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Smash Season 1 Episode 10 recap
So the thing is that my PVR brings in the last 90 seconds of Dancing With The Stars. And I can't criticize that show anymore because it's so much better and more professional than, you know, the people on the show about professional singers and actors.
But this week's episode of Smash isn't even really about the ins and outs of being a professional, except inasmuch as you decide how much you like getting yelled at during the course of your job. This week I started thinking about whether or not "Bombshell", the fictional show, is a joke in New York circles. I mean, why wouldn't it be? People don't show up to rehearsals and that's no big deal, the producer has apparently never secured funding before and doesn't know that investors have demands, and the understudy for a famous, highly-paid actress doesn't know what the word DOWNSTAGE means. Why shouldn't it be a joke?
(The Downstage thing is a joke, because everyone who's been onstage ever has learned this via being yelled at, yes. It's just that it's usually your ninth-grade drama teacher who screams at you, Fimo-earrings flying, as she stomps up and down to write in your memory indelibly the difference between upstage and down, stage left and right. There's zero excuse for not knowing this, unless you are an amnesiac, or Karen Cartwright.)
Of course, this episode, and this show, but especially this episode, is all about how women are flighty and can't be relied upon. First there's that damn Julia. Not only does she not focus on her job, really, at all, but she's rude and dismissive to her partner who's carrying all the weight of their partnership right now, but she has to make an incredibly sweet gesture All Dramatic, like he wouldn't have known she was upset if she broke down in the car afterward? It's not the running out of the interview and the theatre that I despise, it's that when Tom goes to see her afterward he enables this behaviour, all "poor baby, it sucks that your cheating netted a result not all that surprising". Who gets to behave this way? What does this do for their working relationship? Sure, they papered over the embarrassment of "Three On A Match" by saying it's the worst thing they ever wrote, but it's not like I'm seeing glorious lines of dialogue spouting forth in "Bombshell", right?
But that's okay, because it's Julia, so stealing a phone from her son and waiting for a husband that never comes, because even though he's not ready to talk, she "can't take it anymore", that's all acceptable behaviour. Of course it is.
Then there's Ivy. Who's apparently in a long-term relationship with a director she might not like all that much (but who would know, since they only ever talk about work). Of course she can't appeal to him to help her find a new job, using the vast network of contacts they both have, or ask him to be her emotional support, or God Forbid, talk about why she got so upset onstage that she lost her job in the first place. Those would all be too reasonable. Likewise, she can't actually be nice because she's realized that not being nice can't get her anywhere; she's hoping to undermine Karen who will then undermine Derek - the man she purportedly loves - so that she can get back into the show. I mean look, I liked hearing "Breakaway" as much as the next person, but Ivy is supposed to be a veteran. Who understands that wishing and hoping and thinking and praying and fantasizing about looking good in a Marilyn costume are not enough to get a new job. Why are we making her out to be the girl on the playground who didn't get invited to the birthday party? Why do we remove her strength, just so we can watch her pout?
It's not like we have a role model for her in Eileen, the worlds' most childish producer. Despite showing one early sign of normalcy by telling Ellis to f*ck off with a dossier on her friend the bartender (which later gets obfuscated into a "does he or doesn't he get a finders' fee"), she decides she needs to not only decline her investors, but embarrass them in front of Billy Idol Lite by sending their contracts up in flames? A show is supposed to have dramatic moments, yes, but they don't come from any particular motivation on this show. We never hear people saying that what the investors are up to is beyond the pale, or that Eileen is jumping through more hoops than she's supposed to. No, she's just petulant, and guarantees that she won't get these investors to work with her on her next show, when "Bombshell" eventually goes belly up.
And then of course there's Karen. That bitch. God, doesn't she know better than to make the best of a work situation? Doesn't she know she should swear up and down that she'll quit her show, where she is inexplicably gaining traction, based on some fantasy job or interview that her boyfriend may or may not have, but won't tell her about because she should automatically want to follow him wherever? How DARE she have a complicated relationship with her director, which maybe, yes, is based on a certain amount of attraction, but is good for her career? I mean sure, Dev does that too, but he's a MAN. With a serious job. It doesn't matter that he's having late night drinks with his co-worker, since that's obviously business. God. What a bitch. Navigating workplace dramas should be easy for her since she doesn't have a real job, not like the big important job that Dev has - wait, doesn't have, but could interview for, maybe, even though he has no connections to Washington, based solely on the word of a girl who wants to sleep with him. Who's probably lying. What a bitch.
It's exhausting. None of the men ever do anything wrong, and when they do, they get to apologize. It's flighty Rebecca Duvall who's holding up the whole production, but when Zanick isn't there, it's just explained away so that Tom can be in the show (which is actually fine, because that number was a hell of a lot of fun). Tom may, of course, be making eyes at another man, but when the guy he's dating spouts cheesy lines like "And you light up like a candle whenever you look at him", can he really be blamed?
In the dubious praise department, the end of the episode was the first time I felt something during "Never Give All The Heart". But that's not good enough since we had to put all the women through stupid choices and decisions so that they'd be able to relate to the song. Yes, the show has a number of leads for women. And that should be a good thing. But when the women in question are paper dolls who flap in the wind of men who rescue them and kiss them so that they don't have to deal with their problems, all the good kind of ebbs away.
Attached - Debra Messing at the opening night of Evita last Friday in New York.
Marilyn's a 'Tomato'. Discuss.
Smash Season 1 Episode 10 recap


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So, Anybody Read Brad Pattison's book yet?
Ya, I read it. curiosity got the better of me. Actually a pretty boring read, nothing in it that he doesn't go over and over on his show. Treats are evil, positive reinforcement trainers are evil and don't know what they're doing and end up ruining dogs and turning them into evil, baby biting, aggressive, counter surfing cujos.
Maybe a few good points on why you want a dog, not to buy a dog from a pet store etc.
There's really not much on actual training, sit..by pulling up on the collar and if the dog doesn't want to sit you may have to lift his front feet off the ground and his butt will naturally go down...so of course you WIN!! Gotta make sure you have the upper hand at all times. You eat first, go through doors, up or down stairs first...blah..blah. No dog on furniture and certainly not sleeping with you. Let's see Bayley is welcome on the couch, but she only slept on it a couple of times last winter..since then she hasn't shown any interest in getting on it at all. She starts off sleeping with me, mainly for snuggles and tummy rubs then she gets down and sleeps on the floor. She doesn't have a bed cause Coco has a thing for dog beds...peeing on them that is!!
There's a few cases of dogs that he worked with...sorta skimmed through those...I tend to read too fast sometimes. He states not to humanize dogs and then goes on to say that when your dog does something wrong..you should say in a firm voice, "I don't like what you did, that will not be tolerated." Ummm ya right!! Bayley understands Knock it off!!
I agree with 'umbilical' but he didn't invent it by any stretch. I think it's great especially for dogs that aren't completely housetrained.
Maybe I'm completely anal about this, but the fact that even in this book, there's spelling errors makes me crazy...using reigns when you really mean reins...over and over as in letting the dog take the reins..maybe he's trying for a play on words, cause reign means rules...
Anyway, as for a training book, I'll stick with people like Brenda Aloff etc Anybody want to borrow it? Ya I bought it, but at Walmart so I got it cheaper with my employee discount.
Nope. I could barely stand to watch a few minutes of his show...refuse to torture myself through a whole book . Next on my list is Debby McMullen's How Many Dogs?!
"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant
Not really a fan, looks of other books I'd much rather read .
Thanks for the review though .
"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
pattymax, thx for the review and from what it sounds like, saving us from a not so great book!
I have looked at it a few times in Wally world, but never purchased it, and I'm glad after hearing that's its nothing special.
I don't mind his show, but he doesn't do a terribly lot for me. I think he has had some good influences in some owners and certainly some dogs lives, but I don't think he's one of a kind by any means. His techniques are nothing new that we haven't heard before.
My babies: Sassy - Maltese X (9), Furby - Shihtzu X (7), Brynn - Boxer (3), Diesel - Boxer (1)
"Many of the Earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects, and even micro-organisms that we know as rare may not be known at all by future generations. We have the capability, and the responsibility. We must act before it is too late." - Dalai Lama
Ugh it's bad enough someone gave this guy a show, let alone publish his book.
If you don't want your copy anymore I'll be happy to take it off your hands, I could use it to line my rabbit cage and snake tank.
Abigail~ APBT~ 2
Jersey ~ APBT~5(ish)
Kato ~Rottie~ 5&1/2
Wendellan~ Feline~ 10(ish)
"Da-Goob"~ APBT/Dogo x (5-6ish)
"My Pitbulls are better behaved than your kids!" (my favorite bumper sticker)
haha...i see i am not the only one who dislikes this guy. I find him arrogrant for starters....
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Have a beautiful weekend!
Friday, September 23
Friday Farm Photos: First Day of Fall
Have a beautiful weekend!
8 comments:
So glad your summer didn't include all that mess from last year (staying away from snakes very well now aren't you!) wonderful pictures - autumn just seems a gentler season doesn't it? of course after the drought and heat of my Texas summer - 90 degrees looks mild!ReplyDelete
Love the donkeys!!!ReplyDelete
Your pictures evoke the feeling of fall wonderfully! :)ReplyDelete
How lovely and pastoral.ReplyDelete
Such beautiful scenery - I just love Fall on the farm! Thanks for brightening my day with your lovely pics!ReplyDelete
- Anonymous9/24/2011 1:52 PM
How are all the boy donkeys doing? Everyone has recovered? Are they all together in donkeyland now? The last pictures is so cute.ReplyDelete
I envy you the cool, crisp weather.
- Anonymous9/24/2011 1:58 PM
Thought this story about Hawaiian donkeys might interest you.ReplyDelete
Great fall pics.ReplyDelete
December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.
Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and I especially love hearing about your experiences with my recipes. Comments on older posts are always welcome!
Please note that I moderate comments, so if I'm away from the computer it may be a while before yours appears.
I try my best to answer all questions, though sometimes it takes me a few days. And sometimes, I'm sorry to say, they fall through the cracks, and for that I sincerely apologize.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy your e-visits to our farm!


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Obama needs nerve, perspective
Where is Rob Lowe when you need him?
The former star of "The West Wing" played the role of a speechwriter for NBC's favorite TV president, Jed Bartlett. Whenever Martin Sheen's character was backed into a corner by the challenges of the day, Rob Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn, stepped forward with words that moved America.
Since, at the moment, President Barack Obama is the one in need of inspiration, maybe it would do him good to read a few lines from the show.
"Every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless. This is a time for American heroes. We will do what is hard. We will achieve what is great. This is a time for American heroes, and we reach for the stars."
That's moving stuff. But these days the president seems to be in greater need of perspective than inspiration.
After all, the White House is convinced that the toxic combination of the Republican landslide and another grim jobs report has left Obama in an impossible position to negotiate.
The White House actually believes that it must rush to extend Bush-era tax cuts for millionaires because the deal it would get from a GOP Congress next year would be worse. For a Democratic president, it prompts the question: "What could be worse?"
The fact that Obama fears entering a debate with Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner over millionaire tax cuts shows just how little he understands Washington politics. It also suggests that the president's disconnect from independent voters is driven not by ideology but, instead, by political incompetence.
Here are a few facts the president apparently does not know:
• Americans don't favor the Republican position on tax cuts. A CBS News poll out this week shows that only 26 percent of voters favor cutting taxes for people making over $250,000, while 67 percent oppose the Republican plan. A recent AP/CNBC poll showed about the same outcome, with 64 percent of voters against tax cuts for wealthier Americans. Imagine what those numbers would look like if the cutoff was a million dollars.Somehow Obama has gone from being too liberal on the issue of taxes to being too conservative for independent and swing voters.
• Economists don't support the GOP plan to end unemployment benefits. The same Congressional Budget Office that Republicans have quoted for two years doesn't think much of GOP plans to stimulate the economy. The nonpartisan budget office concluded that reducing income taxes in 2011 would be the least effective way to get Americans back to work. At the top of the list in terms of job creation: continuing the same unemployment benefits that Republicans have been on a mission to kill.
• The CBO, as well as economists from such left-wing outfits as Goldman Sachs and The Heritage Foundation, conclude that stopping those benefits right now would hurt the economy. Even a Bush-commissioned report released recently shows that every dollar spent on unemployment insurance generates two dollars of spending in the economy.
• GOP wins in 2010 could lead to Obama's win in 2012. Republicans got a free ride for the first two years of Obama's presidency, just as Democrats were free to act recklessly during the Bush era. But those days are over. In January, Boehner will have the unenviable task of dealing simultaneously with tea party congressmen, GOP senators and a hostile press. Mistakes will be made. GOP chairmen will behave badly. And the president will once again have the opportunity to seize the initiative. But that won't happen if he continues this speedy retreat.
Democratic politicians always become sitting targets when they lose their nerve.
Former Vice President Al Gore's team stayed away from issues like global warming and gun control because it was afraid of losing states like West Virginia and Tennessee. Well, guess what? Gore lost them anyway.
Four years later, Sen. John Kerry was so fearful of being called weak on national defense that he bragged publicly about being for the funding of the Iraq war before being against it. Again, game, set, match to the GOP.
And now we have Obama, who spent two years ignoring Republicans, now deciding to throw in the towel on tax cuts before the opening bell rings. If the president of the United States really believes that he is in such a weak position that he cannot stand up to a party that wants to give tax cuts to millionaires while cutting benefits for unemployed families at Christmastime, I fear not only for the Democratic Party but also for America.
Someone close to the president needs to give him a dose of Washington reality. And if Lowe's Sam Seaborn isn't available for inspiration, maybe his disgusting character from "St. Elmo's Fire" can offer perspective to a White House that has become as disconnected from reality as the Demi Moore character in the movie.
"Jules, you know honey, this isn't real," Lowe said. "You know what it is? It's St. Elmo's fire. Electric flashes of light that appear in dark skies out of nowhere. Sailors would guide entire journeys by it, but the joke was on them. ... There was no fire. There wasn't even a St. Elmo. We're all going through this. It's our time at the edge."
This is your time at the edge, Mr. President. How are you going to respond?
A guest columnist for POLITICO, Joe Scarborough hosts "Morning Joe" on MSNBC and represented Florida's 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001.


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Case listing sessions are used to create tables showing the actual values stored in the database. They can be used to display county attribute data, which is available to SEER*Stat users as a stand-alone database in the case listing session.
Create a table showing percentages of county populations with less than a high school education for all U.S. counties between 2014 and 2018, according to the American Community Survey (ACS). Include the state and county name and 2014-2018 percentage in the table.
Key Points
- This exercise illustrates the use of SEER*Stat to view county attributes such as race, age, housing, education, and employment from the U.S. Census data at the county level.
- When displaying data for individual counties, it may be necessary to use one and only one county per geographic unit. For example:
- In New Mexico, Cibola County (35006) split from Valencia County (35061) in 1982. They are a combined unit until 1981, but are separate units from 1982 until the present. Since we will be using American Community Survey (ACS) data for 2014-2018 in this exercise and incidence and mortality data from 2014-2018 in Rate Exercises 5 and 6, we will want to use Cibola County and Valencia County as individual units.
- SEER provides a system-supplied variable that removes all combined counties for 2018. The "Unique state-counties for 2018" variable was added as convenience for use in analyses of county attribute data. For more information on county changes over time, see https://seer.cancer.gov/popdata/modifications.html.
- We will use the results from this exercise to define cut-points for "% < High School Education" quintiles for all U.S. counties combined using 2014-2018 ACS data. To be consistent in our analyses, we will use the same U.S. cut-points for the incidence and mortality rate exercises (Rate 5 and Rate 6).
- Percentages in the county attributes have 2 implied decimal places (e.g. 00159 represents 1.59%). It is always a good practice to view the variable description for this type of information.
- In the results matrix, you have the option to show the variables in a label format or switch to numeric codes (unformatted). If exporting the data for analysis in other software, unformatted variables may be preferable.
- Educational attainment variables are calculated for percentage of the population 25 years and older.
Step 1: Create a New Case Listing Session
- Start SEER*Stat.
- From the File menu select New > Case Listing Session or use the on the toolbar.
Step 2: Select a Database (Data Tab)
- It is extremely important that you select the database as the first step. The correct database must be selected in order to see the correct list of variables in selection statements, table statements, and the dictionary editor. In this problem, we need to select a database with county attribute data.
- On the Data Tab select "County Attributes - Total U.S., 1969-2019 Counties "
- When you select this database, a dialog will appear warning that the selected database contains data from several sources, and when necessary, values were created/modified to account for county changes over time. There is a link to the County Attributes Web page for more information.
- Note that the warning has a checkbox labeled Do not show this message in future. You can mark this checkbox before clicking OK to prevent this warning from being displayed in future sessions. If you have done so in the past, it will not be displayed now.
Learn More...
- If you are running SEER*Stat in client-server mode, you may have a long list of databases on the Data tab. If you have trouble locating a database in the list, there is now a Find button located at the bottom of the tab. Search for a database by entering four or more characters of the database name in the Search Text box.
Step 3: Create the Selection Statement (Selection Tab)
This exercise and Rate Exercises 5 and 6 require the use of a complicated system-supplied variable. This variable is based on the standard "State/County" variable provided with the County Attributes database, but eliminates any geographic units that contain more than one county in 2018. The values for these units appear within the 'NA for 2018' grouping in the system-supplied variable.
- Move to the Selection Tab, and then click Edit.
- Using the controls at the top of the Case Selection window, you will create a selection statement.
- In the Variable box, use the "+" to expand the "System-Supplied" category.
- Select "Unique State-Counties for 2018".
- Moving to the center of the window, select "is not = to" as the Operator.
- Scroll through all the items in the Values box until you reach "N/A for 2018".
- At this time, the following should appear in the Selection Statement box at the bottom of the window:
{System-Supplied.Unique state-counties for 2018} != 'N/A for 2018'
- Use the OK button to close the Case Selection window.
Step 4: Set Table Variables (Table Tab)
Use the Table Tab to choose variables to include in the output matrix. The Problem Statement for this exercise specifies that the table should include the county name and percentage of the population with less than a high school diploma.
- On the Table Tab, the variables are listed in categories in the Available Variables box at the bottom of the screen.
- Use the "+" to expand the "State/County" category.
- Select the variable, "State-county".
- Click Column on the right hand side of the screen.
- Use the "+" to expand the "County attributes ACS - 2014-2018" category.
- Select "% < High school education ACS 2014-2018".
- Click Both on the right hand side of the screen.
- At this time, the two variables should be listed as column variables, and "% < High school education ACS 2014-2018" should be listed as a sort variable at the top of the window.
Step 5: Specify a Title (Output Tab)
- Move to the Output Tab.
- Enter the following title:
Percent of Population ages 25+
with less than high school education ACS 2014-2018
U.S. Counties
Case Listing Exercise 3
Step 6: Execute SEER*Stat and Save the Matrix
- At this point, you have all the necessary settings on the session tabs. Use the or select Execute from the Session menu to execute the session.
- A new window will be opened containing the output table or matrix.
- The percentage values appear in the results as 5-digit whole numbers. The last two digits are implied to be after the decimal point. So for Petroleum County, Montana, the value "00118" indicates that only 1.18% of the county's population, ages 25 years and over, have less than a high school education.
- Results shown in the SEER*Stat matrix window cannot be edited. You can print the matrix, export the results to a text file, and copy-and-paste data into other applications. The Results Matrix section of the help system contains more information about the SEER*Stat matrix and its features.
- Use the Save As command on the File menu to save the matrix. Enter "Case Listing Exercise 2" as the filename. SEER*Stat will assign the "slm" extension to indicate that this is a "SEER*Stat Listing Matrix" file.
- Compare your results to this SEER*Stat matrix file: Case Listing Exercise 3 Results.
Step 7: About the County Attributes Results Matrix
- Your results should contain two columns: state-county and percentage of the county with less than a high school education in 2014-2018.
- The state-county values appear as formatted labels, which show the grouping label assigned to the value. In this case, the format is the "State Abbreviation: County Name (5-digit FIPS County Code)".
- To display just the numeric code used by SEER*Stat for the values of a variable in the matrix:
- Click on the column heading, "State-county", to select the entire column.
- From the Matrix menu, select Display As and then "Unformatted".
- For these results, the numeric value used by SEER*Stat is the FIPS County Code.
Step 8: Using the Results in Other Software
Two methods can be used to take results from a SEER*Stat matrix and use them in another program:
- Copy data from the matrix to the Windows clipboard. In the other program, paste the contents of the clipboard to the work space. This technique would work well for programs that allow the pasting of data, including packages such as Excel and PowerPoint. More specific instructions are provided in the SEER*Stat help system.
- Export the data from the matrix to a delimited text file. Some programs, such as Excel, will allow you to open a delimited text file. In other programs, such as Joinpoint and DevCan, you must select the delimited text file as the input file. Please refer to Exporting Results in the SEER*Stat help system for instructions.


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Only a year after being the first person to successfully demo a working television set in 1926, John Logie Baird dreamed up something called Phonovision. What was its purpose? To record television. On a record.
Don McLean, a TV enthusiast and historian of John Logie Baird, says Phonovision worked by etching the pictures as audio frequency waves into a record. Because of the low resolution and low frequencies of the video signal, the picture was transferrable.
Recording the television signal in the 1920s was much simpler than you might at first think. With only 30 lines per picture (television frame), the highest frequency present was low enough to be audible. The video signal could therefore be recorded as an audio signal onto disc.
The video was recorded at four frames-per-second with a resolution of 30 lines and a vertically-oriented 7:3 aspect ratio. A total of six discs were made, each double sided, and each side contained three minutes of footage.
Of course, Baird was ridiculed because at the time, attempts to playback video from the disc were more or less disasterous. But McClean says he's been able to extract images from the discs decades later, proving that Bairds technology worked, rudimentary as it may be. (See for yourself here)
After Phonovision, Baird would go on to devise crude versions of color and stereoscopic 3D television sets, decades before they were fully realized on a mass scale. [TV Dawn]


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Falling Down, 1993
Dion Baia and J. Blake are back for another must-listen to edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! The dog days of summer are wrapping up for the boys in the mean streets of the asphalt jungle, and they had the perfect film to cover at the end of August. This week they take on an urban classic, something near and dear to a generation of film goers, Joel Schumacher's Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas as William D-Fens Foster, from 1993.
Truly a poster child film for the frustrated 9-5 worker who is fed up with their job and maybe the system in general, Blake and Dion figured this would be a great movie to wrap up this hot and steamy summer season. They get right into it and chat about how the film almost became a TV movie because of Hollywood's passing on the script due to the controversial content. They also frame the historical context of the era it was released within, hitting on the recent recession at the time, as well as the LA riots that occurred in the Spring of 1992 (while the film was being shot). They discuss the amazing choice of casting, the fantastic Michael Douglas and once again discuss the importance of the likeability of an actor playing a role, for the audience to be on board and like that character. Dion and Blake chat about the D-Feds character and if he's actually the protagonist or perhaps the antagonist. And they compare him to his foil in the film, Detective Prendergast, played by the legendary Robert Duvall and how they both cope with the stress of daily life. They also discuss how this story translates to today's audience; not just by how Douglas' character is perceived and the glorification of some of his actions, but also how modern audiences in today's highly politically correct environment may even jump to conclusions without fully understanding the context of the era, not only of 1993, but cinema in general and the background of D-Fens as a character. Well it's a rip-roaring blast for the lads in this fun and exciting, all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! #wolfmansnards
* The David Hasselhoff TV movie Dion periodically references, is in fact called Terror at London Bridge, from 1985.
Check out the original trailer for Falling Down.
Now here's an interesting review circa 1993 by Siskel & Ebert.
For alittle extra reading, have a look at this pretty thought-provoking thread on Reddit, as fans analyze Falling Down.
Take a look at Michael Douglas from the mid 90's discussing the film with Jimmy Carter.
Have a look at another interview from the era of Michael Douglas discussing his role as D-Feds in Falling Down.
And here's Barbara Hershey talking about Falling Down.
Here's a pretty cool mashup music video using Falling Down footage edited to the Iron Maiden song Man On The Edge, which was written as an homage to the original film.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Character traits are abilities that are not tied to your character's race or class. They can enhance your character's skills, racial abilities, class abilities, or other statistics, enabling you to further customize him. At its core, a character trait is approximately equal in power to half a feat, so two character traits are roughly equivalent to a bonus feat. Yet a character trait isn't just another kind of power you can add on to your character—it's a way to quantify (and encourage) building a character background that fits into your campaign world. Think of character traits as "story seeds" for your background; after you pick your two traits, you'll have a point of inspiration from which to build your character's personality and history. Alternatively, if you've already got a background in your head or written down for your character, you can view picking his traits as a way to quantify that background, just as picking race and class and ability scores quantifies his other strengths and weaknesses.
Many traits grant a new type of bonus: a "trait" bonus. Trait bonuses do not stack—they're intended to give player characters a slight edge, not a secret backdoor way to focus all of a character's traits on one type of bonus and thus gain an unseemly advantage. It's certainly possible, for example, that somewhere down the line, a "Courageous" trait might be on the list of dwarf race traits, but just because this trait is on both the dwarf race traits list and the basic combat traits list doesn't mean you're any more brave if you choose both versions than if you choose only one.
Character traits are only for player characters. If you want an NPC to have traits, that NPC must "buy" them with the Additional Traits feat. Player characters are special; they're the stars of the game, after all, and it makes sense that they have an advantage over the NPCs of the world in this way.
Gaining Traits
When you create your character for a campaign, ask your GM how many traits you can select. In most cases, a new PC should gain two traits, effectively gaining what amounts to a bonus feat at character creation. Some GMs may wish to adjust this number somewhat, depending upon their style of play; you may only be able to pick one trait, or your GM might allow three or more. Even if your GM normally doesn't allow bonus traits, you might still be able to pick up some with the Additional Traits feat.
Types of Traits
There are five types of character traits to choose from:
- Basic Basic traits are broken down into four categories: Combat, Faith, Magic, and Social. Combat traits focus on martial and physical aspects of your character's background. Faith traits focus on his religious and philosophical leanings. Magic traits focus on any magical events or training he may have had in his past. And Social traits focus on your character's social class or upbringing.
- Campaign Campaign traits are specifically tailored to give new characters an instant hook into a new campaign. Campaign traits tailored to a specific Pathfinder Adventure Path can always be found in that Adventure Path's Player's Guide, available at Paizo.com.
- Race Race traits are keyed to specific races or ethnicities, which your character must belong to in order to select the trait. If your race or ethnicity changes at some later point (perhaps as a result of polymorph magic or a reincarnation spell), the benefits gained by your race trait persist—only if your mind and memories change as well do you lose the benefits of a race trait.
- Regional Regional traits are keyed to specific regions, be they large (such as a nation or geographic region) or small (such as a city or a specific mountain). In order to select a regional trait, your PC must have spent at least a year living in that region. At 1st level, you can only select one regional trait (typically the one tied to your character's place of birth or homeland), despite the number of regions you might wish to write into your character's background.
- Religion Religion traits indicate that your character has an established faith in a specific deity; you need not be a member of a class that can wield divine magic to pick a religion trait, but you do have to have a patron deity and have some amount of religion in your background to justify this trait. Unlike the other categories of traits, religion traits can go away if you abandon your religion, as detailed below under Restrictions on Trait Selection.
Restrictions on Trait Selection
There are a few rules governing trait selection. To begin with, your GM controls how many bonus traits a PC begins with; the default assumption is two traits. When selecting traits, you may not select more than one from the same list of traits (the four basic traits each count as a separate list for this purpose). Certain types of traits may have additional requirements, as detailed in the section above.
Remember also that traits are intended to model events that were formative in your character's development, either events from before he became an adventurer, or (in the case of additional traits gained via the Additional Traits feat) ones that happened while adventuring. Even if your character becomes a hermit and abandons society, he'll still retain his legacy of growing up an aristocrat if he took the relevant social trait. The one exception to this is religion traits—since these traits require continued faith in a specific deity, your character can indeed lose the benefits of these traits if he switches religions. In this case, consult your GM for your options. She may simply rule that your character loses that trait, or she might allow him to pick a new religion trait tied to his new deity. Another option is that if your character abandons a religion, he loses the associated religion trait until he gains an experience level, at which point he may replace a lost religion trait with a basic faith trait.


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New Research Affirms That Milky Way Has Four Spiral Arms
Our Milky Way galaxy has four arms instead of two, according to just published results of a 12-year study by scientists in the U.K.
The findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, affirm what astronomers surmised in the 1950s but began to doubt in 2008 after seeing images from the Spitzer Space Telescope that could only confirm two spiral arms.
Unlike our view of other galaxies, it's challenging to figure out from our inside looking out vantage point what the Milky Way looks like. Our solar system is thought to be located on one of the spiral arms that jut out from the massive central core.
Nature World News says:
"The 12-year-long study of massive stars in the Milky Way conducted by Red MSX Source (RMS) survey led by University of Leeds astronomers scoured the galaxy for massive young stellar objects, which are uncommonly large. These massive stars [live] shorter lives than their lower mass counterparts, which astronomers utilized when conducting their survey. As these massive stars die relatively quickly, they are only found in the arms of the galaxy where they formed; they have no time to move elsewhere."
"Research done in the 1950s concluded that our galaxy has four spiral arms, based on the clouds of gas in which new stars form. But a later analysis by the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope that scoured the Milky Way with its infrared scope revealed about 110 million stars, but only evidence of two spiral arms."
"It isn't a case of our results being right and those from Spitzer's data being wrong – both surveys were looking for different things," Professor Melvin Hoare, a member of the RMS Survey Team in the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Leeds and a co-author of the research paper, said.
"Spitzer only sees much cooler, lower mass stars – stars like our Sun – which are much more numerous than the massive stars that we were targeting," Hoare said. "The Milky Way is our galactic home and studying its structure gives us a unique opportunity to understand how a very typical spiral galaxy works in terms of where stars are born and why."
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If you are part of a business, sooner or later you want to be able to collaborate on a database with a colleague or customer. In the past, the easiest way to share a small database was to create a spreadsheet and email it to your collaborators. While this isn't the best method, it has withstood more sophisticated competition for several reasons:
First, databases are still tricky for some people to understand, and spreadsheets are more obvious. A spreadsheet is usually contained on a single screen, so it is easy for someone to figure out its logic, and the grid of rows and columns is also easier than the typical relational database with a series of tables. Tables are more than many people – especially those who don't have a lot of formal IT training — want to deal with. Second, the database collaboration tools are tough to learn and use. Look at how many people still use Lotus Notes for email and not much else. And since most of us are comfortable with email, using it as the transportation system isn't all that taxing. Until the day comes when three people are working on the same spreadsheet or database and make conflicting changes.
Third, building the right kinds of collaborative applications requires some skill and understanding of how and what kinds of data are shared. How many people are going to be adding/changing records to your database? How many just want to do queries and reports? And how do you prevent conflicting concurrent updates?
So what are your choices, if you don't want to email spreadsheets around? You have two basic methods. First is to use one of the many Internet-compatible database programs. Alpha Five has some readily available Web tools and its standard edition is $200, or you can purchase the Filemaker Server version for $1000. There are plenty of others, but these two are the easiest to setup and use across the Internet.
For both products, you will need to make use of a hosted Windows or Mac machine at your Internet provider or else have some other means of connecting the machine that you run your database on to the Internet. (PointInSpace is one provider that offers a Filemaker Pro hosting account for $40 a month, and ZebraHost offers Alpha Five hosting starting at $30 a month. Here is a link to a series of video tutorials on how to do this with Alpha Five.) You will also have to learn their programming language and be comfortable with how they produce reports. This method has the advantage that you are running a real database program and has the most flexibility. But it has a high entry cost in terms of skills and may be more than you want to deal with. Here is an example of one of the screens that shows you the kind of programming you need to understand for Alpha Five:
If the skills required on either of these are daunting, you'll probably end up with the second method, which is to use one of the Web services companies that are geared towards sharing spreadsheets and tabular data. While Google Docs does allow people to collaborate on a file-level, what we really want is something a bit more sophisticated and that can recognize the individual records. There are at least four services that I have found that do this: • TrackVia, $10 a month per user • DabbleDB, $8 a month per user • Intuit's QuickBase $250 a month for 10 users • Blist.com, $10 per month per user plus $30 per month for one admin account
With all of these, you can create an account and upload your spreadsheet in about five minutes. If your first line in the spreadsheet contains your field names, you are just about done. You can easily sort any column quickly by clicking on the arrow icons. You can quickly locate duplicate records, create a mail merge template and forms for your Web site, all with just a couple of clicks of the mouse.
Custom reports are simple, and what's more, they can be distributed via email to your collaborators on a set schedule. Adding different collaborators with various discrete permissions is very straightforward, and in about 30 minutes you can have a project setup and working with your team. The good news is that you don't need to be a programmer, or even act like one. You also don't need to pay for hosting fees (that is included as part of the service), and all you need is your Web browser to access your data.
To get a feel for what is involved, all four services allow you can start off with free accounts. In TrackVia's case, you have 14 days before you have to give them your credit card, and in dabbleDB's case, you can use the free account forever, provided you don't mind that your data will be in public view. With blist, you can use their consumer-grade account for free forever, but it limits you to databases smaller than 100 MB. QuickBase gives you a 30-day free trial and the ability to share with up to 10 people, so if you are looking for something to support just a few collaborators that will be too pricey.
Each of the four services differs in terms of how they can import data into your database, what kinds of reports are available, and how many different databases and storage is allowed per account. That is why it is best to try each out and see what makes the most sense for your work style and must-have features, and how far you can really get without knowing any real HTML.
Let's take a look at how you import your data in TrackVia as an example. When you create a new database, you are presented with three choices as you see from the screen below:
You can upload a spreadsheet, and if you do you click on the "see tips" link and you will see a list of caveats and instructions on how to do this. If you have your data in a CSV file, you first have to import it into Excel before getting the data to TrackVia. Some of the other services allow you to import CSVs directly, or cut and paste data from your desktop or a Web site. You also have the option of starting with a sample database template, and TrackVia offers more than a dozen different ones. Let's say you pick the Contacts template. Then you can either add each contact record one at a time using a standard Web form, or use the Import tool and bring in that spreadsheet.
TrackVia also has an interesting option to monitor a special email inbox that will collect new database records and post the information automatically. If you go to the Email Collecting tool, you will see a series of screens, including the one below that you can use to set this feature up. You can have your e-mails create new records, or update existing records.
Good luck with sharing your databases and spreadsheets!


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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will soon be able to add "comic book character" to his resume.
TidalWave, a graphic novel publishing company, announced Monday (Sept. 14) that Trudeau is the latest politician to be profiled in their comic books, as part of the 11-year Political Power series.
Written by Michael Frizell and drawn by Bernat, the 24-page book will showcase parts of Trudeau's life – from speaking at the funeral of his father, Pierre Trudeau, to winning the most recent federal election.
"The goal of the Political Power series is to offer a non-partisan profile of the political figure. Justin Trudeau is popular around the world, but like any person, he's not without faults," Frizell said in a statement.
"As a writer, I need to find a way to balance the positives and negatives and distill a person's life and career into a little over 20 pages or about 100 pictures."
The latest biography comic book joins TidalWave's ever-growing library of more than 200 comic book biographies. Previous titles have profiled Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Condoleezza Rice, George Bush, James Comey, Nelson Mandela, Marco Rubio and Elizabeth Warren.
"Non-fiction stories are sometimes more entertaining than stories involving capes and tights" publisher Darren G. Davis said in a statement.
"In this case the news far-out passes traditional comic books."
The comic is set to be released Sept. 16.
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This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
In 1983, Suzuki introduced the world's first 4-wheel ATV. Today, Suzuki ATVs are everywhere. From the most remote areas to the most everyday tasks, you'll find the KingQuad powering a rider onward. Across the board, our KingQuad lineup is an exceptional group of ATVs.
The 2018 KingQuad 750AXi Power Steering is Suzuki's most powerful and technologically advanced ATV. Abundant torque developed by the 722cc fuel-injected engine provides performance that's standard for Utility Sport ATVs. The advanced Power Steering system provides responsive handling, reduces turning effort, and damps vibration to the rider. The KingQuad's easily adjustable suspension lets you float over rough obstacles with ease while still being able to haul or tow what you need to get the job done.
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Jon Shenk's The Island President tells the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced-the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, Nasheed is now faced with an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives enough to make them uninhabitable.
The Island President captures Nasheed's first year of office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where the film provides a rare glimpse of the political horse-trading that goes on at such a top-level global assembly. Nasheed is unusually candid about revealing his strategies leveraging the Maldives' underdog position as a tiny country, harnessing the power of media, and overcoming deadlocks through an appeal to unity with other developing nations. When hope fades for a written accord to be signed, Nasheed makes a stirring speech which salvages an agreement. Despite the modest size of his country, Mohamed Nasheed has become one of the leading international voices for urgent action on climate change.


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The historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris went up in flames on Monday, April 15th. In a matter of a few hours, hundreds of years of history were wiped out.The French, along with people all over the world, are mourning this Holy Week loss.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, Notre Dame attracts approximately 13 million tourists every year. That figure represents nearly double the number of tourists visiting Paris' Eiffel Tower. But Notre Dame is more than a tourist attraction or a religious site; it is a symbol of France itself. While France owns Notre Dame, the Catholic Church has the exclusive right to use it for religious purposes in perpetuity.
The burning of the structure, which is over 800 years old, means a loss of tangible history. Due to its age, Notre Dame has been a part of numerous historic events. The church was desecrated during the French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France inside Notre Dame in 1804 and married in the cathedral as well. Notre Dame's bells were rung to mark the end of both World War I and World War II.
Notre Dame's cornerstone was laid in 1163 with construction continuing over the course of 200 years. The cathedral's famous gargoyles were added in 1240 to serve a functional purpose; they acted as rain spouts. Construction was finally completed in 1345. A mid-19th century restoration added the Gothic structure's wood and lead spire. Until the Eiffel Tower's completion in 1889, Notre Dame's towers were the tallest structures in Paris.
Notre Dame is not only old and historic, but it is an architectural gem. Architects view Notre Dame as the finest example of French Gothic architecture. The cathedral is famed for its carved stone gargoyles, the flying buttresses which hold up its walls, and its stained glass windows. Notre Dame's three thirteenth century rose windows survived the blaze as did its famous 18th century organ with 8,000 pipes.
In addition to its age, history, and architecture, Notre Dame is famed as a repository of religious relics and works of art. In a testament to man's determination, a human chain, of whom the chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade was a part, formed to remove these items from the burning cathedral. These rescue efforts saved the Crown of Thorns, believed to be a piece of what Jesus wore when He was crucified. Many rescued items were moved to the Louvre for safe-keeping.
People worldwide are familiar with Notre Dame through creative works. The cathedral, situated on a small island in the Seine River in the center of Paris, is the setting for Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a French Gothic novel published in 1831. Today the video game "Assassin's Creed Unity" prominently features Notre Dame.
The fire at Notre Dame was first reported to emergency services as a blaze in the historic cathedral's attic. A mass was in progress when the alarm sounded, but the service continued until a policeman approached the officiating priest to order an evacuation. It may take some time to confirm the cause of the fire. The cathedral was undergoing an extensive $6.8 million renovation at the time the fire broke out, so the blaze might be linked to that ongoing activity. Scenes from the fire clearly showed scaffolding around the burning structure.
Once the flames were extinguished, a smoldering mess remained. The cathedral's spire collapsed, and its roof was ravaged. The cathedral's ten bells (named Emmanuel, Marie, Gabriel, Anne Genevieve, Denis, Marcel, Etienne, Maurice, Jean-Marie, and Benoit-Joseph) were silenced. Notre Dame's medieval wooden interior of the structure was gutted. But in a vivid picture of hope and faith, the golden altar cross remained standing in the charred cathedral.
French President Macron has already vowed Notre Dame will be rebuilt. He hopes this goal can be accomplished within five years, but experts are skeptical that such a time frame is realistic.
Money to fund the rebuilding is pouring in. Actress Salma Hayek's billionaire husband and his father announced plans to donate $113 million towards that goal. Multiple millionaires have likewise pledged money for a rebuilding effort. Over $600 million Euros was initially raised overnight. To date over $1 billion has been pledged.
The rebuilding effort will be aided by the latest technology. Before his death, art historian Andrew Tallon made 3-D laser maps of every detail of Notre Dame. Additionally, game artists and historians working on "Assassin's Creed Unity" spent about two years getting the details of the cathedral just right, including where pictures hung on the walls. Rebuilding Notre Dame will be a massive project regardless of the available funding and technology. Even if true to detail, a rebuilt structure will never be able to replace the original historic site.


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Maple Glazed Shrimp and Butternut Squash With Gorgonzola Fondue
This savory and sweet seafood appetizer comes from Chef Justin Lyonnais
This savory and sweet seafood appetizer comes from Chef Justin Lyonnaise of the former Commercial Street Fishery in Manchester. Skewers can be prepared ahead and roasted just before serving.
For the skewer:
12 wooden skewers soaked in apple cider
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
24 pieces butternut squash largely diced — blanched (cooked until tender, not soft) and cooled
For the glaze:
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons minced rosemary
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 cup cider vinegar
Mix all glaze ingredients with a wire whisk until well combined. In separate bowls toss the shrimp and squash with the maple glaze and let sit for 1 hour. Alternate shrimp-squash on individual skewers and roast in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned and caramelized.
Arrange skewers around fondue in a small fondue pot or small slow cooker.
For the fondue:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
Simmer cream over medium heat until reduced by half. Slowly whip in Gorgonzola until melted, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.


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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls
Theodore P. Gleiter, a graduate of Hammond High School, entered River Falls as a sophomore and in the next three years he was active in the chorus, band, orchestra, YMCA, and intramurals, was a member of the Honor Society, and was listed in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. During World War II he served in North Africa and the Caribbean, part of the time being assigned to the Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Puerto Rico. His mathematics and science major along with this assignment affected the direction of his whole career.
After receiving this master's degree and doing further graduate work at American University in Washington, D.C., he began his work for the U.S. Weather Bureau as a meteorologist. From 1956 to 1963 he was director of the Budget and Management Division of the Weather Bureau and special assistant to the chief from 1963 to 1966. He joined the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration as assistant administrator in 1966. In both groups he was active in developing programs that provided opportunities for various minority groups. In recognition of his work he was given Equal Opportunity Awards by the Commerce Department in 1971 and by the Atmospheric Administration in 1974.
His concern for the disadvantaged has extended beyond his professional life. He founded the Annandale, Va., Christian Community for Action which provides food for the needy, operates a day care center, and maintains a storehouse of usable furniture for low income rental units. In Washington, D.C., Gleiter was a founder of Home Buyers, Inc. that supplies down payments on houses for low income families seeking homes.


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I had a few words to say about that, but will admit that I almost felt sorry for him as a richly deserved thrashing was duly administered by sundry commenters here, from both left and right.. Notions of the rule of law, innocence until proof of guilt and so on were lobbed like missiles. But, like the hapless bricklayer in Gerard Hoffnung's immortal account, who suffered one injury after another until it all became too much, he "must have lost his presence of mind."
For today the "Raphael Alexander" entity speaks again.
Do not let his jejune style, his lack of anything remotely approaching logic, his deliberate misreadings, his small army of strawmen, put you off. If you want to better understand Stephen Harper's core supporters--the red-on-Fridays folk who hang around media comboxes spewing visceral dislike of people who aren't like themselves--it's a must-read. Think of it as a clinical exhibit, like the automatic writing of schizophrenics.
"Alexander" begins by asking why the Nuremburg Trials were so efficient in rendering verdicts and punishing the guilty, while today it is so difficult to "bring to justice those people responsible for acts of terrorism against the innocent." In the next breath he provides the obvious answer to his own question:
By the very clandestine nature of terrorism and guerrilla conflict, the enemy is a shadow whose motives aren't known until the suicide bomber pulls his detonation device next to a group of women and children. The enemy does not wear uniforms to identify themselves as equals in a hostile war, which would grant them all of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions. The enemy does not leave forensic evidence of his misdeeds if he survives, and there are no witnesses to give testimony afterwards.
Well, no wonder that "enemies of our state" are sitting in Gitmo. "It should not be," says "Alexander." What about all that due process stuff, habeus corpus, human rights and so on?
We get a sense of what's coming next, as, in a simply magnificent Freudian slip, he declares: "We uphold the highest principle in law: guilty until proven innocent."
Indeed he does.
Given the glaring absence of a trial, how do we know these folks are guilty? Well, there's been a filtration process. In his words (I don't dare re-phrase in case someone thinks I'm twisting his meaning) the US, in the wake of 9/11,
apprehended thousands of suspects whom they believed could be enemies of the state. They interrogated them thoroughly. Tortured them. From the first few years of interrogation, they had narrowed down those people who were very likely terrorists, and those who had been mere pawns in the game.
Nothing like a few bouts of torture to separate the sheep from the goats. Just ask Maher Arar. In any case, after applying this reliable selection method, once called the trial by ordeal, we have precipitated out the present inmates of what he concedes is a gulag.
"But what choice did the United States have?" he weeps. "[W]hat choice did any of us have?"
The questions, however, are purely rhetorical. They are not meant to be answered other than with a nod of complicity. So we made a few mistakes--"what were the alternatives?"
Well, he's certainly not about to entertain any. Linking to my place, he falls back on his trusted weaponry of name-calling and lies:
The pseudo-left does not have an answer for that. He [sic] only knows that we must leave Afghanistan, and everything will be better for it. The pseudo-left even believes that perhaps supporting the Taliban might bring about the desired result of withdrawal:
"If the Taliban can kill enough of the foreign troops involved there and if that would force the governments of these troops to withdraw, then for that purpose one could support the Taliban."
Speaking personally, I'm not particularly interested in what a Blogging Tory thinks is the "real" Left or otherwise. I assume that "real" leftists are those who agree with him, in which case, speaking as a leftist, I would have to say that they wouldn't be real leftists at all. But let us leave this semantic quagmire, and move on to his lies, which are of somewhat more consequence.
First, we do "have an answer for that," namely, the rule of law. If we want to prove that we're no better than terrorists, by all means let us cast such flimsy concepts aside. But if we're trying to uphold the banner of something better, then we are bound to apply the same standards of evidence, the same notions of habeus corpus and speedy trials and the right to a vigorous and thorough defence, to all. It is not the Left that favours Agamben's "states of exception," but the far Right.
The second lie is an alibi: it is intended to reinforce the foolish charge by the Islamopanicked that anything less than war, counter-terrorism, emergency measures, and the suspension of human rights amounts, not only to capitulation, but to active complicity with the murderous mediaeval fanatics who have gained a beachhead amongst oppressed populations around the world.
So let's have the other half of the quote:
If the Taliban can kill enough of the foreign troops involved there and if that would force the governments of these troops to withdraw, then for that purpose one could support the Taliban. One could wave their colors and wear their t-shirts and cheer the news of more blown up people. [emphasis added]
The writer is expressing disgust, as anyone who reads her entire five-paragraph comment can readily see, with the various rationales on all sides for killing people.
But "Raphael Alexander," fresh from this little bit of perfidy, goes on without a blush to talk about the "moral bankruptcy of the left," citing, unsurprisingly, his mentor Terry Glavin.
Then he offers this fresh bit of deceit:
These same people want the United States to set free men whom the government has seen fit to detain for seven years. But what motives do they have for this? Is it because they believe in the fundamental western liberal principles of habeus corpus? Or is it more likely that their long-standing hatred for the foreign policy of the United States has marred their sense of right and wrong? Is it really likely that the U.S. government would detain people at a great economic cost to themselves, innocent people, simply because they want to be vindictive? Simply because it pleasures them to strip away the freedom of men from the Middle East?
I'll let readers such as our conservative regular, Peter, wrestle with the straw men inhabiting that thicket of tendentiousness. "Alexander," of course, is quick to answer his own dishonest questions:
Such childish naivete can be deadly. Those men who remain locked away are certainly very dangerous. Even some long-detained enemy combatants who have been set free by the United States, returned to their occupations of violence, and killed and maimed more people. Some people see Guantanamo Bay as a test of our own moral codes as applied to our laws. If we do not free men who have been charged with no crime, what kind of people are we? In a simple black and white world, it would be easy to condemn our actions. But we know that most of these people, if not all of them, cannot be convicted in a court of law. In the simplistic world of the pseudo-left, it is more important to protect the freedom of such individuals than to concern themselves about the blood of the innocent spilled from their release. [emphasis added]
In a stunning reversal of tradition, the "pseudo-left" now supports the rule of law and today's hard-line conservatives are pleased to do without. The prisoners must be guilty, even if they "cannot be convicted." It took a hell of a lot of interrogation and torture to winnow the suspects down to a manageable few, and damned if we should just send 'em home after all that effort. Nuh-uh.
So whom do we protect? Those people accused of grave crimes, for which we have no evidence? Or those who may be the future victims of the dangerous people we release into this world?
For someone who objects to the alleged black and white thinking of the "pseudo-left," "Alexander" doesn't give us much room to move here. If he would stop conflating "accused" with "guilty," however, it might well be possible to see his false dichotomy for what it is. But he goes on, and this is where we get, at last, to the nub of the argument:
Omar Khadr, the Canadian accused of killing an American soldier, may or may not be a future threat. But determining his guilt or innocence from an incident that occurred in smoke-filled firefight may never be possible. In time of war, we sometimes have to believe that the government will make the proper decisions on who they can safely release and who they cannot.
There you have it. The Left, insisting upon procedure and the rule of law. The hard Right, defending cruel and arbitrary actions by the state against individuals. It's through the looking-glass we go, folks, full-tilt boogie, in one godawful tangle of apes and angels and their age-old prey.


text:
Prawn Biryani or Shrimp Biryani or Jhinga Biryani is a rich, aromatic and intense dish that's flavored with an array of spices. Biryani is traditionally made with chicken or mutton, but the use of jumbo prawns in this dish adds that unique and irresistible seafood flavor
At home, I make Chicken or Mutton Biryani at least a couple of times in a month. We are a big fan of Hyderabadi Biryani. And what not to like about it? It's a one pot dish and you don't really need a lot of side dishes to go with it. My family happily consumes Biryani and also it tastes way better as left over.
I went to India to visit family in June. Like any other vacation, all you want to do is eat, eat and eat. I did exactly that. I ate to my heart's content and without any restraint. Everything tastes so good when it's prepared fresh with local ingredients. I tried Prawn Biryani at my aunt's house. I still remember the taste. The best part about that Prawn Biryani was – it was made so simply. There was not a lot of zing bang to it. I had made a mental note to myself to try it as soon as I'm back home.
For Prawn
- 16 ounce or 500 grams' or around 16/20 large prawns, shelled and deveined and washed
- 2 TBSP finely crushed garlic
- 1 TBSP finely crushed ginger
- 3 large red onion chopped finely
- 1 TBSP cumin powder
- 1 TBSP coriander powder
- 2 TBSP Curry Powder (Available in Indian Groceries)
- 2 to 3 TBSP chili powder (we like it spicy)
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 TBSP Garam Masala
- 2 lemons juiced
- 5 to 6 dried plum (optional)
- Salt as per taste
- 2 TSP turmeric
- 1 TSP freshly ground black pepper
- Crispy browned onions to serve (optional)
- 2 TBSP vegetable oil
- 3 TBSP ghee or butter
- Handful of chopped mint
- Handful of freshly chopped coriander or cilantro
- Few cubes of butter
For Rice
- Long grain Basmati Rice 4 cups
- 3 TBSP ghee or butter
- 1 small onion, very finely sliced
- 6 cups of water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- A pinch of saffron dissolved in 1/4th cup milk
- Rose essence (Available in Indian or Middle Eastern stores)
- Marinate the prawns in turmeric powder, salt, black pepper and half of the chili powder
Cooking the Rice –
- Wash the rice really well until the water runs clear. Leave it to soak.
- Heat 3 TBSP ghee in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid.
- Add the finely chopped 1 onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat up and cook until golden.
- Drain the rice and add it into the golden onions.
- Stir well over a high heat to dry off any excess water and coat the rice in ghee for about 2-3 minutes. Add your water to the pan, taste and season well. Bring to the boil, then cover it and turn the heat right down.
- Cook undisturbed for 7-8 minutes then tests a grain. If it is done, take off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
Cooking the Prawn –
- Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add the chopped onions
- cook the onions until very soft and golden. Add the ginger, and garlic and sauté over a gentle flame, for about a minute, until the garlic is cooked through.
- Add in cumin powder, coriander powder, yogurt, turmeric, chili powder and salt, curry powder and sauté for a few minutes.
- Add a splash of hot water and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes
- Add your prawns with a good splash of hot water and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked through.
- The Prawns should very well coated with the onion masala
- Either brush the bottom of the pot with some ghee or place a few pieces of butter cubes.
- Layer over half of the rice, sprinkle over garam masala and fried onions, chopped mint, and chopped cilantro
- Then spoon over all the prawn mixture and finally top it with the remaining rice and splash of ghee or butter, gram masala, chopped mint and chopped cilantro.
- Splash with some rose water and a bit of saffron milk
- Tightly cover the pot with silver foil or a lid.
- When you are ready to cook, place it over a really low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until it steams when you take the lid off.
- Leave it off the heat for 10-20 minutes before serving.
- If you are going to finish it in the oven, then place the pot in the oven at 250-degree F for 30 -45 minutes.
- Sprinkle over the crispy onions, lemon juice and serve.
PIN for Later:


text:
Hi everyone, Katie here.
Today's Saturday Photohunt theme is *CELEBRATE* . . .
I suppose it should have been *DREAM*.
Or rather, *DREAM ON*.
Visit the Saturday Photohunt Blog to see what the upcoming themes are and play along.
Oh Katie.....ReplyDelete
Um...Katie....not going to happen!
The Florida Furkids
You know where to send him on Friday. He can come with me. Who knows what he might see JUST as I'm found?ReplyDelete
Oh Katie, we think that might be "premature celebration". (snickering)ReplyDelete
Allie: *sigh* A girl can dream, can't she?
Maxwell: Allie, you're sure doing a lot of sighing lately.
Yes, definitely, Dream On!ReplyDelete
well if you can't beat them you might as well join them in other words what ever waffles does to you return the favourReplyDelete
Katie, I think you are the only one by now that Waffles Too hasn't won over! You know, that is probably just going to make him try harder!ReplyDelete
Your celebrate may have to postpone ...Dream ♪ Dream ♫ Dream ♫
Give him just a little more time Katie, just a little more time.ReplyDelete
We have a feeling your celebration will only be in your dreams ... Try to have a good Caturday anyway!ReplyDelete
Have a super Saturday. Thank you so much for your contribution to Madis' big day. It is on our blog this morning.
Best wishes Molly
Mom and I thank you very very much for the most beautiful graphics you provided for my Swearing in ceremony today. The mayoral office will keep your information on file for future use.
Hugs toyou and Katie
Popped over from Molly the Wally. This looks like a fun blog!ReplyDelete
Had to stop by and offer condogulations to Madi da new Mayor of Blogville...You iz gonna be a great Mayor Madi and gud fur all anipalsReplyDelete
Dream of Celebrating? ;)
ha ha - now Katie, you know you would miss that little monster - errr cute little guy if he left your house.,ReplyDelete
Heh heh! Good one! I'm gonna be celebrating my 7th Gotcha Day soon so maybe I should participate.ReplyDelete
Where are you dreaming of, er, celebrating the dream of sending W2?
Katie!!! Dang you are lookin good girl! If I were a Tom, I'd be serenading you from your rooftop every night! Oh and breakfast should you let me in...silver platter of gourmet wild caught salmon served in bed. ;)
Alas I'm not a Tom, just a Roo Dawg ;P Butt you can Dream :D Heh Heh heh
Waggin at ya,
PeeS: I thoroughly enjoyed your talented and 'graphic' reports over at Molly The Wally's. EXCELLENT! Butt then I would expect nothin less from your paws :D
Oh dear... Katie you simply must let it go... Waffles Too cares not one wit how you feel. Maybe you could learn to conspire with him to get even more stuff from your humans. Clearly they have been completely blindsided by his cuteness and will give him whatever he wants. With your brains, the skys the limit, I tell you!!!
Purrs from your friend, Zoey
Aww I dont think that will happen.. MOl for the dream though... Hugs GJ xxReplyDelete
Hi Katie, we'll take Waffles Too for a few days. We're ready for you..better pack your winter coat. It's sunny with a "day time high" of 37 degrees.ReplyDelete
We're in line for Waffles Two, too!ReplyDelete
Katie, you know you would miss him if he really did go far, far away. Right? Right????ReplyDelete
Oh Katie! Surely you don't mean that.ReplyDelete
Good luck with that one Katie!ReplyDelete
Katie, I know just how you feel!ReplyDelete
Oh fess up Katie you would miss him if he disappeared. I am celebrating cause Tuiren came home. ~Fenris
Now what would you have to complain about if Waffles Too wasn't around, Katie??ReplyDelete
Katie! Wowwzers! Yous has the same dreams about your little brother as me has about mine!
Coincidence or something to celebrate?
MOL! Katie, you are too funny!ReplyDelete


text:
Professor David Koch, '84, cofounded Plave Koch PLC in 2007 after many years of large law-firm partnership. His practice focuses on franchising, licensing, and supply chain issues, including structuring franchise programs and license arrangements, corporate and commercial transactions, regulatory compliance, antitrust counseling, advertising and marketing, international expansion, and privacy issues.
Koch has 23 years of franchising experience with clients in foodservice, hotels, educational services, staffing, car rental, automotive aftermarket, insurance, homeowner services, retail, and other industries. Before entering private law practice, Koch served as an attorney-advisor to the Hon. Daniel Oliver, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He began his career as a staff attorney in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. He also served as counsel to the minority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives.
Koch has served as associate editor and editor-in-chief of The Franchise Lawyer, the newsletter of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Forum on Franchising. He is a member of the ABA's Section of Antitrust Law and the International Bar Association's International Franchising Committee. Koch has spoken at numerous franchise legal and business conferences, including programs in India, Poland, Romania, England, and Canada. He has authored or coauthored more than 30 published articles and conference papers.
Koch graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. He received his undergraduate degree in economics with high honors from the University of Iowa. He is admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia.


text:
Katya Dress
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text:
The Coca-Cola Company and Nestlé S.A. today announced that they have agreed to focus the geographic scope of their ready-to-drink tea joint venture, Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW), on Europe and Canada.
In Taiwan and Hong Kong, The Coca-Cola Company will enter into a license agreement with Nestlé for the NESTEA brand. In all other territories the joint venture will be phased out in a transition to be completed by the end of 2012, subject to any regulatory approval. In addition, the current NESTEA license granted by Nestlé to The Coca-Cola Company in the United States will terminate at the end of 2012.
Over the past 10 years, BPW has delivered consistent growth to its parent companies and has expanded the NESTEA brand across Europe, Canada and other markets. Both partners believe a concentrated focus on Europe and Canada will accelerate the growth and bolster the market presence of BPW where the joint venture is most effective. Both parent companies will be free to independently explore and maximize opportunities for growth in the ready-to-drink tea category in other markets.
Подписывайтесь на наши новинки в соцсетях и рассылке Unipack.Ru:


text:
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text:
This morning, my phone rang. It was Elder Son, though I could barely understand him.
ES: Mom.
Me: Yeah, babe?
ES: Mom, I had to ...call you. (He's hesitating, sounds like he's crying.)
Me: What's up? Is SOMETHING WRONG????
(I can hear all this snuffling, and scuffing around, and some type of weird guttural noise.)
ES: Jason and I are having to load these little...(more snuffling, weird sounds) miniature horses that Jason's granddad bought for Jason's kids at the livestock auction, and...and...(mumbles off into nowhere, and I can hear him laughing and trying to catch his breath.)
(I can hear Jason laughing out loud.)
Me: What? What's going on?
ES: Well, Mom, it's just that.....(fades into laughter again. He finally composes himself)...we got all the horses loaded except for...(and off he goes again) except for this (Jason laughing his butt off in the background)
Me: (I start laughing, too.) Tell me! Finish your sentence!
Now, I ask you, how stupid is that, that I start laughing? I can't even see them, I don't even know what's happening. But I can imagine. Jason isn't a tall guy, but Elder Son tops out at 6'4"...one tall lean bean. And a miniature horse, much less 7-8 of them? Just the visuals are funny!
Me: Elder Son! Finish, please?
ES: Mom....I can't....it's just that, I'm really trying...okay, give me a second....okay....we've been trying...trying to...(and he dissolves into man giggles again.)
I just sit there, grinning like a cheshire cat. I don't know what it is, but I know it's going to be good. It's gonna be one of those worth the wait ones. I wait.
He finally calms down a little bit.
ES: Mom, we've got all these teeny horses loaded in this honking huge trailer, ( and they're laughing again, they're losing their voices)...(they finally catch their breath and ES resumes) except for (bustin' gut laughs now) the little stallion. (And he cracks up again.)
Me: The what?
ES: The stud miniature horse, Mom. He's a stubborn little &*O(^)%(&.
Me: Oh, Lordy me (I really started laughing now)!
ES: Oh, Mom, we are so frustrated. We tried to herd him up with the rest of the horses. He'd get halfway up the ramp, which is really short to the ground, then fall off. He'd just tip over. He's really fat. We'd start again - he'd back down the ramp. He did not want to go. Then, we tried to lead him up. No go. Then, I led and Jase pushed. That didn't work. So, Jase led, and I pushed. (Laughter. Then escalating laughter.) That didn't work, either.
And now, Mom, the horse is mad. He's snorting at us and pawing at us - it is so funny, the little thing! (Uncontrollable laughing from both he and Jase.)
(By now, tears are running down my face and I'm having trouble breathing!)
And then, Mom....(giggles)....I finally got so frustrated I tried to pick the little b*st*rd up and throw him in the trailer. (huge laughter.)
Me: What? You tried to pick him up?
ES: Yessssssssss...(fades into sputters and they're off again, laughing hard!.)
Me: Did it work?
ES: Hell, no, Mom, it didn't work (and they crack up into laughter again), he weighs 400 pounds and he was thrashing around and trying to get away!
Me: Oh, Lordy.
ES: I gotta go, Mom, we gotta figure this out, I just had to call you.
And he hangs up laughing.
I talked to him this morning. They finally got the little stud horse loaded into the trailer. Elder Son and Jason physically picked up the horse, together, and stuffed him in the trailer.
Elder Son is still laughing.
Me, too!


text:
El canto de los quetzales
Victor Roswell
Enmarcada dentro de la eco-fantasía y basada en una leyenda indígena, narra las aventuras [...] See book
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text:
Those bugs "are going to outsmart us"
Josephine Marcotty
Star Tribune (Minneapolis), November 24 2012
PRESTON, MINN. - Danny Serfling knew he was in trouble in July. Tiny white worms in the soil had eaten away the anchoring roots on half of his corn, and in one big storm last summer, the stalks toppled like sticks.
"All the corn around here went flat -- from Spring Valley to Mabel," said Serfling, who farms a few hundred acres here in southeastern Minnesota. He waved a tattooed arm toward stubbled hills that rolled away to the gray October sky, resigned to the next step. "We will have to use more insecticide," he said.
It is what scientists and environmentalists regard as one of nature's great ironies: Fifteen years ago, genetically engineered seeds promised to reduce the amount of poisons used on the land, but today they are forcing farmers to use more -- and sometimes more toxic -- chemicals to protect their crops.
Why? Because pests have done what nature always does -- adapt. Just as some bacteria have become resistant to antibiotic drugs, a growing number of superweeds and superbugs in the nation's farm fields are proving invulnerable to the tons of pesticides that go hand in hand with genetically modified seeds.
The rising tide of pesticides is alarming many scientists and environmentalists about their effect on what's left of the North American prairie ecosystem, which survives in and around the vast "green deserts" of row crops that now stretch across the Upper Midwest.
"There are now 80 million acres of treated corn," said Eric Mader, an ecologist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. "That's a huge volume of pesticides applied for one crop."
What's next, they say, is even worse. To combat the growing wave of resistant weeds and bugs, biotech companies like Monsanto and Dow Chemical Company are poised to launch a whole new arsenal of genetically modified seeds that will accelerate the chemical warfare. Some are designed for use with older, more toxic herbicides that scientists say pose an even greater risk to the environment and human health.
The biotech companies say they will educate farmers and extension agents on how to minimize the health and environmental risks, and that the multiple genetic weapons contained in the new seeds will make it impossible for pests to develop resistance.
"We believe this can be managed," said Rick Cole, a weed management technical lead for Monsanto.
Still, a rising chorus of protest from environmental and agricultural scientists says it won't work. Nature, they say, will simply adapt again.
"It makes about as much sense as pouring gas on a fire to put it out," said Charles Benbrook, a researcher at Washington State University. "It is going to lead to the exact same problem and a substantial increase in much less benign herbicides."
Genetic revolution
Fifteen years ago, genetically modified seeds revolutionized farming.
Monsanto introduced the first, a variety of soybean that was immune to the herbicide Roundup. Suddenly, life got a lot easier for farmers. They could spray their fields once or twice with Roundup -- prized because it kills virtually all plants but is largely benign to animals and people -- and then plant their crops. And they no longer had to till the land to get rid of pesky weeds, greatly reducing the potential for soil erosion.
Roundup-ready cotton, corn, canola, alfalfa, and sugar beets followed in quick succession, making Roundup one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. "Farmers were very quick to adopt it," said Cole.
A few years later, Monsanto introduced the next genetic advance -- corn that contained its own insecticide, a protein called Bt that is poisonous to insects. Bt corn also was viewed as an environmental boon, because it was highly targeted -- it killed only the insects, like rootworm and corn borer, that ate the corn. That meant far less aerial spraying and dousing soils with poisons that killed everything from worms to birds.
And it worked. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that per-acre use of pesticides on corn, soybeans, and cotton declined by several million pounds per year, and soil tillage declined, as well.
The new technology paid off for Minnesota and other Midwestern states. In 2011, Minnesota farmers produced $10 billion worth of corn and soybeans, according to the USDA. On top of that, the ethanol industry added nearly another billion dollars to Minnesota's economy.
But the genetic breakthroughs brought sweeping changes across the landscape. Today, a third of Minnesota is planted with just two genetically modified species -- corn and soybeans -- and in some other states, it's far more.
Meanwhile, acreage devoted to such non-genetically modified crops as wheat, sunflowers and barley has plummeted by 50 to 90 percent.
In short, Midwestern agriculture quickly evolved into a vast, efficient system that is much easier to farm but is "biologically simple," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, and a specialist on biotech agriculture.
"But the problem is," he added, "it's a perfect storm for resistance."
Massive scale
Adaptation is as old as evolution itself. First, the few weeds or bugs that just happen to be immune to the pesticide survive. Then, in a biologically simple environment devoid of competition or threats, they flourish. Farmers encountered pesticide resistance many times before Roundup and genetically modified crops came along.
But the revolution in agriculture has become a victim of its own success.
In recent years, scientists have identified an estimated 23 weeds around the world that no longer die when doused with Roundup. Many are the most prolific and two, giant ragweed and water hemp, are a bane to Minnesota farmers. In some parts of the south, cotton farmers have been forced to go back to hand-hoeing fields to get rid of superweeds. And the combination of Roundup and "GM" seeds now dominates American agriculture.
"The scale of it is really dramatically different," said Gurian-Sherman.
More recently, infestations of rootworm, known as the $1 billion insect because of its cost to farmers, have exploded. University of Minnesota researchers say some farmers in virtually every county south of the Minnesota River have reported problems with the pest, especially where corn has been planted in the same field year after year.
"I lost $25,000 in yield," said Charles Sandager, a farmer from Hills in the southwest corner of the state. "They are going to outsmart us, them bugs."
Ty Vaughn, Monsanto's corn products management lead, said that other factors, like weather and the size of the infestation, may explain why the bugs are overwhelming the plants' genetic defenses. Resistance across a species only can be established by proving that adults are passing immunity onto their offspring, and that takes time.
But Ken Ostlie, a corn entomologist at the University of Minnesota, said he doesn't need more evidence to prove that southern Minnesota is seeing a dramatic shift in biology.
"We are already seeing the progeny of what's survived," he said. More frequent use of a greater variety of pesticides "will flourish," he said, because farmers now have few options.
"I don't like seeing all this crap going on the land," said Sandager, the farmer. "But I am forced to do it to survive."
Up next
The next generation of genetically modified seeds, designed to combat the new resistant pests, will work for a while, skeptics concede. But eventually, they say, nature will evolve again.
"My jaded, cynical perception is that it indicates a learning disability on the part of everyone," said Bruce Potter, an assistant professor of entomology at the U.
One biotech seed, made by Dow, will make crops immune to the herbicide 2,4-D. The chemical is far more toxic to plants than Roundup, and many environmental groups fear it will cause increased risks for cancer, hormone disruption and other health risks for people. The EPA, however, says that there is insufficient evidence to classify it as a carcinogen, and that if used according to regulations, it is safe.
Monsanto is close behind with other seeds that will be immune to dicamba, an herbicide in the same family as 2,4-D. Both are more prone to drifting far beyond their intended fields, but the companies say they will require farmers to use newer, less volatile formulations.
"We believe that farmers really want to do the right thing," said Cole of Monsanto.
Many scientists say the evolution in farming and the widespread Roundup use already has contributed to the demise of the prairie and many of its species, including milkweed, bees and butterflies. The prospect of widespread use of even more toxic herbicides is alarming, they said.
"We're going back 20 years, and that scares me," said Mace Vaughan, a pollinator conservation specialist with the Xerces Society.
There is another solution, say Potter and Ostlie, but one that can work against the economic interests of farmers and pesticide companies: Plant something else for a while. Alternating corn and soybeans, and mixing in other crops from season to season, can improve the soil and defeat the bugs and weeds, say agronomists.
It's a lesson in leveraging biological diversity that Serfling, the Preston farmer, saw with his own eyes. This summer he had to hire a helicopter to spray insecticide on his bug-infested corn. But across the driveway, another field stood tall in the wind. The difference: The previous year, he'd planted alfalfa.
"Rotate. That's how you get rid of it," he said. "Rotate, rotate, rotate."
Those bugs "are going to outsmart us"
- Details
Those bugs "are going to outsmart us"


text: Healthy Origins Vitamin D3 10000 IU is a key nutrient manufactured in a highly absorbable liquid softgel form. Vitamin D3 is synthesized in the body form sunlight and only a small amount can be obtained from food. The winter season and most all sun block products inhibit the body's ability to produce optimal levels of Vitamin D. As a result Vitamin D3 supplementation becomes even more necessary to ensure your body receives an adequate supply.


text:
IATEFL double whammy: Milan & Cardiff
I count myself among the lucky few who are going to attend in-person both of the upcoming events hosted by http://www.iatefl.org/ and the http://www.britishcouncil.org.
IATEFL 43rd Annual Conference - Cardiff
Starting on 31st March and running until 4th April, the 43rd annual IATEFL conference promises to be the best yet. The range and quality of the speakers at the IATEFL conference always poses a challenge when you're flipping through the programme deciding who to go to hear speak, although little does it matter, as rarely, in my experience are you disappointed.
The great news for those who can't be there in person is you'll be able to get more than a flavour of the conference by registering at IATEFL Cardiff Online: http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/
Last year, there were 1600 participants at the conference and 5000 participating online. This year promises to be even better, with far more activity going on online to bring those not at the conference closer to the action.
Apart from the live broadcasts of the plenaries and video and audio recordings of some of the other sessions, wifi access at the conference means some participants in sessions will be live blogging or twittering (using http://www.twitter.com) to keep people in the loop. Should be a very special event indeed.
IATEFL YL SIG & LT SIG Conference - Milan
But, the week before this, there's another very special event in the form of a joint Young Learner SIG (Special Interest Group) and Learning Technologies SIG conference in Milan (March 23rd-25th) examining 'Innovations in Teaching Children and Teenagers'. If you can make it and are interested in attending, there is still time to register here: http://www.britishcouncil.org/italy-english-milan-teacher-training-aggiornamento-insegnanti-inglese-milano.htm
This event promises to be a real treat for anyone who teaches young learners, and there are three strands to the conference, which are CLIL (Content & Language Integrated Learning), Learning Technologies and Testing & Assessment.
Although there won't be as much online activity at this event, there will be some, and I have agreed to try my best to keep people informed by blogging here. I'll also be twittering at http://www.twitter.com/grahamstanley - hope that some of you at least can join us for the educational journey!