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FRIDAY thru SUNDAY, October 9th - 11th, 2015: The 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival
SATURDAY thru SUNDAY, October 17th & 18th, 2015: Sinister Creature Con
SATURDAY, October 31st, 2015: The Rocky Horror Picture Show "Halloween" Edition
FRIDAY, November 13th, 2015: Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show Part 2. It is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE. Followed by Q&A and Signing.
SATURDAY, November 14th, 2015: Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show Part 1. What is it? Followed by Q&A and Signing.
2015 Official Selections for the 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival
Friday, October 9th, 2015
4PM Music Video Program
Kaddish 6min
When, on his way back home, a man stops at a motorway service area, he did not imagine that by talking to his urinal's neighbor, it will trigger some terrible events.
Directed by Emeline Castaneda
Purgatory 4min
Purgatory is the music video for singer/songwriter Justin Symbol's track by the same name, and follows a young man's attempts to exorcise himself of the demon that has haunted his life.
Directed by Jeff Turick
Symbols – Death Valley 4min
Inspired by the news articles of Miranda Barbour and her husband that were supposedly satanists that lured sexual predators into a meeting and then murdered them. Music Video.
Directed by Ates Isildak
Let's Get Medicated 4min
HEAD TRIP SUPERSTAR song "Let's Get Medicated" delves into the subject matter of self-medicating, denial, and the struggle of coming to terms with it… or not!
Directed by Rich Varville
Gunpowder Gray "Saints" 5min
Atlanta hard rock band, Gunpowder Gray, presents a music video/short for "Saints" that is reminiscent of 80s and 90s vampire movies.
Directed by Video Rahim
URD-OM 3min
Sacramento's YOUNGEST rock band URD-OM (er-dum) is made up of sisters Dru (14-guitar) & Molly (12-drums/vocals) with friends Paige (13-lead vocals) & Kyle (14-guitar/bass) Cadaver Animatum is their very first music video.
Directed by Mike Bustillos
Had Babbits 7min
A serial killer and his victim become entangled in an elaborate game of cat and mouse.
Directed by Derek Lukosius
Warm, Bloody, and Tender 5min
A not-so-adventurous couple gets invited what they think will be a civilized dinner party. They realize they may have bitten off more they can chew as things devolve into a blood bath with each course.
Directed by Ben Smith and Ted Day of OfClouds
Your Direction 5min
Love, loss and lunch. The premiere music video from San-Francisco based musical duo, 'The Boy Dahlia.'
Directed by Lauren Brady
Gallows Bound: Sink in the Soil 5min
The official music video for the band Gallows Bound's single "Sink in the Soil". A night of betrayal, backstabbing, and murder deep in the woods of the Shenandoah.
Directed by Dough Stanford
Sirens 4min
A woman's crazed escape from herself. Music by Daniel Ahearn and Mindy Jones.
Directed by Jerry Pyle
Never Stop Sinning 4min
Aurora is dying. Eaten by two zombies. Who are they and where did they come from?
Directed by Eve Martin
The Book of Nightmares 7min
Music Video for the band American Noir. The title track for the Short Horror Film, 'The Book of Nightmares'.
Directed by Rick Danford
Touch 7min
A lonely scientist works alone in his castle lab, trying to bring his dream partner to life.
Directed by Jerry Ochoa
Portraits of a Nightmare 3min
A visceral exploration of tormented sleep, shot on glorious 8mm film. Featuring "The Somnambulist Waltz" from Jill Tracy's highly acclaimed album "The Bittersweet Constrain."
Directed by Jeremy Carr
In Violet – Entomophobia 4min
Entomophobia is the first music video for the London based band In Violet. It centres around the fear of insects and features tons of creepy crawlies, out to spook unsuspecting humans.
Directed by Robin Rippmann
Friday, October 9th, 2015
5:50PM Shorts Program 1
Performances by Robert Berry, Cro Alia, Jeslen Mishelle & Victoria, & Mone't Ha-Sidi
Iris 10min
A hitman uses his smart phone to aid in burying a dead body.
Directed by Richard Karpala
El Gigante 14min
The only chance for Armando's survival in this hellish nightmare is to last in a wrestling match against the most terrifying villain of all: GIGANTE!
Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero
Bad Guy #2 10min
In this practical-effects driven splatter comedy one bad guy discovers that moving up in a crime ring has its downsides. Just as his new career starts, it might already be coming to an end. He'll either have to set an example or become one.
Directed by Chris McInroy
Lapsus 30min
Terry is a psychologically disturbed predator whose sinister playground is a laundromat. Terry is a victim of an unknown phenomena that literature considers as a Lapsus memoriae -or a slip of memory.
Directed by Karim Ouaret
Grace 10min
A young girl, her dog and a stranger find themselves stranded together in a post apocalyptic world.
Directed by Karen Nielsen
And They Watched 7min
AND THEY WATCHED is a horror morality tale about the custodian of an electric chair and its last casualty. Inspired by the recent reinstatement of the electric chair in Tennessee, US.
Directed by Vivian Lin
Clones 14min
A dying scientist is offered the chance to live on in his clone's body.
Directed by Rafael Bollinger
Friday, October 9th, 2015
8:10PM Shorts Program 2
Performances by Jenna Jezebel, Kyle Bowen, Amy Dodge, Deaja Girl on Fire, & Jessica Wills
The Barber's Cut 12min
Two cut off but living heads wake up in a fridge and manage to escape while trying to avoid a psycho barber.
Directed by Mark Brocking
Timothy 10min
Simon is a little boy that has to deal with his babysitter, Sonia, a total nuisance. But that same night Simon will recieve and unexpected visitor, Timothy, the main character of Simon's favourite show, a visit he will never forget.
Directed by Marc Martínez Jordán
Meridians 9min
An acupuncturist forms a primal bond with her female patient after years of treatment.
Directed by Blake Rice
Playback 4min
When a man's television mysterious shows him a brutal murder being committed in his building, a scream from the hallway compels him to investigate. What he stumbles upon will change his life forever.
Directed by Nathan Crooker
The Shutterbug Man 5min
The Shutterbug Man tells the stop motion tale of a twisted man whose only passion in life is taking pictures. This passion takes him to dark and terrible places.
Directed by Chris Walsh
Market St. 8min
On a seemingly ordinary commute in San Francisco, a woman finds herself on a journey of terror aboard a mysterious streetcar.
Directed by Carlos Baena
Super 4min
When a mysterious girl falls into the sights of a violent stalker, she is left with only one means of survival...
Directed by Matt Inns
Substance 15min
An innocent mix-up leads to disaster when two girlfriends encounter an extraterrestrial substance at a winter music festival.
Directed by Barbara Stepansky
OK Monster 9min
A dark horror comedy about a new dating service for the most dangerous people that walk amongst us.
Directed by Jamie DeWolf
Invaders 6min
A pair of home invaders consider their potential character choices just prior to their planned invasion.
Directed by Jason Kupfer
The Remedy 12min
Anna suffers from an unknown illness, she chose to face the illness alone, and tried to find out the best treatment to herself.
Directed by Chia Ying Tsai
Friday, October 9th, 2015
10:30PM A Serbian Film (18+ Screening)
Performances by ChaCha Burnadette, TrainWreck Sideshow
SHFF presents what is widely considered to be one of the most controversial and shocking films ever created. In order to provide for his family, Milos, a retired porn star, is called back to the business he left behind for one last gig. From then on, Milos is drawn into a maelstrom of unbelievable cruelty and mayhem devised by his mysterious employer.
Q&A with Director/Writer Srdjan Spasojevic and Writer Aleksandar Radivojevic
Saturday, October 10th, 2015
2PM Shorts Program 3
Father Mud 17min
Sometimes our innate need to be loved and to have a place called home can be stronger than death itself. All Hell breaks loose, literally, when an abandoned foster child shows up on Mary Hall's front door.
Directed by Jameson Hesse
Surgery 11min
Kidnapped and suffering the diabolical torturous ways of 'The Crude Surgeon' for no known reason, Michael slips in and out of consciousness until he finds himself in safe hands…
Directed by The Clemens Bros
Monster Girls 28min
"Monster Girls" takes a darkly comiclook at the lives of every modern 20something;desperate to find identity, acceptance, and a way to resist the urge to kill everyone they meet.
Directed by Matthew Soson
The Trap 6min
A man invites his friend over one night to show off his latest invention: a trap for catching aliens.
Directed by Dick Grunert
Death in C minor 4min
A woman wakes to the sound of her piano repeating the same eerienote. Is she mad or is someone there?
Directed by James Ren
Vivid 23min
Béatrice and Laurent are a couple. Laurent mysteriously losts his senses, little by little. Gradually, he lost the taste and smell, and touch. But more worryingly, it only affects his perception of his wife.
Directed by Guillaume Foresti
Saturday, October 10th, 2015
4PM A Conversation with Mick Garris
Explore the mind of this legendary director, writer, and producer.
Hosted by Blake Reigle
Saturday, October 10th, 2015
6PM The Storyteller
Performances by Kyle Bowen, Christa Quinn.
The Storyteller 96min
Dennis Peterson (Fred Koehler) encounters his evil reflection in an antique mirror. The reflection is stronger, smarter, more powerful than he is. Soon the reflection is telling him what to do, telling him to do bad things.
Directed by Andrew Getty Q&A with cast and crew including Michael Berryman
Saturday, October 10th, 2015
8PM Shorts Program 4
Performances by Cro Alia, Jamie DeWolf, Jessica Wills, Shadow Circus Theatre
The Funspot 6min
An angsty young boy, stuck at his little sister's birthday party, encounters a malevolent presence hiding within the ball pit of a sprawling indoor playground.
Directed by Jake Hammond
Devil Makes Work 7min
The devil's twisted view of humanity.
Directed by Guy Soulsby
Point of View 8min
A tired coroner is stalked by the living dead -- but only when she isn't looking!
Directed by Justin Harding
Night of the Slasher 11min
A 'shot-in-one-take' slasher film about a teenage girl who must commit horror movie sins by drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and having sex in order to lure a masked killer and defeat him.
Directed by Shant Hamassian
The Smiling Man 7min
A little girl home alone finds herself face-to-face with pure evil.
Directed by A.J. Briones
Unbelief 13min
The story of two men meeting in a park. It's Christmas Eve. Kane is an assassin, on his way to do a job which means more to him than the usual killings he is paid to do. This time it's personal...
Directed by Fabien Martorell
The Priest 10min
An unfaithful woman finds herself on the train ride from hell.
Directed by Goran Spoljaric
The Substitute 20min
A young teacher takes a job at an unusual private school where she soon discovers that the boys have a sinister power over the girls. As the boys behaviour becomes increasingly threatening she uncovers the source of the girls fear; an ominous locked door at the back of the classroom.
Directed by Nathan Hughes-Berry
Zepo 3min
Time ago, a winter morning, a little girl went out looking for firewood, she went away from home and came across a blood trail... she followed it.
Directed by CÉSAR DÍAZ MELÉNDEZ
The Boy 9min
When immigrant parents start to notice disturbing behavior in their only son, they call on a local tribal healer to rid him of the evil demon.
Directed by Cayman Grant
Saturday, October 10th, 2015
10:30PM The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Amber's Sweets celebrates the 40th anniversary of the most successful cult classic of all time.
Sunday, October 11th, 2015
2PM Shorts Program 5
Witch Girl 7min
Take a peak into the early life of one of the most iconic young witches in American culture, Sabrina, the teenage witch.
Directed by Ricardo Uhagon Vivas
Life at Sandy's 7min
Evelyn, a lonely and depressed woman, is convinced by the hit 90's sitcom "Life At Sandy's" to join them in their wholesome world. They offer her a life where her best friends will always be there for her. However, everything comes with a price.
Directed by Alexandra Hansen
Seiren 18min
After a supermodel is bitten in the water by a mysterious creature while on a photo shoot at the beach, an infection takes hold that changes her behaviour and appearance. Over time she turns into one hell of a demonic sea siren whose thirsty for blood.
Directed by Kat Threlkeld
Sleight 11min
A late night radio host goes off on a rant about his disdain for magicians. But when a man claming to be a magician calls on air, things get increasingly sinister.
Directed by Levan Bakhia
The Case of Evil 11min
When a down-on-his-luck blues musicians travels to the country to buy a guitar he suspects was stolen from him many years earlier, he finds that it's hoodoo-practicing owner is reluctant to hand over the instrument, and she's got something more on her agenda than a simple sale.
Directed by Neal Hallford & Jana Hallford
Watching Over You 13min
Katariina is a preacher's daughter. At sixteen, she is growing up in a charismatic Christian movement, trying to reconcile the life of an ordinary high school student with the fundamentalist world view of her congregation. Every step of the way, she is being watched over by Gabriel, an angelic figure who grows ever darker as a reflection of Katariina's changing relationship with religion and with her own stern father.
Directed by Iina Hänninen
In Chains 17min
Two burglars get stuck in a serial killer's house and have to fight for their survival to get out of hell.
Directed by Stéphane Youssouf
Sunday, October 11th, 2015
4PM Shorts Program 6
Little Lamb 22min
A young convict woman desperate for freedom rashly chooses a new master, but alone on his isolated farm her hopes for a new life are undermined by the grim truths she discovers.
Directed by Heidi Lee Douglas
August Heat 11min
In a sweltering New York heat wave, a young artist seeks out the sinister source of his latest inspiration.
Directed by Matthew James Thompson
Boniato 23min
An illegal migrant worker decides it's time to move on from picking crops and find a better job. Little does she know insidious supernatural forces have a different plan for her.
Directed by Andres Meza-Valdes, Diego Meza-Valdes, & Eric Mainade.
Knock, Knock... 3min
On a dark, stormy night, a brave little boy decides to find out who is knocking on his door... his closet door, that is.
Directed by Anthony Lund
Worst. Day. Ever. 4Min
Five University students have the worst day ever imaginable.
Directed by Adam Goldhammer
The Pond 15min
The Pond is a poetic horror story, set in the early 1900's, about a young girl, Kris (8), who tries to unravel the mystery of the dark pond behind her parents' house…
Directed by Jeroen Dumoulein
Sunday, October 11th, 2015
6:00PM Landmine Goes Click
Performances by Lady Jay, Audrey Von Price & Lilith Cain
The House is Innocent 12min
Who knowingly purchases the former residence of a notorious serial killer? Meet Tom and Barbara, proud new owners of the most infamous house in Sacramento, CA. As the middle-aged couple renovate the crumbling house, they realize its going to take a whole lot more than paint to change the community's minds about their new home.
Directed by Nicholas Coles
Landmine Goes Click 110min
Trapped on top of an armed landmine, an American tourist and his girlfriend are terrorized by a hunter and his dog.
Directed by Levan Bakhia
Sunday, October 11th, 2015
8:35PM Wes Craven Appreciation Night
Performances by Kyle Bowen, Cro Alia, Christa Quinn, Jamie DeWolf, Mone-t Ha-Sidi, & Sidney Sin
We close out the 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival with a cosplay competition, retrospective, and special screening in honor of an artist who has both inspired our dreams and haunted our nightmares. Thank you, Wes Craven, for all you have done for the genre of horror.
THANK YOU to all of the superstar individuals who contributed to our LSOH prop fund! Unfortunately we did not reach our intended goal. We do plan however on bringing the LSOH show to our roster in 2016. Thank you again!
Supporters include...
John Carberry
Christa F Hodson
Jennifer Haynes
Jessica Friesen
Donnell Brown
All others who contributed did not leave us a name to pimp out so thank you everyone!
The 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival is the place to be to explore your love and adoration of the genre. Over 50 independent short and feature films will grace the silver screen of the historic Colonial Theatre this fall.
The Sacramento Horror Film Festival has been voted "One of the Coolest Film Festival's in the World" by Movie Maker Magazine in 2013.
We are more than a horror film festival. We are a horror culture experience. Workshops, panel discussions, costume contests, stand up comedy, burlesque, performance art, puppetry, dark circus acts, and more can be experienced at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival.
This year's guests of honor: Master's of Horror creator Mick Garris, A Serbian Film Creator's Srdjan Spasojevik & Aleksandar Radivojevic!
Hosted by Jamie DeWolf & Sidney Sin.
Please note. Our screening of A SERBIAN FILM will be the first screening we enforce an 18+ policy.
The 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival will also feature a special 40th Anniversary Presentation of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, shadowcasted by SHFF's very own AMBER'S SWEETS Shadow Cast.
Tickets for the 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival will go on sale by 8/15.
9th ANNUAL SACRAMENTO HORROR FILM FESTIVAL TICKETING OPTIONS:
OCTOBER 17th & 18th 2015
6151 H Street, Sacramento CA 95819
Email firstname.lastname@example.com for Vendor, Exhibitor, Industry, & Artist Tables.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com for Advertising and Sponsorship Opportunties.
Amber's Sweets Rocky Horror Picture Show RETURNS for TWO special October events!
October 10th, 2015: Amber's Sweets 40th Anniversary Edition SOLD OUT!!!
Receive access with your 3 Day 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival Event Pass. No VIP options for this show. Limited general admission tickets on sale. WE ARE TALKING LIMITED!
This event takes place Saturday, October 10th, 2015, during the 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival, at 10:30PM. 10:30PM Showtime. If you are already planning to attend the 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival then please purchase your 3 day pass as this special screening and performance is included. If you have no intentions of seeing any other screening during the 9th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival, please click the ticket purchase link below to reserve your seat to this special screening.
October 31st, 2015: Amber's Sweets Halloween Edition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 9:30PM.
Celebrate Halloween ROCKY HORROR style! See below for our various ticketing options!
Perfect for couple's, first date, best friends, etc! This pass is good for TWO people. Receive TWO exclusive VIP prints from Paul Allen celebrating Rocky Horror this Halloween, receive TWO venue approved prop kits, receive two reserved seats EXCLUSIVE to only YOU in our upstairs VIP viewing room overlooking the entire Colonial Theatre. This is arguably the best seat in the house! That's not all. You also have the CHOICE of playing Ralph and Bettie Hapshat in the shadowcast production! It's so easy and you don't even need a costume. Psst, no one to date has taken us up on this perk. Will you be the first? You'll also receive an assortment of your favorite candy, and soda/juice! You receive access to the venue at 8PM.
Reserve your seat to the show! This VIP pass will give you access to the venue before anyone else at 8:00PM. You'll receive a limited exclusive edition art print by SHFF artist, Paul Allen. You'll also receive a venue approved prop kit! Costume not required but encouraged!
Reserve your seat to the show! General admission guarantees that even if we sell out, your seat will be saved for you. Have a group, gathering, or business celebration you want to have at this event? Email email@example.com for bulk discounted rates of 10 or more! General admission receives access at 8:45PM.
Click the link below to purchase your choice of options for the Halloween Edition of Amber's Sweets THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. On Stage. On screen.
We at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival are very pleased to be welcoming Crispin Hellion Glover to Sacramento, CA!
Mr. Glover will present his Big Slide Show, in which he will perform a one hour dramatic narration of eight different profusely illustrated books he has made over the years. The images from the books are projected behind him during the performance. Following each performance we will screen his two transgressive, avant garde feature films and the evenings will conclude with a Q&A period and book signing with his books available in the lobby.
Tickets are $20 (General Admission) per show.
Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show part 2 – It Is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE
Friday, November 13th, 8 pm at the Historic Colonial Theatre. 3522 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento.
Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show part 1 – What is it?
Saturday, November 14th, 8 pm at the Historic Colonial Theatre. 3522 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento.
For Immediate Release. February 13th, 2015: The Sacramento Horror Film Festival's very own theatrical stage troupe BLOOD SOAKED SUGAR CUBES will debut in October 2016 with a 100% theatrical production of the OFFICIAL STAGE PLAY PRODUCTION of "George A. Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD" at the Historic Colonial Theatre, in Sacramento, CA. This is NOT a shadowcast.
About the play: Night of the Living Dead Live is a fun and hilarious re-imagining of George A. Romero's legendary classic. Set in 1968 and presented in all black and white, it literally feels like the film has been brought to life and placed on stage. The play lovingly examines the movie itself, the period in which it was made, and the film's undying influence on the horror genre.
Night of the Living Dead was produced at a time of incredible social and political upheaval. The Vietnam war; the civil rights movement; the collapse of the patriarchal, nuclear family; and growing mistrust of the government and media are just some of the themes that influenced both the filmmakers and their audience. The film itself was met with controversy for featuring an African American protagonist and realistic horror images; both ground breaking attributes for the time period. The gritty, black and white cinematography made the action seem more like television news footage than a Saturday matinee horror film. This made the images that much more "real" and frightening to an unsuspecting audience. And yet, possibly the most controversial element to The Night Of The Living Dead was the ending… Everybody dies! Even the hero doesn't survive. That was unheard of for any movie at that time, and made the movie unpalatable to some and innovative and inspired to others. Even though it featured images of racial violence, cannibalism, and social anarchy, it was the grim, unhappy ending that stuck with people. It is a hallmark that has carried through the genre until today. No guaranteed survivors! Night Of The Living Dead Live is a theatrical tribute to all of the elements that make this cinematic masterpiece so endearing. More than just a recreation of the story, the play celebrates the history and influence of the movie. Done through a series of multiple endings, the characters are all faced with different issues and challenges desperately trying to survive the night. However, their contrasting personalities and agendas always seem to affect the group from working together which leaves us all wondering could anyone survive a Night of the Living Dead?
If you are interested in participating in this production in any facet, please email Tim Meunier at firstname.lastname@example.com.
2014 8th Annual Sacramento Horror Film Festival Award Winners
- Best of Festival Feature Film: "EAT" Directed by Jimmy Webber
- Best of Festival Short Film: "Pretty" Directed by Elysa Sardinha
- The "Love Horror" Award: "Dead Hearts" Directed by Stephen W. Martin
- Best of Festival Music Video: "Time is Crawling" Directed by Jamie DeWolf
- Best of Festival Animation: "Sebastian's Voodoo" Directed by Joaquin Baldwin
- Best of Festival Direction in a Short or Feature Film: "Deep Red Dandelions" Direced by Brendan Butler
- Best of Festival Artistic Design: "The Carriage or: Dracula & My Mother" Directed by Ben Gordon
- Best of Festival Cinematography: "Deep Red Dandelions" Directed by Brendan Butler
2007 Best of Festival Feature Film Winner: Beneath the Surface. Directed by Blake Reigle.
2008 Best of Festival Feature Film Winner: Bonnie & Clyde VS. Dracula


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The BBC has radically overhauled the voting system for the Sports Personality of the Year award following last year's controversy about the all-male shortlist
The BBC will announce changes to its Sports Personality of the Year awards process later this month
From Andy Murray and Bradley Wiggins to Mo Farah and Jesicca Ennis, 2012 has been great for British athletes – and this might just turn the annual BBC award around too
Louise Taylor: Bradley Wiggins would have been a shoo-in for Sport Personality of the Year before so many wonderful stories in the Olympics and Paralympics
Letters: A statue of Sir Ludwig Guttmann, founder of the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948 and inspiration for the Paralympic Games, should be erected in Trafalgar Square
Choice of Edinburgh zoo panda for magazine's faces of 2011 follows controversy over sports personality award
Choice of Edinburgh zoo panda for BBC magazine's faces of the year follows sports personality award furore
Annual sports awards show loses 2.8m as cyclist Mark Cavendish wins coveted prize. By Josh Halliday and Paul Weaver
Cyclist pays tribute to teammates after winning top prize and raising hopes for an Olympic gold in London 2012 Games
Marina Hyde: Despite the efforts of the BBC every year, the Sports Personality of the Year awards are irrelevant and have become the opposite of the meritocratic competition sport is supposed to be about
The BBC has said it will look into the voting procedure for the Sports Personality of the Year shortlist after complaints about the lack of women candidates
The top 10 contenders for BBC sports personality of the Year are all male. It's hardly surprising, given the sorry state of women's sports coverage in the UK
The Ironman world champion, Chrissie Wellington, has led complaints over the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, calling the selection 'disgraceful'
Andy Bull: Here is a selection of just 10 of the women who have been deemed not worthy enough to be shortlisted for the 2011 award
Britain's sportswomen have reacted with anger and dismay at the complete absence of women on the shortlist for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year award
The 10 nominations for the BBC's annual award have been announced, and the list features no women
The BBC said it was 'not our decision' to make the shortlist for the Sports Personality of the Year award all male
Frank Keating: Nick Matthew, the British No1, has just retained the World Open squash title in Rotterdam, a remarkable feat in an all but forgotten sport
Our writers: Now that Tony McCoy has landed the BBC's award for 2010, who do you think has been the greatest global competitor?
Tony McCoy's ceaseless appetite for winning has finally landed him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award

subset: commoncrawl


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Anne and I (Trail and Hitch respectively) are selling near everything we own, buying a truck and trailer, going into business for ourselves, and traveling across America.
Want to know more? The Adventures of Trail and Hitch
Anne and I (Trail and Hitch respectively) are selling near everything we own, buying a truck and trailer, going into business for ourselves, and traveling across America.
Want to know more? The Adventures of Trail and Hitch
I was reading a debate regarding immigration among other things and I was reminded of the inherent challenge of culture, nationality, and individual views in these situations. Many of history's greatest moments and its most dire are the result of one culture meeting and mixing with another. Some kind of violence is almost always part of the story.
Personally, I embrace change. I'm always interested in taking cultural ideas of others and making those I like part of my own; and yet, there are certain values and ideas that I do take to be core personal values I will not part with. I actively promote them and challenge those who would not uphold them.
You might say I have some faith in the idea that good ideas will survive and poor ones will fail in the competition of the marketplace of ideas. And of course I figure my ideas will win out eventually and overall in the world it feels to me like they have been winning out. Not everywhere, not all the time, but slowly but surely. Whether that's the world becoming more like me, or me more like the world, or just personal ego I can't say.
I know many don't feel as I do. I know that many feel their cultures are under attack and that unless they take dramatic action they can't survive. I know that many feel that any change or adaptation is tantamount to the death of that culture. While I can sympathise, what I tend to see is that those who don't adapt die out. Cultures didn't get to the way they are by not changing and innovating. It was trying new things and growing that got the great cultures of history and modernity to where they are today.
Of course change can mean loss, ideas forgotten, beauty destroyed and loss is something that strikes us at our core. Therefore I think that as people change and adapt, we need to record and remember what was in case we need it again or simply for its own sake. We as human beings should adapt, and with us our culture, yet we should make record of who and what we were.
I think in any culture there are rolls for different people. Those who find change brings the pain of loss should be charged with keeping for us a record of who we were, even embodying it themselves. But those people should not prescribe this attitude for all. Others should be pioneers on the leading edge of change, taking new ideas from other cultures and making them their own.
And the final key is to have awareness we need both, and that these two activities are not at odds with one another. Those who prefer tradition should be honored for keeping it and those who lead change should be honored for their efforts. I think through this attitude we can have mix and mingle knowing we will neither lose our own past, nor remain behind rigid lines in a battle for cultural purity.
Right, so this one of the Two Fisted Monkey stories I mentioned in the last post. Its one of the better ones in various respects. As time went on they got more and more elaborate. Lord knows how this sort of thing turns into a novel but I really do like the main characters. Its pretty easy to imagine how these folks work their way in and out of trouble on a daily basis.
For the shorthand…. Seablade is an elf berserker fond of taunting his foes and getting himself beat up. Pythia is an elven priest and seablade's unrequited love. Rylestel is an elven rogue for whom discretion is always the better part of valor. Igathu is a cat-man warrior of few words and much action. Aletha is an elven druid wise in the ways of the world. And Paxe is an earnest human paladin of great virtue and limited intelligence.
Two Fisted Monkey Adventures, Episode #10: Pulling another tail out of my thundering trousers.
The shadowy force that had entered monkey headquarters loomed over them exuding a kind of evil malevolence not seen since the blackberry Jello of doom. It needed no weapons or armor to menace those who dared cross its path. Arms and magic were no use; all you could do to retain your sanity was to strike a barging that left your soul intact. That's just what Pythia was attempting to do.
"Aside from the clause pertaining to fragments of Lucien, I don't see any loopholes here." Pythia said looking over the documents. "It's not cheap but we can't afford another disaster, the price of reagents of resurrection is skyrocketing and we have been going through those like Jum Jum at a hobbit bachelor party." She faced the shadowy force and stared into the inky blackness of its evil eye. "Ok, we'll buy your adventure insurance policy."
The thing of evil seemed to grin as she signed the document and paid the premium in silver coin. It said nothing but a stroke of thunder was heard in the distance and the door of the Monkey shack blew open on a cold and silent wind. Taking the dread contract the creature seemed to recede into the distance without ever moving until finally the insurance salesman was gone.
"I sure hope you know what you're doing." Rylestel said once the thing had gone.
"If what I hear of the thundering steppes is true," responded Pythia quietly, "we are going to need this occupational death and dismemberment policy."
With their final work for armor contracts in hand, the Band of the Two Fisted Monkeys set forth for the distant land known as the Thundering Steppes. Seablae, Pythia, Igathu, Rylestel, Alaetha and Paxe were on hand to face the unknown dangers.
Consulting the list Seablade seemed disappointed. "Look at this crap, deer, beetles, falcons, small snakes, undead farmers. What kind of hit list is this? We've been battling savage gnoll lords, undead palidans and all manner of terrible creatures and now were hunting garden pests? What's next? Dust bunnies and deadly hobbit midwives?"
"Fool Elf!" Igathu responded, tail twitching. "You know nothing of these dangers! These garden pests as you call them, killed and then ate my blood brother Razor Claw and his entire family. Each deer or beetle here has lived for years in a place rampant with Giants, Gryphons and undead that make those in Stormhold tremble in the dark hours of the night."
"Holy crap!" Seablade exclaimed. "That was like… a whole paragraph. With multiple sentences and stuff. OK old buddy, I promise to be extra careful; I'll treat every creature here like it was Lucan D'lere himself!"
"How much did you say that policy pays each time one of us bites it?" Rylestel inquired discretely to Pythia.
"If history is any indication, it should be enough to renovate the monkey layer with enough left over buy Seablade a clue." Pythia said under her breath.
Together the Monkey's began to seek out their targets. Much as Igathu had warned the creatures of the thundering steppes were unusually potent, but all their trials had made the monkey's strong and Seablade's usual reckless abandon had been somehow transformed in what could only be borderline paranoia. He was continuously on the watch for threats, planning intricate attack formations, double checking healing supplies, sharpening weapons, and carefully assessing each opponent before engaging in battle.
"And if Pythia takes up a flanking position behind the setting sun, and Rylestel soaks his arrow tips in red ant venom, and I adopt a 3 point fighting tiger stance we should emerge with a narrow margin of victory." Seablade explained while drawing figures in the dirt.
"It's a fledgling antelope." Paxe observed, "Can't we just smash it with holy zeal or something, my head hurts."
"How much did that policy cost us?" Rylestel asked Pythia.
"A lot," she replied worriedly, "and we haven't had a single casualty yet. If someone doesn't get hurt soon were going to have to go back to the guided sewer tour business."
"Is there anything on that list with a bit more um… peril? I mean those gryphawns were a little bit of a challenge but our so called mad berserker is on a winning streak a mile wide here." Rylestel observed.
"Not much," Pythia replied, "We have a few more undead, and some octopus, umm.. a few feral crabs." She shook her head.
"What's that on the back?" Rylestel inquired.
Turning the scroll over Pythia read "Special Claus #431: all contract payments shall be null and void if proof of the demise of Shadowdash the Gryphon lord and the Giant guardian Stompgut the terrible is not provided." "Why those two bit, deceptive, lying merchants. They stuck this on the back on purpose to keep people from fulfilling the contract," Pythia steamed.
"Ya, but that's exactly the kind of break we needed." Rylestel said, "I think I have a plan. After we execute our cunning attack plan on this doe, let's camp for the night. I'll spike Seablades wine, you tell him all about how you miss his frothing at the lips and the way his muscles ripple when he's all enraged. Paxe will snore all night long keeping him awake, and in the morning, we go pay Shadowdash a little courtesy visit. What do you think?"
"He is a lot cuter when he's frothing." She replied.
En-wreathed in some kind of flaming aura with more than just a glimmer of madness in his eyes the now thoroughly reckless elf cavorted among the rocky nest with his shiny axe he now called "Freddy poo." "Come out come out wherever you are, Mr. birdie." He called. "I brought a nice yummy kitty cat for you," he cooed.
"Are you sure this is wise?" asked Igathu.
"Don't we want to plan or something before fighting a gryphon lord?" asked the thoroughly concerned Alaetha.
"Don't worry," replied Rylestel confidently as he tightened the laces on his fastest running boots. "Seablade worked it all out last night while you were sleeping. He does his best work when he's mumbling like that."
"Kill kill kill, thrill thrill thrill," the mad elf murmured.
"Look!" Alaetha called, pointing skyward, "I think its coming back to its nest, and it seems to have a couple of its children with it. Battle formations!"
The Monkeys steeled themselves as Seablade let out a mad howl of delight. Before the great bird-lion had landed to remove the interlopers, Seablade had leaped from the nest and tackled a smaller gryphon mid air biting at its neck like a wild beast. The two tumbled to the ground as Shadowdash and his other child swooped in to aid their besieged family member. Alaetha immediately began her healing chant as Igathu dived into the fray. Paxe hefted his hammer and with a prayer to the fallen gods smote his foes. Rylestel expertly shot arrows in all the really painful places a gryphon possesses. And Pythia used the power of the shaman to ward and protect her allies.
Shadowdash was mighty, and his children were among the strongest that flew the skies of the thundering steppes. But never had they encountered so fierce a creature as the elf with fire in his eyes, or so well coordinated a group of hunters as these. Try as he might, he could not stop the two legs as they cut down his beautiful children. Try as he might to disembowel the hateful elf his wounds kept healing themselves, and all the while the others peppered him with blows. Bleeding but defiant to the end he died on the spot he had been born.
Seeing the gryphon fall, Seablade smiled a peaceful little smile and collapsed into the nest with his eyes rolling back. "Is he OK?", Pythia said running forward to check on her brave champion with a look of genuine concern.
"Afraid so," said Rylestel, "just exhausted after all that prolonged berserking. Well, there is always the giant…"
Normally I'd say "I am going to write a novel" but having no real foundation for this claim I thought it might make a better question than a statement.
As you may know this is my year of creativity and so far I've done very little to live up to my theme. I need to create something and why not go with a classic! Besides, I have lots of writer friends these days so good advice and moral support should be easy to come by.
I've been mulling what to write about because in general this is my greatest writing weakness. I do not have stories inside me crying out to get written. My stories and characters more leak out on an as needed basis. I've got a file of various ideas I've collected in fevered moments, could be some winners in there, but I settled on expanding some stories I wrote a while back and get pleasure reading every so often. I figure if a story I wrote 10 years back can still make me chuckle more than once, its got some legs.
Mind you the idea is kind of terrible. These are stories written for a guild website about the MMO characters we played chronicling the adventures each week for those who couldn't attend: Tales of the Two Fisted Monkeys. So this is MMO fanfic comedy about a generic fantasy game that plays up the tropes of MMOs and features frankly cartoonish characters. Hows that for an elevator pitch?
I've no idea if I can sustain cute funny stories for more than 50K words and dance that line between making readers care what happens to these goofballs and laughing at their antics. I have no real ambitions to make money on this, its more a personal mountain to climb.
I plan to approach this somewhat systematically. First off I need to cleanse the existing stories of their Everquest IP and substitute some generic fantasy trope of my own invention. I'll need some kind of overall plot and/or ending for the piece. And I'll need to come up with some interesting adventures beyond those in the existing stories. And then, a whole bunch of typing and making funny without sounding like a broken record.
I figure it's going to take me like 2 years to do this including ironing the thing out once all the words exist. That is assuming the notion doesn't just die of apathy, but that's one of the reasons I'm telling everyone, to put a little potential shame in my game.
Next post: One of the original stories in its EQ2 self referential glory.
Well, not exactly horror, just some lessons learned on my first serious managing gig. To set the stage: I was 19 years old, moving in on 20 and had spent a year or more working at movie theaters in Seattle for a year or two. I moved up from new guy, to lead, to assistant manager pretty quickly. I was going to spend Summer in Alaska and looked to work in the Theaters there for a few months.
The local district manager checked with my old boss and must have got a pretty glowing review. After a few days working for him he offered me the chance to be General manager at the first theater I ever worked at, the Polar-Tri. After a couple days interning with its current GM it was all mine.
I was proud and confident and also not really completely ready for the challenge. The place was run down, not mismanaged but not well managed, and the employees were neither well trained nor very motivated. It had been years since some of the good dispensers had been cleaned and later we discovered nearly all the auditorium speakers had long ago been stolen. Rats lived there in abundance and so on. On the surface you wouldn't know but behind the curtains it was a dump.
I got off on a decent foot, getting the employees together and explaining my view of running a theater, my belief that we should all be partners in running the place, and the kind of things I considered good practice. I didn't bad mouth the old boss because I know he was generally liked. I expressed I wanted us all to do a good job, and hopefully have some fun doing it.
My notion of leadership at the time was that if you set a good example and treated people with respect folks would follow. And that was true of employees who took pride in their work and generally wanted to be helpful. It was not true of people who would prefer to work as little as possible for their paycheck or who understandably thought a 19 year old was not much of an authority figure.
I didn't know how to deal with people that needed direct motivation. One big embarrassment was when one employee left a disparaging note on the bar counter. I forget what it said. I should have taken it, considered what it meant, and gotten folks together to see what I could do to address it. Instead I wrote something snide on it and left it there. One of my wiser employees pointed out how dumb that was to me in private but by then the damage was done, and I was too ashamed to try and follow up the proper course. I diminished myself to an anonymous critic rather than a responsible manager and I played the part of a foe to a critic rather than someone looking for their cooperation.
Another huge embarrassment was my habit of locking my keys inside my office, inside the theater. I've always been forgetful and I didn't have a car so it was pretty easy to not realize I'd left my keys somewhere until it was too late. Rather than think hard on how to change my habits or make it hard to forget my keys, I simply compensated by being clever in breaking into my own theater, often with the help of another employee. No one really called me out on it but they should have, it was shameful and undermined my authority. Being a good leader often means you must transcend your own personal weaknesses.
My final great failure was the way I dealt with my assistant manager. I inherited her from the old manager. She did the minimal needed to keep the place going (and to her credit never had to break into the place) but she did not set the example I wanted. She stayed in her office all the time, mostly smoking and hanging out with her boyfriend, both against the rules and neither much helpful in cleaning up the place. Again I lacked the courage to demand she change. I was afraid of rocking the boat, unsure of my authority, and shy of confrontation. Instead I played passive aggressive and more or less just badgered her to change. Ultimately my crappy tactic worked in that she quit, but the day after I turned over the theater on my way back to Seattle she broke in and sabotage the place cutting open all the syrup boxes flooding the offices with the stuff. At the time I only had blame for her, but older and wiser I realize much of that outcome was my fault. Worse, someone else had to clean up the mess I made. She was a bad apple and it was my responsibility to get her to change or fire her quickly.
Mind you I had some wins. That place was cleaner and better run when I left than when I got there. I had hired a lot of good people (turnover is high in theaters in general) including an assistant manager I trained and mentored who went on to take over the theater when I left. Less than a year later it was sold to the school district and eventually torn down, but I was proud to leave it better than I found it. In just a few months, I learned a great many lessons both from success, but more so from some serious failures.
So I've had 3 distinct jobs as a manager for a total of about 5 years of experience with the roll, and of course I've had many more working under various people with various aptitudes for directing others which is good learning material as well.
I think my best attribute as a manager is that I genuinely like people. Not every last person but most of them. I can accept a lot of flaws and mostly see the bright points. I don't think as a manager I am more important than the people I lead. I do get to make decisions when push comes to shove but I trust my folks to know what needs to be done far more often than not.
As a manager I have two main objectives: getting the work done, and doing right by my team. I see it as my duty to try and advance the career of my employees while we are serving the needs of the business. I'm rarely more proud when someone on my team gets promoted, something I've succeeded with many times now.
I endeavor to treat my employees with respect. My first manager job taught me that respect also means being honest when people are not fulfilling their responsibilities. Avoiding telling someone they are failing is damaging to their careers in many ways and hurts the rest of the team. You have to be fair and direct, give them a chance to improve, and if they don't, let them go with as much dignity as possible. A moment I'm proud of was being given a sincere thanks by someone I fired. I've seen too many horror stories where bosses use passive aggressive tactics to try and force people to quit so they don't have to be the "bad guy."
Trust is also a key concept. You want to work with people you can trust. If you can't trust someone or quickly build to a level where you trust them, then you shouldn't have them on your team. A manager should always be seeking higher levels of trust, and an employee should be working to build trust with their manager. New relationships require extra time and communication to build this relationship on both sides.
Sometimes to my detriment, I often care more about the relationship between my employees and me than my boss and myself. Being middle management is a challenge in that you should be minding both sides of the equation equally. Of course if you in turn have a good manager, they will be working to make sure you haven't neglected it.
Next time, horror stories of my time as a theater manager, things not to do!
I'm not so much like a boss, because I am a boss. And honestly I rather like it that way.
My first manager job was at 18 as an assistant manager at a movie theater. Its not exactly prestigious and the qualifications are pretty much that you are work harder than the average minimum wage person and show some tendency to being responsible. In many ways its not a lot different than what I do these days, leading a small team with a specific mission; running auditoriums, concessions, box office or sometimes all 3.
At 19 through some twists of fate I actually go my own theater and was a general manager. It was a run down theater on the verge of closing, it was pretty much just for a few months, and the place was small as multiplexes go (a 3 screener with one big auditorium) bit it was mine! I actually got it pretty cleaned up in that time. I also made some real rookie errors as a manager and learned a lot in a short time. I've always been proud of it and I have some great silly stories from those days.
My next stint as a manager was many years later was when after about 10 years as a developer at Mammography Reporting Systems my boss left the company and I wrangled myself a job as Program Manager. At first it was a glorious ascent, I was told I shipped more products in six months that we had in 4 years and was lauded as a guy who could wear a lot of hats at once and wear them well. Unfortunately things started to go sour on that. I clashed with my bosses (the CEO mostly) about how software should get made and lost the argument. I inited in rivals and one of them really did me in turning my disagreements into demotion until he had about shoved me into the lowest run of the department at which point I left.
Finally my current job at Trupanion where I currently manage a small team of developers in a slightly larger cross functional team. I started as a somewhat senior developer. For a very brief time I managed all the developers there, but it was due to some chaos where there just wasn't anyone else to handle it. As we grew I scaled back a bit to managing the cross functional teams but try to keep a hand in larger strategy when I can.
There is a lot to say about being a boss, lots I've learned from mistakes and successes but I'll save that for the next post. So stay tuned for words of limited wisdom on the topic of leadership.
Balance is a virtue that I've become more and more a fan of as I get older. It may only be that age tempers passions and extremes are just too much work to maintain, but I'd still put my money on balance being all in a good ideal to strive for.
Of course balancing the scales doesn't always just mean some kind of 50/50 arrangement. Sometimes it only takes a little salt to balance a dish, only a little harshness to balance praise, or a little kindness to balance a lot of suffering. I find the far extremes almost always warn you in small ways of the dangers of too much. You can feel the wrongness, the time for a shift.
I think someone recently condemned the mushy middle of politics. Personally I rather like the mushy middle of many things though by no means does that equate to sameness. I like my rough edges and paradoxes and orchestrating them into something of a harmony of meaning, at least for a time. In the middle you can go in any direction you need to, it's a great place to start things.
Of course its not for everyone, and in my balancing way I'm glad there are folks living extremes, pushing the limits and going for broke. Often with folks like that going in all directions it helps me see the middle ground, places I'd not known of in the intellectual landscape. When radicals go to far they can often be used to counteract one another and in the aftermath create something that takes the wisdom from both.
Ugh, kind of fell of the blogging wagon there, but fear not, the blog never dies, just gets kind of sleepy. Today, just a series of small what's happenings.
Still really busy here, but finally we have no grand projects lined up in the immediate future and can do some much needed work to improve the quality of systems that had to be rushed into production. When it comes to software development I prefer the slow and steady approach. Velocity comes through a good foundation allowing fast revision and addition but you have to take time with that foundation to get this effect.
Live Gaming
I'm running Horror on the Orient Express a Call of Cthulhu adventure that weighs some 10lbs. We in the second episode, about to start our 4th session. So far so good, its a well written adventure and has had plenty of opportunity for mayhem and madness. I've got some quibbles with its narrative structure but that is something as a Keeper I can manipulate to my liking.
Computer Gaming
Lots of that lately. Still cranking away on Hearthstone but slowing a bit. On the phone there is Puzzles and Dragons which is mildly amusing for a few moments each day. Dragon Age Inquisition was a hard core pleasure of the first order. A truly grand RPG and one where the story fit in with my character nicely (though my first character idea not so well and started over quickly). I played the heck out of that. Now its on to Legend of Grimrock (a nice modest puzzled dungeon game) and Pillars of Eternity (like baldurs gate but newer) which started slow for me but is picking up momentum as the story unfolds.
I only stuck on my diet for about 6 weeks. I enjoyed it but decided I would enjoy eating out with friends more. Just got over nasty allergies and being sick so I think I may move back on the diet but not certain. The only lasting diet affect at this point is all the canned fish I've been eating. Generally good for me that.
So Leonard Nimoy passed away. A great man by most accounts and for me most importantly the face of Spock, one of my fictional heroes. Of course Spock himself can't really die. The character exists independently of the actor to a degree, but likewise as the character is immortal to a degree so is the memory and spirit of those who gave him life, and foremost Mr Nimoy. Not having known him personally in a sense he can't die for me, I will go on enjoying his work so long as I too live. For his family of course it is a different matter and all the best to them.
Star Trek was important to me as a kid. It really defined much of my moral compass and sense of friendship, leadership, and teamwork. As a kid I really most identified with Spock. The over-wrought emotions of others always seemed wasteful and pointless while I admired his smarts and ability. I felt if more people were like Spock, the world would be a much better place.
As I grew older the ways of Kirk became clearer to me. I think you have to get past puberty and have some experience as a leader to appreciate Kirk. At least I did. You find life can't all be calculated and finding your way with instinct and intuition can be vital. And most of all understanding the emotions of others is key to leadership and friendship.
Between the two of them I find the answers to most of life's challenges. Trusting your heart and your mind, but most of all being good to your friends and fair to your foes. Its a wonderful thing that the spirit of such characters can mean so much to so many and the spirit of the actors and writers live on in all of us.
I'm not one for ghosts or lives beyond death, but there is no doubt that all we do ripples out in a web of cause and effect that gives meaning to all we do well beyond our own lives.
Live Long and Prosper!


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TripAdvisor Reviews Bildungshotel Essen
Travel Blogs from Essen
... excited to meet my little cousin, Theo. Today, we went to Haltern. You may have heard of city because of the exchange students from this town who passed away in the German Wings plane crash earlier this year. We went paddle boating along the stream. It was a relaxing ...
... that was outside the city. From what we gathered it was a steel and/or energy production plant. It was interesting to see how large the machines and structures stood. It also offered quite a view. There was also a little food stand where I trie my very first bratwurst. It was actually quite tasty with some mustard on it. The girls then proceeded to take me to a place called magic mountain. ...
Girls only day
... return from Germany we then went out for the best buffet meal I have ever had, 2 hours unlimited food, alcohol and soft drink, then off to visit more family, my cousin Arnold and his wife and 2 kids. Arnold's dad and my dad are both Hogenkamp brother's...Arnold's mum and my mum are Braakman sisters, his parents have visited us three times in Australia when I was a kid, it was fantastic to meet him personally for the first ...
Dortmund Day
... in no time. We had enough time to grab some food, Dina grabbed a sandwich and water while I indulged in 3 pieces of KFC chicken. I must remind you that this was around 5:15 in the morning. The flight was again effortless, the only thing to point out was that the Whizz Air gates resembled Farm Sheds and ushered you in as if you were Cattle. However we jumped on the plane and had a few bumps along our way to Dortmund.
Upon arriving, I read once again ...
Tulley time, its always late
I was always gonna be late, and whilst camping was getting tempting, I jaust wanted a base to plan my next move. The man at the hotel was very nice, he even called me to tell me how to check in as he was closing at 22.00Sally Sat nav said I should be there by 22.30, no worries he said use ...
Other places to stay in Essen
Sheraton Essen HotelStadtbezirke I, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $116
Moevenpick Hotel EssenStadtkern, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $80
Welcome Hotel EssenStadtbezirke I, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $72
Holiday Inn Express Essen - City CentreWestviertel, Essen | 3 star hotelfrom $81
InterCityHotel EssenStadtbezirke I, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $75
Holiday Inn Essen City CentreWestviertel, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $86
Schlosshotel HugenpoetStadtbezirke IX, Essen | 5 star hotelfrom $242
Mercure Hotel Plaza EssenStadtbezirke I, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $80
TOP CCL Hotel Essener HofStadtbezirke I, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $101
Ibis Essen HauptbahnhofStadtbezirke I, Essen | 2 star hotelfrom $65
BEST WESTERN PLUS Hotel YpsilonStadtbezirke II, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $74
Hotel Arosa EssenStadtbezirke II, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $102
Alma GarniGelsenkirchen-Süd, Essen | Hotelfrom $79
Rheinischer HofStadtbezirke II, Essen | Hotelfrom $114
Hotel AstoriaAltenessen - Nord, Essen | Hotelfrom $94
Hotel HasselkussStadtbezirke VIII, Essen | Hotelfrom $90
Hotel KornStadtbezirke I, Essen | Hotelfrom $74
Petul HotelStoppenberg, Essen | 3 star hotelfrom $69
Art Hotel KorschenStadtkern, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $101
Mintrops Land Hotel BurgaltendorfStadtbezirke VIII, Essen | Hotelfrom $105
City Hotel EssenStadtbezirke I, Essen | 4 star hotelfrom $114
Hotel HoffmannStadtbezirke II, Essen | Hotelfrom $87
Hotel JungStadtbezirke II, Essen | 3 star hotelfrom $80
Ruhr HotelStadtbezirke II, Essen | Hotelfrom $118


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39 year old woman | Travelers Rest, SC, United States | Seeking men 37-45 within 30 miles
Active within 24 hours
In the end we only regret the chances we didn't take.
Classy, Sassy and a bit smart Assy best describes me. I need someone with a good sense of humor. Make me laugh, and work hard, and that's very attractive to me. Let's see..... my interests; I'm into running, love college and pro football, I stay active with my daughter. love my dogs they are my family too. I can be way too self sufficient and introverted. I'm looking for a partner in the true sense. take care of me and I will take care of you. I can be a homebody but also love the occasional night out. My friends and family will tell you I'm funny, loyal and trustworthy. I find the best profiles the honest ones. With that being said. Be a man ask me out. No, I don't want to "hang out." No, I don't want to "meet up." No, I don't want to "play it by ear." my time is too valuable to deal with your ego's fear of rejection, so if you want me: 1. Pick a time ( No, not tonight) 2. Pick a place. 3. Check in with me the morning of. * yes I copied this because I like the message. I am also adding. 1. Do try and talk dirty to me before we even meet or know if we have chemistry. 2. Don't send me pics of your shirt off or worse, you won't get one in return. 3. Be 100% you, because that's what you will get from me.
Cooking , Dining out , Movies/Videos , Music and concerts , Exploring new areas , Nightclubs/Dancing , Performing arts , Playing sports , Shopping/Antiques , Travel/Sightseeing , Watching sports
Running, Weights / Machines, Yoga
I exercise 3-4 times per week.
I have Dogs
I currently have 2 King Charles Cavaliers, which were given to me. I am a strong advocate of adopting pets. Supporter of the humane society.
Swamp rabbit trails. Reedy Falls Park. Anywhere downtown Greenville. Cleveland Park.
I like to go to local community events, concerts or events at the Bilo Center. Love watching movies, comedy, drama or true crime type shows. Enjoy reading. Open to most types of foods and experiences.
I enjoy sports, participating and watching. Love football professional and college (just started getting into college). I enjoy spending time with my 5 year old daughter, my 2 dogs and friends and family.
Easy, Tammara Webber. 2 book in the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy.
Z{{Cta}} {{#if HasMoreInfo}} ?{{CtaSecondary}} {{/if}}
|What she is looking for
|5'3" (160cms)
|5'8" (172cms) to 6'2" (187cms)
|Body type:
|About average
|About average, A few extra pounds
|No preference
|Dark brown
|No preference
|No Way
|No Way
|Social Drinker
|Social Drinker
|Executive / Management
|No preference
|$75,001 to $100,000
|$50,001 to $75,000, $75,001 to $100,000, $100,001 to $150,000
|Never Married, Widow / Widower, Currently Separated, Divorced
|Have kids:
|Yes, and they sometimes live at home (1)
|Yes, and they sometimes live at home, Yes, and they live away from home, Yes, and they live at home
|Wants kids:
|Not sure
|No, but it's OK if my partner has kids
|White / Caucasian
|White / Caucasian
|I'll tell you later
|Christian / Catholic, Spiritual but not religious, Christian / Other
|Bachelors degree
|Some college, Associates degree, Bachelors degree


text:
Download Voto iPhone iPad iOS
We created Voto to be an easy and fun way to ask questions to your social network using images. The images you choose can then be voted on by your followers.
Take photos using iPhones camera or any saved image to create an array of photos. This compilation of photos can then be voted on, and this is what we call a "voto".
Use Voto to get quick feedback from your closest friends while shopping. Use Voto to get thoughts on home design that is personalized to your friends opinions. Use Voto just to see which of your friends has similar interests.
Current Features:
☆ 100% free with no ads to get in the way
☆ Instant sharing through SMS
☆ Filter by categories that interest you most
☆ Full support of iPhone 5 front and back camera
☆ See where your friends have voted
☆ Unlimited voting and uploads
☆ Facebook Connect
Next Update will include:
☆ Facebook and Twitter sharing
☆ Notification settings
☆ Analytics on each voto
The Voto is now available as a free download on Apple Store for both iPhone and iPad owners.The application is supporting English language. It weighs in at only 4.9 MB to download. The new Voto app version 1.0.0 has been updated on 2014-11-04. The Apple Store includes a very useful feature that will check if your device and iOS version are both compatible with the app. Most iPhone and iPad are compatible. Here is the app`s compatibility information: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
More Info: Find more info about Voto in Voto`s Official Website : http://votoapp.com
iOS Voto 1.0.0 Mobile
Related - Social Networking - Voto 1.0.0
More in Social Networking - for Voto iPhone
More by Voto - for Voto app ioS


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- Earthquakes, elections and more dissected at New Yorker fest Updated: Oct-05-15 1:23 pm
NEW YORK - One New Yorker writer summed it up best: The New Yorker festival, said Kathryn Schulz, is the "nerd holiday of New York City."
- Audiobooks get some starry help from Broadway and Hollywood Updated: Sep-16-15 11:56 am
NEWARK, New Jersey - Actress Vanessa Johansson recently found herself in the middle of a steamy interracial romance, one complicated by a gunshot and a looming lawsuit. It was also purely fictional.


text: Gardening Activities: Children with additional support needs 20th October 2015 Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh EH3 5NZ Do you support children with additional support needs? Want to encourage children to take part in gardening activities? Overcome barriers? Create enjoyable and therapeutic garden, play and learning experiences? Join us in a day of sharing insights, activity workshops, lesson planning, garden tour and getting the low down on how other people garden with children with additional needs. Click here for further information. Please use the Booking Form to secure your place.


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Russia - Tests: 4 - Portfolio: 4
I am engaged in the manufacture of advertising banners for over two years. I make animated and static banner in Flash and HTML5. I also have experience with programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator. I have experience programming in AS2, AS3, JavaSript and page layout. I always open to work. I am seeking opportunities to work on new and challenging projects.


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September is National Preparedness Month! Is your family prepared?
National Preparedness Month starts September 1! This year's theme is "Don't Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today." Each week will focus on a different type of emergency and how you and your family can prepare. Don't forget to be counted by adding your preparedness activity to the America's PrepareAThon! website www.ready.gov/prepare.
Week 1: September 1-5 - Flood
Week 2: September 6-12 - Wildfire
Week 3: September 13-19 - Hurricane
Week 4: September 14-26 - Power Outage
Week 5: September 27-30 - National PrepareAthon! (September 30)
For more details about National Preparedness Month, follow North Coast CERT on Facebook and Twitter and visit www.ready.gov/september.
Who We Are
North Coast Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a team of volunteers trained and prepared to help the community during disasters. Volunteers provide a variety of disaster and safety services in communities across Erie, Huron and Ottawa counties.
What We Do
CERT volunteers provide disaster response support services to emergency management and public safety agencies following a disaster. Services range from debris clean up to damage assessment. CERT also assists with safety-related services at community events, such as traffic control and first aid.
Contact the Team!
If you're interested in volunteering or would like more information, let us know. We're happy to answer any questions you might have.
CERT services are intended to support public safety and other responders and assist agencies in filling the gaps that often occur when a disaster overwhelms local resources.
Disaster Volunteer Coalition
North Coast CERT is proud to be a member of the Disaster Volunteer Coalition, a collaboration between emergency management and disaster volunteer agencies in Erie, Huron, and Ottawa counties. Along with American Red Cross, Amateur Radio Emergency Services, Medial Reserve Corps, and The Salvation Army, CERT works with EMA officials to strengthen and sustain disaster volunteer resources and foster collaboration with local government, first responders, and community organizations. For more information on the Coalition, visit www.disastercoalition.com.
Volunteer Connection Newsletter Archive


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The Chiropractic College Guide
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
John Furnem
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in
free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as
the bylines are included.
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ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that
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Article Title: The Chiropractic College Guide
Author: John Furnem
Word Count: 552
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=80240&ca=Education
Format: 64cpl
Author's Email Address: zupatips[at]yahoo.com (replace [at]
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Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=80240
A chiropractic college develops and educates professional
physicians who specialize in treating patients with skeletal,
muscular and nervous disorders, while avoiding surgical and
drug interventions. A chiropractic school�s programs includes
at least 4200 hours of combined laboratory, clinical and
classroom experiences. The chiropractic student learns how to
diagnose patients and develop doctor-patient relationships
while enhancing their communications skills.
Treatment techniques, physical therapy, professional issues,
manipulation, spinal adjustment and other therapeutic
procedures are taught as well. The clinical and laboratory
components are an integral part of a chiropractic college.
Students are given the opportunity to put what they have
studied into practice and begin treating actual patients while
under close supervision.
Prerequisites required for entry into a chiropractic college
include successful completion of at least 90 semester hours of
undergraduate education, classes in all the basic sciences
(e.g. Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition...), and a
cumulative GPA of at least 2.5. Most applicants to chiropractic
schools already possess a baccalaureate degree, usually in one
of the sciences. The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE)
sets forth guidelines which colleges must follow when
establishing standards and admission requirements.
Most chiropractic colleges offer a typical four-year education,
although some have a three-year accelerated program. The first
two years strengthen the background in basic sciences, while
the second two focus more on clinical application. The average
cost of tuition varies widely from $11,000 to $20,000 a year,
depending on whether the program runs 9 or 12 months a year.
Traditional financial aid is available however. On successful
graduation from a chiropractic college, the student receives
the degree Doctor of Chiropractic and is then eligible to sit
the State boards examination and become licensed.
After graduation, the prospects are almost endless. There is an
employment rate of nearly 100% for new graduates and
chiropractors rarely ever go through career switches. The
chiropractic field is one of the fastest growing career fields
out there and is expected to increase even more because of the
interest in natural healing. Most graduates become private
practitioners or enter group practices while a few conduct
research, work in hospitals or teach. To maintain licensure,
12-48 hours of continued education is required yearly. In this
way, chiropractors are enabled to earn their diplomat status in
specialties such as sports injuries, pediatrics, neurology,
rehabilitation, family practice, nutrition, radiology, internal
disorders... Many chiropractors are beginning to use alternative
therapies such as massage or heat therapy and are focusing on
holistic healing and lifestyle changes.
Currently there are 19 chiropractic colleges that are
accredited by the CCE. Finding the perfect one involves
analyzing and comparing what each offers. Check out the school
environment and the curriculum. Find out if the program teaches
alternative or adjunct therapies and if a broad spectrum of
manipulative techniques is included. Explore the clinical
setting and see how involved the students are and how many
patients they get to treat. For most students, hands-on
application is the most important part.
A chiropractic education is an excellent choice with many
benefits. More and more of the chiropractic colleges are
developing pre-chiropractic training so the education can be
completed all at one place. The average annual earning of a
chiropractor is upwards of $60,000 and steadily increasing.
Compared to this, a chiropractic education is relatively
inexpensive and quickly pays for itself.
About The Author: John Furnem is a dot com veteran,
specializing in human resources and work psychology he has
written articles about relief and stress management. John
currently writes Stress Relief and Chiropractor articles for
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
For more free-reprint articles by John Furnem please visit:
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text:
See more objects with the color silver rosybrown darkolivegreen darkgrey grey or see all the colors for this object.
Miser's Purse (France), 1810–40
This is a Miser's purse. It is dated 1810–40 and we acquired it in 1953. Its medium is silk, glass and metal beads and its technique is beaded knitting, crossed stockinette stitch. It is a part of the Textiles department.
This object was
donated by
Mrs. Albert Blum.
It is credited
Gift of Mrs. Albert Blum.
Its dimensions are
L: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.)
It is inscribed
Initialed "AC" and "JC".
Cite this object as
Miser's Purse (France), 1810–40. silk, glass and metal beads. Gift of Mrs. Albert Blum. 1953-106-94.


text:
This Business is not BBB Accredited
Cabot Exterminating Co., Inc.Find a Location
Phone: (501) 843-4468Fax: (501) 325-63122305 S. Pine, Cabot, AR 72023http://www.activemember.com/cabotexterminating/
BBB Business Reviews may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.
BBB Accreditation
Cabot Exterminating Co., Inc. is not BBB Accredited.
Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation.
To be accredited by BBB, a business must apply for accreditation and BBB must determine that the business meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB Accredited Businesses must pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.
Reason for Rating
BBB rating is based on 13 factors. Get the details about the factors considered.
Factors that raised Cabot Exterminating Co., Inc.'s rating include:
- Length of time business has been operating.
- Response to 2 complaint(s) filed against business.
- Resolution of complaint(s) filed against business.
Customer Complaints Summary
|Complaint Type
|Total Closed Complaints
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Complaint Details | Definitions | BBB Complaint Process | File a Complaint
Customer Reviews Summary Read customer reviews
0 Customer Reviews Customer Reviews on Cabot Exterminating Co., Inc.
|Customer Experience
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Read Customer Reviews | Submit a Customer Review | See Trends in Customer Reviews on Cabot Exterminating Co., Inc.
Complaint Breakdown by ResolutionAbout Complaint Details
|Guarantee / Warranty Issues
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Industry Comparison| Chart
Pest Control Services, Termite Control
Additional Informationtop
Licensing, Bonding or Registration
This company is in an industry that may require licensing, bonding or registration in order to lawfully do business. BBB encourages you to check with the appropriate agency to be certain any requirements are currently being met.
These agencies may include:AR State Plant Board
1 Natural Resource Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205
(501) 225-1598
Type of Entity
Incorporated: January 1992, AR
Contact InformationPrincipal: Mr. Mike Edwards (President)Mrs. Betty Edwards (Secretary)Ms. Jennie Malone (Secretary)
Number of Employees
Business Category
Pest Control Services, Termite Control
Industry TipsPest Control
Map & Directions
Map & Directions
Address for Cabot Exterminating Co., Inc.
2305 S. Pine
Cabot, AR 72023


text:
You couldn't make up the statement that slipped out from the NCAA's executive committee last week.
The 235 words backed embattled president Mark Emmert.
Not conditionally. Not with concern or censure or even hesitation. But unanimously.
For all the high-minded talk of reform and accountability, the 19-member group of college presidents, athletics directors and conference commissioners went all-in with a failed president and, by association, a broken system.
"In short," read the statement from Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon on behalf of the group, "we demand the highest level of integrity and accountability not only from our peers but also from the national office."
That accountability the NCAA demands of everyone from young athletes to their coaches just doesn't apply to Emmert. Instead, he's lauded with praise in the statement for "historic" reforms conducted "without fanfare." That pesky University of Miami scandal isn't directly mentioned.
Oh, Miami. That one.
The scandal, the real one, revolves around the NCAA paying convicted con man Nevin Shapiro's attorney to depose witnesses in the organization's 22-month probe of extra benefits being directed to Miami athletes. Even Emmert's No. 2, chief operating officer Jim Isch, signed off on the scheme that the NCAA's legal department unambiguously opposed.
Think about that. The NCAA abused a federal bankruptcy proceeding to force witnesses to testify under oath to bolster its plodding investigation. The NCAA had no subpoena power so it bought some. While that didn't violate a specific NCAA rule — it's frightening enough that such procedures aren't written down — the move flouted common sense, basic decency and the advice of the NCAA's counsel.
The sordid details were unveiled last week in an investigation of the do-anything investigators commissioned by the NCAA. The report, of course, absolved Emmert of responsibility for the latest in a slew of debacles from his enforcement division that are symptomatic of an organization that's lost its way.
An organization, incidentally, he runs.
But somehow Emmert is beyond blame, above the high standards he expects of those beneath him as the NCAA has lurched from embarrassment to embarrassment since he took charge in 2010 that's called the organization's long-term future into doubt.
The lead investigator in the Miami case, Ameen Najjar, lost his job. So did Julie Roe Lach, the vice president of enforcement.
Emmert essentially passed the decision on his future to the committee.


text:
Manulife Strategic Income Fund
Provides exposure to multiple fixed income sectors, while employing dynamic currency management through risk-reducing hedging strategies and return enhancing overlays.
Fund Managers
Related Media
3 Minutes with Daniel Janis and Christopher Chapman
Manulife Strategic Income FundDan and Chris discuss current opportunities in fixed income, outlook on interest rates and currency, and the fund's success. June 2014
Portfolio Manager Soundbyte – C. Chapman
Chris discusses the four significant risks in the market: interest rate risk, credit risk, currency risk, and liquidity risk. He mentions how the Manulife Strategic Income Fund is positioned. April 2015.
Related News
Risk and opportunity - global credit markets
Related Documents
Fund Profile
Sales Tool (Advisor login required)
Characteristics (Advisor login required)


text:
Skill level
- Intermediate (12)
- Adobe
- Autodesk (12)
- Maya (12)
- Photoshop (12)
- 3ds Max (8)
- After Effects (1)
- Mudbox (1)
- Pixologic (1)
- ZBrush (1)
More options
- Closed captioning
These case studies show how to create four distinct and highly realistic textures, apply your own variations, and link your custom textures to materials in Maya.
Takes you through all the steps for creating concrete textures in Photoshop and Maya.
Learn how to mimic the look of granite and terrazzo, two high-end materials for architectural models and visualizations, with Photoshop.
Learn how to build asphalt shingles in a variety of bond patterns with Photoshop and Illustrator.
Discover how to create realistic brick textures from scratch in Photoshop.
Learn how to use Photoshop to create a custom slate texture that's great for modeling building interiors (floors) and exteriors (roofs).
Create a realistic wood texture, complete with grain, knots, and whorls, with Photoshop, and apply it to a scene in 3ds Max.
Learn to draw metal textures from scratch with Photoshop and Illustrator, and link them to materials in 3ds Max.
Learn to create textures and add color, reflectivity, and other surface detail to your games with Autodesk Maya, Mudbox, and Adobe Photoshop.
Discover how to create render passes in Maya, recombine the passes in After Effects, and motion track the passes to live-action video footage that contains a moving camera or a moving character.
A practical guide to constructing 3D buildings that can be used to populate video game environments
Introduces the skills needed to create photorealistic 3D creatures for film, video, and game production.
Create textures that create visual interest, heighten realism, and add dimension to Photoshop artwork.
"I'm completely blown away by the quality and quantity of training you offer. I feel like Neo in The Matrix when they would insert a training program and within a few minutes he could say, "I know jiujitsu!"" —Zolla M.
more from our members »


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CT -- They send people over who are unqualified to do the work and then charge you. Took 4 visits to fix small part on washer. Tried to get my heating fixed, and now I'm getting billed for no service rendered and I am forced to use the same contractor or they charge you again, so now I'm going with my own contractor. If I could do it again I would put the money I used to for American Home Shield away and use that for my repairs, you pay for it in constant hassles with them and lies and incompetence from their vendors.
PELHAM, ALABAMA -- We had previously had trouble with a septic tank and then called and we paid more on our policy to cover this if it ever happened again. Well we had another problem so we contacted American Home Shield. We were told they only do it for one year and then drop the coverage. We were never notified about this or told then when we paid the extra to have it covered. If you choose to use them look for every possible loop hold that they could possibly find. I believe this company is deceptive and not a reputable company. We tried to rectify it but we could never able to get to a supervisor. Beware!
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- NOTE TO APPROVER: Exact review found at http://american-home-shield.pissedconsumer.com/review-from-los-angeles-california-20141012545599.html
American Home Shield
$480 a year. $77 co-pay for each service request. This company is dreadful - I bought policy with them years ago to cover major problems with plumbing electrical etc.that might arise but they have never covered any of the major problems I've had. For instance sparks flying out of my electrical box in kitchen was not covered and was deemed as "safe" not dangerous! I had to pay $2000 to bring in an electrician to replace the electrical box - he told me my house could have burned down! Backed up toilet sink & drains were also "not covered" because my house didn't have an outside drain access or overflow installed. When all Electrical went out in the house because of a problem with one of the lines that wasn't covered either because one line went "underground" and good old AHS doesn't cover underground lines either. So what DO they cover ? Oh if you have a slow drain they will pay for plumber to come out - you still pay $ 77 copayment and pay AHS their annual $480. Do this a few times and you realize it's way cheaper and far less frustrating to just pay for the plumber when you need them and cut AHS out completely. Dreadful waste of time and money - save yourself a lot of frustration they don't follow through on their promises to cover ANYTHING!!!
PHOENIX, ARIZONA -- NOTE TO APPROVER: Exact review found at the following links:
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! Bought a policy when I bought my new home and all was good, then 2 years later my washer started leaking and I called. I was told that my washer was not covered! Apparently when I signed up with them it was not a blanket policy that covered all my appliances and item, but it only covered my *Top 10*, so only 10 item could be covered and my washer wasn't one of them. I told them that I never picked a top 10 and knew nothing about it and what were they?
So my first question was who picked these for me and why would A/C and heat be 2 different items since they are the same machine? and why would I pick electrical and no my washing machine? I was blown away and very upset, when I asked them to fix my policy since I never picked a top 10, they told me that I would have to cancel this policy and buy a new one to add the washer, but the washer would have to be fixed beforehand and I would have to send them proof. So I fired them on the spot, and now they are sending me bills for the remainder of the contract which they broke.
NEVER GETTING ANOTHER CENT FROM ME!!! Keep sending the bills guys, they will never be paid.
MARIETTA, GEORGIA -- What a racket! Sent out plumber to repair leaking pipe. When all was finished, was informed that I need a new pressure regulator, no coverage and a $520.00 bill to pay. Still had to pay $75 AHS deductible even though they were not going to cover. I had been paying them for over 9 years! Their offer to me......$100 if I did not cancel for my trouble, but would not pay me the $100 if I did cancel. I figured I had paid them somewhere between $4500 and $5000 over the 9 years. Do your own math. Self insure yourself. You will come out on top and not have to deal with AHS and the contractors they are in cahoots with.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- NOTE TO APPROVER: Exact review found at http://www.homewarrantyreviews.com/reviews/american-home-shield-ahs/comment-page-106#64635
HORRIBLE! This is a national home warranty company that has over the 13 years I was a customer decreased coverage and increased prices. My most recent claim has been such a nightmare to deal with. the customer service representative I was on the phone with today was so incredibly disrespectful that she LAUGHED at me twice during our conversation. When I asked to hold for a supervisor she told me that she can't do that and that I need to get off the line or she would hang up on me. I would not recommend this company to any consumer who expects any level of customer service for their money. I have been without air conditioning for a week with three small children in August in Atlanta and no one there even seems to care. Our last service request they sent a contractor who claimed that severe demo was needed to fix a water leak and our tenant simply re-sealed the shower drain and the issue stopped. When asked it they would rebate the service charge for the negligent plumber, they simply stated we had 15 days to file a complaint and we missed the window. Either the management of this company is completely out of the loop as to what their customer service reps are doing, or this company which used to provide a decent service has become a complete scam. Now I can put my American home shied complaints on social media and invite the rest of the world to tell their horror stories as well to protect consumers from feeding this money grubbing company.
DULUTH, GEORGIA -- We've had American Home Shield for over a year. Of course the first year was great because we paid them on time every month and nothing broke down. As soon as we renewed, our hot water heater had a leak. They sent out a technician, who complained because he had to leave his date on a Sunday night to repair our water heater. The unit worked for a week, then shutdown completely. We now have no water pressure or hot water. When we called AHS to request that someone come and fix it, the contractor they serviced couldn't come for 3 days. We asked them to refer us to another contractor and they refused b/c it was "within guidelines."
Apparently having no hot water isn't considered an emergency. I'd like to see them go 4 days without a shower and see if they change their opinion. We asked if we could get another company that could come sooner, they said they wouldn't cover that. Talk about customer service... If the first guy wasn't so concerned about his date, he might have fixed it right the first time. Needless to say, I won't be renewing this contract again. I reported them to the BBB, hopefully, I can cancel and sign up with someone more reputable.
CARROLL, IOWA -- This company took our money for over 10 years and as long as we didn't use their service everything was OK. When our air started to go bad they would just come put Freon never repaired the leak. They did this for 4 times when we insisted they repair or look for the leak. It cost us out of pocket over 800.00 then we received a letter that they were canceling our policy.
We contacted AHS and they said every year they look at the policies and if you had a costly repair they cancel you because it isn't to their advantage to continue having you as a customer. I believe this isn't fair when they sell you the policy they strongly advise you to get it so you don't have high repair bills. As long as my home was brand new they took our money now that the home is over 10 yrs, they cancel because they feel you will start using them. AHS IS A RIPOFF. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. I hope this will help someone I wish someone had told me how they do business we would have put our money in the bank and not give it to these people.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- Have spent 2 weeks now trying to get satisfaction from American Home Shield to replace a hot water heater. It took 3 days to get a response from AHS and another 4 days for the contractor to show up. After paying the $60 service fee I was given an estimate for $290. It will cost $350 to replace a $275 water heater. The contractor planned on charging me $169 for a pressure relief valve that anyone can buy at Lowe's or HD for $27. When I tried to cash out on the repair, I was told AHS will pay $295 only if the repair is inspected by a plumber and electrician. Save the cost of paying for this worthless policy and put that money towards repairs. You'll be a lot further ahead if you do.
I had AMS for 3 years. My AC went out, they sent a contractor, it's dead & you need a new one. They send a photo to AMS without talking to me. I call AHS - "Sorry, you have damage." Some of the little fins that collect moisture on the outside unit were bent. They gave me the option of getting a 2nd opinion. 2nd contractor can fix it. They planned to use a used coil (guts of the AC). I email the 1st contractor that tells me my unit will die anyway if I do that. This guy actually cared because it was his small business I planned to Craig's & Angie's List.
The scam is, you pay every month. They'll fix small items, but when it comes to the reason you had the policy in the first place, AMS will claim damage or lack of servive & never pay. It's a SCAM - cancel your policy immediately!


text:
I'm going to be in Tucson for four days, Oct. 24-27, for a work event. I'll likely have afternoons free and would like to check out local MTB trails, but I can't bring my bike so I'll need to rent. I'm staying at the Loews Ventana Canyon and won't necessarily have a car. So, wondering (a) what the best local shops for renting decent trail or AM bikes might be, and (b) whether any of them can deliver/pick up bikes from the Loews. There might be 3 or 4 of us renting, which I'd assume makes it easier to justify that kind of service.
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Quick & Easy: Breakfast for Dinner
So busy that you missed breakfast? Give it a second chance tonight. Whether you're craving something egg-y or something sweet, these quick, hearty breakfasts are perfect dinner pinch hitters. Plus: more speedy ideas
of photos
Scotch Eggs With Sausage & Herbs
"This brought my childhood memories to life. I would steal as many as I could carry and dip them in hot yellow mustard sauce."
-Barefoot Beachcomber
Recipe and photo by French TartGet the Recipe


text:
The Latest:
Seeing the World (And Your Faith) Outside of Your Phone
"Look at this picture and see if you can notice who is standing out." For some reason, this headline caught my eye among the litany of random Facebook posts. I clicked, not really having any clue of what I was supposed to be looking for. I looked at the group of parade-goers the picture spotlighted. At first, I was confused. All seemed normal: lots of people, kids with candy, an abundance of pointing. And then I saw..."
This Week on KatharosNOW...
"Religion that is pure (καθαρός/katharos) and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
James 1:27
1. Serve others.
2. Stay unstained.
3. Teach goals one and two through Scripture.