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37 Actives: Treatment Foundation- DARK
$ 165.00
Why Shen Loves it: Its your all-in-One Solution! The lightweight, full-coverage foundation includes over 30 active anti-aging ingredients.
1 oz
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Category Archives: Book Elf
Help fund the 10th Leeds Brownies trip to London!
Our good friend and Eagle Owl @BookElfLeeds is raising money for her Brownies. Here's why
When we asked our Brownies what they really wanted to do this year, they told us they wanted to visit London.
We're a Leeds Brownie unit, based in LS4/LS6, for whom money is tight, and we'd love to give our girls, aged 7-11, the trip of their lives. For most of them it will be their first time visiting London, for some their first time away from home.
We'd love to make this as cheap a trip as possible so that ALL our Brownies can join us, and for that to happen we need your help!
Funds will go initially to cover transport and accommodation costs, and to buy food for the girls. If there is any left over we'd love to have some thing special to look forward to, any suggestions let us know!
We're travelling down in February. The girls are planning a fundraising Christmas Fair (more details as and when) and our plucky Eagle Owl Jess is going to complete the Leeds Country Way-a 63 round trip all around Leeds-all to raise money.
If you can spare a fiver, that would pay for tea for one of the girls. We're grateful for every penny and will keep updates on things we're planning, and let you know how the trip goes!
You'll be making twenty little girl's wishes come true with every donation-on behalf of them all THANK YOU for your very kind donations.
If you have a moment, please check out the JustGiving page here!
Convinced? Donate HERE!
PODCAST – Modern Mrs Darcy 2016 Reading Challenge
This year, @BookElfLeeds and I decided to reignite our reading groove thaing by completing a reading challenge. We found this awesome list by Modern Mrs Darcy – and already we're inspired!
Click below to hear us discuss the challenge and why we're participating; our book choices; our continuing and lasting love of libraries; random thoughts on such vital issues as stickers on books and lots of other literary-related chatter!
Modern Mrs Darcy 2016 Reading Challenge
- a book published this year
- a book you can finish in a day
- a book you've been meaning to read
- a book recommended by a local librarian or bookseller
- a book you should have read in school
- a book chosen by your spouse/partner/sibling/child or BFF
- a book published before you were born
- a book that was banned at some point
- a book that was previously abandoned
- a book you own but have never read
- a book that intimidates you
- a book you've already read at least once
I'll be creating a little challenge page for us to update as the year progresses!
If you'd like to join us with this – or any other reading challenges, please drop me an email, leave a comment or tweet one of us!
Reading Resolutions 2015
For the most part, I'm attempting to avoid the New Year, New Me trap – every year I get all excited and then realise that it's the same me after all!
Just with attached guilt for failing to become a fit, healthy eating, multi-linguistic musician!
However, I do find it useful to reflect on the previous years reading habits.
For 2015
Read 1 book every 2 months that's just for me
In 2014, I arrived at December and realised that across the year, I'd read exactly 2 books of my own choosing. Don't get me wrong – I love the book clubs and the huge variety of styles and generas that get picked.
However, I miss me MY books too (even my grammar is effected!). Science Fiction; poetry; an Agatha Christie re-read; perhaps the odd non-fiction book – it doesn't matter *what* as long as it's something purely for me.
Focus on my TBR (To Be Read) Pile
My shelves are bulging and I haven't read more than a third of them (that might be an exaggeration – it's probably closer to a fifth!).
While I'm unlikely to read my 3-4 LBC books per month as well as 1 of my own choosing AND finish reading all the books on my shelves in one calendar year, it would feel terrific to get a little further through them, especially as I have some brilliant books which have never even been cracked open. Simply sinful!
Use my local library more!
Actually, I've already started on this one – having picked up some poetry books to dig into.
To be honest, this is a sort of permanent fixture on my Reading Resolution – you might recall that we've had one or two posts about our love of libraries in the past.
Buy less. Buy Better.
My gut is simply screaming at me "NO MORE BUYING BOOKS!!! Not a single one."
However, I know what I'm like and I have a caveat or two. Such as – if a book is particularly essential for my collection, then I'm allowed to purchase it. An example would be the most recent Shardlake book – once it's available in paperback. It is just brilliant and as I have the previous books in the series – it would KILL* me not to have the full set!!!
Of course this ties in with the library entry – if I read a fantastic book that I know I'll go back to and lend out and cherish – it would be silly not to have it on the shelves. A sort of try before I buy kind of thing.
Course, as I mentioned earlier, my shelves are ridiculously full, so a clear out is in order. I wonder if the TSl will be open to taking them in and finding new homes!
Blog shorter. Blog often.
Last year – in part due to the domain change – I fell behind with my blogging. In my head, writing about books became a sort of momentous task – I built it up into ridiculous proportions!
Thank the skies for Helen (@isfromupnorth), Laura (@WoodsieGirl), our Pet Author Chris Nickson (@ChrisNickson2) and our guest bloggers who have ensured fresh reading for you all while I panicked about getting all the older ones up and running!
For 2015, I want to get back into my writing groove – more focus on the books, less worry and stress about the writing! It is after all, supposed to be a bit of fun.
*It will likely not kill me, but it would be very irritating.
The Rosie Project-Review
Every now and then I get sent books that already have a fair bit of hype attached. Some of this you can ignore as publicists being good at their jobs, but when two days after receiving The Rosie Project I read in the paper that it had netted debut author Graeme Simsion a very cool £1.2 million advance and produced frenzied bidding from publishers world wide you have to start to think-is this book I'm holding something that's going to be big?
The answer is yes, yes it is. Look at this cover, because I guarantee in three months time you'll be seeing it everywhere. A wonderful, life-affirming book that will appeal to millions this is the story of one mans mission to find happiness, or at least to figure out what happiness actually means.
Don is the thirty-nine year old genetics professor who knows exactly how long it takes to do anything, has his meal time schedule written on his whiteboard and only ever listened to Bach in order to calculate the mathematical irregularities in it. Living alone, with few friends, when his neighbour Daphne finally succumbs to her Alzheimer's and tells him he should look for a partner as he would make a wonderful husband Don takes her literally, Don takes everything literally, and begins a quest to find a wife.
Potential candidate Rosie is immediately stricken off Don's list. She smokes, she's always late, she works in a bar and she rips up his schedule. However she is also beautiful and fun and as Don's carefully managed and structured life begins to unravel she encorages his journey of self discovery as Don slowly figures out why exactly he feels so alone and different to everyone else, why emotions confuse him and why no one else seems to live as logical a life as his.
This beautiful book is simply told, with Don's character spot on. Readers will be reading in quiet frustration at Don's seeming inability to do anything as he should; in first chapter, where Don goes to lecture on the genetics of people with Asperger's. The dramatic irony of Don telling a crowded room that most adults living with the condition have no idea that they are makes this book a clever commentary on our perceptions of neurobiological disorders and how we treat those different to ourselves.
The will-they-won't-they romance between Don and Rosie is sweet and lingering, but it is Don't relationship with himself that leaves the lasting impact. Everyone will compare this with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, which I believe is an unfair comparison-whereas Christopher is aware of his limitations and is also a teenager with a family and social networks, even if he doesn't necessarily participate in them, this is a grown man with a successful life who is confused by the world he wishes to be more involved in this is a grown up book about grown ups and, rather than Christopher grown-up, Don is such a good character in his own right I hope he becomes just as famous.
The book is in places charming, hilariously funny (the comic timing to some lines is impeccable) and very very readable, the first third is the slowest but as soon as Rosie, who is a bit mixed up and annoying in places-very Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook (who will probably get the part as soon as America nicks it and gets film rights and turns them all into from California), and Don get together everything becomes nose-to-spine. If you have ever shipped Penny and Sheldon, you will love this book.
This is going to be a massive bestseller, because it is the sort of book that you will read and then recommend to all your friends, so I wanted to get in there first and say YES it is worth the hype, I loved it, I loved Don and I can't wait for the world to meet him.
The Rosie Project is out in April, you should pre-order, it is marvellous.
Women's Literature Festival-Womens Writing Today-Stella Duffy
In the build up to the Women's Literature Festival in Bristol on the 16-17 March, BookElf will be reviewing the work of the writers on the Womens Writing Today panel. The event will look at the issues facing women writers today, and their inspirations for their work.
I had never read any Stella Duffy, despite her being a prolific writer of Stuff I Like, before being heavily recommended Theodora by @sianushka a couple of years ago. I promptly went out and borrowed it from Leeds Library, as I did with this book, and fell in love with her. The Purple Shroud tells the second half of the story of Theodora, who started life as a prostituted child and circus performer, became a religious convert and finally Empress of the Byzantine empire, part of the August couple made of herself and Emperor Justinian. They lived in Constantinople around 500AD and she is seen as one of the most important women in the history of the Roman empire. The first book, Theodora, was wonderfully written and captured brilliant a sense of place and time. What Duffy does so well is to show a city and way of life very different from our own, but make her characters real people who just happen to live 1500 years ago, as opposed to some historical fiction which creates flat stereotypes of kings and queens and courtiers. Although parts of Theodora dragged, her epic religious conversion in the desert especially (though it is quite hard to write about someone sitting in a cave doing nothing but pray for weeks on end and make it sound slightly interesting…) the character of Theodora herself, passionate and prone to acting before thinking, was a delight. In The Purple Shroud, Theodora has grown up. She has power and status, and is not about to lose. them. I liked her less in this book, she is cruel and vindictive and jealous and spiteful, but she is also wild and fun and very very bold and you can't help but admire her. Her relationship with Justinian was something I especially enjoyed seeing evolve. The city is more the focus of The Purple Shroud, she isn't wandering around the desert any more and the book is all the better for that. Seeing events such as the Nika riots between the various factions against the Emperor destroy the city Duffy managed to capture Theodora's sens of loss, not just at the buildings and the dead, but of her trust for the people, perfectly. This book reminded me a lot of I Claudius by Robert Graves, and would make a cracking TV series, just like I Claudius did in the 70s. If you like your historical fiction to be less soppy heaving bosoms and a bit more bite, this is for you. So that's it! All the writers on the panel I've now read and reviewed. I am ridiculously excited about next week, three whole days of books and feminism and lovely lovely women. If you fancy a jaunt, why not join me? Bristol is a fantastic city and well worth a visit. The festival is on for two days and includes a variety of events. See you there?!
Women's Literature Festival-Womens Writing Today-Beatrice Hitchman
In the build up to the Women's Literature Festival in Bristol on the 16-17 March, BookElf will be reviewing the work of the writers on the Womens Writing Today panel. The event will look at the issues facing women writers today, and their inspirations for their work.
Beatrice Hitchman lived in Paris for a year after her MA, and then worked as a documentary film editor, writing and directing her own short films as well. Its no surprise that film is the subject of her debut novel, Petite Mort, which is published on the 7 March and which you should definitely pre-order. Sarah Waters meets Kate Morton, and if you're a fan of both these writers you'll know how glorious that would be. Petite Mort is part sexual coming of age story, part mystery, part homage to the silent film but most of all a macabre tale of lies and deceit with more twists than her publisher's logo. When I received this book in the post (thank you), I thought to myself 'Lovely vintage cover about earlier twentieth century Parisian film industry with title that's a metaphor for orgasm? If you must'. Maybe part of the reason I enjoyed this book so much was that is encapsulated all my favourite kinds of fiction, but what's wrong with enjoying what you like? In 1913 Adele Roux, a 17 year old country girl who has fallen in love with cinema and is encouraged in her dream to become an actress by her local parish priest, runs away from an abusive father to Paris, to a life considerably less rosy than she thought she would find. Eventually finding work in the Pathe Films factory sewing costumes she finds herself under the eye of production genius Andre Durand. However Andre has his own secrets, and his wife, the great actress Terpsichore, is hiding even more. As Adele becomes more and more involved with the Durand family she finds herself in a web made up of the glittering Parisian society and the volatile world of early cinema, can she ever escape, and does she even want to? Fifty years later and the 'forgotten' reel of the film Petite Mort is found in a Parisian basement miraculously unharmed. The film was supposedly destroyed along with everything else to do with the film in a great fire in 1913. Juliette, a journalist reporting on the discovered film, becomes involved in piecing together the mystery of the Pathe fire, Petite Mort itself and the history of Adele Roux. Interspersed with this story are those of Andre and Terpsichore, the history of cinema is told along the way. Although the books main plot is rather weird and meandering in places, these little snapshots of other lives make this a macabre, but fascinating book.
Women's Literature Festival-Women's Writing Today-Selma Dabbagh
In the build up to the Women's Literature Festival in Bristol on the 16-17 March, BookElf will be reviewing the work of the writers on the Womens Writing Today panel. The event will look at the issues facing women writers today, and their inspirations for their work.
This book, the debut novel by British Palestinian writer Selma Dabbagh, who has previously published short stories in several Anthologies and along with Festival Chair Bidisha has appeared at PalFest, the Palestine Literature Festival, described in her book Beyond the Wall .
Out Of It describes the longings of Palestinian academic Rashid, who sits on the roof of his home, the only brick building left in the middle of a field of tents, getting high and dreaming of his British girlfriend and ultimate do-gooder Lisa. As he watches bombs fall on Gaza, Rashid is secure knowing soon he will be gone, to study in London and be away from the horror of the bombings and the pressure from his family and friends who run a humanitarian centre.
Rashid's sister Iman, meanwhile, feels torn between wanting to do "something", not quite knowing what that would be or involve, and also flee the chaos of Gaza, and the various intrigues of the different factions and groups, both secular and religious, that compete for the hearts and minds of the people.
This book is extremely complex, and assumes an awful lot of pre-existing knowledge of the history of Palestine, the social mores of the country and how all the different leaderships and UN declarations relate to each other. Despite learning a little more about the situation in Palestine since since Beyond the Wall I started reading this and almost instantly completely lost where I was or what was going on, Wikipedia'd it, and still didn't really know what was going on, to be honest if I was coming at this book knowing nothing of Palestine I would have got very lost very quickly, and there isn't the gripping plot behind the themes and characters to have kept me interested.
More than anything whilst reading this book, which follows Rashid and Iman from Gaza to London and the Gulf and back again, I thought 'wouldn't this make a great play?'. I would love to have seen this on stage, rather than in prose, as what Dabbagh is describing and saying would make much more of an impact I think that in its current form. Rashid and Iman's struggle to discover the truth behind their parents, who were actively involved in the Outside Leadership, who I think were the PLO but am not absolutely sure, and to figure out their place in the world was interesting but, and this is going to sound really harsh, they are my age, have lived all over the world including a war zone and still to me eyes seemed incredibly immature. I didn't like them, and found it hard to sympathise with them.
This book is very well written, she has an excellent voice and it is an important one to hear. How exhausting it must be to live in the conditions described, and the difference between a Gaza and London or the Gulf is striking, and wonderfully done-if you ever wanted to feel real guilt about being able to get a bikini wax or walk alone when only a few hundred miles away there are people cowering in fear this book'll do it. There were also some excellent moments of comedy-Lisa the aid worker who organises petitions and protests, but has no actual human emotions past self-interest, on stage with an elderly pipe smoking politician, would 150 years ago have probably been saving fallen women in Whitechapel, inviting prostitutes to tea in order to look even more caring about her projects. I've met quite a lot of Lisa's in my time and Dabbagh gets her spot on.
I couldn't get on with this book, but if you're not as ignorant as me or enjoy writing that makes your head tense then you'd enjoy this. I am however really looking forward to seeing her speak, as judging from her material here she has a lot to say.
Women's Literature Festival-Womens Writing Today-Helen Dunmore
In the build up to the Women's Literature Festival in Bristol on the 16-17 March, BookElf will be reviewing the word of the writers on the Womens Writing Today panel. The event will look at the issues facing women writers today, and their inspirations for their work.
Helen Dunmore
Photo by Caroline Forbes
I first discovered Helen Dunmore as a young teen with her collection of short stories 'Love of Fat Men'. I can't really remember any of the stories themselves, but I do remember being transfixed by the writing, which was sensual and elegant and probably far too old for me. When I was a little older I read Burning Bright, and properly fell in love with her. The story of a sixteen year old run away, abused by her much older boyfriend, who ultimately forms a strange friendship with Enid, a sitting tenant in the house she is kept in. I remember reading her descriptions of Enid, an elderly lady, in the bath and Nadine's body and becoming aware that actually older people have bodies, and feelings, and we are all human and touch is the same or different for everyone and how marvellous and extraordinary that is and isn't it amazing the feeling of breath.
Helen Dunmore is a naturally gifted writer who can turn her hand seamlessly to any genre, any form. She wins poetry prizes anonymously, writes YA, young children's books, new introductions to classic texts, historical fiction, fiction about grief, fiction about dubious sexuality, horror, romance, everything.
She is also incredibly pleasant, knowledgeable, and from Yorkshire, and I therefore love and admire and kind of want to be her. I've seen her speak before at the Ilkley Lit Fest, and was lucky enough to interview her on the publication of her latest book The Greatcoat, which is a spooky short read perfect for a cold night in front of the fire, and she was entertaining and witty on both of these occasions.
Helen Dunmore was also the first recipient of the Orange Prize (now the Woman's Prize for Fiction) for A Spell of Winter, which is truly creepy, and always praises the prize and what it has done for women's fiction, especially in bringing new writers much needed publicity.
I love Helen Dunmore, and am really looking forward to hearing her speak. If you are new to her, there are several books I'd recommend, as well as her poetry collections (as you know, poetry ain't my thing, but LeedsBookClub would probably do well to investigate as I know they love it).
If you like historical fiction, The Siege, followed by The Betrayal.
If you like Jodi Picault style stuff, Mourning Ruby
If you like Joanna Trolloppe/Deborah Moggach style stuff, Your Blue Eyed Boy
Women's Literature Festival-Women's Writing Today-Bidisha
In the build up to the Women's Literature Festival in Bristol on the 16-17 March, BookElf will be reviewing the word of the writers on the Womens Writing Today panal. The event will look at the issues facing women writers today, and their inspirations for their work.
Bidisha is a writer and critic whose writing covers a range of issues, from gender and sexuality to international affairs. Often outspoken and unfliching in her opinions, espescially regarding the treatment of women and children, Bidisha's first book, Seahorses, was written as a teenager and she has since presented Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 and is a regular guest on Newsnight. She is chairing the Women's Literature Festival.
I don't agree with everything Bidisha has ever written, but I enjoy her writing, it is sparse and to the point and doesn't pull any punches, and she massively bigged up ForBooksSake last year, so is obviously in my good books.
This Christmas I recieved her latest work, Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine. This short collection of happenings follows Bidisha and a group of other writers as they try to navigate the West Bank to various locations during the 2011 Palfest cultural festival. Bidisha, as a reporter, is completely unflinching in her descriptions of how utterly claustrophobic living in an occupied territory can be, in concrete blocks surrounded by soldiers with tanks at the end of your street and nets thrown over the yards surrounding your home where settlers can throw their rubbish, including their excrement. Some of the most heart rendering stories are those of the children living in the ghettos who are routinely harassed and antagonized by soldiers until they fight back and throw stones, giving Israeli forces justification for further fighting.
What stands out most from this book is how frustrating a life living in such an area must be, being constantly searched, interrogated, having to stand for hours at checkpoints to get anywhere, how bored you must get. And no culture, or very little, other than the minimum that is allowed to you-books have to be smuggled into the country, Palestinian writers receive so very little support and cannot promote their work to a more Western audience.
I know so very little about the situation in the West Bank. I have very good friends who campaign for both sides, which causes me horror when I hear about the bombings and the desolation in the news. Reading books like this, which give small bitter tastes of the lives of the people who live in the area and those who campaign for better lives for the children of Palestine (parts of the book are a little 'won't somebody think of the children', but to be honest in situations like those described they kind of have to be) makes me ashamed of my ignorance and the need to actually occasionally read the papers and the blogs rather than live forever in my nice warm cave of ignorance.
A version of this piece was orginally published on jesshaigh.wordpress.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sell your business
BusinessXchange are pleased to offer to the market a fantastic opportunity to acquire a well-established and profitable Contract Cleaning Company based in South Devon. This company, established in South Devon in 1961, comprises of the...
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Business established over 20 years and run by the current proprietor for 11 years. The business has a well established clientel and is in business rates exempt premises. The shop has a generous sales area with a workshop and staff facilities upstairs.Business is a retail photographic shop offering digital photo printing and personalised gifts and passport, visa and driving licence photographs. Also the business...
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Grade II listed Barnstaple town centre office suite to rent with valuable secure parking, 20 offices over 3 floors. New lease available. Car spaces available to rear if required for added rent. The accommodation briefly comprises: GROUND...
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• BUSINESS ESTABLISHED SINCE 2010 • CURRENTLY 14 COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS HELD • COMPRISING 118 CLEANING HOURS PER WEEK • ALSO REGULAR PROPERTY MAINTENANCE WORK • ALL CLEANERS CRB CHECKED • SUITABLE TO BE RUN FROM HOME LOCATION: The business is...
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- Price Reduced


text:
Markovsky, I., Willems, J. C., Van Huffel, S. and De Moor, B. (2006) Exact and Approximate Modeling of Linear Systems: A Behavioral Approach, vol. 11, SIAM (Mathematical Modeling and Computation, 11).
Exact and Approximate Modeling of Linear Systems: A Behavioral Approach elegantly introduces the behavioral approach to mathematical modeling, an approach that requires models to be viewed as sets of possible outcomes rather than to be a priori bound to particular representations. The authors discuss exact and approximate fitting of data by linear, bilinear, and quadratic static models and linear dynamic models, a formulation that enables readers to select the most suitable representation for a particular purpose. This book presents exact subspace-type and approximate optimization-based identification methods, as well as representation-free problem formulations, an overview of solution approaches, and software implementation. Readers will find an exposition of a wide variety of modeling problems starting from observed data. The presented theory leads to algorithms that are implemented in C language and in MATLAB.
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text: Looking for a bit of help. Going to order s3 side skirts for my my11 a3 but just want to check that i have all the parts required. Ive tried a quick search but couldn't get a definitive list of parts. 8P3 853,859 GRU >> side skirt 8P3 853,860 GRU >> side skirt 8P3 853,959 G GRU >> cover door left 8P3 853,960 G GRU >> cover door right 8P0 853,579 GRU >> cover fender cap left 8P0 853,580 GRU >> cover fender cap right Cheers Scott


text:
Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!: Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind
Harbor Press, 2001 - Family & Relationships - 342 pages
Psychologist Bradley answers questions on puzzling teen behavior and why changes and growth in the brain affect actions of teenagers. He helps parents understand how to deal with these problems before they get out of hand.
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This book is a good readUser Review - buyeraz - Overstock.com
I have tried to read books about raising and understanding your children in the past and never got very far. The content in this book is not as dry as others. Have not read too far into the book yet but from what I have read I would recommend. Read full review
LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - kelawrence - LibraryThing
"This book covered a lot of topics with teenagers. (Not all of which were essential to why I picked up this book, but I did read most of them anyway.) The information is presented in an informal and ... Read full review
Peer Influence and Your Child
Adolescent Change 5 3
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Yes, Your Teen Is Crazy!: Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind
Michael J. Bradley
No preview available - 2002
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acting-out ADHD adolescent adults aggressive alcohol amphetamines anger anymore asked become behavior better brain cannabis Chapter Cheech and Chong child Conduct Disorder cool crazy critical curfew decision depressed disorder dispassionate cop drugs emotional experience eyes face father fear feel fight friends girls give happen hard hate head hear homosexuality hurt ical identity insanity issues keep kid's kid's world knew laugh limbic system listen look marijuana marriage means mental never night normal nuts pain parents peer peer pressure prefrontal cortex problems psychologist punishment rage relationship Remember respect response rock n roll rules scared scary screaming sexual sleepovers Slurpees someone stop stuff suicide talk teen teenagers tell terrible there's things thought told tough trust watch words yelling


text:
As the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship returns, LMP2 points leaders KCMG are aiming to extend their advantage in the standings at the 6 Hours of Nurburgring.
The team won their class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after leading for the vast majority of the race, thanks to strong drives from Richard Bradley, Matt Howson and Nicolas Lapierre, who filled in for Nick Tandy.
For the remainder of the season, Tandy returns to the KCMG ORECA 05, after entering the previous two rounds in Porsche's Le Mans-winning third LMP1 entry. The British trio last drove together at the season-opener at Silverstone in April.
"Since the last time I raced with KCMG back at Silverstone, I've been fortunate not only to win Le Mans with Porsche, but also races in VLN at the Nurburgring as well as three races in North America with the Porsche GTLM team," explained Nick Tandy. "So I'm really hoping to carry on this success in the LMP2 class and try to extend KCMG's lead in the WEC championship."
"I'm very excited to be racing again after a long break since Le Mans," added Richard Bradley. "We had a very productive test at the Nurburgring a month ago and after the performance we showed in Le Mans and the developments we've made with the car, we can look forward to a good result and hope to consolidate our championship lead."


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Stampendous Mounted Rubber Stamp 3inch X 4.5inch - Music Score
Full Description
Shipping and Returns
Your order will be shipped within 5-7 business days. However, some products may take longer to arrive due to size, weight, location and weather conditions.
Create and Craft is committed to selling quality products which we hope you will love. However, we understand that there may be a time when you need to return something you have bought. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, please send your item back to us within 30 days of the date of receipt for a refund of the purchase price.
- $12.99
Feature a hardwood block with an indexed edge for holding the block with ease! Read the full description


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4850 North Fwy | Fort Worth, TX, US | View on a Map or Get Directions
Property Location
With a stay at Studio 6 Fort Worth in Fort Worth, you'll be close to Golf Club Fossil Creek and Vintage Flying Museum. This motel is within the vicinity of Billy Bob's Texas and Iron Horse Golf Course.
Make yourself at home in one of the 57 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and microwaves. Cable television is provided for your entertainment. Conveniences include complimentary newspapers and coffee/tea makers, and you can also request cribs/infant beds.
Business, Other Amenities
Featured amenities include complimentary newspapers in the lobby, a 24-hour front desk, and laundry facilities. Free self parking is available onsite.
Hotel Photos:
Hotel and Area Map:
Guest Reviews:
The closest major airports to Studio 6 Fort Worth are:
The preferred airport for Studio 6 Fort Worth is .
Distances are calculated in a straight line from the proprerty's location to the point of interest or airport may not reflect actual travel distance.
It is the responsibility of the hotel chain and/or the individual property to ensure the accuracy of the photos displayed. Banff Info.com is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the photos.
Rooms:Adults:Children:(and ages at checkout)Room 2:Room 3:Room 4:Room 5:Room 6:Room 7:Room 8:
This hotel has many interesting points of interest nearby including:


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A large part of me is wishing I'd not called this picture 'Rusty Bum' because she's sitting on a rusty tractor in pale jeans, as my bum hurts in RL now. No, I've not been spanked for being naughty. I've simply got yet another stomach bug.
O'course, what I want is to be in bed, but there are things to be done and work to be undertaken and fashion to show you, so here I am. You may imagine me like this…
But actually, it's more like this…
Ugh ugh ugh. Anyway, less of my grossness and on to prettier things!
What to wear in Second Life today?
Visit | Netherwood
Pose | RK Poses Brea 3 (RK Poses Mainstore)
Bracelet | **RealEvil** Raven Bracelet (RealEvil Mainstore : RealEvil Marketplace)
Jacket | {Reverie} Nico Fringe Jacket Taupe [Mait/2Sli/3Bell/Fitmesh/3ss] (Reverie Mainstore : Reverie Marketplace)
Sandals | {Reverie} Westcoast Sandals Flowers Vintage [SlinkFlat] (Reverie Mainstore : Reverie Marketplace)
Hair | Exile – Morning Glory Blondes (Collabor88 Camshop Sim)
Jeans | Bueno Jeans [Fitmesh/2Sli] (Kustom9)
Cute candy textures always do it for me and Bueno have a lovely selection this month in their jeans at Kustom9. They offer a fitmesh size plus two Slink fitted mesh sizes in the pack. I'm wearing the fitmesh here with my Maitreya Lara and it was very good. I did take my leg muscle down slightly to compensate though.
I've paired those jeans with some Reverie classic items which I recommend you install in your inventory asap and keep them always – the Nico Fringe Jacket and Westcoast Sandals. I wear them both tons.
Here's some close-up shots and the 'well lit, no shit' picture. Click to see me huge.
And finally, my dancing video so you can see me jigging for the rigging…


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Displaying 1 - 10 of 106 results
Sort by
OS Map name 003/SE
Map of Devon
Brendon, Malmsmead, Oare, EX35 6View result
OS Map name 050/NE
Map of Devon
Brendon, Lashbrook, Thornbury, Woodacott, EX22 7View result
OS Map name 039/NW
Map of Devon
Bradworthy, Brendon, Colscott, West Putford, EX22 7View result
A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 5
Covers the Hundred of Williton and Freemanors in the west of the county, on the slopes of Exmoor and the Brendon Hills. There is also coverage of one parish, Holford, of the Whitley Hundred. Victoria CountyView result
Romano-British Somerset: Appendices
A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 1
on the side of Brendon Hills, mile south of Treborough Church; (9) in WayfordView result
Williton and Freemanors Hundred (eastern): Introduction
A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 5
of the Brendon Hills, part of the broad valley between the Brendons ... of the Brendons and the Quantocks and those in the valley between them. Agriculture ... until the earlier 19th century....View result
Close Rolls, Henry VII: 1504-1505
Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry VII: Volume 2, 1500-1509
Lischambernon, Churystanton, Kentes Beate Marie, Brendon, Nastone, Beweton, WestView result
Parishes: Bickton - Bridford
Magna Britannia: Volume 6, Devonshire
Brendon BRENDON, in the hundred and deanery of Shirwell, lies about three ... Chichester, Bart. who has a hunting-box at Brendon. The lords of this manorView result
General history: Civil and ecclesiastical division of the county
Magna Britannia: Volume 6, Devonshire
Shirwell Braunton V. Braunton Shirwell High Bray R. Sherwill Shirwell BrendonView result
General history: Extinct baronets
Magna Britannia: Volume 6, Devonshire
Cornwood Sir J. L. Rogers. Brendon A hunting box of Sir Arthur Chichester's.View result


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By Charles
This amazingly detailed glass coral reef pendant has small amounts of cremains within the individual coral polyps. Exact polyp color and pattern will vary from piece to piece; no two are alike! A 10-12 character inscription can be placed on the back.
Uses less than 1/8th teaspoon of ash. Price includes free collection kit and shipping of pendant back to you. Approximately 1.25-1.5" in diameter. Will ship within 4 weeks of the kit being returned to Charles.
Eligible for up to 20% off on larger family orders.
This illuminated glass masterpiece has infused cremation ashes mixed in with an ocean ripple effect. This is bundled with a LED light stand (see...View full product details
This lovely ocean inspired paperweight with cremation ash in the glass has thick color strands impregnated with cremains weaved within crystal clear glass. With a...View full product details
This stunning ocean themed pendant has been infused with real seaweek a shell sand and the cremains of your dearly departed (cremains are layered on...View full product details
This beautiful ocean wave paperweight is a wonderful memorial for anyone who loved the ocean and all the wonderful things it had to offer. Stands...View full product details


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Please return form to PTA office or email Krista Barnett,email@example.com , if you can help out the day of the luncheon or with any questions.
Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
The teachers and staff always look forward to the variety of foods that the 499 families provide each year such as the lasagna, sushi, empanadas, and dishes from your country and of course the sweet treats. Teachers and staff love this once-a-year opportunity to get a homemade dish from you that gives them a taste of your culture and it shows them how much you appreciate them. Please donate your special dish on June 7 and even though there is no school on June 8, the teachers and staff will be working hard and they always look forward to the leftovers!
If you prefer, you may make a donation to purchase food items for the luncheon, which we also appreciate to help us cater to everyone. Volunteers are also greatly needed to help on the day of this event. Please fill out the form below and return to the PTA by Friday, June 2. Thank you in advance for your participation.
- Non-perishable items can be dropped off at the PTA office Tuesday, June 6.
- All other foods can be dropped off the morning of June 7th by 9:00 am.
- Please label the dish, list of ingredients, child's name & class and parent's name.
- Email Krista Barnett, firstname.lastname@example.com, if you can help out the day of the luncheon or with any questions.
——————————————————————————————————————————-Please fill out and return this tear-off to the PTA by Friday, June 2, 2017.
Parent's Name:_______________________________________________________ Contact #:___________________________________________________________ Email: ______________________________________________________________ Child's Name and Class:________________________________________________ Teacher: ____________________________________________________________ I can donate the following:____ main course ____ appetizer ____dessert I would prefer to donate:_____$10 _____ $20 o


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The Original Little Rascals
The Little Rascals is one of my favorite classics. It's kids just being kids. The producer, Hal Roach, looked out his studio window, after auditioning some children for his new series and found something he liked better — kids, not trying to act, but kids in action, doing things when no adult is around — like picking up sticks and sparring. It was a glimpse of the first reality TV show. And Hal Roach brought it all together in his production of "The Little Rascals". The series was syndicated by TV and pretty soon America got a taste of reality too. This...Read More


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Liberal-focused The Huffington Post and social network Facebook.com have partnered on a new website called the HuffPost Social News. HuffPost Social News aggregates Huffington Post news stories that are being discussed through Facebook.
These stories include links on The Huffington Post that is being commented on in Facebook. Stories that are shared by users are also mentioned on the HuffPost Social News website. This concept is similar to TimesPeople, a social network that The New York Times launched last year.
"Our goal is to make HuffPost Social News the go-to place for Facebook users to share news–both the stories they love and the stories they hate–with friends," stated Huffington Post CEO Eric Hippeau. "It should also appeal to marketers interested in reaching passionate, savvy readers who care about the news and who want to share their interests with friends."


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Paul is a rare find in a fast paced world of technology and communications. His research and comments are well founded and well respected in Australia and around the world. I have always gained something new from our discussions about my own industries as well as others. Paul is a wealth of knowledge and can only inspire people with his enthusiasm.
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Harmony Sweeps line up
Expand Messages
- These are the regional finalist performing at the Harmony Sweepstakes A
Cappella Festival National Finals to be held May 5 at the Marin Center,
San Rafael.
Current Champions of the Far Western District, barbershop quartet
Freestyle are known for not only their great singing but also their zany
antics,characterized as "a few fries short of a Happy Meal." Recently
named Entertainment Champions at the prestigious Buckeye Invitational,
their memorable show is sure to please, and members of the group have
appeared on countless stages and milk cartons throughout the land. Tenor
Todd Kidder recently gave up his dream ofbeing the first 5 ft. 9 in.
center of the NBA, while bass Bruce Morgan is the(Volvo) owner of a
(Volvo) dealership in (Volvo) Santa Rosa, but does not usethis venue
(Volvo) for his own personal (Volvo) gain. Baritone Andy Wallace is an
unassuming financial mastermind, collecting paper clips in his spare
time.Lead Rich Brunner is the best-looking member of the quartet and his
mother reallyloves him. It's Freestyle entertainment tonight
Members: Todd Kidder, Bruce Morgan, Rich Brunner, Andy Wallace
T Minus 5 is the result of two different a cappella groups that hit the
stage during the 90's. After these two groups went their separate ways, a
couple of the members from each group wanted to continue to perform. They
collaborated with each other and agreed they would combine efforts in
establishing a new and improved "vocal band". You couldnUt ask for five
better individuals in a group. Each individual brings a specialty that is
complemented by another member's talent, creating a show that is both
dynamic and charismatic. This quality is what gives T Minus 5 such a
dynamic stage presence and overall personality.
Members: Kent Hyer, Fish, Joe Cheney, Jeff Peterson, Jared Allen
Described by critics as "world class Voice Trek is known for their superb
vocal blend and harmonies, as well as their creative musical arrangements.
Originating in 1987, this quintet is a well-respected ingredient in the
Minnesota music scene and is comprised of the five original members. This
"family" of singers has consistently worked with a 5-piece instrumental
back up, touring, conducting jazz residencies, and presenting concerts
from Minnesota to Montreux (Switzerland), and only in the past year has
ventured into the exciting realm of a cappella singing. With six
recordings to their credit - their repertoire ranges from jazz to
semi-classical to sacred - they are currently in production of their
seventh recording, an a cappella CD titled "An A Cappella Trek"
to be released in Spring 2001. The five singers of Voice Trek include
three sisters, Shelley, Vicki, and Rae Plaster; Music Director/Tenor-Denis
Allaire (a brother-in-law); and Bass-Kevin Smith (a brother by
association!) You can find them at www.voicetreksings.com, or email at
Vox Bop is a mixed a cappella quartet with ultra-smooth voices reminiscent
of The Manhattan Transfer and a wry baby-boomer sensibility. Founded in
1995 by David Deschamps, who also does the arranging, Vox Bop was
interviewed and featured in a 12-minute piece on National Public Radio's
"All Things Considered" on Christmas Eve 1999. They can be currently heard
in a national Amazon.com TV ad and were featured as the house band on
NBC-TVb "The Ainsley Harriott Show." Vox Bop's first CD, THE VOX BOP
CHRISTMAS VARIETY HOUR, has been much acclaimed: it was nominated for a
1998 CARA award, with one of the cuts ("Mission of The Three Kings")
winning Best Arrangement at the 1999 NYC Harmony Sweepstakes. In
the summer of 2000 Vox Bop performed at The Alandia Jazz festival in
Finland and has also made a name for itself performing for a variety of
clients throughout the Northeast, including Bloomberg Financial,
Bloomingdales, Borders Books, The Brooklyn Museum, FilenebDts, The New
Press, Starbucks, and many others. The group finished in the top five at
the NYC regionals of the 1998 and 1999 Harmony Sweepstakes and is
currently at work on their new CD, "Affluenza."
Members: John Bischoff, David Deschamps, Johanna Grussner and Maura May
So Rare! is an award-winning women's a cappella quartet singing smooth
sounds and intricate harmonies. No vocal percussion here, just perfectly
blended chords in an incredibly varied repertoire including swing, jazz,
modern and contemporary. We are really looking forward to our fourth
appearance here at the Boston Sweeps where we have taken second place
three years in a row (watch out Susan Lucci!). SoRare! has had many
performances this year, including Stellar A Cappella, Ryles Jazz Club and
Legends at the Fleet Center where we performed for, and had our picture
taken with, basketball legend Bill Russell. We also shared the stage
with Rumors, International Quartet Champions of Sweet Adelines. We have
finally recorded our first CD entitled "SoRare! Well Done!" containing
many of our favorite arrangements. Check our web site at
www.soraresings.com or contact Jannis Moylan Williams at (508) 428-1129
Members: Karen Christofi, Jannis M. Williams, Donna Manoogian, Arlene
Sixth Wave is an a cappella jazz/pop/rock group that performs
unaccompanied originals and novel arrangements of familiar tunes. The six
singers in the "band" are all accomplished studio and concert singers who
can be heard in venues ranging from local concert halls to opera stages,
from rock and jazz clubs to movie theatres. Their wide experience allows
them to sing a variety of styles, showcasing them as individual soloists
as well as a tight jazz/pop/rock ensemble. Because all of the arrangements
are created by members of the group, Sixth Wave's sound is fresh and
original. For more information, please contact Gary Rosen at (818)909-9977
or Amy Fogerson at (323)340-8113, or visit Sixth Wave on the web at
Members: Elin Carlson, soprano Cindy Bourquin, soprano Amy Fogerson,
alto Gerald White, tenor Gary Rosen, baritone Eric Bradley, bass
Eclipse is an ensemble of six who met while attending Utah State
University in northern Utah. They have performed extensively with the USU
Department of Programs and Entertainment, which was instrumental in
helping them gain exposure when they were getting started. In January
2000, they toured Thailand with Colors and the USU Sunburst Singers. Last
year they were featured on a Christmas CD produced for the USU Aggie
Carolers. Eclipse is currently recording their own debut album, due out in
March 2001. Their repertoire consists of an eclectic mix of vocal jazz,
pop, R&B, and even big band tunes. Contact: Patrick Rose, 1189 W 400 So,
Logan, UT 84321; 435-787-8334; eclipsesingers@...
Members: Paul Hansen, Kevin Jones, Shayne Taylor, Pat Rose, Dan
Kartchner, Kirk Mecham
4:2:Five is not your parents' a cappella. What used to be street-corner
barbershop and doo-wop, has now evolved into a fresh new sound and
4:2:Five is right at the breakpoint. With driving vocal bass, slamming
vocal percussion, and tight harmonies, these five young men create a sound
that is all their own using nothing more than their highly trained mouths.
4:2:Five has performed at the 2000 Orlando International Fringe Festival,
on several radio stations, and won Ed McMahons internet based talent
search www.Nextbigstar.com. The guys have been seen at NBC's Today Show,
every news station in the Orlando area, and you might even catch 4:2:Five
on a television commercial or doing a jingle on the radio. 4:2:Five's
unique sound is derived from the diverse backgrounds of it's members,
the individual talents possessed by each, and the belief that the music
always has and always will come first.
Members: Earl Elkins, Jr., James May, Layne Stein, Geoff Castellucci,
Scott Porter
The National Finals are to be held:
Saturday May 5, 8 PM
Marin Veteran's Auditorium, San Rafael, CA
Tickets from box office - 415-472-3500 of www.ticketmaster.com
Hosted by 2000 National Champs - Toxic Audio
Further info at:
John Neal
For a free copy of the catalog send your street address to:-
PO Box D, San Anselmo CA 94979
Voice 415-455-8602 Fax 415-459-1622
Check out our web site at http://www.singers.com
Your message has been successfully submitted and would be delivered to recipients shortly.


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Think about what career is best suited for you, and where you want to study. Request more information now.
Info concerning Grand Valley State University mechanical engineering classes, and registering for elective lectures. Which college degrees give you the best chances of finding employment after graduation? Given the breadth of engineering specializations, you're likely to find your niche, and be able to design a rewarding career. Concentrating on Grand Valley State University mechanical engineering classes, for example, you may gain an advantage in job recruiting on-campus. Check with the mechanical engineering department for course registration deadlines, and engineering degree program requirements. Please use the form above to request admissions info for Grand Valley State University.
Mechanical engineering degrees typically take four to five years to complete, and result in a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), Bachelor of Science (BSc or BS), or Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (BME). In the US, most undergraduate mechanical engineering programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Mechanical engineering programs include courses on composites, thermodynamics, engine design, fluid dynamics, control theory, robotics, and computer-aided design (CAD). In addition to the core mechanical engineering curriculum, many mechanical engineering programs offer more specialized programs and classes, such as control systems, fuel cell technology, and biomechanics.
Many mechanical engineering companies have begun to incorporate computer-aided engineering (CAE) programs into their existing processes, including 2D and 3D solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD), enabling faster and more exhaustive visualization of products. Other CAE programs commonly used by mechanical engineers include product lifecycle management (PLM), and analysis tools such as finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Further, automation in the form of industrial robots allow businesses to save money on manufacturing costs, and ensure precision quality control. The median annual income of mechanical engineers in the US workforce was $80,580, highest when working for the government ($92,030), and lowest in education ($57,090). Beyond major requirements within the mechanical engineering department, you may consider Everett Community College engineering double major as an adjunct to your primary course of study.
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Google Ad Blocker and How it Impacts Inbound
By Mike Wolfe
geralt / Pixabay
Well … they're at it again. Google's visionary product roadmap is once again affecting the way we experience the web. For those that haven't heard, on June 1, Google officially announced plans for an ad blocker, native to Chrome, that will filter out intrusive and annoying ads. This move not only will change the experience for many web users, but also will likely have a monumental impact on digital marketing and advertising strategies deployed by companies of all sizes.
Here's a rundown on what's going on and how it will impact inbound marketers:
So, What's Happening?
On June 1, Google made the announcement in a blog post titled Building a better web for everyone. In the announcement, Sridhar Ramaswamy, Senior Vice President of Ads & Commerce, explained why Google wants to take control of the ad experience in the browser of choice for nearly half of all U.S. web users:
"… It's far too common that people encounter annoying, intrusive ads on the web—like the kind that blare music unexpectedly, or force you to wait 10 seconds before you can see the content on the page. These frustrating experiences can lead some people to block all ads—taking a big toll on the content creators, journalists, web developers and videographers who depend on ads to fund their content creation."
To be clear, Google is not blocking or filtering out all ads, just those that are deemed low quality by the Coalition for Better Ads Standards. The types of ads specifically mentioned as ones to be blocked, or "filtered" as Google puts it, are countdowns that make you wait 10 seconds before viewing the site, auto-players with sound, those that open in a new window, and those that add clutter or slow down page loading times—thank goodness!
Aside from having a poor Wi-Fi connection, is there anything more annoying on the web than intrusive, unwanted ads that prevent you from the content you actually want to read? Many studies out there suggest that there isn't. The Coalition for Better Ads found that 50 percent of users surveyed said they would not revisit or recommend a page that had a pop-up ad. SurveyMonkey even found that the biggest reason users would block a website from their search results was if the website contained too many ads. One might wonder if pop-up ads are even effective at all?
Plain and simple: Most web users don't want intrusive ads. And they'll be happy to know that the ad blocker will start filtering intrusive ads in the new version of Chrome as early as 2018.
How Does This Impact Inbound Marketers?
First, it underscores the importance of having a well-planned inbound marketing strategy, which means knowing your personas and being able to provide them with the type of content they are seeking out: educational, interesting, and insightful e-books, whitepapers, and articles that address real problems for the user. This content builds an organic following that you can nurture over time, instead of pouncing on prospects with Go to the full article.
Source:: Business 2 Community


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Mullum Music Festival 2017 - BILLETING
Are you interested in billeting in exchange for Festival Tickets?
There are lots of amazing acts coming to town that need a place to stay.
Our billeting system is a great way for you to get involved in the Mullum Music Festival weekend,
If you are interested in hosting some people, click on the link below to fill out the online form.
Complete the 2017 Billeting Form here.
After reviewing applications we will make a ticket offer for your consideration.
We look forward to talking to you soon!
- Mullum Music Festival HQ


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Floppy Hat
Good morning! It's a gorgeous day in sunny Southern California and I'm excited to get my tan on. There's nothing better than relaxing by the pool with a good book and some iced tea. Every girl knows there's a routine to laying out that requires some good products and a huge hat. Here are some of my essentials:
The first thing that's a must have is a big floppy hat. The older I get the more concerned I am about getting sun on my face, so get a fun one that looks chic and does the job. The black and straw hat above from Nordstrom is perfect.
BB. Creme by Garnier
Next, you need some protection for your face. Have you heard of B.B. creams? They're the newest thing. Garnier makes a great version. It's a moisturizer, brightener, foundation all in one. I love this stuff and it gives you a little coverage so you don't feel completely makeup free, while protecting your skin at the same time. It's really reasonable too.
Australian Gold SPF 8 Bronzer
Now that we've got the face covered, let's move on to the body. My parents took us to Hawaii every year for vacation and I instantly got hooked on the Australian Gold products. Not too many places on the mainland used to carry it. The smell is heavenly and of course reminds me of those vacations. It comes in different levels of SPF but I prefer an 8 so I get a little color. The best part about this one is it's a spray gel with bronzer, so you look instantly tan while you're working on your real color.
Baby Lips by Maybelline
This product is sold out all the time, which tells you it must be good. Baby Lips by Maybelline is the perfect way to gloss your lips while protecting them at the same time. Everyone I know swears by this product and collects them in every color.
Beach Towel by Target
How cute is this towel? Perfect for us bloggers for sure. There are a ton of cute towels and they're very reasonable in price at Target.
So what's left? Get yourself a great magazine, book, glass of iced tea, and of course your iPod and you're good to go for the perfect day in the sun!
Fashion Magazine
Here Comes the SunBy Koridonahue @blondeepisodes
Floppy Hat
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Talking to Stompy Bot: Heavy Gear Assault Interview
We put some questions to Stompy Bot CEO Vince McMullin.
We've always been partial to climbing aboard giant mechs and blasting other robotic warriors with lasers and missiles. Whether it was the classic Mechwarrior games of yesteryear, or even more recent attempts to rejuvenate the genre such as Hawken and even Titanfall, there's a lot to like about mech shooters and the change of pace they bring to the shooter space. Which brings us to Heavy Gear Assault, a new contender in this very competitive and slightly niche sub-genre, that launched recently on Steam Early Access.
Following the game's launch we sent over a few questions to Stompy Bot CEO Vince McMullin, who had a lot to tell us about the development of their game, as well as his thoughts on what went wrong for Respawn with Titanfall 2 and the development hiccups affecting the work on fellow crowdfunded indie sci-fi title Star Citizen. It's a long but interesting read, so grab a cup of something warm and get comfortable.
GR: Give us the elevator pitch for Heavy Gear Assault.
Heavy Gear Assault is part of a lineage of mech simulators in the same vein as Mechwarrior, Star Siege and the original Heavy Gear games by Activision. With the rich lore of the long running Heavy Gear RPG, players will experience all the visceral mech combat and detailed customization that the setting has to offer in a spectator gladiatorial sport. It's Forza Motorsports meets giant robots.
GR: What is it about mechs that appeals to you as a studio, and why do you think they're so enduring?
Mech games require skill in both the customization and piloting aspect in order to be successful. Good mech games offer the perfect balance of action and simulation - more complexity than your standard FPS but focused on the action to keep the player engaged. The genre also offers an immersive experience in piloting giant war machines that no other game genre can come close to. Arguably, the genre launched the PC gaming market in the 90s and the technological leap (3D graphics cards, memory etc) needed to support it. Today, mech games continue to push these boundaries. Besides, who doesn't like blowing up their opponents in a fully decked out and customized robotic war machine?
GR: Tell us about the journey to this latest launch into Early Access, because we understand that it hasn't always been easy for you as a studio.
It has been a long road for us as an indie developer/publisher. Over the past few years we've been compared to games with very big AAA budgets such as Respawn's Titanfall 2 which has been a humbling comparison as an indie developer. When you find yourself being compared to something you're not - the reality starts to settle in that your product and your team is an underdog with massive potential. Dripping with potential as one recent commentator made about us on Steam. Now that the hype train is over and the reality that Titanfall 2 never made it to every top 10 chart for reasons we can all attribute to bone head decisions by EA Executives. Seriously, the reality should start to settle in for the Titanfall 2 community as well, that their support will start to wane over the next year as revenue drops off. Titanfall 2's budget was apparently 4 times as high as Titanfall 1 according to Cliffy B. But is Titanfall 2 slumping because it was pitted against Call of Duty and its own publisher's Battlefield1, or because Respawn missed the mark with the mech community?
I beg the question whether the sales slumped because of COD or whether it was the decision by Respawn to remove features that defined the success of their first title as pointed out by Forbes. The decision to screw around with the most successful game type Attrition in the game couldn't have went worse during the Xbox One preview. I know. I was there. The decision to build a single player campaign and ignore the explosive esports community was a futile mistake. The decisions to promote the game as a mech-shooter while also stating in the same breath that players don't need customization of their Titans left me speechless as well and Reddit agreed.
HGA is focused on multiplayer and esports. We realize this is the future of PC gaming. How did Respawn fuck this up so badly? It seems everyone over there lost sight of who their customer was. Marketing 101 - know your consumer. Mech gamers want simulation. Customization is one of the defining features of a mech game. This has been the way since 90s. When mech games were amazing and not massive cash grabs. Customization is one of the defining features of our mech game.
In Heavy Gear Assault the player has access to a set of core Gears based around different fighting styles and platforms including: sniper, recon, brawler, and electronics. We also have an in-game market that is built with the intentions to bring as much lore from Heavy Gear to life. Titanfall doesn't hold a candle to the amount of lore Heavy Gear has to work from.
While the comparisons with a $100M project like Titanfall is somewhat laudable the worst comparisons in my opinion have been with mega crowdfunded projects such as Star Citizen. Even with all his funding Chris Roberts still has major production problems that smaller indie titles with much smaller budgets have - including us. Yet the press has continued to give those 800 lb gorillas in the indie crowdfunding scene a soapbox to climb up on like King Kong to tell their story. Why? As a personal backer of Star Citizen and huge space jock - I am shocked by the lack of progress and odd decisions being made by their dev team. It's like a bad Family Guy episode. You know it's not funny anymore but you laugh anyways because it's all you can do at this point. So much wasted funding on side projects like Squadron 42 and what was that about real Hollywood actors? Come on guys. Where is the bug free Dog Fighting game that I was sold so many years ago? And now a new game engine? Seems like a potential exit strategy to me. Hello Amazon.
When HGA hit Kickstarter in 2013 we promised a basic working battle module with a selection of modernized Heavy Gears. We promised all the core features that defines a classic mech game as our first release. The promise to meet that goal required approximately $800K. If you are doing some math here that's $33K/year for each of 24 developers on our dev team. Star Citizen asked for a lot more, a hell of a lot more, and arguably delivered a basic dog fighting module within the same time frame. SC has more content than Heavy Gear but their development misses the mark constantly. While we never got the cash from Kickstarter we hoped for - we were able to pull off what we promised our fans. I have to ask what are these big budget indie games like Robert's doing with their funding? Where is the accountability? Where are the financial audits? Where is it? Stompy Bot Productions is a fully compliant public company. Our books are public. They aren't perfect but they are a hell a lot better than anything these crowd funding monsters have disclosed to people. While Derek Smart may come across as an asshole. He is 100% right about CIG's lack of accountability and disclosure regarding their use of crowdfunding.
No doubt. Kickstarter was bad timing on our part. We launched our Kickstarter just weeks ahead of E3. Almost immediately the press started posting news of Microsoft's Xbox One announcements. I knew the campaign was doomed almost as soon as the Kickstarter hit. We were not getting the media coverage we were promised. Despite having a great development team with some senior developers with serious industry experience including the former Creative Director from Activision's Heavy Gear 2 and Crytek's Crysis. The experience and passion was drowned out by other big players in the room. The most passionate mech gamers that did back us told us privately via a discrete survey that they were starting to feel burned out on games like MechWarrior Online with their cash grab models. We were coming off a successful GDC presentation and there was a lot of energy in the room for our next press push. We thought it was an opportune time to launch our Kickstarter. Surprise, surprise. It was not and so the decision was made to shut it down.
While our Kickstarter campaign wasn't successful. We were successfully raising crowd funding via our website and we raised enough to keep our development going from a core group of supporters that loved the idea of a new UE4 powered mech game coming to the PC. We continued to keep that community updated and we worked feverishly for the next year. Many of our team took equity for their services as we ran low on cash many times. Our core management team worked contracts across the gaming landscape. We worked for publishers in Japan, multiplayer technologists in Sweden, we started to develop a reputation as having an in-house expertise in the Unreal Engine technology stack that other bigger players in the industry could count on. Sadly many of those projects are locked up under NDAs and we can't take credit for the work we did directly. And yes some of them never paid their bills. Let's not leave that little piece out.
Our management team had some success in securing funding from angel investors as well. We were able to secure funding from our first angel in San Diego. She was a great supporter and provided us with the necessary capital to survive every single time we needed it. I continued to watch the air waves regarding crowd funding and I noticed a change happening with indie game fans. Polygon did an excellent article outlining how this was actually killing small indie developers. At its core indie fans began to resent some of the projects they supported. Massive promises failed. Our own community felt burned by MechWarrior Online's mega promises of Community Warfare and a failed Founders program. Their favorite fan made projects now Cease and Desisted and the only other option being $500 golden mechs? We were battling against the odds meanwhile those 800 lb gorillas continued to forget who their consumers were and failed them over and over. How many more times will indie fans be taken advantage over before accountability is demanded? I think the end is near for those companies. How many more Mega Mans, sorry Mighty No. 9s, will it take before crowdfunding has an equity model? I even think the press is beginning to feel pressure to report accordingly on these massively crowdfunded monsters. At least No Man's Sky wasn't crowdfunded. Sean just flat out lied to people.
In June 2014 we released our first build of HGA to our community. Our development team watched as players started downloading the game and playing on our servers. The development team cheered. Now we have a playable. We spent the next year working on the game and improving features. Over the course of the next year things became rather rocky and we unfortunately lost a few of our developers to better positions elsewhere in the industry. As some key people left we were also scrambling to secure more funding to continue developing HGA.
Oddly it was a conversation I had on the Star Citizen forums with a gentlemen from the capital markets community in Toronto that led us to where we are currently with our company. He claimed to have connections and contacts around the investment community that would be very excited to get behind us as a company. It turns out he also won an award with his fan made MechWarrior website from me years and years before. After a series of meetings both virtually and in-person we crafted a plan to raise financing for Stompy Bot beyond crowdfunding and angel investments.
In 2014-2015 we raised enough capital via equity investments to grow our development team to a 24 man (and woman) team working full time on HGA. Our studio was as active as it ever had been. The community was getting very excited by the bi-weekly patches and constant onslaught of content. During this time we also realized that we had to start growing our portfolio and business effort was put into securing further intellectual properties and funding to support those projects. Things were moving along well and were on target to release on Steam as an Early Access release by Q1 2016. Our company successfully completed an RTO on a public company in British Columbia. We were now in possession of a public shell and looking at taking Stompy Bot public on the Canadian stock market. In Canada the public company landscape is a bit different than America. Canadian junior companies go public much faster thanks to the junior resource space. Canadian investors look for companies in the junior space. We gave junior capital market investors the ability to help us raise financing and if they wanted to sell out later they could. Which many did but some stayed and some are devoted and dedicated to see us grow as a company.
Things couldn't have looked brighter until they didn't. In August of 2015 - just a month before we went public on the Canadian Stock Exchange the junior resource space in Canada was hit with shockwave. A ripple effect. From a falling economy in China. The ripple effect created a perfect storm for us. Here we were with an RTO. Unable to raise traditional financing that private companies lean on. Unable to secure funding from our investors who were watching their portfolios be decimated in the open market. We were in-bed with junior based resource stock investors and no one expected resource stocks such as mining and oil to fall to record lows almost instantly but they did. Thanks to newly elected Trump we now know that the big North American agenda is to bring oil back to its glory. That pushing auto sales domestically is all an attempt to raise the value of those resources that fell hard a few years ago. Honestly, I am surprised that we survived this. We went public on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE: BOT) without the $4 million we were suppose to have received in equity financing to go public in the first place.
As a result we made some tough decisions. We hurt some relationships. We had to stop production on HGA. We had to stop everything. Our core team had equity in this. They had invested a huge amount of time into developing HGA. Our management team felt like they had let everyone down. That capital markets expert from the Star Citizen community abandoned ship immediately. Most of those resource based stock investors quickly followed. A few real supporters stayed with us and through thick and thin we survived because of dedicated supporters both internally and externally. And of course because of persistence.
NVIDIA awarded with a contract with build our UE4 build on the Shield Tegra platform. We received support from Epic Games. In December of 2015 we successfully raised some financing. Enough to pay our bills and our contractors that were waiting to be paid. We were able to pay some critical bills with that financing. Through constant pitching, meeting, and discussing our business plans in various cities around North America we began to attract a different kind of interest.
During this time our core development team decided that our code base needed some serious regression work. Work that was done in August was rolled back. Our UI solution was proving to be a bad choice. UE4 is an incredible engine but its UI solution was non-existent when we began developing with the engine when it was just a voxel based engine. We used a third party solution known as Coherent UI. Our developers actually wrote the first version of a plugin to make UE4 work with Coherent UI and we provided the code to them as a base to start from. After a handshake at GDC we agreed that we could use the software with HGA for free. Fast forward a few years later and were sent a $20K invoice during our worst time financially and told we had to pay it or they were pulling the plug. We walked away from that relationship and migrated to UE4's UMG solution for UI. It was a great move because now we have native UI support and it works well on all platforms. Though it still has a ways to go as a UI solution for designers - which is why our UI looks dated. It works. Which is more than I can say for the alternative UI solutions.
As the producer on HGA I was pretty envious to see the series of articles from Kotaku looking into the investigation of Star Citizen entitled "Inside the Troubled Development of Star Citizen". As an avid space game jockey and personal backer of Star Citizen I always knew this game was having the same issues as everyone else in the indie scene only on a more epic scale.
Like Star Citizen our game has been developed via the "virtual platform". I remember wandering around GDC 2013 telling other developers about my concept of working in the cloud. After successfully managing a mod team for years working on the MechWarrior series I knew very well that the virtual platform concept would work in a real production environment. However, as bleeding edge as the concept may seem - hey who doesn't want to work from home in their underwear? It's not without its issues. And like Chris Roberts found out. Working via a virtual platform with a few centralized developers is hard to manage - as indicated by Kotaku's investigation. CIG made it clear in recent articles that the cloud based virtual platform has challenges when trying to manage many remote teams. In my opinion we are just a smaller version of CIG and we've worked out how to solve issues CIG still seems to be struggling with. I tried to secure a platform talk at GDC to discuss working in a cloud based environment to offer my experience and guidance as a Producer but unfortunately GDC never had space in their agenda for such a talk. I think the indie developers both big and small could benefit from our knowledge working as a cloud based developer.
Working as a cloud based developer does not mean we are completely decentralized and working from home on random things in silos. In fact almost entirely the opposite. Aside from the opportunity to work from home in your underwear the requirements and organization arguably needs to be stronger. Teams working remotely need strong communication. Strong knowledge of remote tools such as Google Docs, Skype, and source code repositories such as Perforce. Our team has all that and much more. Company wide we support the use of the virtual platform as much as possible. I will argue the platform isn't for everyone though. Especially those that need a lot of hand holding or may be a bit novice around the concept of working remotely. We've had our share of issues with mental illness, psychological, and physiological strain on our development team which comes with the territory working in the games industry anyway but some symptoms to seem to be amplified by the cloud.
Many have wondered how we ended up as an exclusive indie UE4 developer - one of the first teams to gain access to UE4 long before it was released publicly. The choice of game engines is critical to any production. As we've learned through articles on Star Citizen their production has been challenged by their use of CryEngine many times. CryEngine is arguably a more rigid technology to work with and it isn't bleeding edge anymore and lacks support for modern devices and tools. CryEngine would have been a nail in our coffin. When we decided to use Unreal Engine we were using the Unreal Development Kit better known as the UDK. We had expertise with the Unreal Engine stack already developing internally when Epic approached us with the potential switch from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 4 in exchange they would provided answer hub services and access to their engineering team when necessary. UE4 was a voxel engine at this point and we were hesitant at first. Looking at all of the issues that Star Citizen has with CE3. I can not understand why they never moved to UE4. We've been able to compete with features in HGA that are on the same level of quality as those seen in those crowdfunded monsters and I am epically proud of our development team. And everyone recognizes we would not have had the success we've had to date without the power of UE4.
But UE4 was not without its challenges. We chased UE4 updates a lot. Arguably 35% of our development time has been spent upgrading to newer versions of the engine. I've pondered whether the mature UE3 would have meant HGA releasing sooner but as a very different product than it is today. The choice to use UE4 has allowed us to demo our talents and show what is is possible with UE4 but we know we've not delivered on the features we wanted to yet. However, selling a bleeding edge game with less features on a bleeding edge game engine seems more glorious to me as it demonstrates our abilities technically as a company which is arguably as important as anything else in the games industry. We are now armed with enough knowledge to take the industry by storm.
We understand what it takes to build a community. We are persistent and now we are on Steam. We have great plans in 2017 to continue to grow our community through several announcements this year we believe will energize the mech community like never before. We are working on competitive aspects of Heavy Gear, user generated content, creating a growing virtual economy, VR, and lots, lots more. We're making mech games great again. Wait, did I just say that?...