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Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules Recommends Sweeping Revisions to Bankruptcy Rule 2019
A New York bankruptcy court ruled that an unofficial, or "ad hoc," committee consisting of hedge funds and other distressed investment entities holding Northwest stock and claims was obligated under a formerly obscure provision in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure — Rule 2019 — to disclose the details of its members' trading positions, including the acquisition prices.
Bankruptcy headlines in 2007 were awash with tidings of controversial developments in the Chapter 11 cases of Northwest Airlines and its affiliates that sent shock waves through the "distressed" investment community. A New York bankruptcy court ruled that an unofficial, or "ad hoc," committee consisting of hedge funds and other distressed investment entities holding Northwest stock and claims was obligated under a formerly obscure provision in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure — Rule 2019 — to disclose the details of its members' trading positions, including the acquisition prices.
The ruling was particularly rankling to distressed investors, which play a prominent role in major Chapter 11 cases, sometimes by virtue of collective participation in ad hoc creditor groups. Traditionally, these entities have closely guarded information concerning their trading positions to maximize both profit potential and negotiating leverage. Compelling disclosure of this information could discourage hedge funds and other distressed investors from sitting on informal committees, resulting in a significant shift in what has increasingly become a commonplace negotiating infrastructure in Chapter 11 mega-cases.
Close on the heels of the rulings in Northwest Airlines, however, the Texas bankruptcy court presiding over the Chapter 11 cases of Scotia Pacific Company LLC and its affiliates denied the debtors' request for an order compelling a group of noteholders to disclose the details of its members' trading positions, ruling that an informal creditor group jointly represented by a single law firm is not the kind of "committee" covered by Rule 2019.
Developments in these and other cases have been monitored closely by the distressed investment community, including trading-industry watchdogs, such as the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), which have been actively lobbying to repeal or alter Rule 2019 since 2007. LSTA and SIFMA, two of the nation's leading industry groups in the debt and equity markets, have consistently expressed concern that construing Rule 2019 to apply to informal creditor groups "will have a serious detrimental impact on the willingness and ability of many stakeholders to participate in future Chapter 11 cases."
The Rule 2019 ad hoc committee controversy lay relatively dormant for nearly two and a half years. Then, rulings handed down by no fewer than four bankruptcy courts at the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 breathed new life into the smoldering embers. The latest tally of bankruptcy courts considering this issue since 2007 shows three courts taking the position that Rule 2019 applies to informal creditor groups and three advocating the opposite approach.
Bankruptcy Rule 2019
The present version of Rule 2019 (with emphasis added to the original) provides that, in a case under Chapter 9 or Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, "every entity or committee" (other than an official committee) "representing more than one creditor or equity security holder" and, unless otherwise directed by the court, every indenture trustee shall file a verified statement with the court disclosing the following information:
1.) the name and address of the creditor or equity security holder;
2.) the nature and amount of the claim or interest and the time of acquisition thereof unless it is alleged to have been acquired more than one year prior to the filing of the petition;
3.) a recital of the pertinent facts and circumstances in connection with the employment of the entity or indenture trustee, and, in the case of a committee, the name or names of the entity or entities at whose instance, directly or indirectly, the employment was arranged or the committee was organized or agreed to act; and
4.) with reference to the time of the employment of the entity, the organization or formation of the committee, or the appearance in the case of any indenture trustee, the amounts of claims or interests owned by the entity, the members of the committee or the indenture trustee, the times when acquired, the amounts paid therefore, and any sales or other disposition thereof.
The Rules Committee's Initial Recommendation for Change
The Rule 2019 controversy and aggressive lobbying by LSTA and SIFMA created an impetus for the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules (the Rules Committee) to consider revising the rule or even repealing Rule 2019 altogether. The Rules Committee initially recommended changes to Rule 2019 that would have required expanded disclosure. Under this proposal, the rule would have required disclosure not only by representative committees, but also by "every entity, group or committee that consists of or represents more than one creditor or equity security holder."
Moreover, the required disclosures would have been expanded to include disclosure of each party's "disclosable economic interest," a term defined to mean "any claim, interest, pledge, lien, option, participation, derivative instrument, or any other right or derivative right that grants the holder an economic interest that is affected by the value, acquisition or disposition of a claim or interest." Under the initial recommendation, the bankruptcy court would also have been given the authority to order the disclosure of amounts paid for claims or interests, but pricing disclosure would not have been required without a court order. The Rules Committee heard testimony on the proposed amendments to Rule 2019 on February 5, 2010. The comment period for the proposed changes closed on February 16. In connection with the comment process, LSTA submitted a letter to the Rules Committee opposing the required disclosure of proprietary price and date information.
The Rules Committee's Final Recommendation: Rule 2019 Defanged
The Rules Committee issued its final recommendation for changes to Rule 2019 on May 27. Instead of requiring enhanced disclosure, however, the recommendation adopts substantially all of the changes proposed by LSTA. Among other things, the amended rule (as compared to the Rules Committee's initial recommendation) would:
- Remove any absolute requirement to disclose the price paid for a bankruptcy claim or reveal the claimant's disclosable economic interest.
- Delete any requirement to disclose the acquisition date of the claimant's disclosable economic interest, except in rare cases where an unofficial group or committee claims to represent any entity other than its members (and even then, only the quarter and the year must be reported).
- Eliminate the authority of the court to order disclosure of the purchase price paid for a disclosable economic interest.
- Exempt administrative agents under credit agreements from the requirements of the rule.
- Exempt groups composed entirely of insiders or affiliates of one another from the requirements of the rule.
- Delete any obligation to file monthly supplemental statements; supplemental statements must be filed only when a fact disclosed in the most recent 2019 statement has changed materially, and the entity or group "takes a position before the court or solicits votes on the confirmation of a plan."
As amended in accordance with the Rules Committee's final recommendation, the full text of Rule 2019 would read as follows:
Rule 2019. Disclosure Regarding Creditors and Equity Security Holders in Chapter 9 and Chapter 11 Cases
(a.) Definitions. In this rule the following terms have the meanings indicated:
1.) "Disclosable economic interest" means any claim, interest, pledge, lien, option, participation, derivative instrument, or any other right or derivative right granting the holder an economic interest that is affected by the value, acquisition, or disposition of a claim or interest.
2.) "Represent" or "represents" means to take a position before the court or to solicit votes regarding the confirmation of a plan on behalf of another.
(b.) Disclosure by Groups, Committees and Entities.
1.) In a Chapter 9 or 11 case, a verified statement setting forth the information specified in subdivision (c) of this rule shall be filed by every group or committee that consists of or represents, and every entity that represents, multiple creditors or equity security holders that are
(A) acting in concert to advance their common interests, and (B) not composed entirely of affiliates or insiders of one another.
2.) Unless the court orders otherwise, an entity is not required to file the verified statement described in paragraph (1) of this subdivision solely because of its status as:
(A.) an indenture trustee;
(B.) an agent for one or more other entities under an agreement for the extension of credit;
(C.) a class action representative; or
(D.) a governmental unit that is not a person.
(c.) Information Required. The verified statement shall include:
1.) the pertinent facts and circumstances concerning:
(A.) with respect to a group or committee, other than a committee appointed under §1102 or §1114 of the Code, the formation of the group or committee, including the name of each entity at whose instance the group or committee was formed or for whom the group or committee has agreed to act; or
(B.) with respect to an entity, the employment of the entity, including the name of each creditor or equity security holder at whose instance the employment was arranged;
2.) if not disclosed under subdivision (c)(1), with respect to an entity, and with respect to each member of a group or committee:
(A.) name and address;
(B.) the nature and amount of each disclosable economic interest held in relation to the debtor as of the date the entity was employed or the group or committee was formed; and
(C.) with respect to each member of a group or committee that claims to represent any entity in addition to the members of the group or committee, other than a committee appointed under §1102 or §1114 of the Code, the date of acquisition by quarter and year of each disclosable economic interest, unless acquired more than one year before the petition was filed;
3.) if not disclosed under subdivision (c)(1) or (c)(2), with respect to each creditor or equity security holder represented by an entity, group, or committee, other than a committee appointed under §1102 or §1114 of the Code:
(A.) name and address; and
(B.) the nature and amount of each disclosable economic interest held in relation to the debtor as of the date of the statement; and
4.) a copy of the instrument, if any, authorizing the entity, group, or committee to act on behalf of creditors or equity security holders.
(d.) Supplemental Statements. If any fact disclosed in its most recently filed statement has changed materially, an entity, group, or committee shall file a verified supplemental statement whenever it takes a position before the court or solicits votes on the confirmation of a plan. The supplemental statement shall set forth the material changes in the facts required by subdivision (c) to be disclosed.
(e.) Determination of Failure to Comply; Sanctions.
1.) On motion of any party in interest, or on its own motion, the court may determine whether there has been a failure to comply with any provision of this rule.
2.) If the court finds such a failure to comply, it may:
(A.) refuse to permit the entity, group or committee to be heard or to intervene in the case;
(B.) hold invalid any authority, acceptance, rejection or objection given, procured or received by the entity, group or committee; or
(C.) grant other appropriate relief.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Although the Rules Committee has unanimously recommended that the most recent changes be approved, the recommended revisions to Rule 2019 must be approved by the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, the Judicial Conference and the U.S. Supreme Court before they become effective. Assuming that the recommendation is ultimately approved, the changes are unquestionably a welcome development for hedge funds and other distressed investors, which closely guard trading information, such as the acquisition price of stock or claims, public disclosure of which might compromise the funds' ability to maximize investment returns. Hedge funds and other distressed investors have made and continue to make enormous investments in all levels of the capital structures of distressed companies. As a consequence, these funds and investors have regularly assumed prominent roles in major Chapter 11 cases. As amended, Rule 2019 would preserve this dynamic.
Post Script
On September 15, 2010, an Ohio bankruptcy court made yet another contribution to the rapidly evolving and controversial jurisprudence regarding Bankruptcy Rule 2019. In the case, In re Milacron, Inc., an ad hoc group of a Chapter 11 debtor-corporation's noteholders consisting of distressed debt and hedge funds sought derivative authority to prosecute various causes of action against the company's officers and directors on behalf of the bankruptcy estate. One of the defendants sought an order of the bankruptcy court directing the noteholders, pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2019, to disclose their economic interest in the derivative claims as part of the required showing that the claims against the defendants were colorable.
Relying on Philadelphia Newspapers, the noteholders contended that Rule 2019 does not apply to them because they are not an "entity," they are not a "committee," and they do not "represent more than one creditor or equity security holder." The bankruptcy court acknowledged that the decision supports the noteholders' position, but explained that it is not binding and, based upon decisions to the contrary issued by other courts, observed that "the courts that have gone before us offer no clear path."
The court ultimately granted the Rule 2019 motion, holding that: i.) the language used by the noteholders in their response to the motion indicated that they were acting as "an entity representing more than one creditor," a conclusion bolstered by the Rules Committee's recommendations for changes to Rule 2019; and ii.) given the context of their request for derivative standing to prosecute estate claims, the noteholders will have to "identify their members with more transparency" in order to demonstrate that that they have colorable claims and that the debtor's refusal to bring such claims is unjustified. According to the court, unlike in Philadelphia Newspapers, where the group of lenders may not have been considered an "entity" because they were only "steering" a bankruptcy case, Milacron's noteholders "are plaintiffs intending to bring a lawsuit," and full disclosure of their identities "is warranted and not prejudicial." This conclusion is further supported, the bankruptcy court wrote, "by the general proposition that the bankruptcy court is a public place."
Mark G. Douglas is the managing editor of the Jones Day Business Restructuring Review, a bimonthly newsletter discussing recent developments in bankruptcy, restructuring, distressed mergers and acquisitions, and related issues. He also sits on the board of editors of Pratt's Journal of Bankruptcy Law and The Bankruptcy Strategist. Prior to joining Jones Day, Douglas practiced corporate bankruptcy and restructuring law for more than eight years, focusing on complex Chapter 11 reorganizations and cross-border bankruptcy cases.
A detailed discussion of the rulings in the Northwest Airlines, Scotia Pacific, Washington Mutual, Six Flags, Philadelphia Newspapers and Accuride Chapter 11 cases as well as Rule 2019 and its legislative history is contained in Jones Day's March/April 2010 edition of the Business Restructuring Review.
In re Northwest Airlines Corp., 363 B.R. 701 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2007)
In re Scotia Development LLC, Case No. 07-20027-C-11 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Apr. 18, 2007)
In re Washington Mutual, Inc., 419 B.R. 271 (Bankr. D. Del. 2009)
In re Premier Int'l Holdings, Inc., 423 B.R. 58 (Bankr. D. Del. 2010)
In re Accuride Corp., Case No. 09-13449 (Bankr. D. Del. Jan. 20, 2010)
In re Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC, 422 B.R. 553 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 2010)
In re Milacron, Inc., 2010 WL 3604188 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio Sept. 15, 2010)


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For years now, journalists have been shuffled into darkened rooms, where ministers and mayors flash pictures before them in improbable greens and blues, depicting a part of east London that is currently mostly brown. To a taped soundtrack of pious hopes from diverse locals, they proclaim that this new Jerusalem really, truly will arise from the mud, among some of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country. They are describing the new homes and districts that are supposed to be the "Olympic Legacy", the ultimate justification of the £9bn cost of the 2012 Games.
Last week, it became possible, for the first time, to believe them. You could imagine that, around the park that is being created for the Olympics, something like the iridescent computer images might come to pass and that it might work roughly as promised. The homes could be places where people would want to live, the Olympic Park might attract visitors and there might be some meaningful connection with the existing neighbourhoods around the edge of the 250-acre site.
In a week when housing benefit cuts threaten what one Tory called "the Highland clearances", the expunging of the poor from more desirable urban areas, here might be a place where people of different incomes could still coexist. The site of the Games could be that rare thing, a new-built town that works. It could be a model other British cities could follow.
The reason for hope is not the renaming of the Olympic Park after Queen Elizabeth, as a regal companion for nearby Victoria Park, nor the classically educated fluff that Boris Johnson turns on on these occasions. Nor that the minister that was once Tessa Jowell is now Jeremy Hunt. The essential ingredients are more realism, less greed, more patience and more thought.
Previous plans showed little but massive apartment blocks, supposedly like the vibrant courtyards of Barcelona but as similar developments have shown elsewhere, in practice lacking the climate, charm and street life of Catalonia. These would have backed on to the existing two- and three-storey houses of surrounding areas like oil tankers next to dinghies. Their true purpose was to pack in as many housing units as possible, to raise money as quickly as possible. This is because the land on which the legacy will be built was bought by the public purse, additional to the £9bn spent on the Games, and the Treasury will want it back.
The new plans show many more houses, arranged in a typical London pattern of terraces and squares, generally four storeys high, with gardens. The number of proposed new homes has been reduced from 10,000 to 8,000, in addition to the 2,800 already being built for the Athletes' Village. It's not revolutionary but it is sane, as both estate agents and locals told the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which is charge of developing the Olympic site, that more family homes were what were wanted. In 2009, 80% of new homes built in Britain were one- and two-bedroom flats, many of them warehoused in ugly towers. The balance needs to be corrected, even if some things that look like houses in the legacy will contain more than one home. It is unlikely that affordable housing will run to four-storey townhouses for a single family.
Most crucially, the Legacy Company has won the government's agreement to pay the Treasury back slowly. Its model is the great estates that built much of London, such as Grosvenor and Cadogan, and, like them, the Legacy Company will remain the freeholder indefinitely. This means it will have an interest in maintaining the quality of the place, rather than seeking the highest bidders for land at the earliest opportunity. Most regeneration projects do the latter, which means that a predictable band of volume house builders move in and do their usual mediocre stuff. Whatever guidelines there might be to achieve good design and planning are difficult to enforce.
There are other outbreaks of sanity. This is a plan for 20 or 30 years, which means some parts of it will not be built on for a long time and temporary uses are intended to stop vacant plots blighting the whole. The Legacy Company also knows that the Olympic Park at the centre of the site could, like many well-meaning bits of green, degenerate into a zone of needles and graffiti. It is planning to give people positive reasons to come to the park, like water sports on its river and canals and cycling around the Olympic Velodrome. Architects outside the usual glum ranks of "masterplanning specialists" have been hired to consider the ways the new development will connect with the existing.
Some of these plans are still little more than good intentions and there are still problems to be resolved. The southern end of the site remains a car crash of steel-framed egos, where the gigantic stadium will meet the "largest public art project in Europe", the Anish Kapoor-Boris Johnson-Lakshmi Mittal vanity project known as the mutant trombone, twisted testicles or, officially, the ArcelorMittal Orbit. To stand in the shadows of stadiums is rarely pleasant when they are empty – try it at Old Trafford, Wembley or the Emirates – and it's not obvious how this will be different.
At the northern end of the site, the vast hulk of the Olympic media centre is likely to stand empty for a long time. It was supposed to be a "creative hub", attracting major media companies, but it is served only by a single, sleepy train station. The plans could go further to encourage bottom-up as well as top-down development and they could start with letting local businesses colonise parts of this behemoth at low rents.
Optimism is a dangerous habit when writing about regeneration, so often do the extravagant promises of regenerators disappoint. If the districts around the Olympic site succeed, it will be with the help of huge investment in the park, in the decontamination of land and, over the years, many new train lines to Stratford, including a Eurostar stop and the Jubilee underground line. The site is also blessed with potentially beautiful waterways and proximity to central London.
To make a place like this work should have been possible without staging an entire Olympic Games, the main benefit of which has been to force politicians to take regeneration seriously. As this is the most looked-at piece of development in the country, they don't want the embarrassment of it going wrong. Andrew Altman, the chief executive of the Legacy Company, would not have found the Treasury so amenable to deferring repayments if this had been anywhere else.
But the Olympic Legacy should be more than a model village sustained by unfeasible levels of political benevolence. The country is supposed to need about 3 million new homes and you can't hold the Olympics every time you want build 10,000. The real benefit of the Games would come if the methods developed there could be transferred to other, less blessed places.
Rowan Moore is the Observer's architecture critic

subset: commoncrawl


text: She Comes First, by Ian Kerner is a great educational tool. It is an explicit guide to help men successfully give a woman an orgasm. His audience is really the inexperienced male partner. Thus the title, She Comes First, the thinking man's guide to pleasuring a woman. The book is modeled after another book by …More


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Nipsey Hussle has been pretty active on the music tip, with his most recent effort coming forth in the form of a collaborative effort with YG called "F— Donald Trump."
Now, the rapper has surprised everyone with a new track called "I Do This" featuring Young Thug.
The track features a long spoken word-like intro from Sinister Pook, and immediately gets into the track, which finds Hussle speaking on staying on course with his goals. From there, Young Thug holds down hook duties on the organ-heavy track. Listen below.


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Sculpted eagle on cornice of Ellis Island National Monument. New York, NY.
Photo by Jim Steinhart © 2011, all rights reserved. (Ref: NYMA34)
Click an index below to see this photo among related images:
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Immigration Museum
Captions List for History Museums of New York City


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Two circus performers wake up with amnesia inside a locked room. For Ether Productions, the only way is up.
Project Arts Centre
Oct 29-Nov 1
My review of The Locked Room coming up just as soon as I beat you in Rock-Paper-Scissors ...
Ether Productions have flown away with the circus. While the red and white spangled spectacle has long cast its influence over theatre, Niamh Creely and Jonathan Walsh show renewed interest by integrating it into their developed style of aerial dance. Ironically, The Locked Room seems set to open new possibilities.
Two circus performers (Creely and Walsh) wake up with amnesia inside a contained space. Taking the card dealt, they explore the bland white setting and uncover an array of colourful objects ranging from a tune-blasting boombox to a hissing stick of dynamite. All the while, their relationship stretches and recoils between the tumbles, and below the unavoidable trapeze hanging above.
In stark comparison to the company's last work Landfall - an aerial dance performed on an extensively suspended set - this performance demonstrates a restraint of excessive aerial manoeuvres. It prefers to spend a lot of time on the ground, using mime to carve out individual vignettes that contain stock gags, or lazzi in the physical theatre tradition. The clear cut images are effectively executed by the performers, much to the audience's delight.
It's unfortunate that the event is mired by the logistics of its staging, specifically the several scene changes. The blackouts become frustratingly repetitive, as does designer Jonathan Walsh's soundbite of a clangor suspecting the locked door of the performance's title; a mystery that never gets solved. These transitions badly stunt the piece's momentum, and as a result it paces poorly. It isn't clear why the narrative backtracks through time either, though a fuzzy scene where a woman's electrifying nightmare manifests itself in a dance on aerial silk is suspected to intend clarity. Regardless, the image of the unravelling Creely against a stroke of lightning is spectacular.
Fascinatingly, the plot advances through use of a circus vocabulary - manipulating objects (Juggling), balancing on harness (Equilibrium), use of tumble and trapeze (Vaulting) - accumulating with a spectacular finale. A swing from a trapeze shows Creely in full elegance, matched only by her partner, the witted Walsh, cutting handsome shapes in the air. It seems that for Ether, the only way is up.
What did everybody else think?


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Defending an 18-point lead from the first leg away at the Stadio Plebiscito, the Cheesmen were pushed all the way by their Italian visitors but held out for a 54-43 aggregate win.
Caerphilly have been all but discarded in the Welsh Rugby Union's plans for regional rugby next season.
But Mark Ring now has the satisfaction of coaching the last remaining Welsh club in European competition, after Pontypridd bowed out of the Parker Pen Cup to Wasps on Friday night.
With five new regional teams set to represent Wales in cross-border competition from next season, Caerphilly will never compete at this level again.
But the Cheesmen can look forward to going out on a high when they face French side Castres, 78-51 aggregate winners over Pau, in the final at Reading's Madejski Stadium on 25 May.
The home side had to endure a torrid start as Padova took just three minutes to reduce Caerphilly's lead to 11 points through Sebastian Francesio.
The Italy international wing made the outside break, chipped over Owen Ashman and touched down, converting his own try to stun the Virginia Park crowd.
Yet scarcely had the visitors stopped celebrating their early success than the Cheesemen hit back with a try of their own.
Roddy Boobyer made the initial break, brushing aside a weak tackle from Rocco Salvan, before off-loading to Ashman to dive under the posts.
Justin Thomas had an easy conversion to restore Caerphilly's 18-point advantage, but the Italians were in determined mood.
Caerphilly's scrum was put under huge pressure by the Padova eight, giving the visitors a steady platform to launch a wave of attacks at the Welsh line.
The drift defence worked well until Fabio Faggiotto came off his left wing and all it took was a simple inside pass to put him over the line for a converted try.
The tit-for-tat nature of the scoring continued, however, as the Cheesmen won a scrum deep in the Padova 22.
Allen Chilten released the ball to the blindside, catching the Italians short of numbers as Geraint Lewis found just enough space to squeeze in at the right-hand corner flag.
The mirror-image scoring was spoiled by Thomas missing the difficult conversion, but Caerphilly still held a 16-point cushion.
There was a let-off for the Welshmen soon after when Padova's Argentina international full-back Facundo Soler scampered in on the right, only for French referee Eric Darriere to spot an obstruction and call play back.
The scare was enough to bring Caerphilly coach Ring to his feet, the former Wales three-quarter letting his displeasure show.
It took less than five minutes for his side to give a perfect response, working the blindside again to set the backs free.
Rob Higgitt had space to work with but saw a gap behind the Italian defence that demanded a chip ahead.
Lewis, who will retire at the end of this season, was alert to the chance and chased hard to claim his second try in the corner, although Thomas again missed the touchline conversion.
Now leading for the first time in the match and in command of the tie, Caerphilly were further boosted when Francesio was sin-binned.
Down to 14 men for the remainder of the first half, Padova struggled to contain Caerphilly as the Castletowners intelligently let the ball do the work to stretch the visitors' defence.
Ashman made best use of the extra space down the left wing, the full-back creating the overlap and chipping ahead to force Padova to concede a five-metre scrum.
A dropped pass prevented Caerphilly adding their fourth try of the afternoon, but Padova were caught offside and Thomas slotted the penalty to make it 20-14 at the break.
The Welsh side invited early pressure on themselves when scrum-half Chiltern was shown the yellow card for jumping offside and deliberately knocking down a pass.
Now it was Padova's turn to take advantage of an extra man, constructing a huge overlap for Faggiotto to claim his second try, although Francesio's missed conversion meant Caerphilly still led 20-19.
The Italians were unable to inflict further damage before Chiltern returned to the action, and Thomas calmed any growing Welsh nerves with his second penalty.
The Cheesmen settled into getting the basics right as Thomas' territorial kicking improved, while his pack followed hooker Feao Vunipola's lead by driving the ball up hard and straight.
The reward was another penalty shot for man-of-the-match Thomas to increase Caerphilly's aggregate lead to 25 points with 15 minutes remaining.
A lapse in concentration allowed Italy centre Mirco Bergamasco to pick up from a ruck and run untouched under the posts to tie the scores on the night 26-26 after Francesio's conversion.
Darren Davies became the second Caerphilly player to earn the referee's ire, the lock shown yellow in injury time, but his remaining seven compatriots in the pack closed ranks.
There was still time for Soler to outpace Ashman to go in under the posts and claim the win on the night, Francesio's conversion making it 33-26 to the Italians
But Caerphilly's first-leg win in Italy had left Padova with too much to claw back and it is the Cheesemen who deservedly advance to face Castres in the final, although they will need better defence against the powerful French.
Caerphilly: Owain Ashman; Ryan Howells, Roddy Boobyer, Rob Higgitt, Geraint Lewis; Justin Thomas (capt), Allen Chilten; Lee Manning, Feao Vunipola, Darren Sweet, Darren Davies, Paul Jones, Gareth Jones, Simon Grainger, Mark Workman.Replacements: Robert Bilton, Geraint Liddon, Tim Carless, Nic Rouse, Neil Watkins, Fionn McLoughlin, Jarrod Murphy.
Petrarca Padova: Facundo Soler; Fabio Faggiotto, Mirco Bergamasco, Rocco Salvan, Sebastian Francesio; Andrea Marcato, Pietro Travagli; Andrea Muraro, Luigi Ferraro, Michele Matteralia, Daniele Tumiati, Gaston Llanos, Marco Bortolami, Herve Mazzocco, Nicholas Fitisemanu.Replacements: Giovanni Boccalon, Piegiorgio Monepace, Enrico Bortolato, Roberto Rompazzo, Federico Dalla Nora, Matteo Farsura, Marco Baroni.
Ref: Eric Darriere (France)


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At Faye Pattison Physiotherapy, we believe that the foundations for your alignment and movement lie within your feet. It's quite simple if we imagine a building with poor foundations or a car with poor wheel alignment, it's like a body with poor biomechanics. Poor foundations lead to structural problems in the future, poor biomechanics lead to musculoskeletal problems within your body which present as pain in your body and can be easily fixed with custom made orthotics, bespoke to your feet
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To read more, visit our FAQ's and Blog section
Faye Pattison Physiotherapy Ltd work with a specialist manufacturing company in the orthotics industry (Foothealth UK) who have over 30 years' experience in the world of orthotics and are actively involved in the research and development of the industry in the UK, USA and Canada . Our biomechanical therapists have been trained directly by Foothealth's medical director Kieran Carew who originally trained as a sports injury therapist and went on to study Podiatry. Kieran developed a keen interest in biomechanics during his career and now dedicates himself exclusively to foot biomechanics and orthotics.
While working together with Foothealth over the past years, we now have gone from bioform boxes to cast a foot to the most advance and up to date scanning technology available via Apple using an I-pad Scanner to allow the precision in our scans and manufacturing process for our patients to achieve the incredible success they deserve. With regular biomechanical days held by the lab, we ensure we are kept up to date with the latest research and developments within this very complex industry.
On your initial consultation you will meet with a highly trained biomechanical expert for a complete evaluation of your needs. The review includes a precise assessment of the biomechanics of your feet and checks for underlying structural problems. If required, your biomechanical foot specialist will make the required recommendations for orthotics (if required) and go through the different styles available to fit into the required shoes.
To find out more visit our Blog or FAQ sections or Book an Appointment.
An individual should consider a biomechanical assessment if suffering from the following:
- Heal and arch pain
- High arches
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- Shin Splints or shin pain
- Shoulder & neck problems
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- Arthritis
- Ball of the foot pain
- Bunions
- Flat Feet
- General aches and pains playing sport


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Turkey has long been releasing rip-offs of popular American movies, and now that they have a new original horror flick coming out entitled Siccîn: Büyü Haramdır, we can only hope The Asylum returns the favor, if only out of spite. Read on for the first details of this foreign spookfest!
In Turkish theaters on September 26th, Siccîn: Büyü Haramdır stars Pınar Çağlar Gençtürk, Koray Şahinbaş, Ebru Kaymakçı, Merve Ateş, Güneş Galava, Toygun Ateş, Aydan Çakır, and Asuman Kostak. It is directed by Turkish fear film sensation Alper Mestçi.
Below you'll find the trailer, which is unfortunately subtitle-free. Still. It looks pretty friggin' spooky!
This is normally the part of the story in which we'd tell you what this one is about, but every synopsis we translated via the web came back a ridiculously garbled mess. From what we've gleaned from the gibberish we've read, Siccîn: Büyü Haramdır is somewhat of a tragic love triangle with one of the principal characters either casting or getting someone to cast a spell on one of the women in said triangle, thereby infesting her with demons. SOLD!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Get infested in the comments section below!


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Google announced today their Best Apps of 2016 ranking on the Play Store, and we're excited that AmpMe's featured as one of the most innovative apps of the year alongside WiFi You, ShareTheMeal, Eve by Glow and Google Expeditions.
The Google team assembled the apps they just "couldn't keep to themselves, the ones that kept them glued to their screens, topped the charts and brought out the beauty in the world around us."
The company selected winners by reviewing the top trending apps on Google Play over the last 12 months and then breaking down the most popular apps into six different categories, with AmpMe making the ranking for Entertainment.
We're humbled to be sharing the category with visionary apps like Uber, HBO Now, MSQRD and reddit.
Whenever you have some free time, AmpMe is there for you to kick back and enjoy your favorite music together with friends. Google knows it, we know it and millions of our fans know it, so if you haven't already, turn up today with AmpMe. AmpMe is available for free on Google Play in 141 countries around the world.


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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The eagle eggs may have hatched, but there was no shortage of eggs at Beechwood Farms Saturday.
Lots of children were out hunting for "eagle eggs" filled with prizes, including bald eagle stuffed animals.
In addition to the hunt, there was a human-sized eagle nest.
PixController, which broadcasts the live eagle cam from Hays, also had live NestCam at the event.
Attendees also got the chance to see a real bald eagle up close.
"With the enthusiasm everybody has for the bald eagles that have hatched in Hays and Harmar, we thought it would be a great idea to get people out to be able to see an actual bald eagle," said Director of Communications for the Western Pa. Audubon Society Rachel Handel.
Watch The Live Eagle Cam
Join The Conversation, Like KDKA On Facebook
Follow KDKA On Twitter


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Communication Strategies
A Presentation by Denise Mercer (Macon-Bibb County, GA) and Larry Laconi (SeeClickFix) at the SeeClickFix User Summit 2016
Learn strategies to deal with getting SeeClickFix off the ground in your community or breathing new life into your existing user base. We'll focus on leveraging Neighborhood groups and community organizers. Denise will also relate a number of value lessons learned when the town of Macon consolidated with Bibb County.


text: DigitalDoes Frank Rich Read His Own Comments Section?By Glynnis|October 14, 2008 ShareBy Glynnis|October 14, 2008 Share Yesterday at the Time Politics Summit 2008 we chatted with Frank Rich about the fact the New York Times now allows comments on its op-ed pieces. (A side note: even though Rich has long been ahead of the game in terms of adding in links to his columns, something he initiated on his own, opening up a comments section was apparently not his idea, nor is he responsible for moderating it.) Rich's Sunday column often tops out at over 500 comments (this week's piece 'The Terrorist Barack Hussein Obama' currently has 842). So we wanted to know, was it strange to suddenly be on the receiving end of so many opinions? Rich told us it actually wasn't that much different than the slew of emails he normally receives each week, except that the responses were now public. And does he manages to read all of them? He doesn't. (Who has the time? He said.) Rich also noted a phenomenon that anyone who has written for a heavily trafficked and commented-on blog (for example, HuffPo) will probably already have experienced: the comments are rarely about the piece itself, instead commenters tend to use the space as their own platform.Early during the panel he was moderating, Rich queried panelists Peggy Noonan, Byron York, Josh Marshall, and Jeff Greenfield as to who might be this election year's Walter Cronkite. Rich noted Lyndon Johnson's famous observation during the Vietnam war that if he'd lost Cronkite "I've lost middle America," and wondered if the same could be said for any media type working today. Someone mentioned Tina Fey, someone else suggested that Rush Limbaugh was the only person who exercised that sort of power over middle America. Rich, himself felt that in light of SNL's recent success in parodying Sarah Palin in particular, it might be a role that Lorne Michaels is currently playing. Sharehttp://adweek.it/2keyBIH copy Adweek Adweek


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And the Seleucid cavalry are finished and submitted. As I can't post the pics of those until 24 hours after Curt posted them, but I can post some glamour pics of the finished nellies.
These figures are 15mm from Donnington.
It seems from comments on yesterday's posts that I will be painting the Viking berserkers next. Well, all I can say to that is "Wird bin ful araed!".
About Me
- TamsinP
- London, United Kingdom
- A mythical beast - a female wargamer! I got back into wargaming in the summer of 2011 after a very, very long break. My current interests are Ancients, ACW, 30YW and SciFi gaming.
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Challenge Day 05
11 comments:
Lovely Oliphants!ReplyDelete
Nice nellies Tamsin!!!!ReplyDelete
Excellent work Tamsin!!ReplyDelete
I have only ever painted a couple of hephalumps. Which is why it is doubly nice to see yours. Excellent work.ReplyDelete
Lovely work there Tamsin!ReplyDelete
I always love Nellies, Oliphants and Hephalumps of all shapes and sizes. You've made me a happy man this morning as these are wonderful!ReplyDelete
very nice ellies there TamsinReplyDelete
Whoop, whoop - Nelleis!ReplyDeleteReplies
So excited I misspelt 'Nellies'!Delete
Great and impressive units!ReplyDelete
Thanks folks. I'm pleased with how they've come out.ReplyDelete
@ Sidney and Michael - calm down boys, calm down! You'll do yourself a mischief if you get too excited :)
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Conway, NH – Executive Councilor Joseph Kenney came into the valley today (November 24) and stopped by the Radio Station to talk about the current state of the District. During our interview he talked about what it is the Council does, the 10 year highway plan, the newly created state drug task force, as well as other issues the council is concentrating on that effect the valley and the state. You can hear the interview below.
Part 1
Part 2
You can contact Executive Councilor Kenney by email him at [email protected] or calling him at (603) 271-3632


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John Cannon Homes at The Forest
For over 22 years, John Cannon Homes, Inc. has been making dreams come true for local homeowners. Our award-winning custom homes are each as unique as the homeowners themselves, and are designed with the exquisite craftsmanship and commitment to customer satisfaction that John Cannon Homes has always embraced.
John Cannon Homes specializes in the design/build approach to home building. This approach couples our professional design expertise with our superior home construction practices. Our involvement throughout the entire design and building process, gives you the consistency and continuity of service that you deserve.
"I invite you to join our growing family of satisfied homeowners who have entrusted our team to build their dream home. I am committed to fulfilling your dreams and to making your home-building experience a pleasurable one. I consider it my privilege to bring your vision to life." - John Cannon
Preview floor plans from John Cannon Homes on the Featured Homes Page.
Click here to visit the John Cannon Homes webite for more information.


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Today is New Year's Day 2014. Can you believe it? I noticed this week that our blog has been virtually static for the past year *gasp* and I have decided it is time to fix that. It is not a resolution, but I would like to be posting more on here this year – I have a feeling this year is going to be a wild one :)
Sam and I spent our first Christmas together ever this year. Typically we take the week before and after Christmas to go visit our families – separately. This has always been difficult for us (ok, maybe difficult for me) but it was an easy time to get time off from work and go see the fam. This year, we decided early on that we would stay put and start our own family traditions. I won't lie, I definitely had a few moments of sadness thinking about what we were missing back east, but then Sam reminded me what we have here and that we can go back and visit anytime. So we started some traditions :)
We joined some very dear friends in their tradition of going to Red Feather Lakes and cutting down a Christmas tree. I have NEVER had a real Christmas tree, let alone one that I helped to cut down. Colorado has a program with State Parks that allows residents to pay for a permit, drive into a section of the forest, find a tree and cut it down. These areas of the forest are marked for clearance; the trees that we were allowed to cut (trunks less than 6 inches in diameter) will clear out the forest floor, reduce the risk of forest fires, and help the overall health of the forest. I'm in! We loaded up the 4×4 trucks and off we went.
The drive up was gorgeous. Sam was in his bearded glory driving on dirt roads and hit every bump possible in the truck.
As the trusted co-pilot, I was in charge of Radio, and bad Selfies.
We found the perfect tree for us – it is a pine and about 6 feet tall. When we saw it in the trees, it had a ray of light coming down onto it – talk about an omen, right? Sam and his sidekick "E" took charge and got it down for us.
Luckily the tree was small enough that it fit nicely in the back of the truck without much fuss at all.
We were pretty proud of ourselves – a lumberjack and his lady….
We got it home, put it into the tree stand, and VOILA! Our tree was ready for decorating. What a difference picking a tree out of a forest versus a JCPenney Catalog ;) Growing up, the tree skirt in my family was handmade and amazing. I couldn't imagine having our tree without a handmade Tree Skirt. About 2 weeks before we went for the tree, I decided to crochet one for us. At first it looked like a banner for a pizza restaurant, but once it was placed under the tree, it looked just right.
My mom sent out my box of ornaments this year. Mom has been saving ornaments for me each year since I was born. Most of the ornaments were gifts from family members over the years. She mailed them out to me a week before the tree expedition. I made Sam sit in the living room with me as I opened each one and tried my hardest to remember when I got it, the person who gifted it to me, and the last time I remembered seeing it. Some I could remember, some not so much. But it was amazing go through these boxes of treasures. I was super surprised to find that Mom had sent out the 2 ornaments that I thought I would never have in my own possession.
Now that I have my awesome little-kid-Susi pictures up here, it is time to sign off for today. Happy New Year to all of our Family and Friends!! Here's to a super exciting year full of surprises, wonder, new experiences, and lots and lots of laughter!


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Those of a "certain age" will remember the numbskulls from the Beezer. Little men who lived in a blokes head and basically "operated" him and supplied him with thoughts and ideas.
Not sure if I've got numbskulls as such, but I do have an annoying inner monologue inside my head who keeps slipping out into the open at awkward and inappropriate times.
This inner monologue has more voices than Mike Yarwood, by the way. Quite often, when I'm reading, the little numbskulls are busy shifting the eyes across the words but the inner monologue will read them out to me. And he will adopt voices that suit the books. Many a book by Nigel Tranter the little chap has read out to me, but adopting the voice of the late, great Fyfe Roberston, while the works of Reginald Hill are delivered in the voice of Warren Clarke (obviously).
He sings as well you know. Just the other day as I marvelled at the golden trees along by the majestic Clyde my little chum started belting out "Autumn Leaves" in the velvety voice of Mel Torme as I ran along – (sadly somewhere along the line the numskulls converted this to the actual sound of a goose farting in the fog).
Anyway. I'm hoping that my MRI scan tomorrow will identify either my little inner monologue or the numbskulls so that they can be told to shut up and stop talking to each other, because sometimes you can get into bother when there's confusion between the two and you say things out loud.
To the young lady who got off the train at Croy this morning: Just because you happened to hear "Oh. That is beautiful" as you passed, the inner monologue was merely conveying, to me, his appreciation of a rather nice Charles Lloyd solo on Rabo De Nube that I was listening to at the time.
Thanks for the wave though.


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Anish Infra Properties Private Limited, Bhubaneswar is looking for young dynamic and energetic candidates for the posts of Accounts Officer, Marketing Manager, Front Office and Office Boy. Read below to know more details.
Job Description:
Post : Accounts Officer
Vacancy : 3 No
Qualification : B.Com with 1 year experience
Post : Marketing Manager,
Vacancy : 15 No
Qualification : Any Graduate with 1 year experience
Post : Front Office,
Vacancy : 2 No (F)
Qualification : Any Graduate
Post : Office Boy,
Vacancy : 1 No
Qualification : +2 Pass
How To Apply:
Willing candidates are requested to send their latest resume to the below mentioned email id. The company will call the candidates for interview.
Email Id : email@example.com
Anish Infra Properties Pvt Ltd,
Flat No : 101, Plot No : 93/B,
Acharya Vihar,


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I have been reading and greatly enjoying Adrian Brunel's autobiography Nice Work, about his early career in silent films and then on into sound films. I'm particularly interested in the editing work he did on silent films, which relates to our forthcoming conference at the British Academy: Splendid Innovations: The Development, Reception and Preservation of Screen Translation.
(Thanks are due to Robert Smith of Adelphi Books, Southsea, for selling me the book some years ago and to Mark Fuller of Bristol Silents for recommending it and galvanising me to go and take the book off the shelf).
In the late 1920s Brunel went into business with Ivor Montagu, co-founder of the Film Society, table-tennis player, filmmaker, conservationist and translator, to edit silent films that weren't quite geared for a British audience. They offered their services, as Brunel put it, 'as consultants and doctors for sick films':
Numbers of foreign films were being imported which failed to appeal to British audiences because of certain remediable 'defects', and after we had very successfully operated on a few of them, Wardour Street began to realise the value of my little unit of editors.This business collapsed with the advent of the talkies, because, as Brunel says ruefully, 'it was impossible then to persuade film people that talkies needed any kind of constructive or creative editing or even that editors could do anything to adjust defects in synchronised films - editors were relegated to the position of film joiners, defeatists who accepted what they got and just assembled it' (p.122).
When the Film Society began importing films, editors were required, and so Ivor used my cutting rooms and my staff. After a time we formed a company, Brunel and Montagu, for editing films - the only one of its kind in the world - and were soon known in the trade as Brunel and Montage. As our business was almost entirely confined to the treatment of completed films with which there was something wrong, we discreetly omitted our names from the credit titles of the majority of those films which passed through our hands; but for this fact, ours would have become a household name in all cinemas, for not only was the volume of our business considerable, but we dealt with many of the most famous films of those days.
The variety of our work was one of its many attractive qualities. [...] Next week's film might be American, Burmese or Japanese; it might be a spy drama, a village comedy or a medical instructional film. Again, anything might happen in connection with the work; one of us might have to go to Berlin, Rome, or Paris; or F.J. Perry, the tennis champion, might call in for a game of table tennis with Ivor, his coach; or we might have a sudden trade-show job, requiring three or four of us to go down to a film studio and work on the editing of a film for forty-eight hours before going to bed; or an importer of foreign films might call upon us to get passed by the Censor some rather risky and valueless picture, promising us a percentage of his huge (estimated) profits but having no cash to pay us for our work. (Brunel, Nice Work, pp.117-8)
I remember [the British Board of Film Censors] objecting to a scene in that magnificent film "Kamaradschaft" [sic], a distant shot of a number of naked miners bathing. It was a very pleasing scene from the point of view of composition, and from what one could see, through the steam, the men were fine specimens and were most skilfully manoeuvred so as not to alarm those unfortunate people who have peculiar ideas about the human body; it was interesting and, to me and my colleagues, completely unobjectionable. When I was told by the B.B.F.C that this scene must be cut out of the film I protested and pointed out that it had been shown in every civilised country in Europe. "On the Continent- yes, they would!" said one of the censors. I persisted. The B.B.F.C. officials then professed to be surprised and shocked at my attitude. "Surely you wouldn't wish little boys and girls to see revolting scenes of naked miners?" one of them who had not seen the film asked. They were adamant and so the scene had to come out. [...] However, this was only one scene; it was a pity to lose it, but it didn't ruin the film to cut it out. (Nice Work p.121)It's interesting that Brunel mentions this, because it was a sound film, and yet apparently it didn't come under the heading of films which could not be improved through editing. The scene to which the eager beavers of the B.B.F.C. objected can be seen at 31:20 in the copy of Kameradschaft available on Youtube:
To go directly to the scene in question, click here.
The viewing copy I've seen at the British Film Institute, which is, as far as I am aware, a copy of the UK release print from 1932, shows that the film had added pictorial credits at the beginning, as well as the innovative subtitles. Were these the work of Brunel and Montagu as well? Can we ever know? And should we consider the absence of footage of naked miners part of the film's 'translation' to the UK? Come along on 21 and 22 May to find out....
The 'Splendid Innovations' conference, co-organised by me and the subtitler, translator and historian Jean-François Cornu will take place on 21 and 22 May, 2015 at the British Academy in London. It will be accompanied by a free public performance by the distinguished Japanese benshi, Kataoka Ichiro, with Japanese film scholar Professor Markus Nornes and with live music by Cyrus Gabrysch.
Bristol Silents is a group of extremely nice and knowledgeable enthusiasts who curate some of the best silent film events in Britain and are a big part of what makes Bristol a great place to be a film nerd.
Adelphi Books is my favourite shop in all the world. It doesn't have a website - it has to be experienced in person. Its owner Robert Smith has introduced me to many of my favourite films of the 1920s and 1930s.
I wonder a bit about this distinction that Brunel draws between silent films which could freely be recut and sound films which didn't lend themselves to editing. Lucy Mazdon and Catherine Wheatley, in their excellent book French Film in Britain, Sex, Art and Cinephilia, quote a 1939 piece by Yvonne Thomas in Sight and Sound as saying that
The only bother with [Continental films] in those days [the silent period] was that from a English audience's point of view, they were far too long. They invariably had to be cut to meet our own requirements, but these cuts could usually be made without detracting from the story.This certainly supports Brunel's account, but then Brunel also brings in the sound film Kameradschaft. And Joan Hills' obituary of the distinguished subtitler Julia Wolf, who subtitled every foreign film at the Curzon from its opening in 1934 to its closure due to bomb damage during the Second World War (Mazdon & Wheatley pp.27-8), suggests that she recut not only silent, but also sound films - sometimes, as Brunel did, as a way of 'managing' the censorship process. [totters off to do more reading]


text:
Hi! I'm willing to translate publication located at http://validator.w3.org/docs/help.html#clickedandlost to the Belorussian language (my mother tongue). What I'm asking for is your written permission, so you don't mind after I'll post the translation to my blog. The translation is intended only for web, no print copies planned. Visitors of your website, who come from Minsk (Belorussia) will be the ones, who will read this blogpost, that's the only way to spread them, no additional instruments we can use. Every translation we ever do does not costs a penny for the webpage, which is translated. All we ask is to link back in whatever way you feel confident about it. Thank you for the article. You can leave a voice message and I will call you back, if you prefer a call instead of emails. Sincerely, Bohdan Zograf +(360) 488-0303Received on Friday, 8 April 2011 07:03:13 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 1 March 2016 14:18:03 UTC


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Wednesday, October 13, from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm, RPCV/W will host its popular speed-networking event to coincide with Peace Corps Headquarters' October Career Conference. The event gives recently returned volunteers an opportunity to practice and refine their "elevator speeches" in a supportive and relaxed environment. The format is similar to speed-dating, but there will also be informal opportunities to network and socialize at one of RPCV/W's favorite hang-outs, Recessions.
Recessions is extending their fantastic happy hour specials until 9:00 pm for our group – be sure to get a wrist-band at the sign-in table. Recessions is located downstairs at 1823 L Street NW, 1.5 blocks from Peace Corps HQ; nearest Metro is Farragut North. All Returned Peace Corps Volunteers are welcome.
Several mentors/interviewers are needed to make this event fun and informative; so if you have 10-15 minutes to spare while enjoying great deals on food and drinks please sign-up to be a mentor. Also anyone who isn't an RPCV/w member or RPCV is welcome to act as an interviewer during the speed-networking time. Please let co-workers and friends who have experience in the DC job market/ human resources/networking know that they are welcome to come and take part in the happy hour deal, as long as they are willing to give 15 minutes of their time to speak with a newly-RPCV.If you are interested in serving as a mentor and conducting speed-interviews, contact firstname.lastname@example.com or RSVP to this event.Please include your name, work and email address in RSVP.


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My daily Google searches – both personal and business related – have been generating more, and more, teeny-tiny heads in the SERPs, a sign that Google authorship adoption continues to grow and gain prominence in the search results.
It wasn't too long ago that we covered some ways to improve Author Rank, but we've since been able to glean some new tidbits of information, speculation, and results.
This post will cover the current state of authorship, some best practices for optimizing your Google authorship, and what we can – presumably – expect in the future.
Google+ Profile PR and the Elusive Author Rank
Google authorship is an example of Google's attempt to shift algorithmic influence away from keyword strings to "things" (i.e., web content authors), as Matt Cutts recently stated.
And along with this are some interesting consequences. By attributing authority to authors via Google+ profiles, Google has found a way to attribute authority to an entity on the web who doesn't have to be directly connected to a single domain (other than Google+), or site authority.
What this means for ranking in the SERPs is that a piece of content tagged with the correct Google authorship markup can have influence on rankings, independent of the authority of the site. In theory, then, as we can't confirm Author Rank yet, an authoritative author's article on a low authority site can still have significant authoritative value and rank well in SERPs.
How can you optimize the use of Google authorship?
1. Implement Authorship Correctly
Start by checking to see if you've properly implemented your authorship tag. You can easily verify this with the Webmaster Tools Structured Data testing tool.
If you haven't done so already, you can verify your authorship with an email address connected to the domain you author on.
If you contribute on multiple sites, you must include a link to your Google+ page with the rel="author" tag and, then, include a link to the site in the "Contributor" section of your profile.
Google also recently shared seven tips on using Google authorship.
2. Become a Subject Authority
The obvious next step would be to start publishing articles. But, of course, there are some caveats to this step. It's important to pick a niche subject to write about and stick to it – become a subject authority.
Just as ranking factors shift, so do the methods of manipulation, and it seems that it will become an increasingly targeted spam factor if particular authors appear spammy – commenting and participating in all subject matters, guest posting on topics that are a far and few in-between would all appear unfavorable. So stick to what you know and do it well.
The second and equally important part of becoming a subject authority is to engage on Google+ with other authors.
It isn't enough to have well-known authors in your circles (and vice versa), it is important to engage on Google+ with authors and in related groups. It matters who and where links to your profile page come from.
This can mean that other Google authors link back to your profile page on Google+ or a link to your profile comes from a high PR site (presumably where you've guest posted).
3. Google+ Optimization
In addition to making sure that all of the site you contribute to are included, Kristi Hines' post, "SEO for Google+ Profiles, Pages, Local, Communities & Updates", offers a good guide on optimizing for Google+.
Another important profile attribute is the profile picture. While we won't get as detailed as some others have about the perfect profile image, it most certainly is an important consideration. With SERP real estate featuring more authorship snippets, a good image can provide some good value to a search result.
Some Foreseeable Predictions
While we can expect to see some more concrete results in the future – maybe one day we will hear the official word on Author Rank – there are some glaring bits and pieces that have made Google authorship a factor that should be monitored closely.
Google authorship is a testament to the influence of social signals on web content. And it is no surprise that Google+ has, in high magnitudes, more weight than Facebook or Twitter as a social signal.
While it's difficult to accurately identify concrete figures or information, we are finding anecdotal evidence in the SEO community (as many of the articles linked in this post indicate) that Google authorship is affecting how content is ranking in SERPs.
There's no doubt that attributing the authorship snippet to your content will have a positive affect on rankings, visibility, and click-through rate. If this evidence becomes more conclusive in the future, we could see content with the author tag ranking better than anonymous content.
Cristian Oana of nvi, an iProspect company, contributed to this post.
Related reading
SEO writing guide: From keyword to content brief
How to create unique articles that encompass major on-page SEO elements, and touch the reader? A streamlined process, key benefits, and screenshots listed.
Three fundamental factors in the production of link-building content
I've analyzed over 120 pieces of content across 16 industries to define common threads between campaigns that exceed or fall short of their expectations.
How to conduct a branded search audit
Detailed guide to conducting a branded search audit, identifying areas of concern, and making improvements. Lots of examples included.
How to write SEO-friendly alt text for your images
Alt text for images is an important piece of the SEO puzzle and a great area of opportunity for marketers. Ways to create search engine friendly alt text.


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All American Decorative Concrete
This Biz Opp viewed 3553 times this year | Share This Biz Opp With A Friend
American Decorative Concrete is a specialist in interior and exterior decorative
overlays for residential and commercial properties. Our decorative concrete
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are some quick facts on the concrete industry:
in a franchise isn't something to be taken lightly. It requires lots of research
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What Markets Expect From President Trump
Policy action is needed for the rally to continue.
This includes not only investment expertise, but also acting as a partner to help advisors build and run their practice with the added resource of the award-winning OppenheimerFunds CEO Advisor InstituteSM. K.C. offers actionable insights that enable advisors to enhance the expertise of their team, structure of their practice, client-service standards, new business development and wealth management strategies.
K.C. has been with Oppenheimer Funds since 1999. Prior to joining OppenheimerFunds K.C. worked as a vice president at Evergreen Funds. K.C. holds a Bachelor's degree in finance and marketing from the School of Business Administration at the University of Montana.
K.C. holds his Series 7 and 63 licenses. In his spare time he enjoys sports with his boys and spending time on the Puget Sound.
Comprehensive support designed to promote your success


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One of the saddest days of the year is upon us! That's right ladies and gents, it's time for another (undoubtedly brutal) Game of Thrones season finale.
Last weeks episode had a death that fell a little higher on the scale of jacked up Game of Thrones deaths, for multiple reasons, and it looks like this week we'll see the reason for the death come to fruition. As Stannis Baratheon and his troops prepare to battle, Cersei looks to be preparing for a battle of her own. All signs are pointing to Cersei confessing her sins to the High Sparrow, culminating in that naked walk we heard so much about during filming.
Keep scrolling to see what else is in store for the fifth season finale of Game of Thrones:
Game of Thrones Episode 5.10 'Mother's Mercy' Synopsis
Stannis marches. Dany is surrounded by strangers. Cersei (Lena Headey) seeks forgiveness. Jon is challenged.
Game of Thrones Episode 5.10 'Mother's Mercy' Photo Gallery
Game of Thrones Episode 5.10 'Mother's Mercy' Official Trailer
You can catch the next new episode of Game of Thrones Sunday at 9pm on HBO.
Let us know what you hope to see in the season finale of the series below!
Photo Credit: HBO


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State of the planet got you down? Discouraged by cruelty, pollution, greed, war? Then fluff up your spirit by scrolling down through these links! Some of them are just for fun, some of them are uplifting and inspiring, some of them simply show good things people are doing.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
This Florida craft-beer brewery has created something we hope will catch on! They replaced plastic six-pack rings that are so destructive to marine life with edible six-pack rings that fish (or humans!) can nibble on! Cudos to the Saltwater Brewery! Coca cola? Budweiser? Are you paying attention?!?
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Eusing Internet Window Washer is a privacy cleaner, that allows you to erase common Internet and computing tracks, including browser cache, cookies, visited websites, typed URLs, recent documents, index.dat files and more. In addition to popular web browsers, the program supports tracks cleaning... [Read more...]
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Copyright 1997-2019 WebAttack, Inc. WEBATTACK and SNAPFILES are registered trademarks of WebAttack Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.


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About Dahlia Heights
For parents seeking an enriching scholastic experience in the country's second largest city, Dahlia Heights is a unique and academically excellent K-6 school in the heart of Los Angeles' Eagle Rock neighborhood.
Dahlia Heights has been called "a jewel in the crown of LAUSD," and we expect that to be your impression of our community as well. Our students, teachers, staff, and parents are exceptionally committed to strong academics, the arts, and caring for the environment.
The mission of the staff, parents, and community of Dahlia Heights Elementary School is to provide for academic and social growth of students in order to instill a lifelong love of learning. We celebrate Dahlia's diversity and cultural differences while fostering unity and stewardship of our planet.
School Hours
Before School:
The gates open at 7:30 AM. Children arriving before 7:30 AM must be supervised by an adult.
School Hours:
Students Line up at first bell (8:00 AM)
8:06 AM - 2:34 PM - Tuesday Dismissal 1:34 PM
Lunch Time:
After School Playground Hours:
Office Hours:
7:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Early Dismissals
Early Dismissal Day – Classes are dismissed at 1:34 PM on Tuesdays for teacher development sessions, from late August through June. Please see the school calendar for details.
Minimum Day Schedule – There are approximately ten days during the school year when students are dismissed at 12:54 p.m. Again, check the calendar for these dates.
School Visits
Please sign in at the Main Gate and come to the Office for a Visitor's Badge when visiting the school (except during Drop-Off and Pick-Up).
Dahlia Brings Home Gold at Science Olympiad!
Congratulations to our Dahlia Heights Science Olympiad Team who won Science Olympiad Gold on Saturday, March 2nd in the Science Olympiad competition at Occidental College. A special thank you goes out to their Science Coach Mrs. Daniel and the many parent volunteers for all their hard work and dedication over the past few months to prepare our team. We are very proud of all team members.
Through Difficult Times, Dahlia Community Stays Strong!
Dahlia parents, students, and staff brought tons of support, strike-force, and sustenance! to the teachers in their struggle for smaller class sizes and more support staff. Teachers felt the love!
Walk-to-School Day Was a Huge Success!
Thank you! for lacing up those shoes, pumping up those tires, and scooting on your scooters to help make our Walk-to-School Day so successful. It was a great show of community support! The donuts and coffee were appreciated... Thank you to Cindy's & Colorado Donuts for your donations!!
2018-2019 Calendar
Dahlia Student Council collects Clothes, blankets, socks and scarfs for the homeless
Regular Bell Schedule
* indicates a bell
After School Programs at Dahlia
Dahlia Heights is pleased to offer two after-school programs:
E3 - Enrichment Educational Experiences – E3 is an After-School Fee-Based Program for K-6
Enrichment Educational Experiences/E3 Inc. was developed to fulfill the requests of parents who were seeking an after-school program that would continue the high standards and concepts of Kindergarten Enrichment. Our after-school program provides students with art, music, drama, science, language arts, chess, dance, physical education clinics and a homework/study hall hour. Please visit the attached website for information about this program. http://enrichmentkids.com/e3/
The Beyond the Bell – Youth Services After-School Program for 2nd – 6th Grade Students
Organized games, enrichment activities, and homework assistance is provided for those students capable of independent supervision to, from, and at the playground site. It is a permissive recreation program available to students in grade 2 through 8. Children may come and go as they choose and by their own volition. The Beyond the Bell Youth Services After-School Program is not a child care program. Students do not sign-in or out. It is a privilege, not a right, to participate in the program. Children are expected to conduct themselves appropriately and may lose the opportunity to participate if their behavior is disruptive. The elementary program is for students in elementary grades (grades 2 through 5/6).
Join the Dahlia PTA
Solar Eclipse
Donate to the Dahlia PTA Annual Fund
Dahlia Downloads


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Database.NET is a universal database client that enables you to connect to most database servers to perform SQL queries, create databases and tables, and edit table rows. The program includes a syntax enabled, tabbed SQL editor as well as several addition tools to perform basic database... [Read more...]
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Copyright 1997-2019 WebAttack, Inc. WEBATTACK and SNAPFILES are registered trademarks of WebAttack Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.


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Tacky Italian Dinners at Angelo's and Vinci's Ristorante
There is a very specific charm to eating at a place like Buca di Beppo. The family style pasta dishes. The tacky decor… but if you want to level up on tacky-Italian-dining, go to Angelo's and Vinci's Ristorante in Fullerton, California.
Last Saturday, I went there for a friend's birthday dinner. I love family-style dining. Mostly because you can share several kinds of dishes and not have to settle for one!
Although the food at Angelo's and Vinci's is so-so (maybe just slightly better than Buca di Beppo) but the atmosphere is the best part. I regret not taking photos of every nook and cranny inside the establishment but perhaps most of it is better experienced in person. I would recommend going up the stairs just to stare at the giant golden angel statue bearing down on a bath tub with mannequin legs sticking out from under the statue. Insane and surreal!
Although our favorite is the cat glass window.


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JB's Steakhouse
JB's Steakhouse
225 E Main
Phone: 580-256-4845
Fax: 580-256-4310
For an upscale meal in a classy atmosphere, grab a table at JB's Steakhouse in Woodward. Their menu includes traditional American dishes like steaks and seafood as well as unique takes on other favorites. Whether you like ribeyes or prime rib, JB's Steakhouse can cook your favorite cut to perfection. Each meal comes with hot rolls and be sure to take a trip to the salad bar to fix your salad just the way you like it. JB's also has a full bar with beers and cocktails to complement any meal.
Find Nearby
Facility Amenities: Credit Cards Accepted, Full Service
Group Amenities: Bus/Motorcoach Parking, Seating Capacity: 98
Highway Corridors (within 5 mi.): US-183, US-270, US-412
Meals Served: Dinner, Lunch
Tuesday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Wednesday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Thursday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Friday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Saturday: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pmClosed Tue-Fri 1:30-5pm to set up for dinner service.
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The Shadowsfall Shadow Plane Player's Guide from Jon Brazer Enterprises is one of those pdfs I have been looking forward to, and initial scans through the book do not disappoint, as this is one very professional looking project. Filled with a blend of color and B&W artwork, and one piece of B&W cartography that very much reminded me of long ago days of drawing up maps of fantastical lands for games with friends, the formatting adheres to the standard dual column approach. 34 pages total, with only four of those going to covers, OGL and TOC...leaving 30 pages to the material itself. Well, almost, there's an intro, and a cool coversheet of sorts (a "letter" with illustration) that starts us off.
So...Shadowsfall. Much anticipated as a setting, and here I have yet another piece of this puzzle, this time in the form of a player's guide. And what pray tell does Mr. McCoy choose to cover in this guide? Read on my friends, and I will do my best to cover the pertinent reasons you NEED this book.
Right off the bat it is important to understand that in the Plane of Shadow we are not the top of the food chain when it comes to playable races, nor even the densest population factor. To put it short humans are pretty much outnumbered. In terms of most per capita, the title belongs to the walking dead, as the Shadowsfall setting is about as close as one can get to playing a zombie apocalypse setting without abandoning the fantasy genre. There is a very real underlying threat of the undead permeating this setting, which brings with it the obvious darkness that makes this setting a real treat for those looking to add some Gothic horror to their standard campaign. Second, Shadowsfall, or the Plane of Shadow if you prefer, is an immense realm filled with the forgotten and lost material, places and people of countless worlds and realms. The possibilities for a campaign are insane in that there are so many different cultures worth of items, material and locations all tucked into one place, just waiting to be discovered.
Introduced in the player's guide we finally get stats for the beautiful Umbral Kobold that graces the cover, and that Dale has been teasing us with. An offshoot of the standard kobold race, they are the descendents of a clan of kobold who found themselves trapped upon the shadow plane, and with no heroes to cull their numbers grew and evolved to survive their new home. Also introduced here is the Wanderer, an intriguing player race for a fallen angel essentially...but think more in terms of City of Angels as opposed to Fire and Brimstone here...these celestials asked to leave service for whatever reason, and were granted their leave. Both new races are also accompanied with an archetype suited not only for them, but the shadow plane specifically.
New class options include a new order for cavaliers, new bloodlines, evolutions, hexes and schools continue to provide more options to truly fine tune your character to the shadow plane before delving to deep into these lands. Of these options, the new school of elemental magic was probably my personal favorite, Shadow. Quoting straight from the text, as I think this really speaks for itself..."Shadow represents the memory of what was, the loss of what is, and the broken dreams of the future. It is the lifelessness and despair that comes from a former glory wasting away..." Starting to get the idea that perhaps the term Shadow Plane is referring to more than just that thing you cast on the wall yet?
New plane of course gives us new familiar options, some being shade variants, others being new to the list entirely...giant nightcrawler anyone? Or perhaps a riding dodo?? Nothing says don't mess with me like riding into combat on a dodo...lol
As is the standard within a player's guide for a setting, we are given a brief description and write up for several communities and settlements, their people and basic traits. The immense difference here in looking at how these communities interact is that they essentially don't. Outside the walls of fortified structures lies the undead hordes. Wandering through what is known as the Outlands, or the lands between strongholds, the zombie population and random critters make sure that travel between strongholds is a dangerous enough proposition that one does not partake of it for no reason short of dire importance. Which is why it is easy to see how each of these stronghold settlements have become as vastly different as they have. Each coming to be as a means of defending a place to settle and live against raiders, monsters and the undead in general, they all have adapted a different outlook on what is the best path to take in doing so. Strongholds such as Blackbat – in business with vampire lords trading captured zombies to be used as labor in mines collecting material; Bloodchain – ruled by kytons, the humanoids within these walls pay for their safety by giving in to the sadistic desires of their masters; Kingsgrave – a once mighty stronghold complete with magical orchards providing plentiful food and a contingent of golems protecting them from the undead hordes. All was perfection until the golems turned on their masters, leaving this once mighty region into a ghostland still filled with plentiful foods and treasures for those willing to brave the still patrolling golem guardians. These are but a sampling of the settlements and strongholds detailed here, and truthfully, each has an interesting enough flavor that I would love to see them all expanded upon in future volumes.
Thirteen new feats flesh out the next section of the book, with such offerings as Shadow Style (Combat, Style) – increasing base land speed, and adding your Wis bonus to Fly and Stealth checks. Additionally we are given 2 feats that chain with this combat style to further add to the enhancements. Augment Undead does exactly what you might be thinking it does, adding to STR and HD for undead you create. Fighting Retreat stood out to me as one of those feats that I can see a great deal of intelligent players taking, as it allows for an attack action during a withdraw action...and let's face it, sometimes you just have to run rather than die. And it is always a good idea to be able to fight as you go until you are clear enough to run.
New equipment options include the wartrident, a variant pike style weapon, and several alchemical items like the deathburn and holy orb. Deathburn is a liquid that after application to an undead will change their physical damage to acidic, or cause acidic damage when applied to living tissue. The holy orb is essentially a glass grenade filled with holy water. Two vehicles are presented here as well, one strictly realistic in its design, the other following the eldritch/alchemical route.
Four pages are dedicated to laying out the pantheons of the Shadow Plane, explaining the portfolios of the gods, the viewpoints of their followers, and the subdomains associated to the former. Here within are the Kyton subdomain (Evil, Law) and the Shadow subdomain (Darkness). We're also given a new mystery for oracles, Joy.
Six new spells are introduced with a section opener explaining that within the shadow plane many spells more common on other planes are less effective...I would have liked to have seen perhaps more detail to this statement in game mechanics. It states that fireball would be one of those less effective spells, but does not give us any stats to show this. I am assuming this information will be within the setting guide itself for GM's, as opposed to the player's guide...so I shall be looking for it. If the statement is going to be made that common spells are less useful, and the subschool of shadow is in fact more powerful on this plane (which makes perfect sense) I would think some form of demonstrating this would be extremely useful.
As with the spells, we are given six new magical items as well, with a brief intro stating that very few magical items are actually created within this plane, as most people are concerned more with the task of day to day survival. Amongst these items we have a Cowl of Undead Command, a Kyton Slavery Whip and a Cloak of Darkness. Now in direct contrast we close the book with a chapter detailing several common magical items that have found their way to the plane of shadow, and been altered. And by altered, well, I mean altered...lol. Take the Necklace of Exploding Beads for instance, appearing as a standard type IV necklace of fireballs the beads on this necklace explode instantly upon removal from the strand, not giving you the chance to throw them at a foe....I so want to drop a few of these for my PCs to find...(insert evil laugh)...But, as cool as this section is, I think it further supports my problem with the new spell chapter. The plane changes things, and the time was taken to show that for a few magical items to help clarify this, but the same level of attention was not afforded spells. By stating that spells don't work as effectively, but not detailing any of what is meant by that, I feel a little shortchanged...especially after reading through the excellent magical items section.
OK...final tally of thoughts here. PDF is fully bookmarked, which always makes me happy. TOC was not linked, which makes me frown, but truly, that is a personal thing since bookmarks handle that anyway. I managed to find one editing error in 34 pages...one. That's pretty good, good enough I'm not even considering it as a negative. The art ranges in quality, with a few pieces being truly excellent, the writing was all of good caliber. The idea that has grown into Shadowsfall is interesting and original enough in its approach that it feels brand new without losing the touch of familiar that a setting needs to truly be inviting. That alone deserves it high praise, as that is not an easy task to pull off. So...my feeling that a more expanded explanation of why/how some spells are not as effective would be helpful being my only true negative...and seriously, if that's all I can find to dig at you should have realized by now that this is an excellent player's guide to a fantastically written setting.
I am going with a rating of 5 for this book, as my only complaints came down to personal preferences, not actual issues with the product itself.


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