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Skip to comments.DUmmie FUnnies 10-26-12 ("Your First Time": DUmmies dig on Dunham)
Posted on 10/26/2012 9:36:33 AM PDT by Charles Henrickson
Imagine if Rachel Maddow, Janeane Garofalo, and Sandra Fluke got together and somehow were able to produce a child. Sandy was off her pills one month, Rachel was feeling randy, and Janeane was in there somewhere, too. So assuming this dérange à trois could produce offspring, what would it look like? Answer: Lena Dunham.
Who is Lena Dunham, you ask? Well, I had to ask, too, when I came across that name last night. When I first saw it, I thought it said "Leon Durham," the old first baseman for my Chicago Cubs. Leon Durham--the guy who let that ground ball go through his legs against the Padres (pulling a Buckner two years before Buckner), thus costing the Cubs a trip to the World Series. Yeah, that Leon Durham. I still get upset about it.
But I digress. Back to Lena Dunham. It turns out left-leaning Lena is some actress type on a show I've never heard of. But apparently a few people do watch her show--about 30 or 40 college-age girls, it seems. That would be the demographic the Obama campaign is going after with a new YouTube VIDEO that Lena Dunham did for them, called "Your First Time."
The theme of the video is Ms. Dunham comparing premarital sex with voting for Barack Obama. The first time you fornicate, it should be with a great guy, and that guy is Barack Obama. He's Mr. Dreamy. So lay down on your back, open wide, and pull the lever. That's about the size of it. Sluts for Obama. I kid you not.
Now wait a minute. . . . Dunham, Dunham--where have I heard that name before? That's right! Stanley Ann Dunham and her boy Barry! Maybe Lena and Our President are related, on the freaky white Dunham side. That would explain the weirdness. Call in Henry Louis Gates, and he can do a DNA test.
So Lena Dunham has done this "Your First Time" video, and it has gone viral. Ewww, maybe I should rephrase that. It has taken off faster than Big Bird on a binder full of horses. Besides lighting up Lena, BO gives the DUmmies the Big "O," too, and so they luv the vid, of course. Witness this THREAD, "Lena Dunham (of HBOs "Girls"): Your First Time." You can view the video embedded--no pun intended--at that DUmmieland link, in case the YouTube link doesn't work.
But before we get to the debauched DUmmies, let us first hear from the deflowered Ms. Dunham herself--we'll call this part the DUnham FUnnies--in Baboon Butt Red, while the commentary of your gobsmacked humble guest correspondent, Charles Henrickson, hoping this Dunham video is seen by millions, since it will cause all decent and civilized people to vote for Romney, is in the [Barackets]:
Your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy. It should be with a guy with beautiful . . .
[. . . contraceptives.]
Someone who really cares about and understands women.
[Someone like, oh, Ted Kennedy or Bill Clinton.]
A guy who cares whether you get health insurance, and specifically whether you get birth control.
[But only if you don't have to pay for it yourself.]
The consequences are huge.
[Hugh, I tell you!]
You want to do it with a guy who brought the troops out of Iraq.
[And pulled the security team out of Benghazi.]
You don't want a guy who says, "Oh hey, I'm at the library studying," when he's really out not signing the Lilly Ledbetter Act.
[ICK! You DON'T want to do the Sandra Fluke Act with HIM!]
Or who thinks that gay people should never have beautiful, complicated weddings of the kind we see on Bravo or TLC all the time.
[It's a FUnnie world nowadays, isn't it? The heterosexuals DON'T want to get married, and the homos DO!]
It's a fun game to say, "Who are you voting for?" and they say "I don't want to tell you," and you say, "No, who are you voting for?" and they go, "Guess!"
[Wheeeee!!! It's FUn!]
Think about how you want to spend those four years. In college-age time, that's 150 years.
[And after those 150 years, you still won't be able to get a job.]
Also, it's super uncool to be out and about and someone says, "Did you vote?" and "No, I didn't vote, I wasn't ready."
[So make sure that you ARE ready! All you college-age girls, be sure and GET OUT THERE AND VOTE on November 7th!]
My first time voting was amazing. It was this line in the sand.
[Kind of like the Fluke bedroom, where's there's a line in the Sandra.]
Before I was a girl. Now I was a woman.
[And now I'm making this idiotic ad.]
I went to the polling station and pulled back the curtain.
[I was ready to be polled.]
I voted for Barack Obama.
[Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! You did it with Mr. Dreamy! And once you've done Barack, you'll never go back! . . . But, but, wait. . . . Lena, I read on your bio that you are 26 years old. That means that the first time you were eligible to vote was in . . . in 2004, not 2008. Hmmm. . . . Did you not vote for Jean-Francois Kerry?? You know, the guy who served in Vietnam? Are you saying Kerry was slut-boated? Were you not ready? Or were you saving yourself for Barack?]
[The DUmmies now dig on Dunham . . .]
Lena Dunham (of HBOs "Girls")
[Now she's one of BHO's "Girls."]
Your First Time
[Virginia is in a swing state.]
[Cute, with cooties.]
I just saw it and came to see if it had been posted.
[Oh, she's been posted, alright.]
Oh, and it's pissing off the creepy Republicans, so... YAY!!
[YAY for offending all decent and civilized people and driving them to vote for Romney!!]
Yes, they are trashing it big time.
[Lena scores high in the trash poll!]
She's voting with her lady parts!
Can't wait for the follow up video.
[I can see it now: "I Was Barack's Baby Mama!" Stay classy, Obama campaign!]
Top 10!
I wondered the same when I saw the first post about this. Yours is the first comment I've seen acknowledging the point. Thanks! BTW, what's she counting, how many guys left her to pay the tab?
And the sound of dueling ukeleles plays in the background.
Dunham...sounds incestuous (not that there's anything wrong with that in DUmmieland)
They haven't pulled that crap yet??
Should the first time cost 5 trillion dollars, put 47 million people on food stamps, 23 million on unemployment, and be so painful like he put sand in the Vaseline And he shouldnt be a two pump chump, sure, he took care of himself, but what about you...did he even call you back or just put on his shoes and say he would call you back...And then not call you back for four years to do it again, because he wanted to use you again...just sayn. (repost)
Perhaps. I can't get it to play on YouTube anymore. Team Barry may have thrown it down the Memory Hole. HOWEVER, you can still view the video embedded at the DUmmieland link I gave you, as well as at a host of other sites. Just google "Lena Dunham" and "Your First Time," and you should find oodles of places where you can see the vid.
I was flipping channel and came across that show "Girls", some women were waiting for their friend at an abortion clinic so they could throw her an abortion party....
I turned it off real fast.
Last night I discovered that Liberals really seriously don't like it if you post the YouTube video of the Vladimir Putin election advert this little twit stole the concept from.
And get even more pissed when pointing out that Putin could get away with the ad because he's more of a real man than Obama is. Scratch that, it's just that Putin is a real man while Obama isn't.
Then get their heads to explode by posting that Nazi quote from PJ O'Rourke about people never fantasizing about being ravished by a Liberal.
Now Rush has another name to add to the slut list. They coulda gone with Fluke, the original.
Top 20!
How Callous has society become?
David (Iowahawk) Burge
That is hilarious!
I heard about the Putin ad but haven't seen it.
Your first time, don't do it with just anybody, do it with an absolute prick.
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The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is the brawniest thing in college football right now, and a scrawny man, Paul Finebaum, sits atop it.
Finebaum is the host of The Paul Finebaum Radio Network, a daily show that has won the men's 25-54 demographic in Alabama for five years running and which serves to overturn the rock and reveal the writhing passions of the SEC. Finebaum, a 56-year-old with a bald, turtle-like head and a Memphis accent, doesn't do much talking. When he does talk, he's monotone, sly, and deadpan. He is there to let his callers rant and spew.
A decade ago, Finebaum was a local show in Birmingham. Then it went regional—you can hear it everywhere in Alabama, and on stations in Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia—and now it's national, via Sirius XM.
"I'm surprised how well Finebaum seems to have translated nationally," says Jeremy Henderson, editor of the War Eagle Reader, "because the stuff he's talking about is mostly Auburn and Alabama fans screaming at each other."
But that's what college football is now. Tonight, No. 2 Alabama plays No. 1 LSU in the BCS championship game, a rematch of their regular-season SEC West contest. The winner will be the sixth straight national champion from the SEC; the loser—thanks to the intraconference matchup—will be the first SEC team to to have lost in a BCS title game. Against other conferences, the league is 7-0.
The SEC has more than $3 billion in television rights fees coming over the next 15 years, the biggest deal in college sports. Where other conferences are withering away in the realignment frenzy, the SEC keeps growing stronger. The South rules the sport.
It's a streak of regional dominance unrivaled since the late 1800s, when Harvard, Princeton, and Yale traded titles for 30 years. Then, in the 1920s, the South—still resentful about the Civil War and Reconstruction—decided to apply its sectional aggression to the sport, challenging the North and West for supremacy.
"That legacy, that bitterness lives on," said Andy Doyle, a professor of sports history at Winthrop University in South Carolina. "And it certainly lived on into the formation of football."
In 1926, Alabama beat Washington in the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide returned as heroes, meeting adoring crowds at every train stop, according to football historian Michael Oriard. In 1935, the SEC began offering athletic scholarships. The Big Ten and Pacific Coast accused the conference of outright professionalism—sound familiar?
The mythmaking was self-conscious. Hardscrabble Southerners like Alabama defensive end Bear Bryant played "more desperately and ferociously," Oriard said, till the Yankee sport became identified with Southern pride.
In the '60s, Southern columnists crowed about how their all-white teams could still beat integrated Northern ones. And for a while they did. Once they couldn't, the SEC finally yielded to history and desegregated—if slowly; Ole Miss didn't have its first black player till 1972.
But the regional jingoism survived. SEC enthusiasm is—along with a certain bourbon-drinking literary posture—one of the last socially acceptable forms of Confederate exceptionalism.
And Finebaum gives voice to its fullest enthusiasm. Even Texas isn't Southern enough. As a Heisman Trophy voter, Finebaum left Baylor quarterback and eventual winner Robert Griffin III off his ballot because, as he tweeted, "Baylor would finish 6-6 in SEC West".
"SEC defenses would have eaten him alive," Finebaum added. "Haters get a clue."
Finebaum, like the college football itself, has a tale of regional migration. He was born in Tennessee to parents newly arrived from New York. As he moved even deeper into Dixie, he kept rhetorically evoking his Northern roots: "I'm the son of New Yorkers," he said over the phone. "And here I am fighting some battle for the South."
He was recounting his October appearance on ESPN's Outside the Lines, in which he sparred with The Nation's Dave Zirin when talking about Hank Williams Jr.'s remarks about President Obama. He said he covered his eyes at points when watching the episode on his DVR.
"That said, I didn't have to buy a beer in Alabama for a week, and I'm sure I got free tickets to every Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, and Marshall Tucker reunion tour."
It was a textbook Finebaum maneuver, disclaiming the Southernness he'd shown on national television, while explaining that Southerners had his back anyway, before poking fun at Southern icons. With each clause came a new barb, directed at another side, till it was impossible to tell which side he was personally taking. Then he told me Williams had called to thank him, too.
"Life can't be all bad when Bocephus is your friend," Finebaum said. "By the way, I thought his comments on Obama were ridiculous."
The OTL appearance with Zirin was one of Finebaum's multiple appearances on ESPN over the past few months. His radio show served as a framing device for Roll Tide/War Eagle, the ESPN Films documentary on the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, which aired before the Iron Bowl in November.
Finebaum is the face and—in his understated way—voice of the ascendant SEC tribalism. Bryan Curtis explained it well at Grantland: Fans root for the conference as a whole, in addition to boosting their own teams. They chant "S! E! C!" when Florida vanquishes Ohio State, when Auburn defeats Oregon. They like seeing SEC brethren, even their rivals, beat down on other squads. The SEC-on-SEC action in the championship game will invariably let down some SEC fans, save the Auburn types who want to see Alabama lose at all costs, because there won't be any foil for the conference.
Whoever's winning, Finebaum's audience wants to yell about it. Finebaum got his start in radio appearing on morning shows in Birmingham in the mid-1980s, when he was a columnist for the Post-Herald. As the Auburn blog editor Henderson remembers it, the morning show hosts brought the writer in as a punching bag. From there, Finebaum started a weekly talk show in 1987, and went daily in 1993. He had a sidekick until 1999, when he went solo. He's hopped around every talk station in Birmingham, and many of the TV outlets too. Presently, he's at WJOX on the radio—but he's suing the station, too and WBRC on TV. So this could always change.
Listening to Finebaum's show is a lot like watching Maury or Jerry Springer. An educated onetime journalist plays tickled ringmaster while crazies holler. There are media guests, but they hail primarily from the murky world of college football. USA Today oddsmaker Danny Sheridan recurs. So do old Alabama and Auburn coaches, like Gene Stallings and Pat Dye. There are a few national types, like Kirk Herbstreit, Gary Danielson, and Bruce Feldman, who pop up weekly.
But the civilian callers define the show. They aim to irritate other callers, and Finebaum works to coax out their tempers. Where tabloid television guests talk about babydaddies and meth, Finebaum's talk about Cam Newton and synthetic weed and their fellow audience members.
If they're Bama fans, they talk shit about this year's Auburn Tigers, who had already lost to LSU and Georgia by a combined score of 90-17 before losing 42-14 in the Iron Bowl. They still grouse about "Scam" Newton's recruitment, as though NCAA regulations would undo the mortification wrought by Auburn 28, Alabama 27. Auburn fans this year retaliate by taking pride in LSU.
Finebaum is best known for his regular callers, with names like Tammy, Legend, and I-Man, the Alabama and Auburn fans who phone with little interest in discussing football. People tune in for them, for the soap-opera storylines.
On Finebaum's show the night before Thanksgiving, Tammy called about giving her boss a ride home. The ensuing male callers wanted to talk Tammy just as much as they wanted to talk football. Finebaum says, "I can't remember which game I was at, a few years ago, but I started getting texts there about what Tammy would say on Monday, could I imagine what Tammy was feeling. People started wondering what the callers were going to do." Finebaum even told a story of power company employees who stopped him while jogging to ask what Tammy looked like.
He says other stations' regular callers are boring and predictable. His aren't: "We have Legend, who was in jail for capital murder charges. He told the story on the air. We had several callers, after Penn State, who talked about being abused when they were young. You couldn't do this on Colin Cowherd or Jim Rome."
It was the confessional format that gave Finebaum's show its greatest moment of national notoriety, the call from "Al from Dadeville," boasting of having killed the oak trees at Auburn's Toomer's Corner. Al—real name: Harvey Updyke, Jr.—now denies it.
Glennon Threatt, a Birmingham lawyer who once represented Updyke, called the show "a public water cooler, with anonymity. They can appear before 700,000 listeners with an axe to grind." The actual figure, per Pat Smith, Finebaum's network director, is 250,000 listeners in Alabama.
"He isn't just giving voice to the Auburn-Alabama rivalry," Henderson said. "He now has the power to actually affect it, to permanently change the narrative. The main story line of this year's Iron Bowl—I've already nicknamed it Toomer's Karma—was essentially written by his producers. His producers put Updyke on the air. His producers took the concerned call from the Auburn horticulture professor who heard Updyke on the air. His producers pulled the audio for police. After Updyke's arrest, his producers put him back on the air. And back on the air. And back on the air."
Finebaum doesn't accept any blame for Updyke's alleged actions: "He said that several callers on the show played a big role, but it's not my fault that someone does something incredibly stupid," Finebaum said.
A few weeks ago Finebaum broadcast a show where Threatt was his guest. One caller was a printer repairman who had been convicted on child porn charges, and Threatt had been his attorney. They wrangled over the details of the case on-air, how young the girl had been, whether she was wearing nothing at all or a swimsuit, whether the man had videos or just still images. They didn't take too many football calls.
"I'm a football fan, but I'm not as passionate as these fans," Finebaum said. "Would I go to a whole bunch of games if I wasn't a journalist? Maybe one or two."
Being a journalist, and billing himself as a former journalist, is an essential part of Finebaum's program of detached aggression. "I wanted to go to The New York Times or Sports Illustrated," he said. "But I ended up hanging out here. It's hard to explain how it became that way, because it just happened."
He said he's done now with reporting—although when prodded about a dream job that would cause him to leave radio, he suggested reporting for 60 Minutes or HBO's Real Sports—but he does have a column on SI.com.
"Paul used to be a very good journalist," said Tom Arenberg, the sports editor of the Birmingham News. "And I think occasionally, he still brings that perspective to the show."
"He is, at heart, a really good journalist," Randy Kennedy, sports editor of the Mobile Press-Register, said. "But you might not pick up on that for a good while."
There are lots of writers who have discovered the attraction of letting their opinions out through talk shows—Mike Lupica, Bernie Miklasz, onetime Washington Post scribe Tony Kornheiser—but no one else talks to the callers Finebaum does.
"I was on PTI a couple months ago, and Kornheiser asked me why I take calls like Harvey Updyke's," Finebaum said. "It's an understandable question, but at ESPN, they have former coaches and players lined up in the cafeteria. Here in Birmingham, where our resources aren't as vast, I decided to let the inmates run the asylum."
Some listeners find the inmates appalling. "Ninety percent of the stuff on that show makes educated people in Alabama cringe," Kennedy said.
On this point, Finebaum gets political. "There's an attitude toward callers that they're stupid and don't know what they're talking about," Finebaum said. Finebaum's SEC is a populist institution above all.
"I was at the LSU game, and a former ESPN executive was talking about the documentary, and he was unloading on the depiction of the fans, saying those people are a bunch of nuts," Finebaum said. "I said, 'You're completely wrong. Those people are college football right now. There are 60,000 people in Tuscaloosa partying on the quad right now who are as much a part of it as the folks sitting in luxury boxes.'"
"I'm not trying to start an Occupy College Football movement here, but those people who were there that night may not be folks who've gone to Alabama, Auburn, or Tennessee, but they buy the products that go to the bottom line of sports. A lot of the folks who hang out in tony bars on the Upper East Side or go to work on Madison Avenue or Avenue of the Americas might not realize that."
Is that a North-South thing?
"There is a disconnect with college football and people from the North and Northeast. They have a low tolerance level for Southerners."
This is Finebaum at his most crusading, an almost New Yorker railing on behalf of the South, squawking on Alabama's behalf against the people who brought him nationwide. Sirius XM headquarters, after all, are at 1221 Avenue of the Americas.
He can get away with bashing people that other sports personalities cannot. "He can bash Mike Slive or Nick Saban—the most powerful person in our state right now—because he's so respected," Rick Karle, sports director at Fox 6 in Birmingham, said. "He can offer his opinion, and Saban and Chizik and Slive care."
Finebaum said he occasionally eats with Slive, the SEC's commissioner, whom he considers a good friend. He wouldn't say much about how he gets along with Saban and Chizik. "Put it this way: I'm not getting a lot of phone calls from Nick about my opinion on the BCS."
There's bashing, and then there's bashing. In 2009, the Chronicle of Higher Education tried to figure out why the SEC had gotten so good. It concluded that SEC schools spent more than other Division I schools on athletics and continually increased their budgets. But they increased funding while supporting a smaller number of sports than other conferences do. The Big Ten fields 25 sports, the Big East 24, and the ACC 25. The SEC fields only 20. There is no men's soccer in the SEC.
At the same time, the SEC has persistently lower academic standards for its athletes than other conferences do, the Chronicle reported. Mike Slive cleaned up the conference when he took over in 2002 by telling them not to rat each other out for violations. That's why then-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, who publicly accused then-Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating in 2009, was such an oddball in the SEC. This is the good ole boys' conference, and he had broken the code of silence.
When Finebaum tears down coaches, he doesn't go after academic standards or NCAA rules violations. He takes the ones with indiscreet wives, like Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, or the ones at strip clubs instead of with their wives, like former Alabama coach Mike Price. The recruiting scandals are nowhere near as fun.
And the callers—frothing though they may be—are in it for the fun. How does the Finebaum show make its format work? It's not immediately obvious from listening from 2 to 6 on weekdays.
"Why has Coca-Cola held onto its secret recipe for so long?" Finebaum asked, linking himself to the ultimate Southern-gone-national product.
He flips the formula every way: He privileges small-time callers over national guests. He doesn't do a monologue. He doesn't cut callers off for saying stupid things.
"Taking calls is like being a quarterback or director of the Boston Pops," he said. Finebaum and his screener watch over his eight phone lines, looking for the right callers. Behind the microphone, Finebaum can see the callers' names and the topics they want to discuss. "I kept a guy on hold for 90 minutes today because he wanted to talk about how Alabama defended Georgia Southern's triple option," he said. The guy was willing to wait.
He'll often go quickly to the frothing callers who want to kill him. Off air, he lives in a gated community and doesn't have a listed phone number.
John Carvalho, a professor of sports journalism at Auburn, says, "When someone asks him a question, he treats it like a psychologist. He draws his listener out. He throws in characters, the Legends and the Tammys, in a shrewd way. But I don't care to know exactly how he does it, because I don't want my students to be that way."
Finebaum's approach seems less inspired by conventional talk radio than by Dale Carnegie. He lets others talk about themselves, and he engages them by asking follow-up questions. His interest rarely seems genuine, but it doesn't have to be. He wins over the callers by letting them talk about themselves.
"Fans who call into a radio show do so because they're fascinated by their own interests," Finebaum said. "They want to share with everyone, particularly the host of the show."
Finebaum is there. That's what the fans want. He gets how they feel about their football. Or he seems like he does, and that's enough to keep the phones ringing.

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Explore Coorg - Private Tour - Mangalore - Coorg ( Madikeri ) - Mangalore ( 3 Nights 4 Days)
Coorg is called "The Scotland of India", because of its rolling hills and scenic countryside. Located in the Kodagu district, the elevation of this hill station town is over 1500 meters above sea level. Land of Kodavas known for hospitality, coffee, cardamom, pepper, orange and honey. Kodavas are known for their own tradition and culture.
Madikeri is the picturesque capital (district headquarters) of Kodagu (also called Coorg). The capital of Kodagu district is located in a beautiful hilly setting surrounded by the forested slopes of the Western Ghats. Perhaps one among few hill stations still not polluted in the country. Time to take some fresh air and re-charge yourself.
Cost (Per Person for 3 Nights)
|4 Persons
|Child (between 5-12 yrs)
|Rs 15,600/-
|Rs 11,500/-
|Rs 11,250/-
|Rs 29,700/-
|Rs 3,000/-
* Prices are indicative, Final price will be furnished as per your requested date of travel
Day 01: Mangalore / Coorg - Madikeri: (150Kms / 4Hrs)
Meet on arrival at Mangalore Airport / Railway station and drive to Coorg – Madikeri On arrival check into resort, lunch & relax. Later proceed to visit Abbey falls-Tucked away between private coffee and spice estate, Madikeri Fort - The 19th century Madikeri fort with its stone ramparts now houses the prison, Omkareshwara Temple - Built in 1820 and featuring a blend of red-tile roofed Kerala architecture and Islamic-style domes. Evening visit Raja Seat- is an enchanting picnic spot with a swathing in the nature's lap. Return to hotel and overnight.
Day 02: Coorg - Madikeri:
Morning breakfast, proceed to Dubare elephant camp (to reach the place before 08.30Hrs) offer the 3 hour experience with Elephants consisting of elephant Grooming, feeding, later visit Cauvery Nisargadhama - is an island formed by river Cauvery and is used as a picnic spot island, with lush foliage of thick bamboo groves, Lunch at Kushalnagar and later visit Bylakuppe - largest Tibetan settlement in South India. The temple has 62 feet Buddha statues covered with gold plates is a wonderful sight anytime. Back to hotel. Overnight.
Day 03: Coorg - Madikeri:
Morning breakfast, proceed to visit Bhagamandala - situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Cauvery and the Kanika. A third river, the Sujyothi is said to join from underground, visit Talacauvery - known as Dakshin Kashi is the birthplace of river Cauvery at the foot of the breathtaking Brahmagiri Hills in Coorg. The river flows down inconspicuously as 'Guptagamini' from here before re-emerging a small distance downwards at Nagateerta. Back to hotel. Overnight.
Day 04: Coorg – Madikeri / Mangalore:
Morning breakfast checkout and drive to Mangalore. On arrival drop to Airport / Railway station to board the flight / train for further destination. Tour Ends.
Hotel / Resorts
Coorg - Madikeri : Hotel Mayura Valley View / Wood Stock Resort / Le Coorg or Similar
What is included in the tour
- Per person rates in Indian Rupees – applicable for 2 or 3 persons staying together sharing same room.
- Non A/c accommodation with breakfast and taxes.
- Transportation by A/C Car, driver allowance, fuel, parking charges as per the itinerary only. Driving from morning 08.00am to 20.00hrs
- Guide service is provided for group of 11 above traveling together.
- Our Chauffeur will act as escort up to 10 persons travelling together.
What is NOT included in the tour
- Lunch, dinner and personal expenses such as laundry, telephone calls, tips,video camera fee.
- Air / Train Ticket / Entry tickets / Local or accompanying guide charges if any
Vehicle Description
2 to 4 persons - A/c Sedan, 5 to 6 persons - A/c Innova, 7 to 10 persons – A/c Tempo Traveller , 11 to 25 persons – A/c Mini Coach, 26 to 35 persons – A/c Deluxe Coach


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January has long been considered the most popular month for divorces with many unhappy spouses ready to make a fresh start after faking it through the holidays for the sake of the kids or other family members. But what if the dysfunctional relationship in your life isn't with your spouse, but with another family member? Is January a good time to consider divorcing a sibling, parent or other family member who makes you miserable?
While divorce is widely accepted today there remains a stigma around ending a relationship with other family members, often no matter how egregious their behavior. I was reminded of this just before the holidays when on a recent episode of Oprah Winfrey's Lifeclass, megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes chastised two sisters who had not spoken in years. The reason for the estrangement: one sister tried to engage in an affair with the other's boyfriend but was caught before the relationship was consummated. The sister in question had never apologized to her sibling for this transgression. Yet for some reason Jakes seemed under the impression that having this woman out of her life was a major loss for the sister who's boyfriend the other one had tried to shag and insisted they reconcile. But the question I kept asking is why?
Why should this woman want a person she cannot trust and has shown her no remorse or empathy to remain in her life? What benefit is there in such a relationship? Jakes insisted on the importance of blood, which seems an odd reasoning to focus on when it comes to defining what constitutes a worthwhile relationship, particularly since we live in a society in which there are plenty of strong, healthy adoptive families who do not define family along bloodlines. He did mention the possibility of needing a kidney one day, which I guess is something. But by that logic children should never be taken from abusive parents and adopted by others because "you never know when they might need a kidney."
Jakes is not alone in believing that your family must stay your family no matter how hurtful or dysfunctional they may be. Academy Award-winning actress Mo'Nique talked publicly about being a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her brother as a child. After confiding about the abuse to her parents, her brother was sent away briefly, then returned to the family who pretended nothing happened. Her brother was eventually convicted of sexually abusing another girl, and Mo'Nique became estranged from the entire family as an adult. (This is not as rare of an occurrence as people might think. I personally know of two families that handled incidents of sexual abuse similarly.)
So where exactly is the line that a family member must cross for estrangement to be justified and furthermore not stigmatized?
The short answer is, it depends on whom you ask. Dr. Jeff Gardere said a tell tale sign is "When you feel your self getting emotionally ill, but even worse, physically ill" when interacting with the relative in question. He explained that "Back and stomach problems, ulcers, migraine headaches, etc., that is the body saying; 'Enough, you are killing me!'" Dr. Michelle Golland suggested a sort of checklist of traits that are warning signs a familial relationship is unhealthy and may be worth ending, including: "You feel drained when associating with the person. The person continuously makes you angry. The person is manipulative towards you to get what they want." But perhaps most seriously, "You often feel threatened with the person."
Bill Doherty is a Professor in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. While he is a pioneer in the field of discernment counseling, a form of therapy in which married couples are encouraged to consider divorce as an equally healthy therapeutic outcome alongside possible reconciliation, Doherty believes a higher bar should be set when it comes to ending other familial relationships. He explained that ending a familial relationship altogether should only be done in extreme circumstances when all other avenues of reconciliation and coexistence have failed. More specifically, "when active emotional cruelty or physical/sexual abuse continues to occur and all efforts to limit it or distance from the person have failed." Doherty later explained that a "state occasions only" rule tends to be an emotionally healthier option for most people. This means that while you may not speak regularly to the sibling or parent that has hurt you, you do not allow that relationship to derail your relationships with other family members by skipping family functions such as weddings to avoid him or her. He cautioned that avoiding such events to avoid that person might take "more emotional energy," than simply setting firm boundaries with the relationship and your level of interaction in adulthood.
When asked to clarify why he thinks divorce is a more acceptable option for spouses who hurt each other versus two siblings who hurt each other he replied, "marriage is a contractual relationship entered in adulthood with vows/promises made about mutual obligations and legal norms created in nearly every culture for ending the marriage for serious reasons. Other family relationships (so-called blood relationships) are not contractual in the same way and they generally begin when at least one of the parties is born; thus they are inherited and not chosen." He concluded, "You can have an ex-spouse but not an ex-sister. Even adopted kids refer to their 'birth mother' even if they never met her."
For this reason and others we all tend to tolerate behavior from siblings and parents we never would from spouses or romantic partners. But Doherty and the other therapists interviewed also believe we tolerate more from family members because society expects us to. Pressure, particularly on those who are religious, to forgive can often result in the mistaken assumption that forgiveness means one should tolerate unhealthy behavior for a lifetime.
But Rev. Jacqui Lewis, a pastor at Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan said this is not the case. While she stressed that as a pastor her focus tends to be on healing, counseling, therapy if necessary and ideally reconciliation, "sometimes we have to break up to stay healthy in our lives." She added, "I think in some blood-related families there can be such toxicity, such violence to the spirit that it's not healthy to be in that relationship." She also noted that biblical text does not support the idea of staying in a harmful, destructive relationship with anyone for any reason.
All of those interviewed suggested various ways of coping with the social stigma of ending a family relationship. Doherty suggested that in a situation in which abuse has occurred and no amends have been made it might be best to simply tell other family members who have asked the full story. Strangers and acquaintances on the other hand just need an "it's complicated." Dr. Golland similarly advised "to keep it simple and honest without too much detail. I know people can be curious but it is important to set boundaries if others are being rude or judgmental around your decision."
Ultimately when asked about the idea of familial divorce Rev. Lewis concluded, "If your heart is broken day in and day out the same way, by the same person, you probably need to think about changing your pattern. We can't change anybody except ourselves. The only person we can change in relationships that are not healthy is us, and one way to change is to disconnect."


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Friday, March 13, 2009
Yet More Megadungeon News
Once again, thanks to everyone who's been pitching in to get this done. I have no idea how successful this project will prove in the end, but it won't be for lack of assistance from others. Wish us luck.
6 comments:
I apologize if I missed it in an earlier update, but does the megadungeon have a name (or will it)?ReplyDelete
The dungeon itself will be called Urheim, a name suggested to me by Ken Hite. I rather like it, especially because I can now call the surface ruins the Monastery of St. Gaxyg at Urheim.ReplyDelete
Looking forward to next week!ReplyDelete
I am looking forward to this as well, James, and have been considering tossing a level your way in the not so distant future when not so pressed with other design work. It would be sent by mail, as my scanning abilities are nil at the moment. Let me know if this is kosher.ReplyDelete
Let me know if this is kosher.ReplyDelete
That'd be more than kosher. I'd be quite honored to use anything you send my way. Thanks kindly.
Consider it done then, James. I will squeeze it in or perhaps choose from some done already. RJKReplyDelete


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Pundits mock Palin's wacky posts, but when it comes to the 2012 presidential race, she's got the other Republican candidates playing catch-up. By Shushannah Walshe.
Sarah Palin passed the 2 million Facebook "friends" mark Thursday, a feat heralded by supporters and tweeted about by the reporters who watch her every move. It's hard to argue that the former Alaska governor's social-media strategy isn't working for her. Every 140-character pronouncement on Twitter or Facebook post is immediately gobbled up by her throngs of supporters and instantly reported on by the mainstream media.
"When people look at Sarah Palin as a candidate they see someone who could win the primary, but can't win a general election, and if that's something she wants, she needs to reach a broader population than those on Facebook."
No other major candidate has the social-media presence of Sarah Palin and she's been doing it mostly alone on her ever-present BlackBerry since her spokeswoman departed in February. "Sarah Palin is the leader of SarahPAC. She is her own spokesperson. She knows where she stands on things," says SarahPAC staffer Rebecca Mansour. "She is in control of everything on her Facebook page. She is very hands-on. Anything that goes under her name is hers."
And if this unorthodox strategy is working then why change it, is the attitude among the Palin camp. But as her success with this medium makes the other potential 2012 candidates play catch-up, the question remains whether or not she will have to adopt a more traditional approach with the mainstream media—and just how effective her reach actually is in getting voters come this November.
In a short time, she has become a model of how to use social media among politicians. For Jordan Raynor, president of Direct Media Strategies, a Republican online communications consulting firm, who uses Palin as an example to other clients, "She shifted the thinking of politicians in the way they think about media consumption and the way they think about communicating directly with constituents and voters."
• Shushannah Walshe: Palin Invades New YorkDespite her success, there are questions about whether she can continue to succeed without a more traditional strategy. "Sarah Palin is relying on Facebook and Twitter like a crutch, which means that she'll never get any better at dealing with the press," says a Republican strategist not affiliated with any potential 2012 presidential candidates. "If she chooses to become a candidate for higher office, her sole reliance on social media—and her desire to only communicate on her terms—will ensure that she is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to handle the traditional media she'll be forced to deal with during a campaign."
But for the moment everyone's "friending" Palin. As one longtime GOP adviser put it, "Everybody wants attention, everybody wants it, so there is a bit of jealousy among the boys."
None of the other possible Republican candidates for 2012 have been able to reach her number of friends, fans, and followers. "She has defied the limits of this kind of thing," says a Republican operative with close ties to Palin. "She is still massively more influential than other would-be candidates."
But, while other "would-be" candidates are aggressively engaged in social media, it's Palin that grabs the headlines. Joe Rospars, the founder of Blue State Digital, a social-media strategy firm for Democrats, says it won't be clear until Election Day 2010 whether her strategy is working, but he says her social-media focus is more about grabbing those headlines and promoting herself than connecting with supporters and advocating issues.
"There's a long tradition in sports of ensuring favorable calls by working the refs," says Rospars, who also worked as Obama's new-media director for the campaign. "The key word is organization because what the president has done since his campaign started in 2007 and also when he worked as a community organizer is that it is not an all about me and what I'm doing, but as an organization it's all about you. What are our common problems, our common solutions and how are you going to stand up and take a leadership role?"
Sarah Palin highlights her Mama Grizzlies ad on her facebook page.
While Mitt Romney may trail in number of fans (he's nearing 500,000) on Facebook, his staff has stepped up his social-media presence and is closely tracking how effective their outreach to the public actually is. His social-media team will post and link to endorsed candidates' Facebook pages or fundraising efforts by measuring the actual number of people who click from their Facebook page to Romney's endorsed candidates' sites. Romney's team says they have the most effective strategy judging by these numbers, which they stress are an essential part of any new-media effort, especially for a politician who is analytical by nature.
"He is really involved. He is such a numbers guy," said the person who handles online activity for the Romney camp. "The use of digital is great, but also very tangible. When the governor puts up a photo on his Facebook page and 1,900-plus people commenting within five hours, it's very powerful."
While it is well known that Palin does her own tweeting, according to his staff Romney also does his own tweets. But what separates them is the style of their tweets. "Part of what Sarah Palin does is she really uses the medium to comment on the news of the day. She enjoys it," Mansour said. "She's almost a quasi-blogger in a way."
While Romney may not tweet as frequently, he still has an engaged Facebook audience. His last post had about 11,700 interactions with supporters. The team says despite the fervor, it's not just about Facebook and Twitter, and that other new media—like YouTube and mobile apps—can't be ignored. They also made Romney's book tour for No Apology accessible to more than the people at his book signings, uploading videos of the events and even interviews with people in line at the book signings.
But Romney's team won't be eschewing mainstream media while they pursue social media. "I think you are going to find a balance between the two," the Romney digital strategist said. "My inclination is that the governor will break news, both on traditional media and on his networks."
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's PAC, Freedom First, is at it as well. Raynor pointed out that their digital strategy team is "top notch" and much of their new-media strategy is innovative including their Facebook town halls.
"We were the first politician to do something like that and it was terrific. The governor really enjoyed it and he talked directly to several hundred if not 1,000 supporters who want to learn more about him," says communications director Alex Conant.
Unlike Romney or Palin, Pawlenty supporters can also donate directly to his endorsed candidates from his PAC's website. Although Pawlenty has less of a social-media fan base, they don't see it as a competition, instead focusing on trying to do a better job of organizing online for the GOP.
Conant concedes that "both Palin and Romney do a terrific job online and obviously have exponentially more supporters and Facebook friends and the like than we do, largely because they have been on the national scene longer. But we think they do a good job and we don't see us as competing at this time."
Still there is little doubt that Palin dominates when it comes to Facebook and Twitter. "It's a unique thing. It may not work for everybody, but it works for her." SarahPAC staffer Rebecca Mansour said, "I think it works because there is intense media attention on her. She can tweet something and it can cause a news story. That's an unusual situation to be in, therefore it's a unique perspective in controlling the message because of that."
And that's exactly what Raynor says makes her dominate the medium: She's the one with the BlackBerry in hand.
"She is genuinely doing it. It is her in front of a computer personally engaging with hundreds of thousands of people. That is a huge reason why she is so successful. Most politicians that are personally tweeting or updating their Facebook pages are going to be the most successful," Raynor said. "Everybody believes it is her because it really is her, and that's a really powerful thing," she added.
But, for Palin the question is whether it's possible to run a presidential campaign this way? Those around her say it's unlikely.
"No, you can't do it. Can't do it without a traditional infrastructure," says the same Republican operative with ties to Palin. "But, the trend is to move away from engaging the press on the press' terms and [move toward] engaging the people on their own terms, especially on the right where we don't get a fair shake with the press."
Mansour agrees, "I don't know if that's possible in a campaign when the intensity is ratcheted up."
"She can't run [in 2012] based on a tweet. If she augments the tweets and Facebook with a lot more real on-the-ground campaigning and fundraising, then she's really wanting it," says University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato, who is watching her social media as an indicator of whether she's in or out in 2012.
If Palin does jump into 2012, despite her intense disdain for most of the mainstream media, she will at some point obviously be forced to engage the press, simply so she can reach more voters.
"When people look at Sarah Palin as a candidate they see someone who could win the primary, but can't win a general election, and if that's something she wants, she needs to reach a broader population than those on Facebook despite how many people are on Facebook. And I don't know how she rises above that," says a Republican strategist.
Palin's team isn't shy, reacting to the "experts" offering unsolicited advice from the nation's capital, especially if they see it as negative.
"The whole country is fed up with Washington, D.C., so it's easy to tune out advice to the country and to us about how one should run one's organization because they haven't been running anything well lately," Mansour said.
Shushannah Walshe is the co-author of Sarah From Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar. She was a reporter and producer at the Fox News Channel from August 2001 until the end of the 2008 presidential campaign.


text: Add Salma Hayek to the list of guest stars for the 30 Rock series finale. According to EW, Hayek will join Nancy Pelosi and Ice-T when she reprises her role as Elisa, Jack's ex-girlfriend, on the final episode on January 31. Yikes, that's soon! Might Elisa's return also mean the reemergence of telenovela villain and Jack Donaghy look-alike the Generalissimo? A girl can dream.


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|These are still very dark times in Strathholme...
I told myself, and said it out loud, I would not play today, that I would try to live my life like I lived it before stepping toe and hoof into Azeroth. I am not sure that is something I can do. But it was strange, for the first time in weeks, I slept in. I had crazy-bucket dreams, filled with guilt, weirdness, and bad dancing. Don't ask. In the waking world, I have a mundane list of real things to achieve. And like the title of this post, which uses the word flossing, flossing is both necessary to long-term dental health and hygiene, but sometimes we're just too tired to remember to do it. Okay, maybe that's just me. None of you ever let plague or tartar build up, and every dental check-up is met with smiles and sighs from your dentist who knows he will not be getting much gold out of you.
Here are two things that may sucker me in, though, if I can just set a timer, get a few things done beforehand, and see what I can chip away at:
The Diplomat Title and the Argent Crusader.
Not paying any damn attention to anything, I didn't realize the last bit of Argent Dawn would be so quest-heavy. I made long-lasting friendships with the Sporeggar with flowers and fertilizer.
Here is what it is going to take to gain the glory with the Argent Dawn: http://www.wowhead.com/faction=529/argent-dawn
The Timbermaw is the other faction. Once I have these two, I have the last two exalted reputations for thirty, and two new titles.
This is how it's been lately, trying to kill five birds with one stone. And I keep missing them all, and going very hungry. Take yesterday for example. Lupe had decided she wants to change her protection paladin look from red to purple. She spent way too much on purple pants and blouse, and discovered the perfect sparkly shoulders from Serpentine to go with them. Okay - no more third person. I talked a guildmate from my raid team into going and another guildmate who is on Team 1. I can't quite put my finger on it, so I'll chalk it up to my current state of oversensitivity, but I got the feeling, perhaps from reading in between the lines of guild-chat too much, Team 1 guildy did not really want to be there. He needed to finish it, but...well. Let's just say he wanted to go play with the big kids more. My team 2 guildy and I were game, and I hope we try it another time. That last boss is tricky when you have full bags (a big fat DOH to me) and can't get the cores just at the critical moment. I know my shaman could have finished it, but whatever. The shoulders did not drop from the giant boss, but some pretty green plate ones did on a previous one, so perhaps Lupe will go green. Paladins are not known for their naturalism, but when life gives you green plate, make recycling cans I guess. That flipping place...man oh man, when you die, it is a damn long ghost-walk of shame all the way back.
But this is where I want to say a hearty flip-off to Blizzard: Bear told me they were taking away "have group."
This makes me crazy coo-coo. Not only should they not take it away, they should give it to EVERYONE. Everyone should have the chance to play with anyone, anytime, anywhere, cross-realm, cross-town, or across the street if they choose. Blizzard, please, for God's sake, stop it with the social engineering experiments! You fixed something that needed fixing, don't break it again!!!
|Potion of Illusion didn't work so hard this time...
I am starting to feel my blood pressure rise because of this possibility, so I think I'll go whack on some bones for a bit.


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These Are The Five Idols That K-Pop Idols Picked As The Funniest
We all know how hilarious K-Pop idols can be, whether that is intentionally or unintentionally.
Thanks to the spread of social media and the popularity of variety and live broadcasts, K-Pop fans have been well-connected with idols and their sense of humour. This has certainly given fans much laughter and joy.
Recently, a survey was done for K-Pop idols where they selected who they thought was the funniest idol. There were five main standouts who received the highest amount of votes and it is pretty clear why these idols belong on this list!
5. Kwanghee – ZE:A
Kwanghee has recently completed his military enlistment and fans will be happy to know that this veteran idol has returned back to our screens.
His shameless discussions of his multiple plastic surgeries has brought much laughter but also marks him as one of the realest idols out there!
Kwanghee is always ready to act over the top when he needs to, making the funniest facial expressions like when he couldn't stop fanboying over BLACKPINK's Jennie for giving him strength during his army enlistment.
4. Heechul – Super Junior
Heechul has been in the industry for years and yet he still remains one of the most savage idols to have ever debuted. His sharp tongue and quick wit makes for a deadly combination at the expense of others.
Additionally, his flamboyant nature has created some hilarious stories extending from his trainee days.
He is well known as a cast member of Knowing Brothers where his hilarious and blunt interactions with idols always brings out the best reactions.
3. Jackson – GOT7
Pretty much any of GOT7 can qualify for this list. Jackson is one of the most extroverted idols but he can make any idol comfortable with his outgoing interactions and fun sense of humour.
He's extremely extra with his reactions, like that time he wouldn't stop screaming when he was touching the mystery box. Thankfully, he's been a great sport about his silliness. A fan even gave him a photo of his derp face and he accepted it!
2. Seungkwan – SEVENTEEN
He may be a powerhouse vocal, but Seungkwan also has a hilarious personality that makes him a joy to watch on variety. He is shameless with his acting, coming up with some of the most extra reactions. He is also ready to grab any opportunity to show off his dance moves in front of the camera.
International fans may also know of Seungkwan's passion for learning English. This passion however has translated to some hysterical and overconfident attempts. Thankfully, Vernon and Joshua are there to make fun of him.
One of Seungkwan's best known moments is his tsunami skit on Star Show 360 where he impersonated how a grandfather would react to a tsunami by doing nothing.
What more could you expect from a group that picked their new leader by spinning a wheel, shaved their stubble in front of reporters and uploaded a video about how they got scolded by their manager for talking about porn.
BTOB never fails to make fans laugh with their shameless antics and strong chemistry. The members love to joke around with each other but best of all, they can never stop laughing at each other.
There are too many funny moments to list and too many hilarious moments yet to come for BTOB. One particular moment involved some members singing with voice-changing mics with hilarious results.
One of the amazing aspects of K-Pop is the amount of laughs that idols generate with their jokes and great sense of humour.
Idols can truly brighten up our lives!


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Gavin Wilson
In his early career, Gavin Wilson worked as a freelance camera technician and occasionally as a director in the UK film and television industry. Later he was a sector manager for Screen Yorkshire, one of the United Kingdom's regional screen media development agencies. His doctoral research onwards (Ph.D., University of Leeds) involves fieldwork at a number of international film festivals, whilst his published work spans film-philosophy, filmmaking as research and film festival studies. He has served as a judge at several international film festivals and is currently an assistant professor at Gulf University, Kuwait.
Contact: Department of Mass Communication and Media, College of Arts & Sciences, Gulf University for Science & Technology, Block 5, Building 1, Mubarak Al-Abdullah Area/West Mishref, Kuwait.


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Comparative Aesthetics and Indonesian Islamic Critiques of Modernity Amongst the Ruins of Area Studies
Nau's project examines the historical constellation of Area Studies and Cultural Studies as, respectively, post-WWII and post-Cold War fields of knowledge emblematic of the transformation of a world order from a system of sovereign nation-states to one of global and transnational systems and phenomena. The displacement of the concept of the nation-state in the discourse of both fields, marked by a rhetoric of crisis and the loss of an integrative concept of the political, has not yet resolved the antagonism between them.
Through the emerging field of transcultural, or comparative aesthetics, Nau engages his own field of Southeast Asian Studies at the intersection of language, culture, and the state, contending that the valuation of cultural production, specifically, in a variety of modern texts and literature, is decisively a project of locating political subjects in the narrative of a putative emerging world order.
Far from suggesting a retreat from large scale manifestations of culture and language that Area Studies maintains as its domain, nor from Cultural Studies' concern with presence, authenticity and critique, Nau's research suggests that a viable synthesis of these fields can take place within a comparative framework of analysis that considers both emerging and historically conditioned communities of judgement as the primary arbiters of political and aesthetic value.
- Exzellenzcluster
|01.02.2008 – 31.12.2010


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Has Maggie found its heroine?
Longtime Maggie Valley resident Alaska Presley has seen it all when it comes to Ghost Town in the Sky's ups and downs.
Presley, now 88, and her late husband Hugh met R.B. Coburn, founder of Ghost Town, more than 50 years ago when he walked into a hotel that the couple owned in Maggie Valley and told them about his plans. It was the beginning of Presley's connection to and love for the amusement park, which has spanned nearly two-thirds of her life.
Now, Presley is putting her own personal wealth on the line to rescue the shuttered theme park, and hopefully bring back the missing lynchpin in the Maggie tourism trade.
SEE ALSO: Resurrecting a ghost town
Presley knows first hand how important Ghost Town was historically in driving tourist traffic in Maggie. Presley, along with her family, has owned and sold a number of Maggie businesses throughout the years, including Mountain Valley Lodge, Holiday Motel and a trout fishing operation.
Ghost Town enjoyed decades of prosperity after R.B. Colburn conceived of the idea more than half a century ago. As a result, the town of Maggie Valley grew up around it, a string of mom-and-pop motels, diners and shops catering to the 150,000 tourists that once streamed into Maggie to visit the park.
Related Items
However, the park began a long and steady decline in the 1990s. It began to show its age around the edges and was not well-maintained. The attractions grew dated, yet Coburn failed to add new amenities to cater to the changing tastes of modern tourists.
Ghost Town's eventual closure in 2002 dealt a major blow to Maggie Valley's economy, which continued to decline.
When a group of investors appeared and reopened the park four years later, they were seen as saviors. Business owners and leaders were willingly to help in anyway that they could as long as it meant that Ghost Town, once a economic boon for the town, would return for good. Businesses provided supplies on credit, from electricians and plumbers making repairs to hard goods purchased from oil companies to building supply stores — all under the assumption Ghost Town was a good cause. Meanwhile, Maggie residents, including Presley, loaned money to the new owners in exchange for shares in the company.
However, the park fell into debt and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. The park opened and closed several times as the owners struggled to get out of debt. But in the end, the park left a trail of $2.5 million in unpaid debt to small businesses and hundreds of thousands lost by helpful investors.
BB&T — which was owed $10 million by the new owners for the park's purchase and later renovations — filed for foreclosure. Eighteen months later, the foreclosure was finalized, and Alaska Presley placed her bid to buy Ghost Town.


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Christopher Russell
Dawn Mission Principal Investigator
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
Where are you from?
I grew up in Toronto, Canada, but I now live in Los Angeles, Calif.
Describe the first time you made a personal connection with outer space.
When I was a child space travel was impossible except in the science fiction novels that I enjoyed reading. I find it amazing that in the decades since then, I myself have been able to vicariously become a space traveler by leading a mission that can successively explore new worlds in the asteroid belt.
How did you end up working in the space program?
I applied for a summer job with the government after getting my B.A. (in mathematics and physics from the University of Toronto) and they gave me a research assistant position working with the Canadian satellites Alouette 1 and 2, measuring solar radio waves. That next fall I joined the physics department at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) as a graduate student and I looked around to see if there were any research groups on campus doing space research. There was one, and I asked if I could join it and they let me join.
The discoveries I make are fun for me. I also enjoy my children, grandchildren and students (who are also my children, in a way).
Who inspired you?
I think the main inspiration in my life was my mother who would have been a scientist herself if that had been an option when she was in school.
What is a Principal Investigator?
The principal investigator (PI) is the person who leads an investigation and ensures its scientific and technical success. I am the PI for the Dawn mission to asteroids Vesta and Ceres.
Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career.
I was very excited when at the age of 29 I was selected by NASA to be a principal investigator on an instrument flown into space (magnetometers for the ISEE 1, ISEE 3 and Pioneer Venus Orbiter missions) after having participated as a co-investigator on several missions. However, this earlier moment pales in comparison to the thrill of seeing the Vesta images returned from the Dawn spacecraft after nearly 2 decades of planning, proposing and development.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the same career path as you?
My advice is to get a strong education in mathematics and in the physical sciences. It is a good idea, if you can, to get summer jobs doing research while in college. This will help you get into the right graduate school and program.
What do you do for fun?
My research and the discoveries I make are fun for me. But I also enjoy people, including my children, grandchildren and students (who are also my children, in a way).
If you were talking to a student interested in science and math or engineering, what advice would you give them?
I would encourage them to ensure success by selecting the best teachers.


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Architects: Jorge Mealha
- Year: 2011
Photographs:João Morgado
Project concerns the rehabilitation of an old building, presumably built at the end of the XIX century, but that was only registered in 1906. A cost-controlled operation, proposed by the owner, Santa Casa da Miseri córdia de Lisboa, intended to rehab this building that was at risk of collapse.
The project seeks to preserve as much as possible of the original elements of the building - floors and walls - proposing a reformulation of the existing subdivision, which was characterized by having too cramped spaces, resulting in the creation of eight apartments, two of which are duplexe.
Taking advantage of the need for the introduction of a lift, the entrance lobby is redesigned, suggesting a path that bypasses the volume - released from outer walls - required for the placing of this equipment The new design of the atrium that extends its original dimension, emphasizes the perspective on the existent ladder, which is maintained, allowing for a better natural lighting and offering a few scale games and cross perspectives.
Whenever possible, the strategy was to preserve the existing floor - pine wood - assuming the amendments in the areas where due to its degradation it has been replaced The walls and ceilings are plastered and painted white Some elements are finished with stone or birth.
The shutters of the windows were restored and painted white, while maintaining the original Access doors to the apartments are also maintained, leaving marks of previous interventions and wood working as notes of color and texture on the stairs.
The external walls and elements are painted in white in their entirety in order to allow the design of its parts to he read by the incident light throughout the day.


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Living with and sharing 35,000 books June 13, 2013 – Posted in: Bookselling / Collecting, Private Libraries, Special Collections
The Johnson family has been collecting and accumulating books since the late 19th century. In 1899 the first family library was built by Thomas Moore Johnson (1851-1919) to house his 8,000 books. It is little wonder that with a library of that size he was known as the "sage of the Osage" (the house and library were built on the Osage River).
Now there are two family libraries and 35,000 books.
The three generations of Johnsons did it the right way. Collecting "rare books" was never the intention. Collecting books that fell within their diverse areas of interest was the mantra and it is still the first piece of advice offered when a beginning collector asks the question – "what should I collect?
Piece in The News-Leader: Living with 35,000 Books. Photos by Dan Holtmeyer/News-Leader.


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HP Jornada 688 Hard Reset
Master Reset Instructions
CLICK ON YOUR RESPECTIVE DEVICES OPERATING SYSTEMThese instructions will help you master reset your phone, if you are unable to master reset your phone or you have a device that does not run on operating system then continue on below
How to Hard Reset HP Jornada 688
Soft Reset
- Disconnect the sync cable and/or the telephone line from your device.
- Use the stylus to press the reset button
Full Reset
- Disconnect all cables, including the AC adapter from your device
- Remove the main battery.
- Remove the backup battery.
- Wait at least 5 minutes, and then reinstall the batteries and reconnect the AC adapter. Your device should turn on automatically and display the Windows CE Welcome Wizard.
- Restore data to your device from your most recent backup file.
SHARE WITH FRIENDS: Tweet


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Unintended consequences of the federal government's energy policy are nothing new. Think about ethanol. The United States is now committed to using 9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2008, which will rise to 36 billion by 2022. No one thought it would be responsible for pushing 30 million people into poverty. No one thought of the adverse effects ethanol policy would have on the environment.
Now, Americans are quite literally feeling the unintended consequences of wind energy. While wind is often touted as a green, renewable source of energy, Dr. Nina Pierpont of Malone, N.Y., asserts that wind has its downsides, too. She calls it wind turbine syndrome. According to Pierpont's medical research:
[L]ow-frequency noise and vibration generated by wind machines can have an effect on the inner ear, triggering headaches; difficulty sleeping; tinnitus, or ringing in the ears; learning and mood disorders; panic attacks; irritability; disruption of equilibrium, concentration and memory; and childhood behavior problems.
Is this a legitimate threat? Maybe. Her message hardly seems politically motivated. In her testimony, Pierpont says she's an advocate of renewable fuels. Sure enough, as soon as the people drove away from the wind turbines, the symptoms ceased. In fact, eight of the 10 families in Pierpont's study moved out of their homes. While she doesn't claim that these effects happen to everyone living near wind turbines, it's something to consider if the country decides to take on massive wind projects.
These problems aren't unique to the wind industry; the solar panel industry has had its troubles as well. For instance, Solar Inc., the world's largest solar company, recently told investors that its largest market, the European Union, may ban its solar panels because they contain toxic cadmium telluride.
But generally, it's the nuclear industry that's fending off claims that its energy is harmful to human health. Just a few days ago, actor Alec Baldwin wrote a piece called "The Misperception of Nuclear Power," claiming that nuclear poses a significant health risk.
He said, "[…] no level of exposure to ambient radiation produced every day at utility sites is healthy for humans, particularly pregnant women and young children." It's true that nuclear power plants emit radiation, but there's a good chance one will intake more radiation from smoking a pack of cigarettes than living near a nuclear power plant. This chart is quite telling of how dangerous a nuclear power plant really is. In truth, the radiation from nuclear power plants is well under the legal safety limits set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and there is no scientific evidence that local populations have been ill-affected from commercial nuclear power plants.
The reality is that all three of these clean sources of energy could have a role to play in America's energy profile. The central criteria should be that they are safe, affordable and able to compete without any subsidies, mandates or other federal handouts from government.
Quick Hits:
- A few days after reversing her opposition to a vote on offshore drilling, Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed away from that promise, telling San Francisco's KQED that drilling was "a hoax on the American people."
- During a visit to gas stations in his district, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) found overwhelming support for more energy production. Among the feedback: "They can drill in my back yard if they want to" and "That Pelosi woman is nuts."
- An alarming 47% of Americans think the government should revive the Fairness Doctrine, requiring radio and TV stations to offer equal amounts of conservative and liberal commentary, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.
- Officials in Warsaw and Washington signed a preliminary deal that will base part of a U.S. missile shield in Poland despite objections from Russia.
- After proposing a tax plan that would give the United States one of the highest tax rates in the industrialized world, Barack Obama is beginning to shift his position.


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More Pols — And The Mayor, Too — Demand Answers from NYPD on 'Jaywalking While Black'
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Attendees of the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance's latest meeting castigated a Transportation Bureau deputy inspector for saying that delivery workers are responsive to safety issues.
Thursday's Headlines: Unsafe School Streets Edition
A school crossing guard was injured by a drunk driver on Tuesday. Plus more news.
EYES ON THE STREET: Drivers Dominate Former W. 22nd Open Street
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'Not Grieving Alone': A Father's Artistic Journey After Losing Two Kids to Road Violence
Colin Campbell and his wife Gail Lerner lost both their children in a car crash with impaired driver. Now, it's a show.


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Today, BMW announced the launch of three M3 Edition Models which will be entering the market in July 2009. These individual cars will have some modifications in body design and interior features, as well as special light-alloy wheels and an even lower chassis.
The M3s will run in limited production for six months and they will be available in four distinct colors: Alpine White, Black, Dakar Yellow, and Monte Carlo Blue. The M3 Edition models will also sport the BMW Individual High-Gloss Satin Chrome.
More details about the BMW M3 Edition Models can be found in the press release below
Press Release BMW M3 Edition Models
Powerful, aesthetic design, supreme performance and exclusive style – the unique characteristics of the BMW M3 are now available in highly attractive Edition Models focusing on the most outstanding highlights of these outstanding cars.
Based on the BMW M3 Coupé, the M3 Edition Models offer a choice of no less than four highly individual cars boasting perfectly harmonised modifications in body design and interior features as well as special light-alloy wheels and an even lower chassis.
The BMW M3 Edition Models will be entering the market worldwide in July 2009 in Alpine White, Black, Dakar Yellow, and Monte Carlo Blue. In the interest of supreme exclusivity their production period is limited to just six months.
Individual highlights both outside and inside.
On the BMW M3 Edition Models the exterior paintwork and interior design are individually matched to one another. Depending on the respective Edition model, the body comes either in Alpine White Non-Metallic, Black Non-Metallic, Dakar Yellow Non-Metallic or Monte Carlo Blue Metallic. The combination with BMW Individual High-Gloss Satin Chrome accentuates the truly sophisticated character of the Edition Models.
The openings on the engine compartment lid on all models are finished in black, the BMW kidney grille, the side gills and the dual tailpipes on the exhaust system come in dark eloxy-plated chrome. The caps on the special BMW M exterior mirrors are likewise finished in black and are connected to the A-pillars by dual arms extending out of the mirror base finished in body colour.
Special colour highlights add an individual touch also to the interior of the BMW M3 Edition Models. The surfaces on the centre armrest, the centre console and the armrests on the door panels are finished in White on the Alpine White and Black models. At the same time these Edition Models come with interior trim in Carbon Structure Leather with white contrasting seams. The seats in Black Novillo Leather feature bespoke contrasting seams as well as vertical trim stripes on the upper section of the backrest and at the front of the legrest. On the Alpine White and Black models, these features come in white, on the Dakar Yellow and Monte Carlo Blue models they are in the appropriate exterior colour.
As a further feature the armrests and door closing handles at the inside on the Dakar Yellow and Monte Carlo Blue models come with yellow and, respectively, blue contrasting seams. And last but certainly not least, entry trim bars in Checkered Flag Design bearing the "M3" model designation give all Edition Models yet another highlight.
Special rim design and lowered suspension.
To optimise the looks of the car, all four Edition Models come with specially designed light-alloy rims and a unique suspension: On all models the 19-inch forged M light-alloy rims in double-spoke design are available either in black or in the classic rim colour. And on the Alpine White, Black and Monte Carlo Blue models, the same rims are also available in a special white contrasting colour with polished spokes.
The suspension of the BMW M3 Edition Models adds to the sporting style of the cars, lowering the entire body by 10 millimetres or 0.4".
BMW M3: supreme performance with eight cylinders and seven gears.
The BMW M3 Edition Models give this high-performance athlete a particularly striking look also reflected by the car's supreme driving dynamics based on a unique all-round concept and drivetrain/suspension technology inspired by motorsport. The V8 high-speed power unit of the BMW M3 develops maximum output of 309 kW/420 hp from 4.0 litres.
Power is transmitted to the rear wheels either through the six-speed manual gearbox featured as standard or through the optional M double-clutch gearbox with Drivelogic enhancing both the dynamic performance and the all-round efficiency of the BMW M3 all in one. In this case acceleration to 100 km/h comes in 4.6 seconds (six-speed manual: 4.8 seconds) and average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 11.9 litres/23.7 mpg imp (six-speed manual: 12.4 litres/22.8 mpg imp)/100 kilometres.
The BMW M3 comes as standard with a lightweight carbon roof, while the options include Electronic Damper Control and the M Drive menu enabling the driver to configure individual, M-specific suspension and drivetrain functions just right for his personal style.
[Source: BMW ]


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Effect of 'super PACs' proved to be less than expected
WASHINGTON — In the end, the old truism held: Money isn't everything.
Deep-pocketed "super PACs" and other independent groups dumped more than $1 billion into the 2012 election, largely on behalf of Republicans, injecting a harsh tone into races across the country and driving record spending. But they failed to have the dramatic impact both sides anticipated after such intense saturation of the airwaves.
Tuesday's results challenged the notion that GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had a strong edge because of heavyweight allies such as Americans for Prosperity, Restore Our Future and the two Crossroads organizations that were cofounded by Karl Rove, the political strategist and former advisor to President George W. Bush.
In fact, groups allied with President Obama claimed more success, even though they were outspent. Unions gleefully noted that they exceeded the number of voter contacts made in 2008 — one result of the Supreme Court decision that allowed corporations and unions to spend money on direct political activity.
INTERACTIVE: Follow the money in the race
The election exposed a limitation of super PACs and tax-exempt advocacy groups: Prohibited from coordinating with candidates, they served primarily as a weapon to mow down opponents, rather than a means to communicate a positive vision. And the preponderance of groups working on Romney's behalf may have overloaded voters.
"There were so many super PACs, it felt like a lot of well-meaning people throwing a variety of ads at the wall to see what would stick," said Republican ad maker Fred Davis.
Charlie Spies, treasurer of Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney super PAC, agreed that "the sheer volume of ads in all races certainly meant that it was hard to penetrate with a message."
MONEY MAP: 2012 Presidential campaign contributions
But he argued that his group broke through with its ads strafing Obama's economic record.
"It would be irresponsible to jump to any conclusion that certain super PAC ads weren't effective based upon the overall result," Spies said. "In the big picture, the impact of super PACs and outside groups in this cycle was to level the playing field."
Indeed, pro-Romney groups sponsored half of all broadcast television spots aired on his behalf between April 11 and Oct. 29, helping bring him to near parity with Obama and his allies, according to the Wesleyan Media Project, which analyzed data from the ad-tracking firm Kantar Media/CMAG. But the outside groups were hampered by having to pay a steeper price than the president, who as a candidate can pay a lower rate.
The heavy investment in ads by many of the groups was viewed with skepticism by some conservative donors.
"I'm not a big fan of the high-altitude approach of mega TV ads," said Foster Friess, a retired mutual fund executive from Wyoming who said he gave about $5 million to outside groups this election cycle, including Restore Our Future. In the future, he said, there should be more emphasis on the kind of on-the-ground organizing that labor unions do.
Despite Tuesday's losses, Friess said he believes donors will open their checkbooks again: "My guess is that four years from now, the financial support will not drop off but may be even higher for the outside groups."
But even better, he said, would be a change in campaign finance rules to allow unlimited donations to candidates — a sign of some of the skepticism among wealthy contributors about how their money was used.
"You have no idea of the financial structuring of a lot of these outside groups in terms of how much went to the actual delivery of a message," Friess said, "versus how many dollars were taken off as fees to the people running them."
In all, outside groups reported spending $1.03 billion on media and other forms of voter outreach as of Wednesday — more than three times the amount they spent in 2008, according to the nonpartisan research group Center for Responsive Politics. That does not include money that tax-exempt groups put into early issue ads and voter contact, activities that could total hundreds of millions more, but do not have to be reported under federal law.
Much of the action was in House races, where both GOP-allied outside groups and liberal super PACs claimed victories.
But when it came to bigger landscapes — Senate campaigns and the White House contest — independent groups had mixed records.
Super PACs were influential in the Republican presidential primaries. Some extended the campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, while Restore Our Future helped Romney eventually defeat them.
Heading into the general election, many political strategists predicted Obama would be swamped by outside spending. His own advisors persuaded him to give his blessing to a super PAC run by two former White House aides, despite his long-standing opposition to such groups.
The group, Priorities USA Action, raised nearly $63 million through mid-October, while Restore Our Future collected $131.6 million; and American Crossroads and its sister nonprofit, Crossroads GPS, hit their goal of $300 million.
Despite its financial disadvantage, Priorities is credited by strategists on both sides with some of the most searing ads — spots that portrayed Romney as a wealthy, job-killing plutocrat. The ads played in heavy rotation in states such as Ohio, where voters cited them as particularly memorable.
Bill Burton, a senior strategist for the group, said its more limited resources forced the group to stick to one message, which it hammered relentlessly. "We were forced to be ruthlessly efficient," he said.
Even as they reflected on their losses, top conservative groups said Tuesday's results would not slow them down.
"We are not about just one year or one election or one issue," said Tim Phillips, president of the nonprofit advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, which spent more than $190 million in the two-year cycle — a large share on ads pummeling Obama on the debt and his energy policies. "It's about building for the long haul, and that's what we're committed to doing."
AFP's contributors are not discouraged, he said. "They tell us this is a long ballgame."
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