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Unless you have been on the frontlines, outside of abortion mills, trying to save women from doing themselves great spiritual harm, and trying to save the lives of the innocent children in their wombs, facing the police, being "fingered" and jeered, and threatened and insulted for obeying your conscience, I am not impressed by your voting record. I will stack up my record of pro-life activism, with the saving of real lives (some of whom are as old as thirty-two at the time of this writing) against the claims of anybody to be pro-life. Were the demands of your conscience easily satisfied by supporting a political candidate based solely on words alone? Well, I have put myself out there.
I am tired of people defending all of Trump's evils based on only one issue. I have been on the frontlines, sometimes able to save lives. For decades I have been active in pro-life work. I know this: When women are deciding whether or not to have an abortion there are many factors that can influence them in either direction. Who sits in the Oval Office is not among those factors.
The only real way to prevent abortions is to provide things, such as moral guidance to the young, moral support for pregnant women, material support from our pockets, etc. Those who want it to be a political and legislative issue are simply trying to put a hypocritical band-aid on their basic indifference to the poor, and to asylum seekers, and to foreign victims of our Military Industrial Complex. They are lost in Chicken-Little "Conservation" because they are irrationally afraid of losing some precious privilege that makes them feel safe. Such are not the kind who actually have done what I have done: Save lives on the frontlines out of love for Jesus and for my neighbor.
If the Republicans are actually pro-life, then answer me this: Why, when they had all the power, between 2001 and 2006, and again in 2017 and 2018, did they not even attempt to bring pro-life legislation to the floor for a vote? Why did they not even propose to end, or to even merely reduce, funding to Planned Parenthood? In 2015 they passed the elimination of funding to Planned Parenthood in both houses. That was when they could count on President Obama to veto it. Later, throughout the twenty-four months of power in Trump's first term, why did they never, having the same majority that passed it before, even propose it again?
The answer is obvious to anyone with even as little as half a brain: If they proposed it at that time, with the majority they had, and brought it to the floor for a vote, they would have won in both houses of Congress. President Trump would have had to sign the legislation. They would have won, and all your years, as a dedicated Republican voter, expecting pro-life legislation from those folks we put in Congress every two and six years, respectively, would have paid off. But, our continued support, with money and votes, could no longer be taken for granted.
So, I do not want to hear any more crap, especially after the failed Epiphany Putsch, from anybody, that any of us owed some loyalty to the Republicans in November, or that not to vote for them was a "mortal sin," or that Donald Trump, of all the unworthy perverted sinners out there (a pal of Jefferey Epstein) was the only morally acceptable choice demanded by God of Christians. After Trump's attempt to overthrow the Rule of Law, via the Constitution, with the reciprocal protection of democracy, which would have resulted in the loss of all of our liberties as Americans, how can any of you fail to see the evil of the man? Why did even the violence and evil of what happened at the Capitol on January 6 fail to awake you from your slumber?
Whatever it is that blinds you to the truth, it is not anything pro-life.


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I slept that night with a heavy heart. What have i turned into? Why did i have to lie to Ifeanyi about Ralph? What if he found out the truth…that i wasnt raped my Ralph but had s-x and not only had s-x with him, enjoyed it to its fullest. Henna would be disappointed in me…oh God, what have i done?
I made up my mind to have nothing to do with Ralph anymore. I was going to focus on Ifeanyi because i loved him. It was him i truly loved not Ralph.
I was going to complete treat Ralph like he was invincible, not even bantering words with him. Yes, maybe he suceeded with me, but its over. He was a mistake i was going to regret for the rest of my life.
Exams came and went. It was holiday time!
I loved holidays…no, i used to love holidays.
Because back then, when mama was alive, i used the holidays as an opportunity to assist her in her trade and also learn alot of things from her. I was free from books and morning bells.
Henna made me promise i was going to visit her house on sunday and i agreed to it. While Oma was going to Owe to visit her aunt, Ije was going to travel to Owerri to learn trade and come back only when school resumes. So it was just Henna and i.
I had succeeded…i had escaped Ralph…or so i thought.
I wondered why he didnt expose the fact that he had finally disvirgined me to everyone….maybe God was at work because it was really surprising, unlike Ralph.
I was surprised to see aunt Chime's ladies bike parked in front of the compound, meaning she was home. It was unusual of her to remain at home by this time of the day.
I shrugged. Maybe she was ill or just came in to pick up something…i was surprised to see a huge black car parked inside the compound too. Who owned the car? Was aunt Chime having a visitor?
I decided to follow the backdoor, but it was locked, so i had no other choice but to follow the frontdoor.
As i neared the front door however, i heard some funny noises.
I placed my ears on the door and heard moans coming from aunt Chime.
'um…ahn…yesss…dats it…ouch…onowu, thats it..ah..'
My hands flew to my house. Onowu? Henna's father? In this house? S——g aunt Chime? This is so impossible. Maybe i heard wrongly, it certainly cannot be the onowu.
By this time, her moans had increased 'aww yeah…ah…ah..ah..onowu ehhhh'
I stared at the black phone Ifeanyi had gotten me yesterday and i smiled. Ifeanyi was a generous and a very nice guy. He made my heart flutter beautifully. The phone was just like Henna's, if not bigger than Henna's and i wonder if i could be able to operate it. I hid it from aunt Chime because i didnt know how i was going to explain to her how i got the phone.
There was a knock from the parlour door and i quickly hid the phone under my bed. Who was that?
Was aunt Chime home?
I ran to the door and opened it and i gasped. Ralph! Oh my God, my heart pounded loudly against my chest and i wondered if he heard it. He had a wicked grin on his face.
'hi baby…' he called seductively and winked 'happy to see me?'
I wanted to bang the door on his fac but i couldnt, i just stared at him. That was my mistake because he quickly pounced on me, chewing on my lips.
That was when i realised that i was always longing for his kiss because no sooner had he kissed me that my hands left the door and i wrapped my hands around his neck, responding to his kiss with full vigor.
He kicked the door shut with his legs and we fell on a sofa, with him on top.
He snaked his hand into my top massaging my br.easts through my bra.
Then he tore it off, unhooked the bra and took off his shorts. I closed my eyes in desire as he went down on me. Yes, Ralph knew the right buttons to press to make me desire more.
Suddenly he stopped, and i opened my eyes, i looked at him in confusion, what was wrong? Why did he stop?
'Ivyy, are you sure you want this?' he asked with a smile.
I was confused. Wasnt my moans enof to tell him that i wanted this and more?
'tell me you want this' he said sitting up.
I nodded.
'say it with your mouth Ivyy, what do you want?'
'Ralph, please…' i moaned as his hands touched my cli.t.
'i want you…'
'want me to?'
'to just FU.CK ME' i practically screamed it as his tongue went down on me again.
I moaned.
Blind Desire Episode 20
I slept that night with a heavy heart. What have i turned into? Why did i have to lie to Ifeanyi about Ralph? What if he found out the truth…that i wasnt raped my Ralph but had s-x and not only had s-x with him, enjoyed it to its fullest. Henna would be disappointed in me…oh God, what have i done?

subset: commoncrawl


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Now that visitors to Seattle can hop on the light rail from Sea-Tac Airport into downtown (or take the 45-minute bus), fewer may be likely to take an expensive cab. But for those who don't want to hassle with lugging baggage onto public transportation or who are arriving at odd hours, there is a new way to get from the airport into the city without spending the usual $40 on cab fare.
RidePenguin.com, which was just launched last week and is still in beta, promises to connect passengers looking for a cab with others who want to share. If you are interested in sharing a cab to defer costs, just log on and either search for a posted ride (rides are posted by time, origin, and destination) or post your own and invite people to share with you.
Sharing a cab would save you quite a bit of money (though not as much as taking public transportation). If you share with one other person, your fare would drop to about $20 from the airport into the city. Share with two people and it's less than $15. Obviously, the more people who use the service, the better your odds of finding a taxi to share. When I searched recently, I only found one posted ride for the day, and it wasn't even going into the city center.
It's a good idea in theory…of course, you could just get in the taxi line and ask around to see if anyone is heading your way and willing to share their cab.
[via The Seattle Times]


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Between the frothy sea edge and the jaunty awning of the cafe, there are people. Hot, flat people in tidy rows. Roasting and snoozing. Close enough to smell them but shut my eyes and I'm all alone.
That's when the idea struck me. Too lizardy idle to take a photo, could I just think about how it looked? Would that do?
Could I Instagram something without actually faffing about and taking the picture and fiddling with filters? And if I did, what would it be called? Instagrammar, Postcard, snappy shot, sentences. Insta-flam. Insta-jam, insta-spam. Whatever.
Anyhow, here's my first effort. What do you think?


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Month 5 and nearing the end of my internship year.
The past month has been unusual but exciting with a trip to Iceland, week at home getting to do hand drawn pieces, designing shoes and drawing animal skins.
Top 5 skills I have learnt and now gotten to put into practice –
- Shoe design and construction, during my first year we learnt about shoe design and construction. As I have been designing shoes for Bottle Blonde recently these skills have been of great help in my initial shoe shape design. Understanding how the base of a handmade shoe is created helped me understand to an extent what is and isn't possible so that I didn't design any completely infeasible shoes.
- Textile appliqué, when designing shoes I needed to consider how the prints could actually be applied to the shoe. So for some of the designs I specifically designed them with the theory of the patterns being in appliqué. This skill widened my options of design rather than keeping everything flat and digitally printed.
- Drawing animal skins, at Amanda Kelly I learnt about how they draw some of their animal skin prints however while there I never got the chance to attempt to draw any myself. Now that I'm at Bottle Blonde I have gotten to experiment with how to draw some skins in lovely neon colours. Learning about how to draw them has really improved how I draw them and has resulted in some wonderful and adaptable prints.
- Hand illustration, in my first year I learnt about fashion illustration and how it doesn't need to be as generic as I originally thought. Learning more about fashion illustration and abstract illustration has been useful for creating unique prints and widened my skill range for design.
- Colour changing in Photoshop, whilst working in London I learnt about how to colour separate a pattern for screen printing. However I discovered that the tools required to do this can also be used to change the colours of a pattern swiftly and smoothly.
Top 5 skills I have learnt on the job that will be useful in final year –
- Drawing animal skins, as I have been drawing animal skins for Bottle Blonde I have developed how I can draw them as well as the types I like drawing. I feel if I make a collection in my final year I want to do my own prints, being able to draw skins gives me a wider range of prints I can do.
- Shoe detailing, when designing shoes there are a lot more details to a shoe than I had ever thought about prior to my project. Researching platforms has widened my understanding about how much thought and creativity goes into designing shoes.
- Presentation of print designs digitally, over the year I have learnt a lot about how to develop my portfolio pages and present digital prints that haven't been applied to physical products. As I am looking at lot at potentially working in print design as a career I need to develop my print portfolio and understand how to present it in a layout that visually shows the full potential of my skills.
- Multitasking, when working in the fashion industry the ability to multitask is key. As you could end up working on 3 different things and then need to balance your personal life on top as it's an ever changing industry. Over the year I have learnt a lot about balancing my time and multitasking which will be useful to maintain my mental health in my final year.
- Multimedia design, whilst working on my shoe project I have really gotten to experiment with multimedia designing. In order to design my prints I have been using photos, paint, watercolour, markers, pens, glue, sticky notes, anything I could get my hands on and it's really given life to some of my designs which otherwise would've been flat. This will be useful for again designing my prints in my final year if I choose to do a collection.


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Three Free Traffic Attracting Strategies that won't Cost You a Dime
Posted Under: Traffic Generation
If you've been cracking your head against the wall in frustration, trying to get traffic to your website; here are three traffic attracting strategies that won't cost you a dime to implement.
Although there are many strategies that will get traffic to your site, knowing how to implement these strategies is the key to success.
Here's the free scoop, on traffic attracting strategies that won't cost you a dime.
- Make Good Use Of Your Meta Tags
A good way to acquire targeted traffic to your website is through the use of Meta tags that contain usually used keywords, or keyword phrases that target your business.
Meta tags are invaluable in helping the search engines precisely describe your web page.
Manipulating the meta tags in pages of your website is a snap, if you have a working knowledge of, and are comfortable with HTML coding.
- Acquire Some Decent Links
Of all the free traffic attracting strategies that won't cost you a dime, yet will usually provide you with the best results; acquiring decent links from other websites, is probably the most widely used.
Linking to, and from other websites, grabs the attention of Google's search engine robots, and will raise the ranking of your website in short order.
It is the most widely used method of attracting website traffic for a good reason, it works!
Be careful that the businesses you are exchanging links with, are related to your own business. It does you no good getting a back link from a website on tropical marine inverts, if your website business deals with stained glass sun catchers.
You also must be careful of overkill. Too much of a good thing is bad, and might get your site banned from the search engines.
- Provide Lots Of Sensible Keyword Rich Content
Another free traffic attracting strategy that won't cost you a dime is to create articles that provide your visitors solid information about your business.
Use a keyword suggestion tool, to help you come up with high value keywords or keyword phrases, that you can incorporate into your content to help attract targeted traffic to your website. The Overture keyword suggestion tool is a valuable asset; be sure to use it in your article creations.
Make your keyword rich content informative, and readable for humans as well as the search engine robots.
Useful, genuinely unique content, will get you repeat visitors to your web site.
Submit your article content to various article directories. This will increase your presence on the web and bolster your business.
Make sure your resource box is keyword front loaded, and that you include links to your website. This creates, over a period of time, numerous valuable back links to your website.
These three free traffic attracting strategies that won't cost you a dime to implement, will prove their worth to you in just a very short time.


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Mushroom Grain Spawn Masters prepared by Organic Galaxy is the mushroom farmer's best friend. We know that time is an issue when you are a mushroom farmer. The time available for lab work to produce grain spawn is an absolute must. So what do you do? Let us handle the lab work so you can have more time to do the things that matter.
This is made-to-order Mushroom Grain Spawn. Please allow 3 – 4 weeks for processing. Each bag is weighed to 6 lbs.
Organic Galaxy uses the same spawn for our everyday projects. Everything from growing gourmet mushrooms to bioremediation projects. If it isn't good enough to use here then it isn't good enough for our customers.
We clone our species from the wild, isolate them from spore germinations or obtain them from reliable sources. It is against our standards to offer inferior products to our customers. We add new strains consistently so check back frequently. If you have a suggestion of a particular species you are looking for please shoot us an email and let us know.
Your success is our success. That is why our Mushroom Grain Spawn Masters are hand-prepared by our mycologist. When you place an order with Organic Galaxy you know you will receive a high-quality grain spawn. It is our goal that you produce mushrooms that are second to none and we know that can only be done with grain spawn of the highest quality.
The most valuable currency is time.
Time is of the essence and we know that lab time can consume all of it. You don't have to be stuck inside all day processing thousands of plates or spending hours prepping grains or supplemented sawdust. Not all mushroom farmers want to be scientists nor should they have to be. We will handle the science stuff while you take care of farming.
If you prefer cultures rather than spawn check out these links:
Mushroom Cultures In Petri Dishes


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The sound was somewhat familiar, and yet my lack of sleep left my tired brain fighting to find the source. The keeper of my auditory memory files raced to bring an answer to the rest of my brain that cried out; "What is that noise and how should we respond?"
Only a few hours earlier I had crawled into bed after a day of celebrating one of son's wedding and now some noise had caused my sleep deprived brain to call the rest of my body to respond.
Whoever was on night duty in my brain came back to inform me that this familiar sound was my alarm clock; which had been set so that I wouldn't sleep through the early morning departure of one of my daughter's, her husband, and one of my grandsons who were getting up early to catch a plane that would take them back home to North Carolina.
They had been staying with us the past four days and three nights as gatherings surrounding the wedding took place; which included times for us to babysit our grandson.
I know that inside of me an election was being held to see whether or not I would go back to sleep. It appeared that a "yes" vote to stay in bed was headed towards a landslide victory and my body would go back to auto pilot as it recharged its batteries in a deep sleep.
Yet, my need to connect with them one more time; to hug them and hold them, and let them know how much I loved them triumphed over the portion of my body that voted to stay asleep.
I arose and joined Cathy as we together answered the call to go downstairs where quickly coffee was made so that the rest of my body would be fully functioning before they departed, or at least tip the scales so that more was awake than was asleep.
We only spent a few moments (a half cup of coffee to be exact) taking turns holding our grandson as his parents gathered their last few items from the shower and refrigerator; after walking through the house one more time to make sure that nothing was left behind, and then zipped their suitcases, signaling that this time together had come to an end...
Hugs were given, "goodbyes" were said as we watched them slip out into the early morning chill and then drive away. I am glad that my need to arise outvoted my desire to sleep in! It was worth giving up some time that would've otherwise been used for sleeping so that I could spend time with them.
Over the years I have found that this same drive that causes me to wake up when I need sleep has been a key part of my daily devotions.
Somehow, some way, my brain is awakened and somehow, some way, the small portion of me that wants to get up and respond to the call to spend time with the Lord out votes the majority wants to sleep in today.
And like my need to connect with loved ones one more time, the Spirit inside of me longs to respond to the invitation to spend time with God and triumphs over the portion of my body that votes to stay asleep.
The Bible records that Jesus Himself pushed past sleep to spend time with the Father: "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed." (Mark 1:35)
I will agree with you that some days it is good to sleep in; we are wired by God to do so. In fact in the Bible we read that He doesn't take it lightly when we violate His calls for us to rest and observe Sabbaths.
But this pushing past sleep has been one of the key reasons that I have been able to fellowship with God…to spend time with Him…to know who He is and what He thinks of me as one of His children, as daily I read His Word and pray to Him as I seek His will for my life.
Perhaps God has been calling you with His "alarm clock" as the keeper of your auditory memory files race to bring an answer to the rest of your brain that cries out; "What is that noise and how should I respond?"
Arise; it will be worth giving up some time that would've otherwise been used for sleeping.


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Felesky Flynn LLP
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
aodbt was pleased to work collaboratively with Felesky Flynn LLP for its Saskatoon office relocation. Their office is located in the heart of downtown along the river on Spadina Crescent in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This modern and sophisticated office features a warm palette of walnut wood contrasted with tones of grey, black and white. Contrast can be seen through the layering of the texture found in the fabrics, wallcoverings, natural stone, and glass. Accent colours in a bright blue were used throughout the space to tie in their corporate brand. The offices were constructed using the DIRTT architectural wall system and can be adapted for future growth or changes. The expansive views of the riverbank provide ample natural daylight in entire space and make it a great space to work and host client meetings and receptions.


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Virus Surge, Staff Shortages Hit Minnesota Nursing Homes
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A surge in COVID-19 cases has led to critical staffing shortages at some Minnesota nursing homes and assisted living facilities, forcing the state to send the National Guard to help out.
Gov. Tim Walz's administration has also emailed state employees, asking them to consider volunteering at beleaguered care facilities for two-week stints. The email says no prior experience is required, and the state will cover travel and temporary housing costs.
Department of Health data shows 90% of the state's nursing homes and 58% of assisted-living facilities have active virus outbreaks.
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Download the whole book as a PDF, or choose individual chapters instead. All books are free to download and print, subject to our printing policy.
Chapter 1 – Some introductory points about the 'wicked' and how we should define the word (13 pages)
Chapter 2 – Some further general point about the wicked and how numerous they are (14 pages)
Chapter 3 – The damage that deception can cause (15 pages)
Chapter 4 – Identifying the wicked, part one – some of their traits and methods (20 pages)
Chapter 5 – Identifying the wicked, part two – some of their traits and methods (19 pages)
Chapter 6 – Recognise how capable the wicked are of influencing you and trying hard to avoid them (14 pages)
Chapter 7 – Handing the wicked in your workplace or business – part one (14 pages)
Chapter 8 – Handing the wicked in your workplace or business – part two (18 pages)
Chapter 9 – Dealing with deception and deceivers – part one (14 pages)
Chapter 10 – Dealing with deception and deceivers – part two (12 pages)
Chapter 11 – Come to terms with the fact that there are many wicked people inside churches and start to see the significance of that (18 pages)
Chapter 12 – Some examples of wicked Christians from my own experience (12 pages)
Chapter 13 – Some examples from the Bible of wicked believers who were false and did great harm (10 pages)
Chapter 14 – Handling the wicked in the context of a church – part one (10 pages)
Chapter 15 – Handling the wicked in the context of a church – part two (11 pages)
Chapter 16 – Dealing with wicked church leaders – some introductory points (9 pages)
Chapter 17 – The wickedness of 'hirelings' and of cowardly leaders who leave the controversial parts of the BIble out of their teaching (13 pages)
Chapter 18 – The wickedness of 'Nicolaitanism' – where church leaders are abusive, controlling, manipulative or domineering (14 pages)
Chapter 19 – Some of my own personal experiences of Nicolaitan leaders who ruled over their churches (13 pages)
Chapter 20 – How to decide whether to leave a church or to stay and fight to change it (9 pages)
Chapter 21 – How to conduct yourself properly, and safely, when tackling the wicked, and the importance of seeking God's help (17 pages)
Chapter 22 – Our duty to resist the wicked (18 pages)
Chapter 23 – Some further advice on dealing with the wicked, whether in churches or in the world (6 pages)
Chapter 24 – The vital need for resolve and courage to press on, especially when you are up against witchcraft (24 pages)
Chapter 25 – How far can we go in resisting the wicked? Can we even use force? (17 pages)
Chapter 26 – Praying against the wicked – a brief introduction to 'imprecatory' prayer (35 pages)
Chapter 27 -Dealing with witchcraft and curses – a brief introduction to two very big subjects (27 pages)


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I received a free copy to write an honest review on The Silver Petticoat Review. I was not financially compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.
The Tale
When Megan goes for an interview at a residential home, she has one primary concern. She hopes to get a volunteer position and work with the residents to help with her career ambitions. When she's assigned to one of the residents, she is delighted to begin visiting her charge on a regular basis. Little does she know that her encounters with the elderly woman who has lived in the home since it opened will introduce her to a strange story of magic, curses and dark secrets. This enigmatic tale all unfolds in E. L. Parfitt's novella Shattered Roses, a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale.
Megan regularly visits Lady ostensibly to read to her. However, she spends a good part of her time listening to the elderly woman's stories of her life. Lady speaks mainly of her relationship with the Duke, the man who once owned the house. Through Lady, Megan learns more about the massive house with its opulent gardens with statues and black roses. Lady met the Duke years ago when she was young through her father. To call the Duke secretive and mysterious would be an understatement. As Lady describes their relationship, this strange figure from the past looms over the present. Not surprisingly Megan is fascinated and puzzled by Lady's tale, especially as her charge often seems mentally confused. Sometimes she talks about the Duke as if he is still alive as if he might walk through the door at any moment. Can Megan really believe anything Lady says?
When she is not with her charge, Megan deals with her studies and her life at home with her clever sister and kind, supportive mother. Megan also struggles with her own past. She has lost her father who was tragically killed years before. Although she barely remembers him, the loss still pains her. As Megan learns more about Lady and the Duke, the mysteries in her own life unfold.
The Beauty
The characters are the strong points in E.L. Parfitt's story. Megan is a likable, relatable girl who struggles to be the odd one out at school and in her extended family. She is mature and introspective and not as interested in "nail varnish colours, gossip and possible weddings" as her female cousins.
Her younger sister Faiza is similarly intelligent though more likely to fit in with her peers. Despite their differences, they get along well. It's enjoyable reading about the sisterly relationship bolstered by their kind mother. She can easily join in the girls' playfulness just as well as she can comfort Megan as she struggles with her feelings about her lost father.
It's also refreshing for Megan's family to be immigrants from the West Indies, an unusual heritage in YA stories. (It helps that I'm also West Indian!) Megan questions her mother to try and fill in her vague memories of her father. The story often touches on difficulties and prejudice which ring true to the community in the past and even the present. "There were signs displayed in shop fronts which read 'No dogs, no coloureds, no Irish,' " explains Megan's mother, describing Britain when Megan's grandfather first arrived in the 1950s."Your father grew up and wanted to become a journalist but suffered much prejudice, even in the 80s when we were married."
Later on, the story touches on a very real, emotional situation involving dark family secrets.
For those who love the tale of Beauty and the Beast, there are many elements which are immediately recognizable from Lady's story. There's the familiar plot of a young woman caught up in the dark secrets of a rich, mysterious man. There's the suggestion that a curse overshadows this man's life. Roses are of course an important symbol mentioned throughout. There's the catalyst when the young woman's actions break the spell which holds the beast. It's really interesting seeing the story told in a different way.
The Beast
Despite the interesting elements E.L. Parfitt has included in Shattered Roses, there are several ingredients missing which could have made this a truly captivating tale.
Since the reader anticipates a Beauty and the Beast story, we expect that aspect to have a strong impact. However, it's effect is diminished. Many of the scenes depict Lady telling the story to Megan who sits with her reacting to what is happening. This obvious framing makes it very difficult for the reader to be transported into Lady's story. You feel more like you're getting a second-hand account rather than imagining that you're actually walking the halls of the house with young Lady and the Duke.
Also because Lady's mental state is not perfect, she tells the story in a disjointed way. We jump with her around to different points. Sometimes Lady even speaks of the Duke as if he is alive though facts seem to suggest otherwise. The author clearly does this to add mystery, but it mostly left me feeling disconnected from the story. Lady's narrative doesn't allow the suspense and drama of the past to build. One moment we seem to have come to the end of her story, then we seem to be getting a glimpse into the Duke's past. The sequence of events is not clear. Perhaps this explains why even though I read the novella twice, I still felt as if there was no real resolution to Lady's tale. I was left feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied, unsure of what was real and what wasn't.
Unfortunately, Megan's own story, though interesting, is not engaging enough to make up for the deficiencies in Lady's own. Her family has their own enigmas, but they are treated very lightly for most of the story. We spend most of the time exploring Megan's home life which is adequate but not very compelling.
What is also perplexing is the culmination of her plot line. A sudden turn of events reveals the resolution to a mystery in Megan's family. Even though the author hinted at this previously, it still feels as if we are hit with a crash of details and developments near the end of the story just when it should be winding up. It is also the first time that the theme of Beauty and the Beast is even suggested in Megan's part of the tale. Until this development, the connection between Lady's tales and Megan's experiences are rather tenuous. Without further exploration, Megan's arc ends in a rushed manner as if the author realized that going on longer would threaten the novella's length. We are left feeling as if we have been deprived of a real story just as it was beginning.
The Verdict
If you are curious about another take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, you might want to have a look at Shattered Roses. However, the treatment of the story makes it difficult to immerse yourself in this story and ultimately could leave the reader unsatisfied.
Adaptation Recommendation
A Shattered Roses movie would be a great medium to build on visuals and really immerse the viewer in the magical aspects of the story. It would be a great opportunity for young Indian actresses to play Megan and her sister. I can imagine Mindy Kaling as their loving mom. It would be great to see her in a role with a bit of drama. The casting of young Lady could go to many talented black actresses like Letitia Wright and Gugu Mbatha Raw (who has already been in a Beauty and the Beast movie!). Older Lady would require a strong black actress like Mary Alice or Leslie Uggams. Matthias Schoenaerts would probably be very good at playing the mysterious and tortured Duke.
Content Note
Shattered Roses is never graphic but there are discussions of abuse, death, racism, and murder. Sex is vaguely implied once.
What are your favourite Beauty and the Beast adaptations in movies, TV shows or books?
"We'll always have Paris."
"I have not the pleasure of
understanding you."


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Sally Jessy Raphael 'Hated' Doing the Last Few Years of Her Talk Show
Sally Jessy Raphael spent nearly two decades on air as host of the syndicated talk show Sally. But the 81-year-old says she "hated" working on her show during its last years — and blames her producers to driving her into the tabloid subject matter so often associated with Maury Povich and Jerry Springer.
Raphael talked candidly in an exclusive clip from Saturday's Oprah: Where Are They Now? about the end of her show — which was cancelled in 2002.
Raphael was the first female to host an audience-participation, issue-drive talk show — predating Oprah by nearly three years.
The show began in 1983, covering human interest subjects and hard-hitting news items, but it devolved in its later years into daily stories about feuding relationships or sexual exploits in order to compete with the shock tactics dominating the competition in the 1990s.
It was a move Raphael didn't like. "The last years of doing those Maury Povich/Jerry Spring shows? I hated them," she said. "I was betrayed by some of the producers into doing that. Come to think of it, I should have fought harder for what I knew what right — what I knew that I didn't want to do."
Low ratings eventually spelled the end of Sally. The host said the hardest part of the show's cancellation was that she felt she betrayed the show's staff.
"They told us that the show was going to go on and we had 250 employees," she explained. "Now some of them said, 'Sally we need to know if we're going to be renewed. I want to buy a house or my wife and I want to be pregnant.' And then within two months after they bought their house and got pregnant or whatever, I had to go in front of the entire crew and staff."
RELATED VIDEO: Oprah Reveals How Her Weight Loss Is Improving Her Relationship with Stedman
She said she never knew the cancellation was coming. "I'm sure there are some who think that I knew all along. I did not. I would not," Raphael confessed.
Had she to do it over again, Raphael would have done things different.
"I would have said to them 'I don't know' instead of 'Yes, it's a go,' " she revealed.
Oprah: Where Are They Now? airs Saturdays (10 p.m. ET) on OWN.


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I've been struggling with this for a long time and I'm still not convinced I understand what is really the point of "opinion-based" as a reason to put a question on hold.
I'm here to discuss this question.
...is expressing anger in this way always the wrong decision?
One one hand, the way the question is phrased would immediately make it an opinion-based question. I was surprised it wasn't put on hold.
On the other hand, if this question is about etiquette when expressing anger, then it should stay open but be rephrased to avoid confusion. I don't know if this is the case, the OP could clarify. In addition, the OP is not asking how to express the anger- he already gave examples.
I commented that the question was opinion-based and the OP used a question I have asked, to correctly demonstrate that the answers to my question are in essence different opinions, as most questions and answers here, are mostly about. In other words, you can't really avoid writing what you think when you answer most questions here.
How necessary is after all "opinion-based" as a VTC reason? Can we come up with a clearer alternate term (to express what though)?
Bottom line:
- There seems to be bias towards some opinion-based questions vs others.
- We can't really quantify how opinion-based is one question over another nor is it enough or convincing to say that they all generate some degree of opinion-based answers. And then what? There are some gaps in this logic. The moment you as an individual A answer a question you express an opinion. Period. It's very unlikely that there won't be a single other individual X who could potentially write an answer expressing a different opinion. This makes using "opinion-based" very confusing when deciding on putting a question hold.


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Checking Your Online Consignment Account
Make Money From Your Closet!
Then, once you start consigning, we'll keep track of all of your sales for that store in your online account. You can log in to your account whenever it's convenient for you and watch your stuff turn into cash! (Remember that it can take a few weeks for items you consign to make it to onto the sales floor – especially if you're consigning seasonal items, so if you don't see sales immediately, don't give up! They'll show up soon.)
Staying on top of your Stuff Etc consignment account is easy – check your account status online anytime. When you're ready to start consigning with Stuff, you'll need to visit one of our stores in person to complete a consignor application to get approved and have your online account created.


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Eric Armstrong's Voice and Speech Source is a resource site for those who need to train their voice and speech, including students of English as a second/foreign language. Despite the fact that a few sections of the site are still incomplete, visitors can expect to find a number of valuable resources, including the Journey of the Voice section, which describes the production of the human voice and forms the backbone of the site.
• Journey of the Voice: a full description of the processes of sound production, plus a brief guide to caring for the voice
• Introducing the IPA: an illustration of the pronunciation of consonants and vowels in English (available for download in MP3 audio and PDF text formats)
• IPA charts: interactive Flash animations of IPA symbols for consonants (pulmonic and non-pulmonic), vowels, diphthongs and triphthongs, suprasegmentals, and diacritics
• Phonetics quizzes of various types (fill-in, matching, multiple-choice) testing students' ability to recognize phonetic sounds and symbols
• 10-point comparison of Received Pronunciation (RP), Stage Standard, and General American, vividly illustrated with MP3 sound files
Site URL: http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/index.html


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Memorial Regional Hospital Family Birthplace
The Dr. Henry D. Perry Family Birthplace at Memorial Regional Hospital is pleased to provide our families with a comfortable labor and delivery experience to welcome your newest little family member. We offer moms and babies a relaxing environment to enjoy those first few magical days together. Our skilled labor and delivery team is here to make your experience unforgettable, from labor to postpartum care and everything in between.
Once your little one has arrived, you both will be moved to one of our private postpartum suites with a TV, free WiFi, in-room dinette set, private bath and a sleeper sofa for your partner. We also have dedicated antepartum suites for our pregnant moms who require close monitoring.
Our hospital has:
- Private labor/delivery/recovery (LDR) suites
- OB operating rooms
- Postpartum recovery suites
- Cesarean section rooms
- Antepartum suites
- Level II and Level III NICU rooms
Hollywood, Florida 33021
View Map and Parking Information
Your Safety First. Always.
Learn how Memorial is working to keep you and your families safe during your visit to the hospital. Childbirth During COVID19.
Parking and Hospital Entrance
Delivering moms should use the Emergency Department entrance. For scheduled cesarean birth or inductions, please use the Outpatient Entrance from 5:30 am - 5 pm and the Emergency Department entrance outside of those hours. Valet services have been suspended at all hospitals.
Visitor Policy
Labor & Delivery & Post-Partum
Two visitors per patient may be allowed within the facility with special guidance.
Online Maternity Education
Baby Classes Now Online
In order to keep you safe, our baby classes are now taught online by Memorial Family Birthplace educators. A limited number of classes are currently available, and most will be added to Eventbrite in the future.
You may register for any class, regardless of which Family Birthplace location you choose for the birth of your baby. Some of these classes are also offered in Spanish / Ciertas clases también se ofrecen en español.
Memorial Family Birthplace Pregnancy App
We encourage you to register for our free Memorial Family Birthplace Pregnancy App, an online pregnancy resource center designed to educate expectant moms about prenatal care, labor and delivery, breastfeeding, and postpartum care for you and your newborn.
Maternity Orientation at Memorial Regional Hospital Family Birthplace
Datasource: Regional virtual tour
Mothers-to-be and their partners are invited to register for a virtual maternity orientation of the Family Birthplace at Memorial Regional Hospital. Even simple questions like "where should we park?" and "what hospital doors should we come through?" are essential to know as you prepare for your little one's arrival. These tours are designed to help answer questions on the ins and outs of labor and delivery.
You can also watch the virtual tour on this page to become more familiar with our amenities and what to expect during your stay.
Register for Online Orientation
Features and Services at the Family Birthplace
Labor and Delivery
Our skilled team of doctors, anesthesiologists, nurses and lactation consultants all have one goal: to provide you and your baby with the best possible care. We are here to support, empower and encourage you to create the perfect environment to welcome your little one.
Skin-to-Skin Contact
Our team is here to support immediate bonding between you and your baby. Regardless of cesarean or vaginal delivery, we encourage skin-to-skin contact with your baby immediately following birth.
Breastfeeding and Lactation Services
If you plan to breastfeed your baby, we are here to help you get off to a successful start. Our nursing team is trained in lactation, meaning we are here to help you with positioning, latching or engorgement. MHM also offers on-site lactation consultants for comprehensive care for babies who need extra help latching and staying awake at the breast. Our goal is to help you feel encouraged and supported as you and your baby begin your breastfeeding journey.
Daily Discharge Orientation
Prior to being discharged, we offer moms nutritious take home meals and a brief orientation before you head home with your baby. This orientation is full of important going-home topics, including:
- Baby care
- Breastfeeding
- Car seat safety
- How to care for circumcisions
- Mom postpartum care
- Warning signs of postpartum depression
Birth Certificate and Social Security Number
We offer assistance completing your baby's application for a birth certificate and SSN in both Spanish and English.
High-Risk Pregnancy Care for Mom and Baby
The Perry Family Birthplace at Memorial Regional Hospital offers comprehensive high-risk pregnancy care for mothers prior to their baby's birth. You will be closely monitored by our skilled Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists (perinatologist) and antepartum nursing team to ensure you and baby are both doing well. In addition, Memorial Regional Hospital has a dedicated, 24/7 placenta accreta team.
Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
The 84-bed Wasie NICU at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital is a Level II and Level III NICU with advanced technical equipment and a highly trained staff. Our NICU is one of only 11 Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Centers in Florida. There is 24-hour in-house coverage by neonatology. Parents are encouraged to visit and care for their NICU baby as much as medically possible.
Neonatal Bereavement Support Group
If you've experienced the loss of a pregnancy or an infant, we have resources available to support you as you heal and cope with grief.
- Hotline: Please call our hotline for more information and support at 954-844-6916.
- Online Support Group: Visit Rachel's Gift to register to attend this free, online support group on Zoom every Thursday.
- In-person: Due to the pandemic, our in-person bereavement support group at Memorial Hospital Pembroke is temporarily on-hold.
Maternal Addiction
Memorial's Mothers in Recovery (MIR) program helps expecting moms struggling with drugs and/or alcohol safely withdraw from substance abuse, and supports them in meeting their recovery goals.
Hospital Birth Cost
We want to give you the information you need to make healthcare decisions, including the costs of labor and delivery.
- Hospital Cost for Self-Pay Rates (Cost without insurance)
- Hospital Cost for Insured Rates (Cost based on your insurance plan)
OB Emergency Department
Our dedicated Obstetrical Emergency Departments have a board-certified OB/GYN hospitalist, 24 hours a day/7 days a week at each location. The hospitalist works with primary care OB/GYNs to provide immediate care and make decisions regarding hospital admissions and follow-up plans. In addition, we have on-site OB anesthesiologists, a maternal transport team and midwifery support.
Awards and Certifications
- Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification: Memorial Regional Hospital has been awarded the program's highest designation, Gold Safe Sleep Champion, for its commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep. To learn what a safe sleep environment looks like for your newborn baby, please download the Safe to Sleep brochure. You can also refer to the Safe Sleep Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Designated Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Centers (RIPCC) with the Florida Health Department. These centers provide obstetrical services to women who have a high-risk pregnancy and care for newborns with special health needs, such as critical illness or low birth weight.
Register for Infant Sleep Safety Class
The Baby's Coming: Last-Minute Checklist
- Camera and memory card
- Confirm insurance coverage or self-pay options
- Contact information for your baby's pediatrician
- Comfortable going-home outfits for baby and mom
- Infant car seat installed correctly
- Light blanket
- Phones and device chargers
Visit our What to Expect and What to Pack pages for more information.


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Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul will miss eight weeks after undergoing successful surgery on his right thumb, the team announced on Tuesday. After the break, the star point guard will be able to return to all basketball-related activities with full contact, the team said.
The surgery repaired a torn ligament in Paul's thumb, as the Los Angeles Times reports that he may have initially hurt the thumb during the playoffs.
Paul re-aggravated his thumb during Team USA's first day of training camp in Las Vegas last month and sat out a couple of practices leading into the Olympics. An X-ray then revealed a sprain, according to the newspaper.
That all means his performance at the 2012 London Olympics came despite the injury. Starting eight games en route to a gold medal, Paul averaged 8.3 points, 5.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the Americans. Perhaps his biggest contribution came in the gold medal game against Spain, where a fired-up Paul scored 11 points and had three steals.
Check out Clips Nation for more on the Los Angeles Clippers or take a look at SB Nation's NBA hub.


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13. Jan 2021
Italy's Novamont, a world leader in the development and production of biochemicals and compostable bioplastics, announced today it has acquired BioBag Group, a Norway based leading supplier of low-impact solutions for waste collection and packaging.
The acquisition will allow Novamont to benefit from BioBag's highly specialised independent distribution in areas where the buyer is less present. The two companies will be able to offer a more complete solution set to the market and to create long-lasting alliances with key stakeholders such as large retailers and communities. Together they plan to build even more demonstrators (innovative projects that enhance separate organic waste collection and composting systems) especially in North America, the Scandinavian countries, Eastern Europe and Australia.
The transaction is an important step forward in a collaborative journey that began twenty-five years ago. Novamont's original vision in the 1990's was to build an integrated value chain for bioplastics and biochemicals linked to initiating and improving the separate collection of organic waste. This became the starting point for what is now called the circular bioeconomy to which both Novamont and BioBag have made important contributions.
There are three reasons that make the acquisition particularly fitting:
1. Strong cultural compatibility developed over two decades of partnership, which has led to a harmonious vision and shared values, as well as the integration of teams around common projects aimed at creating a circular bioeconomy model centered on soil health and the regeneration of local areas.
2. A highly complementary value chain:
a. Novamont is mainly focused upstream and has developed the Mater-Bi supply chain that ranges from agricultural raw materials, bio monomers, bioplastics and low impact formulations. It has brought its materials to the market through applications that require biodegradability in composting facilities and soil. The close collaboration with large retailers and local communities interested in innovative low-impact solutions has reduced the use of traditional plastic and the accumulation of microplastics in the environment.
b. BioBag is focused downstream. The group is a pioneer in the development and distribution of a wide range of compostable applications starting from the Scandinavian countries and specialises in a series of support services for these applications. BioBag has also developed a growing e-commerce platform, which is an important market channel for their existing applications and for the expanded product range that will be derived from Novamont's innovations and upstream integration.
3. Strengthened service capabilities for Novamont's partners and customers: BioBag is a marketing and distribution company for low-impact applications, which already is and will increasingly be at the service of Novamont partners along the supply chain, helping to maximise the opportunities for product development and geographical expansion. BioBag also brings to the market different and complementary applications to Mater-Bi's, thus enlarging the joint offer and giving maximum service support to retail and other sectors.
Novamont has expanded considerably in the past decade, in particular through internal growth, by acquiring and regenerating obsolete industrial sites. This transaction will allow Novamont to further expand its compostable bioplastics business into Northern/Eastern Europe, North America and Australia. BioBag will continue to operate as an independent organization, with the same leadership team who has achieved excellent results over the past few years.
Novamont's CEO Catia Bastioli said: "This agreement allows Novamont to expand its model of circular bioeconomy. By joining our best skills and energies and fully integrating our supply chains we can better serve our partners upstream and downstream while further accelerating circular solutions for different market sectors and for communities pursuing our goal of producing more with less."
BioBag's CEO Kjell Ivar Bache is very pleased with the new owners and sees the acquisition as a win-win: "We have been close partners with Novamont for decades and for BioBag this is like coming home. With Novamont, BioBag becomes part of a world-leading bioplastics and biochemicals company. This will enable further international growth together. We are truly excited!" said Mr. Bache.
The advisors involved on the buyer's side were Hi.Lex and Hjort for legal and PWC for financial, tax and labour, whereas the seller's counsels were Bryan Garnier for M&A and Wiersholm for legal.


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The WRAPPED Los Angeles fine art team provides excellent service and exquisite artwork at prices you'll find pleasantly surprising.
WRAPPED Studios is a Venice, California-based full-service art studio. We provide expert consultations and in-house production services, which are performed by an incredibly talented group of world-class artists. Our team is recognized as an influential commercial force in the Los Angeles fine art industry, and we are pleased to work with a highly varied group of clients who have one thing in common: a desire for top-quality custom fine art at very affordable prices.
Our suite of services includes:
- Consulting: Our experienced and deeply knowledgeable Los Angeles fine art consultants create perfect matches between your property and your custom-made artwork.
- Art creation: We maintain an incredibly talented and capable team of in-house artists, who have extensive experience in a full range of art styles and project media.
- Framing: When your artwork is complete, you can order custom framing for some of the lowest prices you'll find anywhere in the industry.
- Collaboration: Our artists also create imagery for commercial products to help manufacturers make a stronger and more distinctive impression.
No matter which of these services you're interested in, you can rest assured that our dedicated team will do everything possible to secure your full and complete satisfaction. All work is performed on-site, and all services are provided by our dedicated team, so you'll never have to worry about markups or middlemen. The end result is museum-caliber artwork at below-market prices.
Our Los Angeles fine art team serves clients in a complete range of industries.
All of these services are available across the full range of industries we serve, which includes residential, corporate, hospitality, and institutional clients.
Our residential services cover custom artwork for common spaces in multi-family and high-density dwellings, as well as private residences. Businesses and corporations in a wide range of industries have trusted us to beautify their offices and help them make a stronger, longer-lasting impression on visitors and clients. Hotels and hospitality properties can use custom art to support branding initiatives, and to improve guest satisfaction, while hospitals and healthcare institutions benefit from the proven healing power of artwork.
To learn more about our complete Los Angeles fine art consulting and production services, please visit our project gallery or contact a member of our client services department.


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The M1 is fully open this morning after police spent much of Tuesday (September 19) investigating a 'suspicious object' found on the motorway.
The road was closed in both directions between junctions 15 and 14 in Bedfordshire after the discovery was made at 7.30am.
Are you looking for a job in Nottingham? Check our listings here
The northbound carriageway reopened just after 5pm on Tuesday (September 19) but the southbound stretch of road remained shut until around 10.30pm.
The closure left some drivers stranded on the motorway for hours, including Lee Robertson, 34, of Clifton, who spent more than six hours trapped in traffic.
Police officers, firefighters and the bomb squad spent hours investigating the object, which was found underneath one of the motorway bridges.
Thames Valley Police, which led the investigation, says the object - reported to be a black bin liner - contained a chemical.
A statement issued by the force late on Tuesday (September 19) night said: "The southbound carriageway of the M1 has now reopened after a suspicious object was found earlier today.
"The object contained a highly corrosive material which had leaked across lanes one and two, but this has now been cleared.
"There is no evidence to suggest that this was a terrorist related incident."


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On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.
He's adorable. I hope you'll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don't always agree. 🙂
So, Carrie has been bugging me all day to get this blogpost done. Right before dinner, she tells me that we should spend 5-10 years living on a sailboat, just cruising around, and enjoying life.
I said to her, "Hell yes! I am all for that."
Then we sat down, ate dinner at the coffee table and watched some YouTube videos about live-aboard sailors while we ate. It was great! After dinner, Carrie cleaned up while I attended to some other responsibilities that were pending in my life. After the chores were complete, we both, almost simultaneously, sat down in front of our computers.
I said, "I am going to see what's for sale in the world of used sailboats in Maine."
Carrie replied in a very happy voice, "That is the best idea I have ever heard of! While you do that, I will check on mooring fees in the nearby vicinity."
"Hey, look at this one!" was my response, because I was already knee deep in the used sailboat online market.
Then she started to read off some rates for moorings in our general area and then started telling me about the pros and cons of each different area.
I was getting excited! I mean, honestly, this is like one of my lifelong dreams. Sailing around, earning money with an online career, swimming naked in the crystal clear, warm water of the Caribbean . . . all with a beautiful wife. Who could ask for anything more?
As my mind began to fog over with dreams of my dream finally coming true (in a few years of course) I heard this crystal-clear siren call of a voice break through.
"Hey! You working on that blogpost or what?"
I jumped so hard it was like awakening from a falling dream. "Uh, uh, yes ma'am."
But you know what? As soon as I send this off to Carrie via email so that she can get it posted (sorry it's late, baby!), she will be right back on track to planning the dream. And the thing about Carrie is that once she has an idea in her amazing brain, she won't let it die out! Especially if she knows that it will make me happy.
That is why I am still the luckiest man in the world.
Peace kids!
Remember to always Love Your Way Through It!
My little, creepy book baby is out in the world because who doesn't want sad, quirky, horror with some romantic bits for the holiday season?
It's a young adult novel (upper) called WHEN YOU BRING THEM BACK, please buy it!
It's super fun.


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Virtual WSLD 2020 Participant Contact List
To receive Zoom and additional information on the Virtual WSLD 2020 please fill out the following form. This will help us estimate attendance and a method of contacting you about the event. This is not a registration form and filling … Continue reading →


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by Kat Statman
The Belgians came, they saw, and, oh man, have they conquered. Well, an American did grab one win and that was a UCI race, so I guess it counts for something. The first week of the international season is under way and is there ever a bunch to talk about! First is CrossVegas, so much going on there. We can't not talk about this weekends upcoming races in Seattle, Vermont and Maryland. Did you catch the velo bowl? Jurgen Mettepenningen is confident in Pauwels, Aernouts and Vantornout. National Champ Todd Wells will not defend his stars and stripes this January; London Olympics and Louisville 2013 are the goals. Finally, in this week's Working Man's Edition there were just too many of you, so instead, there's a list of all the riders that deserve some respect!
Cross Vegas, How Can We Not Mention It!!!
Wow, Cross Vegas, so exciting! For the first time in the history of the weeknight event, we saw some "true" 'cross conditions (whatever those may be.) No half lap pits were necessary, but the bikes were not looking all too clean either. I guess the weather gods wanted to show the Belgians a little love. They didn't need to though. There have always been a few of the Euros over in the early part of the year and they are always up there in the mix, but this week we saw a show of force on their part. The Euros took the top three spots regardless of the good efforts given by Driscoll and Trebon to really make things happen.
But importantly we have to talk about the bunny-hopping issue. When the UCI changed the barrier height rules, it was pretty apparent that bunny hopping was going to be necessary. Remember way back when Sven Nys changed the game and started hopping the barriers to get a big gap in races? Well, that was exactly how things went at CrossVegas. Even though Driscoll had made a good run at getting away, his running the short stairs cost him valuable time to stay with Wellens and possibly put either Wellens or Driscoll on the top step away from a bunch sprint. So … pro 'cross is now about barrier-hopping in addition to all the the other little pieces of the puzzle (sprinting, technical skills, threshold power, etc.).
So much to talk about with CrossVegas, so little time. One big bummer, though understandable, was that we did not see Katie Compton line up at the unofficial season opener. Why did we miss out on seeing the record-holding US National Champion? Because Katie wants to win the World Championships and being fast in September is not important relative to being fast at the end of January. Good luck, Katie, can't wait to see you winning races again soon.
To stick with the women's race, are we welcoming in the era of Katerina Nash here in the US? Katerina has taken a reduced mountain bike racing schedule recently to focus on 'cross and it is clearly working. But Katerina has some big goals in mind, like taking on Katie Compton, World Cups and World Championships. So, another woman coming after Compton. Things are going to be exciting this fall and winter, especially with Georgia Gould, Nicole Duke, Kaitlin Antonneau, Amy Dombroski and many others.
A Big Weekend of Racing on the US National Scene!
On to other racing … This weekend is a big weekend and all the big guns are spreading out. The Telenet-Fidea crew, comprised of Ryan Trebon and Jonathan Page, will be heading up to Seattle. Jeremy Powers and Tim Johnson (as well as the whole New England professional crew) will be heading to Vermont for the Green Mountain 'Cross race. Ian Field, Tim Van Nuffel and Tom Van Den Bosch will all be lining up at Charm City Cross in Baltimore. It's too bad this massive crew is not all going to be at the same race. But then again, when you're in a country as big as the US it's sort of hard to be! Stay tuned to here for all of the race reports and photos from the weekend. (Like Charm City Day 1.)
Did you Catch the Velo Bowl Johnson vs. Powers?
Oh, if you missed it, it was awesome to watch former teammates go after it at the Circulus. The two of them were really gunning for it at Interbike before CrossVegas! So, who won? Well, go check out our report, photos and videos of the fight at the Circulus, hosted by Rapha!
Mettepenningen Has Faith
Moving onto the Euro field, reports are slowly coming together from across the field as people are making big news statements about how the season is going to go. Jurgen Mettepenningen is confident in Pauwels, Jim Aernouts and Vantornout. So, is correctly confident in their abilities? Well, in Pauwels for sure, but is Vantornout really going to come around? He's had a rough few seasons, though he was able to ride at the front a bit last year, but he really couldn't put together the same level that Mettepenningen has asked for (don't forget he likes to fire riders for non-performance). Well, only a few weeks until the Belgian season starts and we can find out what happens.
Todd Wells Truncates His Cross Schedule but is Gunning for Louisville 2013
In some rather disappointing news, National Champion extraordinaire, Todd Wells, will not be defending his stars and stripes this January in order to focus properly on the 2012 London Olympics. Not only will Todd be skipping this years Nationals, but he will be doing an even further reduced schedule than we are used to seeing from him as he has added La Ruta de los Conquistadores to his fall schedule in order to prep for the 2012 Cape Epic with World Cross Country Champion Jaroslav Kulhavy. (Those Czech's seem to be mopping up rainbow stripe jersey's of late, wonder if Katerina can do it this January?) Well, good luck, Todd, and we look forward to seeing what you can do on the 'cross circuit this year, following your third run at the Olympics and going after the Louisville World Champs … sounds like 2012 is going to be a big one.
The Working Man's Edition
In this week's working man's edition I think we just need to throw out some names because there were way too many of them. So here is the list of working men destroying it over the past week: Spencer Powlison, Allen Krughoff, Justin Lindine, Sean Babcock, Bryan Fawley, Jake Wells, Tim Allen, Brandon Dwight, Brady Kappius, Molly Cameron, Alison Mann, Lisa Hudson and Kate Scheider. I'm sorry for whoever I've missed, but you all deserve mad respect! If there's anyone I missed, please put their name in the comments section!


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About a month ago, I got up on stage to perform stand-up comedy. I had done it a few times in college, and it had always gone pretty well. This, however, was my first time going to a bar, performing for people out of my age group. On top of that, I was the only one doing comedy. All of the other acts were people with guitars, people with banjos, and more people with guitars.
I had a set planned. A whole bit about the bachelor and how they should have married couples on instead of single couples, and see who gets divorced instead of see who falls in love. It was a good joke. There were a lot of good jokes in there.
I thought I had memorized the whole set. I mean, I had. I memorized it, but I didn't really rehearse it. I figured that if I could recite it in my head over and over again, I wouldn't have a problem reciting it on stage. Well, that sounded great. Then I got on stage.
The first two sentences of the bit came out perfectly normal. I hit the punch line for my first joke: "I think they should get a bunch of married couples on there, give them alcohol, and see who gets divorced. Whoever is still together at the end of the show, you'll know they're truly in love."
And then, my mind went blank. For the life of me, I couldn't remember what came next. My mind scrambled like a batch of eggs on Sunday morning, desperately reaching for something to say. I immediately skipped to a semi-related joke that was supposed to come much later in my set. My mind went blank again.
I stood there, awkwardly staring into the crowd, the crowd even more awkwardly staring back. Seconds felt like hours. But I stood there. I wanted to run off the stage. Seriously, I really wanted to just run off the stage, cry, drive home, and never talk to anyone again. But I stood there in agony, waiting for something, anything, to come to my mind.
I skipped right to the end of my bit. I mustered out the words, hit the final punch line, got a few laughs, and walked off the stage. A man smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up as I was walking back to sit with my friends. I said, "I need a drink." So, I walked over to the bar, and somebody bought me a drink. I still wanted to crawl into the fetal position for ever, but I felt a sense of raw humanity inside me. Granted, most of it was sheer humiliation and disappointment, but it was something. Something strong.
I cringe every time I think about that moment on stage. It's painful. But once I got home, I knew I had to go back. I knew I only had myself to blame. I wasn't prepared. I failed because I didn't put the work in to succeed. Granted I didn't really know how to put the work in since this was still so new to me, but I didn't put the work in nonetheless. I knew I could do better. I knew my jokes were good. I also knew that even if I did humiliate myself, people would still be supportive. My friends were supportive, and even strangers were supportive.
So, I started rehearsing. I wrote new jokes, and I rehearsed them out loud every day. In front of the mirror, in front of the fireplace, in front of my dog. They were some tough crowds, but I got through it. I decided to go back to the same place where I humiliated myself.
I was more confident this time, but the memory of the previous performance was still circling through my head. I was deathly afraid it would all leave me once I got on stage. With a half hour before my spot time, I went into the bathroom to meditate on the toilet. I rehearsed my set one more time, and I told myself I had this in the bag.
And I did. I went up on stage, and the jokes flowed out of me like water through a freshly lubed pipe. Do pipes even get lubed? Whatever, you get the point. Anyways, my timing was great. I didn't stumble, I didn't forget. I got laughs. I got some really big laughs. I knew when I got off stage that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I've written jokes since I was a little kid, and a comedian is the only thing I've ever honestly seen myself as. Even when I humiliated myself, I felt a deep sense of meaning. I was disappointed, but I knew my focus was aligned with who I am.
More meaningful than anything was the satisfaction of overcoming something difficult. It was the act of facing the dragon head on and conquering it. Going back to the exact place of some of my deepest fears and squashing them, right then and there.


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A heads up before we begin: Parents may want to view this episode before allowing their children, owing to the topic. Tonight at 7 p.m. ET is our live-streaming webinar we are calling "Catholic and Gay?"
We are holding this webinar specifically to debunk all the homoheresy propaganda being peddled by the likes of Fr. James Martin and the whole clerical, pro-gay crowd in the Church. If you look at any studies — usually done for political research, but still helpful for understanding conditions in the Church — you will find that the vast majority of Catholics in the U.S. and throughout the West are extremely supportive of gay sex.
And we are going to be direct about this topic because it is precisely through being indirect that the homoheresy gang has been able to make such inroads and corrupt the minds and souls of so many Catholics. Martin and company, for example, are always presenting the case that this is about love and equality and so forth, thus pushing the propaganda themes of the political Left.
The Church does not, and has never, had any problem with love and deep friendship between members of the same sex. The Church event names some of those friendships in the first eucharistic prayer of the Mass. What the Church does have a problem with is using the virtue of friendship as a pretext for hopping into bed with each other and committing unnatural sexual acts and then labeling those mortal sins "love."
People do not have to reach sexual satisfaction, repeatedly, with each other to express their love and friendship. But that is what the entire movement is about: sexual satisfaction. It is not about love and abiding friendship. Whenever you see that flag with the co-opted rainbow, think to yourself: that means those people are telling me they sodomize each other.
Because that's what it means and that's all it means. People don't fly flags to say they love each other. They fly flags to express their support for a cause. And the cause here is to have illicit immoral sex protected by law and shoved down the throats of anyone who disagrees with it — especially those who disagree on moral grounds.
Church Militant doesn't hate gays. The Catholic Church doesn't hate gays. We are concerned for their immortal souls — their eternal lives — and because of that, we speak up — something bishops and priests should be doing daily but don't. As we've covered many times before, one reason they keep silent is certainly because many of them, including bishops, are homosexual themselves. Today's leading bishops were in seminary and in formation — which was really quite often malformation — at a time when homosexual men ran the roost in seminaries and screened out good, orthodox men and loaded up the classes with gay men.
A number of these gay men, too many, went on to rape altar boys, while their gay-sympathizing bishops concocted an elaborate cover-up scheme, which has now cost the Church going on four billion dollars, a loss of her moral authority and made her essentially irrelevant.
We bring this up again to point out the extreme danger that this homoheresy poses for the Church. There are simply too many homosexual men with too much influence in the Church. It's one reason perhaps that Pope Francis came out and said they shouldn't be in seminary, repeating what the Church has taught forever.
Martin and the rest of the gay, sex-loving-and-promoting gang of clerics want to use the Church to normalize gay sex — period. And they are corrupting and debasing the Church's teaching and presenting distorted versions of it to club faithful Catholics over the head and demonize them and accuse them of having mental disorders in order to silence them.
Gay men do not belong in the priesthood — period. This is a perennial practice of the Church. It's just that loads of gay men who slipped past have now achieved influential positions and ignore the Church's practice of refusing admittance of homosexual men to seminary.
When the Church repeated this caution for the umpteenth time back in 2005, New York Cdl. Timothy Dolan, who was just a bishop at the time, said publicly that he wasn't going to follow the directive because he decided it didn't apply to all gay men. Small surprise that 10 years later he was the main promoter of gays in the St. Patrick's Day Parade and allows the homomafia to run his archdiocese, while he's paying out tens of millions of dollars for gay priests who sodomized hundreds of altar boys.
But his sad story is repeated time and time again, all over the country, all over the West, because of the predominance of homosexual men in the clergy — the same men who are either silent or expressly out in front supporting the homoheresy — the homoheresy that Church Militant is going to dismantle point by point tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
Please tell your friends about it through every means you have available and tune in tonight. Just come to ChurchMilitant.com, and it will be right here on our front page.
This has to stop, and these evil men and their wicked perversions of the Faith must be called out.
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|A Muslim IDP in Aluthgama
We are also perplexed as to how once violence broke out, despite heavy police and military presence, the rioting continued unabated for several hours with much damage to property, businesses, places of worship, including the death of two Muslim youth.
FUTA believes, as with the recent attack on Ruhuna university students and lecturers and a number of incidents of intimidation at Jaffna university and the general stifling of any form of dissent by trade unions, students or other civil society groups, the Aluthgama incident points to a dangerous culture of impunity that is nurtured and fostered by those within or close to the current regime. Certain groups, it appears are above the law and are empowered to unleash prejudice, hatred and violence at will. If this culture of impunity is allowed to grow unchecked every individual in this country will fear for their safety and security. What little faith that exists in the institutions of law and order will further deteriorate with grave social consequences leading to a situation where people will increasingly take policing into their hands.
In any multicultural society ethnic and religious tensions do occur but it is the role of the state to act swiftly and decisively to stem such tensions and protect its citizens. Sri Lanka has just emerged from 30 years of brutal and lacerating civil conflict and we can ill afford another ethno-religious conflagration. We call upon the state, and the current regime who are custodians of the state, to immediately arrest and prosecute those who incited and perpetrated violence in Aluthgama. We also call upon the state to immediately take substantive measures to restore law, order and good governance and to restore people's faith in the institutions of law and order. We demand an immediate stop to the unleashing of violence upon those who hold dissenting views and that the right to democratic protest and dissent be respected.


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Mon 17 Nov 2008
Did Apple get its India strategy wrong?
Posted by Prakash under Gadgets and Deals
No Comments
Mint has this nice article on how Apple got its India strategy wrong for the iPhone launch:
Lost Opportunity | How Apple got its strategy wrong
To add to this, Apple charges its customers in India full charges for the handset, which means no subsidisation from the service provide and yet the handset it locked to the service provider.
In US, handset is locked to AT&T but then subside the cost of the handset and charges only US$200. The rest they make up over the 2 year contract.
In India too, Apple should either sell the handsets unlocked at full price, or if the service provider wants to lock the handset, they should subsidise the cost.


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Miss the Fantastic Four? We got a cure…
Or more specifically, we have a nice dose of nostalgia — 13 COVERS from Walt Simonson's run. Why now? Because it's Simonson's birthday!
Walt Simonson was born Sept. 2, 1946 — making him 70!
So dig these 13 COVERS. And if your fave is missing, just add it to the comments below or in whichever social-media thread you found this!
All scans and credits courtesy of the fantastic Grand Comics Database.


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You all know that I LOVE to solo travel. When I went on my first solo trip, my friends/family were confused by my lack of selfies. I want my pictures to capture my full experience (and let's be real, I want my whole outfit in the picture). BUT we all know that asking strangers to take our picture can be tricky. First, you have to trust that this total stranger won't run away with your phone. Second, you have to hope that they know how to work your phone. Finally, you pray they know the rule of thirds, and that they won't cut off your feet or part of the scene you're trying to capture.
Here is how to get the PERFECT picture:
Ask a Stranger
First, I look for a couple or another solo traveler taking selfies. I approach them and ask if they would like me to take their picture. Then I take as many shots as necessary to help them get the perfect picture (you know, you have to get the angle/lighting/pose just right!). Then I look at their picture and say, "Wow, that's actually a perfect picture! Would you mind taking the EXACT same one for me?" That way, I already know that I am going to love the picture.
Did you follow the steps above, and your picture still didn't turn out just right (they cut off your feet, you blinked, etc.)? No worries! Just walk around for a few minutes, and when they have walked away, find a new couple and try again!
Use a Tripod
If you are not a fan of talking to strangers or there is no one around you, tripods are a great way to go. This will also allow you to set up your camera, so that all you need to do is jump into the shot.
Go on a FREE Walking Tour
You all already know I LOVE free walking tours. Literally Google "Free walking tour [insert city name]" any time you go on a trip. Another thing that I love about walking tours is that they are a great chance to get some amazing pictures! Your tour guide will walk you past all of the picturesque sites, and will give you plenty of time to snap some great shots. There will always be other solo travelers and couples on your tours. Offer to take their pictures (see steps above), then ask them to take yours. The great thing about this is that you will not be concerned about them running off with your phone/camera because they are on the tour with you.
Find Your Pose
Posing for a picture can feel awkward (I never know what to do with my hands). I find it helpful to look through Instagram and Pinterest to find inspiration for pictures that other people have taken at the same location. You can even look around you and see how others are posing. Honestly, if all else fails, sometimes my "awkward" pictures end up becoming some of my favorites. They show the real me, and they typically make me/others laugh at my ridiculous faces. Sometimes my best pictures come from the frames of me laughing at my awkwardness with the strangers taking my picture. I get to look back and remember all the fun I had at each place.
Take a Selfie
Never miss out on capturing your memories! There is nothing wrong with stopping to take a selfie! If you have short arms like me, then invest in a selfie stick! Just be aware of your surroundings (in some of the bigger cities, people are known to grab phones right off the selfie stick).
In the end, just remember that, no matter what, you are going to feel silly. People are going to look at you. They may even laugh at you. This happens even when you are traveling with other people. But guess what? You will likely never see these people again. So if they are going to stare, make it worth their while – get over feeling stupid and get your awesome pic!
Here are some of my favorite shots:


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happy to iron clothes
Yes, I'm proud to say that I'm happy to iron clothes! I'm outta the closet! It's a lost art. There are REAL benefits! Oh, just wait and see!
Iron the Clothes
"Oh, yes, my little sister Alice (Ally) and ironing. She is so right. She loved to iron. She starched her shirts and other items by sprinkling (old-fashioned with hands or a soda bottle with a top), rolling up tightly then covering with towel to set. Next using Mom's famous old iron to make the clothes emit clouds of steam and come out smooth as silk. On the other hand, I did not like to iron and didn't care for domestic work. I liked reading and typing. Alice charged me 25 cents to iron a shirt. She's always been an excellent entrepreneur also. Oh, and I gladly paid because her work was worth it." ~my big sis, Kathryn
Easy Ways to Iron Clothes
I am coming out of the closet. I love to iron. I iron because I can. I iron because it reminds me of my childhood. I iron because it's a small luxury in my life. I iron because it gives me so much more than I give it.
If you enjoy this post, then how about this one, too!
How to Iron
Yes, I suppose you might call this a dying art. Something of the past. Another dinosaur household chore that just doesn't make sense in the 21st century. But, after posting a simple statement on Facebook recently about my status, yes, what I'm doing, one wintry morning, I was astounded at the responses I received. I mean, for me, these simple 15 words elicited. Kinda like a 'viral' post for an average person like me. And, what did I say? Well, here you go: I'm ironing this morning. A lost art. Been doing since I was a kid. Relaxing!
Ironing How To
No picture with this FB comment. Just 15 words. And, boy, oh, boy, it was popular and ignited some chattering. Love love love it when you find those sweet innocent hot buttons for kind conversation on Facebook!
I strongly contend that there are definitely benefits of ironing. And, while I'm not trying to convince the non-ironers to convert to the hot plate, I might just give you some insight into the sizzling minds of us folks that like and even love to iron.
Ironing Cotton
I mean there is some scientific research on it. OK, go ahead, chuckle, if you like! And, ironing cotton is my favorite fabric.
What is Ironing
According to Science Daily and research from The University of Queensland and Melbourne's International Diabetes Institute, "Reducing time spent sitting and increasing light physical activity has important health benefits that may reduce the risk of diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases… light intensity physical activity, like washing dishes, ironing and other routine domestic or occupational tasks, was associated with lower blood glucose levels." Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
I already knew this about ironing. It's an upper body/arm workout. Yep, you work those arm muscles hard as you press down.
While my reasons for ironing aren't scientifically proven, they are established over decades of doing this activity and monitoring my own reactions. Maybe that qualifies as historic anecdotal scientific data? But, it's not only me, it's other people who chimed in on my Facebook post about ironing. Those comments confirm to me I'm not off base. So, what's the big deal about ironing. Well, how about these pay offs~
- Ironing is great stress reliever.
- Ironing provides happy instant gratification.
- Ironing is a kind of exercise. You are burning calories.
- Ironing is a mood booster. I feel good when I do it because I see the fruits of my labor.
- Ironing is calming. It's like hiking in the alpines by myself. Time to think. Ponder. Reflect.
Iron Clothes
And, just in case you didn't believe all that. Well, here you go. There's a new sport. EXTREME IRONING!!! I'm not kiddin' you! Just read this from Wiki! EI (or Extreme Ironing) take competitors to remote locations where they iron items of clothing. It might be a high mountain peak or a dense jungle. The idea behind this 'latest danger sport' is to bond the thrills of extreme outdoor activities with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt. Now, that's what I'm talkin' about!
Ironing Made Easy
In my 67 minutes of ironing the day I posted on Facebook, here's what I accomplished:
- I burned about 100 calories.
- I conceptualized in my brain three new recipes.
- I caught up on the news while watching TV.
No Iron Napkins
And, no I didn't have any 'no iron' napkins!
- 5 sets of king pillow cases
- 24 napkins
- 2 king top sheets
- 3 kitchen/tea towels
As I looked at my hard work, I smiled. Job well done. The little voice in my head was saying, OMG, you're going to so enjoy using these things now because they're all sparkling and even more beautiful.
Quick Ironing
Believe me, after my FB post, I know that I'm not the only one who loves the sport of ironing. Just take a gander at the peeps like me. The ironing peeps. The peeps who still practice this lost art and are proud to say so! Here are some of the over sixty-four comments on my FB post:
Michael E Smith: I iron all my clothes. I think it is relaxing because you can see that you have accomplished something!
Laurie Lufkin: Me too….now if only there was a Red Sox game on tv, that would be perfect.
Madeline M Jordan: I love ironing!
Debrah Ammar: I agree, it is relaxing!
Traci Barbati Hessler: I used to have to iron dinner napkins, handkerchiefs (which used to really make me shake my head), and pillow cases when I was a kid. Really hated it then but grew up to love it.
Diane Baker: My Mom ironed everything for 6 kids and a husband (at 86 still does but, only for herself now) she had an old coke bottle with a sprinkle top and filled with lavender water…she'd iron and listen to the radio (baseball games were her favorite).
Beverly Hurley Brown: I iron my clothes. They look so much better. I love to do it!
Frank Robinette: Any man who was in the service had to learn to iron…and sew. It cost too much to hire it out. Did you sing while ironing? I tend to think it is incumbent to hum or sing while ironing. I don't do much of that sort of thing any more having assumed the role of the crumpled old man. 🙂 HUGS.
Debby Heltman: I love to iron.
Denise Collins: I love to iron also it's relaxing
Peggy Sparks Browning: I love to iron!!!!
Terry Wiley: I remember a little lady in our neighborhood who ironed for neighbors. She had a bottle like this one filled with water that she would sprinkle the shirts, etc. while she ironed.
Lee Anne L. Rozzell: I iron everything too!
Emily Barton: I remember my grandmother ironing Everything, including sheets and underwear ? Me personally, I never really liked to iron. Except when I was pregnant… Then I loved it!
Rachel Kirtley: I iron almost daily! Although I don't find it necessarily relaxing? ? don't absolutely hate it, but I don't love it either!
Gena Brooks Ryan: It's not that I dislike ironing so much, it's that I'm not good at ironing. My husband, on the other hand, does perfect ironing. As Frank Robinette wrote, being in the service and especially a member of the President's Honor Guard, he's perfection with an iron. Lucky me!
Laura Mohr: I relate to that because Wendell was in the Navy and he ironed clothes without precision and creases all in right places. He'd volunteer to iron my clothes! ❤
Bud Robinson: I set aside a half day every three to four months, put on a good movie and proceed to iron 10-15 dozen napkins on my mantle.
Karen Munsey: You must be pairing that ironing with a wine! Which do you suggest? I have found ironing to be like the art of cross stitch, they both result in some cussing.
Karen Munsey: Thank you Frank Robinette! Pinot it is! Of course I will have to drink before searching for the iron and its board. Hopefully I will be capable of recalling where I left them! Then again maybe it would be best to first drink and think the plan thorough.
Jackie Mounts: I iron also. People make fun of me but that's ok. My husband looks like a million dollars and my kids did too. It's not easy but very rewarding.
Midge Tunstall Coomes-Baltimore: I thought I was the only woman still ironing with my Rowenta iron that I love…?
Barbara McCarty Brookhart: I don't iron much anymore. I was good at ironing as a teenager. I ironed for my mom and two other ladies.
JoAnn Belack: I have been looking at the new wrinkled linen bed skirt for a week….and today is the day….ironing !!!!
Mary Post: Yes! I can still remember the smell of Mother ironing in the kitchen starching my Dad's white shirts with the radio on!
Doris Kate Mitchell Ross: I always remember you ironing. Especially your hair.
Cil D'Angelo: I still enjoy ironing but "just have to have the time"!
Missy McCoy I still iron too. ?
Lynne Gary Laino: The only ironing I do is while quilting!
Dreama B. Perry: I do a little ironing but you could say mostly pressing. I try to buy things that you do not have to iron.
Tonette Joyce: I iron. The IRONIC thing is that I would not mind the extra warmth right now, but it is mostly my Summer clothes that need it, and it is always so hot.
Robin Rhea: I knew we were sisters!!!
Katherine Wanamaker: I love to iron…
Alice Mitchell: I still iron, Ally. You came up to me in high school one day and asked if I sent my blouses to the cleaners. I said, No, I do them myself."
Chantal Cornwall: Ha you remind me of my mama – she irons everything – pillow cases even 😉 I iron — 1) going to a wedding — 2) funeral /celebration of life. Cotton, cotton, cotton – enough said.
June J Jordan: Remember sprinkling them and rolling then putting them in the fridge if you couldn't get to the ironing right away?
Barbara Cioffi Giacometti: I do this every Sunday night while watching MASTERPIECE | PBS, it's an art! My mother laughs at me ironing the sheets so they will fit in the drawer. Ok the key to this is drinking wine at the time.
Maggie Casey Alberts: I iron!
Cathy Hazzard: I soooooooooooo hate ironing.
Regina Chestnut-Goff: I know exactly what you are talking about Alice D'Antoni Phillips? Agree it is an lost art.
Barb Wilson Mary Ellen does this too!
Rebecca E. Parsons: I have always loved to iron!! I had a tiny ironing board and iron when I was little. I used to set it out beside my grandmother when she ironed. She let me iron handkerchiefs. Lovely memories.
Tim Taylor: Post a recipe for ironing, sounds yummy!
Alyce Sepe: I do the same thing Kathryn…maybe it's an "Alyce" thing! I still have to have my sheets ironed before they go on the bed, I have gotten better, at least now I don't iron my socks and underwear!
Carol Joyner: I'm with you Alice…it's the one domestic chore, in addition to cooking, that I love!
Kathryn Cook DeAngelo: Yes, Alyce and Alice like the ironed linens. Your socks and underwear! Ohhhhh. I do admire you ladies! Really. I'm so glad they have so much wash and wear, no-iron no-wrinkle fabrics made for a person like me.
Kathleen Kautz Coalter: I love to iron! Thank you Tim Ferrell!!
Marsha Griffin: I Love to Iron. When I I was ten ironed all daddy's white shirts hung them on mantel. Can see progress you make plus Daddy use to praise me for doing such good job , we ironed our pillow cases and daddy s underwear!
Arlene Urichich Aiello: I am glad to see other like minded women here. I love to iron and shout it from the mountain tops. Like other tedious jobs it is so satisfying to see those wrinkles disappear. lol. It is a therapeutic feeling and to me nothing is finer than a freshly ironed shirt hanging on a hanger. Thanks Mom for preparing me with my free therapy for these trying days by throwing the hankies and pillowcases in the bushel for me to iron as part of my chores. Only one question, how come you never made my sister do that? hahahahhaha


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Tracy Tedesco works with employers and job seekers on a wide array of recruitment and job search strategy services.
For job seekers, Tracy assists working professionals who seek to change careers as a Career Coach and Job Search Strategy expert with her hands on, real life inside experience gained from 20 years in corporate Talent Acquisition and People Operations.
> You apply online but never get responses or quickly receive rejection emails.
> Recruiters are not reaching out to schedule phone interviews.
> If you do get to the final interview stage, you don't receive an offer.
Then it's time to jump start your job search with a seasoned job search strategist!
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Keyword Optimization
98 out of every 100 online job applications are immediately rejected. Job seekers require a better understanding of recruiting technology to execute more successfully and get to the interview stage. Tracy helps translate your experience into these universal keywords to increase the appearance of your resume in Recruiter searches.
Resume Optimization
After working with Tracy, you'll understand how to create a keyword rich, search engine optimized resume. You will also know how to customize your resume to address all of the requirements in a posted job description and how to apply online so that you'll receive responses from Recruiters.
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Your LinkedIn profile is key for Recruiters to contact you and learn more about you! It's also a way to demonstrate your interest in the job market and even learn more about other companies and their employees. Tracy helps upgrade and expand your LinkedIn profile. Additionally, job seekers need to understand the social media job search etiquette.
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