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Diocese of Buffalo Athletics Program Educational Goals
A student athlete in a Diocese of Buffalo Catholic Elementary School Athletic Program is competent in terms of:
- Skill development
- Knowledge of the game and strategies
- Fitness, conditioning, healthy behavior
A student athlete in a Diocese of Buffalo Catholic Elementary School Athletic Program demonstrates:
- Responsibility
- Perseverance
- Pride
- Trustworthiness
- Fair play
- Self control
A student athlete in a Diocese of Buffalo Catholic Elementary School Athletic Program demonstrates civility toward others in word and actions, showing:
- Respect
- Fairness
- Caring
A student athlete in Diocese of Buffalo Catholic Elementary School Athletic Program, through actions, shows evidence of:
- Loyalty and commitment
- Teamwork
- Integrity
Child Development - Mind & Body
As a Catholic school, our responsibility is to develop the whole child—socially, emotionally, academically, and spiritually. As we look at children in elementary school, their growth is a continuum preparing them for the next stage of their development. This is true especially in the area of physical development and participation in organized sports programs. It is imperative that we have a full understanding of this when planning sports programs for elementary-age students.
As stated in Understanding Children by Judith A. Schickendanz, Karen Hansen, and Peggy D. Forsyth...
"A healthy body contributes to healthy growth in every other area of development. Good motor coordination and appropriate body strength can support cognitive growth and provide children with positive feelings about themselves. Participation in games and sports can help children learn individual and group social skills. Overall, physical activity can give children a sense of health and general well-being."
In 1995, the NASPE (National Association for Sports and Physical Education) established standards and benchmarks that help establish a way to monitor a child's progress towards physical preparation. Those standards are as follows:
- The child demonstrates competency in many movement forms and proficiency in a few movement forms.
- The child applies movement concepts and principles to the learning and development of motor skills.
- The child exhibits a physically active lifestyle.
- The child achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
- The child demonstrates responsible personal and social behavior in physical activity settings.
- The child demonstrates understanding and respect for differences among people in physical activity settings.
- The child understands that physical activity provides the opportunity for enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and social interaction.
These standards are used as guides for preparing activities and experiences to support the child's physical development from three through eight years of age. After eight years of age, the child's coordination, interpersonal skills, and her ability to understand rules makes them logical candidates for sporting activities. Participation in sports provides an opportunity to refine and practice the skills that have been developed using the seven standards listed above.


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Bridal Bouquet, Amazing Flowers
Bridal Bouquet, Amazing Flowers
Whether your wedding style tends toward the tradition or the trendy, these bouquet options are a feast for the eyes.
Participating in the age-old tradition of carrying a bouquet doesn't mean you can't put your own personal spin on it. Anything from selecting sentimental blooms to adding unexpected elements can modernize your arrangement and turn it into something truly special and one of a kind.
When it comes to wedding flowers, it can certainly be overwhelming when it comes time to tell your wedding planner what you want.
Pull inspiration from your wedding theme, venue or color palette to bring your bouquet to life! You have any doubts? please contact us at BeThatBrideEvents
Peony :Hands down, this is the most highly coveted of all wedding flowers. Everyone loves 'em, everyone wants 'em, but sadly they're also one of the most expensive wedding flowers.
Anemone: Usually black and white, these graphic flowers are perfect for the modern bride. The beauty of anemones is that they're amenable to working alone in a mono-fleur arrangement or mixed in with other flowers as more of an accent.
Dhalia: One of our all-time fave flowers, dahlias are great face flowers because they have such a grand presence without packing the punch price-wise of a peony. Plus, they come in so many beautiful colors and a wide array of sizes so there's a variety out there for every kind of bride!
Ranunculus: They are usually used as accents and not as the stars of the show. Ruffly petals with wiggly stems, these are great for adding a little movement and wildness to your bouquet or centerpiece, and come in a huge spectrum of colors, but are all around the same size.
Tulip: Like many of the other flowers we've listed, tulips are so much more than the generic variety you're probably picturing in your head. There are fringed tulips , double tulips , Rembrandt tulips (with beautiful red streaks running down their petals), and more.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Plea for a Drug Education & Prevention Programme
The epidemic is already raging and any further delay will be catastrophic
On New Year's Day, after the usual prayers, the head of a religious organization informed the congregation, amongst other messages, that he had been requested by an officer of the Anti-drug and Smuggling Unit to give a helping hand to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking in the village. He asked members of the audience to come forward and discuss drug-related problems within their families and in the neighbourhood, if any, in order to find ways to tackle the problem.
It is also well known that the ADSU officer responsible for the area is seen regularly at the bus station monitoring the situation, and keeping an eye on students. Further information reveals that the neighbourhood, which had been drug free in the past, has now a few young people who have taken to drugs. What is happening in this particular village in upper Plaines Wilhems has already taken place in numerous places throughout the island. And, in the light of various media reports, one may safely conclude that illicit drug consumption has become an epidemic, and more than at any time before, a full-fledged drug education programme should be put in place by the authorities.
The efforts of government and of a number of organisations and dedicated individuals to fight drug abuse since its proliferation in 1987 is well known. In recent years there was the National Institute for Civic Education (the Nice Project) trained and directed by a consultant who was an ex-commander of the Singapore military. It had an important component on 'substance abuse and issues' and was well appreciated by various stakeholders in the education sector – educators and MIE lecturers, as well as lecturers from the Police Training school. The approach to drug education was innovative. Classes were interactive, with the full participation of students who expressed their views freely and openly and volunteered suggestions about how to tackle the problem at their level.
Unfortunately the project was discontinued, and there has since not been any new project about drug education at the secondary level. Up to now the various measures taken, namely the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry, new laws and changes in the criminal justice system, treatment of drug users and rehabilitation policies as well as the work of NGOs and of a number of dedicated social workers are all commendable efforts, but most of these initiatives are directed towards the supply side of drug consumption.
Every effort is being made to prevent drugs from entering the country and to punish those involved in drug trafficking and consumption. The Lam Shang Leen inquiry has clearly shown that too often these efforts are being undermined by the very people who are entrusted with the task of combating drug trafficking – a few police and customs officials, lawyers and political middlemen close to government. This is not new. In the wake of the Amsterdam affair, 54 policemen were suspended from duty as a result of Justice Sir Maurice Rault's findings, and it is not known what happened next. A number of the suspended officers had been rehabilitated, and it is alleged that there are those who would have gone into property development…
While more efforts must be undertaken to tackle the problem on the supply side, one should be aware that the resources of the drug suppliers easily outwit those of the government and the concerned authorities. Only two weeks ago, in Singapore, two people were arrested whilst producing drugs in a small make-shift laboratory inside an apartment block. That this should happen in a country like Singapore, which is known to deal with the drug problem with an iron hand, is indeed surprising.
Are we in Mauritius keeping tabs on the doings in local laboratories or even in school laboratories? In 1960 a chemistry teacher demonstrated to his pupils in the school laboratory the process of distilling cane juice into alcohol; that was just an academic experiment undertaken to satisfy the curiosity of his pupils. Today when almost anything good or bad can be learnt from the internet, one can imagine the dangers which lurk ahead for the younger generation.
It is for these reasons that drug education should become compulsory in our secondary schools and a full-fledged programme put in place at the earliest to address the demand side of the problem. Supply can induce demand, but so long as there is demand there will be supply.
To put in place a compulsory education programme is easier said than done. We all recognize that drug abuse results from the interplay of the individual, the environment and a number of economic, social as well as political factors. The illegal drug trade is a global black market worth billions of dollars, and it has at its command vast resources and a wide array of professionals and criminals at various levels in the supply chain – from drug preparation to marketing. With the support of their own political lobbies, drug barons can easily circumvent any obstacle in their way. Unless a government is committed to the setting up of a drug education programme through investments in vast resources and the recruitment of the right professionals to implement its policies, we would end up paying only lip service to the fight against drug abuse.
We need experts in drug education to frame a drug education policy and to take responsibility for its implementation at the classroom level. They must work in collaboration with local stakeholders to prepare programmes to reach all our students in the different age groups. For example, we should take into consideration that social factors such as long hours of work, poverty, unemployment and sheer lack of parenting skills make it difficult for many parents to play an important role in drug prevention – though we keep on repeating the cliché that parents should be responsible for the education and upbringing of their children. More often than not, they are themselves at a loss about how to tackle a family problem or how to cope with the younger generation, and they cannot secure help or advice from friends, relatives or the authorities for appropriate action.
We do not have experts on drug education in our higher education institutions that can train, for a start, a batch of at least 50 educators, who will be expected to dedicate all their time to implement and sustain an effective drug abuse prevention programme in the education sector. Since we do not have the expertise locally, our institutions should be able to recruit a few foreign specialists, put up an advanced certificate or diploma course in drug education for educators or for teacher trainers.
What we should avoid at all costs is to claim that anyone can teach anything and everything, as has too often been the case in many of our institutions. While we recognize that in a small country like ours, we cannot have super specialists or even specialists in every field, we cannot leave important matters in the hands of amateurs. We cannot train people through one- or two-week workshops by people who may have expertise in certain branches or related branches of knowledge but know nothing about how to prepare a drug education curriculum, train educators, devise strategies for implementation at the classroom level and make proper evaluation of progress and on-going changes in the light of practical experience.
Such a vast programme will be challenging for the authorities to put in place. The secondary school population runs into thousands of students and the authorities may even plead that they cannot secure adequate finances for such an ambitious programme. Drug abuse has already destroyed too many of our young people and many more are at risk. Since it has become an epidemic ruining the lives of our young people and their families and our precious human resources on which the country is dependent for its survival, urgent measures are long overdue and must be taken right now.
People throughout the island must exert pressure at all levels and ask for compulsory drug education, through parent-teacher associations, village council and municipal council representatives, our MLAS and ministers as well as political parties, religious and other civic associations. The epidemic is already raging and any further delay will be catastrophic.
* Published in print edition on 19 January 2018
An Appeal
Dear Reader
65 years ago Mauritius Times was founded with a resolve to fight for justice and fairness and the advancement of the public good. It has never deviated from this principle no matter how daunting the challenges and how costly the price it has had to pay at different times of our history.
With print journalism struggling to keep afloat due to falling advertising revenues and the wide availability of free sources of information, it is crucially important for the Mauritius Times to survive and prosper. We can only continue doing it with the support of our readers.
The best way you can support our efforts is to take a subscription or by making a recurring donation through a Standing Order to our non-profit Foundation.
Thank you.


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On April 30, 1897, Joseph John (J.J.) Thomson (1856-1940) announced that cathode rays were negatively charged particles which he called 'corpuscles.' He also announced that they had a mass about 1000 times smaller than a hydrogen atom, and he claimed that these corpuscles were the things from which atoms were built up. Later in 1897, he wrote:
"...we have in the cathode rays matter in a new state, a state in which the subdivision of matter is carried very much farther than in the ordinary gaseous state: a state in which all matter-that is, matter derived from different sources such as hydrogen, oxygen, etc.-is of one and the same kind; this matter being the substance from which the chemical elements are built up." (J.J. Thomson (1897). "Cathode Rays," Philosophical Magazine 44, 295.)
He had leaped to the conclusion that the particles in the cathode ray (which we now call electrons) were a fundamental part of all matter. This was reaching quite far beyond what he had actually discovered. As he was to recall much later:
"At first there were very few who believed in the existence of these bodies smaller than atoms. I was even told long afterwards by a distinguished physicist who had been present at my [1897] lecture at the Royal Institution that he thought I had been `pulling their legs.' " (J.J. Thomson (1936). Recollections and Reflections. G. Bell and Sons: London. p. 341.)
Thomson's corpuscle hypothesis was not generally accepted, even by British scientists, until he spoke of it again in 1899. By this time, George Francis FitzGerald (1851-1901), an Irish physicist, had suggested that Thomson's 'corpuscles' making up the cathode ray were actually free electrons. In fact, this suggestion was published as a commentary to the publication of Thomson's April 30, 1897 lecture in which he first announced his results. Thomson himself continued to use the term corpuscle until 1913.
Other people had measured the e/m ratio or suggested that the cathode rays were composed of particles, but Thomson was the first to say that the cathode ray was a building block of the atom. It was a risky thing, but he was proved right and for his courage he is remembered as the discoverer of the electron.
Walter Kaufmann deserves special mention before leaving this subject. In 1897, he had better data than Thomson and had it months before him. However, Kaufmann was a follower of a philosophy called "positivism," championed at that time by Ernst Mach (whose name is used today to signify the speed of sound - Mach one; twice the speed of sound - Mach two, and so on). Positivism allowed explanations of events which were based on sensory experience only. Since submicroscopic particles were not seen by the human senses, but rather inferred from the data, Kaufmann could not bring himself to the "corpuscle hypothesis" that Thomson announced. So it was that Kaufmann missed out on a great discovery and become a footnote to history. By the way, Kaufmann was convinced by 1901 of the electron's existence and became a leading experimenter working to determine more about it.


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High-profile figures from the media and advertising visit East Africa as part of bilateral efforts to stem domestic demand for illegally trafficked ivory and rhino horns. Chen Liang reports from Nairobi, Kenya.
A herd of elephants in the Amboseli National Park, Kenya. The park is regarded as the best place in the world to see African elephants. CHEN LIANG/CHINA DAILY
To combat the illegal trade in African wildlife in China, especially in ivory, basketball player Yao Ming visited Kenya in 2012, while actress Li Bingbing traveled to the country in 2013.
For Grace G. Gabriel, Asia regional director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the visits were mainly fact-finding missions with one aim-to persuade Chinese citizens to say no to products made from elephant ivory and rhino horn in the hope of curbing the demand that fuels poaching in Africa.
While planning the international conservation NGO's China-Africa Wildlife Ambassadors initiative, the Chinese-American conservationist decided to make the project multidimensional.
In addition to showing the "unprecedented crisis of survival for African elephants" to the wildlife ambassadors, "we hope that these Chinese wildlife champions can mobilize Chinese nationals living in Africa to join the endeavor to conserve African elephants," she said.
In September, President Xi Jinping announced that China would take significant and timely steps to halt the domestic commercial trade in ivory.
"From the destruction of ivory to trade bans, China is determined to contribute to elephant conservation by eliminating the demand for ivory," Gabriel said.
The IFAW launched the initiative by taking the first group of 11 Chinese wildlife ambassadors to Kenya between Nov 8 and 16. The delegates came from IFAW media partners, and included leaders of opinion, such as Zhang Yue, a popular anchor on China Central Television, who founded a grassroots animal welfare NGO in Beijing.
The media companies' provision of free goods and services, rather than financial contributions, is valued at tens of millions of dollars, and has helped the campaign penetrate 80 percent of Chinese cities during an eight-month period, Gabriel said.
The Tianjin branch of outdoor advertising specialist JCDecaux China, which has been cooperating with the IFAW since 2008, helped the NGO's public campaign to cover the local subway.
"As members of the media, we need to not only lead the public to reject wildlife products such as ivory, but also show them the beauty of the wildlife we need to preserve together," said Cheng Fengming, deputy director-general of JCDecaux China's Tianjin branch, during the Kenya trip. "We need them to understand that wildlife is worth more alive than dead."
Since January, Fulong Media, a private advertising agency in Beijing, has provided free space on trains for the anti-ivory campaign.
"People living in lower-tier cities are less knowledgeable about wildlife conservation than those in major cities," Zhao Xuming, Fulong's president, said. "I hope our efforts will alert more people and help them understand that the ivory trade is a really bloody business."
The delegation participated in a wildlife conservation forum during the 40th Africa Travel Association conference in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, from Nov 9 to 14, and interacted with tourism industry representatives.
"We have come to Kenya with good wishes and in good faith to show the African people our determination to stop the illegal wildlife trade. In the future, we hope they will proudly show the world that where there are Chinese people, there is hope for animals," said anchorwoman Zhang Yue in a speech to the forum.
The delegates' efforts to raise public awareness at home impressed Kenyan officials related to wildlife conservation, local rangers and conservationists.


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#365FeministSelife Update: Logo & Fundraiser
Since I am not a handy person with a pencil and paper, I needed a lot of help. Emily F. from the #365FeministSelfie community helped take my ideas and sketched them out. I took those sketches to Victoria & Alma at Spark the Creative Agency. It was so easy to work with Victoria and Alma. And back to Emily having the ability to take my "what if it looked like this?" words and draw a road map for Victoria and Alma to follow.
a t-shirt fundraiser. We need to sell 100 shirts over the next 10 days in order to have a successful fundraiser. Each shirt is $20 and all profits will go towards covering the cost of the retreat. We successfully held the Portland retreat at no cost to participants, I think we can do the same for Columbus. BUT...they only go to print if we reach the 100 shirt mark.
And no restrictions on who can purchase. Whether you have taken hundreds of selfies with us or just a few, no worries! Heck, even if you are like my daughter and have been in a lot of my selfies, but never taken your own but support the project, grab a shirt.
Thanks to Cara for putting this together!


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A UNSW study has found that financial services and credit providers fear being sanctioned by Enforceable Undertakings (EUs), despite speculation that the regulatory contracts are ineffective.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) today released the pilot study on the deterrent effect of EUs, which are contracts between the regulator ASIC and a financial service or credit provider.
The study was led by Professor Dimity Kingsford-Smith, who holds the Minter Ellison Chair of Risk and Regulation and is the Director of the UNSW Centre for Law Markets and Regulation (CLMR).
"The clear finding of the study which we did not anticipate, is that a majority of interviewees reported their organisation being deterred by EUs with their competitors," Professor Kingsford Smith said.
Besides ASIC, EUs are used by more than 20 other Australian regulators, to improve failing compliance.
The contracts are supervised by an external expert and provide for compensation where required.
"There has been controversy about the effectiveness of EUs in deterring competitors of financial services and credit providers in the financial sector which accept an EU," Professor Kingsford Smith said.
"Most of the discussion around this has been anecdotal and speculative."
But Professor Kingsford Smith said the study found that financial services and credit providers wanted to avoid the perceived effects of harsher sanctions, such as civil penalties.
Interviewees also wanted to avoid the financial and time costs in discharging the terms of EUs to effect change in the business.
"The critical mechanisms of deterrence referred to by many interviewees were the costs of EUs and avoiding reputational damage and loss," Professor Kingsford Smith said.
Businesses were also motivated by EUs to avoid the intrusion of outsiders, such as supervising experts, in the operation of the business, she said.
The small pilot study is the first to gather empirical evidence from interviews with competitors of parties to EUs.
The team conducting the research included:
- Dr Marina Nehme, a well published expert on EUs also from UNSW Law and a CLMR member;
- Dr Olivia Dixon, a scholar experienced in empirical research and in criminal law aspects of financial regulation from the University of Sydney Law School; and
- Ms Jessica Anderson, an experienced criminologist associated with the University of Sydney Institute of Criminology.
The CLMR team were engaged by ASIC in June last year (2017) to undertake the pilot study in response to a recommendation of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) that ASIC should periodically assess the effectiveness of EUs.
ASIC said it will proceed with a scoping study on potential options for further research into the impact of EUs and other regulatory actions and will discuss with other regulators the potential to work collaboratively on future research.
A full copy of the report can be found here: https://download.asic.gov.au/media/4916053/18-325mr-deterrence-effects-of-enforceable-undertakings-on-financial-services-and-credit-providers.pdf


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Tribal Energy Sovereignty Program
Posted in energy access, energy poverty, MSL news, pilot projects, Uncategorized
Kicking off 2018 with a new market innovation initiative, MSL organized and co-hosted an inaugural workshop on Tribal Energy Sovereignty in January. This half-day roundtable offered a survey of relevant concepts and factors bearing on energy independence for indigenous communities, including technology, finance, regulations, economic and workforce, and cultural aspects. Based on the positive input received and level of participation and engagement, we will now assess the feasibility of launching a national program to support Native American communities in their quest for energy sovereignty, with a focus on community microgrids.


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Writer/director J.J. Abrams teams with producer Steven Spielberg for this period sci-fi thriller set in the late '70s, and centering on a mysterious train crash in a small Ohio town. Summer, 1979: a group of young friends are filming a Super-8 movie when a pickup truck derails a speeding train. When the locals start to disappear and even the inquisitive deputy can't come up with answers, suspicions emerge that the incident was anything but an accident. As the truth finally begins emerge, no one is prepared to learn what now stalks the unsuspecting citizens of this once quiet community. Kyle Chandler and Elle Fanning star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Set in the era before Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr became mortal enemies as Professor X and Magneto, respectively, director Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class follows the two former allies as they lead a powerful team of mutants on a mission to save the planet from nuclear annihilation. Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender) were just young men when it began to appear as if the world was careening toward destruction. As the Doomsday Clock ticks faster toward midnight, the time comes to take action. Realizing they could use their unique powers to avert a global thermonuclear war during the Bay of Pigs crisis, the two powerful mutants launch an intense recruitment campaign with the support of Dr. Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) and the CIA. Before long, Charles and Erik have assembled a crack team that includes Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Angel (Zoe Kravitz), Havok (Lucas Till), and Darwin (Edi Gathegi). Meanwhile, the malevolent Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) plots to plunge the world into war with the help of villainous mutants Riptide (Alex Gonzalez), Azazel (Jason Flemyng), and Emma Frost (January Jones). In the process of saving humanity, however, Charles and Erik clash,…
A test pilot embraces his destiny as a cosmic superhero in Casino Ropyale director Martin Campbell's adaptation of the popular DC Comics series. Ever since he saw his fearless father perish in a tragic aviation mishap, all Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) could think about was flying — it was the only thing the brash, cocky, and irresponsible test pilot ever truly excelled at. Little did he realize he was destined for something much bigger. Somewhere out in space, a powerful force of evil known as Parallax is spreading fear and destruction; the only hope for defeating Parallax is the Green Lantern Corps, a group of intergalactic warriors powered by the force of will. When legendary Green Lantern Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) is sent hurtling toward planet Earth after a deadly encounter with Parallax, his ring chooses Hal to continue the fight. The ring spirits our hero away to the Green Lantern's home planet of Oa for training. The first human ever to receive the honor of becoming a Green Lantern, Hal is viewed with scorn by the league's leader, Sinestro (Mark Strong), who trains him alongside the hulking Kilowog (voice of Michael Clarke Duncan). Later, on planet Earth, frail scientist Hector…
Flamboyant seafarer Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) lands himself in a bit of a bind after being lured onto Blackbeard's (Ian McShane) ship by enigmatic siren Angelica (Penélope Cruz), and forced to seek out the Fountain of Youth. Trapped on the Queen Anne's Revenge with the most nefarious pirate in history, Captain Jack reflects on his past with the elusive Angelica while embarking on his wildest adventure to date. With shambling zombies on deck and gorgeous mermaids beckoning sailors into the icy waters below, this time Jack Sparrow has his work cut out for him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A booze-swilling, pot-smoking, hard-swearing seventh-grade teacher rallies to get out of the classroom for good by wrangling a rich substitute teacher into marriage in this comedy from director Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story). Cynical teacher Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz) hates her job. She can't wait for the day she finds a man who makes enough cash to let her walk away from her life of middle-school misery, and when her fiancé cancels their wedding plans, her frantic search intensifies. Just when it starts to look like Elizabeth will have to muscle her way through another semester of skull-crushing hangovers, however, handsome substitute Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) shows up at school sporting a fancy wristwatch and the promise of a care-free future. But in order to earn her meal ticket, Elizabeth will have to out-cute perky fellow teacher Amy (Lucy Punch). And it won't be easy, because Scott is crushing on Amy hard. Now, if Elizabeth can just motivate her students to study so that she can win a state contest to earn enough cash for some new breast implants, perhaps she can finally find a means of diverting Scott's gaze. Meanwhile, much to Elizabeth's chagrin, wisecracking, self-effacing gym teacher…
Ratatouille producer Brad Lewis steps into the director's chair for this sequel that follows racing legend Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his trusty sidekick, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), as they secure their passports and take part in the biggest race on the planet. As the first-ever World Grand Prix approaches, cars from every continent prepare for the ultimate competition. But who will have what it takes to become the fastest car on the planet? Just as Lightning McQueen edges up to the starting line, however, his old pal Mater gets sidetracked on a top-secret spy mission that takes him from Japan to Europe as the entire world watches. Thankfully Mater's friends are always willing to lend a helping wheel, and as the race gets under way, everyone shifts into high gear to help out an old friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A modest bachelor brunch devolves into a wild weekend in Bangkok when the gang travels to Thailand to see Stu get married. Still traumatized by memories of the Las Vegas fiasco, Stu (Ed Helms) vows to keep his pre-wedding partying to the bare minimum. But when Phil (Bradley Cooper), Doug (Justin Bartha), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) show up, Stu's low-key brunch makes their previous Vegas fiasco look like a family trip to Disneyland. The Hangover Part II features cameos by Bill Clinton and Paul Giamatti. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Original: Movies.com Top 10 Box Office


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Spring and pastels go together like peanut butter and jelly, and when it comes to your nails, one pastel in particular is having a major moment. According to Pinterest, lavender nail polish is trending big-time, with saves for the color increasing a whopping 874 percent (!) since this time last year and still rising.
You May Also Like: Queen Elizabeth Has Been Wearing The Exact Same Nail Polish for Almost 30 Years
Celebrity nail artist Mazz Hanna says lavender is one of those colors that looks as good as it makes people feel. "Just as the scent of lavender makes people feel relaxed and calm, seeing the hue on your nails has a similar effect," she explains. "I'm a huge fan of creamy, full-coverage polishes when it comes to lavenders (or any pastel for that matter). If the formula is sheer, it often looks unfinished. Some of my absolute favorites are Veque Ve Vernis in Fantome ($18) and Oribe Lavender Smoke ($32). Both formulas are super easy to apply because of their wide and flat brushes, and make it easy to give yourself a professional-looking manicure at home."
"I'm currently on a nail inspiration trip in Japan, and I've noticed lavender nails are quite popular over here as well," Hanna adds. "Japanese nail salons and supply stores are offering clients a full spectrum of pale purples to choose from, and this doesn't surprise me one bit."
Scroll through to see some of our favorite lavender nail colors on Pinterest so you can get inspired for your next salon visit.


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Creating triple-digit growth for Belk
Our Role
Social media assets
Paid search
Media strategy
Media analytics
increase in targeted conversion rate
decrease in acquisition cost (CPA)
increase in high-intent conversion rate
The Challenge
Belk, Inc. is a mainline American department store company with nearly 300 stores in 16 Southern states. To better connect and engage with its consumers, Belk partnered with iCrossing to launch and grow its paid search and social advertising efforts. Belk had been managing its search and social campaigns via the Kenshoo Infinity Suite but wanted to take their program to the next level. The team sought to leverage search click data to create targetable audiences on social media.
Belk needed to target its highest-value audiences to heighten overall performance, increase site traffic and conversions, and lower cost per acquisition (CPA). The goal of their campaigns was to reach users that already showed interest in products via paid search on Facebook and grow conversion rates.
Belk needed to target its highest value audiences to heighten overall performance, increase site traffic and conversions, and lower cost per acquisition (CPA).
Driving growth with intent
iCrossing leveraged Kenshoo's Intent-Driven Audiences (IDA) to automatically create and update Facebook Custom Audiences based on intent demonstrated through search engine activity.
To understand the impact of IDA, our team developed two tests:
- A prioritized sale that positioned Belk's current Facebook fans versus consumers that had searched for the Belk brand in the last 30 days
- A beauty campaign targeted to Belk's current Facebook fans versus consumers who had searched for Belk, versus consumers who had searched for beauty brands over the same duration
To gauge the success of each test, iCrossing looked at conversions as the primary key performance indicator (KPI) for these campaigns. From there additional adjustments were made across campaigns driven by the conversion data insights. In conjunction with IDA, the team also leveraged offer ads that promoted timely discounts and deals to drive offline coupon redemptions and link post ads to drive online sales.
Partnering with iCrossing, we utilized insight from our search campaigns to inform our social strategies, which produced even greater results. This moves beyond remarketing, and helps identify top brand loyalists based on their previous actions searching for the Belk brand and the products we sell online.
Jon Pollack, EVP Marketing, Sales Promotion, and eCommerce, Belk
Creative leveraged to test Belk Facebook fans vs. consumers who had searched for Belk
iCrossing's custom, intent-driven sale solution for Belk saw a 545% increase in conversion rate for branded IDA audiences versus fans of its brand. The beauty campaign saw a 240% increase in conversion rate for Belk cosmetic searchers versus fans of its brand. With our Facebook-exclusive offer, Belk saw over $2 million in-store sales in one week and over 68,000 offer claims on the most successful digital offer.
Overall, the test resulted in a 67% decrease in cost per acquisition (CPA). In addition, the team saw a 400% lift in conversion rates when users were searching for Belk specifically (as opposed to non-brand terms), attributing positive brand recall in correlation with purchases.


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Caslon Titling supports up to 50 different languages such as Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Irish, Basque, Icelandic, and Luxembourgian in Latin and other scripts.
Please note that not all languages are available for all formats.
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Last Updated: 20050928, mei
Sunday, October 9, 2:00 pm — 3:00 pm
Wavefront Semiconductor - Computer Audio Presenters:Morten LaveZan Oliphant Abstract:"A Quick Peek Under the Hood - DICE II Developers Tools"
The DICE II chip has an embedded ARM RISC processor, FireWire audio streaming engine, and a tremendous amount of I/O. A suite of software development tools enable rapid development of products leveraging the DICE II features and open source software. In this seminar we will demonstrate these tools as we design a FireWire Audio product.
Seminar Room 1E03
Last Updated: 20050928, mei


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The August 15 Stampede at The E will be preceded by a qualifier for the timed event disciplines which will raise the week's total payout to upwards of $600,000.
The main event will consist of the number one athlete from the WCRA Leaderboard, the top qualifying DY (youth) athlete, and eight athletes from the qualifying rounds, totaling ten athletes in each timed event discipline.
Rough stock athletes ranked 1-10 on the segment six WCRA Leaderboard as of July 26 will earn a direct position into the $300,000 main event.
All 10 athletes in each discipline who qualify to compete in the main event will receive a paycheck. Bull riders in Guthrie will compete for a $78,000 purse as the $50,000 event champion payout from Kansas City will be carried over after no qualified rides in the showdown round at the Royal City Roundup.
The complete payout for the championship round featuring the top 10 athletes in each discipline of the main event will be as follows:
1st Place | $12,500 ($62,500 in bull riding)
2nd Place | $6,250
3rd Place | $2,250
4th Place | $1,000
5th Place | $1,000
6th Place | $1,000
7th Place | $1,000
8th Place | $1,000
9th Place | $1,000
10th Place | $1,000
Athletes in nine disciplines—bareback riding, women's breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, barrel racing, bull riding, and team roping (heading and heeling)—will compete for their piece of the $300,000 purse. Athletes in each discipline will compete for a share of $28,000 in the main event with the champions walking away with a minimum of $12,500 each.
WCRA also announced that each Stampede at The E champion will be eligible for the Triple Crown of Rodeo (TCR) - An annual bonus that pays a $1,000,000 cash award to any one athlete or collection of athletes who win first place in any three consecutive WCRA Triple Crown Designated Rodeos
All athletes ages 13 and older who are competing in the Open To The World or DY Pools at the Stampede at The E must nominate the event in the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) prior to competing in the qualifier round or main event to be eligible for the TCR bonus. Stampede at The E Event Ground Rules will serve as official information on the TCR bonus and eligibility.
Athletes from around the world competing in the nine disciplines have the opportunity to nominate and earn points with the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) until July 26. All athletes competing in the WCRA Pools are automatically eligible for the TCR bonus.
Timed event athletes will have the opportunity to compete in the Stampede At The E through the WCRA Pools or through the "Open to the World Qualifying Pools". These pools will give any athlete the opportunity to enter and earn a spot in the August 15 one-day $300,000 rodeo. In addition, the timed events will be multiple entry allowing athletes to potentially compete in both the WCRA Pool and Open Pool.
Entries for the Open to the World and DY pool will open July 13 at Noon CT and close August 5 at 5 p.m. CT. Entry fees for the open division will be $625 while DY fees will be $500. All entries will be taken on entrytool.com.
The CBS Television Network will broadcast the Stampede At The E on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Since launching in May of 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $7,300,000 in new money to rodeo athletes.
About WCRA
WCRA is a professional sport and entertainment entity, created to develop and advance the sport of rodeo by aligning all levels of competition. In association with the PBR, WCRA produces major rodeo events, developing additional opportunities for rodeo-industry competitors, stakeholders, and fans. To learn more, visit wcrarodeo.com. For athletes interested in learning more about the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) system, visit app.wcrarodeo.com.
August 15 Stampede at the Lazy E to Award $12,500 to Each Discipline Champion
Event Champions Are Eligible For The $1 Million Triple Crown of Rodeo Bonus
AUSTIN, Texas - WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) today announced payout details regarding the August 11-15 Stampede at the E- a WCRA Triple Crown of Rodeo event set to broadcast on CBS Television Network. The Stampede at the E will be coupled with the historic Bullnanza, a PBR (Professional Bull Riders) event, creating a weekend of "edge of your seat" western sports action.
The August 15 Stampede at The E will be preceded by a qualifier for the timed event disciplines which will raise the week's total payout to upwards of $600,000.
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Your brand reputation is very important to us. We never spam people by sending them e-mails they have never asked for.
The first thing to do in your case is to build an email list. But hey, WAVAI can
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A few weeks back, I was given an opportunity to get a free ticket to attend the Paula Deen Live show in Charlotte. I decided to accept the offer so this is full disclosure that this post about the live show was made possible by a free ticket.
Now, as date for the event got closer, I noticed that it was the same day for the launch of her new, fully online Paula Deen Network. Wouldn't she want to make a big deal about the launch day in a bigtime town? Perhaps one of her live events—surrounded by the warmth and admiration of her fans—is exactly where she needed to be. And maybe, Charlotte is earning its way as a bigtime place?
At any rate, I made it to my seat on the mezzanine level and had a pretty good view of the stage.
In each chair throughout the 2,100 seat theater was a branded Paula Deen Network tote bag, 9 inch round cake pan, one copy of a Paula Deen magazine and what's this? An autographed copy of The Lady & Sons, Too! cookbook. Oh hell yeah….
I must admit, I'm interested in how the show and the rest of the evening will go. The Paula Deen brand has spent the better part of this past year in rebuild mode. An investment, to the reported tune of $75 million, by a venture capitalist has given the Deen team some deep pockets. This new digital channel is a bold move. I'm looking around the Belk Theater and seeing a lot of older people—is her fanbase tech savvy enough to make it work? Or, will getting the Deen branded cookware and other products back out on the market help get that ship moving in the right direction?
As we're waiting for the Queen of Southern Cuisine to start her show, a band comes out and plays a few tunes. The lead singer addresses the audience in between songs with tales of meeting and getting to know Paula. He speaks about "who her heart is" and I'm beginning to feel some spin. It's pretty obvious that the auditorium is filled with supporters and admirers. I'm not sure that any spin is necessary—especially not so early on.
As she takes the stage with her husband, Michael, she's met with thunderous applause and quite a few give her a standing ovation. There's an uber-fan sitting right behind me shouting, screaming and whistling. My right ear won't be able to hear as well for a few hours. When the crowd settles and takes their seats, a few shout out, "We love you, Paula!" and "We missed you!" She responds in kind, but you can tell from the quiver in her voice that she's already getting misty.
She starts the show off talking about the new digital Paula Deen Network and says that her team wanted to be in Charlotte to officially launch it. The website will offer all of her old shows (she recently purchased the rights to them from Food Network), newly filmed cooking segments as well as game shows and other lifestyle pieces. We get to view a video up on the big screen—the first of many. Then, she gets down to what she knows best: cooking. But first, she announces that she'll need help in the kitchen and brings out her sons, Jamie and Bobby.
You would've thought all those women in that theater had lost…their…minds.
So now we have all four on stage. And just when I started to wonder if her producer, Gordon Elliott, was along for the ride…there he is.
Now, we're on to the cooking. She's making a Peach Trifle with custard (Bobby's making one without the custard) and talking about life ("We're ordinary women doing extraordinary things.") and coming through her recent storm ("I realized everything is going to be okay"). Another cooking segment only using five ingredients and prepared in ten minutes. On her digital network, it's a feature called "5 & Dime." Then, we get a game show featuring Bobby "Chewbanks" (Bobby in a bad wig) called "What Did Paula Deen Just Put in My Mouth." Here's a hint—whatever it is, it's not good.
Tonight's show is, essentially, a live version of the digital network's offerings. Look for regular versions of her cooking, side by side with a lighter version. And even though she's prepared a very light, grilled chicken and arugula salad, she's still got plenty of room for the fare that made her famous. "The butter's down there darlin'! I didn't come here without no butter!"
Country music star Lee Greenwood makes a brief appearance. He talks about his work with Helping A Hero, a charity that works to provide homes for wounded soldiers. He introduces a soldier in the audience, who will soon receive a home, and he gets a standing ovation from the entire theater. It's a deeply moving and Paula announces that her home furnishings line will help upfit the kitchens and some additional rooms in several of the donated homes.
As the evening comes to a close, there is no doubt that the audience is happy to have Paula Deen back. You can tell that she has been missed, the energy in the theater is almost palpable. Plus, she's in the unique position of being able to refill the void that was left during her time away from the spotlight. And there's no wondering why. She has always seemed accessible and genuine. Her meals have always seemed to be more practical than those with the buffed-to-perfection Southern Living sheen. And now, she's ready to give us more.
And let's face it. She has weathered a storm that would've had other personalities closing up shop and retiring under a rock. But not her. She has had to, once again, reach deep down and grab hold of the resolve and pluck that originally pulled her out of the house and on the road to success. And now she emerges, hopeful, stronger and wiser, leading her brand into the digital realm and answering to no one but her investors and subscribers.
She is ready to get back to her waiting fans and up for the challenge of winning more over. With her digital network now up and running, she declares to the world, "The Bag Lady is getting back on her feet! Her toes were stubbed for a bit."


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Now please don't misunderstand me, I am not anti-Antipodean. In fact I was once in love with a very nice Kiwi and still number both Kiwis and Aussies amongst the most long-standing of my friends. But unfortunately there are some who have traded the brash restaurants of Sydney – as I suspect in this case – for the more fashionable watering holes of SW3 and do not know how to behave.
Medlar is located just about where the King's Road twists dramatically between World's End and the turn off to Battersea and the South. It's an enigmatic section of this famous road, one-time route of Tudor kings between Whitehall and Hampton Court, where residential houses sit beside exclusive boutique shops and cafes, opposite a grim post-War housing estate. It doesn't quite know what it wants to be, on the border of the no man's land where the King's Road shopping experience has ended but the pretentious antique shops marking the eastern borders of Fulham have not yet begun and where it is not unknown for the dimmer clients of the estate agent business to use terms like 'Chelsea borders'. It is also sadly the domain of that variety of Londoner whose vocal characteristic can only be described as 'braying'. In relation to the noise a donkey makes, that is.
This is a restaurant where you can hold a normal conversation without raising your voice. There is plenty of personal space around your seat and so don't feel inhibited conversation-wise. This I feel is very important; a visit to a restaurant should be as comfortable as meeting friends in your own home, but clearly a different gastronomic experience. I think there is a perfect match somewhere that combines the relaxation of home with the kind of food that you cannot get at home, but with your own wine. Apart from the obvious expense if you wander around a restaurant wine list, you might feel in the mood for something unusual like a shot of home-distilled damson vodka with the cheese. And I cannot understand why English restaurants insist on making pudding and cheese mutually exclusive on the menu. In France the cheese comes after the main course and before pudding. This seems eminently sensible to me and has a natural order about it. But not, it seems, in England. At Medlar they also have white tablecloths, pepper and salt cellars that work properly and no unnecessary table clutter, all of which meet my personal environmental essentials criteria without a hitch.
On the night in question we stuck with a bottle of the house champagne, which at £10 a glass and with three of us drinking meant that it made as much sense to buy the bottle, and a Bordeaux which I thought was a good find on a wine list that was too extensive at the high end. It definitely had something on it for every taste, though. In our case we were on a fixed-price-per-three-course daily menu for the food, which we all felt was good value for London. Unfortunately writing three months after the event I have lost my notes on exactly what it was that we drank and had to eat, but there was nothing to fault in either presentation or content.
Back to the Australians for a moment. They were in a group at a neighbouring table. Three men and three brassy looking women who clearly didn't have an off switch or a volume control knob between them. I suppose it's a sign of the times when people feel they can behave in any manner they want just because they are paying. Luckily they were an early sitting so left quite quickly. Our host for the evening – an Irish friend, so without any of the diffidence of the English – made it clear what she thought, after which they did shut up a bit. One problem with wood floors is that it makes the place resound to loud conversation. This is the case here.
The starters were fresh seasonal items and I remember the early English asparagus was especially good. For the main course the beef was something to remember as well. This is definitely not a place that will disappoint on the epicurean front. A little under three hundred for the three of us was the final result if I recall. The alcohol ran to some sticky wine and we had coffees, which weren't part of the fixed price deal. The great thing was that we could all stagger home afterwards and unanimously decided that we would be going again.


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After sitting in the Senate for months, the SECURE Act has finally been signed into law, bringing with it some of the biggest legislative reform to retirement savings in decades.
Focused on creating positive changes in the American retirement system, the Act has generated endless questions about the impact on savers, employers and employees. With Trump's signature, these questions finally have answers.
News for Retirement Savers
Some of the changes aimed at supporting retirement savers include the adjustment of the RMD age from 70 1/2 to 72, and lighter restrictions on 401(k) eligibility for certain employees. A statement on the SECURE Act from Vestwell explains that, "according to the bill, employees who work 500 or more hours during any consecutive three-year period can participate in their plan and there are other protections in the Act for part-time employees. This is meant to protect participants who may take a leave of absence for parental leave or otherwise, and to generally support more balanced life decisions."
In addition, although received with mixed responses, employees may have access to lifetime income products, such as annuities, through their employer-sponsored plans. "This has been seen as a positive because annuity products can be great additions to an overall comprehensive financial plan, however the downside is that annuity products can be very complex, and often times come with lots of terms and conditions, and disclosures" says Certified Financial Planner, Josh Hardman. "My fear is that the products could be sold to a participant without full knowledge of its 'ins-and-outs," Josh explains.
According to Vestwell's statement to plan sponsors, "There is still a lot here to figure out. Because of the complexity of annuities, it can be challenging to incorporate them into a retirement plan without full plan portability or properly disclosing costs and other features."
News for Employers
For employers, the SECURE Act will now allow Multiple Employer Plans (MEP's) to open their gates to non-related business. While MEP's are not a new concept, they have always been restricted. Companies who wanted to participate in a pooled plan needed to have business commonalities. With the SECURE Act, the MEP space is changing to allow non-related businesses to join together, with the hopes of helping smaller businesses gain access to investments and provisions that would otherwise only be available to larger companies.
In addition to pooled plans, there is now a tax credit aimed to help small business jump start their 401(k) plans. The SECURE Act is now supporting small business 401(k) start-ups by providing up to $5,000 in tax credits.
Eliminating the Stretch
With the elimination of the "Stretch IRA," the new law requires that the inheritors of Traditional IRAs make required distributions from the IRA (taxable) over a 10-year period after the owner's death, rather than the current law, which allows the inheritor to stretch those distributions over the course of their lifetime.
The elimination of the "Stretch IRA" will most likely place a larger financial impact on those that are inheriting traditional IRAs from wealthy account owners. The previous version of the law was a seen as a way for wealthy IRA owners, to skip a generation and leave the IRA balance to their grandchildren, rather than their spouse or children. The requirement being, the balance would need to be stretched over multiple decades. Now, that balance can no longer be held. It must be distributed over just one decade following the owner's death.
For some, this could create quite a large tax bill. Unfortunately, the SECURE Act had to recoup some of the lost tax revenue when it created some of its provisions such as the increase RMD age. With the elimination of the original "stretch" provision, the law can now pass the tax bill on to the wealthy. In fact the Congressional Budget office is anticipating this change will generate over $15 billion in additional tax revenue within 10 years.2
Though there could be some tax issues for the wealthy, the overall goal of supporting the average American retirement saver remains in focus. With the median 401(k) balances for someone age 30-39 at $16,500 and ages 40-49 at $36,000 – the average American is facing huge retirement savings challenges.
"Ultimately, there is a massive shortage in retirement savings, and as a country, I believe we need to be doing more. This legislative reform is hopefully going to help," says Trek Financial Retirement Benefits Coordinator, Sara Johnson.
View More Articles
Investment advisory services are offered through Trek Financial, LLC., an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered specific investment advice, does not take into consideration your specific situation, and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and are not guaranteed, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. For specific tax advice on any strategy, consult with a qualified tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. Trek FG 19-176


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A family recipe for
Over 25 Years
Groden's Gourmet rub has been a family recipe for over 25 years. It originated at the family hunting camp, and after trying it on various dishes has become a seasoning staple for wings, BBQ ribs, roast, chicken, burgers, and really any type of food imaginable. This recipe has been tweaked throughout the years, adding a little something here and there until it finally reached perfection and the Groden family decided it was now time to share the infamous rub with the world. Groden's Gourmet uses only the finest ingredients, so you are assured a top of the line "Gourmet" product that's sweet with a little zing that adds just a little pizzazz to your meal.
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It's the first Wednesday of 2017, and that means it's time for two things. One: I wish you all a very happy New Year and I hoped you had fun celebrating it! Two: time to look at Goodreads' top 5 of new fiction releases for this month.
- Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
Publication date: January 3rd 2017
Award-winning author and powerhouse talent Roxane Gay returns with Difficult Women, a collection of stories of rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection. A pair of sisters, grown now, have been inseparable ever since they were abducted together as children, and must negotiate the marriage of one of them. A woman married to a twin pretends not to realize when her husband and his brother impersonate each other. A stripper putting herself through college fends off the advances of an overzealous customer. A black engineer moves to Upper Michigan for a job and faces the malign curiosity of her colleagues and the difficulty of leaving her past behind. From a girls' fight club to a wealthy subdivision in Florida where neighbours conform, compete, and spy on each other, Gay delivers a wry, beautiful, haunting vision of modern America reminiscent of Merritt Tierce, Jamie Quatro, and Miranda July.
- This Is How It Always Is: A Novel by Laurie Frankel
Publication date: January 24th 2017
This is Claude. He's five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess. When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl. Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They're just not sure they're ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude's secret. Until one day it explodes. This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it's about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan.
- Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
Publication date: January 10th 2017
Solimar Castro Valdez embarks on a perilous journey across the US/Mexican border. Weeks later she arrives on her cousin's doorstep in Berkeley, CA, pregnant. Amid the uncertainty of new motherhood and her American identity, Soli learns that when you have just one precious possession, you guard it with your life. Kavya Reddy is in her mid-thirties when the unexpected desire to have a child props up. When she can't get pregnant, this desire will test her marriage, it will test her sanity, and it will set her on a collision course with Soli, when she is detained and her infant son comes under Kavya's care. As Kavya learns to be a mother, she builds her love on a fault line, her heart wrapped around someone else's child. There are no bad guys in this story, no obvious hero. From rural Oaxaca to Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto to the dreamscapes of Silicon valley, author Shanthi Sekaran has taken real life and applied it to fiction; the results are moving and revelatory.
- 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
Publication date: January 31st 2017
Nearly two weeks early, on March 3, 1947, Archibald Isaac Ferguson is born. From that single beginning, Ferguson's life will take four simultaneous and independent fictional paths. Four identical Fergusons made of the same DNA, four boys who are the same boy, go on to lead four parallel and entirely different lives. Family fortunes diverge. Athletic skills and sex lives and friendships and intellectual passions contrast. Each Ferguson falls under the spell of the magnificent Amy Schneiderman, yet each Amy and each Ferguson have a relationship like no other. Meanwhile, readers will take in each Ferguson's pleasures and ache from each Ferguson's pains, as the mortal plot of each Ferguson's life rushes on. As inventive and dexterously constructed as anything Paul Auster has ever written, yet with a passion for realism and a great tenderness and fierce attachment to history and to life itself that readers have never seen from Auster before. 4 3 2 1 is a marvellous and unforgettably affecting tour de force.
- History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
Publication date: January 3rd 2017
Linda has an idiosyncratic home life: her parents live in abandoned commune cabins in northern Minnesota and are hanging on to the last vestiges of a faded counter-culture world. The kids at school call her 'Freak', or 'Commie'. She is an outsider in all things. Her understanding of the world comes from her observations at school, where her teacher is accused of possessing child pornography, and from watching the seemingly ordinary life of a family she babysits for. Yet while the accusation against the teacher is perhaps more innocent than it seemed at first, the ordinary family turns out to be more complicated. As Linda insinuates her way into the family's orbit, she realises they are hiding something. If she tells the truth, she will lose the normal family life she is beginning to enjoy with them; but if she doesn't, their son may die.
Superbly-paced and beautifully written, HISTORY OF WOLVES is an extraordinary debut novel about guilt, innocence, negligence, well-meaning belief and the death of a child.
I've put the fourth book in this list on my to-read list. Quite frankly for one simple reason: all the other books are quite depressing and sad and I want to start my year out on a more positive note. I also chose the Paul Auster book because it really intrigues me. It'll be fun to read about how one boy could live 4 very different lives and how seemingly random decisions can impact our lives. Which one will you be reading this year?
Other new releases of January 2017 can be found by genre right here on Goodreads.
Happy reading,
Loes M.


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Table of Contents
Are you itching to go somewhere, anywhere for a change of scenery and a reboot? How about a winter road trip to southwest Alberta? If you live in the Calgary – Edmonton – Canmore corridor, you can knock off the drive in as little as 2.5 hours if you're coming from Calgary and in just six hours if you're driving from Edmonton. I'd suggest a loop drive – taking Highway 22, the beautiful Cowboy Highway south to the Crowsnest Pass area and returning via Highway 2 after a stop in Waterton Lakes National Park. It's a beautiful winter road trip and there isn't normally a lot of traffic.
Southwest Alberta winter road trip summary
- Before you go, read How to survive a winter drive: 15 tips for safety. Don't forget to pack an emergency road kit.
- Book flexible accommodations in case bad weather forces you to cancel your plans.
- Look out for deer in winter, as they're often near the highway.
- If the wind is howling hard on the Cowboy Highway – which it often does, do the loop in reverse. You'll know before you commit as there's a sign on Highway 533 shortly after heading west from Nanton showing wind speed.
- Visit the communities in the Crowsnest Pass area along with Castle Mountain Resort, and Waterton Lakes National Park.
- Some of the things to do on a southwest Alberta winter road trip include visiting Lundbreck Falls and the Burmis Tree; fat biking at Allison Chinook Cross County Ski Area; skiing, snowshoeing or snowboarding at Castle Mountain Resort; hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in Waterton Lakes National Park, and enjoying an ice walk to Star Creek Falls in Coleman. You can also go skiing or boarding at Pass Powderkeg.
- Enjoy fondue at Country Encounters.
Stops on a winter road trip to southwest Alberta
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Visit frozen Lundbreck Falls on a winter road trip in Alberta
Once you reach Highway 3, go right or west to head towards the Crowsnest Pass area. There are a few worthy stops before you get there. The first is Lundbreck Falls, two separate falls with a drop of approximately 70 feet. They're pretty at any time of the year, but in winter they're dazzling because they are coated with ice.
The Burmis Tree
Continue west from Lundbreak Falls for 8 km to a pullout on the north side of Highway 3 (located here) so you can see the Burmis Tree. It's a limber pine named for a coal mining town that stood here in the early 1900's. For 700 years it has marked the eastern edge of the Crowsnest Pass.
Long-lived limber pines thrive under harsh conditions, bending rather than breaking in the wind. This one gave up the ghost sometime in the late 1970's and toppled over in 1998. At that point local citizens, community groups, and government banded together to raise and stabilize the tree. It is a worthy stop.
Crowsnest Pass Area
The Crowsnest Pass is a conglomeration of five towns, each with a unique vibe and coal mining history. From east to west they are Hillcrest, Bellevue, Frank, Blairmore and Coleman. In winter, the Crowsnest Pass area is an affordable destination for downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, fat biking and an ice walk. The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre is open and the Bellevue Mine run tours for groups.
Go fat biking at Allison Chinook Cross County Ski Area
About five years ago, Karey Lee Watanabe – a mountain bike coach and ex-pro racer on the world circuit, opened Sweet Riders in the Crowsnest Pass. She offers fat biking courses and tours for all ages across a range of difficulties. For newbies, the Community Trail from Blairmore to Coleman is perfect while for others with experience, the trails at Pass Powderkeg or Allison/Chinook are ideal.
John and I have enjoyed many an outing on fat bikes. If you've never tried one, you should know that they require a lot more energy to ride, especially on snow because of their massively fat tires. But that means you can go places that used to be off limits to bikes in winter.
We met Karey and her husband Brian at the trails at the Allison – Chinook area, west of Coleman. Over the course of 75 minutes, we huffed, and we puffed, climbing hills, doing flats for short stretches, then climbing more hills – all so we could enjoy some sweet sections of easy downhill riding at the end. Fortunately, a long the way, there were enough stops so we could all catch our breath.
Karey is a fun-loving, unintimidating person to go out biking with. If you and your family are keen to try something new, check out her Sweet Riders website. She told me last summer, her business took off, with so many people looking for ways to experience fun time in the outdoors.
Even better – you can book a bike and fondue tour with Karey, finishing with a drive to Country Encounters – and a delicious cheese or chocolate fondue, or as in our case – both!
Fondue at Country Encounters in Coleman
Years ago, I stayed at Country Encounters in Coleman – and highly recommend it. The rooms are large, well-furnished and the breakfast, delicious. Since my last visit, the new building has been finished, a beautiful outdoor patio added, and the dining area expanded. When COVID restrictions ease, this is the place to come for a meal.
Sweet Riders has partnered with Country Encounters to finish off the bike experience with a fondue – either cheese or chocolate. Both are excellent.
Go skiing or boarding at Pass Powderkeg
If you were a kid growing up in the Crowsnest Pass area, you'd have it made. Pass Powderkeg is the local ski hill situated in Blairmore, just a few blocks off the main street. It's the type of ski hill where parents can drop off their kids and pick them up hours later knowing they're having a blast with their buddies. And when the conditions are right, there are up to 27 trails with 1,000 feet of vertical.
It's also a super affordable place to learn to ski. In fact, prices for small children are as little as $4.99 from 6PM – 8 PM. Adults too can ski after 6 PM for $14.99.
Where to stay and eat on a winter road trip in the Crowsnest Pass
In the Crowsnest Pass, aside from Airbnb rentals, you have three good choices – Country Encounters in Coleman, Travelodge by Wyndham Blairmore and The Kanata by BCMInns Blairmore.
For coffee and baked goods, head to the Stone's Throw Café in Blairmore. For meals, I highly recommend dinner at Country Encounters. The Rum Runner Restaurant & Pub in Coleman is great for burgers.
Waterton Lakes National Park in winter
If you're trying to escape the crowds in Banff and Kananaskis in winter, you'd do well to visit Waterton Lakes National Park. Visitors are few and far between, so you won't be fighting over parking spaces. There is plenty of exploring to do via the Red Rock Parkway and trails off of Akamina Parkway.
But before you venture to the park, be sure to gas up your car and buy any snacks and lunch items you might need in Pincher Creek. I also recommend a caffeine stop at the Harvest Coffeehouse – just a two-minute detour from the road to Waterton.
Crandell Lake winter hike or snowshoe
If you're looking for a quick, beautiful easy outing, do the snowshoe or winter hike (with icers) to Crandell Lake. It shouldn't take you more than about an hour. It's 6.7 km to the trailhead via the Akamina Parkway. From the parking lot, it's just 1.8 km one way with 75 m of elevation gain. The trail continues from the lake to the Red Rock Parkway but that gets you into challenging Class II avalanche terrain.
On this hike, gaiters come in handy too, especially if you continue down to the lake.
Cameron Lake winter hike, snowshoe, or cross-country ski
The drive along the recently re-opened Akamina Parkway is very scenic. So even if you do and out and back drive to the parking lot before Cameron Lake, it will be a worthwhile exercise.
Cameron Lake is a beauty in summer and the starting place of one of the best hikes in the park on the Carthew Alderson Trail. In winter the options are more limited, but what is available is family friendly. You can cross-country ski, snowshoe or hike the 2.5 km to Cameron Lake from the parking lot and then retrace your steps. Allow 1- 2 hours depending on how much time you spend at the lake.
Note that there is a shelter where you can eat your lunch up by the lake. Also, the Alpine Club of Canada rents out the Cameron Hut – which you'll pass on the way to the lake, down in the woods.
Bear's Hump hike
Strap on some micro-spikes and do the 2.8 km round-trip hike to the top of Bear's Hump, easily accessible from the road into town. There is only 250 m of elevation gain so you can knock the whole hike off in under an hour. The reward – if the wind doesn't blow you off the top in winter, is the fantastic view down the lake and over to the prairies.
In winter, there weren't a lot of people doing the hike but every last one of them was wearing footwear with close to zero tread. If you want to stay upright and avoid a fall – or worse a broken bone or smack to the head, for heaven's sakes use icers. Buy them ahead of time at Canadian Tire or online at MEC through this link. As one reader recently said to me – "I can't believe how much confidence the icers give me on the icy trails."
Cameron Falls and Upper Waterton Lake
Cameron Falls is a pretty road-side waterfall in town that is always worth a quick visit. While you can stop and snap a quick photo from the road, there is the option to throw on a pair of ice cleats and wander up the icy pathways on either side of the falls. Note that the road down to the falls is very icy so proceed slowly with caution!
Continue a couple of hundred metres down the road to where it dead ends by the lake. Take a winter beach walk, admiring the ice formations along the shoreline. Ours was cut short because of fierce winds but what a gorgeous view you get.
Where to stay and eat in Waterton in winter
The Waterton townsite is a ghost town in winter. The main street is shuttered, the gas station closed, and chances are you'll see more animals around town than you will humans.
Only two hotels remain open during the winter – Waterton Lakes Lodge Resort and Waterton Glacier Suites. Both offer dining options – Vimy Lounge & Grill at Waterton Lakes Lodge and Red Rock Trattoria at Waterton Glacier Suites. During COVID, with restrictions in place, you can call in your meal order, pick it up and then eat in your room. In Alberta restrictions are easing again (for who knows how long) so as of February 8th you should be able to eat in the dining rooms again.
All appropriate health measures are in place for the hotel and dining.
Stop at Castle Mountain Resort on a winter road trip
Castle Mountain Resort is a fun, family-friendly place to ski and more affordable than any in the Banff – Lake Louise corridor. But during COVID – where numbers of skiers allowed on the hill are reduced, you really need to plan. You can pre-purchase tickets which is probably the best thing to do, so you don't make the drive, get to the ticket office and find out they've reached the limit for the day. They also offer half day passes and they're usually available at the ticket window.
Read: Castle Mountain Resort – A Skier's Paradise
If you're not into skiing, there is the option to snowshoe or cross-country ski on a network of trails at the ski resort. They're located near the RV Park. While you won't find a lot of signage at intersections, the trails are obvious and there are occasional snowshoe trail signs like the one pictured below. You could easily spend several hours enjoying loops through some beautiful forest (check out the size of some of the trees) and along the creek.
More ideas for your southwest Alberta winter road trip
I just scratched the surface of what you can do in southwest Alberta in winter. If you've got the time and enjoy cross-country skiing check out the trails in Beauvais Lake Provincial Park, the Syncline cross-country ski area near Castle Mountain Resort and the Allison-Chinook cross-country ski area on the east side of Tecumseh Mountain.
In Waterton, there are many more day's worth of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The Red Rock Parkway would be ideal and around town, you can walk or snowshoe the Kootenai Brown Trail and the Linnet Lake Trail. Off Akamina Parkway, there are several longer outings possible on the Rowe Lakes Trail and Lineham Trail – but both of these cross challenging Class 2 avalanche terrain. The same goes for the Bertha Falls Trail.
If you have icers or microspikes, enjoy an ice walk up to Star Creek Falls near Coleman.
Further reading on things to do in southwest Alberta
- 9 Great Things to do in the Crowsnest Pass Area
- The Best Things to Do in Waterton in Summer
- 5 of the Best Crowsnest Pass Hikes in Alberta
Thank you to Explore the Pass and Waterton Tourism for hosting my stay. All thoughts – as always are mine alone.
Click on the photo to bookmark to your Pinterest boards.


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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
BlueJays in my Backyard
We have had a nest of BlueJays in our back yard this spring and have been watching and waiting for the appearance of the babies. For several weeks we could just spy their little bald heads as they hopped up and down for food when Mom/Dad came to the nest.
A couple of nights ago Dh was outside with our dog and the dog became manic barking at a bush just under the tree where the nest was. Dh took a peek and there was one of the new little peeps.
Cool, huh?
Posted by Michelle at 9:07:00 AM
2 comments:
Aw, so sweet. :)ReplyDelete
So cute! Hey my mom found a baby bluejay once and raised it to adulthood then she let him go. She called him "booberry". Her blog is at www.nascorner.blogspot.com if you ever wanna check it out. I told her about your blue jay post. She should write about her experiences with Mr. Booberry, it was funny. He would sit among the stuffed animals and sleep!!ReplyDelete


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Is there any sample available how to use the Disconnected state for binding to a WPF datagrid (in my case Infragistics xamDataGrid)?
The documentation refers in the Advanced topics section ('Disconnected operations') to a WPF sample with a hyperlink, but the link does not work.
asked Mar 22 '12 at 06:17
Hello spicbe,
I'd recommend you not to use
answered Mar 23 '12 at 05:41
Dmitri Maximov
Thanks, the Security sample helped me alot!
I noticed the memory provider is not supported anymore in DO4.5. I was testing with it based on the WCF Data Services sample where it is used for building the client domain.
Will a similar WCF Data Services sample be available for DO4.5?
(Mar 28 '12 at 16:49) spicbe
We are removing Memory provider from the product. You may want to use SQL Server CE instead.
There is no WCF sample for 4.5 yet, but we'll add it.
(Apr 03 '12 at 08:58) Dmitri Maximov


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Dear Princess Peach,
Happy 6th birthday (yesterday) my sweets. I can't believe that you are six years old. The nine months I was pregnant with you felt like a life time and here you are 2,190 days later and it seems that all I did was blink to get to today!
You are smart, spunky, and sassy. You have a boundless amount of energy. I call you my Energizer Bunny because you keep going and going! You love being right and knowing everything (even if you don't). You have an opinion on everything and you have an incredible memory. You are sensitive and empathetic to those around you. Your sense of direction for a little kid is amazing and you notice local landmark easily that you always know where you are. You are very social and love playing with your friends. Your imagination is awesome. You are so creative and always can figure out a game to play or a new and creative spin on an old game. You tried playing girls hockey this year and although you completed the year, you don't want to do it again. And that's ok, because you have so many other interests. You love arts and crafts, playing games, but most of all you love dance.
Dance is something that is in your soul. You dance from the moment you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at night. You love to choreograph dances for us and your moves have gotten progressively better and more creative. Each year that you have danced, you have added one more hour to your weekly schedule. This past year you took 3 consecutive hours-ballet, tap and jazz. You LOVED it. Most kids would be exhausted after three hours of dance, but you would come home and show us what you learned and make up dances. You love dancing to Uptown Funk, Better When I'm Dancin', Despacito, Beauty and the Beast and others.
You continue to call yourself a "vegetarian" but you eat fish sticks, and chicken fingers. You are a picky eater who has taken some risks to try new foods this year. You favourite foods are grilled cheese, scrambled eggs, pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese, egg party sandwiches and yogurt. You eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. But most of all you have a sweet tooth. Wow! If we let you eat everything you wanted each day, it would be all junk. There was one day this year that you sneaked into the pantry after school and ate an entire row of cookies. You had a horrible stomach ache after and I think you learned your lesson.
You have fallen in love with all things unicorn, emoji, anything sparkly and colourful. You love the colour "golden" and "rainbow". Your love of tutus has not wavered and you love wearing dresses. In the summer however, you only want to walk around a bikini and if it were up to you, that is all you would wear every day. You love getting your straightened and going to get manicures and pedicures (as a special treat). If it was up to you, you would wear a full face of makeup to school! I had to keep reminding you that little kids in SK don't wear makeup or lip gloss to school! People continue to stop you to comment on the colour of your hair and eyes! They really are amazing.
You love school. You love to learn and have a desire to learn all about the world around you. You adored your teachers and loved being an "SK leader" to the younger JK's in your class. Your reading exploded this year. You were doing great and at grade level and just after March Break something clicked and you are now reading small chapter books. You adore reading and I've started collecting Baby Sitter's Club Little Sister books for you. I love re-reading them all with you. It's very special. You also like writing letters. Everyday when I go through your backpack, you always had at least 2 letters from friends. It's really sweet watching you write your letters and trying to figure out how to spell and sound out words. You also really like math and are good at it. You love daddy and I giving you math problems to solve! I only hope that you love of learning continues this year in grade 1 and for many years to follow. As every Jewish mother does, I tell you to be a doctor, or a veterinarian because you are amazing with animals. You always tell me that you want to be a teacher and a dance teacher. I joke with you that maybe you can be a doctor who dances. Whatever, you end up doing, daddy and I just hope that it makes you happy.
Your brother is your best friend and he is SO lucky to have you as his big sister. You always worry about him and always make sure his is included in everything you do. When you are not together and you get something, you always make sure you get one for him too. He does the same for you. It's so amazing to watch how you each look out for each other at such a young age. Now that you are reading, Little Dude loves letting you read to him. I know you are so excited to be at the same school again! It's been 2 years since you've been together and I know you will look out for him everyday and find him in the Kindergarten playground. I can only hope that as you grow older, your relationship will stay as special as it is today.
We don't talk much about me being sick anymore, but I was surprised when I came to school to read your portfolio at the end of the year and you wrote a journal entry about being sad because I was sick. It totally broke my heart. I don't want you or your brother to worry about my well-being. A child your age should never worry about their parents health. I'm sorry that you even have to think of it. I can only hope that having a mother who was sick but is now better, makes you a more caring and empathetic person. And just like I write every year, these letters are my love letters to the two of you should anything ever happen to me. I want to you know how proud I am of you- yesterday, today, tomorrow and always.
Keep being you my darling. You are so special and I love you more than the whole wide world and back again.


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- Travel
- Traveler
Meet the People's Choice Traveler of the Year
It would take a giant trunk to carry the parade of votes that piled up for Katherine Connor in our People's Choice contest.
Her tale of turning youthful wanderlust into animal-saving action as the founder of Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary> (BLES) in northern Thailand topped our rankings this year. One might say that Connor's work to protect abused Asian pachyderms packs a punch.Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary> (BLES) in northern Thailand topped our rankings this year. One might say that Connor's work to protect abused Asian pachyderms packs a punch.
Thousands of votes were cast for all of the Travelers of the Year in a busy month of online action. In the end, Connor's story of evolving from a London-based careerist to an Asia-rooted conservationist captured the crown.
But the real prize is increased awareness of her ongoing efforts to rescue elephants. "If we, National Geographic Traveler and BLES, can achieve one thing from this article, I hope we can help put an end to travelers coming to Thailand, riding the elephants, and supporting the tourist camps. We can end the cruelty," she says.
We caught up with Connor — busy as ever in the bush, feeding and cleaning elephants, dogs, cats, and other animals in need — to trumpet the good news.
NGT: Congratulations! Does this swell of support affirm the value of your work?
KC: I am deeply honored to have won the People's Choice Award. It is a very exciting opportunity to raise the profile for Thailand's elephants and educate the public about the cruelty elephants suffer when forced to entertain tourists traveling to Thailand. Many people do not realize that riding in a chair on the back of an elephant is seriously damaging and painful for the elephant.
Currently at BLES, we care for two elephants suffering from deformed spines caused from years of carrying around tourists. A lot of people think elephants are big and strong. Well, they are, but their backs are actually very weak and not designed to be carrying heavy loads of tourists for hours on end, day in, day out.
The fact that BLES has won this prestigious award proves the world is becoming more aware and taking the plight of Thailand's elephants seriously.
NGT: How has social media helped you gain support for your projects?
KC: Social media has been a huge and successful tool for BLES. It has launched us into the world of animal welfare and, as a result of this, we are able to spread our message so much further. Instead of reaching out to a few dozen, we now connect with thousands of people every day.
NGT: What updates do you have since we last connected?
KC: This is an exciting time for BLES and our rescued animals! We are installing solar energy, fences, creating a medical clinic, securing land to enable the initial release of our rescued elephants, creating a brand-new and very-much-needed cat and dog home, as well as working together with two other organizations to establish a smaller sanctuary down in the south of Thailand.
NGT: What advice do you offer to others who are hoping to turn good intentions into good works?
KC: I passionately believe we all have the power within us to influence change and make a positive impact on the world.
- Nat Geo Expeditions
Our gestures do not have to be big. Something as simple as buying a cup of coffee for a homeless person, feeding a stray dog, offering your seat to an elder, trash collecting, teaching a stranger something they never knew, making someone smile: all these things come from the heart and, as cheesy as it may sound, one kind gesture encourages another and another.
So if you have a dream, a passion, and want to help ease some of the suffering in the world, my advice to you is simple: Do It. There will always be people who try to discourage you or hold you back, but if you have that fire in your belly to make a change, nothing and no one will stop you.
George W. Stone is an editor at large at National Geographic Traveler magazine.
Related: Meet the Rest of Our Travelers of the Year
What — or who — inspires you to travel with purpose? Share your thoughts with the Intelligent Travel community by leaving a comment:


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