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A Salute to Vietnam-Era Women Veterans
On March 24, the Center for Women Veterans hosted "A Salute to Vietnam-Era Women Veterans" at VA Central Office in Washington, DC. As a Commemorative Partner with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration (http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/), the objectives of the salute were to engage a panel of women Veterans who served during the commemoration period November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location. The panelists included: the Honorable Linda Spoonster Schwartz, Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning; Ms. Barbara Ward, Director, Center for Minority Veterans; Ms. Karen Vartan, VA's Navigation, Advocacy & Community Engagement; and Ms. Marsha Four, Vice President, Vietnam Veterans of America. This program focused on the many roles women in the military served during this era. A grateful nation thanks and honors our Vietnam Veterans. View the event video at http://players.brightcove.net/2851863979001/default_default/index.html?videoId=4876159546001.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the appointment of a new director of the Center for Women Veterans
May 3, 2016, 02:29:00 PM
Kayla M. Williams assumed duties this week as director, serving as primary advisor to the Secretary on Department policies, programs and legislation that affect women veterans. She is a member of the Army Education Advisory Committee, a former member of the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, a 2013 White House Woman Veteran Champion of Change, and a 2015 Lincoln Award recipient.
She worked eight years at the RAND Corporation conducting research on service member and veteran health needs and benefits, international security, and intelligence policy.
Williams graduated cum laude with a BA in English Literature from Bowling Green State University and earned an MA in International Affairs with a focus on the Middle East from American University.
The Center for Women Veterans was established by Congress in November 1994 by Public Law (P.L.) 103-446 and monitors and coordinates VA's administration of health care and benefits services and programs for women Veterans. The Center serves as an advocate for a cultural transformation in recognizing the service and contributions of women veterans and women in the military.
USAF General Robinson Likely as Next NORTHCOM Head
By Aaron Mehta3:14 p.m. EST January 8, 2016
WASHINGTON â Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson is the Obama administration's likely choice as the next head of US Northern Command, sources say, a move which would make her the first woman to lead a combatant command.
Rumors have circulated inside the Pentagon for weeks that Robinson is being considered for the role, including a Wall Street Journal report which named her as the likely nominee. Two sources today confirmed the rumors to Defense News, although both warned that with nominations, nothing is locked in until a final decision has been made.
Seen as a rising star in the Air Force, Robinson has shot through the ranks, adding a star a year from 2012 through 2014.
In June of 2012, just before current Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh took office, Robinson was a two-star serving as deputy commander, US Air Forces Central Command; less than a year later, she pinned on her third star in May of 2013 and became vice commander, Air Combat Command.
Then in October 2014, she pinned on her fourth star and took over as commander, Pacific Air Forces. With the PACAF assignment, Robinson became the first US female four-star to command combat forces.
"She's highly capable, highly competent, and she will do a great job," one of the sources said of Robinson.
If Robinson takes the NORTHCOM role, it would remove her from the running to replace Welsh later this year. There has been a strong belief both inside and outside the Pentagon that Robinson is a favorite of Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, but there were questions about whether Robinson has enough experience to become Chief.
(Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Whitney Stanfield)
Army seeks enlisted women for infantry, armor and 12 other combat jobs
Jim Tice, Army Times5:32 p.m. EDT April 4, 2016
Calling all female soldiers interested in going infantry or armor.
For the first time, the Army has issued a new menu of reclassification options for active Army enlisted women whose careers are stalled in overstrength military occupational specialties to make the switch to infantry, armor and several other combat arms MOSs that until just recently were closed to women.
Under the new career change opportunities, the Army will allow the reclassification, as a secondary MOS, of women soldiers into 14 previously closed combat specialties, many of which do not meet the requirements for a standard primary MOS change as stipulated in the Reclassification In/Out Calls.
Women who meet the In/Out Call rules for a standard primary MOS job change do not require a waiver of policy and can proceed with a regular PMOS reclassification request.
The In/Out Calls indicate by grade and MOS what specialties are overstrength, understrength or balanced, and whether they are open or closed to transfers.
The calls were last updated Jan. 12 and can be viewed below.
âBecause the Army is in the midst of a major drawdown, many of its major ground combat MOSs are overstrength and closed to regular reclassifications.
The Army has for the first time issued reclassification options for female enlisted soldiers who want to go into a combat arms MOS. These jobs were recently opened to women, just like the Army's storied Ranger School. Three female soldiers have earned the coveted Ranger tab. Here, soldiers, including Capt. Kristen Griest, one of the first female graduates, conduct mountaineering training during the Ranger Course on Mount Yonah, Ga. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Scott Brooks/Army)
To qualify for the new reclassification opportunities, women in the Regular Army must be serving in an overstrength specialty and request transfer to one of the following as a secondary MOS:
⢠11B (infantryman)
⢠11C (indirect fire infantryman)
⢠12B (combat engineer)
⢠13B (cannon crewmember)
⢠13D (field artillery automated tactical data system specialist)
⢠13F (fire support specialist)
⢠13M (MLRS crewmember)
⢠13P (MLRS operational dire direction specialist)
⢠13R (field artillery Firefinder radar operator)
⢠19D (cavalry scout)
⢠19K (M1 tank crewmember)
⢠91A (M1 tank system maintainer)
⢠91M (track vehicle repairer)
⢠91P (artillery mechanic)
By designating the reclassification specialty as a secondary MOS, personnel managers are providing female soldiers with an opportunity to attend training and serve in specialties that previously were closed to women. This strategy allows women to remain in their current primary MOS for promotion purposes.
Female soldiers may, in the future, request to convert their secondary MOS to their primary MOS when the In/Out calls allow such a change. Presumably that will occur when the Army gets smaller and the specialty content of the force comes into balance with requirements.
Female enlisted soldiers must meet the following criteria to request reclassification under terms of the new policy:
Be in the rank of nonpromotable sergeant or below.
Hold a primary MOS and requested secondary MOS that do not meet the reclassification rules in the current version of In/Out Calls. (Soldiers who meet the In/Out Call rules do not require a waiver of policy and qualify for a standard reclassification).
Meet the MOS standards described in DA Pamphlet 611-21 (Military Occupational Classification and Structure).
Be recommended for reclassification by their immediate commander.
Soldiers approved for this job change program will attend training in a temporary duty status en route to a follow-on assignment in their new secondary MOS. Soldiers who do not successfully complete training will be reassigned in their primary MOS.
Soldiers who are interested in this program should contact their local career counselor.
Matthew L. Schehl, Marine Corps Times8 a.m. EDT April 2, 2016
Marine female engagement team trains high-speed Kuwaiti force
A Marine female engagement team recently wrapped up a mission in Kuwait where they trained members of an elite security force tasked with protecting some of that country's highest-profile women.
Last month, a detachment from the North Carolina-based 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit trained members of the Kuwaiti interior ministryâs VIP Protection Unit, Female Division, which is similar to the U.S. Secret Service. It's the second time a MEU has deployed with a FET since disbanding the all-women teams four years ago in Afghanistan.
The female team was able to bridge a gap in a country where cultural norms would make it inappropriate for women there to be trained by male Marines, said Capt. Jamie Ash, the FETâs officer in charge and adjutant for the 26th MEU.
âIt was definitely a unique opportunity,â she said. âIt really offered us the chance to build relationships that our male counterparts in the military are unable to.â
Over two weeks, the Marines honed the Kuwaitisâ abilities to conduct personnel security operations, including reacting to contact, close quarter combat, detainee search and handling techniques, marksmanship and self-defense. The Kuwaitis were particularly interested in learning more about self-defense, Ash said.
A staff sergeant on the FET, the 26th MEUâs maintenance management chief, also happened to be a black belt Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor.
âShe was a great asset while we were there,â Ash said. âThey donât have female [martial arts] instructors, so that was an interesting engagement.â
The Marines learned from the Kuwaiti women as well, said Staff Sgt. Ellen Holland, the 26th MEUâs mobility chief.
âThey wear the hijab, the head covering, and how they do their search procedures because of their culture [differs],â she explained. âWhereas we, the FET, would just look to see if women have nothing in their hair, they would actually do a rake through the head covering to make sure thereâs nothing in their hijab.â
On the last day of training, the Marines led an integrated exercise so the Kuwaitis could demonstrate what theyâd learned to their leaders.
The FET compiled an after action review and lessons learned, which they will share with the 13th MEU when it relieves the 26th.
Reviving FETs
The need to work through such cultural differences led to the original creation of FETs at the height of the counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In societies with well-established gender norms that prohibit women from interacting with men outside of family, female tactical teams would build relationships, assess need for aid, conduct searches and gather intelligence from the half of the population male troops couldn't access.
In August 2012, with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on the horizon, the Marines disbanded their last FET as they prepared to hand over responsibility to the country's nascent security forces. Since then, however, the operational need for FETs didnât go away as Marines continued training and advising Middle Eastern partners, Lt. Col. Steve Kahn, operations officer for the 15th MEU, told Marine Corps Times last August.
The 15th MEU revived the FET mission in September in response to requests from partner nations, he said. That allowed the Marine Corps to perform new security cooperation missions, including one in Qatar in which the FET training local forces
The 15th MEUâs success inspired Marines with the 26th MEU to approach their command prior to deploying to replace them, Ash said.
âThe commanders were very supportive of this; they understood and realized it was an important mission,â she said. âIt meant giving up Marines out of their primary jobs to be able to train and conduct this engagement.â
Ash and Holland, who were responsible for assembling the team, said they had no shortage of volunteers. Marines from a wide range of military occupational specialties stepped forward, including aviation ordnance, legal and maintenance.
âOne of the unique capabilities of the MEU is its broad spectrum of capabilities,â Ash said. âWe had so many females interested in participating in the team that we were able to do screening and really put together the best team from it.â
Since the 15 women were new to the FET mission, Holland got input from the MEU's law enforcement and maritime raid force detachments while working on the training plan.
Since they've deployed, the FET has conducted specific training in personnel security detail operations and close-quarter combat, she said.
âIt was definitely a good experience just to be able to see a bunch of different Marines come together with different backgrounds and all have one mission to accomplish,â she said.
U.S. Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conduct live-fire training with the Kuwait Ministry of the Interior VIP Protection Unit, Female Division during an exchange with the 26th MEUâs Female Engagement Team. The 26th MEU is embarked on the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and is deployed to maintain regional security in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Capt. Lindsay Pirek/Released)(Photo: Capt. Lindsay Pirek/Marine Corps)
Cpl. Leslie Souza, a member of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unitâs female engagement team, reviews a target during live-fire training with the Kuwait Ministry of the Interior VIP Protection Unit, Female Division. (Photo: Capt. Lindsay Pirek/Marine Corps)
Help for Female Veterans
The total Veteran population in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Territories/Foreign, as of September 30, 2015, was 21,680,534. Of that number, women Veterans numbered 2,035,213. Texas, California, Florida, Virginia and Georgia have the largest number of female veterans. However, among recent veterans, women are the fastest growing group.
Many female veterans do not self-identify as veterans, do not participate in veterans organizations or use VA services. Although the reasons for this may be complex, AMRA hopes that our members will help raise the awareness of female veterans they may know. There is quite a bit on offer for them, and may help them out financially, too.
Gender-specific Services
Female veterans may be eligible for Pap smears, mammography, prenatal and childcare. They should a
pply for VA health care enrollment by completing VA Form 10-10EZ which may be obtained by visiting, calling, or writing any VA health care facility or Veterans' benefits office. You can also call toll-free 1-877-222 VETS (1-877-222-8387).
Maternity Benefits
The VA provides maternity benefits to eligible women Veterans. Public Law 111-163 authorizes VA to furnish health care services, for not more than 7 days, to a newborn child of a women Veteran who delivered the child in a VA facility or in another facility pursuant to a VA contract for such care.
Children born to women Veterans who served in Vietnam may also be eligible for certain benefits.
Women's Heart Health
NEW ORLEANS â Air Force veteran Liz Skilbeck recently got a new license plate for her vehicle that identifies it as being driven by a female veteran. Before that, the license plate just identified it as being driven by a veteran, causing people to thank her husband for his service.
"It was 'Thanks for your support. What did your husband do?' And my husband didn't," Skilbeck said.
Skilbeck is one of 50 female veterans coming together this weekend in a conference put together by The Mission Continues, an organization that connects veterans with public service projects. The conference aims to bring together the women â all volunteers with The Mission Continues â to share their unique experiences, inspire them with some strong role models and help them learn new skills.
"I think no matter where we are, no matter what battles we've overcome, it's just good to be around strong women," Skilbeck said.
The Mission Continues has been around since 2007, but this is the first time they've had an event just for women, said Laura L'Esperance, the organization's senior vice president of brand and communications. She said they decided to do a women-specific conference after doing a study of their programs and noticing that while women make up about 15 percent of active duty troops, they made up roughly double that share of some of the organization's programs.
But in a society that often equates the military with men, she said female vets often feel invisible when they leave the service. Hopefully through this conference the women will gain a new network and new skills to prepare them for whatever challenges they face next, she said.
"Men and women join the military for the same reason," she said. "But culturally their experiences in the military and after service are very different."
The women come from all over the country and a range of ages, although most are post-9/11 veterans. Skilbeck joined the Air Force in early 2001 and specialized in how to dispose of explosive ordnance. She left the service in March 2005 after multiple surgeries made it impossible to continue. Skilbeck said she struggled after leaving the Air Force. Working with The Mission Continues has given her a chance to contribute to society while working alongside veterans who understand what she's been through: "That's something I really missed."
The conference comes at a time of immense change for women in the military. The Defense Department this year opened up all combat jobs to women. Some generals have raised the prospect of women registering for the draft. The defense department is also pushing family-friendly proposals such as doubling the fully paid maternity leave for female service members.
The conference will feature speakers like Michele Flournoy, co-founder of the Center for New America Security whose name has been mentioned as the possible first woman to head the Pentagon, and sisters Betsy Nunez and Emily Nunez Cavness, who confounded a company to repurpose military waste into bags and purses.
Rachel Gutierrez, who joined the Army in 2000 and deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005, said she's looking forward to talking with one of the featured speakers, Brig. Gen. Helen Pratt, and connecting with other women. Like Skilbeck, she's run into multiple situations where she's not recognized as a veteran â for example, going to a veterans' hospital and people assuming she's a caretaker for a male veteran.
"I think for a woman veteran that can become super alienating," she said. She's helped launch two platoons â teams of volunteer veterans â in the Phoenix area. "We are over 400 veterans strong and we are absolutely not male dominated."
Rebecca Santana, The Associated Press11:25 a.m. EDT April 1, 2016
Female veterans and active duty and future Marines were united in early March 2016 by the Womenâs Marine Association to recognize Womenâs History Month and celebrate the 73rd anniversary of proudly serving in the Marine Corps.(Photo: Cpl. Jared Lingafelt/Marine Corps)
By Pamela Berard
April 1st, 2016
Legislation in response to hike in female veteransâ suicide rate
Proposed legislation would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop gender-specific suicide prevention programs.
The âFemale Veteran Suicide Prevention Actâ (H.R. 2915) directs the VA to identify mental health care and suicide prevention programs and metrics that are most effective in treating women veterans.
The legislation, passed by the House of Representatives in early February, was in response to an increase in suicide in female veterans detailed in a recent VA study.
Researchers tracked more than 174,000 veteran and non-veteran suicides from 2000 to 2010 and found that the rate of suicide among female veterans increased 40 percent during that time period.
Women account for 10 percent of the veteran population and are the fastest growing subpopulation of veterans treated by the VA, according to information released from the office of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Blumenthal co-sponsored the Senate version of the legislation (S. 2487), which has been referred to the Committee on Veterans Affairs.
âWith suicide among women veterans happening at an alarming rate, this bill will help save lives by ensuring VA is providing the care, counseling and outreach these veterans need,â Blumenthal said.
Heather OâBeirne Kelly, Ph.D., lead psychologist for military and veterans policy, senior legislative and federal affairs officer, for the American Psychological Association, said the APA supports the Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act.
âH.R. 2915 directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to specifically identify and evaluate mental health care and suicide prevention programs that meet the critical needs of women veterans and to include women as a focus in relevant research programs,â Kelly said.
The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, signed into law in 2015, required an âindependent third partyâ to evaluate the VAâs mental healthcare and suicide prevention programs. This new legislation would amend that law to also require âspecific metrics applicable to women and to identify the VA mental health care and suicide prevention programs that are most effective and have the highest patient satisfaction rates among women veterans.â
Kelly said the VA has a very active portfolio of research and programming to identify and address the particular needs of women veterans, if and when they are different than the needs of male veterans. âIn some areas this is an obvious issue, like when female veterans have gynecological needs or are pregnant, for example,â Kelly said.
âIn terms of suicide, female veterans accessing care at the VA have shown an increasing and disturbingly higher rate when compared to women in similar but âcivilianâ cohorts. Women veterans die by suicide at almost six times the rate of other women and women veterans are five times more likely to die by suicide than male veterans,â Kelly said.
Kelly said the APA also supports the second aspect of the legislation, which mandates that veterans who served in classified missions while on active duty be offered comprehensive mental health treatment within the VA that is sensitive to those veteransâ ongoing security needs.
Parents of a young veteran advocated for this measure after their son was assigned to group therapy at the VA and expressed concerns about the possibility of inadvertently sharing classified information in that setting while in the presence of those without appropriate clearances, Kelly said.
That veteran ultimately died by suicide and his parents worked to have language added in this bill ensuring that veterans who participated in classified missions could âaccess mental health care in a manner that fully accommodates their obligation to not improperly disclose classified information,â Kelly said.
âShould the Senate bill pass and then be conferenced with the House bill a
nd signed into law by the President, the VA would be required to find alternative methods of mental health treatment for this group of veterans that meets their security needs,â Kelly said
Caring for Older Women Veterans Presents Unique Challenges
April 2016 | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | News | Women's Health
âBy Brenda L. Mooney
SEATTLE â When it comes to health issues, older female veterans arenât always like other women, according to a series of new studies seeking to determine why.
The differences range from lower self-perception of health in those aging veterans to higher smoking rates. Women who had previously served in the U.S. military also had greater declines in cognitive functions, more hip fractures and, for those serving before the Vietnam era, higher all-cause mortality rates.
Those findings are detailed in a new supplemental issue of The Gerontologist, including 13 articles by VA and colleagues probing the differences in aging issues and mortality between veteran and nonveteran women. 1
Data came from the Womenâs Health Initiative (WHI), a long-term study which began in 1991 and is funded by the National Institutes of Healthâs National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. WHI researchers followed nearly 162,000 postmenopausal women â 3,700 of whom were veterans â from 40 medical centers across the United States for more than 20 years, collecting data on health status, disease, health behaviors and social and psychological factors.
Leading the effort to compare health and mortality between veterans and nonveterans in the sample were Gayle Reiber, PhD, MPH, a senior career scientist at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and Andrea LaCroix, PhD, professor and chief of epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego, and a senior investigator at the WHI Clinical Coordinating Center. More than 60 VA and non-VA researchers also were involved.
âThe women veterans in WHI have taught us that prior military service identifies a group of women who face special challenges as they grow older,â LaCroix pointed out. âWith women choosing to serve our country in greater numbers and expanded roles, including combat, it is essential to learn about their healthcare needs after leaving service now and in the future.â
In general, women veterans reported lower levels of self-perceived health, life satisfaction, social support, physical function and quality of life, according to the study, which also found that, while women veterans and nonveterans were similar at baseline in mental-function tests, declines in cognitive function over time were greater in the veteran group. Women veterans also suffered more hip-fracture rates than nonveterans, although that was not the case with other types of fractures.
Smoking and exposure to passive smoke was a more significant issue for women veterans, resulting in a greater risk for lung cancer, the research noted. Women veterans serving before the Vietnam era also experienced more cancer, in general, relative to nonveterans. In fact, all-cause mortality rates were higher for those earlier veterans.
Women serving in the military during or after Vietnam, meanwhile, had more traumatic injuries from motor-vehicle accidents or other causes, according to the results, although their overall mortality rates were no higher than nonveterans.
Reiber suggested several reasons why health outcomes might differ between veteran and nonveteran women as they age. While the conventional wisdom is that servicemembers tend to be healthier in general than their nonmilitary counterparts, that often is offset by other factors, she explained.
âWomen veterans were considered âhealthy soldiers,â because joining the military meant passing a variety of tests â education, aptitude, physical ability, mental function. It also meant maintaining physical fitness and receiving healthcare,â Reiber pointed out. âYet, women veterans may have been more likely to engage in health behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol use and poor diet, and this, combined with exposure to hazardous environments and mental and physical stress, may have limited their ability to adapt to repeated stresses over the lifetime.â
She noted that, while the authors could not âpinpoint all of the reasons for health differences among women veterans, compared with nonveterans, these findings do identify ways to improve health and healthcare for this special group of older women.â
Study authors proposed that many women veterans could benefit from programs promoting physical activity, social connections, healthy weight and smoking cessation. They also stressed the importance of evaluation for depression.
Aging Women
The studies pointed out that women aged 80 years and older are emerging as a large and critically important demographic group â 6.6 million women were aged 80 years and older in 2012, which accounts for 4% of the total female population and 2% of the entire U.S. population. By 2026, when the first baby boomers will become octogenarians, women aged 80 years and older are projected to comprise nearly 12% of the total female population and 6% of the entire population.
At the same time, the number of women veterans in these age groups also is increasing in line with greater opportunities for expanded roles and advancement for women in the military. In 2014, the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics veteran population projection model noted that 2.0 million U.S. women have a history of military service â including the 400,000 women serving during the World War II era, the 120,000 serving during the Korean conflict and the 265,000 who volunteered to serve during the Vietnam era. Overall, more than 16% of female veterans are older than 65 years.
The number of women veterans older than 65 years is expected to grow rapidly in the next decade, including an 83% increase in those older than 65 years â from 332,000 women veterans in 2014 to more than 608,000 in 2025.
Currently, active duty forces are 15% women, and, with the most recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq being the longest sustained U.S. military operation since the Vietnam War, research cited in background information in the special issue found that returning women veterans are more likely than men to experience depression, musculoskeletal disorders and adjustment disorders.
Noting that dearth of studies on the health characteristics of older women veterans, particularly those from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, one of the studies focused on significantly lower perceived health, physical function, life satisfaction, social support, quality of life and purpose in life scale scores in female veterans 80 or older, compared with nonveterans.1
The greatest difference was in physical function scores â 53.0 for veterans vs. 59.5 for nonveterans, according to the report, which noted that âwomen veterans were significantly more likely to die prior to age 80 years than nonveteran WHI participants,â with an odds ratio of 1.20.
Women veterans also were older on average than nonveteran women and more likely to be Caucasian and college graduates. They were less likely, however, to ever have been married or to be living with spouse or partner at baseline. Veterans in the WHI cohort also were significantly more likely to be current or past smokers, to consume alcohol, yet they reported higher mean physical activity levels, were less likely to be overweight or obese and slightly less likely to be depressed, compared with their nonveteran peers.
âIn both veteran and nonveteran women, healthy survival was associated with not smoking, higher physical activity, healthy body weight and fewer depressive symptoms,â the authors wrote, suggesting that âintervening upon smoking, low physical activity, obesity and depressive symptoms has potential to improve chances for healthy survival in older women including veterans.â
With female veterans 80 or older somewhat less likely to report at least good perceived health, compared with nonveterans, almost one-third of them (32%) were living in a residential environment that provided services for older people, compared with only 22% of nonveteran women. They also had significantly lower scores on the satisfaction with life, social support, quality of life and purpose in life scales.
Overall in the WHI study:
31% of women survived to age 80 years without major disease or mobility disability;
18% lived to age 80 years with baseline disease but no incident disease or mobility disability, whereas 23% developed incident disease,
12% developed mobility disability with or without incident disease: and
16% did not survive to age 80 years.
Those percentages didnât differ much among veterans, but the probability of death prior to age 80 years was significantly higher among veteran women, compared with nonveterans after adjustment for age alone, with an odds ratio of 1.17.
âWhy would a history of military service influence healthy survival, physical function and quality of life in older women?â study authors asked. Among the answers is that women who make the nontraditional life choice of enlisting are much more likely to be unmarried than other women and men at every age group.
âSecond, women who served in the military may have been exposed to experiences that altered their subsequent life course, such as military sexual trauma, environmental exposures associated with their military jobs or post-traumatic stress disorder,â according to the researchers. âThe WHI data are unable to shed light on the extent to which these factors influenced the findings reported herein. â
In terms of medical services, the study projected that 87% of the female veterans received healthcare outside of the VA system.
âWomen veterans differ from nonveterans in having military exposures, being more likely to have experienced interpersonal violence, including sexual trauma, and having a higher prevalence of selected physical and mental health disorders,â according to an editorial by Reiber and LaCroix. âCaring for older women veterans in the future will be influenced by their growing numbers and their greater likelihood of exposure to combat and its associated long-term physical and mental health challenges.â 2
1LaCroix AZ, Rillamas-Sun E, Woods NF, Weitlauf J, Zaslavsky O, Shih R, LaMonte MJ, Bird C, Yano EM, LeBoff M, Washington D, Reiber G. Aging Well Among Women Veterans Compared With Non-Veterans in the Womenâs Health Initiative. The Gerontologist. 2016 Feb;56 Suppl 1:S14-26. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv124. PubMed PMID: 26768388.
2 Reiber GE, LaCroix AZ. Older Women Veterans in the Womenâs Health Initiative. TheGerontologist. 2016 Feb;56 Suppl 1:S1-5. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv673. PubMed PMID: 26768382.


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Monday, June 4, 2012
Summer Quinoa Salad
Summer Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 lemon
2 T olive oil
1 large clove garlic
tomatoes - I use about 6 - 7 cherry tomatoes or 2 romas or 1 big beefsteak
1 avocado
1 can sliced black olives
handful of parsley OR cilantro
1/4 c chopped red onion
1/4 c chopped roasted red pepper
1 cucumber
salt & pepper to taste
Pour quinoa & water into a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, cover, and let simmer until quinoa has "bursted" and is tender to eat, about 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Mix dressing: Squeeze out the juice of one lemon, throw in a healthy pinch of kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, and grate or press in a clove of garlic. Whisk in the olive oil. It's about 2 Tablespoons, but do a little at a time until it tastes like it's balanced out the tang of the lemon juice without getting too oily. I will usually just mix my dressing in the big bowl I'm going to put the salad in so I don't dirty up too many dishes.
Dice up your cucumber nice & small--I reserve about 1/3 of my cucumber dices to feed Duncan as a healthy snack, but you should feel free to chuck the whole thing in there. Chop up your red onion, roasted red pepper, avocado & parsley/cilantro, add them to the bowl. Again, I just put them in with the finished dressing. Depending on what kind of tomatoes you're using, dice 'em up, throw 'em in. (If I'm using cherry tomatoes I'll just quarter them.) Drain your olives and add them too.
Now, at this stage, your quinoa may or may not still be warm. I'm usually so hungry that I throw the warm quinoa into the bowl, mix it up & eat. Mac, however, prefers this salad when it's all totally cooled. I leave it up to you. Either way, combine the quinoa with the veggies and dressing, salt & pepper the whole thing to taste, and serve. This will feed four - five hungry people if it's the only thing they're eating, and obviously more if it's a side dish. If it's just for you, it will keep for a couple days--the lemon juice in the dressing helps keep the avocado green.
Final note: I would have posted a picture of this pretty salad, but it literally got eaten too fast and I missed my chance. Next time!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Click-o de Mayo
In honor of that event, I wanted to share a couple of my favorite recipes: Guacamole and Kalua Pork.
First, the guac. I've gotten lots of "I don't generally like guacamole but I like yours" compliments on this recipe. It's not super fancy, and not even much different from the traditional recipes you can find just about anywhere. I basically just paid close attention to our waiter at El Cholo while they made it tableside, replicated it from memory, then played with it til it was my own.
What you need:
3 ripe avocados (or 1 avocado as big as your head, like the one pictured, left)
2 limes
small handful of cilantro (1/2 cup ish?)
1/2 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
coarse salt (like kosher)
black pepper
Because I'm often making this for parties, I'll often do the whole thing in the food processor just to save time. If you don't have one or like a chunkier style to your guac, then you'll want to start by prepping all your flavors.
- Give the cilantro a rough chop
- Dice the onion fine
- Dice the jalapeno fine--then WASH YOUR HANDS before touching anything. Seriously
- For the garlic, I do this Rachael Ray style, and grate it into the bowl. All the flavor, no giant chunks of garlic, and no waste from the press. A fine dice will also work here.
Get all your flavors together, then cut up your avocado. This is pretty close to how I do it, although I prefer a proper-sized chef's knife to a small paring knife, and I just scoop the goods out with a spoon once I dice it. (Tip: You can learn how to do just about anything in the kitchen on YouTube.)
Alrighty. Next. Juice your limes into the bowl--this'll help you mush up the avocado better--and stir all your ingredients together. Season the whole thing up good with a couple healthy pinches of salt & black pepper. Then taste & check. I find that if I'm missing anything, it's usually salt, black pepper, and/or garlic, so if it doesn't taste perfect to you, start with one of those three.
And that's it! You can add tomatoes if you really want to, but I don't. Personal preference.
Now the Kalua Pork! I'm sure you're wondering, Why the Hawaiian recipe for the Mexican holiday? Well, we have the tiki bar in the back yard & like to add a little island flavor where we can, of course, but the main reason? It's FREAKING DELICIOUS.
It's also ridiculously easy. Here's all you do: follow this recipe. BUT! The last time I made this, I got it started the night before a party, and when I checked on it the next morning I discovered that A) it was already shredding & falling to pieces in the slow cooker and B) it needed more liquid smoke. So, to do this my way, follow that recipe, but about halfway through, shred the pork and stir in about another tablespoon or so of liquid smoke to taste. If it turns out anything like that last batch, you, too, could have guests picking bits of pork out of the slow cooker with their fingers and making their own doggy bags to take home.
To marry this recipe with our Mexican holiday party, however, I was thinking of creating a "Kalua Pork Taco," putting the pork in a soft taco shell with a tropical salsa made with, like, pineapple and Maui onions. How does that sound to you? I think it sounds deeeelicious!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
we have this thing down to a science
Mac and I have been throwing this party together for years. I think since 2002? It was whatever year Will Smith was nominated for his role in Ali, because that was the year we came up with the punch (get it??) recipe that would become the Almighty Funch.
Needless to say, by now we have this thing down to a science. So for those of you who can't make it or are looking for ideas on throwing your own shindig in your corner of the world, here are my tips:
1. A clever, ambitious menu is fun; a short & easy one is better. A couple years ago, I created a deconstructed ratatouille appetizer that was delicious, but super complicated (you bake the ratatouille using the recipe from the movie, toast up some olive-oil-drizzled crostini in the oven, and pile the hot veggie goodness on the bread, and top with a dollop of goat cheese). The year before that I sauteed up a hot, savory filling for lettuce wraps that turned out to be highly involved tricky to assemble & eat. Both of those years, those complicated offerings were part of extensive, fabulous menus, I spent the entire party in the kitchen, and all my friends bitched about it. Last year, I shortened the menu, made MORE of each item, and spent twice as much time watching the show and chatting with friends. No one noticed or cared about the shorter menu, and no one complained about not seeing me. More importantly--I had a much better time!
2. Prizes, prizes, prizzizes! The easiest way to get everyone into the spirit of an awards show--even when the show itself sucks which, let's face it, is often likely--is to put money on it. You can print ballots from the official Oscar site or make your own. The person with the most right gets a nice wad of cash--we do a $10 buy-in. We also do prizes for the runners up and a booby prize for whoever gets the least right--these are all made up of donated swag, so if you don't have the connections? Save your money. Mostly, people just want the cash.
3. The easiest way to decorate for your party is with your guests, I always say. For awards night, we encourage cocktail & party attire as well as movie-inspired costumes. The costumes usually win the Best Dressed award, a prize we will often purchase & assemble, but is still pretty easy. Books about the history of Oscar attire, Vogue magazine, and/or a bottle of nice hooch is sufficient to support the honor of being the most dazzling/creative/brave soul of the party.
4. Multiple Viewing Options! People like to watch awards shows differently. Some are into the whole peanut gallery thing; others prefer the quiet. We offer a variety of options. If you're having 20 or more people to your party, I think you need at least 2 TVs. We offer 4-5. It's probably overkill. There's one in the living room for the rowdy bunch, one outside for smokers & people who want to cool off, a quiet room for the live-bloggers & people who take it more seriously, and one in the kitchen for, well, me. We've also done 1 in the garage in the past, but we're so not cleaning the garage this year so I think we'll stick with the very reasonable four.
5. Keep decor classic & simple. Black table cloth, white platters, gold stars. A plastic red "carpet" for people as they walk up to your place is always a nice touch, and you can find them at most party supply stores. Our personal touch to the decor is the Best Picture Centerpiece, comprised of a variety of fun, symbolic objects to represent each film. With 10 Best Picture nominees this year, this centerpiece will be even more dominant than ever.
And honestly? That's it. Not to untoot my horn and encourage anyone to be less impressed with our efforts, but that really is all there is to it. Have fun at your parties on Sunday, everyone! Maybe I'll even find the time to let you know how ours goes down.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Hot, comforting soup.
I have a bunch of "fall recipes" that I love, but the first thing I want to start cooking is soup. Hot, comforting soup. These are two of my favorites.
1. 15-Minute White Bean Soup.
Yes, you really can whip this up in 15 minutes if you have everything ready to go, and be eating hot, hearty comfort food in no time. I love this recipe because it's made up of staples I like to keep around the kitchen all the time anyway, including scallions, lemon, broth (veg or chicken), and canned white beans. Yes, I keep cans of white beans in my pantry at all times. Do you know how much you can make with them? Lots! Including this soup.
NOTES: Martha's recipe makes enough for 2 people to eat just this as a meal, or 4 people to have small bowls on the side of something else. I always double it so Mac & I have lunch the next day, regardless of whether I serve it with something else or not. Also, you can shred some cooked chicken into this soup pretty easily to create a "protein style" soup that's a little more filling, if you want a heartier meal.
Click the link above for the full recipe. Thank me later.
2. Spicy Pumpkin Soup
This is a recipe my friend Eyad got from a friend of his that used to write for JANE magazine. And as a former Sassy aficionado, that makes both Eyad and this recipe a little cooler in my book. It's also super fun because it's SPICY. You can control how spicy it gets, of course, but the point is that the balance of the sweet pumpkin with the spicy chipotle pepper is super yummy. Add a dollop of creamy sour cream to finish it off and you're in comfort food heaven!
- 1 Medium pumpkin or 2 cans of cooked unsweetened pumpkin--I just use the cans.
- One yellow onion
- 2-3 tsp Olive oil (or preferred cooking oil)
- 1 chipotle pepper from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced--trust me, one is enough! If you're a wuss, try the recipe with half a pepper.
- 1 dollop of adobo sauce, about a tsp or so (again, depends how spicy you want it)
- 4 cans of chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 1/4 cup of sour cream (optional)
- Salt to taste
NOTE: If you choose to use fresh pumpkin, slice in half remove seeds and surface stringy membrane insides, place both halves face down in baking dish about a 1/4 full of water, and cook at 350 for probably 20-30 minutes, or until soft--remove outer peel and place flesh aside until needed. I did this recipe once with fresh pumpkin. It was good, but kind of a pain, and canned pumpkin works just as well.
1) Dice yellow onion, heat up your olive oil in a soup pot on medium heat, then cook your onions until soft and slightly browned, about 8-10 min. I sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt on them to help them soften and a turn or two of fresh ground pepper to season them up--optional.
2) Add ONE chipotle pepper, diced, w/ a dollop of the adobo sauce the pepper comes in.
3) Add broth, keep at medium heat, do not boil.
4) Add Pumpkin, stirring all together.
5) Add additional salt to taste, if desired.
6) Stir and heat until hot, avoid boiling.
7) Blend with a hand-held immersion blender, or place entire mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth (place a kitchen towel over opening at top of processor, letting a small slit of air out. Be careful, mixture is HOT).
8) Return mixture to soup pot and place on simmer. Taste soup and if too spicy, add a bit of sour cream. If too salty, add more broth--etc--whatever your taste preference.
9) Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream floating in soup, maybe a piece of toasted bread and a drizzle of olive oil.
Enjoy! I like to serve this spicy pumpkin soup with grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches on pumpernickel bread for a delicious, Halloween-style meal.And there you have it! Two of my favorite soups for fall! Let me know what you think!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
life is busy, too
And the rest of my life is busy, too.
So! That's, like three different entries I came up with in one week:
- Light & Healthy BBQ Recipe Experiment
- Party Planning for the Inexperienced: Getting Started
- Hosting Out of Town Guests
Any preference on where I should start?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
the proper storage of your tomatoes
I am reminded of this, because I'm here to talk to you about the proper storage of your tomatoes.
See, because as much as I'm all, "I'm going to start a blog about entertaining and cooking and give advice & stuff!" I still screw stuff up all the time.
Like, I'd heard that you shouldn't put your tomatoes in the refrigerator. So when I bought some on Friday, I left them out. But here's a key thing I didn't know--if you leave your tomatoes out in the plastic bag you bought them in, you'll have a moldy, wet mess faster than you can say Wet Hot American Summer.
So, as a gift from me to you, I looked it up: you keep the tomatoes in a brown paper bag, and they'll last up to 5 days, according to this.
You know, I don't care what the guys from "The Pearl Jam" do with their tomatoes. But in the future, mine are going in a paper bag.
Final note: if your tomatoes get a little soft or wrinkly before you use them, freeze them! You can put them in a homemade marinara sauce later on. And then you can dip your meatballs in it.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Q and A: 30th birthday celebration
As the queen of all things party I could really use your expertise. I am starting the adventure that is planning my 30th birthday celebration and I am trying to figure out menus/drinks. It is looking like I might be doing more of a cocktail hour than BBQ, but it all depends on how I fit the budget. Do you have any secrets for where you shop or how you come up with your ideas?
Right now it looks like we are going for a "Glamorous 30's," black/white/red cocktail party theme. Everyone in swimsuits, but glammed up with great hair, accessories, etc. Should be a blast!!
What do you think?
Honey, I think that party sounds fabulous!
I think the key to any successful shindig is to keep it as simple as possible. I even shortened the menu for this year's Oscar fete, and did anyone notice? Nope.
First of all, I think you need a signature cocktail that you can make in big batches and either serve over ice or shake up to chill before serving. "The Christini," if you will. What's YOUR favorite cocktail? Start there, find a couple recipes, put your own twist on it, and voila! Signature drink! This is a fun research process, what with all the tasting in advance. In fact, I think we should get together with some options—black vodka, raspberry vodka maybe, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, maybe some creme de cassis, and something sparkling like 7-up or champagne—and see what we come up with. In fact, I want a Christini RIGHT NOW. Is it too early to start drinking?
As for the rest of the menu, there's a couple ways to play off the 30's or black/white/red theme. With the 30's you've got the Depression (depressing) or maybe a super old-school Hollywood thing you could do, which means you could just serve whatever you want and give it cute names like Greta Gumbo. Hell, you could serve Shirley Temples--no cleverness required!
Personally, I would lean more towards the black/white/red theme because it's easier (and probably cheaper). What about a pasta salad made with pasta shells, black olives, tomatoes and roasted red peppers, and a little Parmesan cheese? Dress it with Italian dressing and some salt & pepper--yummy! You've got Oreos that are black & white, all manner of red fruits & veggies...lots of possibilities.
I recommend brainstorming like crazy until you have a whole bunch of ideas, then group them all up and see what will go well together and what will be the EASIEST and CHEAPEST. Also, keep your menu as short as you can: entree, salad or side, snacky/chip & dippy item, something sweet, and that's it. Maybe make sure there's something for the vegetarians, if you're so inclined. If you're expecting a big turnout, just make stuff in big batches.
Beyond the menu & drinks (which, by the way, I have officially just now decided should be the Christini, Shirley Temples, champagne and nothing else--people can bring their own beer or whatever), I'd recommend just a handful of key decor items to bring out the theme. Costume parties are genius, because then your attendees decorate the place themselves with their costumes. But for something like this, I think I'd hunt down some cheap-o feather boas (at costume or party supply stores) to place around strategically--red, black & white. Do your plates, napkins & tablecloth in the theme colors (cheap versions from the grocery store or party supply store are what I use). Anything else really depends on your space & budget. Do a quick walk-through of the party space, close your eyes and visualize what your ideal party would look like, and boil it down to its key elements.
So now that I know you're having the coolest party ever, when is this shindig? I gotta get it on our calendar! :)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Canada Running Out Of Pot Days After Legalising Marijuana
Just a few days after becoming legal, it seems Canada is experiencing a shortage of marijuana.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001, and last week, the law was expanded to include recreational use.
Under the new legislation, Canadians can carry up to 30 grams of cannabis in public and each household will be able to grow up to four marijuana plants.
But it seems that citizens were so keen to get their hands on some green, the country is reportedly experiencing a shortage.
Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief who has led the government's legalisation program, said there had been some struggle to meet the demand.
"We expected, you know, certain strains might run out and there would be a bit of a run on supply," he said.
"But, you know, they've got a pretty good infrastructure in place and I'm confident it will work."
It's estimated that Canada's cannabis industry has enough funding to boost production to between 400,000 and 500,000 kilograms a year.


text:
Hey Ladies! Sorry for the lack of posts this week. My boyfriend left Monday night and I immediately jumped into studying for the ethics portion of the bar exam that I'll be taking tomorrow morning. So with that said, this post is going to be quick and to the point because I have more studying to do. This is It's You! by Misa. This is a deep dark gray (almost black, but not quite) with green and pink/purple duochrome shimmer. It's a weird duochrome though. The color doesn't shift in the same way as other duochromes. I think different lighting brings out the two shimmer colors. It was difficult to capture on camera. If you enlarge the picture you can see the pink/purple on the left picture and the green on the 2 pictures to the right. Two coats for perfect coverage. Formula was excellent (as are all Misa polishes). I've even had this one on for 4 days now because I haven't had time to change my polish.
Hope you all like it! Wish me luck on my exam!


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Kiwiblazer on
Cant wait to play this on the wii u
Michel Lorenzo Lemos on
Like someone said before, if you're making the paypal still going on for the extra content, make sure it's easy to notice and not only show how much towards the next goal is, but also how long until you stop using paypal.
Mark Littleford on
Heck yeah, this got funded. That's awesome :) I'm just sad I couldn't put more money towards it, but I'm currently attending my third year at university so I was kinda strapped for cash. Still, this is excellent news! Make the best darned Shantae game yet, WayForward!
Justin Vincent on
Glad I could help.
So how so do I get my Xbox 360 Download
Victor Urbán on
Michael Hines on
Is there any way we could see the other stretch goals as DLC post-release? I really want to see Nega-Shantae!
Dave Martin on
This is SO AWESOME! I'm so glad we've reached an extra chapter! that's one more transformation to add into the game!! I really hope we can reach Hero mode with PayPal. I'll keep awareness up for as long as you guys keep PayPal open, with some luck we'll get you that extra 90 000$ needed!
Congrats to WayForward!
Alex NeilsonSuperbackeron
C'mon paypallers - If you get us to the 900k stretch, I'll be very very happy!
Trevor McDoctor - Day 0 Shantae Fan on
*to IGNpocket readers
Trevor McDoctor - Day 0 Shantae Fan on
You're very welcome and THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS!!! This series has come a long way since 2002. The next 12 months will be exciting I'm sure. GENERAL Voldi Way, SIR IvanSmith, Jake Virt Kaufman, Jeff Luke-anticipating that Regular Show game!-, Christina Vee, Jesse-voice of Linda Lash, Erin Bozon, MASTER MATTHEW ODDESSIUS BOZON and everyone at Wayforward thanks for making my kind of games.
All the best, I hope to do some work for you one day.
-Trevor McD - A Day Zero Shantae Fan, Wayforward Fan since 2001
ps- Craig Harris, if you're reading this you spread interest of Shantae so IGNpocket readers like myself. THANK YOU wherever you are.
Luis on
HELL YEA! We did it guys!
Congrats WayForward! Shantae takes me back to my childhood on the GBC so I'm defenitly looking forward to seeing this game up for sale.
It would have been awesome if we made it to having Sky, Bolo, Rotty as playable characters.
Ah well, we've got plenty of enough stretch goals funded already so this will be fantastic.
Good luck way WayForward, and to all you Backers out there give yourselfs a pat on the back for me.
Colin Stradley on
Next year can't come soon enough... :D
Shane Calimlim on
Yea we should replace that countdown on the site, but I reeeaaally wanted to take a nap :)
Rex Warden on
Congratulations, and while I didn't have Scrooge's multiplujillion dollars, I'm glad I could help at all. Wayforward, in my opinion, is the salvation of quality gaming. May good fortune come to you for all time.
Protoman Red Bomber on
@kurt: i agree
Malcolm DeMaggio on
Congratulations! Can't way to play this next year!
TheRealMalek on
congratulations wayforward, i played some of your games and loved them, looking forward to this one !
Olli Johannes Suvinen on
Grats for 800k!
I was afraid we wouldn't even make 600k so that is way more than I hoped for.
Hopefully you'll get rest 400-500k gathered via paypal and then I can truly say, money well spent.
I'm gonna be anxiously waiting for my coin. XD
Luke Ravish on
Honestly, thank you guys so much for giving us such a fun experience; one where we can push for a game, along with a development team who shares our feelings, and pour our hearts and souls into a character we all love very much!
This Kickstarter, the amazingly fun live streams on Twitch.tv... Thank you for all that you have done and we are all so proud of you! This game will be filled with your love for Shantae and your love for creating amazing games, and every fan and newcomer is going to feel that!
Good luck in the development process and I'm sure everyone can hardly wait for what's to come!
Get some rest from those long 24 hours! You all deserve it!!
BH on
Congrats again! THANS all around!!
Maybe you guys should try to treat the Paypal funds almost as if the KS was still ongoing. Leave the Paypal totals posted somewhere on your homepage along with the stretch goals, and continue to mention the funding in your news and blog posts. It's hard to think that Shantae fans might have overlooked this campaign, but maybe leaving these blurbs during the release of Pirate's Curse could help.
Kurt Austin Thompson on
Sorry forgot to put 3DS on my last post. Stupid fingers.
@Kevin T.J. Brown I'm cracking up over here, and my sides have left the building. I'm glad WayForward has a sense of humor about it. I really want to see a "special than" section of the credits. Maybe have Risky come out and shoot off the k and s so people who aren't in on the joke aren't completely confused.
Kurt Austin Thompson on
@kuppy Let's ALSO celebrate by making a new version of Risky's Revenge so we can play as Dancer Shantae. Cause...god dang she is beautiful in that outfit.
FinalCataclsym on
Our work here is not done. We can relax and celebrate today, but it will take more exposure, time and money to reach all the way up to 1.3 Million.
Paypal is open for business and there is still stretch goals to be reached. Rest today, work tomorrow!
Yonis Fara on
I second @Kuppy . A sale on the Shantae games would be perfect now that Curse is coming out soon.
Chioke Blacksheare on
Congrats to the team! I know this game is going to be a fantastic piece of art.
Woodruff Gage on
Congratulations to the WayForward team and to us. I hope we can make it to at least A Dish Served Cold by the time the PayPal ends. Than you everyone!
Astrogamer on
Hurray. Congrats Wayforward
Brett Warriner on
Way to go guys, it was a fun ride! It will be great if the Paypal account can get us to the Hero Modes, Bolo needs some love! Regardless, it is a great day! :D
Jacob WisnerSuperbackeron
Haha I think that either their keyboard broke or they're still recovering from the live stream.
Stuckov the Admirable on
I fixed that image for you. http://i.imgur.com/5xCWgzy.jpg
Fitzpatrick Phillips on
Make sure you guys put THAN in the game somewhere!
Thomas Sausner Jr. on
righty-o! ya'll should post that on deviantart, the thanks you picture i mean
Zachary J Mireles on
Hooray! We did it! I'm so glad it was funded, I was honestly a little sad and worried at first. Then that awesome push came in and it blew past the goal! I'm very happy now, looking forward to the game!
Jake Shyer on
where do we find the paypal? Can we still get the game?
WayForward Creator on
Alan Casio on
I've been keeping up and blogging about your Kickstarter since day one, and had a really fun time doing so. I'm glad this Kickstarter has introduced me to the Shantae games, and I look forward to hearing more about your progress.
Good Luck! XD
YoshiSonic on
:/ Dang it, I really wanted to play hero mode..I really hope they try their hardest to make Hero mode available, that was the stretch goal I was waiting for.
Ramsey Wright on
HUZZAH!!! i have funded this one AND the Mighty No. 9 game!!!
Jasper Valentine on
We did it! Congrats WayForward, and well done for all of us!
and yes, THAN
Juan Vargas on
Sweet, and PayPal will stay open. This means there is still a chance to make this the best Shantae game ever. Let make it happen!
Sebastian Hurst on
Rullakebab99 on
This was one of the more fun campaigns. ^_^ - Looking forward to following the actual development of the game!


text: News Thursday 29 Oct. 2015 Day of Caring Making a difference was the aim for almost 70 staff from ExxonMobil at Fawley who took a day out of their busy work schedules to team up for an annual Day of Caring event.This was the 10th year running that the Fawley site has staged Day of Caring, which has so far given a helping hand to 43 different charities, schools, community or conservation groups by encouraging staff to volunteer their services. The aim of the event is to provide skills and manpower to help carry out a task or project which would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve. This year, four worthy causes were selected to receive help. The first set of volunteers went to All Saint's Church, Fawley, where the badly-overgrown churchyard needed a good tidy up. The next group travelled to Marwell Zoo where 4,500 presents awaited wrapping in time for the charity's Christmas grotto. Third on the list for assistance was the Horrill Adult Day Care Centre, Dibden, where a much-needed garden makeover was required. Finally, the last lot of Fawley volunteers made their way to Studland Common, near Milford on Sea, to carry out vital conservation work at the nature reserve. This activity was carried out in partnership with the New Forest National Park Authority and Milford Conservation Volunteers. Lisa Parkes, manager of Horrill Adult Day Care Centre, was delighted with the garden makeover which also saw volunteers sand down and repaint dozens of wooden benches, chairs and tables. She said: "We are so grateful to the team from ExxonMobil at Fawley. We have a lovely big garden but it was looking really sorry for itself. Now we have somewhere everyone can enjoy." Jon Wetmore, Refinery Manager at Fawley, said the Day of Caring event was always an important part of the site's calendar. "It definitely brings out the best in people," he said. "It is great that we are able to give something back to the community in this way." Notes for editors: ExxonMobil at Fawley is the collective name given to Esso Petroleum Company Limited and ExxonMobil Chemical Limited which are part of Exxon Mobil Corporation. The Fawley refinery is the largest in the UK and one in six cars in the UK operates on fuel produced at Fawley. ExxonMobil Corporation is the world's leading publicly-traded petroleum and natural gas company. Approximately 77,000 employees work for ExxonMobil across six continents with more than 1,000 employees working at Fawley.


text:
Just yesterday I was strolling around the halls of Emerald City Comicon when a certain comic series caught my eye. The cover displayed a maniacal rabbit drowning a Trix-esque looking rabbit in a bowl of fruity goodness. The colorful and disturbing act being depicted on the bootleg Trix box piqued my interest and I immediately felt compelled to see what this comic had to offer.
This review contains minor spoilers. Read at your own risk!
Tommy lives in constant fear due to his pet rabbit Jack. Jack is a sadistic/depraved creature that only wants to cause Tommy and everyone in Tommy's life harm. No one around Tommy believes that his pet rabbit is committing heinous acts of violence behind their backs. Clearly Tommy must be going mad… or is he?
All I can say after reading the first issue of Tommy is… wow. Tommy #1 in a nutshell is like if Frank The Rabbit (Donnie Darko) and Tyler Durden (Fight Club) had a baby and that baby turned into a psychopathic rabid rabbit!
Tommy is without a doubt one of the worst comics I've read in my entire life. Before you think I'm speaking ill about the comic, let me clarify that issue #1 of Tommy is fantastic, but the overall content will make your grandmother turn in her grave!
Tommy bleeds darkness through each marvelous black and white panel. I really appreciate the art direction this series has taken to give readers that good ol' fashioned ominous feeling. Progressing through each page feels like you're going deeper and deeper into this demonic rabbit hole with Tommy and the sheer horror you experience once you reach the bottom is powerful.
I've seen a lot of messed up shit in my life, but Tommy contains some of the darkest acts I've ever seen depicted in comic book form. I'm a big fan of dark humor and Tommy almost feels like a comic book version of Adult Swim's Mr. Pickles. I personally enjoyed Tommy #1 and I am eager to pick up some of the other issues available from Creature Entertainment as soon as possible!
If you're not into dark humor I advise you to stay away from this series, but if you've been waiting to bask in a dark gritty series, then Tommy is definitely for you.
Stay tuned to Junkie Monkeys for more comic book reviews!


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- apply a design to the hot palette ( I use Rand F palette) using pigmented encaustic ( I use R and F)
- place your paper on top of the design and use a barren to ensure all the encaustic is absorbed into the paper; experiment with various types of paper
- take two corners of the paper and drag the paper in a circular motion. It is a very random act and you don't know what will happen to the original design. It is also interesting to drag vertically or horizontally or in partial circles.
- clean your palette and apply a second colour in places ( I like metallics for this step) and place the same print down again to pick up a second layer by dragging
- repeat this step several times adding more visual information to the original monotype.
An artist working in mixed media explores the successes, frustrations, questions, connections and inspirations for art making.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Dragging in encaustic monotype
4 comments:
- Carole said...
Wow, random is cool Margaret! What type of paper did you use for this one? Could it be done on cloth also? Or would the encaustic crack?
- January 14, 2012 at 1:09 AM
- Margaret Ryall said...
Carole, In answer to your questions, this is just a practice piece so it is actually on sumi paper. I've tried all weights, but I only like the effect on thin papers because I want to then collage these pieces into larger encaustic mixed media works. I think you could get this effect on cloth because the encaustic soaks into the material. It would have to be thin cotton, muslin or some other natural fibre. It would be interesting to see the grain of the material as a texture. I have to try this to see what happens. Thanks for the questions and the prompt to more explorations.
- January 14, 2012 at 8:16 PM
- Emily said...
Good performance. interior painting Seattle
- January 15, 2012 at 7:29 AM
- sidra khan said...
Thanks for this post sharing! House painting Seattle
- January 15, 2012 at 12:16 PM


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Lunch time on Thursday……..time for a Table For Two! Following on from Thommo's 2UP over the pre-season, Table For Two helps you with those tough choices that you've been contemplating all week.
Bring in Nyhuis this week? Will Danger get up for the game tomorrow? Will Sloane get up for the game tomorrow? Which Dual Position Player is best to bring in for the last six weeks? Roberton or Robertson? Hurley or Houli? Whatever the question, our SCT Coaches are here to help. Enter your players names into the Comments below and the SCT Coaches will guide you with the Thumbs UP/DOWN function. Good luck on the weekend, Coaches!
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So maybe you're nearing retirement and thinking about downsizing your home for retirement. Or perhaps you've already retired and are considering downsizing to buy a more manageable property.
Of course, there may be benefits of moving to a smaller place. You might be able to reduce or pay off your home loan, get rid of some clutter and there is likely to be less cleaning and gardening. But don't assume that moving to another property is guaranteed to give you more cash to live on.
Before you put the 'for sale' sign up, get a few different estimates on what your house is worth. Then think about why you want to move and what you're hoping to achieve.
Some things to consider
- Why do you really want to sell? Is it to have a better lifestyle, be closer to your family, pay off your home loan or have more cash?
- Where do you want to move to, and have you trialled living there before to see if you like it? Consider a house swap or renting a property in the area you want to buy, before forking out for a deposit.
- Why do you want to live in a particular area? You might love the idea of living on a remote beach or in the bush, but have you researched nearby facilities, such as shops, public transport or hospitals?
- Do you have emotions tied to your family home that would make it hard to move, such as memories of the kids growing up there?
- What about the social aspects of moving, like whether you have friends or family where you're moving to? And what about the ones you're leaving behind?
Super benefits for downsizers
If you do decide to sell, you'll need to consider what to do with any proceeds that are left over. One option to consider is the new super measure allowing these proceeds to be contributed to super.
As of 1 July 2018, downsizers aged 65 or over can make an after-tax contribution of up to $300,000 per person (or $600,000 per couple) from the sale of the family home they've lived in for at least 10 years. This is in addition to any other before-tax or after-tax contributions they're eligible to make, regardless of work status, superannuation balance, or contribution history.
There are conditions—as well as additional rules which may apply to your situation—so it's important to do some research before making any decisions.
The real costs of moving
While there may be many good reasons to consider downsizing, selling your home and buying another property will incur some out-of-pocket expenses. You'll have the costs of moving, such as connecting and disconnecting utilities, removalists' fees, stamp duty and potentially real estate agent commission costs.
In addition to these, any money left over after downsizing could affect you under the government assets and income tests. For example, moving from a property that is worth $1m to one that's worth $400,000 means you could have an additional $600,000 in assessable assets, which could impact your Age Pension entitlement.
So you'll need to carefully consider if downsizing is the right option for you and your retirement plans. For more information download our downsizing planner.
Other sources of income
Apart from selling your home, you could think about other ways to generate income leading up to, or during retirement. Here are just a couple of examples.
- If you've already retired, consider getting a part-time job to help supplement your income or the Age Pension. But bear in mind there are limitations to the number of hours you can work after you have declared that you're retired. Depending on your circumstances, income from working could also impact on your pension entitlements.
- Consider reviewing your investments to make sure they align with your goals. Just remember that past performance is no indicator of future performance and higher returns can also mean higher exposure to risk.
We're here to help
Retirement planning can be a complex area and there may be tax or Age Pension implications which you need to be aware of before making any decisions.
If you'd like help speak to your financial adviser, find an adviser online or call us on 131 267 and we can put you in touch with one.
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Silver lining? Climate change boosts flavor of French wine
Climate change has altered winegrape harvests around the world, according to a new report from two climate change researchers.
Climate scientist with NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Benjamin Cook and Harvard University's Elizabeth Wolkovich have published their findings in a study of vineyards in the Burgundy and Bordeaux regions of France.
Climate change yields better wine. Maybe Conservatives won't deny climate change anymore. https://t.co/zfjiLcnv0Qpic.twitter.com/4gG45rinan— Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki) March 21, 2016
Writing on her website, Wolkovich noted that around the world, "grapes mature earlier by days and weeks compared to several decades ago".
"Understanding the climatic drivers of these earlier harvests requires long-term records and teasing out the often intertwined drivers of fruit maturation: temperature and drought," she added.
Early-ripening grapes, you see, are key to making the best quality vino but, up until the 1980s, drought conditions were often required to achieve this.
.@NASAGISS & @Harvard: Climate change altering harvests of French wine grapes https://firstname.lastname@example.com/dGTVBtkvdm— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) March 21, 2016
In the last 35 years climate change has increased average temperatures, even in wet weather, bringing the harvest forward to late summer instead of early autumn without the need for drought.
"There is a very clear signal that the earlier the harvest, the much more likely that you're going to have high-quality wines," Cook told NPR.
"Since 1980, it's been so warm because of climate change that you can get the hot summers and really early harvests without needing a drought."
The report, which looked at grape harvest data from the year 1600-2007, claims that the way wine is produced in the future may be affected.
"Climate change has fundamentally altered the climatic drivers of early wine grape harvests in France, with possible ramifications for viticulture management and wine quality," it reads.
There is, however, a caveat in all of this. The extremely dry, hot growing season of 2003 did not produce wine of the particularly high quality one might expect from the conditions.
"It was middling," said Cook of that year's vintage. "That suggests that after a certain point, it could just get to be so warm, and the harvest so early, that you move into a situation where the old rules no longer apply."


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RAEX (Expert RA) rating agency confirmed ruAA Credit Rating
On December 27, RAEX (Expert RA) rating agency confirmed the credit rating of PJSC Mostotrest at ruAA / 'stable' outlook.
The key factors that have had a positive impact on the rating include, among others, a stable backlog of government orders, as well as high social significance of ongoing projects; a strong competitive position of the Company and significant diversification across construction business segments, low leverage and diversified debt structure.
In addition, a high level of information transparency, corporate governance and insurance coverage has had a positive impact on the rating.
PJSC Mostotrest is Russia's largest diversified company in the field of infrastructure construction, present in all key and related market segments, and is a participant in the first-ever public-private partnership projects in Russia. According to the independent industry consultancy EMBS Group, Mostotrest had a 14.6% market share in transport infrastructure construction in Russia in 2016.
The Mostotrest Group core business segments are construction and reconstruction of bridges (including road, railway and city bridges), highways and other transport infrastructure, as well as road maintenance, repair and operation services. In 2012, the Group further diversified into the road concessions management segment.
The company was founded in 1930 for the construction of extra-large and special grade bridges.
Currently, Mostotrest is involved in a number of complex transport infrastructure development projects, such as the construction of several sections of the M-11 Moscow – Saint Petersburg Highway, construction and reconstruction of sections of the M-4 «Don» Highway and construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge.
For more information please visit www.mostotrest.ru


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Online Donations
We are now able to take online donations and claim Gift Aid.
How much of your donation reaches us?
BT does not charge a commission fee nor do they charge us to be a member. The only charge made against your donation is the credit/debit card charge (1.3% of donation on credit cards and 15p for each debit card transaction).
Therefore on a £10 Donation with Gift Aid we would receive approx £12.36
For cash or cheque donations we have paper Gift Aid declaration forms.
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7 Days Kenya Wildlife Safari
Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi Arrive at JKI airport –Nairobi. You will be met by our representative who will transfer you to your hotel. Dinner and Overnight at a Hotel Day 2: Nairobi-Samburu National Reserve Depart and drive northward crossing the Equator to Samburu National Reserve. The reserve is home to the unusual Reticulated Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra, Gerenuk and Somali ostrich. Picnic lunch and game drive en-route. Dinner and overnight at a lodge/tented camp Day 3: Samburu National Reserve Full …View full Safari "7 Days Kenya Wildlife Safari"


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One wonders if Barack Obama lends an ear to anything Congress says. I mean, after all, they aren't threatening impeachment. They don't even consider it worthwhile. So what's to keep Obama from continuing to violate the Constitution without any ramifications? However a group of 116 congressmen, including Democrats, joined Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA) in calling on Obama to come to Congress to honor the Constitution and receive authorization from them in order to use the US military in Syria.
In a letter dated August 28, 2013, the congressmen wrote, "We stand ready to come back into session, consider the facts before us, and share the burden of decisions made regarding U.S. involvement in the quickly escalating Syrian conflict."
Rigell had called for the same thing last year when the geographic area Obama was dealing with was Libya. He also opposed the strikes there.
Trending: Hundreds of "Black Vest" Migrants Seize Terminal in Paris Airport: "France does not belong to the French!"
"This is not personal to the president. It's not saying that some type of action isn't warranted. That's not the point. The point is it must be collaborative and deliberative," Rigell said.
While Rigell said that the administration calling congressional leaders and other key lawmakers "is helpful," he added, "But that is not an acceptable substitute whatsoever to engaging the institution itself."
"I am not calling for us to come into session unless the president is on the cusp of saying, 'Look, this has got to be done, and it has to be done in a timely manner.' If he's at that point, absolutely, I don't care where members are, if they're on the opposite side of the world," he said. "We're talking about the engagement of U.S. forces."
The only question I have for these congressmen, who I do think are doing the right thing, is "What are the ramifications if Barack Obama gives you the finger, like he did with Libya and continues to launch a strike in Syria?" If your answer is "nothing," then why are you even writing the letter? If your letter has no teeth in it, why should he even pay you any attention? I suggest you find a way to deal with him and do it fast, for the sake of our children and countless innocents in that region.
Below is the letter with signatures and you can download a copy here.
Don't forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook, Google Plus, & Twitter. You can also get Freedom Outpost delivered to your Amazon Kindle device here.
August 28, 2013
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
We strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Your responsibility to do so is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
While the Founders wisely gave the Office of the President the authority to act in emergencies, they foresaw the need to ensure public debate – and the active engagement of Congress – prior to committing U.S. military assets. Engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution.
Mr. President, in the case of military operations in Libya you stated that authorization from Congress was not required because our military was not engaged in "hostilities." In addition, an April 1, 2011, memorandum to you from your Office of Legal Counsel concluded:
"…President Obama could rely on his constitutional power to safeguard the national interest by directing the anticipated military operations in Libya—which were limited in their nature, scope, and duration—without prior congressional authorization."
We view the precedent this opinion sets, where "national interest" is enough to engage in hostilities without congressional authorization, as unconstitutional. If the use of 221 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 704 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, and 42 Predator Hellfire missiles expended in Libya does not constitute "hostilities," what does?
If you deem that military action in Syria is necessary, Congress can reconvene at your request. We stand ready to come back into session, consider the facts before us, and share the burden of decisions made regarding U.S. involvement in the quickly escalating Syrian conflict.
Rep. Scott Rigell (VA-02)
Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ-05)
Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-05)
Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05)
Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-04)
Rep. Tom Marino (PA-10)
Rep. Dan Benishek (MI-01)
Rep. Tom Rooney (FL-17)
Rep. Steve Pearce (NM-02)
Rep. Tim Griffin (AR-02)
Rep. Justin Amash (MI-03)
Rep. Raul Labrador (ID-01)
Rep. Joseph Pitts (PA-16)
Rep. Trent Franks (AZ-08)
Rep. John Campbell (CA-45)
Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-04)
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03)
Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02)
Rep. Charles Boustany (LA-03)
Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01)
Rep. Austin Scott (GA-08)
Rep. Bill Posey (FL-08)
Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-04)
Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA-11)
Rep. David Roe (TN-01)
Rep. Mark Sanford (SC-01)
Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (TN-02)
Rep. Reid Ribble (WI-08)
Rep. James Lankford (OK-05)
Rep. Bill Cassidy (LA-06)
Rep. Stephen Fincher (TN-08)
Rep. Trey Radel (FL-19)
Rep. Chris Stewart (UT-02)
Rep. Lynn Jenkins (KS-02)
Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03)
Rep. David McKinley (WV-01)
Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12)
Rep. Joseph Heck (NV-03)
Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-15)
Rep. Billy Long (MO-07)
Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14)
Rep. Steven Palazzo (MS-04)
Rep. Kevin Yoder (KS-03)
Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09)
Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (PA-08)
Rep. Beto O'Rourke (TX-16)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR-5)
Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12)
Rep. William Enyart (IL-12)
Rep. Timothy Walz (MN-01)
Rep. Christopher Gibson (NY-19)
Rep. Trey Gowdy (SC-04)
Rep. Frank Wolf (VA-10)
Rep. Michael Capuano (MA-07)
Rep. Michael Simpson (ID-02)
Rep. Michael McCaul (TX-10)
Rep. Thomas E. Petri (WI-06)
Rep. Robert Pittenger (NC-09)
Rep. Walter Jones (NC-03)
Rep. Tom Latham (IA-03)
Rep. Richard Nolan (MN-08)
Rep. Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (MI-11)
Rep. Mike Coffman (CO-06)
Rep. Sean Duffy (WI-07)
Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01)
Rep. Morgan Griffith (VA-09)
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (OH-02)
Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-02)
Rep. Roger Williams (TX-25)
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01)
Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY-02)
Rep. Sam Farr (CA-20)
Rep. Steve Daines (MT-At Large)
Rep. Robert Hurt (VA-05)
Rep. Steve Southerland, II (FL-2)
Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN-06)
Rep. Ralph Hall (TX-04)
Rep. Randy Neugebauer (TX-19)
Rep. Robert Wittman (VA-01)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA-18)
Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-06)
Rep. Todd Rokita (IN-4)
Rep. David Loebsack (IA-02)
Rep. Scott Tipton (CO-03)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Rep. Sam Johnson (TX-03)
Rep. Tom Price (GA-06)
Rep. Mark Meadows (NC-11)
Rep. Paul Broun (GA-10)
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (OK-02)
Rep. Steve Stockman (TX-36)
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (WI-05)
Rep. Chris Collins (NY-27)
Rep. Diane Black (TN-06)
Rep. Daniel Webster (FL-10)
Rep. Peter Welch (VT)
Rep. Lou Barletta (PA-11)
Rep. Tim Murphy (PA-18)
Rep. Gregg Harper (MS-03)
Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-04)
Rep. Ted S. Yoho (FL-03)
Rep. Bill Flores (TX-17)
Rep. Michael Burgess (TX-26)
Rep. Jim Matheson (UT-04)
Rep. Cory Gardner (CO-04)
Rep. Alan Nunnelee (MS-01)
Rep. Jason Smith (MO-08)
Rep. Charles Fleischmann (TN-03)
Rep. Tim Walberg (MI-07)
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN-07)
Rep. Collin Peterson (MN-7)