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Archive for hot flashes
MENOPAUSE, MONEY AND YOUR JOBPosted by: | Comments
I was recently contacted by the NIH regarding my thoughts on the use of HRT for treatment of menopausal symptoms. I was asked to review a brochure from NIH (National Institute of Health), to see if viewers may find some benefit from their information.
Hot flashes can can certainly be a very difficult symptom of the menopausal transition. They can interfere with sleep, affect our confidence at work as well as concentration. They are embarrassing, make us feel old; and can make coping with social situations difficult. Some of us have it bad, others not so much.
Now, according to a recent study, they are costing the companies we work for; in the form of lost time at work.
A recent analysis of data looking at the insurance claims of 500,000 menopausal women, all of whom were insured by Fortune 500 companies. Half suffered from hot flashes, and half did not. This analysis took place over the space of a year.
This analysis revealed a surprising 1.5 million more health care visits in the group with hot flashes compared to the control group. The cost of lost work by this group was estimated to be over 27 million dollars and the cost of this additional health care almost 340 million!
I am not sure that 250,000 hot flashing women could actually rack up this amount of cost to their employers and health insurers; but the point is noted. Hot flashes affect women and affect productivity.
This change has apparently been amplified since the Women's Health Initiative findings of an increased incidence of stroke and heart attacks to users of HRT; resulting in more women opting not to use hormone replacement.
While hormone replacement therapy may carry an increased risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular events if you are in a high risk category for either of these, it can also be very safe to use for several years. This can be a life saver if you are someone suffering from hot flashes.
For my readers following me for the past few years, you are probably aware that I am a proponent of HRT if you are low risk. I feel they are safe to use for a limited time and can help ease the transition.
The following link to an NIH brochure containing information regarding Hormones and Menopause will allow you to review the position of National Institute of Health regarding the safety of hormone use for many women at low risk for cancer and heart disease. It contains some good information that I basically feel is sound. The brochure can be read online or ordered for free.
So check it out! Don't be afraid to discuss possible use of hormones to ease your menopausal symptoms if they are interfering with work and social activities. As they did for me, they may help ease the worst of it for a few years, and help you establish some changes in your routine to accommodate the changes that menopause can bring!
ps. There is no financial incentive for me promoting this brochure, I receive nothing from NIH or any other organization; and the brochure is free.
This One Big Easy Change Can Improve Your Life!Posted by: | Comments
OK, so you just came back from your yearly physical and your provider told you that your blood pressure and cholesterol are too high, your are in the obese category, and you need to lose 30 lbs.
On top of all this, you are menopausal, hot all the time, tired all the time and can't think straight. Your head is screaming WHERE DO I START?
Oh, and did I mention you did not get any advise on how to accomplish all this!
Don't give up and throw in the towel, letting it all go. You can start with changes, one at a time. It will be slow, but steady progress with a result in a lower blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. Oh, and you may get rid of those troubling menopausal symptoms as a side benefit!
OK, lets get started.
First is diet. Throw out the sugar and go just 3 days, only 3 days without sugar. This means no sodas, no sweet tea, no candy, desserts. It ALSO means no dairy as this has lactose which is a type of sugar, and yes that includes cheese. No fruit, as this has sugar. No starches as these cause spikes of blood sugar and fuel cravings for sugar. REMEMBER, this is only 3 days.
What good will this do you may wonder? It gives you control over your blood glucose, it detoxifies your system, and it lessens food cravings. And it may just make you feel better! Exercise is important, but diet needs to come first. Food is like a medicine, it profoundly affects your body system and can heal you, or kill you.
Sugar and refined packaged foods are the most destructive things to our health, other than cigarettes. Choose these 3 days of no sugar to eat as much natural food as you can. Go for salads, fresh cooked vegetables, and water…lots of water. You can eat small amounts of nuts, this will give you some healthy fats which will help you feel full. You can eat protein, pick leaner cuts of meat not hot dogs or sausages as these are processed and very high in fat. You can have a few eggs. Try an omelet with veggies for breakfast, salad with some meat and a light salad dressing for lunch, a lean meat and 2 cooked vegetables for dinner. Snack on nuts, raw veggies and humus. Drink water, water, water; you can squeeze some lemon in it for flavor.
Ok, so you have detoxed from sugar for 3 days. What's next?
You may be surprised what the scale has done and hopefully this will motivate you to continue with some diet changes. For the next few weeks, slowly add in some cheese, then other dairy and some fruit. Not all at once, but 1-2 things every day. As you do this, you should continue to notice a benefit in how you feel. It is still important to avoid processed foods and sweets.
Some strategies to avoid complete deprivation of the foods you like is to pick one day a week, and allow yourself some foods that you enjoy. Don't go overboard, and get right back on track the next day. If you feel yourself really craving these foods, you may need to avoid doing this and pick only one day a month. You may actually find though, that your stomach does not like these fatty processed foods after you haven't eaten them for a while. This is progress!
This is a start, it will not solve all of your problems but it is a significant help. Blood glucose spikes fuel cravings making us eat more. Eating more causes weight gain which makes the heart work harder, and what isn't used for energy is stored as fat or cholesterol. Blood glucose spikes can also trigger hot flashes and make them more powerful. A higher plant based diet can provide you with the plant version of estrogen called phytoestrogens; which can help lessen menopausal symptoms.
Coming home from your medical providers office needn't make you feel dome and gloom. Make this one small change to start and see what happens. Check in with me later to see other changes that can help you reverse any negative biological process going on!
IMPROVING YOUR SLEEP DURING MENOPAUSE AND BEYONDPosted by: | Comments
Sleep can be one of the most important and frustrating aspects of our lives to be disrupted during the menopausal years.
Many women enter menopause with poor sleep habits, only to find their sleep really becomes a miserable nightly event. Even though not all women have problems sleeping as they go through menopause, most are affected to some degree. Having healthy sleep hygiene (habits) helps to prevent insomnia, and it is not too late to establish this.
Sleep hygiene is a term used by sleep specialist to describe the habits that will best help foster sleep initiation. In other words, there is a list of do's and don'ts that contribute to the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Our bad habits at the beginning of menopause can set us up for problems during menopause, as we additionally go through physical changes that can disrupt sleep. Changes such as hot flashes, joint pain, stress and anxiety to name a few.
Bad habits that can prevent your from falling asleep can include:
- Computer use until bedtime, or worse, late into the night. The light from the computer screen is felt to stimulate the awake center of the brain.
- Drinking caffeine into the evening. Caffeine is a stimulant this can interfere with relaxation and production of melatonin. Melatonin is the substance our brain produces to help make us sleepy.
- Drinking alcohol. This surprises many people as alcohol is a depressant and can make many people tired. In some, it interferes with melatonin production and can cause a rebound wakefulness after the alcohol is metabolized.
- Eating late at night.
There are several lifestyle changes you can make to improve your sleep.
- Exercise! While you may not feel like it, exercise will tire your body and help with sleep.
- Avoid stimulation prior to bed. In other words, keep noise, music, lights, activities low in the hour before bedtime. Avoid meals, sugar and caffeine for several hours before bedtime.
- Establish a regular bedtime. This will allow your body to produce melatonin which is the sleep hormone.
What can you do if none of this works?
First, see your medical provider to ensure there are no medical conditions inferring with sleep.
Next, you can try herbal supplements and over the counter sleep aids. These can be helpful, however check with your provider if you are on any medications before starting a new supplement.
I recently began using Estroven Nighttime, and have found it to be very effective for me. It contains Melatonin, which works by itself for some people; and Valerian root which has slight sedative properties. There a other herbs to help with hot flashes, such as soy and black cohosh.
Tylenol pm is one tried by many people. This is basically tylenol and benadryl mixed together, both of which are safe. It is important to not use too much Tylenol mixed in other products, as a total high dose can cause damage to liver and kidneys over time.
It is also important to keep your bedroom cool, use fans at night. Many houses in the south, where I live, have ceiling fans which are helpful. A small fan on the night stand can also work.
Establishing a consistent sleep routine takes some work, but it is worth the effort to gain the much needed rest and restorative healing that occurs during sleep. Try some of these tips and let me know how they work. Write in with any tips of your own to share with our readers!
A REASON FOR YOUR FATIGUEPosted by: | Comments
Fatigue can be a major part of the menopausal transition. It can be one of the first things that happens, often sneaking up on women without any identifiable cause.
Your fatigue can be from a variety of reasons, and most people will blame it on the inability to sleep that can occur with menopause. As many of us know, sleep is often a tenuous event every night. There are hot flashes that wake us up, and sometimes we find ourselves wide awake in the middle of the night for no reason.
The fatigue that occurs during menopause can lead you to reduce the exercise or activities you participate in, because you are just too tired. This can lead to weight gain; and weight gain can lead to diabetes, HTN, diabetes. All of this can predispose you to sleep apnea.
Sometimes fatigue is just from lack of sleep, and we are familiar with this form of weariness. But sometimes fatigue can be due to poor quality sleep that is a result of sleep apnea. You may feel that you stay asleep all night, but awaken worn out; as if you have not slept at all. This can be a sign of sleep apnea, as is snoring or interrupted breathing while sleeping.
It is important to address your fatigue with your medical provider. Other reasons for fatigue can include:
- anemia-both iron deficiency and B12 deficiency
- diabetes
- medications
- depression
- joint disease or connective tissue disease
- breathing problems such as asthma, COPD, lung infections
- nutritional deficiencies and excessive dieting
Sleep apnea can occur to anyone as they age, but it is more likely to occur with being overweight. This can place stress on the oropharyngeal structures, which result in collapse and obstruction of the breathing passages when laying down. Prolonged sleep apnea can then lead to a condition called pulmonary hypertension.
What can you do the prevent sleep apnea?
While you cannot prevent yourself from aging, limiting weight gain as you age may be the most important deterrent to sleep apnea. This is best achieved through healthy diet and exercise. It is the weight gain in the neck which primarily the culprit bringing on sleep apnea.
Keep in mind that sleep apnea is not just a condition for men, woman are susceptible also! See your provider if you have unexplained fatigue, and work on healthy diet and exercise to control weight and improve your sleep.
Menopause and HRT – when you cannot take HormonesPosted by: | Comments
A reader recently posted a question:
What do you do when your health requires you to stop taking your hormone therapy?
Many specialists would simply say, stop your medication and in essence, deal with it. Your gynecologist or family practitioner could no doubt offer more advice than that. My first advice would be to contact your regular provider to ask their advice on controlling symptoms.
The time of menopause is also the time of increase risk of stroke, heart attacks, cancers, and blood clots or DVT ( deep vein thrombophlebitis). Estrogen and progesterone can cause inflammation of blood vessel walls, thus helping to cause stroke, blood clots, and heart attacks. Estrogens can fuel a breast cancer or other cancers of the female organs. Since having one cancer places you at risk for any other cancer, it makes sense to discontinue estrogen for any cancer a woman may experience.
So what do you do when you are told to suddenly stop the therapy which is helping you feel sane and in control?
There are many other therapies which are safe and can help control symptoms, but first you must check with you provider. One thing which will be vital for controlling the symptoms of menopause is a healthy life style. Because of how food is metabolized during this time, it is important to limit foods high in sugar as this can lead to fatigue and sometimes fuel hot flashes. It is also important to limit caffeine and alcohol as these items can trigger hot flashes both daytime and nighttime. Alcohol also causes difficulty with sleep mostly due to the sugar content.
We all know a bad night sleeping can lead to
- fatigue, which leads to
- low energy and avoidance of exercise,
- leads to convenient food choices for comfort and ease of preparation.
- lack of sex drive
- difficulty concentrating
- all of the above leading to low self esteem and possibly depression over lack of control
How do you gain control of all this?
A diet high in antioxidants helps. This means fresh fruits and vegetables, brightly colored or deep leafy green. Consuming less sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. If you are sensitive, a diet low in dairy. If you are not sure how dairy sensitive you are, stop all dairy for 1-2 months and see how you feel. You may have more energy, less respiratory problems and skin problems. Exercise of any kind that gets your heart beating faster and uses your muscles in a way not normally used in your average day.
For medical help when the above measures are not enough, there is clonodine or effexor (low dose) which can help with hot flashes. There are sleep aids which are generally safe for short periods of time. Doing cross word puzzles or other memory type games can help some with "brain fog", as does some low dose antidepressants if applicable. Herbal products should be used with extreme caution if they contain soy or black cohosh; these products can theoretically be irritating to blood vessel walls as they are estrogen like in their action.
There are measures you can take to control your symptoms, nothing may be as completely relieving as hormone replacement therapy. Talk to your medical provider to get advice targeted to your health situation. Then, write us back and let us know what worked for you! Share your successes with our readers.
In addition I would like to hear your thoughts about this post and the information provided. Don't forget there is more information in our membership site. Sign up on the home page.
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IS IT MENOPAUSE?Posted by: | Comments
I have come to appreciate a saying I heard often in my younger years but did not fully understand-"Aging is not for sissies".
Many bewildering things can begin to occur sometime after 40, and menopause is the most profound for women. Men do have changes they experience, my sense is this change is slightly more gradual. Menopause however, can be swift and sudden. This often leaves many women feeling as if they must be going crazy or they must have some dreaded ailment or disease.
When you are feeling suddenly more fatigued than normal for you, you are noticing more profound mood swings, you have muscle or joint pains that come and go for no explainable reason, your are having unusual problems falling asleep and/or staying asleep-you may very well be experiencing menopause. Your periods may still be very regular, you may notice more severe PMS than what you have felt for decades.
It is important to see your medical provider to find out if what you are experiencing is menopause or an illness with similar symptoms. The following are medical conditions which can have a similar set of symptoms:
- thyroid disease- either hyper or hypothyroidism
- diabetes
- anemia
- other hormonal issues such as adrenal problems or hyperparathyroidism (regulates calcium absorption)
- leukemia and lymphoma
- arthritis and other connective tissue disorders
It is important to discuss your concerns with your provider. To help you organize and focus any specific health concerns, it is helpful to make a list on paper so you do not forget your questions. Most providers will take the time to address specific concerns when a patient has a written list they are referring to. A written list helps to give more weight or power to a patients' concerns as it keeps both you and your provider focused.
Lab tests are often ordered to help determine the cause of what you are experiencing. The following is a list of some of the lab tests your provider may order depending on your symptoms and situation:
- CBC with differential-relates to immune system and anemia
- glucose, possibly HgbA1c -relates to diabetes
- electrolytes, calcium and magnesium-relates to muscle disorders
- FSH, LH, estradiol and possibly progesterone- relates specifically to menopause
- TSH, free T4, free T3- relates to thyroid illnesses
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, maybe ANA and rheumatoid factor- depending on degree of joint problems
Not all of these tests have to be ordered, but this is a general guideline for your provider to get a clear picture on how well different functions within your body are working.
If you do none of this, usually the answer becomes clear with time. If it is menopause, your periods will eventually become quite irregular, hot flashes will begin as well as many of the above symptoms waxing and waning. Even if this is the case, it is probably time anyway to see your provider to ensure your heart is healthy and that there is no breast/cervical/ovarian disorders. And of course there is the dreaded colonoscopy.
Like I stated earlier, Aging Is Not For Sissies! I would like to hear your story on this topic. What have you experienced? What nugget can you pass on to the readers? Perhaps you just have a question. Leave a comment. If you are more shy, sign up to be a free member – then your comments will only be visible to other members and me.
Which issues of Female Menopause are the worst for You?Posted by: | Comments
Hot Flashes – They are all in Your HeadPosted by: | Comments
What is a Hot Flash?
The hot flash or hot flush is a temporary problem with temperature regulation in the body of a woman or man who has lost the ability to produce the sex hormone Estradiol (commonly called Estrogen).
Yes, guys who are treated for certain cancers and have their sex hormones blocked, will feel hot flashes like the woman who has had her ovaries surgically removed or who is menopausal. Men produce some estrogen just as women produce some testosterone.
Why don't little girls and boys have hot flashes prior to puberty?
The reason I say hot flashes are all in your head is because they originate in an organ called the Hypothalamus. One of the jobs of the Hypothalamus is to regulate body temperature.
When a person has had a heat stroke, the Hypothalamus is believed to be permanently damaged and that person is very susceptible to heat injury in the future.
With hot flashes or flushes, the hypothalamus is reacting to the lack of estrogen, or at least lack of Estradiol is now believed to be an indirect cause of hot flashes. It takes years of exposure to Estradiol before the lack of it will trigger the hot flash.
What does Estradiol (estrogen) do for the brain?
The brain's primary fuel source is glucose – sugar! Since the brain does not produce its own fuel, sugar has to get into the brain from the blood. There is protective mechanism of the brain called the blood brain barrier that prevents what is in the blood from entering the brain directly.
A few things can cross this barrier easily and the result is usually addiction to that substance. Examples that cross quickly are nicotine, cocaine, heroine, i.e. most narcotics. Sugar, the primary fuel source, has to be shuttled from the blood to the brain. This active transport system is greatly influenced by Estrogen.
When Estradiol (estrogen) production stops, the production of new transport molecules is hampered and the brain suffers fuel shortages. When the hypothalamus runs low of glucose, temperature regulation is affected. This problem affects other areas of the brain. Women in menopause often complain of having "Brain Fog". This is probably a temporary shortage of our primary fuel source for the brain – glucose, in other areas of the brain.
What can a peri or post-menopausal woman do about this?
There are several options. One is to take estrogen replacement. There is controversy surrounding this. First there is the possibility of cancer and stroke. These appear to be very small risks if a woman is healthy and under the age of 60. I am not sure that there is anything magical about turning 60, it appears to be a number beyond which statistically significant numbers of women begin to suffer side-effects of hormone therapy.
There is a small amount of evidence that using estrogen to ameliorate these transport problems, even temporarily, leads to better brain function later in life. The estrogen replacement needs to begin during peri-menopause for the protection to be extended later. It is not clear that the estrogens have to be bio-identical
Another option is to provide the brain with its second favorite fuel. This fuel does not need to be actively transported into the brain and is readily used by the brain cell called a neuron. The idea for this type of solution actually came from pediatric neurology. Some children suffer a form of epilepsy caused by a faulty glucose shuttle system (genetic aberration). They can not feed the brain enough glucose and suffer seizures as a result. The treatment protocol for these children is called a keto-genic diet.
Ketones or ketone bodies are the end result of using fat as a fuel. When we starve, are carbohydrate restricted or are unable to use glucose as in diabetes,we burn fat. Fat breaks up into the same size carbon chains as glucose but a chunk on the end is left and that chunk is a Ketone body or just a ketone. I was taught that ketones had no good physiological function but we now know that the brain and heart like them as fuel. To provide the brain with ketones, the best fatty fuel source is something called Medium Chain Triglycerides.
Guess who knew it was a great fuel source for many years now – body builders! The shelves of stores catering to their needs are full of Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) Oil. Another source is coconut oil which I buy from my local grocery store. It is a solid at room temperature, is able to withstand high temperatures so is good for cooking and has a pleasant taste. It also meets another criteria for me to use it. Like extra-virgin olive oil, it has not been processed. No other oil can make that claim except those two.
What is a good Brain Diet for Women beginning Menopause or suffering from Hot Flashes?
First of all, don't over eat. If you have a weight problem or want to avoid the weight gain during menopause, see the free report we give away on the home page of Female Menopause Mentors.
Keep your processed carbohydrate to zero. Get your carbohydrates from sources high in fiber like cruciferous vegetables. Unless you grind the grain yourself, avoid anything made from flour or that has some form of sugar as a major ingredient (glucose, sucrose, fructose).
Add MCT oil – one or two tablespoons a day to your diet or like me eat a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil. (Coconut oil is 66% MCT.) Each tablespoon of oil contains about 90 calories so you have to account for those in your diet. Don't just add 180 calories a day or you will soon notice it on your waist and this is another health problem you do not need.
I also suggest you consume 500mg of Krill oil a day for the EPA and DHA content which are good for your brain and heart health.
Some researchers think flax seed oil is also good, but I prefer my patients to consume fresh ground flax seed. Ground flax seed contains the oil but also is rich in lignans (anti-cancer compound) and is very high in fiber.
Americans do not get enough fiber and do not drink enough water. One quart of water for every 50 pounds of lean body weight a day is about right and 35-40 grams of fiber per day (15-17 is average in the US). Other supplements to consider are:
Vitamin D3 (without added vitamin A) about 1000 – 2000 IU per day if you are not getting 20 minutes of sun on your skin each day or are over age60.
Vitamin K2 - found in fermented foods like Natto, Cheeses and Sauerkraut, There is a pill form but because there were so many problems with Pills of Vitamin K1, I prefer to eat one ounce (30 grams) of aged cheese daily (that is the size of a pair of dice)
Magnesium as magnesium oxide – this can be a laxative so beware but it relaxes smooth muscle, helps with sleep and catalyzes hundreds of reactions within the body. Serum levels are not always reflective of intra-cellular levels just like potassium and can not be used to gauge need. Begin slow and work your way up to 500-600mg per day. Some experts like Dr. Larry McCleary recommend magnesium chelate (Mag malate or taurinate)
Who are the experts in this area?
Dr. Larry McCleary – he wrote The Brain Trust Program
Dr. Sharon Dormire of the University of Texas School of Nursing – look for her name on studies on this subject
Dr. John Ratey – wrote the book Spark
Dr. Mary Newport – CoconutKetones
Dr. John M. Freeman – The Ketogenic Diet
SLEEP-ZZZZZ What Happened?Posted by: | Comments
Oh for the days when we laid our head down at night and the next thing we knew, the sun was up and the birds were chirping. Are those nights gone forever? Will I have a roving bedroom forever? Well not necessarily, but like everything else, it has morphed into a different version.
The causes for sleep disturbance during menopause can be related to several factors and it is important to identify what is causing your sleeplessness, so you and your medical provider can treat and manage the problem. Reasons for sleep disturbance can include hot flashes and night sweats, development of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA), restless leg syndrome(RLS), depression, and/or the development and continuation of poor sleep habits. I will talk about the different causes and possible solutions in this article.
For most women who have not had sleep problems prior to menopause, the change in sleep pattern most likely occurs because of
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a spike in body temperature during the night. This can cause the sleep stage to shift from the deeper restorative stage to a lighter stage where awakening can occur more easily. This is believed to occur because of lower progesterone and other hormonal changes. Then, after the temperature spike, you get the hot flash- sounds familiar doesn't it?
Most of this cause of sleep disturbance happens more in the early or transition stages of menopause when hormonal fluctuations are greatest.
Later in menopause, a different pattern emerges, one of early morning awakening. This is felt to be due to changes in breathing patterns (you mean I snore?!!) and possible sleep apnea from weight gain and changes in muscle tone in neck and throat area.
So for causes from temperature issues, it is important to sleep in lighter clothing than you may have used in past, perhaps keep a fan near your bedside or use ceiling fan if you have one. A low dose aspirin before bed (if you have no stomach sensitivity to aspirin or not allergic to aspirin) will help keep body temperature down; and lastly, HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is very helpful at restoring hormonal balance so you can sleep. Some women are more progesterone sensitive and when levels fall during peri-menopause, this can trigger sleep disturbance.
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Sleep disordered breathing includes snoring and a more severe form called Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Both occur when an increase in weight causes a slackening of muscles in neck and throat, which support the back area of the roof of the mouth. When a person lays flat, this area can partially collapse over the airway and block air from entering the lung passageway. Some people are more prone to this and it can also occur in men for the same reason-weight gain and age.
The brain does not like lack of oxygen, so it prevents a deeper sleep cycle and causes alot of body movement and change of breathing patterns to increase intake of oxygen. People awaken often, and awaken in the morning feeling as if they haven't rested. OSA can have some very serious health consequences involving your heart and lungs. It is important to find out if this is the cause of your snoring.
A sleep study is the way to identify whether or not your snoring can involve OSA, and there are treatments for this including use of a device called a C-PAP machine or sometimes surgery involving the back of your mouth and throat. There are no pills to treat snoring or OSA, however, weight loss or prevention of weight gain through proper diet and exercise are often the best ways to avoid and help lessen the symptoms of OSA.
Restless leg Syndrome (RLS) is another disorder which interrupts sleep patterns and can occur in both men and women. It is more common as people age and for that reason can be more common in peri and post menopausal women.
It seems to be common within families, the cause is still unknown but several factors seem to predispose a person to this. It is felt that anemia from low iron can cause or make worse the symptoms of RLS. Other triggers include caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. Most people will describe an unpleasant sensation over the legs and an irresistible urge to move the legs for relief. It can be treated with mediation that was originally developed for Parkinson's disease, but at lower doses. As you can imagine, the constant need to move your legs because of abnormal sensations would interrupt anyone's sleep.
Lastly, there is depression, which can also interrupt a normal sleep pattern. Depression can happen in anyone, however the hormonal changes causing mood swings can make this more prevalent in menopause. Some people are more prone to depression, believed due to an inherited lower production of neurotransmitters in the areas of the brain which manage mood control, desire, motivation, emotional energy. Treatment for depression can often restore the sleep cycle to normal.
I am going to briefly mention the sleep medications. There is Melatonin, which is an OTC herbal product which purports to help sleep. Melatonin is produced by the brain at the end of the day and is triggered in part by your natural circadian rhythm (ie. I've been awake all day, time to go to sleep), sun setting, slowing of activity level. The problem with Melatonin tablets is that not everyone gets it into the brain where it needs to work. So it is not effective for everyone.
There are the newer sleep medications called Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta. These also work in the brain by blocking the awake part of the brain. They are very effective but can be habit forming and can also have undesirable side effects.
Also used are some of the older antidepressants, such as Trazadone. These can be effective and are not habit forming, however some people experience day time drowsiness with their use.
Lastly, Gabapentin has been shown to be effective for sleep in women who are experiencing hot flashes as a cause of sleep disturbance. Researchers are not sure why, but it is known to help RLS and may diminish hot flashes.
Sleep habits are very important to establish and maintain during this period of time. Avoiding caffeine after noon, not eating a heavy meal or late meal with in several hours of bedtime, and also keeping noise and lights low within 1-2 hours of bedtime. Alcohol can also interfere with sleep even though it seems to help with falling asleep. The alcohol interferes with achieving and maintaining the deeper sleep stages, so it is more easy to be awakened by noise, movement or minor discomforts. Lastly, computer use can interfere with sleepiness as it is felt that the light of the monitor can up regulate the activity of the awake center of the brain.
So, to summarize, there are many causes of sleep disturbance. You and your medical provider can discuss the possible causes contributing to your changes and treat them specifically. As always, it is important to keep that balance we have discussed in other articles, so that you do not feel over whelmed and do not gain too much weight.
It is also important to continue to foster the relationships which enrich and sustain you through your day and week, and that you continue to find time to relax and feed your own soul. This is a time to tend to yourself, and this is not a selfish thing to do. Most women spend much of their adult lives tending to other people and putting themselves last, either due to work, family both immediate and extended, and community or church commitments. It is ok to take some time for yourself, this is when it is most important.
Use this information to discuss these issues with your doctor. The reading of this material, being a member of this membership site, or leaving comments does not constitute a patient/provider relationship. You should discuss this information with your medical provider.


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Last Friday, Shane Blackmer wrote about our need to "Hold the Line." Today I want to write just about about the "line" itself.
My son, Joseph, and a friend, Noah, were working last week to put gutters on our garage. This garage is older, it wasn't built properly, and clearly has some foundation issues; because of this the roof sags.
When Joseph and Noah snapped a chalk line across the fascia board, an optical illusion occurred. If you looked straight at the garage, the line looked like a frown, it looked much higher in the middle and lower on the ends. But the line wasn't the problem. If you went over to the edge of the roof and looked down the fascia board you could clearly see that the line was straight as an arrow.
The line wasn't the problem, it was the building.
I believe there is a lesson in that! We may have built our lives on the wrong foundation, or we may not have taken the care to upkeep ourselves spiritually. As a result, lives become crooked and sag, just like that garage. In fact we may become so crooked that we begin to think the line (God's word and standard of authority) is the problem.
Trust the line. There is nothing wrong with the line. God's word is straight; we are the ones who need correcting.
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways (Psalms 119:15, ESV).
"Fix your eyes" on the line. Use the line to help point out what needs to be corrected in your life. His commandments are true (Psalm 119:142,151), sure (Psalm 119:86) and they are right (Psalm 119:128,172).

subset: commoncrawl


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Ashington Cougars U15 v Billingshurst Youth Under 15
Cougars proved too strong for Billingshurst as they cruised to a 19- 0 victory , leaving them top of the table and with a 100% record in the league this season.
A combination of the physical presence of Cavan Sopp and Liam Hutchison along with some excellent 'pass and move football' and exquisite finishing seemed to over-power the Billingshurst players in yet another impressive performance from the Cougars boys.
William Farnes x 4
Toby Ralph x 5
Thomas C x 6
Cavan Sopp x 1
Jack Evans x 1
Thomas Cordingley x 1
Liam Hutchison x 1
Only authorised club members can view team selection.


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Last weekend was our first time out at the St. Stephen's Farmers Market, and it was a huge success. We actually sold out of all of our product well before the end of the day—guess we need to stock up for the rest of the season! One of the highlights of last weekend was getting to meet a local foodie blogger who was nice enough to talk about our peanut butter on her blog. Spoiler alert: She really liked our stuff. Check it out! http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2011/05/the-best-thing-since-pb/
In addition to St. Stephen's, last night we had a lot of fun at the Whole Foods Market Farmers Market. For those of you who don't know about that one, we'll be out there every other Thursday evening from 4-7pm. Stop on by and say hello if you're out in the west end. Hopefully we won't get rained out at tomorrow's market, but if we do I'll just have more time to crank out the peanut butter for next week. See you all soon!


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Earning a commission by promoting others is not a bad idea at all and this is what is called affiliate marketing. Profits are earned by the business by promoting others. Neither time nor a lot of effort is required in this form of marketing. Selling can be done as an affiliate as soon as we have a platform to sell.
IC: www.inkthemes.com
Affiliate marketing should be done only with those products with which we are familiar. Preferably products with which one has dealt before. Never tell someone to buy products rather always recommend products based on experience. There are two ways in which this form of marketing can be practiced the first one is that one can offer an affiliate program to others or you can sign up to be another business's affiliate. There are a lot of myths that are currently revolving around affiliate marketing. Be it any case, a proper affiliate program can open a revenue avenue without much of the hassle usually associated with setting up new marketing initiatives.
Affiliate systems are not quick and easy to manage. An affiliate marketing program is a lot of work, and in most situations there's a lot of competition so you're not going to be bringing in money immediately. Business owners and entrepreneurs suppose that all you need do is setup a site and choose an affiliate to associate with and then just let it run its course.
To know more about Social Media and Digital Market courses by iMET Global, click here.
To contact iMET Global, click here.


text: On Thu, 10 Sep 1998, Michael M. Rosenblatt wrote: > Stopping at supermarkets remains a possibility, but you need to have > some way to cook some of the foods available there. A small camping > stove or steamer would help. If you need to (or want to) travel outside > of the Country such a stove is even more important. But how can you put > one in your suitcase? Supposing it uses a volatile or flammable fuel, > how can you carry this on an airplane? > > I'd like to start a thread for you folks to help us find the IDEAL > small, portable stove or steamer that you can carry anywhere. This would > help us all a lot when we travel. Here are several that I found in the CampMor Catalog (www.campmor.com). I haven't tried any of these. Maybe someone out there in cyberland has some experience with one or more of them. Sierra Zip Woodburning Camping Stove Boils a quart of water in just 4 minutes! Burns twigs, bark, pine cones, scrap wood or charcoal. Heats like a blacksmith's forge. 18,000 BTU/hr - all altitudes. Easy heat control - adjustable draft. Wt. 15 oz. Size: 4" x5" dia. Runs on 1 AA battery. CampMor cost $39.99 Kwik-Cook Metal Folding Stove Folds flat for easy carrying. Stove will hold a heavy pot. Front door and sides protect flame from wind. Burns Sterno, other canned heat or solidfied fuel. Can also be used with Nuwick Candle. Size 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 5" high when opened. Wt. 14.2 oz. Imported. Campmor cost $7.99 Esbit Pocket Stove Runs on safe, efficient, non-toxic Esbit solid fuel. Compact, lightweight, fold-down, efficient cooking appliance. Plated tensile structured steel with designed air flow slits in the base to provide a stronger flame. Supporting side projections help direct heat and can be adjusted to stabilize pots or cups. 3" x 4" x 3/4". Wt. 3 1/4 oz. Comes with 12- 1/2 oz. solid fuel tablets. Campmor cost $9.99 Fuel Refill-12pk. $5.99 Mini-trangia No. 28 Alcohol Stove Fast, reliable and simple to use. Clean burning denatured alcohol fuel is readily available here and abroad. Simmer ring/extinguisher allows easy flame control. Compactly stows in .8 liter pot with 5 1/2" lid/frying pan, wind shield and handle included. Wt. 11.6 oz. Burn time approx. 25 minutes at full burn. Boils 1 qt. of water in 7 minutes. Imported. Campmor cost $24.99 Jenny Herl | "The world has enough for everyone's need, jlherl@xxxxxxxx | but not enough for everyone's greed." University of Illinois | Urbana-Champaign | --attributed to Mahatma Ghandi (1869-1948) ------------------------------


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The upcoming novella that I will be putting up in a week now has a title...
'Critical Incident' is a tale of intrigue, homeless people, violence, and wax pencils.
Prepare to be boarded by thrilling, break-neck terror and assaulted with mystery and confectioner's gel.
While you wait for this eReader excitement, please enjoy this old song I wrote while running laps in high school gym class eleven years ago and recorded during the final years of the Bush administration.


text: Wyncote Apartments offers our residents the best of both worlds, conveniently located with access to major roads and public transportation; it also offers a peaceful beautiful suburban location with lush landscaping. Generously sized apartments with large closets and ceramic tile baths make our affordable apartments unique - there are no other communities that can compare! Contact us today - and make Wyncote Apartments your next home!


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LONDON-The catwalk was flooded on Saturday as bootmaker Hunter Original took its first steps at London Fashion Week for a spectacular show of stylish waterproofs -- just the thing for the grim weather sweeping Britain.
Under the expert eyes of his wife Stella McCartney and US Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Hunter's creative director Alasdhair Willis brought the "wellies" beloved of the royal family and Kate Moss to the fashion pack.
Splashing through the water on a black runway lined with bare trees, the models wore a variety of outerwear -- ponchos, duffle coats and down jackets -- in rubber, plastic and neoprene.
The unisex collection drew heavily on the greens and browns of traditional Hunter products, a reminder of the company's creation in Scotland almost 160 years ago and its history in equipping British soldiers in both world wars.
But there were modern shapes and explosions of colour, from metallic, electric blue or bright yellow coats to a lime green handbag and bright red boots.
The timing of the show could not have been more appropriate as parts of Britain struggle with the wettest start to the year for 250 years, and entire villages are under water. The crisis has sent politicians of all parties out into the filthy floodwater to promise help -- at least one, defence minister Philip Hammond, wearing Hunter wellies.
Hunter's famous rubber boots were displayed in varying heights at Saturday's show -- tall, mid-calf and even high-heeled -- and worn with bare legs and short trench coats, echoing the festival-chic look made famous by Moss.
In 2005, the model donned hotpants and a pair of Hunter wellies at Glastonbury, a practical defence against the variable English summer weather -- and the height of cool. At the other end of the style spectrum, Hunters are also the boots of choice of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, as well as countless farmers across the nation.
Such famous patrons did not stop the firm going into administration in 2006, a move it blamed on high fuel and manufacturing costs at its 96-year-old factory in Dumfries.
But Saturday's show, widely praised on social media, is a sign of how far the company has come since then.
It moved its production abroad, broadened its product base and now has ambitions to become a global brand, aiming to enter the Chinese market this year.
London Fashion Week continues on Sunday with shows by Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood, Mary Katrantzou and Topshop Unique.


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Little Big Planet
- Simon Hill
- 3 February 2009
With plenty of chatter about the lack of exclusive titles for the PlayStation 3 Sony were desperate to pull something out of the bag and they shipped Little Big Planet just in time for Christmas. The release was accompanied by a huge advertising campaign and the game received fantastic reviews but it failed to stand out amidst the busy pre-Christmas release roster which is a shame because it is an excellent, inventive title which is creative fun for the whole family.
Little Big Planet is a puzzle platformer with a unique and beautifully realised visual style, some great co-operative game-play and a truly amazing level of customisation. Players take control of characters known as Sackpeople and these super cute avatars are hugely expressive with a terrific range of fluid animation and the ability to express emotions. The basic game-play challenges players to negotiate their way through side scrolling environments and they can jump, drag objects in order to climb higher and even swing on rotating scenery or bounce on trampolines to propel themselves into the air. There are simple puzzles to solve along the way, as well as races and mini-games. The co-operative play offers the most fun as it allows you to help or hinder family and friends.
The game features a huge range of customisation and, via a simple menu known as a Popit, you can select various images and stick them onto the environment. You collect a huge range of images as you progress and can even add your own into the game using the Eye Toy. The Sackpeople can also be tweaked to your heart's content and players can choose what material they are made of and what clothes and accessories they should wear. The level editor allows you to create your own levels from basic shapes and materials and you can create mechanisms and triggers to provide a game-play challenge. The game has 50 levels to complete but since you can download user created levels via the Sony network or create your own it is infinitely expandable.
This is a highly polished title which is easy to pick up for people of all ages. It also has a warm and gentle sense of humour which is brought to life through the narration of Stephen Fry. It will provoke laughter in adults and spark the creativity of youngsters and for PS3 owners this is an essential purchase.


text: Flawless! Did you wake up like dis? By Ian Howley @IanHowley EDITOR'S LETTER #146 Have you met our model this issue? His name is Matt. He's from Cornwall, is tall, built, handsome and speaks with an adorable Cornish accent. In my short time talking to Matt on the FS shoot he came across as a lovely guy who just happens to be unbelievably attractive. The reason I asked Matt to model for the body image issue was because when we went through the results of the 'Big Gay Body Image Survey' what we found was that if you were to take all the top answers to 'what do you look for most in a guy?' Matt's features came out on top – tall, muscles, facial hair, hairy, etc. This is why we used him. This is what gay men told us what they want to see. Of course we could have got a model who has a bit of a belly and made him look all sad and angry that he doesn't have a six pack, but that would have been tokenistic, and I feel, wrong for us to do. Do you think it's only 'fat', 'overweight' or 'skinny' guys who has body image issues? Look at Matt. Do you think he's happy with his body? I don't know the answer to this, because I never thought to ask him, but wouldn't you be? I know I would. During the shoot I asked Matt to eat some crisps so we had a shot to go with any stats to do with food. Matt's face turned a little but he did it. After he ate the crisps he muttered the words 'I feel guilty eating them'. I thought to myself, there's not a pick on you, you can probably eat whatever you want and it doesn't matter. But there he was, in a split second, feeling guilty about eating a handful of crisps. If there was one thing we learned from doing this issue it's that everyone has a body image issue and there is no one-quick-fix way to solve it. Everyone knows that being gay can be difficult at times. There's a spotlight on us and every flaw we have is magnified at a higher level than the straight community. So when it comes to body image it's only natural that it's going to be a big issue for us. I recently had a Twitter conversation with a doctor who thought body shaming was a good thing. He believed that the NHS is under a strain from obese people draining the system and anything that helps people to lose weight is a good thing – including body shaming. And I'm sure there are many out there that would agree with him. But not me. I think body shaming is actually quite harmful. Here's why. You may shame someone into losing weight but if you don't 'fix' the reason they became fat in the first place you are just papering over the cracks. Recent research shows that the vast majority of people who lose a lot of weight tend to put it back on and in many cases become bigger than they were. This is because they never tackled the issue that made them 'fat' in the first place. And that's what's wrong with the gay community. I believe we are a community who like to paper over the cracks and don't tackle our issues head on. I told the doctor that I believe that there would be more value in focusing on increasing gay men's self-esteem rather than pointing them to a gym. I said this because if you can create confident people then you have a better chance of creating a gay community that values themselves and their health – including mental health, sexual health and body image. I believe that if young gay men were given the tools to become well-rounded adults we would not be seeing many of the problems that affect the gay community today. There's a reason why we drink more, smoke more, do more drugs, and taker greater sexual risks. When people value themselves they feel empowered to make better choices. When gay men don't value themselves they are less likely to care about their health and looks. And this leads me to our new issue. It's about body image (duh) and the pressures the gay community put on ourselves to look 'flawless'. I have no idea what the outcome of this issue will be but if we can get people to think about their bodies, self-esteem and being OK with not looking 'flawless' then we may become a healthier community for it. Until next time, Ian Howley, Editor @IanHowley


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Athens, Greece, July 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FreeSeas Announces Debt Purchase and Settlement Agreement with $20 Million Loan Forgiveness
Athens, Greece, July 10, 2013 -- FreeSeas Inc. (Nasdaq CM: FREE) ("FreeSeas'' or the "Company''), a transporter of dry-bulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of a fleet of six Handysize vessels and one Handymax vessel, announced today that it has entered into a agreement (the "Agreement") among Deutsche Bank Nederland N.V. ( "Deutsche Bank"), the Company, various wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company and with a Magna Group affiliate fund, Hanover Holdings I, LLC (the "Investor"), headquartered in New York, NY.
Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Investor has agreed to purchase USD 10,500,000 of outstanding indebtedness owed by the Company to Deutsche Bank, out of a total outstanding amount owed of USD 29,958,205.28, subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions set forth in the Agreement. Upon payment in full of the purchase amount of $10,500,000 by the Investor to Deutsche Bank in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement, the remaining outstanding indebtedness of the Company and its subsidiaries to Deutsche Bank shall be forgiven, and the mortgages of both of its two security vessels shall be discharged.
The Agreement does not become effective until the Investor deposits in escrow an amount of USD 2,500,000 plus all reasonably incurred legal fees and expenses and the parties enter into an escrow agreement. In the event that the funds are not deposited or the escrow agreement is not entered into within 20 trading days, the Agreement dissolves immediately. In addition, the Agreement will automatically terminate upon the occurrence of certain events set forth in the Agreement.
Mr. Ion G. Varouxakis, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company made the following comments: "After a prolonged period of tortured uncertainty, we are particularly pleased to enter into this Agreement, which will remove approximately USD 30 million of secured debt from our books. In conjunction with action taken since the beginning of the year, the majority of our trade debt and a third of our bank debt will have been exchanged for equity upon completion of this Agreement. This development shall, we hope, accelerate our discussions with our other Lenders for a similar realistic relief and a continued support of our efforts. Most importantly, under the extremely adverse circumstances we have been facing, we firmly believe this development is optimal for our shareholders for whom we are striving to extract maximum value; it also is the least onerous for our lending partners." Mr. Varouxakis added: "We would like to thank Deutsche Bank for their frank cooperation and realistic vision, our remaining banking partners, as well as our numerous trade and business partners who have provided us with their invaluable support and their dedicated patience throughout this long period."
Mr. Alexandros Mylonas, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, added: "Since the beginning of the year we have already swapped USD 4.8 million of trade debt into equity. This time, the significance of this transaction on our balance sheet is substantial. Upon completion of this Agreement, our total bank debt is expected to be reduced from approximately USD 89.2 million on December 31, 2012 to USD 59.7 million, two of our vessels will be debt free, and USD 1 million in interest charges are expected to be reduced per year. We also expect to post significant one-off gains from the USD 19.5 million debt forgiveness. Based upon our improved balance sheet after this transaction, we intend to seek funding for additional working capital in order to weather the adverse conditions still present in our industry."
Mr. Joshua Sason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Magna Group, noted: "We approach this transaction and the work we've done with the management of FreeSeas with great pride, and view the agreement with Deutsche Bank as a significant milestone in the restructuring and advancement of the company. The expected material reduction in debt, release of two vessels from mortgage encumbrance upon full payment of the settlement amount and annual interest expense savings should enable FreeSeas to be in a substantially stronger business position."
About FreeSeas Inc.
FreeSeas Inc. is a Marshall Islands corporation with principal offices in Athens, Greece. FreeSeas is engaged in the transportation of drybulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of drybulk carriers. Currently, it has a fleet of Handysize and Handymax vessels. FreeSeas' common stock trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol FREE. Risks and uncertainties are described in reports filed by FreeSeas Inc. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be obtained free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. For more information about FreeSeas Inc., please visit the corporate website, www.freeseas.gr.
About Magna Group
Magna Group is a leading alternative investment firm that makes innovative structured investments and provides financial partnership to its portfolio companies; public and private, domestic and international. With a focus on the small and lower-middle markets, Magna Group maintains an active long portfolio of over 40 emerging growth and development stage companies at any given time. As a financial partner, Magna Group prioritizes relationship and works closely with portfolio companies to develop customized equity, debt and hybrid investment solutions. Please visit www.magnagroupcapital.com for more information.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events and the Company's growth strategy and measures to implement such strategy. Words such as ''expects,'' ''intends,'' ''plans,'' ''believes,'' ''anticipates,'' ''hopes,'' ''estimates,'' and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, changes in the demand for dry bulk vessels; competitive factors in the market in which the Company operates; risks associated with operations outside the United States; and other factors listed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
Contact Information:
FreeSeas Inc.
Alexandros Mylonas
Chief Financial Officer
Fax: 011-30-210-429-10-10
Source:FreeSeas Inc.


text:
Young artists from the Pocono area will present "A Night at the Opera," an evening of scenes from the worlds' best-loved operas, in the sanctuary of Mountainhome United Methodist Church, routes 191 and 390, Mountainhome.
Young artists from the Pocono area will present "A Night at the Opera," an evening of scenes from the worlds' best-loved operas, in the sanctuary of Mountainhome United Methodist Church, routes 191 and 390, Mountainhome.
Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The performers are all graduates of Pocono-area high schools and are college students or will attend college as freshmen this fall.
The program includes many favorites such as "La Bohéme," "Madame Butterfly," "The Mikado" and "Marriage of Figaro." The cast will also sing some favorite choruses, such as "The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" from "Nabucco" and the brindisi from "La Traviata."
An added plus this year is that the performance is upstairs in the sanctuary, where it is air-conditioned. Also, the seats are comfortably padded and there are no posts to block the sight lines of the audience. All the scenes will be staged and in costume, and while most are in English, a few will be sung in their original language.
The participating singers are: Matthew Cavanaugh, Colin Cummings, Andrew Khouri, Carolyn Barber, Deanna Badik, Erin MacMillan, Najwa Parkins, Corinne Desterdick, Adriana Stigliano and Emily Dus.
Four high school interns are also performing this year: Matthew Catrillo, Julian Primiano, Katie Kaiser and Bailey Normann. Pianist will be Reese Revak.
All seats are $10. The cast is donating 50 tickets to Mountainhome United Methodist for its parsonage roof fund. To reserve tickets, call (570) 328-5864.
BookHouse at Eastern Monroe Public Library will present an evening with pianist Matt McCabe at 7:30 p.m. today. McCabe will perform a solo piano concert of jazz and blues.
McCabe has performed with an array of musical artists, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Ruth Brown, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Boz Scaggs, LaVern Baker, Huey Lewis, Big Joe Turner and Herb Ellis, among many others. He has played on the same bill with a host of other legends, including B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Etta James, Joni Mitchell, Shirley Horn and John Lee Hooker.
McCabe has toured extensively with the Duke Robillard Band. Prior to that, he toured with the Grammy Award-winning Roomful of Blues for six years. McCabe resides in Lowell, Mass.
Doors open at 7 p.m., and admission is free. Donations are welcome, and refreshments will be available for a small charge. Weather permitting, the library's garden area will be open prior to the performance and during intermission.
All BookHouse programs take place in the Edinger Community Room of Eastern Monroe Public Library, 1002 N. Ninth St., Stroudsburg. For information, call Rob Ramos at (570) 421-0800, ext. 30, or visit www.monroepl.org/bookhouse.html.
The African-American Network of the Poconos is sponsoring the Juneteenth Festival to be held noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at Lehman Township Community Park off Route 209 North, Bushkill.
The Juneteenth Festival is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, started in 1865.
The festival will feature food and drink, games, entertainment, vendors, face painting and T-shirts. Admission is free.
For information, call (570) 588-5065.


text:
Exo Terra Heat Cable
Temporarily Out of Stock
Product has been added to cart
- Conductive heat source designed for reptiles and amphibians
- Provides heat exactly where necessary
- Double silicon insulation guarantees absolute safety
- Durable, flexible, and water resistant
- Ideal for the heating of racking systems
The Exo Terra Heat Cable enables heat to be provided right where necessary in terrariums.
The best use of the heat cable is underneath the Exo Terra Terrarium to heat specific zones on the terrarium floor. It can also be used in breeding racks to heat a number of enclosures at once. Durable, flexible, and water resistant, the Exo Terra Heat Cable can be used in numerous ways by the professional or the terrarium hobbyist. The Exo Terra Heating Cable guarantees total safety with it's double silicon insulation.


text:
The Shakespeare Thefts
Zoom View
Published in 1623, the 750 copies of the first edition of William Shakespeare's collected works, known as the First Folio, has been sought after relentlessly by kings, earls, and bibliophiles. In his effort to track down the extant 232 copies renowned Shakespeare scholar Eric Rasmussen and his team of First Folio hunters embarked on an incredible adventure around the world. This fast-paced narrative takes us from the court rooms of England to high-security vaults in the rare book rooms of Japan, encountering thieves, reclusive librarians, and eccentric billionaires along the way, all lusting for one of the world's most valuable books.
This fascinating account explores how manuscript hunters identify a book's past through distinguishing marks: a bullet hole, desecrated pages, and splashes of red that resemble blood; and how a book's location and condition can reveal its story. Part literary detective story, part Shakespearean lore, The Shakespeare Thefts is a rare glimpse between the covers of one of the most coveted books in the world.
Eric Rasmussen, 2012, Paperback, 240 Pages. ISBN-13: 978-0-230-34167-8.


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Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke, said that focus must be placed on value-added activities in the cocoa industry in order to move the sector forward.
He was speaking at the launch of the Re-engineering the Cocoa Rural Economy through Agro-processing Eco-Tourism and Entrepreneurship Project (RECREATE) on March 20 at the Ministry's Hope Gardens headquarters in Kingston.
While expressing appreciation to the European Union (EU) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for helping to boost cocoa production over the past two years, Mr. Clarke stated that, "though we are excited about the increase in production…we ought not to be exporting cocoa beans and then importing expensive chocolate bars".
He said the Government is therefore committed to the divestment of the commercial assets of the Cocoa Industry Board and the deregulation of the marketing of cocoa, in order to attract investment in the production of higher value products.
"The process has begun, and we are moving full speed ahead…we are however conscious that value-added activities must be based on a firm production foundation (therefore) throughput must be maintained and production at the primary level must be efficient if we are going to compete," the Minister stated.
Meanwhile, he noted that over the past two years, through the EU and the USAID, nearly 2,000 acres of cocoa were rehabilitated, benefitting some 520 farmers, and providing substantial support to the Cocoa Growers Association.
"This has had the impact of moving production up substantially, with production in the first quarter of this crop up to December 2011, surpassing the total crop (for) the year before," Mr. Clarke said.
He pointed out that although cocoa production has declined significantly from previous years, approximately 200 tonnes were produced last year. This is against the background of a guaranteed market of 14,000 tonnes, and the doubling of cocoa prices on the world market between 2005 and 2010.
RECREATE is a €350,000 EU-funded project, which will benefit the parishes of St. Thomas, St. Mary, St. James, St. Catherine, Clarendon, and Portland, up to 2013. Extra special varieties now at Orange River, St. Mary and Montpelier, St. James will be improved and expanded, while private entrepreneurs will be encouraged to operate nurseries.
A total of 60 persons are to be trained and employed in nursery-related activities, with the nurseries producing some 200,000 plants for the planting of 500 new acres, which could in five years, produce 600 metric tonnes of cocoa for export.
Mr. Clarke noted that in the planting phase of the project, some 50 persons are to be employed, and some 300 acres are to be rehabilitated in Clarendon and St. Catherine.
He further informed that, "as we try to assist in the development of the entrepreneurial spirit in the project areas, approximately 25 persons will be trained in business basics and entrepreneurship mainly in the cottage industry and in value-added areas". Overall, close to 200 persons will be trained and employed in the various phases of the project.
Minister Clarke pointed out that Jamaica's cocoa is among the best in the world, and is in fact, among only eight countries with the designation of "fine flavoured" cocoa.
The launch also featured the handing over ceremony for beneficiaries of a previous coco rehabilitation project, which was also funded by the EU.
By Alphea Saunders, JIS Reporter


text:
The auctions for these vintage photos ended some time ago.
Jerry Beck passed them onto Martha Sigall and she was kind enough to ID who she could in them.
This first one is of Bob Clampett's black-and-white Looney Tunes unit.
TOP ROW: Bob Cannon, Leahdora DaSilva, Ernest Gee, Izzy Ellis, Bob Clampett, George Jordan, Helen Curry, Dick Thomas, Kay Vallejo, Lu Guarnier, Dick Jones (Chuck's brother, partially hidden), Dorothy Worth, Mary Tebb, Silvia Rogers, Vannie Baker, Virginia Slaughter, Onita _______ (Martha couldn't recall her last name) and Unknown.
Sitting is Left to Right: Sid Farren, John Carey, Jack MacLaughlan, Vive Risto and Leon Redman.
She said the photo must be from 1938 because Leahdora DaSilva died in 1939 of TB of the Spine. Slyvia Rogers married Al Tarter (The guy with mustasche and glasses in the photo below) and they moved to England.
Here's some real animator manliness! I wish I knew who else were in these hysterical gag photos.
Thanks for the IDs, Martha! You're one of the good ones.


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7 / Domestic Life
|Artist / Origin
Turkmen (Turkoman) artist
Region: Russia, Central and North Asia
19th century
Period: 1800 CE - 1900 CE
Medium: Textiles and Fiber Arts
|H: approx. 52 in. (132 cm.), W: approx. 60 in. (152 cm.)
|De Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
|Courtesy of De Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of George and Marie Hecksher
expert perspective
|Jeff SpurrIslamic and Middle East Specialist, Harvard University Fine Arts Library
expert perspective
It's hard to exaggerate the role of textiles, broadly defined, in the lives of the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of Central Asia since essentially everything about their society was defined by some sort of textile—the felts that were used to cover the yurt; the tent bands that were used inside and out to keep the felts in place; the absence of what we would call, furniture, so that you would have amongst the Turkmen, pile carpets on the floors for people to sit on; the large piles of bedding, which during the day, would be placed at the back of the tent, often with decorative textiles placed in front of them to add life to the interior; the many bags that were used to contain anything needing containing in their cultures; the everyday and ceremonial costumes worn by these people, which gave complex signs as to status, gender, age, and the like. Every function that one can imagine being basic to the lifestyle of these people required typically some sort of textile to sustain it.
To enter a yurt, you would have to move aside either a felt tent flap or, amongst the Turkmen in some cases, the woven pile textile called the ensi. The ensi is a pile, a rectangular pile sort of door, tent door, that varied from Turkoman group to Turkoman group in its specific character. But one can always tell an ensi by its structure, which is highly rectilinear, sometimes confused by people with prayer rugs, given that it has a directional quality with a top and a bottom, and sometimes a little feature that looks slightly niche-like at the top. But like with many things, woven rugs, woven by the Turkmen, when they began to weave heavily for market, in the late nineteenth century, these ensis suddenly grew in size to losing their actual function and simply becoming an appealing rug to sell ultimately to customers in Europe and America."


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A day after a former D.C. Council member was sentenced to prison, federal prosecutors say they're aggressively pursuing other allegations of corruption in the city government.
Mayor Vincent Gray and Council Chairman Kwame Brown are still under the microscope, and U.S. Attorney for the District Ronald Machen told the WAMU Politics Hour friday that the Harry Thomas Jr. case -- the former council member got 38 months in prison for massive theft -- is a warning to all public officials to act with integrity and honor and to expect to be held accountable for their actions..
Agents aggressively are pursuing year-old investigations into the campaigns of Gray and Brown.
"We feel an obligation to move quickly, but also carefully," Machen said. "We know there's a sense of urgency. My office, my prosecutors are working very hard -- a lot of late nights, long weekends. But we have a very important job to do and we can only move forward once we examine all the facts."
Brown and Gray both have denied wrongdoing.
Machen said the reality of prison has settled in for Thomas.
"If you spend a day in jail, one day is one day too many for most of us," Machen said. "I think most individuals are frightened about that."
There's no parole in the federal prison system. Harry Thomas Jr. will likely serve at least a full 30 months in prison, and he's expected to be told when and where to report to start serving that sentence within about 6 weeks.


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NY Knicks, Ragtime – Callie
Williamsburg BK, Next to Normal, and new friends! –Victoria
Frick Museum, free ice skating in Bryant Park, Billy Elliot – Nate
Our Town, Café Habana, MoMA – Jenny
Ducks in Central Park, the fact that it's never dark –Dana
Art openings! Hamlet, map tour assignment – Sarah
Brighton Beach Memoirs, Jazz at Lincoln Center, student tours of NY—Lauren G
Wandering the galleries of the MoMA for inspiration, getting lost and finding my way in NYC—Maya
Brighton Beach Memoirs, NYU course, Jazz at Lincoln Center—Anna R
Brighton Beach Memoirs, Brooklyn Bridge – Nanjie
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Hudson River Waterfront — Mark
Free museum pass, Idiot Savant at the Public, good food! –Alex
Central Park, Dizzy's Club Cola—anon
The architecture and the fashion—Wonnie
Chelsea Market, Magnolia, Tao, Bryant Park, Washington Square Park, Columbus Circle, MoMA – Jee
Christopher Wheeldon at City Center, Central Park, meeting new friends! – Lauren H
American Museum of Natural History, Brighton Beach Memoirs, finding personal space – anon


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Missy Martinez seduced her new gardener and invited him into her living room, to check out some of his skills he doesn't need for a job he was hired for
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Corridor Planning
Until the late 1990's flood control fixes were implemented on a project by project basis which often resulted in the creation of additional damage or the exacerbation of existing problems elsewhere in the watershed. In 1999, the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) implemented a corridor planning process
and a fluvial erosion risk assessment and mapping process.
Since then, the Friends of the Winooski River has been an active participant in the development of corridor plans including the North Branch and its tributaries; Stevens/Jail Branch; Kingsbury Branch/Pekin Brook; and the entire mainstem from Montpelier to Cabot.
Understanding a River's Natural Tendencies Is Key to the Corridor Planning Process
Rivers and streams meander across their valleys. The amount of natural movement is influenced by the amount of water carried, the geology and soils a river flows through, and the shape and slope of its valley. Each stream channel is formed, maintained, and altered by the stream itself through the processes of erosion and deposition of sediment. Over time the stream establishes a channel shape that accommodates its spring thaws and summer droughts. The river is in a state of 'dynamic equilibrium'. The river is moving and changing, but generally in a slow and predictable manner.
The natural tendency of streams to adjust and move has been altered by human activities within the stream channels and their corridors as well as throughout their watersheds. Traditional land uses, river management techniques, and flood recovery efforts have involved the straightening, steepening, and down-cutting of rivers. For most Vermont streams, a combination of watershed, floodplain, and channel modifications over the past 150 years has led to major channel adjustments that are still happening today.
The river corridor planning process is a systematic approach to understanding the forces impacting a particular stretch of stream and how to best manage and protect a stream for multiple uses. Many of our traditional approaches to controlling streams such as dredging, straightening, armoring etc may alleviate the immediate issue at a specific location. However, they often have downstream and/or long term adverse impacts.
The goal of the river corridor plan is to recommend strategies and specific projects that will get us out of the expensive and destructive cycle we are currently in with our streams and rivers.
Results of Corridor Planning Process
There are two primary products from the corridor planning process. One is the river corridor plan which is a detailed document that describes the physical conditions of the stream. The other is a Fluvial Erosion Hazard (FEH) map. A river corridor plan provides background information on the river system and a detailed inventory and description of impacts or 'stressors' that are affecting the river's natural equilibrium. Background information includes geographic setting (land use history, political jurisdictions etc), geology and soils, hydrology (stream statistics, flood history) and ecologic setting.
Stressors include land use changes such as the loss of riparian vegetation, impervious surfaces, ineffectual storm water management, straightening, bank
armoring, dredging etc. Most importantly, the plan identifies strategies and projects that will help restore or maintain the stream's natural functions, protect human lives and infrastructure and protect habitat and water quality. The strategies and projects consider the background information and stressors, but are presented on a reach basis. A reach is not a fixed length but is determined by changes in land use, valley shape, etc.
Friends of the Winooski River uses these plans in determining where to focus our efforts within a particular section of the watershed. We may choose to plant riparian buffers to help slow bank erosion or we may work with municipalities to
mitigate erosion resulting from stormwater run-off.
Because the corridor plans and many of the other database resources available to communities to help them with planning are not organized on a town by town basis, the Friends will be piloting a Town Water Quality Action Plan in 2010 to help conservation commissions and other municipal entities incorporate water quality planning into their master plans.
The other main product of a corridor plan is the FEH map. While some flood losses are caused by inundation (i.e. waters rise, fill, and damage low-lying
structures), most flood losses in Vermont are caused by "fluvial erosion," Fluvial erosionis erosion caused by rivers and streams, and can range from gradual bank erosion to catastrophic changes in river channel location and dimension during flood events. One reason for the high cost and frequency of damages associated with fluvial erosion is Vermont's geography. Vermont is a mountainous state of narrow valleys and powerful, flashy rivers and streams. The climate is extreme, with intense rainstorms, deep snows, and destructive ice jams.
As noted previously in this article, many of the traditional practices of managing rivers simply lead to a cycle of implementing costly site specific projects that
often exacerbate problems and cause more damage. In recognition of this problem, the Vermont General Assembly directed the ANR to identify options for state flood control policy and a state flood control program. ANR developed the corridor planning process and the FEH risk assessment and mapping process.
The FEH maps identify the location and intensity of fluvial erosion hazards, as well as the area needed by a river to maintain equilibrium. Local governments can use the maps to define and adopt an FEH zone that will protect citizens and their property by mitigating (reducing or moderating) fluvial erosion hazards. Some fluvial erosion hazard mitigation activities can even lead to additional benefits that are harder to put a price tag on, like healthier rivers, enhanced recreational opportunities, improved aesthetics, and better wildlife habitat.
A number of towns in Vermont have adopted an FEH zoning ordinance including Northfield, Sharon, Stowe and Bolton. The Vermont League of Cities And Towns provides assistance to communities interested in pursuing these ordinances.
If you are interested, you can view existing corridor plans on the state's website. The Friends are also a co-leader on project to develop a guide to stream processes and corridor planning. The guide will be published in late 2011. For those of you who already know what sorts of issues exist within your community or on your land you can view the Friends Land Owner Assistance Guide to locate financial, technical and educational resources for improving the river's ability to determine its natural course.


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Castleville game Quinn is a traveling Bard, poet and singer. After minutes with him, you are smiling and comfortable, listening intently to his latest ballad of castle ville adventure and romance. When he sings, maidens swoon and men are moved to manly tears.
|Castleville Game Quinn Quest Guides
As with any great teller of tales, Castle ville Quinn enjoys the drink. Sadly, this occasionally causes a forgotten lyric or three. In these situations, Quinn relies on his natural charm, tossing out random words or asking the audience for suggestions, often with amusing results.
With his surplus of wit and talent, it was only a matter of time before Quinn rose to fame, receiving an exclusive performance contract in a high-class Kingdom far away. It was there that he fell in love and became engaged. Just as it seemed that all his dreams were coming true, tragedy struck. While he was on tour performing for his fans, the Gloom engulfed the Kingdom, shrouding his home and his fiancée in its depths.
Quinn's attempts to rescue his love have, so far, proved unsuccessful. Now he travels the lands, skirting the Gloom and Beasties, spreading news and information, anything he can do to aid the fight against the Dark One and eventually reunite with his beloved.


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Someone isn't playing nice at PS 42 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and it's not the kids. It seems that parents are royally peeved after the Dino Eli Gallery across the street from the elementary school put up nude photos of a woman as part of an art installation right smack in the front window that faces the school.
It lines up like this: Parents think it's obscene, Dino Eli (the gallery owner) thinks it's art. The two sides are at an impasse, as Eli says they just can't see eye to eye.
As someone who holds an art history degree and drives by XXX billboards while taking my kids to school in Hollywood, I've got a dog in this race. Eli, you're behaving worse than a second grader here, and you need to get off your pompous art horse.
Of course the photographs are art and are not offensive to the general public. Naturally, an art gallery will be displaying art. I don't even fault Eli for putting in the installation in his window facing the grade school. But what the owner should have done after receiving the complaint was to be considerate to his neighbors.
You can move things around in a gallery; in fact, installations by their very nature are movable. Instead of arguing with a school about what is obscene and what is art, why not consider that parents of tiny children may want to shield them for a little while longer. What's the big deal? You've got more art in that gallery, right?
I know the Lower East Side of Manhattan isn't exactly kid-friendly territory, but children and adults have been co-existing in all Manhattan neighborhoods for, like, ever. It's only recently that anyone who dares to ask consideration for the children gets labelled an entitled breeder.
None of us in urban areas can control the environment, nor would we want to. After all, vibrant city life is what attracts many of us to these areas in the first place. But asking to adjust some pictures that contain adult content away from the front door of an elementary school isn't the same thing as starting a campaign to close all of the strip clubs in your area in case your children may catch a glimpse.
Be a good neighbor, Eli, and move the boobs.
Do you think the gallery owner or the parents are in the right here?
Image via John Loney/Flickr


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The ones you dream about are the ones you love – that's what Gregory's nine-year-old sister tells him in Gregory's Girl, so it must be true.
So who has Ash Harrison been dreaming about last night?
Why, it's only his BBBFF, Helen Wood!
(Yes, BBBFF - keep up.)
The Mancunian male model doesn't seem all that keen to reveal the subtle details of his dream either, but we do know that he was breathing heavily during the night.
You'll have to watch the video for the full lowdown on Ash's nocturnal head movie, but what we will say is that Pauline Bennett was involved.
Maybe you won't want to watch it now…
Did you know we have a TV & film page on Facebook? Check us out here.


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The other day just like always I have been roaming the streets looking for the fresh meat. Imagine my surprise when I noticed a hot brunette babe with a very familiar face. I recognized the famous adult movie actress from Germany Lulu Gun, mostly thanks to her famous plump lips that can make any dick stay hard all night long. I invited her to drink coffee and asked to record a videoblog with me. She turned out to be so open-minded that agreed to do more than posing for a camera. A long story short, I experienced her famous deepthroat blowjob on my dick. She is very skillful and playful, and that tongue moves the babe makes..ahh. We played all night licking each other like horny teenagers. Hope for another date with Lullu!
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"Our mission is to recreate history, not rewrite it"
Behind the latest evolutions of the French law regarding absinthe, there is a name often quoted. Even though he is much more known for being the creator of one of the most acclaimed absinthes line, namely the Jade line, Theodore A. Breaux often takes part in scientific, educative and legal ventures in the interest of the green fairy. He accepted to answer our questions following the publication of an amendment to a French law proposal that would lead to the repeal of the 1915 ban on absinthe in France.
Gazette de l'absinthe : Hi Ted,
first of all, for some of our readers who may not know you, a brief reminder. Originaly a Lousiana-born bio-chemist, you are currently master distiller at the Combier distillery in Saumur, where you crafted fine spirits like Perique, a liqueur made from a fine tobacco, the recent Lucid absinthe you elaborated for the US market, and of course the acclaimed Jade Absinthe line.
There have been several legal issues with absinthe in France :
- The 1988 decreet
- Various evolutions on the application of the aforementioned decree (with the "versinthe" case) around 1999
- The time when the French customs wanted to label absinthe-related products as "anisés", which would have limited the maximum proof to about 90
- The new 2009 decree, fixing the legal issue with the fenchone and pinocamphone levels
- and of course the amendment to the future law of simplification of the French law.
In which of them did you take part ? And what led you to take part in these fights ?
I have read that your legal counsel on these issues is M. de Senihles, from the Nixon Peabody law firm. How did you meet, and how did you get him interested in such kind of legal affairs ?
You may be aware that I was instrumental in the effort to overturn the U.S. ban on absinthe in March, 2007 together with Mr. Jared Gurfein (Viridian Spirits, NY) and sharp legal minds from Nixon Peabody. Mr. Arnaud de Senilhes was recommended as someone in France who would take an interest in this situation, and who would have a very good chance of getting this case presented to the right persons in the French government. Our success in the U.S. provided us with confidence in dealing with the French matter. When science is on one's side, it makes for a strong argument.
How does it work between you and M. Franck Choisne (head of the Combier Distillery) regarding this kind of legal actions ? Are you accomplices in everything, or does each one of you have his special tasks and skills set ?
Mr. Choisne and I have common interests in these legal actions. We are both engaged in domestic and international business, and we do not like our business being affected by regulations we feel are unfair. He has his talents, and I have mine. His talents are beneficial to my interests, and mine are beneficial to his. He has done much to support my business, and I have done what I can to bring much deserved attention to his wonderful historic distillery.
Now, regarding the repeal of the 1915 law, I would like to understand the architecture of the "coup". First of all, who, besides MM. Senhiles and Choisne was involved, and how ? We have heard of MM. David Nathan Maister and François Guy, is it correct to think they took part in this action ? I am thinking specifically about the open letter to absinthe producers you co-signed.
Well, of course I was directly involved, as this decree affected my craft more than anyone. I provided the science review that served as the foundation of the legal argument. Mr. Choisne provided complete administrative and professional support, and Mr. Senilhes provided the legal machine. Also, we have to give credit to Mr. Jared Gurfein (Viridian Spirits, NY) for his valuable assistance in this effort. After all, if French products are claimed to be compromised by competitors in other markets, this would affect anyone who represents French products, even in the U.S.
The swiss IGP was very instrumental in the achievement of an amendment proposal. Was it a key trigger, a point of leverage in an action that has been going for quite some time before, or … A master plan of some sort, involving the Swiss ?
We understand the reasons for the Swiss IGP filing, but this is the wrong way to do it for many reasons. We were surprised by this, and while we understand the Swiss want to keep inferior industrial products out of the Swiss market, it is unfair that the Swiss would be able to sell their products everywhere, while I would no longer be able to sell my products in Switzerland, despite the fact that my products meet all the criteria of the Swiss definition of absinthe. The Swiss need our help in their effort as much as we need their help in our efforts outside of Switzerland. For the Swiss to throw other artisan producers out with the garbage is like Belgian beer producers to file an IGP to reserve "beer" only for them and claim that German beers can no longer be labeled as "beer". Absinthe cannot be tied to one small geographical region, simply because it was produced in several countries throughout history.
The Swiss IGP provided us with the opportunity to make a legal case to overturn the illegality problem of "absinthe" in France, where absinthe is no longer banned by content, only in name. This makes no sense. Mr. Senilhes was very efficient in seizing the moment, and this was done with the support of the FFS.
Our sources tell us that the amendment was proposed through the Federation Francaise des Spiritueux and with added pressure from Pernod Ricard. Did the giant actually answer to your wake up call (in other terms, did you "poke the beast"), or did you meet their legal teams on the way ? Or am I getting this completely wrong ?
I have no idea of P-R's interest or involvement, so I cannot comment.
On to other topics : don't you find it quite Ironic that it takes an American to change the French law regarding a part of the French culture and history ? How do you explain that ?
Is also ironic that my family name (Breaux) came originally from the Loire and Bordeaux, and another part of my family (Dubs) came from the Doubs area in Switzerland?
Perhaps it seems strange because I'm an American, but I believe in challenging something I feel is unfair and unjust. Where others may be content to find a way around an obstacle, I believe in removing it. For me to go around that obstacle would be to rewrite history, and this goes against my principles. This legal effort, although successful, has cost us much money and time. We have asked nothing from other French distillers in this fight, and we have received nothing. All we ask is for proper credit and a little appreciation for this gift.
And apart from that all, could you tell us about other actions you are leading to break the bad reputation of absinthe (eg. thujone.info ) ?
I began researching absinthe 17 years ago, and have invested unceasing effort and time into returning this tradition to its Franco-Swiss roots. I have witnessed this tradition being hijacked by profiteers from various countries, and pillaged by those who attempt to rewrite history in attempts to defraud consumers. Fortunately, with ongoing help from my peers in the industry who are also historians, we are turning the tide of misinformation. Distillation makes up only a small part of my professional life. Most of my travels are in the name of education, and I travel throughout the U.S. and other countries almost constantly to educate the spirits industry and consumers about absinthe.
To conclude, I suppose that things will not stop with the repeal of the ban. Some French absintheurs fear that this repeal would pave the way for the mass production/importation of "sub-products" (for example czechsinthe). Do you have plans to counter that ? Something in the lines of an AOC (along the lines of what François Guy is working on) ? Or do you think it may be a good thing ? And in case you would think about a regulation, how would you imagine it ? Something has harsh as the swiss IGP, or more "open minded" ? And in that case, how would you define that ?
There is an amusing American quote: "We have met the enemy, and he is us." What French absintheurs surely realize is there are industrial, inferior 'absinthes' being produced France and marketed as 'original' and 'authentic' in France and elsewhere, so the damage is already being done. An AOC for absinthe would an isolationist action that attempts to serve some while excluding others, and is similar to the Swiss IGP petition. It solves a problem for a few and creates a problem for everyone else. The first step to controlling the situation is to remove the illegality of the word "absinthe". Already you have seen the progress made with that issue.
Next, those of us in the industry who have a passion for distilling absinthe must work together to petition for an EU-wide legal definition of absinthe that should be partly modeled on the Swiss definition to provide for the best chance of acceptance. This must consist of at least two parts, one part that is very basic to suit the industrial interests (which is unfortunate but necessary), and another part that adopts the Swiss definition for those of us who invest our time and energy in preserving our artisanal craft. This gives the best chance of regulatory acceptance. Products that meet the Swiss rules would be allowed to differentiate themselves by being permitted to use a phrase like "Absinthe Supérieure" on the label. Consumers deserve a way to know what they are buying, because right now, inferior, industrial 'absinthes' are offered at the same price as the better, more historically authentic artisanal marques. This is profitable for industrial interests, but bad for consumers and artisanal producers. Remember that the primary purpose of legal definitions and clarifications is to protect consumers. Without such a regulation, the European market will remain the minefield that it is for consumers, and Switzerland will remain the only safe zone.
Photos by Steve Williams, 2007


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Where Is Cooking Sherry In The Grocery Store – Cooking Tips That Everyone Needs To Check Out
Many people think that they "can't" cook. They think that trying to make anything more complicated than a sandwich or macaroni and cheese will end in failure. However, there are many easy ways to make delicious and healthy meals. In this article, you'll learn how to cook food that you'll be proud to eat.
It is fine to alter recipes. Do you like more cheese than what is called for? It's fine to add more. Do you think onions would be good added in? Try it! Adding your own special twist to a recipe can help make a meal one of a kind!
Mushrooms discolor fast and they don't look too appetizing when you serve them. You can prevent discoloration by following this technique. Squeeze the juice of a quarter lemon onto a paper towel and wipe the cap of each mushroom with it. This cleans the mushroom and prevents it from changing its original color.
Layered bar cookies, fudge and chewy brownies often fall apart or get torn up from trying to evenly cut them into squares. A good rotary pizza cutter can be used to accomplish this task without worrying about a sharp knife slipping and causing an injury. Make some light guidelines in your food with the tip of a knife first and follow up with the pizza cutter for perfectly cut bars, brownies and fudge every time.
After you have cooked mashed potatoes, make sure that you return them to the hot pan so that they can steam for the next ten minutes. This will allow for the potatoes to dry out so that you can get a rich texture when you are applying your milk and butter.
Cooking isn't as hard as it may seem. If you take the time to learn how to cook, making great meals can be easy. Before you plan your next meal, take a look at the advice offered in this article. You may wind up discovering that you're ready to cook things you never thought you'd be able to handle.


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|City Archives
New Orleans Public Library
Photographs Arranged by Street Names
South Galvez Street
Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image. Use your browser's back button to return to this page.
Captions taken from the back of photographs
|South Galvez Street from Delachaise Street to General Taylor Street "before"
Paving Lien-3rd Phase; Curbs, gutterbottoms, asphault surfacing completed May 23, 1958
October 13, 1957
[Photography by Leon Trice]
|South Galvez Street
Unknown date
|South Galvez Street
Attached text: Shown left to right are Andrew E. Delorette and Robert L. Harper, maintenance workers of the city's Sign Shop, Division of Traffic Engineering, who are painting the legend "SCHOOL"on the city's main arterial streets.
Unknown date
|Return to Photographs Arranged By Street Names