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Editor's Note: This is part one of a four-part series. Information provided by The Mercury, a sister site of The Times Herald.
COURTHOUSE — A killer that doesn't discriminate by gender, age or socioeconomic status is lurking in the tri-county area.
Heroin, an opioid analgesic processed from morphine, has become a bitter pill for law enforcement and for the users and their families plagued by the devastating effects of its highly-addictive nature.
"We've often talked about the fact that if you use this kind of drug you're going to wind up in jail or dead. There are only two outcomes," said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. "Once you're addicted to it, once you're on it, it is just one of the most difficult things to break away from."
First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said heroin has become "a significant issue" in Montgomery County, and no community is immune to it. "We have seen heroin and made heroin seizures in communities like Norristown, in Pottstown, in Royersford, in Limerick … this is all over Montgomery County."
Heroin is becoming an increasing problem throughout the Philadelphia suburbs, including the most affluent. In all areas, police officials say recreational use of prescription drugs is leading down a road to heroin addiction.
"Instead of going to a crack dealer on a street corner, suburban kids are getting powerful prescription drugs out of bathroom medicine cabinets," Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said. Chester County defense attorney Thomas Ramsay added that those prescription painkillers are leading youths who use them on a path toward heroin.
In Berks County, Coroner Dennis Hess said opiate overdoses, including heroin and painkillers, "is happening everywhere."
"The problem is the city, (Reading), is so concentrated, so we get a lot of them in the city, but we get them in Birdsboro, Greenwich Township, Spring Township, all the townships," he said.
In Delaware County, a Heroin Task Force has been created to combat what District Attorney Jack Whelan labeled an "epidemic."
In January, Whelan spoke of creating an educational program in schools to warn those of the dangers of the deadly substance. "The statistics aren't getting better," he said.
With an estimate of roughly 40,000 instances of heroin use by those age 12 and older in the past year, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ranks Pennsylvania as having the third highest heroin use in the nation behind California (56,000) and Illinois (41,000).
That estimate is based on data collected by the agency from 2006 to 2011.
'It gets in you ...chasing it until you're dead'
There were 40 heroin-related deaths in Montgomery County during 2012, up from 37 in 2011, according to statistics compiled by the county coroner's office.
"Our office is investigating a few heroin-related deaths per week and they're from throughout the county," said Vicki Firth, chief medical investigator for the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. "We are seeing all ages, all socioeconomic backgrounds."
Firth, a registered nurse with a master's degree in forensic medicine, said so far this year there have been four confirmed heroin deaths. Several more suspected heroin death investigations are still awaiting final rulings, pending the receipt of toxicology tests.
Investigators have seen deaths both from sniffing powdered heroin and from intravenously administering the drug.
"I think it's one of the most difficult and challenging of addictions that people have. It gets in you and then you just chase it and you continue chasing it until you're dead," said Montgomery County Assistant Public Defender Hindi Kranzel, a defense lawyer who represents addicts in treatment court. "It controls every single thing that they think, that they do, every action that they take. Every thought that comes in their mind is wrapped around heroin. It's their girlfriend, their boyfriend, their lover … heroin is their entire world."
Nikki Golden, 26, of Royersford, who beat an addiction to the drug she once called her "best friend," recalled her first intravenous use of heroin at 17.
"The first time I did it, I immediately fell in love. It's instant. Before you're even done shooting up, you're high. It was just that rush," said Golden.
Limerick Police Detective Matt Daywalt said a large number of heroin users pick up the drug at the suggestion of a friend or a significant other.
"Usually it starts with snorting. Nobody wants to inject themselves. Everybody's afraid of needles. It just grows," he said. "It's never somebody wakes up and thinks, 'Hey, it'd be really good to try injecting something into myself.'"
80 percent of county crime is drug-related
Addictions to heroin and other drugs fuel crime in communities, according to law enforcement officials. Ferman and Steele estimated that between 75 and 80 percent of the criminal cases their office disposes of annually are "drug-related in some fashion."
"Someone who is burglarizing homes in Montgomery County may be doing it to fuel an addiction because they need money to support their habit. That's dangerous. People go into a house where someone may be, people could get hurt," Steele said.
"It begins at home," said Lower Frederick Police Chief Paul Maxey. "These people are pushed out onto the street because people are tired of them taking from the family…thus it forces them to take on other crimes to feed the habit."
Roughly 20 percent of the district attorney's caseload is drug crimes, whether it's possession or delivery. Another 25 percent of the cases are DUI-related, which includes driving under the influence of drugs.
"So when you consider those numbers, every year, half of the cases that we handle in Montgomery County are directly involving drugs or substances," Ferman said.
Counting other crimes, such as burglaries and thefts that are fueled by drug addictions, the number of drug-related prosecutions is staggering.
"If I had to come up with a number, I'd say probably 75 percent of the cases we see have some drug component to them," said Ferman, whose office handled 9,017 adult and juvenile cases to a final disposition in 2012.
"You'll see them steal things that are easy to re-sell on the street. They'll sell anything to get these drugs," said Assistant District Attorney Cara McMenamin, the prosecutorial liaison in the county's drug treatment court.
"Car break-ins, daytime burglaries, those are the types of things you can almost always tie it back to an opiate addiction, more so than any other drug," added a county detective. "They're looking for the GPS or a cell phone that they can drive down to North Philadelphia and beg their dealer, 'C'mon take this and give me 10 bags for this.'"
Heroin resurging as next step after pills
Once an epidemic in the U.S. in the 1960s, heroin use appeared to subside for a while but local authorities are now seeing a resurgence in the drug's popularity.
"Right now, this is a very significant concern to us because what we used to see would be pockets of use. We would see individual cases and we would see some heroin overdoses. But we're starting to see, just over the last six months or so, more of this kind of organized heroin trafficking," said Ferman, referring to a recent drug bust in Norristown that resulted in the seizure of numerous bundles of heroin with a street value of $17,000.
More troubling, authorities said, is that heroin use is no longer the milieu of the stereotypical homeless junkie on skid row.
"Years ago you would think about a heroin addict as a junkie. You would think about some older person who is addicted to this and they're kind of wandering around out of it all the time. Now, we're just seeing a different kind of customer, younger and not necessarily aware of the dangers," Ferman said.
"I think we're seeing heroin migrate into the college environment, being used as a party drug by more and more people," Maxey said. "The effects are devastating."
Young people start dabbling in opioids, raiding the medicine cabinets of their parents for potent painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet.
"Every case is going to be different. There certainly will be people who try this once and they can become addicted so quickly because it is so potent," Ferman said. "What we have seen in our county more frequently, is people, especially younger people, who start using prescription drugs. We see a lot with OxyContin. They'll use that and become addicted to it."
"I think, with our high school kids, they're introduced to the opiates," Daywalt said. "Somebody's dad or mom gets hurt at work or something, they get the Oxy(Contin) or the Percocet, start in with that, and then they want to try something else."
"Two things happen. One is that those prescription drugs might become too expensive or difficult to get and they will then turn to heroin, or sometimes they no longer can get the high they want from the prescription drugs and they will turn to heroin because it is so powerful," Ferman said.
The opioid turned heroin addiction problem cuts across all age and socioeconomic barriers.
"Heroin knows no boundaries, whatsoever," said McMenamin, explaining she's seen lawyers, doctors and nurses who have been addicted to opiates and have sought treatment court. "It is a raging epidemic and not in just the population you would assume, the poor, the needy people. Because of the link with oxycodone, which is prescribed, you see this epidemic in the well-educated, in older people who just happen to have a back or knee injury, students coming off of a car accident."
"That starts this downward spiral," Steele said. "It's just an incredible shame to see where these types of drugs take otherwise good people."
The number of people aged 18 to 25 who in the past month used prescription drugs for non-medical purposes declined 14 percent, from 2 million in 2010 to 1.7 million in 2011, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced in September upon the release of the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. However, non-medical use of prescription drugs among children 12 to 17 and adults aged 26 or older remained unchanged, according to the annual survey of about 70,000 people nationwide, aged 12 and older.
The 2011 survey also found that the number of people aged 12 and older who used heroin in the past year rose from 373,000 in 2007 to 620,000 in 2011.
"In the last few years there has been a lot of attention on the issue of prescription drug abuse. Many of the most abused prescription drugs are opiate-based. Unfortunately, this is having an effect on heroin use," said Christopher Deutsch, director of communications for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.
"When opiate-based prescription drugs become unavailable, some users will move on to heroin to get their addiction. There are many communities that have recognized the dangers of prescription drug abuse and taken steps to reduce it, only to find heroin use increase."
Kay McGowan, assistant drug and alcohol administrator at the Montgomery County Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs, which provides prevention, intervention and treatment services for county residents battling substance abuse, said the disease affects people from all walks of life.
"It's not just the poor, impoverished individuals who struggle with this disease. People aren't born with the goal of growing up and becoming a drug addict. They're your neighbors, your brothers, your sisters, your children. It's a misunderstood disease and it's not a disease of willpower," McGowan said.
Cheap alternative to other opiates
Opiate pills, such as oxycodone, can cost $30 a pill, or $1 per milligram, when it's sold on the street. A bag of heroin costs a lot less - between $5 and $10, detectives said.
Typically, heroin is not being sold on the streets of Montgomery County, like other illegal drugs such as crack cocaine or marijuana. Investigators said those involved in the suburban heroin culture are familiar with one another and so one or two might travel to Philadelphia, Reading or Allentown to purchase the drug and then distribute it to their acquaintances.
A bundle of heroin, which can produce 10 to 13 bags, can be had for about $100, authorities said.
Daywalt said that it's gotten to the point where heroin is actually cheaper than marijuana.
The fact that heroin is odorless also makes it easier to move and elude law enforcement. Marijuana's telltale scent makes transport more difficult.
Detectives and prosecutors said the Philadelphia heroin trade is known for providing strong and cheap drugs. "Over the years we've seen high levels of purity in the heroin that people have gotten from the city," Steele said.
"Unfortunately, on roads that go through Montgomery County, like the Schuylkill Expressway, we have found that that has at times been a heroin highway," Steele added.
The drug is so powerful, investigators said, that buyers will inject the heroin as soon as they get it, not being able to wait until they return home to the suburbs.
Steele said there are lethal dangers for youth going from the suburbs to the city to get their fix.
"You may get robbed. You may get carjacked. You may get assaulted. You may get killed. They're good targets for the bad guys," Steele said. "They have a target on their backs when they go into those communities."
Chester County defense attorney Ramsay describes it as "putting their lives at risk to get the drugs that were putting their lives at risk."
Not knowing the potency of the drug purchased can also be dangerous, said Ellen Unterwald, director of Temple University School of Medicine's Center for Substance Abuse Research.
"A few years ago, there were many deaths due to a form of heroin with very high potency. You never know the potency of what you're taking," she said.
"This drug is pure evil," said Steele. "The fact it would lure otherwise intelligent people to make these types of dangerous choices should tell everyone not to go down this track."
Tough message
Death from an overdose comes from a cessation of breathing, according to Unterwald. "Heroin and other opiates like morphine cause respiratory depression."
Mixing opioids and alcohol also causes death, according to the Berks coroner.
"When you start mixing them it's pretty much a combination for death, a cocktail for death," Hess said.
Law enforcers have been going to schools to discuss the dangers associated with the use of prescription drugs and as part of that conversation have discussed the path to heroin abuse.
"So, we talk about it in a proactive way, hoping we can educate kids and educate parents and school administrators about the dangers of this and let them know this is just something you never want to try because it is so dangerous," Ferman said.
Coleen Watchorn and Kathy Mackie share the most profound sense of heroin's reach. Both women lost their sons, Pottsgrove High School graduates Stephen Watchorn and Trevor Mackie, to heroin addiction. They died seven months apart in January and August 2012.
"Nobody is above it," said Coleen Watchorn, of the pull of addiction. The message "to a parent or a kid of any age (is) that it's never too late to ask for help … to say 'Don't be stupid' and think 'not my kid…' Don't sugarcoat it."
"There's all this talent and it's being wasted," said Kathy Mackie of the years watching her son battle addiction.
Heroin "changed who he was, (and) we lost what he could have been."
Contributing to this report were Mercury staff writer Evan Brandt and former Mercury staff writer, now York Daily Record staff writer Brandie Kessler. References to Chester County are from a Jan. 6, 2013 special report on addiction published in the Daily Local News, stories by Michael N. Price and Michael P. Rellahan. Information from Delaware County is from the Daily Times, story by staff writer Rose Quinn.
Follow Carl Hessler Jr. on Twitter @MontcoCourtNews
Follow Frank Otto on Twitter @fottojourno


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Skip Hire Bournemouth
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Waste King is fully insured and licensed. It has a nationwide reach but we particularly support homes and businesses in London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, including the St Albans, Hemel Hempstead and Watford areas.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cries of "The Furniture Superstore! The Furniture Superstore!" and other ear-splitting commercial pitches emanating from TV sets across Maine should be quieter right about now.
New Federal Communications Commission rules limiting the volume of TV commercials took effect Thursday, after years of people complaining that ads on TV were obnoxiously loud — much louder than the programs they interrupt.
Adopted in December 2011, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act requires that TV stations, cable and satellite operators, and other pay TV providers ensure that commercials "have the same average volume as the programs they accompany." Failure to comply could result in fines.
Many viewers are loudly cheering the idea of quieter commercials, and local TV stations and other TV providers say the rules make sense and should be fairly easy to live by.
But at least one Maine advertiser says the new rule could hurt business.
Doug Abrams of The Furniture Superstore in South Portland and Lisbon says the whole idea of a business buying a TV ad is to get noticed. In The Furniture Superstore's commercials, Abrams shouts his store's name — over and over and over again — to capture viewers' attention.
And a quieter ad, he fears, may get less attention.
"I really can't say if it will affect us or not, or whether we'll change our ads, but the two ways to get people to notice your ads is either by the frequency or by doing something unusual," said Abrams, a co-owner of the family-owned stores.
"If I was a TV watcher, I'd say this is a great thing," he said. "But people should realize this could affect businesses. Businesses might have to redirect some of their advertising."
But some viewers are saying the opposite might occur — that lowering the volume on commercials might make them pay more attention, not less.
"Whenever I turn on the TV and get a commercial, I feel accosted, and my reaction is to protect myself and retreat, so I don't watch it," said Arthur Fink, 65, a consultant to nonprofit groups and a photographer who lives on Peaks Island. "But if I hear a commercial at a more reasonable volume, I'm more likely to listen."
Jamie Brookes, 56, of Yarmouth, watches very little commercial TV and thinks it's "presumptuous" of TV providers and advertisers to "barge into" people's homes with ads that are much louder than programs.
Portland's TV stations say that in the past, it was harder to control the volume of commercials, because ads are produced by outside sources before being delivered to the station or cable company. But complying with a commercial volume standard today is simpler, because the right tools are available.
"We have equipment in place now that monitors the audio and looks at all the data, and it has boundaries for what the volume should be," said Craig Clark, chief engineer at Portland's CBS affiliate station, WGME (Channel 13).
When broadcasters were required by the government to switch from analog to digital signals a few years ago, the difference in program and commercial volumes became even greater.
"The compression technology used with digital raises all aspects of the audio, and basically it enhanced the sound," said Steve Carter, president and general manager of Portland's NBC affiliate, WCSH (Channel 6). "With technology today, we have the ability to control (volume) for commercials."
All but one of Portland's six commercial TV stations said they were ready to begin complying with the CALM Act right away, and have the equipment in place and tested. Some, including WGME and Portland's ABC affiliate, WMTW (Channel 8), have been using the equipment for about a year.
But one Portland station, Fox affiliate WPFO (Channel 23), has applied for a three-month extension, which it is allowed to do under FCC regulations. Dave Cox, head engineer, said the extension is necessary because WPFO is building a new master control room where the audio equipment will be housed.
Time Warner Cable, the area's largest cable provider with more than 360,000 customers in Maine, is also ready to comply with the new standards, said Andrew Russell, a spokesman for Time Warner in Maine.
So what happens if commercials are still a lot louder than regular programming? Carter says you can begin by calling the station, and it will try to address the problem. But the FCC also has an online platform for complaints: esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm.
The FCC said it will rely on viewer complaints to determine if commercials are too loud. And while program providers could face fines for not complying, penalties are not spelled out, according to the FCC.
Another of Maine's TV advertisers, Wally Camp Jr. of Rowe Ford Sales in Westbrook and Auburn Motor Sales, doesn't think the new volume levels will affect his business negatively, and he's ready to have his commercials run at whatever volume the TV stations tell him. Like Abrams, Camp appears in his own ads, and is often seen calling out, "Marking 'em down and moving 'em out."
"I really don't think it's going to impact us in any way," said Camp. "So whatever we're supposed to do, we'll do."
TV ads have received a lot of complaints over the years, but some folks feel they are just part of a larger overall problem — a society that's gotten increasingly louder as technology has brought recorded audio into every part of our lives, from the boardroom to the bedroom to the bathroom.
"I notice (louder ads) in movie theaters and on radio too," said David Treadwell, 70, a freelance writer in Brunswick. "So I welcome anything which can smooth out the barrage of commercial appeals."
Message received, loud and clear.
Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:


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The Catholic Interracial Council sponsors the John F. Kennedy Dinner for Dr. King. The Master of Ceremonies will be Sister Mary William and will take place at the Pick-Congress Hotel.
Digital Archive brought to you
by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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Mr. Bob Martin
Faculty Directory
Professor of Visual Arts
M.F.A., University of Arkansas
B.A., Northeastern State University
Bobby C. Martin is a printmaker/painter/educator/curator who works out of his 7 Springs Studio near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Martin's artwork is exhibited and collected internationally. He has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions, the most recent being a one-person exhibition entitled Back in the Day, in the East Gallery of the Oklahoma State Capitol in 2011. His most recent curatorial project, Indian Ink, was an exhibition of historic and contemporary Native printmakers from the J.W. Wiggins Collection of Native American Art in Little Rock, Arkansas. Martin's work is in numerous museum collections, including the Philbrook Museum, Gilcrease Museum, and the Sam Noble Museum. An enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) tribe, he currently serves as an Associate Professor of Visual Arts at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where he teaches printmaking and screenprinting classes, and art foundation courses.
Old family photographs have long been a deep inspiration and nearly endless resource for my artwork. These images of close kinfolk and distant relatives are icons for me, symbols of a Native American identity that is not seen as "traditional," but is just as valid and vital to me—a tradition of Indian Christianity and mission schools that has been a part of my family history for generations.
I base many of my works on photographs that belonged to my full-blood Indian grandmother, my aunts, my mother—images found in shoe boxes, forgotten in the bottoms of drawers, or found among the tattered black pages of old leather-bound photo albums. The photographs have very personal meanings for me as the artist, but I have found also that there is an almost universal recognition among viewers of a sense of history and identity, evoking memories of their own family's past. My art aims to return the viewer to a specific moment in time—not a monumental or historic moment, just a simple, personal moment in one man's family history. While it may be possible to peel back or peer around the layers in these works to reveal deeper intent, it may be just as possible to look at these works and think about a favorite aunt or Granny's old Ford truck.
My hope is for my art to become like an old family photograph—perhaps cherished, perhaps stuffed in a box in the attic—but always able to evoke memories every time it is viewed.


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School lunch makeover
For the first time in 15 years, the USDA has made significant changes to school meals in an effort to curb childhood obesity.
Child Nutrition Directors Say New Meal Regulations Will Not Be Hard to Implement at Their Schools
Operators say sodium reduction poses biggest challenge.
"We're already there" is the most common reaction when talking to school nutrition operators about the new meal pattern regulations.
"Most of what is [in the new meal regs] we're already doing," says David Binkle, deputy director of food service for the Los Angeles Unified School District. "In fact, in our district we still have a lot of things that exceed even what the new regulations are. For us there wasn't a whole lot of impact."
Participation decline? The district's foodservice department revamped its menus this school year to incorporate many of the proposed meal regulations under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. There have been several reports that the district's students were not accepting the new healthier menus and that participation had declined as a result. Binkle disputed published reports that participation has declined because students do not like the department's healthier menus.
Binkle acknowledged that participation has declined nearly 3% since last year. However, he said the reasons behind that drop are not related to the healthier menus not being liked by students.
"When you look at the reason [for the drop in participation], most of it has nothing to do with the menu," Binkle says.
One major reason is the district's enrollment dropped 2.9%. "Clearly when you have fewer students you have less meal participation," Binkle says.
Another factor that attributed to about 40% of the decline in participation was that 100 schools that were serving free meals to all students under Provision II are no longer qualified under that program. Binkle says that years ago, before Dennis Barrett took over the program, these 100 schools did not keep proper documentation that would allow the program to continue this year.
In another 50 schools, meal periods were eliminated because there wasn't adequate staffing to supervise students during lunch. Finally, 30 schools moved from a year-round calendar to a traditional calendar. Meal counts for previous years included meals served to those students in year-round programs for months during which traditional schools were not in session. That has also decreased the number of meals served.
"Clearly, there were the changes to the menu," Binkle says. "From what I see and what I hear now that students are getting used to [the new menus] and they have tasted it, they like it. Any time you make change, and major change like this, that's an evolution that we have to go through. There's going to be people now saying the meal is too healthy for the kids and it's stuff they don't know. The reality of this is the rest of the country is about to see what we've gone through [when they adopt the new meal pattern regulations]. We did this on purpose so that we could really get out ahead of this and start to work through it and adjust. I think the rest of the country is going to see a lot of the same impact [that we've seen this year].
"The other thing is the district went even further than what these rules are because the superintendent and the board made the decision to eliminate flavored milk. I was at a school two days ago and I met with the teachers. They said everybody has really embraced the reasons why we are doing this, but what they don't understand is why the district continues to go further. They think that if the superintendent would just put the chocolate milk back then everything would be fine."
Binkle says the district has strived to be on the forefront of making school menus healthier.
"We're in the process of writing an even stronger nutrition policy," he adds. "We are really 10 years ahead of other districts. What we are seeing coming out of the health department is that there has been about a 2½% decline in obesity in Los Angeles in children. What we are doing is clearly working. We went from this menu that was kid friendly, that was more grab-and-go-type of foods, to one that is much healthier with a lot more fruits and vegetables. Is it the right thing to do? Yes it is. Will we stay the course? Absolutely. What I keep hearing from the principals is that as we keep tweaking and teaching and encouraging the kids, more and more kids are participating."
Binkle says the areas where the department still has to work to meet the new regulations are creating age/grade groups and meeting minimum and maximum calorie ranges.


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Horoscopes for week of November 11, 2004
Hungry for more inspiration, Aries? Curious about the unfolding mysteries? For more juicy details about your destiny in the coming week, check out your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
My Taurus friend Allie just put a new bumper sticker on her car: "I can't remember if I'm the good twin or the evil one." It's almost as if she intuitively guessed one of the key themes you Bulls will soon be wrestling with: how to tell the difference between your strong, beautiful, inspiring qualities and your unripe, unlovely, and debilitating ones. It won't be as easy as you might imagine. There are sides of your personality that are a blend of both the good and the bad, for one thing. It's also true that your virtues sometimes mutate into vices, and vice versa. Proceed on this exploratory mission with a tough but open mind.
Your destiny is a gorgeous mystery, Taurus. Your soul is awakening more every day. The secrets of life are ripening right in front of your eyes. For more clues, consider checking out your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
"Anybody can become angry--that is easy," said Aristotle. "But to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way--that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." I agree with Aristotle. Those who are able to express anger with maximum integrity are as brilliant as any Nobel Prize winner and as saintly as Gandhi and Mother Teresa combined. Can you imagine yourself rising to that challenge, Gemini? Your assignment in the coming week is to try to master the art of constructive wrath.
What greater adventure is there than exploring the enigmas of your unique destiny, Gemini? For more hints about the week ahead, listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
In his new book, The Naked Woman (available thus far only in the U.K.), biologist Desmond Morris says that women have four G-spots. He calls the other three the A-Spot, C-Spot, and U-Spot. I thought you Cancerians should know about this fantastic news. You're in the thick of the Season of Bliss, when you should be expanding your capacity to give and experience all sorts of pleasure. I suggest that you do lots of hands-on research to expand your erotic possibilities. Don't stop there, though; explore the frontiers of feeling good in every way you can imagine.
Where do you want to go in the coming week, Cancerian? Who do you want to be? For more clues, tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
"The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself," wrote motivational author Orison Swett Marden. "It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone." Personally, I think that's a bit overstated. In my experience, divine grace in the form of unexpected assistance is usually involved when a golden opportunity shows up. On the other hand, most of us do underestimate how much power we have to make good things happen. This is the time and this is the place, Leo, to stop underestimating. Your will is stronger than you realize.
Life will bring you entertaining revelations in the coming week, Leo. To explore even deeper, dive into your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Time for a poetry break, Virgo. You've gotten way too serious and literal. Read the following advice with the right side of your brain, please. Imagine you have a guardian angel who resembles the celebrity you love most. Sing your favorite commercial jingle with reverence. Recall and relive the last day of your childhood. Drink the tears of someone you love. If you come upon a lamp with a genie in it, don't wish you had a magic wand. Speak aloud what the poet John Keats wrote: "I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination." Refer to yourself as the "Earth-Shaking, Record-Breaking, Love-Erecting, Truth-Correcting, Mind-Expanding, Justice-Demanding Bolt of Liquid Lightning."
Want more clues, Virgo? Need further insight? I discuss your coming week in greater depth in your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
In 2002, physicists at Middle Tennessee State University were able to transmit electric signals through coaxial cable at four times the speed of light, even though the equipment they used was cheap stuff from Radio Shack. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you now have the potential to pull off an almost equally amazing feat at a very low cost. So don't assume you need complicated, sophisticated resources this week, Libra. It'll be fine to rely on your personal equivalent of what the Tennessee scientists called "basement science."
Need a few more whacks applied to your mental blocks in the coming week, Libra? A few more caresses administered to your growing edge? Cruise on over to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
According to philosopher George Santayana, "A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim." Let's make sure that doesn't become an apt description of you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. I have no problem with you redoubling your already-intensive efforts. In fact, I encourage you to take your dogged, concentrated approach to new levels that are unprecedented even for you. Just make sure that you never get sidetracked by fantasies of revenge or other irrelevant diversions. Stay hyper-focused on your worthy, noble goals. Show all of us the meaning of enlightened obsession.
Got enough clues to chew on for a while, Scorpio? If you need more, give yourself the luxury of your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that a crocodile had you trapped in its clenched jaws. The situation would be hopeless, right? No, not at all. If you had the presence of mind to jam your fingers into the beast's eyeballs, it would release you immediately. Similarly, Sagittarius, the predicament in which you actually find yourself these days is not as dire as you might imagine. Escape will be surprisingly easy if you simplify your perspective and let your instinct for survival guide you.
Want to explore the coming week even further, Sagittarius? Dig deeper? Feel stronger? Consider tuning in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Why do human beings have no more genes than worms? Why do black sheep have a better sense of smell than white sheep? Why do more than four million Americans believe they've been kidnapped by extraterrestrials? Why do men have nipples? Why do Capricorns ask fewer questions than any other sign of the zodiac? I don't know the answer to any of those queries, but I do know that it's time for you to challenge the premise of that last one. Even if there's a grain of truth in the theory that you're not a gung-ho practitioner of the spirit of inquiry, that's got to change. For the next six weeks, you should be the most persistent and imaginative question-asker in all of creation.
What greater adventure is there than exploring the enigmas of your unique destiny, Capricorn? For more hints about the week ahead, listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Shamans and mystics down through the ages have insisted that the invisible universe is more vast and real than the visible one. In recent years, modern astronomers have adopted a similar perspective. According to the prestigious science journal Nature, the new consensus is that the cosmos is composed of 23 percent dark matter and 73 percent dark energy, which are utterly concealed from our five senses and undetectable by any known instruments. The stuff we can actually perceive-stars, planets, trees, clouds, buildings, chocolate candy, other people-is a mere four percent of everything there is. I bring this up, Aquarius, because it's an excellent time to cultivate your relationship with all that is unseen. Using your sixth sense, see if you can tune in to and fall more deeply in love with the Great Mystery.
How much do you want to know about your destiny in the coming week, Aquarius? How far do you dare to go? For more insight into your shimmering, undulating fate, tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
I've assembled three experts to provide you with astrologically apt counsel for the coming week. First, here's writer Christopher Morley: "Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity." Here's your second advisor, German writer and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: "A person should hear music, read poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul." Finally, Pisces, here's a crucial tip from Oscar-winning actress, Katherine Hepburn: "If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."
No one knows you better than you do, Pisces. But maybe you'll be inspired to dig up even more self-knowledge in the coming week if you tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
|Missed a week? Check the horoscope archives.
© 1995-2013 -- Rob Brezsny. All rights reserved


text:
Warning signs to look out for are:
We advise the use of condoms every time you have sex. Condoms are the only form of contraception to protect you against STIs and unplanned pregnancy at the same time.
If you've had unprotected sex and think you may be at risk you should seek medical attention even if you don't have symptoms. You can visit your GP or your local sexual health clinic.


text:
|View Poll Results: Myself; Yourself - Episode 9 Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 76. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2007-11-28, 21:42
|Link #41
Snape: "I hate Potter!"
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Australia
Great ep, we got a hint as to who the arson is and like i said several ep back that the long haired man in the OP surrounded by flames looked like Nanaka's uncle and speculated that he set the fire. It looks like that's the case so far!
Also you know when Asami saw Shuri cry she seemed pretty sad, if i were to take a stab I'd say maybe Asami has crush on Shuri!!! (gasp!).
Some nice brother/sister bonding by Shuu and Shuri, which was quite touching and that scene of Sana practically confessing to Nanaka ("we'll be together forever!") was nice also. You can tell that by ep 9 that the show is reaching it's climax soon, the writers are not wasting anymore time and developing character every chance they get. Things are starting to look interesting.
|2007-11-28, 22:01
|Link #43
User of the "Fast Draw"
Spoiler for Ep10 Thought:
I really expected Hinako to elbow the henchman or something. She seemed pretty annoyed with the scriptwriter on that one. I mean why take a hostage if your not going to do something?
Well a moment with Shuri and Shuu. Would expect after the remembering that occurred last episode he'd be doing something here. A rough time for both of them but of course Shuri just holds it in except when giving the mother in law a piece of her mind a few episodes ago.
Do wonder about the fire. Seems like a way too obvious thing with the uncle. They are probably going to reveal that he knew what happened, either accident...but I do agree with the mother going over the edge as an option. Just don't think he went and set the fire.
|2007-11-28, 22:13
|Link #44
Tachibana Isana
Join Date: Sep 2007
I was prepared for a letdown after episode 8. (To me, episode 8 was not only the best episode of the series so far, but the best episode of the anime season thus far.) In some ways, I guess I was somewhat disappointed by episode 9 (if a 8/10 is disappointing). I'm so interested to see how all the stories turn out.
I'm more interested than ever to know of Sana's past because I think that will be the last story solved. I believe the fire, the twins' family, Asami, and the old creepy lady will all be resolved quickly within the next two episodes leaving the last two episodes for Sana's past.
I really don't understand why Asami was the one who saw Shuri crying. For some reason, I don't think Asami will tell or even mention that she saw Shuri crying and the whole thing of her seeing her cry will be forgotten. I think she is just generally concerned seeing someone in tears. I really don't feel Asami has anything to do with the twins or the slanderous letter. In fact, I have a feeling it was the stepmother who sent the letter. Don't ask why, that's just how I feel. And I feel the uncle didn't start the fire. I think Nanaka might have started the fire acidently and forgotten about it. That's why her uncle doesn't want her to remember - for her own protection.
I would love to see a quick storyline for Aoi or even some backstory, although that probably won't happen. Same for Hinako.
Of course, I'm could be wrong.
(In fact, I know I am.)
|2007-11-28, 22:20
|Link #45
Join Date: Dec 2006
Spoiler for ep10:
As for the "being too obvious" thing, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei touches on the subject:
Spoiler for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei:
|2007-11-28, 22:59
|Link #46
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Virgo Supercluster, Milky Way, Orion Arm, Sol, Earth, Taiwan
Age: 32
Aoi in this ep practically redefines the word "giggling". Looping that sound is enough to make a grown man cry in horror.
The AnimeSentai bit was crap IMO and way too long. I just skipped it all together.
|2007-11-28, 23:06
|Link #47
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Toronto, ON
Age: 33
If Asami is biologically related to the step mom, let's see who Shuusuke has to choose from in the game:
A stepsister, A twin sister, A 10 year old trying to act like a 17 year old, A 17 year old with a mind of a 10 year old, and a 25 year old teacher.
Might as well just give up on the prospect of a normal relationship now...
|2007-11-28, 23:22
|Link #48
I can has drinks?
Join Date: Mar 2006
I'll get my coat.
|2007-11-28, 23:46
|Link #49
神聖カルル帝国の 皇帝
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Korea
Age: 31
I believe he has something to do with the fire, but isn't the one who actually set it.
|2007-11-28, 23:51
|Link #50
User of the "Fast Draw"
Spoiler for Ep10:
|2007-11-29, 00:11
|Link #51
Join Date: Dec 2006
If the sender is the step-mom, I can see this happening:
Spoiler for ep10:
|2007-11-29, 01:11
|Link #52
Tachibana Isana
Join Date: Sep 2007
Still, not a bad list of options to me.
|2007-11-29, 02:43
|Link #53
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Thoughts from Episode 9:
- A real mess of an episode. I never got a good sense of what the makers were trying to accomplish. Some attempts to build on the drama of Episode 8, but done in haphazard fashion.
- It only served to confirm my suspicion that Nanaka was the one to set the fire (probably by accident). Of course the uncle wouldn't want her to remember - the guilt drove her into insanity! Now if the uncle really was the arsonist, I'd be tempted to smack something... I would call it poor writing.
- I don't like what I'm seeing from Sana/Nanaka... it has all the signs of a destructive relationship, should one arise.
- I found the twins' plight to be FAR more interesting than the whole Sana-Nanaka deal... Are we headed towards the Da Capo route, complete with the sakura tree? If the twins (miraculously) turn out to be non-blood related - watch the sparks fly!
- Asami proves to be a real sweetheart. My only hope is that the creators won't resort to character assassination to make Nanaka look better. I'm already disappointed at what they did to Aoi.
- Hoping for an open ending at this point! Would be appropriate in my opinion, and would also encourage people to buy the game.
Power rankings:
(1) Asami - Unassailable position at the top, unless the makers decide to mangle her character. I wouldn't put it past them, but it would really ruin the show.
(2) Hinako - Patience is often rewarded... as is likely to be the case with our resident loli. Simply needed more screen time, but I'll take what I can get.
(3) Aoi - Maybe the makers should've borrowed Otome and her "otou-kun" antics? Would be an improvement over what we're seeing.
(4) Nanaka - I think she needs a friend or a relative more than she needs a relationship. Being singularly dependent on Sana is a dangerous step to take. Her aunt would be a much better option.
(5) Shuri - She has zero interest in Sana, it seems. Shuusuke, on the other hand...
(6) Shuusuke - I guess he really doesn't swing that way - or was it just a phase he grew out of? Seems more likely to pursue the Boku wa Imouto or Koi Kaze route.
(7) Yuzuki - Disappeared off the face of the earth. But must admit Onegai Teacher premise had some potential... the group of friends really reminded me of the gang Kei hung around with.
Last edited by DanielSong39; 2008-12-04 at 18:31.
|2007-11-29, 02:49
|Link #54
Weapon of Mass Discussion
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, USA
I like this show, I really do. Unfortunately it just doesn't find any focus. M;Y keeps wandering all over the place without ever having a center. First we have romantic turmoil, then it becomes a creepy suspense story with Grandma Kaiji. Out of the blue we've got a cutesy love story with Hinako. Then we're back to creepy Grandma Kaiji stuff with a chaser of emotional breakdown. Next thing you know it is back into the "softening up a tsudere" story mixed up with emotional trauma dredged from the past mingled with some of Hinako's silliness.
Without a consistent emotional tone or central character this show just keeps unsettling my attempts to bond with it. I like it, I really do, but I can't help feeling it could be a hell of a lot better if only they'd choose a storyline already.
|2007-11-29, 02:56
|Link #55
神聖カルル帝国の 皇帝
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Korea
Age: 31
That is holding back this enjoyable show.
|2007-11-29, 03:06
|Link #56
Weapon of Mass Discussion
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, USA
It is holding back this enjoyable show, but that's no excuse.
This show could pick a storyline just like any successful renai game to anime conversion. It needs to. The fact that the game hasn't been released should have no bearing on the script writers decision not to choose.
|2007-11-29, 03:37
|Link #57
Join Date: Dec 2005
Age: 38
This episode left me with mixed feelings. Other than the arsonist thing (which was rather interesting to watch), we have an amusement park section. I hate amusement park episodes with a passion. The most that has ever happened in a show inside of an amusement park was a mildly hefty slapping scene in Shuffle!. Other than that, those episodes mostly present little to no development, thus I regard them as fillers. Amusement park episodes are to me what to some of you are the *censored to avoid pitchforks and fire* references. Gah.
But enough of the ranting, at least some tidbits from the different personalities were revealed. Also, some cute shots of Hinako. This is enough to keep me hanging on for episode 10 of an overall great show so far!
|2007-11-29, 03:51
|Link #58
self-proclaimed otaku
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: toronto
Age: 32
ep9 is great. it has the serious and comic moments
The monster in the animenger has a really unique voice and i keep hearing it from series to series. I'm pretty sure he was just teaching in Nanaka's class.
Asami was very disturbed looking at Shuri crying. Her eyes just look so creepy twitching around like that but maybe that's just the artist. She seems to have a feeling for Shuri which explains how she never develop any romantic interest for Shana after all their times together. Unfortunately for her, Shuri seems to be straight as far as i can tell.
I could tell that since this series rely on surprises, that the arsonist is not Nanaka's uncle. The director is trying to lead the viewers into believing that he is, but at the end they will twist it into something else. Maybe he doesn't want Nanaka to remember cause he knows that it was actually one of her parents who did it.
|2007-11-29, 04:06
|Link #59
Join Date: Dec 2005
Age: 38
|2007-11-29, 10:18
|Link #60
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 31
Yes, Wakamoto's appearance was rather LOL and unexpected. Even more so voicing two different parts in this episode.
Regarding Nanaka and the fire --- i have a very strong feeling it was the uncle who was behind the fire. Not only does the person Nanaka sees in the flashback (flames all around) look like him, you also have him strongly against her remembering.
|Thread Tools


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text:
Karen Maynard fears for her children's safety as they walk to and from their designated school bus stop.
Maynard's family lives in Kingswood North in the HRM and her three kids have to negotiate a narrow shoulder along a busy thoroughfare to get to their stop on Lucasville Road.
She would be happier if another bus stop could be added at the intersection of Lucasville and Bryanston roads or, better yet, in her community itself.
"(The intersection) would be a good, safe spot," Maynard said. "There's kind of like a wide spot where we could park. Even though it's several hundred metres away, our kids could see the bus stop from our house.
"But instead, we have to go out to Lucasville Road. We tried walking the first day. It's about a kilometre. But it's such a narrow strip along the side of the road. It's like a little path and on the right it drops off quickly . . . It goes down a little embankment, so that's not safe."
Maynard said she quickly realized traffic is fast on the route at all times of the day, and she came to the conclusion that there's no way she would let her kids walk there by themselves.
She decided to drive them to the bus stop and park until the bus came.
"But when we parked on the side of the road we nearly got hit," Maynard said. "It's not safe for anybody . . .We have to sit in someone's laneway and wait for the bus and just run the kids next door."
Even that short stretch has a very narrow shoulder.
"To me, I can't even imagine when it's winter what it's going to be like," she said.
The family came to the area from Ontario for Maynard's husband Jay to work as a pastor. They registered the children on Sept. 12 with Stock Transportation, the contractor that handles school busing for the Halifax Regional School Board. Karen Maynard said that at the time, Stock told her it would probably take about 10 days if they needed to put a new stop in.
It's now nearly a month into the school term.
"I'm literally holding off a full-time job right now because I'm having to take the kids to and from the bus twice a day," Maynard said.
She figures she has called Stock at least 25 times and has only spoken to a real person once. Every other time, she has had to leave voice messages. She has gone to the office in person twice, including last Thursday.
"They said they were going to do a stop check for us. They have one guy doing stop checks all over the HRM. I sat for about 40 minutes (at the Stock offices) waiting to talk with the guy who does the stop check. And he kind of rushed past at one point and he said he would hopefully get it done that day. And I haven't heard back from him since then."
The Maynards' oldest son, who is 14, goes to Millwood High School. Their middle son attends Sackville Heights Junior High and their seven-year-old daughter goes to Sackville Heights Elementary. They all wait at the same stop.
There are other children who use the same stop, although for one girl, it's not a problem.
"One of them actually lives at that house (closest to the stop)," Maynard said. "So for her, it's safe, she just comes down her lane and waits for the bus. But for anyone else, it's just not a practical stop."
Maynard stressed that she doesn't want the existing bus stop moved because she doesn't want to endanger that child.
"I'm not protesting the spot in general because for the woman in that house and her daughter, that works. It's just for the rest of us in the surrounding area, that stop is not good. They need to put another stop in."
Maynard lost a cousin who was killed by a passing car as she exited a school bus when she was six. She said that's a big part of her motivation in ensuring all children have a safe commute.
Representatives for Stock Transportation were not immediately available for comment.


text:
Students fired up about reading
BLACKFOOT – Students at Stoddard Elementary are getting "fired up" about reading this year and local firefighters are helping them.
Stoddard is one of two schools in the Blackfoot School District with an Idaho Reads Vista representative working to promote and increase literacy in the school. Wednesday night Vista representative Annie Tanner told students they were "privileged to meet real heroes from our community" as she introduced a trio of firefighters from the Blackfoot Fire Department. Firefighters Bryan Howell, Luke Barry and Captain Dave Kruemenacker were all on hand throughout the evening.
After Kruemenacker read to the kids, students and their families were invited to meet the firefighters and have their pictures taken with them.
"It is exciting for the kids to have a hero from our community take the time to come and read to them," said Tanner. "This program is not just about literacy for kids, it is about families getting involved together."


text:
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Highlights of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 include a 10.1-inch LCD display, dual-core 1 GHz Tegra 2 processor, 1 GB RAM, 3 MP rear camera, 2 MP front camera, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0. This is the WiFi only model.
Contest Rules
This contest is open to residents of the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Entries will be accepted for 23 hours after the contest goes live. We'll announce the winner on the calendar page and on our Twitter account as soon as we draw.
How to Enter
For day 2, we're keeping things easy with just a comment contest. To enter to win, simply leave a comment below answering the question:
What would you like to see in the next-generation version of the Galaxy Tab?
Samsung has consistently delivered on a family of tablets, and we are curious what features you guys want to see next. Everyone that answers the question will be entered into a random drawing, with each user receiving a single entry.
Good luck!


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Reconsidering 'New': A Guide to the Best Second-Hand Clothes Shops in Brussels
Anyone who loves clothes will tell you that the feeling of buying something new and imagining the various ways you can incorporate it into your wardrobe is strangely exhilarating. Adding a beautiful piece of clothing to your fashion repertoire and feeling great in it the next day can make us all feel a little like fashionistas. But, how often are we limited to thinking that this fabulous, fashion-induced feeling can only come from purchasing something on Rue Neuve or Avenue Louise? When we think of buying something 'special' and 'new' do we think outside of the never-been-worn-before box? I would dare to say - not very often. But this thinking is a shame considering all the avant-garde gems that hang neatly on vintage store racks. And if there is ever a place to experiment with second-hand shopping, it is in Brussels.
Simple Ways to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
You hear it all the time - "the three R's" in the world of everything green. But what does it really mean to "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle?" Here, you will learn what it means to put these three terms to use. Did you know: the more you reduce, the less you need to reuse; the more you reuse, the less you need to recycle; and the more you recycle, the less waste there will be! But it all starts with reducing as much as you possibly can. Make it a game! Involve your kids, see how little waste you can have at each garbage collection. Try to have less and less each month until you reach your ultimate goal.
Top 10 Tips for a Real Holiday Season
Champagne corks flying.... late nights out... 5 course dinners... gifts... swinging parties... tempting sweets... socializing with family and friends... piles of wrapping paper... cocktails... traveling across town (or the world)... shopping... decadent chocolates... Welcome to the Holiday Season! With all the festivities and so many things to prepare and do, the holidays can easily throw us off kilter, and lead to feeling rundown, even stressed by it all! With a little planning and positive intention, you can get through the season and come out of it feeling and looking great, and even help others and the environment along the way. To help create balance in and around your life, read on!
Winter Conservation and Strengthening Your Immune System
Conserving energy doesn't just apply to your heating and electricity. Winter is the end of an annual cycle in nature. It's also the season for quiet rest and energy conservation for our bodies. Shorter days mean less natural light and warmth � the perfect justification for going to bed earlier to get more hours of much needed sleep!
Lease a Christmas Tree
Like last year, the MYP students are currently involved in a project called 'Lease a Tree'. For just 35�, 48 fortunate families can enjoy me, and my pine tree friends', company for three weeks.
Christmas Gift Exchange: Old Items Only
Have you got things in your house that you don't need any more but which are still in good condition? Have you bought something on impulse only to realize later that you don't really want it? Do you want to get rid of clutter but can't get yourself to throw away stuff mercilessly?
Well, why not make your unwanted items the life of your Christmas party by holding an 'all-old items' gift exchange? This gift exchange can be best done by a game called White Elephant or Yankee Swap. This game is very simple yet guaranteed to be fun. This could be an additional gift exchange or even replace the gift-giving altogether.
Fake Fir: Christmas Trees
�Oh toilet brush oh toilet brush, how lovely are thy bristles...� just doesn�t have quite the same holiday ring to it as the classic carol, does it? I know I was surprised when, in the course of researching this article, I came across the humble origins of the artificial Christmas tree: in the 1930s the Addis Brush Company discovered that their toilet brush factory could produce a reasonable facsimile of a Christmas tree. The artificial tree is now firmly entrenched in the ethos of Christmas consumerism.
Dr. Jane in Brussels
What does the war in Congo, the chimpanzees, your mobile phone and your daily life have to do with one other? It was this strong and convincing holistic message of inter-connectedness which impressed me the most after hearing Dr. Jane Goodall speak in front of a full auditorium at the Free University of Brussels last 22 November 2010.
Eco-Presents & the Art of Giving and Receiving
This article consists of two parts: first is a list of original ideas for eco-friendly presents, followed by the art of giving and receiving. There are also some ideas for sustainable wrapping.
Some original ideas for eco-friendly presents
Just try to imagine all the waste and pollution resulting from the Christmas season - it will make you sad. But, with a little bit of imagination, you can find many original ideas for an eco-friendly Christmas! Here is a list to give you some inspiration:


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text:
To: All Faculty and Staff
From: President Gail Fullerton
Subject: 125th Anniversary Open House
It isn't possible for me to write an individual letter to all of you who worked so hard to make the 125th Anniversary Open House the success it was. More than 11,000 people turned out for the Open House, and I am very grateful to you for your hard work and creativity. You helped put our very best foot forward.
We have scheduled Open House again for May 6 and 7, 1983. I hope you will take the opportunity then to once again help draw community attention to San José State University.
You will hear more from the Committee on Open House 1983. I know we can look forward to faculty and staff participation and more of the enthusiasm and creativity that were characteristic of this year's happening.
Thank you again for helping celebrate our 125th anniversary.
GF: ck


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Wapak rallies past St. Marys, Minster edges New Bremen at ACME sectional
MINSTER — Rivals facing off on the opening night of the Auglaize County ACME sectional tournament made for a pair of exciting, one-run games.
Wapakoneta scored five unanswered runs to rally past the St. Marys ACME baseball team 5-4 to cap a doubleheader opening night at Hanover Street Park on Monday night. Top-seeded Minster used a stellar pitching performance from Matthew Trushaw to edge rival New Bremen 2-1 in the opening game.
The games were originally scheduled to be played on Sunday, but they were pushed back because of rain. Minster and Wapakoneta will now play in the winner's bracket tonight at 6:30 p.m. St. Marys and New Bremen will face off on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.
Chandler Kaeck's bases-loaded single to right field drove in the go-ahead run to cap Wapakoneta's four-run sixth inning that decided the game.
"The mark of a good team is when the chips are down they find a way to win," Wapakoneta head coach Willie Sammetinger said. "We did that tonight."
St. Marys vs. Wapakoneta ACME baseball photos
St. Marys took an early 4-0 lead and looked to be sailing along with starting pitcher Brandon Coffey mowing down the Redskins.
The Roughriders put up three runs in the bottom of the second when Coffey walked to start the inning, Mason Gross singled and ninth-place hitter Collin Burke drew a free pass to load the bases.
Nate Vogel followed with a single to center that brought home both Coffey and Gross. A wild pitch then allowed Burke to come home for the 3-0 lead.
Marshall Lininger led off the bottom of the third with a double over the head of the centerfielder. Coffey moved him to third with one out on a sac bunt. Lininger came home after Mason Gross soft line drive towards second caromed off the glove of the second baseman and back to the pitcher, who threw him out at first. St. Marys led 4-0.
Coffey kept the Redskins off the scoreboard until the fifth inning, striking out three and allowing just one hit through the first four innings.
Wapakoneta broke through in the fifth with a Jordan Kaeck RBI groundout that brought Cody Morgan home with the bases loaded. But Coffey limited the damage, getting Chandler Kaeck to groundout to shortstop to maintain the Riders' 4-1 lead.
Wapakoneta didn't let a bases-loaded chance kept past it again in the sixth. Jake Bruns walked to lead off the inning, Taylor Gonzalez singled to right field. Cody Morgan cut the lead to 4-2 with an RBI single to right field. Martin walked to set up John Eaton's two-run single that tied the game.
After St. Marys intentionally walked Quinn Lotridge for the second consecutive inning to load the bases and Jordan Kaeck flew out to center field, Chandler Kaeck delivered the go-ahead hit with a solid single to right field.
St. Marys put runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, but couldn't push the tying run across.
"That was a good ballgame," St. Marys head coach Rob Coffey said. "We had our inning and they had their inning. They started hitting the gaps and suddenly you look up and there's five runs on the board."
Chandler Kaeck pitched a perfect bottom of the seventh inning with two strikeouts for the save, as he held down the win for Wapakoneta reliever John Eaton — who worked two scoreless innings. Wapak starter Quinn Lotridge worked the first four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks.
Gonzalez led Wapakoneta at the plate with a 2-for-3 night with a run scored.
Mason Gross was 2-for-3 with a run scored for St. Marys.
Coffey pitched six innings for the Riders, stirking out four. Josh Young worked a scorless inning of relief with two strikeouts.
"I told these boys to keep their heads up," Rob Coffey said. "If we play this way the rest of the tournament, we can come out on top."
New Bremen's Nolan Fox and Minster second baseman Max Huber synchonize dive in opposite directions during a stolen base at second base on Friday evening in the ACME sectional tournament. (Staff Photo/John Zwez)
After Minster handed New Bremen a 10-run loss late last week, Minster coach Mark Wiss said the sectional match-up with the Cardinals would be a lot tougher. Even he probably didn't know just how tough.
New Bremen pushed the top-seeded Wildcats, taking an early lead while starting pitcher Jacob Gilberg held the Minster bats at bay most of the game before Minster pushed a pair of runs across in the top of the fourth with Clay Brown's key two-out, two-run hit to stave off the Cardinals 2-1.
New Bremen vs. Minster Photos
Minster's Matthew Trushaw worked a complete game for the win, striking out seven and giving up just four hits and two walks. Trushaw threw six straight shutout innings to close out the game after a hiccup in the bottom of the first.
"That was the difference in the game," Wiss said. "He absolutely bore down and pitched a great game with a lot of crucial strikeouts."
New Bremen took that early lead on an unearned run.
Gilberg reached on an error to start the bottom of the first, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nolan Fox and came home on Troy Siegel's single through the box. Trushaw got a strikeout looking with runners on the corner to limit the damage. New Bremen wouldn't get another baserunner to third base the rest of the game.
Minster left 11 runners on base in the game, but got the two runs it needed in the top of the fourth after the first two batters of the inning made outs. Brett Hoelscher began the two-out rally with a walk. Josh Nixon, who was the lone Wildcat with two hits in the game, then singled to left field. Brad Walterbusch's single to right field loaded the bases.
Clay Brown delivered the game's biggest hit, as he lined a single to right field that scored both Hoelscher and Nixon.
New Bremen's Gilberg matched Trushaw almost pitch for pitch, working the complete game with seven strikeouts. He gave up six hits and walked six.
"He had our kids looking bad the first half of the game," Wiss said.
New Bremen's Siegel went 2-for-3 with a steal.


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Horoscopes for week of December 4, 2003
Want more clues, Aries? Need further insight? I discuss your coming week in greater depth in your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
If typical, you will make love about 2,500 times in your lifetime. But maybe only 25 of those encounters will offer this week's blend of physical rapture and spiritual breakthrough. I'm not exaggerating, Taurus. The cosmos is inviting you to be the recipient of a mind-expanding peak experience or two. To take maximum advantage, be as innocent and open as you dare. Find the place in you where lust and compassion overlap. (P.S. You don't necessarily need a partner to enjoy these gifts. If you're single, shed any shame you have about solo sex and explore its mysteries.)
Need a few more whacks applied to your mental blocks in the coming week, Taurus? A few more caresses administered to your growing edge? Cruise on over to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Every poll I've seen asserts that far more women than men make use of astrology. It was only a matter of time before macho dudes discovered this and sought to exploit it. One such guy is Gemini Pat Burrell, a baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. In an interview in a men's magazine, he marveled at how much success he'd had on first dates by talking about horoscopes. In the coming weeks, his experience will apply to you -- only more so. No matter what gender or sexual preference you are, discussing astrology will be a surefire way to advance romance. For that matter, initiating conversations about any subject that gives a mythic flavor to intimate matters will stimulate the flow of sexy vibes. You might want to check out Skymates: Love, Sex and Evolutionary Astrology, by Jodie and Steven Forrest.
Got enough clues to chew on for a while, Gemini? If you need more, give yourself the luxury of your Expanded Audio Horoscope for the coming week. The reading costs $6.
I'm worried you'll suffer an attack of shyness or modesty this week. Instead of pushing to get exactly what you want, you might dream up lame excuses to explain to yourself why it's OK if you don't get exactly what you want. Or you may be satisfied too easily and retreat to your hiding place before fate has a chance to bestow the fullness of its unexpected blessings on you. Please fight off this trend, Cancerian. Give your inner wimp a dozen roses and send your inner warrior out to collect your just deserts.
Want to explore the coming week even further, Cancerian? Dig deeper? Feel stronger? Consider tuning in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Pop quiz! 1. You are so attractive these days that you risk rousing the envy of people whose support you need. True or false? 2. You now have the ability to change the weather merely by wiggling your eyebrows or wrinkling your nose. True or false? 3. Since you are so exceptionally fertile -- with an equal power to supercharge the growth of beautiful blooms and nasty weeds -- you will have to be very discriminating about where you point your mojo. True or false? 4. You are unusually susceptible to being manipulated through flattery. True or false?
What greater adventure is there than exploring the enigmas of your unique destiny, Leo? For more hints about the week ahead, listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
The Chilean Congress has recently considered a bill that would mandate afternoon siestas for all workers. As a nap activist who has lobbied long and hard for everyone to get more dream time, I cheered this revolutionary proposal. Now I'm asking you, Virgo, to join me in the struggle to gain even more sleepers' rights. What specific action can you take? For starters, spend more time asleep and dreaming in the coming week than you ever have -- and don't let any workaholic, sleep-deprived cranky-head shame you for it. Your productivity will rise; I guarantee it. (P.S. The astrological moment is also ripe for you to rise up against the tyranny of Type A overachievers who think everyone should be as addicted to stress as they are.)
How much do you want to know about your destiny in the coming week, Virgo? How far do you dare to go? For more insight into your shimmering, undulating fate, tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope for the coming week. The reading costs $6.
Octopuses have eyes that can focus on two different scenes simultaneously. In some species one eye is specialized to see things in the murky depths while the other eye concentrates on sights in sunlit waters. I suggest you make this creature your power animal in the coming week. To keep apprised of the complex plots that will be unfolding around you in every direction, you will need the equivalent of the octopus's vision.
No one knows you better than you do, Libra. But maybe you'll be inspired to dig up even more self-knowledge in the coming week if you tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
For a mere $99.95, I could remove the curse you're suffering from. But I'd feel bad about taking your money when you could get rid of the damn thing yourself. In fact, why don't you do just that, and send yourself a check for $99.95? Here's all you have to do. Step one: Visualize an object that symbolizes the accursed influence. Picture yourself throwing it into a furnace. Step two: Visualize the person you feel is most responsible for the curse. Imagine that one end of a rope is tied around your waist and the other end around the person. Picture yourself cutting through the rope with a chainsaw as you call out, "You have no friggin' power over me!" Step three: Repeat steps one and two twice a day for 11 days. Step four: On the eleventh day, laugh so long and hard that you fall on the floor and cry tears of joyful release.
Hungry for more inspiration, Scorpio? Curious about the unfolding mysteries? For more juicy details about your destiny in the coming week, check out your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Master astrologer Steven Forrest believes you Sagittarians often thrive on learning things the hard way. I agree. Here are my three explanations of why this is so. 1. One of your main tasks in life is to cultivate wisdom, and you'll never accomplish that if everything comes too easily for you. 2. To maintain your mental hygiene, you need to push regularly into the unknown, where the rules for success are as yet unwritten. 3. You are sometimes susceptible to being dogmatic, which can interfere with your ability to discern simple, obvious, up-to-the-minute truths. To shock you out of your tunnel vision, your higher self needs to trick you into making interesting mistakes.
Your destiny is a gorgeous mystery, Sagittarius. Your soul is awakening more every day. The secrets of life are ripening right in front of your eyes. For more clues, consider checking out your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
"Slashing through undergrowth and counting poop is an expensive, time-consuming, dirty, hot, and nasty business," said Dr. Richard Ruggiero of the African Elephant Conservation Fund. Quoted by Andrew Revkin in the New York Times, he was talking about studying forest elephants that are threatened with extinction. But I immediately thought of you when I read that, Capricorn. It's a good metaphor for what's happening in your life. An important and beautiful aspect of your animal nature is in peril, and the only way to save it may be for you to do work that fits Ruggiero's description.
What greater adventure is there than exploring the enigmas of your unique destiny, Capricorn? For more hints about the week ahead, listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Psychotherapy obsesses on what's wrong with people and gives short shrift to what's right. The manual of the profession is a 943-page text called the DSM-IV that identifies scores of pathological states but no healthy ones. I often complain about this tragic fact and ask my readers to help me compile material for a proposed Anti-DSM-IV, a compendium of all the positive, noble, feel-good categories. One reader, Alka Bhargava, has suggested a condition that you Aquarians will be able to achieve regularly this week. He calls it "Joyful Poignance," and describes it like this: "The ability to be buoyantly joyful while remaining aware of the sadness, injustices, ancient wounds, and future fears that form the challenges in an examined life."
Where do you want to go in the coming week, Aquarius? Who do you want to be? For more clues, tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
You might enjoy Pearl Cleage's novel Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do. It's got soulful characters, a strong social consciousness, and a dramatic mix of suffering and redemption. But you don't have to read the book to carry out the advice in this week's horoscope. All you have to do is write your own personal version of "Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do" -- a two-page stream-of-consciousness essay is fine -- and then go out and start actually doing the things you've described therein.
Life will bring you entertaining revelations in the coming week, Pisces. To explore even deeper, dive into your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
|Missed a week? Check the horoscope archives.
© 1995-2013 -- Rob Brezsny. All rights reserved


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The Twilight Saga: New Moon
A year after Twilight scorched the cineplex with its tale of forbidden teenage human/vampire love, the second chapter of author Stephenie Meyer's harlequin saga has arrived to once again stir the loins of enraptured tweens (and their mothers, and their mothers' mothers) everywhere. Having already sold out its first 2,000 showings several days before its release, The Twilight Saga: New Moon is arguably the most critic-proof movie of the decade. And yet, here goes ...
From a filmmaking standpoint, New Moon represents an immediate upgrade over its predecessor, which all too often felt slipshod and amateurish. Under the more assured hand of director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass, About a Boy), who took over the reigns from Twilight helmer Catherine Hardwicke, the film can at least boast the gloss and shine of a real Hollywood movie and not some straight-to-video hack job. Better visual effects, more accomplished camerawork, improved production design and a more seasoned cast all add up to a vast improvement in production values in New Moon. It could very well be the awesomest issue of Tiger Beat ever.
Where the film falters fatally, in my opinion is in its porous plotting and sluggish pacing. Meyer's source material mandated that its teenage heroine, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), be separated from her vampire paramour, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), at the outset, with the bulk of the narrative devoted to Bella coping with the loss of her goth James Dean. But producers of the adaptation, loath to reduce their most valuable asset to a mere cameo, expanded Pattinson's presence and the film suffers for it. Edward lingers throughout New Moon's prolonged first act, strutting around in slow motion and uttering lines like "Bella, you give me everything just by breathing" before finally ditching the old lady and disappearing to Italy on official vampire business.
The inciting action Edward's departure is followed by a decided lack of action, specifically in regards to the futile efforts of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a musclebound, shape-shifting werewolf who emerges as a potential rebound candidate for Bella. The two friends engage in a painful, protracted flirtation: She ogles his (typically shirtless) chest, stares deeply into his eyes and tells him he's beautiful, but when he makes a move, she shuts him down, citing her continuing devotion to Edward, who appears repeatedly to her in the form of a distractingly cheesy, Obi-Wan Kenobi-like apparition. In the end, poor Jacob is left holding nothing but an aching pair of werewolf blue balls.
New Moon is all about longing: Bella longing for Edward; Jacob longing for Bella; me longing for something, anything, to happen. The film teases us with ominous talk of a looming war between vampires and werewolves, but it's just that: talk. The real action, I'm told, is saved for the next two Twilight installments, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, which, judging from the current trend, will no doubt be stretched into six equally critic-proof films. Until then, we're forced to subsist on New Moon's meager melange of pointless adolescent melodrama sprinkled liberally with gratuitous shots of toned, shirtless boys.
Hollywood.com rated this film 2 stars.


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The base of the autonomous car "Odin", which placed third in last year's Urban Challenge and beat the Cornell Racing Team featured in our last podcast, is now for sale. Buying the fully Drive-By-Wire Ford Hybrid Escape platform, minus the LIDAR sensors and AI that were used in the competition, will put you back a hefty $89'000.
For more information on Odin: http://www.me.vt.edu/urbanchallenge/Vehicle.htm
Spend your money here: http://www.torctech.com/?q=node/29