded like the record company.
"Hey Baby, how was your first day." He leaned over and kissed her.
"It was great. You should meet these people. They're so much fun. There's only 5 of them, and they're all young. Tara's the oldest, and she's only 27."
"I'm glad you like them. They didn't think you looked too much like Lindsay Lohan?" he smiled as he backed out of the parking space.
"No, I fit in perfectly. Thank you. Oh, I even have an assistant, Tim, he's hilarious. And the one girl, Ali, is the same age as me, she's a huge Fall Out Boy fan, and The Academy, and all of you guys. It was so funny."
"Yeah? We're on Perez Hilton by the way. Someone took our picture at the airport."
"I know. Ali told me. Oh, there she is in the window." Haley pointed up at her face, still pressed up against the window. Pete spotted her and waved. Her head started bouncing up and down and her arms were flailing, he could practically hear her shrieking.
"So, yeah. That's Ali." Haley laughed. "Eventually she'll get it out of her system. But seriously, you have to meet everyone."
"Yeah, maybe tomorrow or something?" he said, pulling into the road. "But right now…" he picked up her hand and kissed it. "Why don't we finish what we started this morning?"
Here is a picture of the desk chair, but in a different color. I saw the exact one I described once, and I wish I bought it.
Just by the way, the character of Tim is based partly on the guy fro Ugly Betty, but also on my boss's assistant at the internship I had over the summer. The first time I met him, he really was wearing orange sneakers. So, I think it adds a little something to know that he is real. I can't fully capture him in writing. But he was the guy from Ugly Betty, I wish I still worked with him.


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6 notes
That's huge for us," outfielder Matt Joyce said. "We needed it. We definitely needed something like this, for things to go our way and pick up some big wins. We're excited about the way things are going and looking forward to continue it into the next series.
7 notes


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Celebrate Halloween Blogger style…with crafts and cooking that is! I have combined for a fantastic giveaway with 10 of my best blogging buddies to show off some of their amazing crafts and cooking for the holidays and give one lucky reader a $100 Amazon gift card!
What would I do with $100 Gift Card?
Oh, probably buy more books!
The entries are super easy and in a Rafflecopter form, so just let load and enter away! And if you want to follow more holiday ideas, you can head over to my Holiday Pinterest board where I have curated some of my favorite things for the season.
Good luck to all my MomDot readers and thanks for supporting my (and all bloggers!) site.


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Financial Geography in Xikang Region During the Late Qing and the Republic of China Era
Full Text:PDF
Chinese Agriculture Monthly. (1940). 1(3).
Development of Northwest. (1943). Economic Profile of Xikang, 2(2).
Economic Weekly. (1940). 2(10).
Financial Research Institute of the People's Bank of China. (1980). Farmers Bank of China (p.127). China Financial and Economic Publishing House.
Guangxu. Tea affairs. Annals of Yazhoufu, 5.
Guo, H. W. (1940). Chinese Agriculture Monthly, 1(3).
Lu, Z. J. (1988). Financial historical documents of Sichuan in the Qing Dynasty (Vol.2). Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences Press.
Official Letter from Headquarter of Four-Joint-Banks to each branch on the 29th Year Outline of Means for Agricultural Loans. (1940). Files of Chongqing Municipal Archives.
Wang, H. M. (2011). Headquarter of Four-Joint-Banks and wartime economy in Southwestern region. Fudan University Press.
Watson, W. C. H. (1901). Investigation report of a decade of Chongqing customs 1892-1901 (X. T. Li Trans.). Collection of cultural and historical accounts of Sichuan (Vol.9, pp.175-176).
Xikang overview.
Xikang-Tibetan pioneer. (1934). 2(2).
Yang, Z. H. Records of Xikang. Xikang Economy (Vol.1, Chapter 3).
Yongzheng. Tusi. Sichuan annals, 19.
Zha, Q. On Dajianlu borders. Anecdotes of Zhao Erfeng (Vol.1, p.49).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968%2F4360
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|By Robert Beckett
Article Rating:
|October 1, 2003 12:00 AM EDT
As the capabilities of our distributed applications increased, so did our consumption of bandwidth. In 1998, our server sent objects no larger than 50K to a group of users on a local network. By 2002, we were passing an average of 500K per object, with some as large as 1.5MB.
More important, the distribution of our user base grew from 50 to over 1,500, with some users based across the country from the server. Add in a group of users roaming on their modem connections and the full scale of our bandwidth issues become clear. We were presented with a problem faced by many developers of distributed systems: reduce bandwidth usage and client wait time without removing any functionality. This article shares our solution to this problem, providing you with the simple code that helped us eliminate over 80% of our network traffic.
Evaluating bandwidth is quite simple. The developer has two options: get more of it or use less of it. Given the magnitude and expense of expanding bandwidth on a nationally distributed application, it was clear we had to find ways to reduce the amount of bandwidth required by our systems. It's important to note the wording: reduce the bandwidth usage, not the amount of data passed over the network. To preserve the functionality of the systems, we needed all the data being passed over the line. In the end, there was one conclusion: the data needed to be compressed.
As I researched compression in Java, I was looking for a way to pass in an object and receive a compressed object back. I found that there are a number of ways to compress sockets or build zip files on the disk, but not the object-level solution I was seeking. We needed an API that could be selectively implemented and used for the largest data objects and most critical applications without impacting other parts of the system. We also wanted the ability to compress an object one time, and use that same object for multiple downloads to client machines, essentially caching a compressed object.
During this research, I found an article on compression on the Java developer's Web site that laid out all the pieces to our solution (see Resources section ). Using just a few of the classes in the java.io and java.util.zip packages, we were able to build an API to compress any serializable Java object. Being the kind of developer who prefers simplicity, I was excited at the ease of use and performance of the underlying Java classes as well as the API we built. We were able to develop and integrate our solution in just under two days, resulting in more than an 80% reduction in network traffic and astounding improvements in client wait times.
A Compression Factory for Serialized Objects
The Java compression functions are located in the java.util.zip package, where the Deflater class compresses byte arrays and the Inflater class decompresses byte arrays. As you may have noted, both of these classes perform compression routines on byte arrays. Therefore, to compress an object, the first step is to translate it into a representation of bytes, which begins with the Serializable interface.
When an object implements the Serializable interface, it can be represented as a stream of bytes. This byte stream can be written using the ObjectOutputStream.writeObject() method and reconstituted using the ObjectInputStream.readObject() method, allowing for a simple translation of a byte stream to and from an object. This ability to serialize an object, capturing the resulting byte stream into a byte array, provides a usable input for the compression methods available in the java.util.zip classes.
Using this approach, we will accept a serialized object, write the object into a byte array, and then compress the array. The array of compressed bytes, along with a few other key variables, will be stored in a new object, cZipObject, which is shown in its entirety in Listing 1. The cZipObject will encapsulate the compressed version of the input object. The cZipObject can then be serialized to transfer across the network. On the receiving end, the byte array will be extracted from the cZipObject, decompressed, input to a byte stream, and then reconstituted into an object. This process is not truly compressing the object, but compressing the serialized representation of the object and its data.
To easily integrate these compression routines on both the server and client side, we'll create a cZipFactory class that will contain all the methods for compressing and decompressing objects. We'll create a number of methods along the way that can be of direct use, such as a byte compression method. By encapsulating both the compress and decompress functions into a single class, we can add the functionality to both the client and server by creating a single object. This will allow us to compress objects sent from the server to the client as well as from the client back up to the server.
The first step is to convert the Serializable object into a byte array. This can be achieved by using the Object- OutputStream with an underlying ByteArrayOutputStream from the java.io package. First, we'll create a new ByteOutput Stream that will capture the byte stream when the object is written. We'll then create a new ObjectOutputStream, write the serialized object, and then extract a byte array from the ByteOutputStream.
try {
ByteArrayOutputStream byteOut = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
ObjectOutputStream objOut = new ObjectOutputStream(byteOut);
byte[] DataArray = byteOut.toByteArray();
} catch (Exception e) {
With this code, we now have the ability to translate any object that implements the Serializable interface into a byte array capable of compression. The resulting byte array contains the details of the object as well as the object's data. The array contains the essential structural and data attributes to replicate the object and all its content. The next step is to compress the data contained in the byte array, thereby compressing the serialized representation of the object.
There are a few simple steps to compressing byte arrays using the Deflater class from the java.util.zip package. First, we'll create a new array for the compressed bytes. Without a method to accurately predict or estimate the size of the byte array resulting from compression, it's advisable to create an array of equal size to the noncompressed bytes and then shrink the array once the compression is complete and the true size can be determined.
The next step is to create a new instance of the Deflater class, passing in the desired compression level in the constructor. There are a few options for compression level, each with benefits and drawbacks. The best compression option provides the greatest reduction in byte size at the expense of increased processing time. The best speed option provides a good compression level, usually 80% or better, in the shortest possible time. I usually opt for best compression, finding the extra milliseconds in processing time worth the decreased object size. For more information on the available compression levels, refer to the JavaDocs for java.util.zip.Deflater.
Once the Deflater object has been created, call the setInput(byte[]) method providing the byte array we extracted from the object serialization. Invoke the finish() method to inform the Deflater class that all inputs have been defined. Next, call the deflate(byte[]) method, providing the byte array to house the compressed data. When this method completes its execution, the data has been compressed and populated in the output byte array. The getTotalOut() method in the Deflater class will return the total number of bytes that were written in the output byte array. Using the new array size, we'll create a byte array to the exact size of the compressed output. We'll then use the System.arraycopy function to copy the bytes from the temporary array into the exact size array.
For ease of use, we'll encapsulate these steps into a single method named CompressBytes in the cZipFactory object (see Listing 2). Now, when we need to compress a byte array, we can invoke a single method:
byte[] bytesCompress = ZipFactory.CompressBytes(DataArray);
There are two key pieces of data required to quickly and accurately decompress the object: the byte array containing the compressed data and the original size of the serialized byte array. When the byte array is decompressed, it will be written into another byte array. Knowing the size of the decompressed array will not only make the decompression more efficient, it will also ensure accuracy. To save the byte array and original size easily, we will encapsulate them in a new instance of the cZipObject class.
cZipObject cZipObj = new cZipObject();
cZipObj.setData(bytesCompress, iOrigSize);
By combining all these steps, we can now create a method that accepts any Serializable object and returns a cZipObject. This is the Compress method in the cZipFactory class, shown in its entirety in Listing 3. Using the new method in cZipFactory greatly simplifies the integration of object compression functions. First, we create an instance of the cZipFactory class, providing the desired compression level during object creation.
cZipFactory ZipFactory = new
Using the new cZipFactory class, we can compress a serializable object using a single line of code:
cZipObject newZObject = ZipFactory.Compress(inObject);
When the client or receiving machine obtains the cZipObject, it needs to be decompressed and reconstituted into an object. To achieve this, we'll create another method in cZipFactory to handle the Decompress operation. This method will extract the byte array from the provided cZipObject, decompress the array, and then translate the bytes into an object. The Decompress method in cZipFactory will return a Serializable object, which can be cast into the original type of object.
Using the java.util.zip.Inflater class, we can easily decompress the byte array in a few lines of code. Given the compressed byte array and the original size of the byte array, the Inflater class can be used to decompress the byte array. As this function could be useful in a variety of situations, we'll create a method in the cZipFactory class named DecompressBytes. The method will accept a byte array containing the compressed bytes and a primitive integer for the size of the decompressed array. At this point, it's very important that we know the original size of the byte array (see Listing 4). Without this information, it wouldn't be possible to accurately predict the total size of the decompressed bytes without extracting the data in a loop. Knowing the original size of the byte array makes the decompression code easier and more efficient.
With the ability to decompress a byte array in place, we then move to the process of converting the bytes back into a usable object using an instance of ObjectInputStream. First, we'll create a ByteArrayInputStream using the decompress byte array. Using the byte stream, we'll construct a new ObjectInputStream to reconstitute the object. By invoking the readObject method, the ObjectInputStream will translate the byte stream into a usable object. To simplify our coding, we'll place this code in a method named ConvertByteToObject in the cZipFactory class (see Listing 5).
The final step is to create a Decompress method in the cZipFactory class that will accept a cZipObject and return a Serializable object. The completed Decompress method is shown in the cZipFactory class in Listing 3.
Using the cZipFactory class, we can now decompress a cZipObject using a single line of code:
Serializable retObject = ZipFactory.Decompress(newZObject);
The Serializable object can then be cast into its original form or in the same line of code as the call to Decompress:
Vector vClientList = (Vector)ZipFactory.Decompress(newZObject);
In the end, the cZipFactory provides easy-to-use methods that translate serializable objects to and from compressed representations of objects. The entire compression API can be quickly implemented in just a few lines of code. Another important feature is the ability to use the function selectively rather than a system-wide change, such as compressing a socket. The resulting cZipObject can be extended or expanded to meet the requirements of an application or can be treated like any other Java object. This also allows for the reuse of a cZipObject, allowing the developer to cache a compressed object, effectively eliminating the need to redundantly perform compressions.
A Simple Client List Example
Now that we've built the classes to compress Serializable objects, we'll work through an example using the new objects. To begin, let's create a vector of client names. For our example, we'll create a vector with generic content, but you could imagine this list of clients being derived from a database call, an XML document, or some other data source.
Vector vClients = new Vector(1000);
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
vClients.add("Client # " + i);
The resulting vector, vClients, contains 1,000 entries and when serialized is 14,046 bytes. If the client machine connects using a 28.8 modem, they will retrieve this vector at approximately 3.33 KBS. At this throughput rate, it'll take the client machine approximately 4,200 milliseconds to download this list of 1,000 clients. If we wanted to add in compression, we'd add this line of code on the server:
//Using a pre-existing cZipFactory class instance
cZipObject zoClients = ZipFactory.Compress(vClients);
On the client machine, we add this line of code to decompress the cZipObject:
//Using a pre-existing cZipFactory class instance
Vector vClients = (Vector)ZipFactory.Decompress(zoClients);
Using this example, the Compress method executes in approximately 40 milliseconds. We would then transmit the zoClients object to the client machine, which when serialized is 2,296 bytes. At 28.8 modem speed, the cZipObject instance is downloaded to the client in approximately 690 milliseconds. The client then decompresses the cZipObject, casting the contents into a vector. The Decompression operation on the client takes an additional 30 milliseconds. The total time using compression was 40 + 690 + 30 = 760 milliseconds. When compared to the original download time of 4,200 milliseconds, the compression technique saved 3,440 milliseconds of client wait time and reduced the total object size by 11,750 bytes, resulting in 83.6% less bandwidth consumption. This is more than five times faster and is achieved with a few simple lines of code on the server and client.
Listing 6 provides a simple testing class that was used for this example and the benchmarks quoted in this article. By using this simple testing class, you can see that when applied to larger data structures, the compression functions make a more profound impact on bandwidth reduction and client wait times.
Expense of Compression
There are two primary expenses to this compression technique: increased memory usage and CPU cycles. This approach is compressing the serialized representation of an object, which requires that the object be serialized into an array that's then compressed and included in another serializable object. In addition to the increase in memory usage, there will be an increase in CPU utilization. The compression routines are comprised of arithmetic operations, which will result in increased CPU usage during deflation and inflation processing. For larger installations of these compression routines, it would be reasonable to expect notable increases in server CPU usage, which would need to be analyzed in terms of frequency and the size of the objects being compressed. As a benchmark, in one installation the server processed approximately 10,000 compressions an hour on objects ranging from 10K to 350K. The addition of compression functions resulted in approximately a 3% increase in CPU usage.
Another important factor to remember is that the client machines will also have increases in memory usage and CPU utilization to decompress the objects, or compress objects being sent to the server. The speed of these decompression routines will depend on the client machine hardware.
If you are writing distributed Java applications, whether they're EJB systems or custom RMI solutions, the introduction of compression routines can provide tremendous improvements to the response time and bandwidth consumption of your programs. One of the primary advantages to the approach presented here is its simplicity, allowing the developer to continually work with objects and avoid the compression functions. Using the cZipFactory also allows the developer to avoid socket-level operations or the creation of disk files, retaining the structure of existing programs and making it possible to selectively implement the functions. Another benefit of the cZipFactory is the use of standard Java libraries, making the compression function available in both J2SE and J2EE applications.
For our applications, the performance of the compression routines has been excellent, with minimal server impact and network usage down by 85%. Today, of the approximately 3,000 client machines using the compression classes, there have been no reports of problems with CPU utilization or memory usage. Overall, the introduction of compression was the single largest performance improvement made in our five year development effort.
Calculating the Benefits of Compression
There are a number of benefits to using serialized object compression, most notably the reduction in the size of the serialized output. The performance gain is directly related to the average object size, the bandwidth of the client connections, and the CPU processing power of the server and client machines. When determining whether to implement a compression function, these factors should be projected in order to ensure a positive gain. Consider this simple equation to determine if compression routines would be beneficial:
[(Object Size bytes) × 8] ÷ [Line Speed kbs] = Avg. Download Time (ms)
[10000 × 8] ÷ 128 = 625 ms
[10000 × 8] ÷ 128 = 625 ms
Now, reduce the average object size by 80% and recalculate the download time; this time add an additional 100 milliseconds for processing time.
[(Object Size bytes × 8 × 0.2)] ÷ [Line Speed kbs] + 100 = Compress Download
Time (ms)
{[(10000 × 8) × 0.2] ÷ 128 } + 100 = 225 ms
{[(10000 × 8) × 0.2] ÷ 128 } + 100 = 225 ms
In the chart in Figure 1 we see how the slight increase in processing time required for compression can create tremendous gains in download time.
Regardless of the bandwidth from the server to the client, compression routines will have a definitive impact on network usage (see Figure 2).
It's important to remember that at some point the law of diminishing returns becomes prevalent. For example, if the average size of the object before compression is 5,000 bytes, then compression could reduce this to as little as 1,000 bytes. The total expense of this compression would be about 100 milliseconds. If the client machines were on 28.8 modems, the compression would have a positive impact, reducing client wait time by about 1,100 milliseconds. However, if the client machines were on 512K connections, downloading the original 5,000 bytes would only take about 90 milliseconds. Even though the 1,000 bytes would take 17 milliseconds, we have now added additional processing time for the compress and decompress operations, potentially creating a negative return, and not significantly impacting download time.
The chart in Figure 3 helps to illustrate how the benefits of compression on client wait time can be quickly reduced in higher bandwidth environments. It's important to note that while client wait time may not be significantly reduced by compression, network traffic will always be reduced. Even though the end user may not notice improvements, the network will always benefit from the reduction in throughput.
|Robert Beckett 11/08/03 04:02:05 PM EST
I would like to thank all of the developers for their supportive, positive, and constructive feedback. A number of developers have been using the zip classes from the article and are having great success; however, a few errors have been flushed out, namely with trying to zip small or empty objects. There are also some of us working on enhancing the cZipFactory to use streams, such as those from the java.util.zip package. We have created a web page with these corrections and ongoing updates. If anyone is having problems or has update suggestions, please check out the page at http://www.thesdc.com/basesys/zipzap_updates.html or e-mail me at [email protected]. Again, thanks for the kind words and great coding contributions!
I've been disappointed of late with the JDJ content (less technical, more fluff). However this article brings back memories of past technical, how-to JDJ articles that were the norm rather than the exception. Kudos to Robert Beckett for his excellent article and utility. Let's hope this article starts a trend at JDJ!
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October proved to be a busy month here at the Red Bridge Branch – with programs, events and what we affectionately call "organized chaos" throughout.
Read more
It doesn't get much better than storytime! This week has been extra spooktacular with the annual celebration of Halloween and trick-or-treating at the library. Check out our visitors!
Paula B. - Liberty Branch
Defense bonds were issued by the U.S.
So, it is that time again. It's time to get out the carving knives and make pumpkins become art. It is amazing what a little time, patience, and a good pattern can do for a pumpkin. We recently held a pumpkin carving program here at the Lee's Summit Branch and look what we made. We had great fun carving and talking. New friends were made, and pumpkins were turned into masterpieces.
Joe B. Lee's Summit Branch
We had superheroes in our presence. Batman (Will Baker) and Superman (Owen Baker) both listened to Halloween books, watched a short Halloween video, and participated in a Halloween craft. While no one was looking, Batman carefully pieced together a puzzle. A little ladybug (Chloe McClintock) also flittered through the library for storytime. We host a preschool storytime on Wednesdays at 10am. Superheroes, princesses, and their sidekicks (moms) are always welcome!
Lois U.Riverside Branch
Some great characters attended Dino O'Dell's "Not So Scary Halloween" program at Blue Springs South. Dino made sure to include plenty of dancing and singing into the hour!
Jacqueline R.Blue Springs South Branch
What kind of mystery person are you? Do you like mystery with a bit of romance? Every Move You Make by Carla Cassidy gives you both the mystery and romance. Cassidy states, "As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing better than a vicarious thrill, a safe scare, and that's what romantic suspense books offer the reader."
On Thursday, October 28, Lee's Summit's laptime became a Little Spooks shindig with games, songs, and treats for all the toddlers. Little ones were costumed in princess dresses, cowboy clothes, ladybugs, Elmos, and Thomas the Train. After decorating trick or treat bags, we sang Halloween songs, walked the cake walk, played Spooky Bingo, and fished for treats in a bucket of balls. The final attraction was a parade around the circulation desk for everyone to enjoy. It appeared that all the two-year-olds had a spook-tacular time!
Bob Bovee and Gail Heil explore the many threads that come together to create "Country Music". Drawing from American folksongs, blues and ragtime, the compositions of Tin Pan Alley, and the music of the many ethnic groups in the American melting pot, country music was first recorded commercially in the 1920s. "Old Time Country Music", the forerunner of bluegrass, flourished up until World War II, not only on phonograph records, but on the many barn dance radio shows, traveling tent and medicine shows, and even the vaudeville theaters.
A sea of red welcomed a very special visitor to the Grandview Branch a couple weeks ago. We were pleased to host an appearance by Dan Meers, known better to most people as his alter-ego, KC Wolf.
© 1995-2014 Mid-Continent Public Library. All rights reserved.


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Public relations (PR) is a way for companies, organizations or people to enhance their reputations. This task typically is performed by public relations professionals or PR firms on behalf of their clients. PR usually involves communicating with the media and through the media to present the clients in the most favorable way possible. It also often involves cooperative efforts with other people and organizations to create good will within the community and enhance the client's image.
At its core, public relations revolves around this universal truth: people act based upon their perception of facts. By managing, controlling, or influencing people's perceptions, public relations professionals hope to initiate a sequence of behaviors that will lead to the achievement of an organization's objectives. When those in public relations successfully create, change, or reinforce opinion through persuasion, their primary objective is accomplished.
This is why Public relations plays an important part in politics especially to the president. In this article, I will be discussing the public relation of the Arroyo Administration.
The Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spans from January 20, 2001 to June 30, 2010. Her term ended on June 30, 2010, pursuant to the provisions of the 1987 constitution.
Despite the obstacles and various charges of impropriety directed at those close to her, Macapagal-Arroyo was elected to a full six-year presidential term in May 2004. She edged out her closest competitor, Filipino actor Fernando Poe Jr., by only one million votes. In her inaugural address, Macapagal-Arroyo vowed to create up to 10 million jobs in the next six years, balance the budget, improve tax collection, provide inexpensive medicine for the poor, and unite the country. "Our nation must embrace a vision of economic opportunity, social cohesion and always an everdemocratic faith," she stated, as quoted in the July 1, 2004, edition of the International Herald Tribune.
Macapagal-Arroyo made international headlines in July after a Filipino driver was
kidnapped by militant rebels in war-tornIraq. In defiance of theUnited Statesgovernment's requests, Macapagal-Arroyo honored the rebels' demands to pull all Filipino troops out of the country. Later that month, she called for an end to political in-fighting in her own nation in order to turn the focus to economic recovery. After former president Estrada declared the Philippines a "nation in distress," as reported on CNN.com on July 23, 2004, Macapagal-Arroyo stated in a State of the Nation address, "Let us set aside political bickering and politicking for at least one year." She also used the address to reiterate her pledge to relieve poverty and promote economic growth.
The administration of Arroyo may be considered as something that is not as successful as it is however, she was able to do a lot of things for our country.
In this regard, I would like to share an article which I have read in the internet.
"While awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on whether to allow or not to allow the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to travel to seek treatment on her rare medical condition, I would like to commend Elena Bautista-Horn for doing a very good job. Bautista-Horn in her interview with Karen Davila exhibited full loyalty towards her boss even though her boss is one of the most-hated human being of this country. I myself don't like the former president but with the clear and cloudless explanations of Bautista-Horn in the interview, I am now starting to be persuaded that the former president should be allowed to travel.
Bautista-Horn was impressive in defending her boss in the interview. She has kept her eloquence and credibility. Maybe it's because she's airing her points based on truth. Former president definitely found a gold mine in the person of Elena Bautista-Horn. Her being soft-spoken and debonair way of justifying their courses of action has made Justice Secretary Leila De Lima to look like anabusada (outrageously abusive)."
Reading this article, I came up with a conclusion that having an effective spokeperson is one of the most important factor of public relations. It's as if no matter how dirty her image is to other people, her spokesperson was able to clean it up even for just a little while.
During her administration, The Arroyo administration has forged a strong relationship with the United States. Arroyo was one of the first world leaders who expressed support for the US-led coalition against global terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and remains one of its closest allies in the war on terror. Following the US-led invasion of Iraq, in July 2003 the Philippinessent a small humanitarian contingent which included medics and engineers. These troops were recalled in July 2004 in response to the kidnapping of Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz. With the hostage takers demands met, the hostage was released. The force was previously due to leave Iraqthe following month. The early pullout drew international condemnation, with the United Statesprotesting against the action, saying giving in to terrorist demands should not be an option. Arroyo's foreign policy is anchored on building strong ties with the United States, East Asian and Southeast Asian nations, and countries where overseas Filipino workers work and live. In 2007, the Philippineswas host to the 12th ASEAN Summit in CebuCity.
The Arroyo state visit to theUnited Statesis a public relations triumph for both guest and host, as both had most likely hoped and anticipated. The public relations bonanza it is reaping for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and George W. Bush indeed suggests that as state visits go, this one was not so much meant to firm up relations between their two countries but to serve each other's domestic agendas.
However, Arroyo's administration also faced a couple of PR issues. According to an article that I have read: "The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) spent P7.2 billion for public relations and advertising under the Arroyo regime, including P150 million which was converted into "intelligence funds" shortly before the 2010 elections, according to a lawmaker."
"By bloating the PR fund beyond the 15 percent operation fund, the PCSO essentially diverted the funds intended for charity. We have to investigate deeper if these contracts were (consummated) because we have been given information that the PCSO board did not even bother to have concrete media plans, did not bother to monitor the implementation of these ads, and cannot present any report on whether the spots it bought were aired as contracted," said Colmenares.
In another article, the former president also had an issue with her PR. A Commission on Audit (COA) report showed that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo paid a Hong Kong-based public relations firm more than P48.7 million for "consultancy services" in 2009.
The report said that Malacañang spent over P66.3 million for consultancy services last year, which means that 74 percent of the funds went to Burson-Marsteller. Burson-Marsteller, according to the company's website (http://www.burson-marsteller.com), "is a leading global public relations and communications firm."
The firm claims that clients often engage its services "when the stakes are high: during a crisis, a brand launch or any period of fundamental change or transition."http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/10/10/arroyo-paid-hong-kong-pr-firm-p487-m-2009
In terms of the former president's net satisfaction rating, here are some of the things that you ought to know:
The Social Weather Stations public opinion group has conducted quarterly surveys tracking the net satisfaction rating ("satisfied" rating minus "dissatisfied" rating") of President Arroyo. She began her presidency in the first quarter of 2001 with a net satisfaction rating of +24. Her rating first dipped into the negative in the first quarter of 2003, making Arroyo the only president to achieve a negative net satisfaction rating in SWS opinion polling. Her rating rebounded well into the positive in 2004, in time for the presidential election where she won election to a new six-year term. However, net satisfaction sunk back into negative territory in the fourth quarter of 2004, and has remained negative since, dipping as low as −38 in the second quarter of 2008. Her net satisfaction rating in the first quarter of 2009 was −32.
The Third Quarter 2006 Social Weather Survey finds 37% Satisfied and 48% Dissatisfied with the performance of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for an unfavorable Net Satisfaction Rating of –11.
This is slightly up from the Second Quarter, which had 34% Satisfied and likewise 48% Dissatisfied, or Net –13, correctly rounded.
President Macapagal-Arroyo's national net rating has been unfavorable for nine consecutive survey rounds, ever since the Third Quarter of 2004.
Positive only in the Visayas PGMA's Net Satisfaction score is favorable only in the Visayas, where it grew to +6 in September from +2 last June.
It became slightly less negative in Metro Manila, at -41 now compared to –47 last June, and in the Balance of Luzon, at -10 now compared to –13 in June. InMindanaoit dipped insignificantly to –8 now, from –7 in June.
The President made a significant gain in rural areas, where those Satisfied grew from 34% in June to 42% in September, while those Dissatisfied fell from 46% to 43%, bringing her rural net score to –1 now compared to –12 previously, or a change to a neutral score from a previously unfavorable one. The balance from 100% are fence-sitters, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
In urban areas, on the other hand, those Satisfied were unchanged at 35%, while those Dissatisfied barely moved, from 50% to 51%, making her urban net score a clearly unfavorable –17 (correctly rounded), compared to –15 in June.
Thus the unfavorable national sentiment about the President is presently accounted for by strongly negative feelings in urban areas outbalancing neutral feelings in rural areas.


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After day one of rookie camp, Jets head coach Rex Ryan was singing the praises of third round pick Demario Davis. Take a look:
Coach Ryan is never short of praise is he? It seems as if he is creating big expectations on this kid, and after only one day of camp. I think he has to be careful to not put too much on this kid.
On the other hand, wouldn't it be great if Rex is right about him?
Tags: Alan Schechter Arkansas State University Bart Scott Demario Davis Linebacker NY Jets Ny Jets Draft Ray Lewis Rex Ryan Rookie Camp Third Round


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Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum�s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.
Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii t......more
Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum�s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.
Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she�s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she�s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he�s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.
Only one other person has seen the missing photo�Stephanie Plum. Now she�s the target, and she doesn�t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she�ll need to watch her back.
Over at the bail bonds agency things are going from bad to worse. The bonds bus serving as Vinnie�s temporary HQ goes up in smoke. Stephanie�s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their largest skip yet. Lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie�s apartment. And everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?
Morelli, Trenton�s hottest cop, isn�t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn�t talking about Hawaii. And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It�s complicated.
Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and graphic novels, Wicked Appetite (the first book in the Lizzy and Diesel series), and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author.
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First time parents faced with a huge bill to afford a baby
£4000 is the average cost of a baby to first time parents, says a new survey of 2,891 parents in the UK by Philip's AVENT.
With the excitement of a new baby on the way, many parents find they are spending hundreds of pounds before they're even halfway through the pregnancy. They're splashing out on items from pushchairs and cots to nappies and clothes and even toys to go in the newly kitted out nursery.
A third of parents felt they had spent too much money and three quarters worried about how they would afford their new child. Family finance expert for Philips AVENT, Sue Hayward, suggests seeking advice on more expensive purchases and choosing those that will retain their value. "With just a little planning, new parents can make some sound purchases to welcome their baby into the world without breaking the bank".
Parents surveyed revealed the top 5 baby items worth spending money on were pushchair (71%), cot (55%), car seat (48%), high chair (34%) and feeding equipment (26%).
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Cornerstone Assoc. Insurance
Call (916) 645-3333 to get a quote or to speak to an agent.
We are an authorized, independent Mercury Insurance Agency offering low rates and dedicated service for car insurance in Lincoln, California. We want to make sure you get every discount possible and can help walk you through any questions you may have on California Insurance. Please call us at (916) 645-3333 for your free auto insurance quote today to see how much Mercury can save you.


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Talk:Logic Gates Example App using Meego Harmattan Qt Quick Components
From Nokia Developer Wiki
Girishpadia - Nice article.This is very nice article explaining use of many QML components.
girishpadia 06:58, 27 September 2011 (EEST)
Hamishwillee - Clever
Hi Thanks for this, very impressive. Just for future reference, can you please give your zip files more descriptive names :-) RegardsHamish
hamishwillee 07:17, 27 September 2011 (EEST)
Somnathbanik - Really Nice ArticleHi Chintan , this is really a nice article and different one
somnathbanik 11:35, 27 September 2011 (EEST)
Ck.umraliya - ThanksThanks. I will take care about naming in future.
ck.umraliya 12:45, 27 September 2011 (EEST)


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In a left turn after take off from runway 29! How long will we still see the B737-600 in the Austrian/Lauda fleet?
rwy 18 take off.
Approach 26L.
Push back from Terminal 1 operating a charter to Innsbruck.
Absolutely stunning scheme, even in this awful light, and torrential rain.
Cleared onto the active, the runway almost disappearing in the fog behind him [350D]
Seen just before taking-off at Gatwick, this particular Lauda Air aircraft sports an attractive scheme advertising the Austrian Tirol. The aircraft is ex N1795B.
A wave from the first Officer on arrival from Austria
If you ever wondered why Innsbruck Airport is called "Kranebitten": the tiny hamlet in the background gave the airport its name. But I'm sure Lauda's 737-600 in glacier scheme is more fascinating ... (more)


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Acknowledgements101107555Paragraph101107556The first author receives an unrestricted educational grant from Cambridge Laboratories, which holds the European marketing rights for nabilone.
SIR: Huntington's disease causes chorea and psychiatric abnormalities. Psychiatric symptoms were found in one study in 51 out of 52 patients.1 Dysphoria, agitation, irritability, apathy, and anxiety were found in above 50% of the patients sampled.
Many sources postulate that cannabinoids could have a beneficial effect on the symptoms of Huntington's disease, especially on choreatic movements.2—4 As well as providing possible symptomatic relief in Huntington's disease, there is also some evidence5 that cannabinoids might have a neuroprotective effect which could delay the onset of symptoms by delaying or preventing the death of striatal neurons. This neuroprotective effect has also been postulated by other sources.6—8
To date there are only two reports on the use of cannabinoids in Huntington's disease in the literature. Cannabidiol, a nonpsychotropic cannabinoid, had no effect on chorea severity in 15 patients.9 In one single patient, single dose, uncontrolled open clinical trial using nabilone, 1.5mg, the chorea increased significantly.10 We present a case of a female patient with irritability, which improved after the introduction of cannabis. This improvement was maintained by treatment with nabilone.
The patient was a 43-year-old female who died in December 2003. She developed symptoms of Huntington's disease at the age of 24 and her husband gave up paid employment to care for her in 1990 when she was 30 years old. In 1995, he reported difficulties in caring for his wife. These difficulties were related to personality changes due to her illness. She increasingly resisted help from professionals, especially care assistants, and refused any suggestion of short-term respite care. She became disinhibited and frequently undressed herself and walked around naked inside and occasionally outside the house. She exhibited a number of dangerous behaviors, such as leaving taps running and fires burning, and leaving burning cigarettes around. Her husband became concerned about the effect that the care for his chronically ill wife was having on his son, who was born in 1984.
The patient went into residential care in 1996. The patient's husband visited two or three times every week and he always took his wife out for a trip. These trips were difficult because of the patient's refusal to be strapped into the car or her wheelchair, which sometimes resulted in falls caused by violent choreic movements when he was unable to physically hold her in the chair because he was using his hands for some other purpose.
In 2001, he began to give his wife cannabis to smoke when he took her out on these regular trips. When he returned his wife to the nursing home after these visits the staff were aware of a significant difference in the patient. The cannabis appeared to improve her mood and she was calmer and more relaxed. Prior to the introduction of cannabis she was extremely impatient and would get angry if required to wait even a few minutes for a cigarette. After taking cannabis, she was able to wait a while without screaming and throwing things. The patient also willingly accepted the use of a car seat belt and wheelchair harness.
In December 2001, the local general practitioner prescribed a regimen of nabilone, a synthetic 9-keto cannabinoid, which the patient began taking, 1mg each day. The husband and the nursing home staff both reported improvements in behavior and reduction of chorea coinciding with the introduction of cannabis and maintained by daily taking nabilone.
This report has many limitations. It is a single case report and no measurements were taken at the time of the introduction of cannabis and nabilone. The information was obtained by interviewing the husband and staff from the care home in 2005. The symptoms of Huntington's disease do change over time and the movements are different in the later stages of the disease. However both the husband and the staff are sure that the introduction of cannabis was beneficial and greatly improved the patient's quality of life in her last years. There is need for further trials to establish the therapeutic use of cannabinoids in the symptomatic treatment of Huntington's disease.
The first author receives an unrestricted educational grant from Cambridge Laboratories, which holds the European marketing rights for nabilone.
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Web of Science® Times Cited: 13


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Bullying Awareness Campaigns
Bullying awareness campaigns can be very effective at getting a message out that there is a problem which must be addressed. This can create some much needed public pressure to get some action taken. I wonder though if they do enough and I wonder how they could be made more effective. I have become increasingly sceptical of bullying awareness campaigns. Having questioned many organisers of such campaigns I have discovered a trend. When I ask what... Read More
Cyber Bullying
It was inevitable with the massive growth of internet and related technologies that cyber bullying would occur. Bullies will hurt their victims through whatever means they find to be effective. With cyber bullying, they can give powerful psychological blows to their victims and the resulting effects can last long after the bully has taken their action. Secondary bullying can also occur. Others can easily join in on the bullying, either actively or... Read More
Boy 14 threatens to shoot bullies: Sun article
While The Sun's article may seem shocking, it is very common for victims of bullying to fantasise about retribution. The benefit of this fantasy is short term. It allows the person being bullied to feel some sense of control – in their imagination they can do whatever they like. It's unfortunate for this child that he displayed his fantasy, in writing, on a forum which resulted in the police raiding his home. The good news is that... Read More
Summer Camp
I'm just back from working at a Summer Camp. It's wonderful to have so many students all highly motivated and so keen to make positive changes. Good feelings are so infectious. When you are among a group of happy people it's really difficult to not feel happy too. Everyone is swept up in the dynamic of the group and they are all part of a huge momentum taking them forwards. Individual's who get bullied don't usually get... Read More
Why I like martial arts
Firstly, I'm not a martial artist. Also, I don't think that children need martial arts training to stop the bullies. So why do I like it? Martial arts training almost always develops good emotional skills. With a good instructor you learn discipline, respect, confidence and self esteem. The physical skills don't matter much as far as bullying is concerned. I actually disapprove of Dads who send their kids to martial arts classes... Read More
Bullying Advice for Parents
It can be incredibly frustrating being a parent of a child who is being bullied. Most parents would do anything to protect their children from being deliberately harmed by others but often they can feel powerless to help. It can be especially frustrating when you know your child is being bullied but they won't tell you about it. Or if they do, they will give a vague description of what is going on, likely missing out the very details you want... Read More
How to Deal With Bullying
There are many ways of dealing with bullying. Some are more effective than others but the most important thing to appreciate is that every bullying situation is different. What will work well in one situation may well make things worse in another. Because each bullying situation is unique, you need to be flexible. Bullies are usually very flexible themselves. They have to figure out which techniques will hurt you the most and which ones will get the... Read More
Bullying is Subjective
What are your definitions of bullying? Are those definitions useful to you? One of the major problem schools have in dealing with bullying is in how they define it. It's not just a paper exercise in thinking up labels, it makes a massive difference as to whether the organisation takes action as result of an incident or not. If you have a child who is being bullied at school, the school will only help them if the teachers believe that whatever has... Read More
National Bullying Helpline
The National Bullying Helpline is a charity set up to help eradicate Bullying in all corners of our society; in the Workplace, the Playground, in the Home and in the Community. BULLYING IS DISCRIMINATION. BULLYING DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE … any one of us may be targeted Call 0845 22 55 787 for help The National Bullying Helpline was initially founded to assist those who struggle with bullying at work. There is much focus today on Workplace Investigations,... Read More


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In addition to the history, customs and celebrations of
17 American holidays, this edition has a very informative section on the historical
development of the values upon which America's culture is based (e.g. individualism /
equality / "doing" orientation etc.)
It is written in intermediate-level English. Vocabulary
words are underlined throughout the text with a vocabulary definition list at the end of
each chapter.
(5 for $18) (10
for $30.00) (case of 100 or more $2.45 each)
ESL main page


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Beer-Battered Razor Clams
Photo: John Clark
Among the world's sweetest, most flavorful clams, razors shine in just about any preparation, and deep-frying in beer batter remains a Northwest tradition. Add zing with spices and lemon zest—and make sure to use a simple lager, since more complex microbrews can overwhelm the flavor. Unlike littleneck clams or mussels, razors require quite a bit of cleaning, but it's worth it. Langdon Cook, blogger and author of Fat of the Land, serves them with sweet potato fries, cole slaw, and cold beer.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
More From Sunset
Recipe Time
1 Hour, 30 Minutes
Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
- Calories: 292
- Calories from fat: 28%
- Protein: 31g
- Fat: 9.4g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrate: 19g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Sodium: 327mg
- Cholesterol: 76mg
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- About 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 bottle (12 oz.) lager beer such as Rainier or Heineken, at room temperature
- 3 pounds razor clams in the shell*, cleaned; or use 1 1/2 lbs. cleaned razor clam meat or other clam meat, or calamari tubes (cut into rings) and tentacles
- Lemon wedges
- 1. Fill a large, deep pot with 1 1/2 in. oil, insert a deep-fry thermometer, and bring to 375° over medium-high heat. Preheat oven to 200°.
- 2. Whisk egg in a large bowl to blend. Add flour and seasonings, but don't mix. Add beer just before using (so batter keeps some bubbles; this will make the coating light and crisp) and whisk until smooth.
- 3. Add clams to batter and stir to coat well. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, lift out a spoonful of clams, draining excess batter; lower into oil, shaking spoon a bit to separate clumps. Stand back (clams may spatter) and cook until golden all over, turning once, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes; adjust heat as needed to keep oil at 375°.
- 4. Transfer clams to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and keep warm in oven while you cook remaining clams. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and more salt to taste.
- How to clean razor clams:
- 1. Put clams in a colander and pour boiling water over them just until shells open. Rinse with cold water until cool. Gently pull clams from shells, slicing the muscle that attaches to the shell to free the meat.
- 2. Snip off dark tip of the skinny siphon. With scissors, cut clam lengthwise from siphon to base of the digger (foot) and open.
- 3. Lay clam flat and cut around slippery tan gills, mouth, and digger to separate them from the rest of the white meat.
- 4. Squeeze digger so the dark stomach shows through the meat, then snip around it and gills and remove. If a clear rod pops out, discard it as well.
- 5. Slice digger open lengthwise, open up, and pull out the dark sand vein. The white meat comes out in two neat pieces once you have a little practice. Rinse clam meat.
- *You can also buy razor clams in the shell in season at some West Coast specialty fish shops. Or buy them in the shell (in season) from wildsalmonseafood.com
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Beer-Battered Razor Clams Recipe at a Glance
- COURSE: Appetizers, Hors d'Oeuvres
- CONVENIENCE: Entertaining, Family
- CUISINE: American, Pacific Northwest
- MAIN INGREDIENT: Shellfish
- DIETARY CONSIDERATION: Low Saturated Fat
- COOKING METHOD: Fry
- PUBLICATION: Sunset
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McCain, Clinton lead in InsiderAdvantage Alabama poll
February 1, 2008 — There's a statistical tie in the Republican presidential primary race in Alabama, but Mitt Romney is not a part of it. And the Democrats could have a photo finish on their hands in that state. Our latest InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research poll showed this on the GOP side: John McCain (37%)Mike Huckabee (35%)Mitt Romney (14%)Ron Paul (5%)Other (1%)Undecided (8%) The poll sampled 566 likely voters in the Feb. 5 Alabama Republican primary, for a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. It was conducted Jan. 31. The data have been weighted for age, race, gender and political affiliation. The split among hard conservative voters between Romney and Huckabee has McCain in the catbird's seat, just as in most states. The difference in Alabama is that the Huckabee-Romney split is a lot of Huckabee support, and little for Romney. In Georgia, Romney and Huckabee are tied for second behind McCain. Clearly, rural white conservatives are not identifying with the blue-blooded Romney. A Huckabee win in Alabama would serve McCain almost as well as a McCain victory. Either way, Romney would be frustrated once again, and with time running down. The former Massachusetts governor is trying to get out the message that conservative voters need to unite against McCain, but – even with his overstuffed bank account – he probably can't put out the word fast enough to make a difference by Super Tuesday. Certainly not in Alabama. The Democrats have a race on their hands too. Here's how our poll came out:
Hillary Clinton (46%)
NEW: Advanced Copy of James Magazine for InsiderAdvantage subscribers
(click HERE to download full version)
The newest copy of James, our monthly magazine, is off the press and in the mail. But our readers will now start to receive an advanced online copy...


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Lighthouse Insurance Agency is a successful business located in Tuscola, Illinois. We offer insurance solutions for all types of business and personal needs and our dedicated staff members have over 33 years of experience combined!
We are a small town business that takes the time to get to know all of our clients and considers them long-term assets. We will work our hardest to ensure more than just customer satisfaction. If you are looking for a personalized agent who will take the time to help find the right coverage for you, come see us at Lighthouse Insurance Agency.
We promise to be...YOUR INSURANCE GUIDE!


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Attending psychiatrist at the Whiting forensic division of Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine
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The dual islands of Trinidad and Tobago are the southernmost of our Caribbean islands, and although together they make up one nation, the true beauty is in their difference. Whether you are looking for a boutique bolthole, a holistic retreat or a beachfront resort with all the facilites, these contrasting twins have something to suit everyone.
020 7751 0660
Or enter your phone number and let us call you back.
Trinidad is the busier of the two, with an explosion of steel drums, calypso and soca welcoming you to the vibrant capital, Port Of Spain. Tourism is not a high priority thanks to the island's oil and gas wealth, so if you want to experience an authentic slice of Caribbean life, this is the place to come. The cultural mix means that there are plenty of festivals, with Corpus Christi, Divali, Easter and Holi all celebrated with equal fervour. Trinidad's Carnival is the biggest in the Caribbean, and testament to the island's well known party stamina, but that's not to say that the island can't be tranquil. Away from the capital city's textile shopping and street food, the often deserted beaches and turquoise waters provide stunning picture postcard vistas. With more exotic plants and birds than on any other Caribbean island, Trinidad is rich in natural attractions. At the Asa Wright Nature Centre, crested oropendolas and white-bearded manakins flit about the echoing tropical rainforest, while leatherback sea turtles come to nest at Grande Riviere and Matura Beach on the northeast coast from March to August. The island also boasts an eclectic mix of Indian, African and Creole cuisine, where pepper sauce goes with everything.
Sun soaked Tobago is Trinidad's wistful, sleepy sister, an island of intoxicatingly laid-back resorts, wide golden beaches and majestic beauty. There are swaying coconut palms, bone white beaches and sapphire waters, but there is also the jungle capped Main Ridge, charming ramshackle villages and plenty of hidden coves. As you would expect on such a small island, the restaurant scene is limited, and the hotels are your best bet, with the pink mint ice cream at Kariwak Village a must! Beach barbecues with locally caught seafood are commonplace, and El Pescador is a great spot to watch the fishermen bringing back fresh lobster and snapper. If you don't mind hunting your own, the islanders will happily gear you up with a spear gun, snorkel and mask so you can head below sea to catch a barracuda. You'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to beaches, with golden white shores on the Caribbean side and darker volcanic sands on the Atlantic coast. Bloody Bay on the northern coast is one of the most sheltered, a deserted and glorious spot that typifies what Tobago is all about.


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Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.
—Marilyn Monroe
Had lunch with a friend of mine today.
We originally met so he could repay me for the $195 cab fair I put on my credit card for Rob's bachelor party, but then things got interesting. I showed him my screenplay, and we started talking about the future of his production company. By next spring we'll be shooting a feature length film in Connecticut. I'll be getting paid to do what I love, and I'll get to go out of state for a season or two. I absolutely cannot wait.
- Doctor Parnassus: I'm worried about Anton. What's eating him?
- Percy: He's in love with Valentina.
- Doctor Parnassus: In love? Who gave him permission?!
Just found my As You Like It script. Whoaaaaaaaaaaaa.
My sister wanted to take a look at my annotated Death of a Salesman, so I blew the dust off my box of writings and text from senior year and came across this. Damn. A lot of memories. All the world's a stage Mr Johnson.
Another show.
Just got cast in Waiting for Godot. I play a slave named Lucky with no lines other than a massive three page soliloquy of lengthy verbal consciousness. Lets do this.
I am so glad I decided to be in this show. I am meeting so many interesting people. I love it. Last night me and two other guys stayed up until 3am watching Love Never Dies. Amazing people, amazing interests.
I think that in a way, it's giving the television and film industry an opportunity to learn the lesson the music industry didn't learn. Give the people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price and they'll buy it and they won't steal it.
—Kevin Spacey, on the whole first season of House of Cards being instantly available online via Netflix.


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"Of Bodies Of Water" Workshop with Rulan Tangen @ The Santa Fe Art Institute / September 8 & 9, 2012
The Santa Fe Art Institute is proud to present Rulan Tangen's workshop "Of Bodies Of Water." The element of water – inside our bodies and of the plant – is the essence of life and one of the crucial issues of our time, and our place. A multi-disciplinary creative process with intent of awareness and healing will center in movement and include tributaries of spoken word, sound, sketching, writing and other aspects of 'making.' Community members will gather to explore their personal and shared perspectives on water, through artistic embodiment that reveals profound reflections and understandings. The workshop will culminate in an outdoor performance ritual.
When: September 8 & 9, 2012
Where: Driscoll Fitness Center, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, 1600 St. Michaels Drive, Santa Fe, NM 87505
Time: 4-7 pm both nights
Cost: $20 / Mention you saw this listing on the Creative Tourism website and get $5 off your registration fee!
Phone: 505-424-5050
Website/Blog Address: http://sfaiblog.org


text:
Narrow your search
Looking for phones? CNET's reviews of the best phones include photos, video, and user reviews.
Competitively priced, stylish, and sporting great midtier specs, the LG Optimus F7 is an excellent handset for U.S. Cellular customers.
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With jurisdiction from the bottom of the ocean to deep space, U.S. Strategic Command has its hands full in a very complex world. CNET Road Trip 2013 visited to better understand the mission.
Stratcom oversees everything from flying B-2s bombers over Libya to military space analysis. CNET's Daniel Terdiman went behind the hallowed doors of the former Strategic Air Command on Road Trip 2013.
Pumped with high-performing hardware and creative software features, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is an excellent, top-end phone that's neck and neck with the HTC One X.
With its low-end specs and mediocre camera, the Envoy II isn't worth buying -- especially since the Samsung Chrono 2 comes in at a cheaper contract price.
The LG Splendor doesn't have the fastest network connection, but it's an affordable and snappy handset that's loaded with Android 4.0 and a swift CPU.
The Samsung Freeform 4 makes solid calls and is great if you're looking for a simple, entry-level handset with a keyboard.
Don't be lured by the PCD Wrangler's rugged build or cheap price. Its weak call quality and lack of trendy smartphone features give this tough flip phone a glass jaw.
The LG Envoy is a decent entry-level phone that's a slim and affordable option for U.S. Cellular customers.
If you're patient enough to deal with its touch-screen display, the LG Attune works well as an affordable messaging phone for U.S. Cellular.


text:
Harvard University
Tuesday Apr 2 10:53pm
My days are no longer complete if I don't hear, see, or speak the word "Harvard" at least once a day. Please tell me I'm not the only one…
Accepted! 2017 does not condone suicide. Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 National Suicide Prevention Hotline