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Marc really loves tacos and I am always looking for a new twist, I saw a photo of breakfast tacos on Instagram and knew I had to make my own version.
These tacos are packed full of the usual breakfast suspects. You've got baby spinach, fresh tomato salsa, bacon, chorizo, scrambled eggs, avocado cream and crumbled persian fetta.
The flavours work so well together and the fresh salsa add a touch of sweetness and bite from the balsamic vinegar.
These tacos are quick to put together and would be so easy to make for big groups making them perfect for brunches, we had these New Years Day with a group of friends and they were a huge hit.
Try them yourself and let me know what you think. Is there anything you would add to these tacos? WHat is your favourite breakfast when you are serving a group?
Breakfast Tacos
Serves: 4 easily multiplied
Avocado Cream
1 avocado
1 lime, juiced
2 Tablespoons greek yoghurt
1 Teaspoon salt and pepper
Tomato Salsa
2 tomatoes, diced
1 Teaspoon salt and pepper
2 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Teaspoons olive oil
2 Teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Scrambled Eggs
6 eggs
3 Teaspoons salt and pepper
2 Teaspoons chives, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons cream
4 Tablespoons milk
4 rashers of bacon
1 chorizo, sliced on an angle
baby spinach
Persian fetta
8 soft tacos
Avocado Cream
Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth and silky. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Tomato Salsa
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well, set aside to allow the flavours to mix and mellow.
Using a grill pan, grill the tacos until charred. Remove from pan and add baby spinach to each one. Top with the salsa.
Cook the bacon until crispy and add to the tacos.
Fry the chorizo until crisp, add 3 or 4 pieces to each taco.
Scrambled Eggs
Preheat a frypan over medium heat. Add 1/2 Tablespoon oil and cook the eggs until just set. Add to the tacos.
Top each taco with avocado cream and crumbed persian fetta. Enjoy!


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random thought of the day
My son has become the Van Halen equivalent of a Trekkie.
« Fear is a Mindkiller | Main | eye spy »
My son has become the Van Halen equivalent of a Trekkie.
Oh well, now you'll have to take him on a pilgrimage to Cabo San Lucas. Just don't take him to Sammypalooza.
Is he a Van Halen (Roth) fan or a Van Hagar fan?
Oh, DLR totally. He'll listen to some Van Hagar, but Gary Cherone does not exist in his world.
Heh. Yeah, Gary Cherone - pretty much a cheese wag in my book. VH should do whatever possible to erase that little episode from their highlight reel.

subset: commoncrawl


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To sum up the news I'm referring to, Vester Lee Flanagan, a former reporter for a local TV channel from Virginia, the WDBJ7, planned this whole terrible act very carefully and in order to get the maximum audience possible. In the morning of the 26th of August, 2015, two of his former co-workers from WDBJ7, the 24-year-old reporter Alison Parker and 27-year-old cameraman and photographer Alan Ward, had moved to the beautiful setting of Smith Mountain Lake, in Roanoke, Virginia.
Parker and Ward were carrying out a live interview to Mrs. Vicki Gardner, president of the local chamber of commerce, for the sake of tourism promotion. With chilling, cold-blooded deliberation, Flanagan recorded as well with his own, good-quality camera, as he approached from behind the group of three people, oblivious of his presence.
A few hours later, the whole world watched on the news the shocking images he uploaded on Facebook of how he opened fire on them out of the blue, among the horrified screams of the victims and the sounds of shell casings falling on the ground. Only Mrs. Gardner survived, critically wounded. She received a gunshot on the back but the family has hopes of full recovery.
An article about the shooting by The Guardian.
Another article by The Guardian describing Flanagan psychologically.
Flanagan, who had been made redundant two years before from WDBJ7 and had a reputation for being a belligerent and an overly difficult person, again supposedly sent to ABC News, two hours prior to the killing, a 23-pages long fax signed under his professional pseudonym Bryce Williams.
In this statement he explained his reasons for the attack. The 41-year-old man had filed complaints over racism and ill-treatment at work before, against not only the WBDJ7 but also the WTWC, Florida's NBC affiliate, where he had also worked for a short period of time. These complaints were dismissed as his own irrational fabrication. In the manifesto he sent to ABC News, he stated that he wanted to seek revenge for the racial killing in Charleston, South Carolina, that had happened earlier in June. He himself admitted to feeling like a bomb just about to go off at any moment:
"Yes, it will sound like I am angry…I am. And I have every right to be. But when I leave this Earth, the only emotion I want to feel is peace. […] The church shooting was the tipping point…but my anger has been building steadily…I've been a human powder keg for a while…just waiting to go BOOM!!!!"
An article by Heavy.com describing even more details about Vester Lee Flanagan.
Righteous and persecuted as he deemed himself, Flanagan's act has become, indeed, an expansive influence on the media, yet as beneficial towards the values he defended as a nuclear blast. He was black, he was gay, and he was a Jehovah's Witness. Those members of our globalized society who were already biased against the individuals which showed one or more of these characteristics or affiliations now can use Flanagan's example as an excuse to "justify" and breed even more senseless hatred, ostracism and violence.
What happens when we get angry. YouTube video by WebUP Communications Corporation
This news reminds me of yet another extremely tragic and recent killing, carried out by a man who was silently consumed by his inner anger as well, Andreas Günter Lubitz. After much struggle, this 27-year-old man had finally achieved his lifetime ambition, which was to pilot aircrafts, and was working as a co-pilot for Germanwings. Nevertheless, he was also struggling to keep secret that he was suffering from a major problem affecting his eyesight and also from some mental illness, purportedly a bipolar disorder and/or manic depression. Lubitz knew that as soon as his illnesses became known by his employers, he would be declared officially incapacitated for work. On the 24th of March, 2015, after tearing up some sick notes from his doctors declaring him unable to fly and which were later found by the police and investigators, Lubitz embarked in the Germanwings Airbus A320-200 to co-pilot for the Flight 4U9525, together with the 34-year-old Captain Patrick Sondenheimer. This flight, which was to go from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, crashed instead on the French Alps, killing instantly the 144 passengers and the six members of the crew.
An article by The Telegraph about the Germanwings plane crash.
Later investigations proved that Lubitz crashed the plane on purpose. He had been searching the Internet for the words 'suicide' and 'cockpit door', and had even rehearsed maneuvering unjustified, sudden descents in other flights prior to the incident. He allegedly spiked the pilot's drink with some laxative or diuretic product that forced him to leave the cockpit for the toilet, a moment that Lubitz took advantage of to lock himself up all alone in the cockpit, and cold-bloodedly lead the plane to mortal collision, committing thus suicide while mass-murdering the rest of the passengers and crew on the plane.
Another article by The Telegraph about Andreas Lubitz's health problems and suicide tendencies.
An article by Mirror explaining how Lubitz spiked the Captain's drink in order to be left alone in the cockpit.
Andreas Günter Lubitz had a now devastated loving girlfriend and family, and the news that he was suffering from suicidal depression shocked most of his closest relatives and acquaintances. A 79-year-old aunt of his declared for the German newspaper Bild: "I knew nothing of mental health problems or eye problems. When we celebrated family occasions, he was happy. He never spoke about stress at work. […] We were proud that he had fulfilled his childhood dream." Everybody who knew Lubitz told the press that he was a very nice and educated person, yet a little bit reserved. They were all in shock. While Vester Lee Flanagan flaunted his rage and was well-known for his polemical character, Andreas Günter Lubitz bottled all the anger up and hid it very efficiently from everybody around him, with even more deadly consequences, as regards numbers, for the innocent victims of his rage and their families.
Depression: The misunderstood epidemic. YouTube video by Randy R.
These two young men were no sadistic serial killers, rapists, pimps, drug dealers, human traffickers, cult leaders or criminals of any kind before their final and definitive outbursts of anger. They were no monsters in appearance. They weren't shady; no oppressive music played in the background to announce their evil presence while they walked in the scene, like we are so used to see in movies, where everything is so transparent, so easy... Perchance they looked a little bit like losers, lost and anxious and yes, permanently enraged, like William Foster from Falling Down. Just a couple of over-stressed, hard-working men who cared way too much about their jobs and didn't know how to relate to others in society without feeling awkward or rejected for who they really were.
It is easy to imagine men resembling Lubitz or Flanagan being overly kind to others during their youths, and then growing up to become gradually disappointed and frustrated with the outcomes; too committed to their ideals and dreams, too enraged towards averse circumstances or other people who chose to behave differently from how they 'righteously' believed, perceived things should be... We all know people, men and women, who are like that. They aren't special. If it hadn't been for Flanagan's and Lubitz's murders, they could have been considered, basically, common good men for most people, their whole lives. This makes them the most dangerous and unpredictable type of killers that walk and work amongst us. And there are many of them, growing every second in numbers.
Depression is a disease of civilization: Stephen Ilardi at TEDxEmory. YouTube video by TEDx Talks
Years of thoughtless consumerism followed by the worldwide economic crisis has re-enacted the Wall Street Crash of 1929, but this time affecting almost all the societies on the globe. It has been a tragedy for many, and an enormous amount of people have hopelessly seen their dreams shattered in pieces: they have lost their jobs, their homes, their families, their health, the possibility to afford an education, medical treatments, a better future, to take care of their elders or even to have children. From abundance we have stepped into survival mode, and this has wounded many of us fatally. We were not prepared mentally, nor emotionally for this -- no one taught us about what it feels like to be so helpless.
On the other hand, this is also the era of the social media, and so far it has been used very inappropriately by many. Instead of seeking a real connection worldwide, many people have used their Facebooks, Instagrams, Twitter accounts to brag about their fortune, beauty, exciting social life, accomplishments, followers and admirers and, overall, their extensive fabulousness. This is fine in regard to those who can afford to show off such riches, yet it is also an easy way to fuel and liven up even more the blaze of frustration and discontentment that already breeds and grows inside the soul of those who are not so fortunate.
Such showing off is, actually, a very inconsiderate, non-solidary and narcissistic stance, yet it has become the norm very quickly, and we are to get over it. And not everybody is aware enough of the fact that one cannot believe everything posted on social media and consider these posts a faithful reflection of a perfect life, for this is only a small part of it. Those people who cannot distinguish a social media profile from a person's whole and real identity are the ones who are the most susceptible to feel even more humiliated, frustrated and enraged if they consider they can't keep up with the Joneses's – or the Kardashians's.
How To Deal With Anger - Help With Anger Management. YouTube video by Noah Elkrief
Women are no different from men in this picture; actually, they are becoming the most affected collective by this unsettling trend, which already has a name: the Anger Epidemic. According to The Daily Mail online, "A startling 87 per cent of working mothers, for example, say that stress causes them to shout at their children, according to the British Association of Anger Management. And since 25 per cent report suffering stress on at least eight occasions each week, that's an awful lot of yelling at home. It's not much better at work. A quarter of us, we're told, suffer serious office-rage, and regularly kick furniture, flip keyboards or slam down phone receivers in fury."
An article by Mail Online about the feminine anger epidemic.
This is no surprise; feminism and the "women liberation movement" are yet to report any real benefits to us women and to our general well-being. For most of us poor, as soon as we reach adulthood the new society roles imply that we become little less than superheroines: we are literally to work as much and as efficiently as any man (a fact that, unfortunately, is not rewarded, generally speaking, with the same economic profit as most of our male peers,) while we are as well to undergo the strenuous processes of pregnancy and child rearing without any rest nor, in many cases, any extra help.
A lack of basic self-care provokes that many of us women feel undervalued, over-demanded and exploited, and this naturally leads to low self-esteem, frustration, and rage. To make things even worse, the old stereotypes coming from a paternalistic society prevail, adding to the burden the requirements to look unrealistically forever young, thin and perfect at all times. Many women cannot do it all and are forced to choose between a successful and demanding career and a marriage or a family of their own; a forceful choice which may lead to long-lasting grief, regrets, and frustration. With all this extra strain, anxiety and anger, competitiveness amongst us is exacerbated, and this ushers us to a greater sense of rivalry, mistrust, and aloneness.
A Wordpress post about the new gender roles, overburdened women and displaced men.
Hormonal Imbalance in Women - Chronic Fatigue, Stress and Weight Gain. YouTube video by Mariah Dolan
We are as a whole an impoverished, highly competitive, enraged society who has lost orientation and hates it all and doesn't know what to do. This has also bred new archetypes, new discourses in contemporary fiction works. The new age heroines from books and movies are not sweet and meek princesses anymore but flawless, undaunting warriors; classy and extremely beautiful mercenaries dressed in fabulous attires and high-heel shoes; perfectly-shaped Terminators… role models that are absolutely unattainable for any human being, regardless of gender. One only has to think about Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series; Merida from Brave, or Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, just to name a few – beautiful women who are burdened with titanic quests no men, no army of men could ever fulfil on their own.
Men, on the other hand, have also lost their point of reference as regards their sense of identity and their masculine role, and the new male protagonists in movies and literature are gradually becoming superficial: the kind and clownish type of guys whose main weapons in life will consist of a sense of humour and a chilly attitude. This TED talk offered by Colin Stokes about gender identity in modern fiction explains this issue quite well:
Colin Stokes: How movies teach manhood. YouTube video by TED
Funnily enough, in spite of our hard-earned, well-deserved "privileged situation" as the strong and powerful women of the new era, which grants us our independence yet mercilessly demands that we become inhumanely tough, there has been a massive feminine reaction that counteracts this phenomenon concerning this new feminine identity. The shocking success of 50 Shades of Grey and other works of literature that actually idolise women's total submissiveness to a man in power is proof of that. The beautiful songs from Lana Del Rey talking about men completely owning the heart and destiny of a woman, her lyrics about emotional and even physical survival in the hands of these men are other examples. But this submissiveness is not healthy either, nor does it promote women's well-being: it is also aggressive, abusive, suicidal, and definitely angered.
It is very likely that this problem, this anger epidemic will worsen in the future: the overpowering promotion of narcissism by social media, together with the permanent, debilitating rage and stress that the new generation of mothers are undergoing full time is just going to leave very little space for children to grow up without being permanently scared, overburdened, and enraged during their growth as well as young adults.
If we don't do anything soon, we can for sure expect many more Vester Lee Flanagans and Andreas Günter Lubitzs in the near future.
In spite of all that, it is our duty to try and lead a life as constructively as possible, and the first step will be to become highly educated in emotional management, particularly as regards RAGE.
This will involve understanding our rage and also acknowledging the rage of others, and knowing how to act accordingly – beyond the typical social ostracism that will only make matters worse and far more dangerous.
I'm not a Psychologist – so far I've just finished a course of Psychological First Aid (PFA) and another one about Positive Psychology by Dr. Barbara Friedrickson. But I know by experience how it feels to try and be this superwoman we all new age women are required to be, and be eventually defeated by such an insurmountable task, overcome by stress, anxiety and anger. I am an advocate for an education that will allow all human beings to have power over their circumstances and emotions, and I would like to share here a few basic and simple tips that I have learned over time about emotional intelligence and anger management, and which have helped me greatly:
1) Whenever you feel overcome by anger or depression, check your health first and foremost.
Not long ago I was seriously stricken by a severe phase of burnout syndrome. It has been the most horrible experience in my life so far. Everything was just fine concerning my work, my family and my marriage, yet I was feeling panicky, insecure and extremely desolate most of the time. And enraged. I didn't feel myself at all, and I was appalled, yet I didn't know what to do to improve my situation.
My GP diagnosed me with depression and told me to consider the possibility to take some anxiety medication. Fortunately, I decided to visit another doctor first, before following his advice, otherwise well-meant and sound. This second doctor found out that I was suffering from a slight thyroid malfunction, as well as from some other hormonal imbalances which were causing all the emotional and physical symptoms that were afflicting me. Not even a week had passed after starting the appropriate thyroid treatment that I was fully back to my normal self.
It was so definitive that it still amazes me… I experienced fist-hand to what an extent we are oblivious about the true nature of our moods and emotions, depending on how our body is functioning. That's why now, when I see news like the ones from Virginia and Germanwings or even the shootings at Charleston or at schools, I cannot but wonder how many of these individuals, these heartless killers, were seriously sick organically, instead of merely psychologically, or that some hidden health problem could have contributed to their emotional distress, unbeknownst to themselves and to the people who were related to them. Perhaps some of these terrible losses could have been prevented with a correct diagnosis?
Harriet Lerner: The Dance of Anger. YouTube video by cyacil
Thinking about it all makes me so sad… but I cannot help but reinforce this idea to check your organic health first and foremost when suffering from bouts of aggression or depressive symptoms. Besides, it might sound a little bit of a commonplace advice perchance, but taking up a healthier lifestyle, reducing stress, improving our eating habits, doing physical exercise and staying in the sunlight for a while every day might be a good starting point or even the solution in many mild cases of depression, anger issues or discomfort. Maybe too many drugs are prescribed for depression and anxiety by default, and we might rather address other organic possibilities first. Who knows, we could even save some lives with that.
Houston Thyroid Care: Are Moodiness And Depression Symptoms Of Low Thyroid? YouTube video by Houston Thyroid Care - Houston Thyroid Doctor
2) Don't face things all alone – seek support and understanding from others.
When I think about which individual I consider to be the most dangerous between Vester Flanagan and Andreas Lubitz, I would say without any doubt that the second one. With his belligerent attitude, Flanagan spent a long time filing complains that actually look like warnings and shouts for help. On the other hand, Lubitz's actions were more deadly and deliberate as regards the number of people involved; more filled with an absolute, completely gratuitous sense of rage towards any human being whatsoever who was inside that plane, that day. He was focused only on grabbing hold of his dream, and if the world was to deny him the accomplishment of his dream everything could blow into pieces for all he cared.
And it was Lubitz, from these two individuals, who was considered kind and good company.
Apparently, under this amiable façade he was like a walking automaton, merely following the social conventions while hell burnt deep inside his spirit, secretly, probably feeling nothing else apart from that cold and burning rage. Flanagan had a negative connection with other human beings, yet Lubitz was completely disconnected from everybody else, even his own family. Therefore, it is crucial to seek a connection, a communication with our peers before reaching this point.
Nevertheless, it has to be positive support: it is scary how many websites and forums one can find on the Internet in which people speak about validating "a man's right" to beat his wife up, or to promote hatred against homosexuals or any other racial groups. Negative support is a quick and easy reward for the wounded ego of these individuals, because one meets people who think like you do; but it is also a sure way to justify your hatred even more and even encourage acting out, with all its consequences.
The same goes with books or any other different works of art which, as Oscar Wilde pointed out, are not pernicious in themselves, but the minds of the spectators. It is great to listen to Marilyn Manson or Alabama 3, for example, whenever they serve as a healthy catharsis. My husband's preference in this aspect is horror and war movies: the darker they are, the more relaxed he feels after watching them. He also really enjoys reading the complete works by Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. I remember a time in my life, after a very bad breakup, in which I felt so much better every time I watched the whole series of Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 by Quentin Tarantino. 'The Bride' is a beautiful, archetypal goddess of the feminine rage. Nowadays, whenever my husband and I argue, if I need to or feel like to I listen to Lana Del Rey, Sôber, Savia, Skizoo or Johnny Cash, amongst others. Darkness, when expressed as a form of art, can be a really powerful form of understanding, emotional release and subsequent healing. But if one feels that a book, movie or song makes you feel worse instead of better after reading, watching or listening to it, it is time to realise it would be better to stop consuming this type of material.
How To Control Anger - The Shocking Truth Behind Your Anger Problems. YouTube video by Actualized.org
3) Forget about righteousness.
Vester Lee Flanagan committed his crime, according to his own words, out of a sense or righteousness: from his black-or-white point of view, he was 'the goody' and the rest of the world were 'the baddies'. Many crimes have been committed in the history of humanity out of a sense of righteousness, and yet it is still to happen that any of those crimes whatsoever have reaped any positive outcome, but rather the other way round.
For the angry person, righteousness is the ultimate self-destruction weapon, since a feeling of being wronged and deserving a retribution may lead a person to carry out actions that he would never have dared to consider otherwise. When something unjust happens to us, it is very tempting to our bothered egos to believe that we are the emissaries of Divine Karma or the lawful paladins of God's Commandments, but it never works this way.
For instance, Flanagan didn't help at all to support, with his dreadful take on "activism", the black or gay communities, but rather strongly prejudiced them; so no thank you at all after such a deed! It is really stupid to play Alexandre Duma's Count of Monte Cristo and believe we have a right to our hatred and revenge because we have been victims – or we believe so – and we possess higher moral standards. Sadly enough, righteousness is a very sure backfire, for it breeds and feeds an incredible amount of anger that will be lashed out, almost sure, on our loved ones or on other innocent people rather than on the real offenders. And if we have been offended, or mistreated, or taken advantage of, or exploited… who cares? The best one can do is move on and look for greener pastures. I can't believe how many times in my life I have been rejected or mistreated by people, even by some institutions, and it truly broke my heart when it happened; but later on I realised that these people or institutions were in fact hindering my progress. Rather than thinking about these rejections with contempt and resentment, I honestly do thank them now, for it was thanks to them that moved on towards my future jobs and even meeting my husband.
Righteous Indignation. YouTube video by Bill Crawford
4) In the last instance, leave.
If you feel possessed by rage or depression and you have cared to check that it truly was not related to an underlying health issue, you are all alone and the people around you don't support you, and you can't think of any other motive to keep on living but your hatred, simply leave for something new. Why not? Both Vester Lee Flanagan and Andreas Lubitz were feeling suicidal and homicidal because of the loss of their dreamed jobs. It is so horribly sad, because they were just that: jobs. You just have one life, and it is valuable, and it could be a very worthy contribution in many parts of the world.
Perhaps when one reaches this point it is time to consider leaving for other countries in need, in order to discover a new and better purpose in life. There are so many positive things to do for the world, and there is so little help available… one could become an activist, or travel anywhere new where to be useful and appreciated, leaving behind all past frustrations. Who knows what our destiny could be, or our true purpose in life. In any case, it is always much better to keep on trying, once and again and again, until we find that very place where we truly belong, rather than simply give in to senseless and murderous rage.
5) If, despite all, everything keeps on being sheer hell, just go Mooji.
I remember one time in my life, before I finished my studies, that I felt very deeply, and painfully, that I was not succeeding in creating the professional and personal profile that I wanted; the identity which would allow me to fully develop my potential. I went though rejection, delays, lack of appreciation. It was a very difficult time in my life, and I perceived that the external circumstances were very unfair to me. This was even prior to the global economic crisis, and everybody around me seemed to be successful, and amusing themselves in a land of opportunities... everybody but me.
I just needed some time and a little change of surroundings to find my true place, but at that moment everything looked just stuck and disheartening. That's when I found Mooji's videos on YouTube, which are a pure delight. He speaks about not identifying with your personal circumstances, even your own name, because you are far more than simply that. Your identity, your surroundings are not a cage, although we usually believe them to be so. If we are really struggling to make things work and in spite of all we keep on failing, and our life looks like a gloomy cul-de-sac, why keep on torturing ourselves in such a way, why spoiling and wasting our lives like that? It is time to detach from what we have ever believed to be and what we programmed ourselves to want. We are slaves to no one and nothing: nor to our ideas, nor to our nightmares, nor even to our most cherished dreams and ambitions.
Are you willing to disappear? - Mooji. YouTube video by Moojiji
Once I started feeling better from my thyroid problem, I also began to be increasingly aware of the bigger picture. I realised that most of the people in my surroundings, when they lashed out at me or were impolite, were also dealing with their own anger issues. I used to take things very personally before; now I have learned to respect other people's anger: that is, instead of judging them for their behaviour and holding resentments, now I see that they just cannot do any better. This is a post-crisis new world and we are all possessed by rage, desperate, depressive and who knows who is even feeling silently suicidal; but in spite of it all, we really need to understand the people around us, to seek a healthy connection with each other. That's who we are, and that's the context in which we live, and we are to learn to love each other, care about each other, in spite of the difficulties… in spite of the anger that consumes us all.
A work-out for your self-control: Jordan Silberman at TEDxFlourCity. TEDx Talks
Text created for Ernest Peña's podcast. By María Concepción Pomar Rosselló


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Super-soft and offering just the right amount of warmth, this stretchy beanie is presented with a small woven badge at the hem. Thanks to its long length, you can style it slouched or wear it with a roll-up.
The Effo Long Beanie is knitted in a fine gauge from super-soft yarns.
Mazarine blue


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The Last Picture Show
USA 1971 : Peter Bogdanovich : 118mins
The Last Picture Show more than lives up to its exalted reputation as an American masterpiece: achingly beautiful, strikingly confident and piercingly mature. But this is a puzzling kind of greatness, because the film stands so far above anything else in Bogdanovich's long career. His debut Targets (1969), was a promisingly original, economical thriller – but Picture Show is a quantum leap forward, all the more baffling considering the largely unsatisfactory titles that followed, reaching a nadir (let's hope) with the shoddily inept The Cat's Meow (2001).
Peter Bart's book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls suggests Bogdanovich's success depended on his collaboration with then-lover Polly Platt – who apparently acted as a virtual co-director for all Picture Show's scenes (their romantic and professional partnership ended when Bogdanovich left Platt for his star, Cybill Shepherd). Platt was also heavily involved in the adaptation of Larry McMurtry's source novel – for which she's credited along with McMurtry and Bogdanovich. While New Yorker Bogdanovich reportedly struggled to 'get' the novel's small-town atmosphere, Platt responded much more strongly, having herself been brought up in an out-of-the-way spot very similar to McMurtry's fictional Anarene, Texas.
This perhaps explains the film's utterly believable evocation of this tiny, one-street settlement in the early fifties. Best friends Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges) are leaving school and facing up to adult responsibilities. Lacking strong father figures, they turn to wise mentor Sam (Ben Johnson), who operates three of the town's main businesses, including the fleapit cinema. The boys' friendship is tested when both fall for local beauty Jacy (Shepherd), and Sonny's relationship with Jacy causes him to neglect his on-off affair with the wife (Cloris Leachman) of his basketball coach. When Sam suddenly dies (off-screen, like many key events) Anarene rapidly hits the skids – its sudden decline symbolised most powerfully by the movie-house's demise.
First-time viewers of The Last Picture Show are, however, often surprised by how late in the day the closure of the cinema actually happens. It comes very sudden, very near the end, hardly mentioned at all until it's almost over – and is explicitly the direct result of Sam's lousy judgement. He leaves the running of the Royal to the old woman who operates the concessions stand, and her lack of cinema-management experience means no-one is surprised when the enterprise goes belly-up soon after. This isn't the only example of Sam's blundering – he leaves his pool-hall to Sonny (who proves unable to make it pay) and a considerable sum of money to one of Sonny's school-mates, who soon after is disgraced after kidnapping a small girl with apparently paedophile intent.
But Sam's death, regardless of his will's disastrous consequences, is clearly the end of an era – and not just for Anarene. For Bogdanovich, Platt and McMurtry, it symbolises the death of a noble cinematic tradition – their film is, among many other things, a farewell to the Western genre with which Johnson was so closely associated. Bart identifies the 1969 Oscars, where Midnight Cowboy beat True Grit for Best Picture, as the transitional moment when Old Hollywood gave way to the New – and emphasises how strongly Bogdanovich and Platt 'rooted' for True Grit. The Last Picture Show can be read as a direct consequence of that defeat – its tone is elegaic, grim, often depressingly bleak, very anti-nostalgic, in fact.
The film is like the flip-side of American Graffiti, George Lucas's gaudy-neon, energetic blast of rock-fuelled early-sixties Californian nostalgia. Impressive as it is, Lucas's romp seems adolescent and puny alongside The Last Picture Show, shot in timeless black-and-white by cinematographer Robert Surtees: when Sonny looks over the Anarene skyline by night, clouds hovering in the dark sky, it's one of the most lyrical landscape shots in American movies. Time after time, everything comes brilliantly together: the visuals, the remarkable, restrained use of period music, and the performances by the large cast.
But, despite the strength-in-depth of the ensemble (Johnson and Leachman won Oscars, Ellen Burstyn was nominated, Eileen Brennan steals her scenes as a waitress), this is very much Bottoms' picture – the fact that he never became as big a star as either Bridges or Shepherd (or even Randy Quaid, who pops up in a small part) seems to have resulted in a downplaying of his contribution to Picture Show's success. This could perhaps be called 'Wahlberg Syndrome' after the way that, when audiences and critics talk about Boogie Nights, everybody mentions the supporting players but ignore the central performance around which the whole constellation revolves.
Bottoms has to pretty much carry the whole movie – he's in nearly every sequence – and does so, culminating in the highly emotional finale where he visits the half-forgotten Leachman, who proceeds to unleash all her pent-up fury. It's a lacerating display of anger – but even more impressive is the way the scene ends with a lengthy sequence involving hardly any dialogue, just these two damaged people sitting at a kitchen table: "Never you mind, never you mind," she says. On paper, it doesn't sound like much of a closing line. On celluloid, it's poetry.
14th December, 2002
(seen on TV [!], 7th December)
by Neil Young
Back to Film Index


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Uncertainty hit oil markets on Wednesday, with analysts contemplating what a major reshuffle of Saudi Arabia's ruling elite might meant for the commodity.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz had appointed a new heir and rotated some of the top ministerial jobs, accelerating the personnel changes set in motion when he took the throne in January.
As Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter and the dominant force in OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), any change to its power structure is of major interest to energy markets. This is particularly the case given OPEC's maintenance of oil production at high levels—in order to retain market share—which is viewed as exacerbating the 40 percent price decline seen since last June.
However, analysts said that Wednesday's personnel changes, which include the promotion of the Deputy Crown Prince to Crown Prince and a new Foreign Minister and Economy Minister, were unlikely to affect Saudi oil production policy.
Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank, said that although it was too early to tell, production cuts were unlikely given hints about supplying extra oil to Asia.
"The focus should remain on its (Saudi Arabia's) market share and the latest talk by (Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi) seems to support this view along 'we stay ready to supply more to Asian clients thanks to their stronger demand'," he told CNBC via email.
"I think the market is way too optimistic now and the big price correction might be around the corner."
In a move that could directly affect oil, well-known Saudi businessman Khalid Al-Falih has replaced Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi as chairman of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and has also been appointed health minister. Saudi Aramco is the state-owned petroleum and natural gas company.
"I don't think it (the management change) will have much impact," Thomas Pugh, commodities economist at Capital Economics, told CNBC via email.
"The country is unlikely to change its policy of maintaining production as long as Al-Naimi is still oil minister and OPEC delegate. To be fair, even if he were to be changed, it would have to be for someone with a radically different point of view to instigate a change in policy and I'm not sure anyone in Saudi Arabia wants that."
Richard Mallinson, a geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC that Al-Falih was seen as a natural successor to al-Naimi as the next oil minister.


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Alliance Française du North Shore Soir
Wilmette | Website
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In French, "Barry Callebaut: À la découverte du chocolat" or "Chocolate Discovery." Ms. Johanne Beauregard, representing the international chocolate company, Barry Callebaut, gives a presentation in French on the history and varieties of chocolate, concluding with a tasting of chocolate! To leave an optional RSVP, see this group on their Alliance Française du North Shore Meetup. First-time attendance is complimentary. Returning non-members, $10.


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ASRoma fans waited for decades for their New Stadium…finally their dream is going to be realized by an American investor.
Mr. James J. Pallotta and his group of collaborators are working hard to complete a majestic stadium that is going to change the look of Rome and the financial condition of the most important club of the capital of Italy. Pallotta & Co perfectly know that in order to increase the profits and pursue new great players the stadium is a necessary structure that must be realized. AS Roma's American management already presented a project and when it will be realized will give to the giallorossi a financial stability that represents a prerequisite for a great future. In today's football stadium ownership is mandatory to grow revenues and keep the club at the top of the pyramid.
By establishing strong partnerships with important global companies such as Disney, Nike, Starwood, and Goldman Sachs the Official ASRoma management is looking forward to building the new facility at the beginning of 2017.
In this section we are going to provide you with fresh news about it! Official statements, press releases, breaking news, and much more to cover this topic at 360 degrees.
Take a look at the Stadium!


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On another bizarre NFL Sunday, when Seattle lost at home for the first time in two years, Carolina secured its first playoff berth in five years, and a bunch of left-for-dead teams somehow maintained a postseason pulse, something very typical happened:
Peyton Manning threw touchdown passes.
The Denver quarterback threw four of them in a 37-13 rout of Houston, setting an NFL record with his 51st touchdown pass of the season, eclipsing by one the mark set by New England's Tom Brady in 2007.
But put down the chisel. Manning figures he's only renting the record.
"Brady will probably break it next year," he said.
No matter. Manning wasn't looking for records as much as wins, and Sunday's victory was a big one. The Broncos emerged from the weekend as the only team with a guaranteed first-round bye, although they also lost All-Pro linebacker Von Miller to a knee injury, reportedly a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Seattle had a chance to clinch its division, but the Seahawks were stunned at home by Arizona, 17-10.
With one week remaining, both the Broncos and Seahawks remain on track for the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences, although they have teams hot on their heels.


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Jennifer King, ASC Europe
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- 1988:
A patriotic young man joins the U.S. Army, pledging to protect America from enemies both foreign and domestic. Half a world away, another patriotic young man joins another army - the Czechoslovak Army, taking his oath behind the Iron Curtain, promising to advance the cause of communism and defeat its detractors - namely, the United States of America. Both loyal to their countries, supportive of their causes - enemies by birth and politics.
2007: That American Soldier, now Lt. Col. James Kennedy, and his family host a young girl from the eastern European country of Slovakia through the foreign exchange student program Council on International Educational Exchange.
2008: Kennedy and his family visit Slovakia, warmly hosted by their student's family with open arms. Her father? Martin Maliňák, that same Czechoslovakian soldier who joined his military the same year that Kennedy joined the U.S. Army.
Enemies no more, these two soldiers are now joined by the most important bond: Martina "Tina" Maliňáková, the exchange student that the Kennedy's hosted while they were stationed in the Washington, D.C. area. Both Kennedy and Maliňák call her "daughter."
Kennedy, who is the commander of the 1st Battalion, 405th Army Field Support Brigade in Kaiserslautern, says that he wasn't nervous at all about meeting his old Cold War enemy for the first time.
"Martin and I were communicating through Tina for 10 months, so her family knew us. Tina didn't understand what Martin does in the Army, so I was very interested to talk to him about his job and how they operate and to teach him about the U.S. Army," Kennedy explained.
"I found out he is in a logistics battalion supporting a mechanized brigade. Logistics! That's my field, too! We talked a great deal and learned a lot from each other."
Although Kennedy wasn't nervous about meeting Martin, he admits to some apprehension about his trip to Slovakia.
"The Maliňák family grew up under the shadow of communism," Kennedy said. "Until we visited Tina's family, especially her grandparents, they had never met any Americans. Their knowledge of America was from television shows and CNN world news. I was honestly more nervous about meeting Tina's grandparents than her parents. They lived under communism much longer and had less opportunities than Tina's parents.
"They never dreamed 25 years ago that one day their granddaughter would visit the United States, much less live with an American Army family and visit the White House, U.S. Capital, Supreme Court and the Pentagon. We worked hard to make sure that we made a good first impression and represented our country well to them.
"We knew it was going well when Tina's great-grandmother came out and threw a football for the first time and when my daughter Jamie helped in the kitchen, learning to make halushky, a traditional Slovak dish."
Initially, when Tina first entered the foreign student exchange program, the Maliňáks were concerned that their daughter was going to live in the U.S. for an extended period of time with a family they had never met.
"Martin and Tina's mother Iveta were naturally worried," Kennedy said, "but happy she would be in a military family where you expect discipline and mentoring. We believe they were both very happy with the way we respected and cared for Tina for the year."
Kennedy, who with his family has also hosted students from Norway, South Korea and Germany, believes the relationships forged through the exchange student program benefit his family and the student, but more importantly, benefit his daughter.
"My wife Kim and I are so proud of Jamie, especially seeing her during this recent visit to Slovakia," Kennedy said. "In her short life, she has met many different people, but that is what she knows.
"She does not see differences - only another grandma cooking excellent food or another kid to play with," Kennedy continued. "She is getting quite the education in life as well as learning how to be an ambassador for her country."
Tina Maliňáková believes the exchange program is a win-win situation.
"My favorites thing about living in the U.S. was the culture of the U.S. and the food differences," Maliňáková wrote via e-mail from her hometown of Presov, Slovakia, the regional capital of eastern Slovakia. "The culture of the U.S. is composed by many different cultures, and I think it is pretty interesting that you can find so many different people, food and customs in one area.
"When I was there, I visited a lot of different restaurants, and I enjoyed them all. Slovakia is awesome, but you cannot find here Korean, El Salvadorian or Ethiopian places." Maliňáková particularly enjoyed showing the Kennedy family around her country during their visit to her country.
"I enjoyed showing (them) the old castles, Slovak nature, and the simple way of life of the Slovak people," she said. "In Slovakia, we have many, many old castles, some of them more than 900 years old. It is pretty funny, when you realize that when Columbus discovered America, some of our castles were almost in ruins."
In retrospect, it seems a shame that these families were separated for so many years simply because of the world situation at that time. Maliňáková believes that programs like the foreign exchange student program could benefit people around the world.
"An exchange student has a chance to see some things differently and create his or her own opinion to the specific country," she explained. "I think if there were even more exchange students, in 20 or 30 years, the world would be a lot different with more respect.
"The young generation can change things and the situation in the world because we have more opportunities."
Kennedy vouches for her faith in the younger generation.
"It is ironic that Martin and I both joined our armies in the 1980s as enemies, and today we share a daughter with unlimited potential and opportunities," Kennedy said. "We are very proud of our favorite Slovak daughter and eager to see what she does in life."


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Adventures in Library Instruction episode 37
I got busy this week and forgot to post over here, but we recorded a new Adventures in Library Instruction episode last week. Cate Hirschbiel from Lesley University and the Art Institute of Boston joined us for a discussion of how best to help the last-minute student researcher, among other stuff!
Online Zotero workshop July
This July I'm teaching my online Zotero continuing education class for Simmons College School of LIS. It's a four-week class that requires no previous experience. We cover not just the how-to stuff, but best practices for teaching and supporting Zotero in libraries. And you get a free ebook copy of my Zotero guide as the textbook!
It's been a fun and interesting class on previous go-rounds. I'm pretty sure this is the only time this year I'll be teaching this particular class, so if you're interested please check it out.
Zotero workshop video
When I teach Zotero workshops, I'm often asked by people who can't attend whether the session will be archived in some way to watch later. The answer is now yes -- we recorded my last workshop and posted it on Youtube.
After seeing the initial video, I identified several places where it wasn't clear what I was doing on the screen. I recorded some very short (ten or fifteen second) screencasts to drop in, and our instructional designer edited them into a finished product.
I'd like to thank our library's instructional designer Cynthia Kennedy, who did all the editing and production work, and Mat Munson at GSU's Multimedia Communication Services department who filmed the session.
Continuing ed classes: Zotero and Instruction Boot Camp
I'm teaching two classes for Simmons College's Continuing Education program in the next few months.
February 2012: Zotero: Using and Supporting the Research Power Tool: This is my four-week class on Zotero. We'll cover the basics of installing and using Zotero, all the way up through best practices for supporting and teaching Zotero in your library. (And you get the e-edition of my book along with the course.)
May 1-June 11 2012: Instruction Librarian Boot Camp: We just expanded this course to six weeks based on students' requests to make it longer! This is a great class for new LIS grads looking for your first instruction librarian jobs, or seasoned instructors looking to improve your skills. We cover learning outcomes, technology tools, active learning, and assessment. I'm co-teaching this class with my GSU colleague Sarah Steiner.
Instruction Librarian Boot Camp online course
I'm co-teaching a new online course for the LIS Continuing Education program at Simmons College. In November, my GSU colleague Sarah Steiner and I are teaching:
Instruction Librarian Boot Camp
Location: Online
$250 (Simmons GSLIS Alumni Price $200)
November 1 - November 30, 2011 - PDPs: 15
Whether you're a new instruction librarian learning the ropes or a seasoned instructor seeking some new skills, this workshop will help you to become a more adept and learner-centered instructor. Learn skills and tools that you can apply to any teaching situation, from one-shot sessions to semester-long courses.
Contents will include an overview of technological and active learning tools that you can use to make your instruction more engaging and memorable, and techniques that will help you to direct, assess, and meaningfully reflect upon your teaching.
Participants will learn how to accomplish the following activities in their library instruction sessions through a combination of reading, discussion, and the construction of individual examples. Participants are welcome to use their own upcoming instruction sessions as the basis for their assignments.
Week 1: Create and use learning outcomes
Week 2: Select and use engaging technology tools
Week 3: Construct active learning classroom activities
Week 4: Design and conduct assessments
Registration is now open! (We're not sure what we're doing about Thanksgiving break. We'll either extend class a couple of days into December or just try to compress the material. We'll let students know the first week of class.)
Evolution of a library session
This is the third semester I've taught an information literacy session for a GSU class on the history of journalism. As the librarian for the communication department (which includes journalism) it falls under my area -- but it isn't really a journalism class in the usual sense; it's a history class whose topic happens to be journalism. It's a very research oriented course. Depending on who's teaching, topics can range from 19th-century journalists to late 20th-century subjects.
This presents some unique challenges for the students and for me. Their assignment is a 20-page paper on their topic of choice, using a mix of secondary and primary sources. This is a senior-level undergrad class, usually all journalism majors, who have had no training in doing historical primary source research. ...Neither have I, really.
So I got some help. The first thing I did when my colleague Jill Anderson, our new history librarian, came to GSU was ask her to co-teach with me. Over the last three semesters, we've evolved from:
- Me teaching solo and doing lots of individual consultations (they gave me a box of chocolate at the end of the semester).
- Me co-teaching with Jill. Her knowledge of primary source research has been an immeasurable help, and I think the students have really zeroed in on that. Still doing lots of individual consultations. Jill gets at least as many consultation requests as I do; I think she's probably doing more than 50% of the work for this class. Zotero has been a big hit with these classes, and the professor asked me for a longer segment about it during class.
- Co-teaching again, and trying an experiment to cut down on the number of individual consultations, just because we don't have time to keep up with them all. We made up the phrase "research labs" and we held what essentially amounts to open office hours in a classroom. We fire up the projector, students show up and ask us their research questions, and we help. These are somewhat poorly attended which means we're basically doing more one on one consultations.
- During the interim semester break, we had a lunch meeting with the two professors who are teaching this course -- that's right, two sections simultaneously this semester, totalling about fifty students. We fine-tuned our game plan, defined some boundaries about what we can and can't do for students (questions about "is this a good topic" get referred back to the professor, for example). One professor offered up two class sessions, timed near key due dates, for the research labs, and attendance at the first lab shot way up since it was during their regular class time. We're encouraging students to email us specific questions, and we're making sure they send us their questions before we agree to meet with them one on one. Often we can help via email and don't need to put aside an hour for an in-person meeting.
- My plans for the next research lab are to conduct it more like a class, or a group discussion. Previous labs have consisted of me and Jill circulating through the room giving individual help, and so many of the students are asking similar questions I think they'll benefit from group discussion and hearing each others' questions.
This class has been such a great experience of faculty-librarian collaboration, strategizing and fine-tuning and improving our teaching and support plans, that Jill and I are talking about writing an article about it next year. I've found at least one article about what we're calling research labs:
Jacklin, M., & Bordonaro, K. (2008). Innovations in Practice: Drop-In Clinics for Environmental Studies Students. Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library & Information Practice & Research, 3(2), 1-7. Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.
More as developments warrant.
I'm a teaching wimp too
Catherine Pellegrino has a great post over at Spurious Tuples called "Why I'm a teaching wimp" about teaching fatigue that pretty well sums up how I feel this semester:
"What do you mean, only three preps per week?" you're probably howling. "I do three preps per day some terms. What a total wimp!"
Yep, I admit it. But here's the thing: every class I teach is the first day of class.
I did ten classes in January and eight in February, so I'm right there with you, Catherine. Spring break is coming wooo!
Link: "Why I'm a teaching wimp"
Simmons workshop on online identity
For a couple of years now my friend Beth Gallaway has been asking me to submit a proposal with her for a Simmons College LIS continuing education class. We finally did it this year, and I'm pleased to say we're co-teaching an online workshop together this spring:
They're Googling You: Online Identity for LIS Professionals
May 1 - 31, 2010
Should you separate your professional online identity from the personal, and if so, how? Self-promotion and branding is becoming increasingly important as library professionals face dwindling traditional employment opportunities, due to layoffs, downsizing, budget cuts, and library closings. On a more positive note, library staff wishing to contribute back to the profession may want to hone a professional identity that makes one marketable for teaching and training purposes, conference speaking or consulting. Developing a professional online identity for either purpose may be a challenging and rewarding endeavor.
More info on the Simmons site, and you can register here. If you've never set up a blog or personal website, you'll learn how -- if you have, we'll talk about how to use it and how to augment it. Topics will include privacy, professional development, personal branding, and technology how-to.
Games in Libraries podcast July 2009
I'm on the Games in Libraries podcast this month, talking about my gaming and virtual worlds exhibit and how it contributed to my instruction work in unexpected ways. Enjoy!


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Only War
"Men, we are the first, last, and often only line of defence the Imperium has against what is out there. You and that fine piece of Imperial weaponry you hold in your hands is all that is keeping humanity alive. Most of you will probably not live to see your second year in the Imperial Guard and most of you will probably never see your home worlds again, but I can guarantee you that when you do fall, with a prayer to the most high and mighty God-Emperor on your lips, you will have earned the right to call yourself a man!"
–Staff Sergeant Vermak, 13th Telrazzian Rifles Regiment


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loch. ness. desk.
The Loch Ness by Bram Boo is a funky "storage element" with a removable chunk and an odd overhanging lip. Odd, that is, until you take the chunk out and sit on it in front of the lip, and then you realize the chunk is a stool and the lip is a desk. Mr. Boo is quite clever, no?
naming. names.
I'm assuming the Loch Ness is so named because it kind of vaguely looks like the Loch Ness monster if the Loch Ness monster were made of coated MDF planks. I have no idea why Bram Boo is so named, but I keep thinking his (or her?) name is Bamboo. Sorry about that Bam...er, Bram.
I found the Loch Ness on the wonderful Architonic site. (Sorry, I don't see an easy way to link directly to the desk.) No info on pricing or availability.


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Best way to clean your Hot tub covers
It is critical to clean your hot tub cover consistently to stay away from soil and tidy-develop as well as form and build up development. Earth and clean on your cover may not appear like a major ordeal as it truly does not influence your cover, but rather it will influence your hot tub water. Clean and earth develop on your cover will in the long run exchange to your water which will thus make microorganisms develop in the dampness and develop on the base side of your hot tub cover creating mold and buildup development.
Moldy Hot tub covers
whenever shape and mold develop in your cover it will, in the end, cause the cover to stink. We regularly get notification from clients who state they are doing everything appropriate with their water yet are as yet getting the terrible scent. On the off chance that you are changing your water each 3-4 months, cleaning your channels with Filter Cleaner, and adjusting your chemicals consistently chances are the odor is originating from our hot tub cover because of form.
For this situation, your hot tub cover should be cleaned. This should be possible with a cover cleaner blended with water, it is not prescribed to utilize family items on your cover as they can get into the water and cause issues with your synthetic adjust. The main exemption to this would be if there are physical dim or dark splotches of form that you can see. In this case, you can utilize dye weakened in dilute to wipe the cover, this will help murder the shape. You may likewise need to expel the vinyl from the cover and wipe down the froth center to guarantee the form is removed. When you are finished with the detergent arrangement make sure to wash everything great with clean water to guarantee there is none left that may bring about issues in your tub's water.
Water smells Moldy
The main thing to do when you are getting a terrible stench from your hot tub water is to check your chemicals. Clammy, warm, sticky spots like a hot tub covers can be a rearing ground from microscopic organisms, keeping legitimate water science is the way to maintaining a strategic distance from microbes and guaranteeing your water remains perfect and safe for bathers. Finishing normal water tests will help you ensure that chemicals are looked after legitimately.
On the off chance that your water has been disregarded for some time and you are having foul scents it is conceivable that you likewise have microorganisms developed in your pipes and channel. An ideal approach to adjust the issue is by disinfecting.
To do this, you will need to give your spa cover an intensive cleaning as that is a typical place for microbes develop and shape arrangement. In the event that your hot tub cover is in under stellar condition or water logged it may be an ideal opportunity to consider another cover as you don't need microorganisms being harbored in your old one.


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Thursday, October 6, 2016
Walking Wounded
"People don't mind doing CPR on a crisis victim, but no person is equipped to be the constant lifeline to another." -Lysa Terkeurst, Uninvited
These words slam me hard. Oh man. I've been on all sides of that. The crisis victim, the person administering CPR, and the panicked gal in constant need of an oxygen mask.
I believe the Lord is calling me to let people go. To let them go in my heart. This thing in me that is so needy for people, rather than totally dependent on Him. He needs to be the One who steadies me. I've been walking around so needy, expecting people to rush to me and help me, to know I was a mess, to fix me.
Walking wounded.
I can't do that anymore.
I can't keep seeking approval outside of Jesus Christ. I'm not just saying I shouldn't... I'm saying, "I can't." It's wearing me out. It's wearing me down. It's what feeds my depression. I can't do it anymore.
What if... what if I seek only Him.
What if I let everything else die?
What if I let everything else go?
Can I even do that?
Will my whole world come crashing down?
Will I lose it all?
What if I try to save it all and lose my soul?
What if I really let go?
What if I fall into His arms, and I look only at His face?
What if I let my heart's focus on pleasing God alone?
And I let everything else fall.
There's a feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I will lose it all.
Am I willing to lose it all?
Am I willing to forsake it all?
Am I willing to make Christ my One Thing?
Am I willing to lay down all the things I've used as lifelines, and let Him alone be my life? My whole life?
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Linneys necklace in white gold with Australian South Sea pearls, diamonds, sapphires and aquamarines.
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College of Medicine
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entire site
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GRI Marks Impressive First Year of Growth and Recognition
With just one building left to renovate and only six labs remaining to fill, the Genome Research Institute (GRI) is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the quest for international leadership in disease research and drug discovery.
If you have news to share, comments or suggestions about Findings, we want to hear from you. Send us your news by
clicking here
Martin Presides Over National Pharmacist Society
Jill Martin, PharmD, a research scientist and specialist in the pharmaceutical needs of liver transplant patients, has been elected president of the 30,000-member American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
Stellar Faculty Honored by Women Achievers
Two Medical Center faculty members have been selected as "Rising Stars" by the YWCA Academy of Career Women of Achievement.
Elderly Obesity to Grow Nearly 50 Percent
An analysis led by a UC researcher calculates that the number of obese adults over the age of 60 will rise from 14.6 million in 2000 to 20.9 million in 2010--an increase of 43 percent.
UC, UH Partner to Improve Patient Care and Safety
UC Medical Center and University Hospital (UH) have been selected to participate in a new national initiative designed to improve patient care, satisfaction and safety.
Hoxworth Receives $1.89 Million for Blood Safety Study
Hoxworth Blood Center has received a five-year, $1.89 million grant for research into the safety and availa-bility of the blood supply.
Obesity Researchers Want Your Workday to Be Your Workout
Although the nation's obesity epidemic is becoming a costly public health crisis, most Americans can't make it to a gym for a regular workout.
Lighten up...Take a Holiday Already!
As if the tension of the presidential election were not enough, now we're heading for stressful weeks of travel, shopping, decorating, cooking and entertaining through Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanza and Christmas.
University Air Care Celebrates 20th Anniversary
University Air Care celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The helicopter ambulance was established in November 1984 to provide rapid critical care transport to the community and to assist other regional health care providers, including hospitals and EMS services.
Provident Bank, Postal Service Pay Tribute to Cancer Center
Provident Bank has donated�$25,000 to The Barrett Center to be used for patient care programs at the center and to fund research at UC Cancer Center.
Web Application Helps Experts Get Connected
Are you a clinician looking for someone with a particular specialty interest? Or a research scientist seeking an on-campus collaborator? Or perhaps you just want to share what's new and exciting about your work?
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The hall can be found at 51.89742°N, -3.29088°E. The OS grid reference is SO1124622773. The postcode is LD3 7YQ. If you like other online maps, the location of the hall can be found on Google maps. You can find the village on Nokia's Here, and Microsoft's Bing.
The local website has a handy travel guide, although parts of it may be out of date.
The OS 1:25,000 map covering Talybont-on-Usk is OL13. We are fairly close to the border with OL12, so if you like buying maps you can justify two purchases.
The nearest railway station closed many years ago. The nearest useful railway station is at Abergavenny. Note that the town also has a Welsh name, Y Fenni. This should be a familiar concept for Belgians. The next closest railway station, which may or may not have better connections is Merthyr Tydfil
From Abergavenny, you can go …
The 43 / X43 bus runs through Talybont-on-Usk. It runs from Abergavenny (railway connection) to Brecon. Traveline Cymru provide local bus information in Wales. They cover various operating companies. To travel by bus from Merthyr Tydfil you need to change at Brecon.
The last bus to Talybont-on-Usk from Abergavenny (or indeed anywhere) is unhelpfully earlier (17:50). A later, but not much later, bus stops at Bwlch. There is a minicab service there, Dee's Taxis on 01874 731012. At this point a Welsh place name pronounciation guide may be helpful.
The nearest National Express coach stop is at Abergavenny.
Abergavenny is well served by taxis and minicabs.
The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal runs through the Talybont-on-Usk. Unfortunately the canal is not currently connected to the rest of the network. Boats can be hired. It runs through the towns of Abergavenny and Pontypool, both of which can be reached by railway.
You could arrange your transport and accomodation in one swoop by hiring a narrow boat at Abergavenny or Pontypool, and navigating it North to Talybont-on-Usk. (You will need to move it every couple of days, if I remember the rules regarding mooring.)
Boats also also available locally for day hire.
The River Usk may be navigable as far as Talybont-on-Usk. Can anybody clarify?
Point your sat-nav at the postcode LD3 7YQ. There is parking at the hall.
There are lots of twisty narrow roads in this area, a right-hand drive car may be preferable. (Or a motorbike!)
There is local car rental, including an electric car.
Nearby airports are Cardiff (CWL, 50 miles away), Bristol (BRS, 70 miles away), Birmingham (BHX, 110 miles away), the various London airports which may not be near London (Gatwick, Heathrow, City, Stansted, and Luton), Manchester (MAN, 170 miles away). There is also Robin Hood Airport slightly further away near Sheffield, but do take care not to hurt their feelings.
The Taff Trail a motor-traffic free cycle path, runs through Talybont-on-Usk.
Hike for four days in the wrong country.
Talybont-on-Usk is different from Talybont, which is about 100 miles away.
If you have any useful information which I can add to this
page I would be grateful if you could email it to
Patches to this site, styling or content, are also welcome, whether via github or via
git-format-patch. The source may be found at


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Pay and benefits forms
Download the guidance notes and forms relating to Pay and Benefits.
Personal Details Form
Personal Details Form [DOC 245KB]
Additional Hours
Additional Hours Allowance Guidance 2018 [XLS 11KB]
Additional Hours Allowance Claim Form [DOC 403KB]
One-Off Payments
Standard One-Off Payments Guidance [DOC 85KB]
Standard One-Off Payments Claim Form [DOC 119KB]
One-Off Payments for External Examiners (Taught Programmes) Guidance [DOC 77KB]
One-Off Payments for External Examiners (Taught Programmes) Claim Form [DOC 113KB]
Student Ambassador Claim Form [DOC 121KB]
Note: Student Demonstrators have now been assimillated to QMUL Pay spine, grade 3 and she be paid via HR in the same was as Teaching Associates.
Flexible Working
Flexible Working Policy [DOC 87KB]
Request for Flexible Working Form [DOC 132KB]
Westfield Nursery
Application Form, Fees, Policies and Terms & Conditions
Salary Sacrifice Schemes
Workplace Nursery Application Form [DOC 21KB]
Workplace Nursery Cancellation Form [DOC 29KB]
Childcare Vouchers Application Form [DOC 40KB]
Childcare Vouchers Cancellation Form [DOC 39KB]
Season Ticket Loans
Give as You Earn
Give As You Earn Instruction Link
Retention/Market Supplements
Market supplements proposal form [PDF 62KB]


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Birkenstock Sandals
Le 13 May 2015, 07:48 dans Humeurs • 0
Birkenstock Sandals - Well-Liked Footwear For Summer Time Birkenstock shoes assist to distribute excess weight properly so the wearer can stroll for lengthier periods of time without turning into tired. The shoe is formed so that feet are in an all-natural place which prevents numerous foot problems associated with ill fitting footwear. Poor posture is the trigger of numerous knee and back ailments. These shoes can assist improve posture because they assist align the ft properly when walking and standing. Men's shoes can be adorned into the Plain-toes, Brogues and Cap-toes. The basic-toes have sleek appearance and there is no extra decoration. The toe of the Brogues shoes is covered with the perforated panel. The cap-toes have extra layer of leather and it provides the most popular decoration. The most fundamental fashion of birkenstock Clogs is probably the Boston. Produced from either leather, suede or woo, the Boston birkenstock Clogs function the comfy broad toe box, a single strap with buckle, superb arch support, a leather lined foot mattress, and an EVA shock resistant sole that is lightweight and comfy. The Boston Birkenstock Clogs are accessible in a selection of colours including brown, crimson, black, white, mocha, taupe and antique peat. The retail cost for the Boston Birkenstock Clogs is $130.00. Founded in New England, New Balance began out as a specialty maker of orthopedic shoes. Though they achieved extraordinary achievement with their athletic footwear, the business has by no means overlooked its root. To this working day, New Stability provides footwear in a wide range of measurements and widths. Of program, their most popular lines are sport specific. Running, walking, basketball, tennis, and cross training footwear are offered in males and ladies's designs and measurements. In recent many years, New Balance has expanded into and carried out fairly nicely in the children's athletic shoe section. Schedule adequate time. Plan to invest some high quality time searching for birkenstock sandals. Rushing via the selection procedure can outcome in you ending up with a pair of sandals that will not provide you the most advantage and use. Muscles have memory and enjoy consistency. If you only wear an orthotic for exercise, that only accounts for 10%25 of your working day.perhaps even much less! Believe about it this way: Let's say you could only use your vehicle ten%twenty five of the time, but you had to stroll the relaxation. You'd be pretty exhausted, right? So think about your feet and legs only being allowed to work at peak overall performance for that exact same short time. With the cooler weather right now there is no other type of women's shoe that has the strength to flip an outfit into a 1-of-a-type fashion assertion like a great pair of fashion boots. They are not only available in informal flats but also in the beautiful fur trimmed designs to give you an elegant and elegant look. While nonetheless providing you that successful comfy and fashionable designs that most of us prefer. When you wear ladies's birkenstocks, your feet will advantage from easier motion, and even higher circulation. I do so adore it when I can pretend I purchase shoes for well being reasons!


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Here's my problem:
When i start XAMPP and go to http://localserver and then click "Status" it tells me that everything works except for MySQL, PHP extension »eAccelerator« and PHP extension »OCI8/Oracle«.
I am only concerned about MySQL at this point, there is easily accessible information for the PHP applications. When I start XAMPP it gives me this readout:
sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start
Starting XAMPP for Linux 1.6.2...
XAMPP: Starting Apache with SSL (and PHP5)...
XAMPP: Another MySQL daemon is already running.
XAMPP: Starting ProFTPD...
XAMPP for Linux started.
I messed around trying to install Apache, PHP5 and MySQL with "apt-get" but was unsuccessful and installed XAMPP instead. Before installing XAMPP I removed everything I installed. It seems that XAMPP isn't using the MySQL server it installed.
Any ideas?


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Media Coverage
Genes linked to strategic thinking, risk taking
It was reported that a study by Professor Chew Soo Hong from NUS' Department of Economics and Professor Richard Ebstein from NUS' Department of Psychology and their collaborators from University of California, Berkeley and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found that strategic decisions made in a competitive betting game were influenced by five genes that regulate dopamine, a chemical released in the brain that signals pleasure and motivates people to seek rewards. The study revealed how people have hardwired biases in decision-making and strategic thinking that can impact business decisions.
The findings were published on 16 June in the online edition of the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ( >> Read the report at NUS News)
More reports can be found in: The Straits Times Medical News Today; Lianhe Zaobao; Shin Min Daily News; TODAY (Page 36);The New Paper (Page 18); MyPaper (Page A6); Channel NewsAsia (17 Jun); Capital Radio 95.8FM (17 Jun); XinMSN (17 Jun); Health Canal (16 Jun); Science Newsline (16 Jun).


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MSC Sinfonia begins renovation process at Fincantieri shipyard
MSC Cruises has begun work to transform the second of its four Lirica-class ships with the arrival of MSC Sinfonia at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Sicily.
The work to lengthening and refit the vessel over the next ten weeks will now include the addition of dedicated kids' club areas from LEGO and Chicco – extending the exciting brand partnerships introduced on sister ship MSC Armonia.
That ship returned to service on November 17th 2014.
The €200 million 'Renaissance project' is upgrading all four of MSC Cruises' smallest, Lirica-class, ships with the addition of new pre-built mid-sections to add balcony cabins, plus comprehensive onboard enhancements.
Fincantieri's world-class marine engineers will carefully bisect MSC Sinfonia's hull, after which the two halves of the ships will be slowly drawn apart.
On January 20th and 21st they will insert a 2,200GT, 24-metre midsection containing 193 extra cabins.
Then they will refit and renew much of the ship's interior, bringing an enhanced sense of comfort and space.
Before MSC Sinfonia's arrival, Fincantieri's preparations were already well under way for the work on board and in the shipyard.
On January 9th, the new midsection was floated into the shipyard and hauled into the dry-dock area where MSC Sinfonia will remain for the duration of its stay
Once the work is complete and sea trials completed, the larger, smarter MSC Sinfonia will weigh anchor from the shipyard on March 25th for Genoa, from where it will begin for a maiden cruise to Ajaccio, Barcelona and Marseille.
MSC Sinfonia will feature new purpose-built areas for children created in partnership with Chicco and LEGO, and a new Baby Club, Mini Club, Young Club and Teens Club.
MSC Cruises executive director UK and Ireland Giles Hawke said: "Everyone at MSC Cruises loves our partnerships with LEGO and Chicco – they are two fantastic internationally-renowned brands.
"It is great news that we are giving families even more opportunity to enjoy these facilities by adding them to MSC Sinfonia."
MSC Cruises has also reimagined the onboard dining experiences, keeping the buffet open 20 hours per day and installing fresh new dining spaces, a brand new lounge and an extended restaurant.
The ship's MSC Aurea Spa will also be enriched with additional massage areas, and a new outdoor spray park will be added on deck 13 – an exciting series of playful water features and jets.


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Please select a state for your search.
Updated 8:05 AMDec. 12
Information posted is an estimate.
Your personal experience may vary.
Our Birth Center is preferred by four out of five moms-to-be in Sioux City and the surrounding area, and it's easy to see why. As the highest rated Level II Regional Obstetrical facility in Sioux City and the region, we provide a contemporary, home-like setting where a mother can labor, deliver and begin recovery with all the safety of the hospital's modern medical care.
St. Luke's Birth Center is a secure area, protected with cameras and identification badges. Each newborn wears an alarm band for added security. Visitors can enter the birth center only through a video-monitored call system with controlled entry, ensuring safety for all mothers and babies.
The Ann & Ray Greenberg Family Center for Labor and Delivery includes birthing suites with state-of-the-art technology like WatchChild, a fetal monitoring system allowing patient care staff to track their patients' progress. These suites also offer amenities for maximum comfort, including spacious floor plans, special lighting and relaxing jet tubs. Your spouse or another support person are welcome in your birthing suite during labor to share in the joy of your baby's birth. We play Brahms' Lullaby over the hospital's intercom system to welcome your baby.
Caesarean deliveries are performed in a special operating room within the Birth Center. Next to this operating room is a special, mini neonatal intensive care unit where any of the baby's needs are tended to immediately. After a caesarean delivery, mothers rest in a special recovery area within the labor and delivery unit.
After delivery and recovery, moms and babies move to our secure Gleeson Center for Mother & Baby Care for the duration of their stay. Each private suite is furnished with a rocking chair, pullout couch, wireless Internet access and updated décor. The department has a kitchen for dads and immediate family. We invite families and guests to enjoy our family lounge.
One dedicated nurse from each shift will care for you and your baby, so you can receive one-on-one instruction on how to bathe, burp, feed and change your baby.
You'll be visited by St. Luke's lactation specialists to learn the basics of breastfeeding. The lactation specialists are professionally trained to help mothers with issues like positioning, pumping and latching on. They can answer any questions you have and provide support to give you and your baby the best start on breastfeeding. Watch our video on the benefits of breastfeeding and the services we offer.
We know the importance that early bonding plays with a newborn's development. We encourage families to "room-in" during their stay - meaning the baby stays with the mom in their suite. The comfort of knowing Siouxland's most experienced staff is close by, makes these first days together as a family comfortable and memorable. Our nurses and staff take pride in making baby's "firsts" special for the whole family.


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No fit for inner-city �suburb'
No fit for inner-city 'suburb'
The battle over the Ashby High Rise, the 23-story project that has terrorized the affluent Southampton neighborhood near South Shepherd and Bissonnet, shows what happens when developers don't understand what an urban neighborhood is and an inner-city neighborhood doesn't fully want to be one.
In post-World War II American jargon, "inner city" came to have negative connotations, referring to neighborhoods that were any combination of black, immigrant and poor. "Urban" and "inner city" often became used as synonyms.
The definition is obsolete. Like European cities, we have pushed many of our low-income populations to the suburbs where they have filled apartment complexes that once were the lairs of single young professionals.
Meanwhile, gentrification has not only pushed the poor out of close-in neighborhoods, but a massive tear-down movement has replaced the solid middle class with the upper middle class.
We need a new definition of "inner city" based solely on geography, not demographics.
I learned this living in San Antonio's historic King William district when I discussed with a wise architect friend my frustration with neighbors who fought anything that might increase our density and thereby support amenities such as a grocery store, a drug store, and a branch bank.
My neighbors bemoaned the lack of these amenities while vociferously fighting a complex of about 15 row houses located at the intersection of a low-traffic commercial thoroughfare. It will cause too much congestion, they hollered.
"What you need to understand is that King William isn't an urban neighborhood," my friend said. "It's a small town on the edge of downtown, complete with people who don't want change."
Similarly, Southampton isn't an urban neighborhood, but a suburb in the inner city, complete with big lawns and quiet sidewalks.
There is nothing wrong with that. A great city provides a wide variety of neighborhoods. Houston has long had wonderful suburbs for the affluent, from The Woodlands on the periphery to the likes of West U. and Southampton in the inner city.
Mass transit is pivotal
The Heights strikes me as a small town near downtown, but when it opened it was advertised as a suburb reachable by a light rail line built by its developers.
What Houston has lacked is urban neighborhoods, though we're beginning to get there in fits and starts.
I think the best definition of an urban neighborhood is one in which you can go for days or even weeks without getting into your car.
Downtown offers a growing number of lofts and apartments, but so far it lacks the amenities of grocery stores, flower shops and street life that make up a healthy neighborhood.
On the edge of downtown, West Gray offers several blocks of urban sensibility with high-density apartments and condos above sidewalk bars, cafes and shops. And being Houston, even some outlying areas (most notably The Woodlands) are offering newly built neighborhoods integrated with walkable shopping and office areas.
But to be truly urban, such neighborhoods should be tied into mass transit, to provide the joy of not getting into a car for everything you need.
That, as new urbanist David Crossley points out, is a major reason the Ashby High Rise does not belong on Bissonnet.
That and the fact that while Bissonnet is a thoroughfare, it is not at that point a commercial street.
Most importantly, however, the tower doesn't belong because it is smack in the middle of a suburb, even if it is an inner-city suburb.


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A new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provides important insights into how the body regulates its production of heat, a process known as thermogenesis that is currently intensely studied as a target of diabetes and obesity treatment in humans.
While researchers had previously hypothesized that macrophages, a class of white blood cells, played a major role in thermogenesis, the new study suggests that the main driver of thermogenesis is the sympathetic nervous system, which is chiefly controlled by the brain. The results were published online today in Nature Medicine.
The Mount Sinai research team led by Christoph Buettner, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, focused on catecholamines, hormones released by the sympathetic nervous system to activate brown fat tissue. Brown adipose tissue is a type of fat tissue that burns energy to produce heat and keep us warm. Catecholamines can also convert white fat tissue, the more familiar kind of fat tissue that stores lipids, into a tissue that resembles brown fat. The researchers tested whether macrophages could provide an alternative source of catecholamines, as had been proposed in recent years.
"Thermogenesis is a metabolic process that receives a lot of interest as a target of drugs that allow you to burn energy and hence reduce obesity and improve diabetes. It turns out that macrophages are not that important, as they are unable to make catecholamines, but clearly the brain through the sympathetic nervous system is," says Dr. Buettner. "Therefore, it is very important to study the role of the brain and the sympathetic nervous system when it comes to understanding metabolism."
The ability to generate heat is critical for the survival of warm-blooded animals, including humans, as it prevents death by hypothermia. "This evolutionary pressure shaped the biology of humans and that of other warm-blooded animals, and may in part explain why humans are susceptible to developing diabetes in the environment in which we live," says Dr. Buettner.
According to Dr. Buettner, while a lot of effort has been invested in targeting the immune system to cure diabetes and insulin resistance, as of yet there are no anti-inflammatory drugs that have been shown to work well in humans with metabolic disease. "Our study suggests that perhaps the key to combating the devastating effects of diabetes and obesity in humans is to restore the control of thermogenesis and metabolism by the brain and the autonomic nervous system," says Dr. Buettner.
This study was performed collaboratively between Mount Sinai and eight other institutions from around the world, most prominently with the group of Timo D. Müller, PhD, Institute for Diabetes and Obesity at the Helmholtz Center Munich in Germany.
This work was further supported by grant from the German Research Foundation DFG-TS226/1-1, DFG-TS226/3-1,SFB1123, Nutripathos Project ANR-15-CE14-0030, European Research Council ERC AdG HypoFlam no. 695054 (to M.H.T.); DFG He3260/8-1, the EU FP7 Network "DIABAT," the EU ITN Network "TRAIN" 721531 (to S.H.); NIH R01AA023416, DK082724 and a career-development award from the American Diabetes Association (to C.B.); NIH R01DK099222 (to S.D.); NIH DK17844 (to S.C.W.); the Israeli Science Foundation and European Research Council (AdvERC grant 340345) (to S.J.) and the Swedish Research Council and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (to J.N. and B.C.).
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services -- from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.
The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is in the "Honor Roll" of best hospitals in America, ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2016-2017 "Best Hospitals" issue of U.S. News & World Report. The Mount Sinai Hospital is also ranked as one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Geriatrics, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose & Throat, and is in the top 50 in four other specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 10 nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report in "Best Children's Hospitals."
For more information, visit http://www.


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The great French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson used the term "decisive moment" to describe a principle of his work. To this day it is one of the fundamental concepts in photo journalism. Just a frozen special moment that creates an extra edge. It can apply to almost any subject and it doesn't have to be overly dramatic. Try for your own "decisive moment."
Post your photos by 4 p.m. Saturday to Instagram, tagged #VanSun360, and we will choose the best ones and print them in the paper on Monday along with our photographer's feedback on the photos.
You can follow The Vancouver Sun on Instagram here.


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DUE to circumstances beyond our control we had to cancel the General Meeting that was due to take place on Thursday, October 25. Every effort has been made to acquaint members and prospective members of this late change.
Due to an internal typing error the General Meeting November was listed as the 29th when in fact it will take place on the 22nd. On that afternoon we will be getting into the mood for Christmas with entertainment by the 'Rainbow Players' with a selection of songs and dances having a seasonal theme.
To complement the popular group activities of art, scrabble, play, reading and gardening, we hope to re-introduce T'ai Chi. If you would like to participate in this elegant, therapeutic exercise please call one of the numbers below.
To date we have been disappointed with the lack of response to our efforts of having a small but thriving bridge group. We ideally need a keen hard core of 12 players with a skilled leader to organise the group and be prepared to provide tuition if required.
From all accounts there are many such people who are currently languishing on waiting lists. Why not give us a call on 01704 553573?
We might be able to help each other. This is what U3A is all about.
For further information please contact any of the following:
Doreen Gillow - Membership secretary 01704 574577
Val Wallace - Chairperson 01704 576684
Liz Williams - Treasurer 01704 576403


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OpenSecrets News
Democrat Rep. William Delahunt to Retire, Philly-style Ethics Reform and more in Capital Eye Opener: March 5
Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:
VETERAN HOUSE DEMOCRAT WILLIAM DELAHUNT TO QUIT: Citing a grueling U.S. House schedule and family commitments, Rep. William Delahunt (D-Mass.) will today announce he's not seeking reelection, the Boston Globe's Susan Milligan is reporting. Delahunt becomes the 17th Democratic member of the U.S. House to announce retirement ahead of 2010 midterm elections, which will decide whether Democrats retain control of all or part of Congress.
Had Delahunt chosen to run, he likely would have cruised to victory, as in recent election cycles, he's obliterated his opposition both in cash raised and votes collected. For his career, lawyers and law firms, real estate interests and a variety of unions ranked among his most loyal campaign donors. And through December, Delahunt reported more than $568,000 cash on hand — more than all his opponents last decade combined raised.
Delahunt's announced departure comes just hours after Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) said he'd forego reelection because of an ongoing battle with cancer.
But Massa is also embroiled in a spat involving one of his staff members, who's accused Massa of harassing him.
The freshman congressman is a campaign cash favorite not so much of corporate and union interests as he is Democratic special interest groups, retirees and congressional leadership PACs. Massa narrowly defeated Republican incumbent John Kuhl in 2008 to win New York's 29th congressional district seat.
PHILADELPHIA GIRDS FOR ETHICS OVERHAUL: Philadelphia's City Council is pushing a plan to overhaul its ethics laws — a plan that would, among other actions, require lobbyists to register with the city and regulate certain political committees.
The Philadephia Inquirer's Jeff Shields writes that most of the council's members, as well as Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, supported the changes in principle. If passed, Philadelphia's legislation would follow other large local and state jurisdictions, including the state of Illinois and city of Dallas, that have in recent months passed notable campaign finance or ethics reform measures.
CRP, IN THE NEWS: The Huffington Post and National Journal cited our money-in-politics Oscars feature, which explains who'd win Academy Award gold if the selection criteria were based on political contributions … Other media outlets and reporters citing our work in the past day include CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, The Hill, Bloomberg and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at [email protected].