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Continual improvement: it's the holy grail for many organisations. But how can you improve if you're not able to effectively judge the success of your activity?
That's where our measurement and optimisation services come in - and we'll begin by understanding exactly what your digital goals are.
As customers become increasingly savvy this means going beyond the surface too, to uncover what will move your users along their journey towards the final interaction or point of sale. But with these goals in place, you'll be able to truly measure how well your digital initiatives serve your business.
Relevant data. Valuable insight.
Of course, once your goals have been set, you need to understand how you're going to measure your progress toward them. We'll help identify the success criteria and KPIs that matter most, along with the tools, technologies and processes required to help you track and evaluate performance. From the findings, our consultants extract clear, relevant and valuable insight, translating these into actionable recommendations that can be fed back into your digital plans.
Strategic planning is an on-going cycle of activity. And Box UK is with you every step of the way.


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Everything used to be so simple; a driver would set out on his or her journey and promise to call the office or house for further instructions or updates when they had reached their destination. With the possible exception of worrying about where to find a pay phone, drivers had very little to think about when it came to phones within their vehicles. Oh how things have changed. From the retro car phone to the modern day smart phone, in car communication has come a long way. With all this behavioural change a new questions arises; can we communicate effectively in our vehicles without compromising our driving?
Handheld phone use; Browsing, gaming, texting, holding the phone to your ear and any other interaction with a hand held phone is now illegal in every Australian state or territory. The key question the current legislation on the subject asks is "Are you still fully in control of the vehicle?" Whilst this is rather vague it does make a large amount of sense once you consider your in-car activities in terms of control, rather than what's legal and what's not.
Mounted units and earpieces; It would seem that this is the most borderline area in the discussion. Mounted units and earpieces are not as dangerous as using the phone directly, however they still represent a risk. This is due to the fact that they can be cumbersome and at times can demand attention from drivers who wish to change settings or controls.
The integrated Bluetooth service; These have been brought in by quick thinking vehicle manufacturers and are now becoming standard on almost all new vehicles. The services are mainly activated by steering wheel controls and seem to be the safest way to talk via your phone whilst driving.
Below is some general advice from https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/ on the subject of mobile phones in vehicles.
• Tell callers you are driving and may have to end the call
• Use voicemail and remember to record an appropriate greeting
• Pull over safely and park to make or receive a call
• Don't make calls in heavy traffic, poor road conditions or bad weather
• Plan breaks in your trip for phone calls
• Never look up phone numbers
• Tell your family and friends not to call when you know you'll be driving
• Never read or send text messages
However much we like to multitask whilst driving, the unfortunate fact is that according to the most up to date research we are not very good at it. Driving can be boring at times and whilst getting things done over the phone can give us a satisfied feeling it still represents a real risk. The overwhelming evidence points to the fact that despite how much we hate the idea, any distraction no matter how small, can prove fatal. The final thought here really is to ask people to examine their driving with the ultimate question being "Do I really have control of my vehicle should someone run out in front of me?"
Marketers' dream or another high-tech distraction?
Speeding around the world series - China
Your guide to handling road works
Walk ride drive: Safety tips for interacting with other road users
Are you distracting your own drivers?
Animals and the road - Avoiding the worst case

subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Talking Oscars and Golden Globes on Fresh Outlook
With February just around the corner, I'm getting Oscar fever! And so is the Fresh Outlook TV show on the Ebru network. Check out my guest appearance on Fresh Outlook and discussion of some of the films up for awards, and the Internet's impact on television as evidenced by some of the Golden Globe nominations and wins right here.
Posted by Barna W. Donovan at 6:09 AM
Labels: Fresh Outlook, Golden Globes, Oscars
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Free Delivery* and Returns
* On orders over £49
Skin Perfecting Finishing Powder for Fair Skin Tones
Darlings, my Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder features ingredients to prevent excess shine and brighten complexions. This shade in 1 Fair is ideal if you have very fair to fair skin, perfect for fair redheads and blondes!
• Enjoy effortlessly flawless skin in a silk touch like you've never experienced before!
• Soft focus micro powders from nano-particles blur away lines and imperfections, sitting like a soft micro-fine cashmere veil on top of your skin
• Rose wax and almond oil hydrates your skin throughout the day and smoothes flawlessly over your skin
• Nourishing actives soothe and restore skin, with light-reflecting ingredients diffusing and reflecting light for a luminous complexion and even finish all day
• Ideal for long-lasting full coverage finish to your makeup
• Fill 8g
• Carton Dimensions (mm) 76 x 84 x 16
Get the perfect date night makeup look on the blog.
1. To use, take Charlotte's POWDER & SCULPT BRUSH and apply AIRBRUSH FLAWLESS FINISH POWDER around your nose, t-zone and any other oily areas.
2. For oilier skin types, you can apply the powder all over your face for more coverage, working your way outwards for a natural finish.
Charlotte's Tip: Use this finishing powder with the Light Wonder Foundation for a glowing, dewy complexion.
This product is vegan-friendly, gluten-free, sulfate-free, and not tested on animals.
Talc, Mica, Polymethyl Methacrlate, Dimethicone, Silica, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Zinc Stearate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEI-10, Propylene Glycol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Multiflora Flower Wax, Tetrasodium Edta, Water/Aqua/Eau, Dimethiconol, Tilia Cordata Flower Extract (Tilia Cordata Extract), Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, [May contain/Peut contenir (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)]
Out of stock


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We have just returned from Sidari and agree with Sarah Kings comments. We could not fault apartments spacious, clean aircon for both rooms pretty good value (compared to previous holidays) location great. Yes you can hear the karoke bar but once the doors are shut it's not too loud, having said that we were out late most nights. Pool was great and was kept clean. Owner very nice regularly popped round to see if all ok. Only gripe would be all shelfs in fridge hanging on last legs so to speak but we managed. Main beach good for watersports also liked smaller coves of the Canal D'armour area we were recommend one down track from bedlam bar and it was beautiful.
Have just returned from Sidari, we ate here a few times, yes at times service was slow but every meal we had was great. Kids menu was also great! would definately recommend this restaurent. Especially liked the quiet location hidden behind the main street of Sidari
Although I would agree with previous comments that they try to cram as many people in as possible we did only try this in the Greek Night was good fun, all our meals were good. Defintely worth a go on the Greek Night (saturdays)
Had lovely meal here, fresh and cooked well, staff very friendly would defiantely recommend
We were recommended this restaurent we were obviously unlucky as all 4 meals were well below average. Staff friendly though and entertainment helped make up for the food
Just back from Corfu went to Aqualand twice this visit both our 8 and 1 year had a fab time here and were kept entertained the whole day. Well worth going! We booked once with our rep and once with local travel firm Vlasseros much better with local firm 40 euros cheaper and no pick ups so journey time only about an hour rather than 90 mins and numerous picks up with the My travel group booking.


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Shaky Beginnings. The Shaping of New Zealand
Price: NZ$40.95
This price is for home use only.
Libraries and institutions etc., price on request.
Format: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Duration: 60 mins
Year: 2007
Rating: Exempt
How was New Zealand formed? Where did the mountains and the plains come from?
Join Jim Hickey on a geological adventure to discover about the origins of New Zealand. Features spectacular aerials, stunning footage of rare plants and animals, bubbling mud and steaming cauldrons, plus archive footage of some of New Zealand's worst natural disasters.


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NCIS Spoilers: Gibbs Sr. Lives!Steve Marsi at . Comments
When NCIS returns September 21, viewers won't have to wait long to see what happens to Gibbs' father. The eighth season begins right where the seventh ended in May.
"We pick up the show right where we left off," executive producer Shane Brennan tells TV Guide. "I advise every fan of the show to sit down and watch that first minute."
"It's explosive. Ralph Waite is front and center throughout the episode."
A couple of images from the Season 8 premiere have emerged, one of which shows Gibbs Sr. is alive, at least in the onset, and the other showing he's not the only target ...
Who else is on the Reynosa Cartel's hit list? Who isn't?
Titled "Spider and the Fly," the premiere finds all of Gibbs' team as potential targets when their investigation of the murder of a helicopter pilot leads Gibbs right back to none other than the vengeful Paloma Reynosa, whose father Gibbs murdered in vengeance decades earlier.
The team members are looking out for each other and have each other's backs: "We'll get back into showing NCIS as the team that it's always been," Brennan says.
Hopefully everyone pulls through, including the Gibbs patriarch. Gibbs is, after all, his father's son. He can take care of himself. How will the team take Paloma down?
Comments and theories are welcome below ...
Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.


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A Healthy and Democratic Society Depends on Access to Information and Protection of Information
At Extract, we work hard creating software that makes it easy to give people access to the information they need to make better decisions, while protecting privacy rights by keeping personal details hidden from view.
Clinicians want to care for patients, not enter data or search for information in multiple systems. Government officials want to give us citizens open access to public records while protecting their privacy, not dig through archives and mistakenly expose protected information. Many industries are left with data stuck in faxes, scanned documents, and other unstructured sources. This information is needed to make good decisions and help customers. Existing solutions that rely on forms, templates, and require you to "know the format" of the document in advance are just not helping these organizations to get the data they need to make those decisions and run their organizations effectively.
Our passion
Our passion is supporting our customers' missions: whether it's ensuring an open and transparent democracy, delivering the world's best healthcare, facilitating a fair justice system, or protecting privacy rights.
We do this by empowering them with extremely accurate data extraction, classification, and redaction solutions tailored to their needs — forever freeing them of the chore and inherent risks of manually sifting through disorganized documents and dense unstructured text.
our expertise
For 15-years, Extract has been dedicated to perfecting the science and art of data extraction and classification of unstructured documents and text. We have developed expertise along the spectrum of unstructured data analysis, extraction, classification, redaction, and integration.
We Value our Customers
Below you'll find just a handful of our many valued customers.
What Our Clients Have to Say About the Extract Systems Platform:
Our Management Team:
The Extract Board of Directors:
Career Opportunities
At Extract, we carefully select our team to ensure top quality, because once you're in, you're family. Across our organization we have a broad range of talent that supports you in the role so that you're equipped to handle challenges and can grow professionally and have a lasting impact on the people you work with.


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When things start feeling too comfortable, it's time to shake it all up. Maybe that's why I'm in the throes of this cross-country move, why I'm immersing myself into dozens of project, why I took up the opportunity to go paddle boarding in the ocean with a group of strangers, why I'm insisting on trying new-to-me hairstyles, and, finally, why I'm wearing pants. Yes, jeans have steadily made their way into the foundations of my wardrobe, but trousers -- printed, statement-making trousers, no less, are still new to me. This high-waisted, slightly-wide-leg pair from Addition Elle caught my eye with its bang-on trend grid print (and I'm totally swooning over the matching longline blazer, too). I always admire the way my BFF Gabi wears soft pants, but they've never looked right on me, (until now?!) I especially love how this pair elongates my legs; it's a serious game changing illusion considering I'm, like, 70% torso. That's not an exaggeration... but it is, absolutely, why I have a penchant for high-waist anything.
This whole minimalism-as-an-aesthetic thing is starting to grow on me, too. I haven't exactly gone the way of Marie Kondo, (duh, it's going to take a lot more than sleek clothes to quell my magpie ways), but I'm feeling this look... a lot.
BUT WAIT, there's more!! I can officially share that I'm working with the babes at Addition Elle on a collection of 7 party dresses!! The collection will be out early next spring and I cannot wait to share it with you. You can catch some more info and a glimpse at my inspiration behind the collection here.
Cobalt Vegan Leather Jacket (also available in a gorgeous wine color) c/o Addition Elle, Grid Print Soft Pants c/o Addition Elle, Black Tee by AVA&VIV, Patent Pumps by Kate Spade, Chanel Bag, Illesteva Sunglasses, Chanel Necklace, Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in "1975 Red"
This post is part of my ongoing partnership with Addition Elle.
All contents and opinions are my own.


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Fitz Ambro$e & Ohbliv
Zen Vapords
Fitz Ambro$e & Ohbliv sound has unique influence from 90's hip hop and 80's soul
Its 2013 and in this release we hear a totally new approach to sampling.
A vinyl release of two artists. Fitz Ambro$e (Cape Breton Island) residing inTokyo, & Ohbliv of Richmond ,Virginia(USA). Fitz Ambro$e sound has unique influence from 90's hip hop and 80's soul, he is also affiliated with Cosmopolyphonic collective in Tokyo. From the record archives of his father, Ohbliv developed the charm of sampling.
The record is a 14 track collage of beats from two uniquely talented artists who transcend their individual musical roots. As if competeing with each other both leave the remnants of sampling material, and the method in which they cut and chop is truely an interesting work.
» its basically a small collection of beats & riddims from two brothas
who share some cultural refence points. two distinctly different
sounds birthed out of similar influences. «
Fitz Ambro$e
» This project is the culmination of a lot of love for the funk, RnB
and boogie sounds. Beyond trends this is a collection of beats and
jams from two brothers doing our best to keep the vibrations high
and the funk alive. «
Get This Release
ORDER Limited Vinyl
Cascade Shop worldwide
Fat Beats worldwide
HHV worldwide
Jet Set japan
Manhattan Records japan Sold Out
Disk Union japan
UGHH usa
Access hip hop usa Sold Out
Wow HD uk
Vinylism de
Vinyldigital de
Red Eye uk
Norman Recors uk
DOWNLOAD Digital Album on
Bandcamp / iTunes / Amazon / qobuz
Exclusive worldwide distribution by Fat Beats
Exclusive Japan distribution by Jet Set Records
Listen Free Teaser « Zen Vapors » mixed by Fitz Ambro$e
Listen Free Teaser « Zen Vapors » mixed by Ohbliv
« some good beats on there 🙂 »
" Wirklich unglaublich, was derzeit an guter Mucke gedroppt wird, es hört nicht auf: hier sind Fitz Ambro$e & Ohbliv mit ihrem Kollabo-Projekt "Zen Vapors"… Ein Album zwischen soulfullen, futuristischen Stücken und dem funky experimentellen Stuff, absolut grandioser Longplayer:"
« Cascade Records has been on a roll with its weekly "releasing teasers along a full track" cycle for Fitz Ambro$e & Ohbliv's collaborative split tape effort Zen Vapors. Now the time has come for the project's official release. Together as a whole, the album works cohesively as both of the producers' sides bring you the groove utilizing funk, new jack swing and everything in between. Going through with a listen may result in you wanting to sport a Bobby Brown-styled Gumby cut or an afro, whatever fits your fancy. »
Potholes In My Blog
« Beatguru ohbliv drops 'Level 24′, his latest offering and the first from his upcoming album Zen Vapours. No doubting the smoke from this one, it's probably a bouncier jaunt compared to previous ohbliv affairs but it's funky and typically neck-breaking; maybe he's on some Paras evolutionary steeze. »
The Word Is Bond
» The record is a 14 track collage of beats from two uniquely talented artists who transcend their individual musical roots. «
Sound Colour Vibration
» If you're interested in ingesting an unhealthy amount of boogie today, take a listen to the new collaboration between beat scene champ, Ohbliv, and Japan's FitzAmbro$e. The two defied the geographic odds to bring us listeners some jams that sound most like the vaporwave equivalent of Ohbliv's Freekbeat cassette on Culture Dealer. «
Ad Hoc
» Cascade Records debuts Zen Vapors, a project combining the talent and vision of innovative producers Fitz Ambro$e and Ohbliv. Smooth, funky cuts showcase the unique style of both producers, and you can't help but get the feeling that they built off of each other's inspirations as the project was formed. The results constitute audio bliss for beat junkies and hip-hop heads alike. «
Artistic Manifesto
Excerpts of press or radio show :
Potholes In My Blog, August 11th, 2013 review – READ
Crayonbeats, August 15th, 2013 review – READ
Chuuch!s, August 12th, 2013 review – READ
Dubmission August 15th, 2013 Hosted by Kerem Gokmen – LISTEN
Electrons Libres #102 August 22th, 2013 Hosted by Emilie Morneau – LISTEN
Basic Soul August 26th, 2013 Hosted by Simon Harisson – LISTEN
Soft Focus Radio #6 September 6th, 2013 Hosted by Sammy Jam and Ink – LISTEN
Emcee Enthusiast, August 29th, 2013 review – READ
TheHipHopHead, August 30th, 2013 review – READ
Rappamelo, September 3rd, 2013, 2013 review – READ
Dub dot dash, September 3rd, 2013, 2013 review – READ
Weunderground, September 3rd, 2013 review – READ
Raw Drive, September 3rd, 2013 review – READ
Strictly Beats, September 3rd, 2013 review – READ
Raps and Hustles, September 3rd, 2013 review – READ
Neon Milk, September 3rd, 2013 review – READ
U Call That Love, September 3rd, 2013 review – READ
All Music Written and Produced by Fitz Ambro$e and Ohbliv
Mastered by Barry Gardner
Art Direction and Illustration by Mitsutaka Mukasa
A&R by Sal Martin
All Rigths of The Producers, Artworkers and Cascade RecordsOf The Work Reproduced Reserved.
CR007 [P]&[C] September 3rd 2013 CASCADE RECORDS
Distributed by Fat Beats / Jet Set Japan


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First Communion Gift Ideas
Celebrating a child's First Holy Communion is a moment in personal history as well as a stepping up point in the child's religious growth in the Church. First Holy Communion gifts offer a unique way to celebrate the special event as well as create a memory the child can reflect on years after the fact. Granted, any family member can provide a greeting card with a basic monetary gift inside. But it isn't quite the same, and who remembers what they did with all those $5 and $10 gifts received as a kid? Instead, with a personalized gift, a child will always have something that is unique to him or her, reflecting on the special day.
The more traditional gifts often tend to be religion based and provide use as the child gets older. These usually include a personal Bible with the child's name imprinted on the cover, or a personalized rosary ($20 to $30). Additionally, various children's books that explain the Eucharist in a child's terms can be great gifts as well, explaining why the event is so important ($10 to $15). Finally, the first communion cross necklace is a standard many families choose to give to a child at first communion, providing a simply type of jewelry that can be worn for years afterwards ($20 to $150 depending on the metal involved).
A more personal approach can be an engraved photo frame, with an event photograph embedded in a frame with special wording about the event ($20 to $25). A number of frame choices are available from light wood to dark, with appropriate carved wording to match the desired importance of the day. For younger children toys with a religious theme also work well. Gifts that still translate to a young child's mind as a toy are often well accepted and kept for years until the child outgrows them.
By giving a personalized gift more than just a gift for a first holy communion, your present can help craft a special memory in the mind of a child that will likely last a lifetime.
For personalized custom First Holy Communion invitations and announcements remember
Socially Yours at www.SociallyYours.com Unique designs and creative staff to help with wording to please family and friends !
Tags: First Holy communion Gifts, First Communion Gifts, First Communion, Communion Gift Ideas, Girls First Holy Communion, Boy First Communion Invitations
First Holy Communion Dresses
A First Holy Communion is a special occasion for families and friends to celebrate a child taking communion for the first time. For girls, First Holy Communion dresses are typically white with lace. The latest dresses to mark the special event retain the classic style of First Holy Communion dresses. Most designs are traditional white. Some winter communion dresses are a richer ivory, while spring and summer communion dresses are a lighter or classic white. The same shades of white often found in wedding dresses are common in girl's communion dresses. While white is the most popular color choice for a communion dress, other variations include silver, pink, lavender and pastels.
Accenting First Holy Communion Dresses
Girl's dresses for communion are typically accented with a matching veil, tiara or other headdress. Sleeve lengths vary, from full long sleeved designs to short sleeve and sleeveless designs. Sleeveless designs are a popular choice since they allow for greater range of motion, a plus for younger girls lacking the patience to sit still. Additional accessories for a First Holy Communion dress include matching purses, seasonal flowers and gloves. Classic all-white arrangements are popular - although variations include red or pink roses or pink or white carnations. Hand-tied or handheld bouquets are also popular communion dress accessories this year. Unique accessories to further enhance a girl's communion dress include:
• Flower baskets with matching seasonal flowers
• Matching mini purses or handbags
• Matching lace or satin gloves
First Holy Communion Invitations
Don't forget the First Holy Communion invitations! Communion invitations for girls tend to include lace trim and other fun enhancements. Invitations come in a variety of styles and designs. Some are more traditional, while others are designed to be on the casual side. First Holy Communion invitations often include:
• Religions images
• A verse from the Bible or other special text
• A poem or other message to mark the occasion
• Crosses
Socially Yours has beautiful designs for First Holy Communion invitations for girls.
Tags: Girls First Holy Communion, Girl First Communion Invitations, Girl First Communion Dresses, First Holy Communion Announcements
First Communion Dresses


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Corriente Ranch Association Saddle SB314A
$ 735.00
Here is a well built ranch saddle that is worth the money. This saddle is built on a modified association tree started with a wooden base and rawhide covered for maximum strength. With a stout tree this saddle is made to rope out of. This saddle features a thicker swell and hard seat for a more laid back ride for those long days in the saddle. It has a 4" cantle to give the rider a secure seat and 7" gullet to fit a wide variety of horses. The saddle is set on quarter horse bars. The rough out leather on this saddle is very helpful to keep a rider centered in the saddle and the basket weave tooling is very pretty. Saddles could take 30-35 days to arrive.


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Don't be fooled, that's actually Mariano Rivera pausing to admire the new George Steinbrenner monument that was unveiled at Yankee Stadium last night, not a midget. That thing is big, right? So big that even David Wells looked like a normal-sized person when he walked past. So big that it's one of two things in Yankee Stadium you can see from space, along with David Wells' gut. Heck, if you look to the left of Steinbrenner's massive visage and, if you squint, you can barely make out Mickey Mantle's face on his plaque.
During his tenure as owner of the team, George Steinbrenner continued the Yankees tradition of memorializing its legends with stately monuments beyond the outfield fence. Babe Ruth, Miller Huggins, and Lou Gehrig had their monuments dedicated in the 1930s and 40s; Steinbrenner presided over the unveiling of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle's monuments in the 1990s.
Those five monuments were designed and built with the same dimensions, so for the enormous Steinbrenner plaque of doom to hang ominously above the rest seems somewhat odd. But Big Steinz paid the bills and snookered the city into building the shiny new ballpark that holds said monuments; I guess it's fitting for him to be honored with something big enough to entomb his entire extended family.
Is the massive size difference a tribute to Steinbrenner's gigantic ego? Or is it a way for George's sons Hank and Hal to prove to the rest of the world that they, too, can make brash, larger-than-life statements? Either way, Yogi Berra's inevitable monument is just going to have to settle for residing in the corner of Monument Park.


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Paterno Family Gives Statement on the PA vs. NCAA Lawsuit
The family of the late Joe Paterno issued a statement this morning prior to Governor Tom Corbett's press conference at the Nittany Lion Inn. Within the statement, they praise Corbett's decision to file a lawsuit against the NCAA and claim that the family review of the Freeh Report is nearing completion. The statement, in its entirety, can be read below:
As we have not yet had an opportunity to review the lawsuit filed by Governor Corbett today, we cannot comment on the specifics of the litigation. What we do know, however, is that this matter is far from closed. The fact that Governor Corbett now realizes, as do many others, that there was an inexcusable rush to judgment is encouraging.
Joe Paterno's only guidance to us was to seek the truth. Consequently, last July when the Freeh report was released and the subsequent unprecedented and unjustified actions were taken by the Penn State university board and the NCAA, we stated that we would engage a team of experts to conduct a careful and thoughtful review of the Freeh inquiry and the actions of the board and the administration.
That process is nearing completion. We expect to release the analysis of the experts in the near future. At that time we will address all of the issues of the past year in a comprehensive manner.
Please subscribe to read ad free. (Ad blocking detected.)


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Welcome to a stunning San Antonio swoonfest by Perez Photography. From the engagement story (a must read) to the big day - every bit is as romantic and pretty as can be. And I haven't even told you about the cakes yet, each table had a different cake of the homemade variety free for the tasting. You could just walk around all of this prettiness eating cake! Now that's having your cake and eating it too if you ask me. Click here for even more!
Click here to see the entire image gallery!
From the Bride... Colin and I met in Brownsville, Texas in February 2009. We were in medical school, doing a special rotation focused on public health issues along the US-Mexico border. He asked me out for our first date on the day after Valentine's Day and we've been together ever since! I did my internship in Portland while he was at UTHSCSA, so we spent thousands of cell phone minutes and racked up lots of miles traveling back and forth between the two cities for a year. Then, in February 2010, Colin surprised me with a weekend trip just for fun. I was post-call (meaning I hadn't slept in 30 hours) and had no idea where we were going until the limo service dropped us off at the airport and we checked in for our flight to NYC! We flew first class to the city where another limo service picked us up and chauffeured us to our beautiful hotel - the Mandarin Oriental. We had a gorgeous suite overlooking freshly snow-covered Central Park. As soon as we set our bags down, Colin opened a bottle of champagne and put on some music ("Make You Feel My Love" - became our wedding song). He then got down on one knee and proposed! I was so surprised and happy! We then got to work planning the wedding of our dreams.
I wanted it to have a vintage family garden party feel -- like a special dinner in Grandma's backyard. There were lots of vintage touches and the meal was served family style. My favorite part though were the cakes. The idea was to put a different cake (mostly made by family friends) on a vintage cake stand at every table. People then walked around and tried different cakes and talked with each other! It worked perfectly! Now we are in beautiful Paris, spending a week at a boutique hotel and enjoying all great food and wine we can find!
Wedding Photography: Perez Photography / Wedding Venue: The Witte Museum / Wedding Coordination & Floral Design: Tracy French of The French Connection / Paper Goods: Tracy French of The French Connection / Catering: Page Barteau Catering / Photo Booth: Boothography / Dinner Music: Monte Vista Strings and Jazz / Linens: BBJ Linen / Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston / Bridesmaid Dresses: Nordstrom / Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Men's Wearhouse / Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka


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Screaming Israel Is a 'Police State' Isn't Enough
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat could have congratulated Mohammed Bakri on his decision to return to the Hebrew stage, being one of the more significant Arab artists contributing to Israeli culture.
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat missed a great opportunity to contribute to a debate on Israeli culture when she chose instead to pick up Im Tirtzu's boxing gloves. Livnat could have congratulated Mohammed Bakri on his decision to return to the Hebrew stage, being one of the more significant Arab artists contributing to Israeli culture.
She could have noted that Bakri's playing a female role in a production of "The House of Bernarda Alba" is an interesting take on issues repeatedly addressed by culture researchers. When Federico Garcia Lorca wrote about women, he "also" thought about men. Lorca is the spiritual father of many artists, including Pedro Almodovar. Lorca wasn't only a "leftist" but also gay and was murdered for that reason - not because of what he wrote, but because of who he was.
The minister could have mentioned that Bakri was innocent, as the courts found no reason to find him guilty of libel. She could have ironically stated that "in defense of Tel Aviv's leftist Tzavta Theater, they also chose not to screen Bakri's film," while the establishment-oriented Tel Aviv Cinematheque screened "Jenin, Jenin" despite the ridiculous demonstrations in the square outside.
But Livnat chose to behave like a sports minister, or, to be precise, like some fans of that Premier League team who greet some of Israel's greatest players, who happen to be Arabs, with the chant "This is Israel, Toama / This is the Jewish state / I hate you Salim Toama / I hate all the Arabs."
Im Tirtzu has proceeded to a new stage in its war on democracy. From a battle over repertoire - taking advantage of the fear and silence of most senior officials in the institutions targeted by the organization's incitement - Im Tirtzu is now trying to choose who will be active in culture. Still, we must say the truth out loud: Im Tirtzu is being vocal about a policy that has already existed for years in cultural institutions. Yes, these actions have always been carried out with a touch of shame and off-the-record explanations. Yet we have to be especially wary of the media's self-righteousness while dealing with Im Tirtzu.
Consider the organization's technique against Bakri; it's the same one the press uses, inserting moral panic into headlines - using the wide gap between the criminal and non-criminal. It's a technique usually brought to perfection by the police, the State Prosecutor's Office and the Shin Bet security service, who determine a person's "behavior pattern."
Treason is a charge that fits this pattern: A circle is drawn around the suspect, then the charge is proved by a "recurring pattern" that really has nothing to do with the alleged wrongdoing. Does Bakri's film have any connection to the fact that he's one of the most important actors of his generation? Does the court's criticism of how the Israel Defense Forces is portrayed in the film have anything to do with the demand to prevent Bakri from appearing onstage?
It is regrettable that the left, too, has used this technique for many years, and we needn't go as far as the Arlosoroff murder trial in the 1930s , the persecution of Etzel and Lehi members of the right-wing underground after Israel's founding, or the ostracizing of the acclaimed poet Uri Zvi Greenberg. The remains of the Israeli left, the various small splinter groups, are the direct descendants of the kind of totalitarianism that was so deftly analyzed by Hannah Arendt and made her attack the New Left in her final years. When fighting fascists like Im Tirtzu, screaming "police state" at the top of your lungs simply isn't enough.
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This is a contact page with some basic contact information and a contact form.
Hard polytheist. Animist. Traditionalist.
This is a contact page with some basic contact information and a contact form.
Mithras, food and finds
Matters of Myth, and Why Myth Matters
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I came, I saw, I photographed... follow me in the footsteps of Hadrian!
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Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
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Swinging His Cat:
A Conversation with 2010 ALAN Award Recipient Jack Gantos
It's an early Saturday morning in November 2010, and more than 500 teachers, librarians, university professors, and adolescent literature aficionados in general have gathered for the annual Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English (ALAN) breakfast in Orlando, Florida. A portion of the morning's program is dedicated to naming the recipient of the ALAN Award, an award that honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of adolescent literature. Receiving the 2010 ALAN Award—and assuming the coveted (though imaginary) crown, scepter, and sash to sport all through 2011—is prolific and ebullient author Jack Gantos.
Jack Gantos: The Writer
The ALAN Award recipient may be a publisher, author, librarian, scholar, editor, or servant to the organization of ALAN. Most people know Jack Gantos primarily as a writer, one who "can take a reader from 'cradle to grave'—from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults" ( "Jack Gantos' Bio and Photos," n.d., para. 10 ). Jack's productivity and accomplishments as an author, alone, merit him honor as an outstanding contributor to the field of adolescent literature. His books are tremendously entertaining; however, it is the balance of physical and emotional events in a Jack Gantos book that subtly hooks readers and keeps them coming back for more. Common threads through all of his books and stories are forgiveness and second chances, and in an interview with BookPage ( Meet Jack Gantos, 2007 ), Jack encourages children to endlessly invent themselves.
Jack traces his interest in becoming a writer to as early as sixth grade when he snuck and read his sister's diary. Once he convinced his mother to buy him his own journal, he began practicing the simple habits that allowed him to become the writer he is today: He paid attention to what was happening in his world, and he recorded bits and pieces of what he saw, heard, and thought. Although Jack described this process as owning "a box full of jigsaw puzzle pieces, and there was no telling if they'd ever fit together" ( Gantos, 2002a , p. 21), he developed a certain discipline and ignited an insatiable curiosity about life happening around him. His journals became the home of overheard teachers' lunch conversations, maps of his ever-changing neighborhoods, wild streams of thought, and long passages from books. Jack's journals even served as a repository for an endless assortment of collected objects, such as a wart he worked long and hard at extracting from his foot ( Gantos, 2010 ).
Once Jack began writing books, he was an instant success . . . if you don't count all the time after high school that he worked construction for his father, the 15 months he was a resident of Ashland Federal Prison, the years he spent studying creative writing at Emerson College, or the numerous picturebooks he wrote that were rejected—at times viscerally so.
Finally, in 1976, after months of immersing himself in quality books for children, speaking with other writers to gain insight into their processes, and "swinging his own cat" as a writer, he and illustrator Nicole Rubel published Rotten Ralph , their first of many Rotten Ralph books. As the endearing gigantic dog Clifford, Ralph is red; however, that is the extent of similarities between the canine and feline. Simply put, Ralph is rotten and recalcitrantly mischievous. Still, even a cat as rotten as Ralph needs love and acceptance, and Sarah is the person who remains by Ralph's side through all of his misdeeds and adventures.
Then there are Jack's books geared at intermediate-aged readers, the first collection being his Jack Henry books. Starting with the publication of Heads or Tails: Stories from the Sixth Grade (1994), Jack chronicles semi-autobiographical junior-high tales of Jack Henry and his often-unpredictable life and family. This was followed with four other Jack Henry books. Not a Jack Henry book but still a young adult read that fuses memoir and fiction, Jack's latest creation, Dead End in Norvelt (2011), chronicles "an exhilarating summer marked by death, gore and fire" ( Review of . . ., 2011 ). Reviewer Elizabeth Bird (2011) writes, "Folks, it's a weird book. . . . It may also be one of the finest [Mr. Gantos] has produced in years."
Also for intermediate-aged readers (or anyone who was once of an "intermediate age") are Jack's books featuring Joey Pigza. Jules Danielson (2007) of Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast: A Blog about Books suggests that in all of middle-grade fiction, there is not a more sympathetic, lovable character than Joey Pigza. The first Pigza book, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (1998), begins, "They say I'm wired bad, or wired sad, but there's no doubt about it—I'm wired" (p. 1). Thus begins the adventures of Joey—a well-meaning kid who has ADHD and finds himself in all sorts of precarious situations when his meds wear off and his moods/behavior become more difficult to control. Joey not only won the hearts of readers, but Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key was named a National Book Award finalist and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. In 2000, Jack delivered Joey Pigza Loses Control , which was awarded a Newbery Honor; he followed with What Would Joey Do? (2002b). Then—surprising his readers with one more Pigza book after stating he would stop at a trilogy— Jack published I Am Not Joey Pigza (2007).
Targeting older adolescents, Jack wrote Desire Lines (1997), which is about 16-year-old Walker who gets caught up in a witch-hunt against homosexuals; Hole in My Life (2002a), Jack's Printz Honor and Robert F. Sibert Honor autobiography describing the period of his life after graduating high school in which he spends time in prison for drug smuggling, all the while hoping to become a writer; and The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (2006), which focuses on a young woman named Ivy, who must sort out if she has inherited her family's curse of excessively loving her mother as well as an aptitude for taxidermy. Jack has even published a novel geared toward adults: his jailhouse narrative titled Zip Six (1996).
Jack Gantos: The Teacher
Not only has Jack contributed to adolescent literature as a writer, he travels the world working directly with students, teachers, librarians, parents, and administrators. To date, Jack has visited over 500 schools and has helped tens of thousands of kids and teachers develop and write their own stories. He also is a frequent conference keynote speaker and university lecturer. Corresponding with Jack via email is similar to participating in a frenetic electronic travel log:
Hope you are well. Doha (capital city of the state of Qatar) has been interesting. (personal communication, December 16, 2010)
Gang tackled with work in Boston then shot down to NYC . . . then took off for a speaking tour in Bangkok . . . now on the flight back from Narita to DC, then back up to Boston. (personal communication, March 5, 2011)
Not long ago, during one of his visits to Tennessee, Jack led three separate days of workshops in three different geographical sections of the state (east, middle, and west). It takes only a quick glance at a map to see that Tennessee is a L-O-N-G state. Still, Jack being the trooper that he is gave each gathering of high school and middle school students an incredible presentation. All together in those brief three days, Jack spoke with nearly three thousand adolescents and made certain to sign every copy of all the books that each young person handed him.
Meet Jack Gantos and you will find him quick-witted, honest, appropriately irreverent, and inspiring. Simply, he makes himself unforgettable. Although he is a master storyteller and entertainer, most of his conversations are spent listening to others and making inquiries into their lives.
Furthermore, common to all master teachers, Jack Gantos is an encourager. As he accepted his ALAN Award in Orlando, Jack encouraged all of us who work with learners—regardless of our grade levels or our professional roles—to "swing our cats," to give every ounce of energy we have to getting children, adolescents, and the adults around us involved in their own books and their own writing.
Who better to represent the multifaceted field of adolescent literature through his writing and service than Mr. Jack Gantos.
Jack Gantos: The ALAN Award Winner
S. D. Collins (SC): Jack, first things first, thank you for taking time away from the frenzied schedule of "swinging your cat" to speak with us. Most importantly, congratulations on receiving the 2010 ALAN Award.
Jack Gantos (JG:): It is an honor that caught me by surprise since there is no advance warning, no short list circulating, no public nomination process, no tip sheet to alert me that I may receive the award. I was sitting at a desk on the fifth floor of the Boston Athenaeum when your email arrived with the news, which was delicious to read. I sit in the library herding sentences for the most part and am focused not on awards but in just getting a page or two to comply with my intentions, no matter how accidental. This is not always the most graceful job. The work is labyrinthine and at the end of the day, no one claps as I exit the library and stroll toward home across the Boston Common and Public Gardens where the squirrels and ducks and birds and trees are being their mysteriously charming selves.
Nature is so constant when compared to the slippery human artifice of language, and watching a squirrel perform only squirrelish tasks reminds me of how much time I spend inventing texts instead of being myself. What is so lovely about receiving the award is that it feels like a scene from a daydream—some wordless confection indulged in when the words won't come to the paper, and I'm staring up at the ceiling and pampering my ego with imaginary awards so I don't sulk and turn against myself. I can be pathetically juvenile. In the meantime, squirrels remain squirrels.
SC: Past recipients of the ALAN Award include Robert Cormier (1982), Madeleine L'Engle (1986), Katherine Paterson (1987), Gary Paulsen (1991), Walter Dean Myers (1994), S. E. Hinton (1998), and Jacqueline Woodson (2004), to name a few. Will you describe what it's like to be named to such an excellent group of people who have contributed to the field of adolescent literature?
JG: So many great bookish people, including fine writers, have received the ALAN Award, and it is very satisfying to join their ranks. It takes endurance to write a book, but when the task is finished, the book takes on an ambitious endurance of its own. There is nothing more the writer can do to it. The book is what it will always be as it fervently journeys off to find a pair of hands to hold it, and a fresh mind it can influence. I'm sure that no matter how many young adults I address in my speaking tours, their deeper and more enduring relationship will be with the book—not with me—and I firmly believe that is as it should be.
The ALAN Award, on the other hand, points to the writer—the person behind the curtain, the slight-of-hand con artist who conjures up a story more articulate, shapely, elegant, and powerful than his or her own daily life. So often books hog the spotlight and steal the awards, but the ALAN Award kindly nods toward the writer.
SC: SC: Would you take us a bit further behind your curtain? What is your process of creating a story and the potential influences on the writing as the text evolves?
JG: JG:: For me, it seems that gaining access to the voice of the character is what helps me puncture the plane between being clueless and outside the story, to entering the story and beginning to understand the main character and to take his or her pulse. The "voice" of the character really charts the early path of the story for me, and once I seem to have summoned the voice, I begin to paint in the setting.
But, even though I feel somewhat confident in the voice of the character and the paint has dried on the setting, it is not until I begin to gather my ideas for the book that I envision the cast of themes that will add bite to the story and must ultimately add thoughtful resonance to the tale, beyond the typical action line of "he did this and she did that." It is the clash of voice and theme that is critical, because neither can be allowed to win as they both have to be equally attractive in the full bloom of their potential.
For instance, when Ivy from The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (2006) is first revealed, she is opening the story and unfolding her character through her voice. We meet her, and gather round her, and are magnetized toward her once she finds the taxidermed Rumbaugh mother. Yes, the taxidermed mother is an interesting proposition, but it is only because Ivy is a sympathetic character that we feel what she feels. Once we settle into her character, she can then carry the weight of the story and advance the themes. In The Love Curse , I wanted to examine the American Eugenics Movement, which was a darkly racist and sexist movement in this country built on Social Darwinism. Basically, the movement advances an all Aryan Supremacy, which was not unlike Hitler's vision of a superior white superman. The history and theme within the book have to have equal weight with the character and plot.
Any platform of information can launch the story in one direction or another. The research behind the book was constantly causing me to rewrite—and in fact I would say during the course of a writing day I did as much rewriting of the manuscript as I did pushing the story forward by a thousand words or so. Plot and pace weakness is always on my mind because once I establish a pace for telling the story, I don't like to deviate too much or get bogged down in needless (even if it's beautiful) detail, or move forward so fast that the action far outstrips the character's emotional and mental responses.
And then, of course, there are the 40 rewrites or more and all my fussy obsessing over every little image, all the dialogue flourishes, and the kitchen sink. So, when I say that the ALAN Award points toward the writer, I'm just saying that the award is aware of far more than the finished book (which always looks so elegant and effortless)—the ALAN Award is also aware of the "how" the story was muscled, begged, and manipulated and occasionally romanced onto the page by the writer. Believe me, I'm not after sympathy; I'm just appreciative that the award looks beyond the book, which loves the spotlight on the red carpet.
SC: You are a prolific reader and mention more than 60 novels/stories/authors in Hole in My Life (2002a). How does reading figure into your process while you are working on a project?
JG: In general, I have to be careful with what I'm reading when writing fiction, which is why I read a lot of nonfiction when I'm working on a book. I don't want to inadvertently pick up the fumes of other prose.
SC: Jack, the characters you create are complex and posses multiple emotional layers; furthermore, they can be outlandish and unpredictable when it comes to their actions. On the other hand, a Gantos story seems to have a certain tenderness about it, a certain mercy imbedded in the narrative. What do words like "forgiveness" and "second chance" mean to you?
JG: The impulse to write Rotten Ralph (1976), my first published book (a picturebook created with Nicole Rubel), was not just to tilt the cart a bit and have a lot of fun with a character who gets carried away and truly enjoys intentionally breaking the rules of good behavior, but also to cap the story with the theme of "unconditional love." I suppose, from the beginning, my characters have been in a tug of war with themselves—going both ways at once. Rotten Ralph loves to be rotten, yet loves to be loved despite his behavior. Some might say he just wants everything his way, to be self-indulgently rotten and not have to suffer any consequences. I prefer to think that he is granted, despite his own faulty behavior, a great measure of Sarah's love, understanding, and forgiveness—just as any child would hope to receive despite their worst moments.
In the Joey Pigza books, we see the subject of forgiveness in a more complex way. Rotten Ralph only wants forgiveness for his transgressions; Joey, on the other hand, not only wants to be forgiven for his out-of-control behavior, but he also has the task of forgiving others (mother, father, grandmother) who have caused him a great deal of grief and harm. Though his behavior at times is manic and may seem intentionally self-indulgent, he would prefer not to cause others emotional or physical pain. And in the case of his grandmother, he learns to love her very deeply. He realizes his grandmother's strengths and weaknesses, despite her tough love tactics and her own "wired" behavior, which often results in the grandmother belittling Joey. And yet, he seeks her love just as he offers her his own affection.
In the case of Joey's father, Carter Pigza, the gift of "forgiveness" is at the crossroads of I Am Not Joey Pigza (2007). Carter, who has been a delinquent father, to say the least, has the gall to ask Joey to forgive him for all the meanness he has brought into Joey's young life. It is not easy for Joey to turn the corner from resenting his father to forgiving him, but he applies himself to the task and earnestly does forgive Carter—who of course loves being forgiven and then turns right around and guts Joey once again.
The Jack Henry books are laced with Jack needing forgiveness and offering it in return, but when we get up to Hole in My Life (2002a), we can see another manifestation of forgiveness—which would be self-forgiveness. For me, the burden of my own criminal activities—which were exacerbated by my personal failures as a young writer—had to be set aside. I had to, in some way, suspend how harshly I was judging myself until I could sort out what I needed to forgive myself for, and I had to determine what I needed to forever remember about myself.
Personally, I do think being forgiven and receiving second chances to be the better part of yourself is a great gift to others. This push-pull of forgiveness within a character certainly creates a lot of room for depth, and it can show off strengths and weaknesses in a character's foundation.
SC: You end Hole in My Life (2002a) with the words, "And I'm out in the open doing what I have always wanted to do. Write" (p. 200). During those early days as you were gaining steam as a writer, do you recall when the thought first hit you, "Hey! I am really a writer!"?
JG: It was a moment after I finally got out of prison and ended up at college to get my BFA in Creative Writing. I felt as if I had finally met a lot of other young people, who like myself, were looking for a supportive group where you could actually call yourself a writer and be treated like one. Getting my BFA in Creative Writing was about one of the smartest decisions I ever made as it gave me instruction, allowed me time to write and rewrite, and eventually to publish my work.
SC: Obviously, judging from your reams of accomplishments, writing was the work you were meant to do; however, are there ever days when the writing becomes interrupted? If so, what do you experience when that happens.
JG: I always want to write. But some days that just doesn't happen. Sometimes circumstances are to blame (speaking on the road, heavy travel schedules, family activities . . .), but mostly, I always feel I am at fault when the work is not tackled. I have great stretches of writing when there is good flow, and then there are other times I'm just crabbing around and figuring out yet another way to avoid moving the book forward. It's a bit of a revolving door into and out of your own madhouse.
As I respond to this specific question, I'm on a flight back from speaking for six days in Bangkok, and though I did write while there, and found a lovely neo-classic jewel box of a library around the corner from my hotel where I could tuck away and think, I wouldn't exactly say I pushed my novel forward. In fact, I think I could easily say I did a lot more substantial eating than I did writing. It is a great privilege to have the time to write (just ask someone who doesn't have the time), and so when I fritter time away, I feel like a slacker.
SC: Doubtful anyone would ever accuse you of being a slacker, especially since you always seem to be mentally engaging the world—either the actual world or your story worlds. Since writing demands such a generous portion of cerebral resources, how do you see creative writing bolstering a young person's cognitive development and learning in general?
JG: In the same way that it is good for architects to first learn how to actually build a house before they design one. In the same way that doctors are rigorously trained before they take on patients. In the same way that librarians should design their own libraries because they know what they need and what they don't.
When a person spends a lot of time writing, they begin to see the rigging between the content and the structure of the story. They begin to realize the importance of words, the variety of sentences, the use of dialog, and all the vast numbers of skills that it takes to construct a book. When someone learns how to write, and write well, then when they open a book to read—for information or pleasure—they see more deeply into the book and into the craft and content. It is this ability to deeply explicate a book that is made keen through writing a book, or story, or poem. As educators, what we are always after is depth of explication—the how and the why of the construction in conjunction with the content and humanity.
Plus, if you can sit still in a chair and read 50 pages at a crack, then we are talking about "strength of focus." Once I was fortunate enough to scrub up and enter a surgical theatre where a patient was having a complex by-pass operation. The patient's heart was stopped; a machine was circulating his blood, and my friend, the heart surgeon, was suturing the new healthy vein together with a suture material you couldn't see with the naked eye. It took five hours for the surgeon to deftly suture the new veins. When the patient's heart was started and his blood pressure was clearly at a healthy level and his chest was being sewn up, the nurse looked over at me and whispered, "The doctor has a gift of focus." Focus is what she admired most.
Writing will give you focus. You set goals and you master those goals. No matter the subject, without focus you are out to sea. As students advance from grade to grade and from elementary to middle to high school to college, the demands on their ability to focus will increase. It has been shown that multitasking is not the genius-making strategy it was thought to be. Just think of how text messaging and driving have been a formula for disaster. Writing is thinking with logic and clarity. That skill will take you far, even if you have no interest in writing novels.
SC: In an interview with Gail Gregg (2001) , you mentioned how you never had the opportunity to write creatively while you were a public-school student and never had any teachers encourage you to write creatively. As you visit classrooms across the country, how do you perceive the various opinions of creative writing?
JG: Before answering this question in full, let me say that I went to 10 schools in 12 years, so it was not entirely the fault of the school system that I didn't receive a nicely dovetailed education as I passed from grade to grade. My family moved a lot, so my choppy education is largely a result of our peripatetic life. That said, I did not have an education that valued creative writing. I did have music and art, but no creative writing. At times, I was a member of the chess club and Latin club. I believe there were times when I could have worked on the school newspaper, but for reasons I do not recall, I was not interested in that. Most likely, I found it dull.
Currently I visit about 40 schools per year, and the schools I enter are vastly different from the schools I exited as a student. I'm invited to schools because they read my books, but also because my creative writing and literature presentations focus entirely on teaching students how to write their own books. Schools that invite me understand this goal, and so I assume that (a) they want me to teach creative writing forms and approaches to writing that students can put to work with success, and (b) they are actively working on creative projects in the classroom. So, I end up in schools where their educational mission and my accomplishments parse and combine to inspire students to read good books and write good books.
I am sure there are schools out there across America that do not include time for creative writing in their curriculum. I don't think this is out of any mean intent. I think that some schools just don't realize how much creative writing is related to good, solid writing practices as well as related to creative and logical thinking in general. The root cause of this lack of creative instruction is not entirely found in the culture of standardized testing where schools teach to the test; I think that the universities that train teachers need to provide more creative writing instruction. No one wants to teach a subject in which they feel insecure, so when student teachers have the opportunity to write creatively and workshop their material, they will gain the confidence necessary to teach the subject to students.
SC: What's your advice for teachers who recognize the value of writing but are insecure and don't know how to proceed.
JG: You ask a very difficult question—one that points out a truth I see all the time (keep in mind I have visited 40 schools a year for the past 20 years). The truth is, there is not one parent who doesn't want their child to write better, or a teacher who doesn't want their students to write better, or one school who doesn't want better student writers. But, when you ask a school to devote more time to writing, to devote more inservice resources to teaching writing instruction to their teachers, to become a school that is known for their "writing" accomplishments, and to ask parents to place inspired writing on par with math and science and other meat-and-potatoes subjects, then you get some push-back.
Every institution wants students to be great writers, but they hamstring their teachers and students by not giving the teachers the professional development they need and the class time needed in the curriculum that will nurture and instruct and produce great, articulate writers. There is some sort of nonsensical old-world notion that writers are self-made—as if the hand of God smacks a kid on the head and declares them to be a writer. Parents and teachers would never allow that romantic idea to apply to science or math or other content and problem-solving subjects.
So how do we advise teachers? I'd play "small ball." Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) is a great approach to reading a bit every day. Writing can be layered into the daily school schedule in the same way. It is not that the students have to write volumes every day—they just have to write consistently and with purpose. So, a little bit of focused writing each day (either on a creative form or essay) is what I would suggest.
The key, of course, is the focus. Students have to be guided in choosing what they want to write about and then instructed about the form in which they write. If they are writing short stories, they should understand the general notion that the character, setting, and problem are introduced in the beginning of the story; they should understand that the action building to a crisis should appear in the middle; and they should understand that the resolution and emotional/physical endings should be revealed at the finish. Of course, we all know that if a student wants to write poems, they should be reading poetry. If they write short stories, they should be reading short stories. If they write picturebooks, they should read picturebooks.
Matching the reading up with the writing is a key component for good writing. Then, teaching students how to be thoughtful rewriters is essential. I certainly don't believe I'm suggesting anything to teachers that they don't already know: If you want better writing students, it takes teacher training and student instruction time in order to achieve positive results.
SC: Jack, I thank you for your generous gifts of time, thought, and words for this interview. As we come to the end, a final question: With all that others believe you to be (writer, teacher, consultant, friend . . . ), what do you believe to be your role in the field of adolescent literature?
JG: It is difficult to imagine a role more important for me than writing good books for adolescent readers. That said, I think my role is also twined with being an educator, literature enthusiast, and bibliophile. Each year I visit quite a number of schools where I speak to young adults about reading and writing. I work with teachers on orchestrating creative writing and literature workshops in schools. I speak to young adults in prisons and to those who freely show up for readings and book talks at public libraries. And though it is not my intent to usurp the ambition of my own books, I do feel that public speaking is a calling of sorts for me to hit the road and promote the love and transformative power of literature.
Author's Note
In addition to my gratitude to Jack Gantos, I am indebted to Jules Danielson, the big cheese of Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast: A Blog about Books and librarian extraordinaire, for her insight from years of interviewing authors, her suggestions regarding research resources, and early collaborations on Gantos. Furthermore, I thank Cecilia Jenkins and Upper Cumberland Writing Project Teacher Consultants, whose responses and questions helped shape the interview.
S. D. Collins spent 10 years as a middle school language arts teacher at the Tennessee School for the Deaf. Currently, S. D. is an associate professor of Language and Literacy Education at Tennessee Tech University where he founded and directs the Upper Cumberland Writing Project. He may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com .
Bird, E. (2011, April 30). Review of the day [Review of the book Dead end in Norvelt by J. Gantos]. School Library Journal . Retrieved from http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2011/04/30/review-of-the-day-dead-end-innorvelt-by-jack-gantos/ .
Danielson, J. (2007, November 8). Seven impossible interviews before breakfast #54 (winter blog blast tour edition): Jack Gantos [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=937 .
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Gantos, J. (1994). Heads or tails: Stories from the sixth grade . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gantos, J. (1996). Zip six: A novel . Bridgehampton, NY: Bridge Works.
Gantos, J. (1997). Desire lines . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gantos, J. (1998). Joey Pigza swallowed the key . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gantos, J. (2000). Joey Pigza loses control . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gantos, J. (2002a). Hole in my life . Carmel, CA: Hampton-Brown.
Gantos, J. (2002b). What would Joey do ? New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gantos, J. (2006). The love curse of the Rumbaughs . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gantos, J. (2007). I am not Joey Pigza . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gantos, J. (2010). The bloody souvenir. In J. Scieszka (Ed.), Guys read: Funny business (pp. 245–268). New York, NY: Walden Pond Press.
Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gregg, G. (2001). Jack Gantos: On domestic craziness and bighearted kids. The ALAN Review, 28 (2), 25–30 .
Jack Gantos' Bio and Photos. (n.d.). Jack Gantos [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.jackgantos.com.vhost.zerolag.com/bio-photos/ .
Meet Jack Gantos. (2007). BookPage [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://bookpage.com/meet/meet-the-illustrator-49 .
[Review of the book Dead end in Norvelt by J. Gantos]. (2011, August 15). Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jack-gantos/dead-end-norvelt/ .
Editors' Note: Just as this issue of The ALAN Review was headed to press, the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, presented Jack Gantos the 2012 Newbery Award for his screwball mystery Dead End in Norvelt , published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The Newbery Award was actually Gantos's second award in less than a week as he also received the 2012 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, again for Dead End in Norvelt .


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Suzanne Mathews – Contributor
Ms. Mathews is a paralegal with a bachelor's degree in legal studies, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Kaplan University. At Kaplan, she studied and mastered the facets of legal writing and analysis. Ms. Mathews successfully completed the Lexis Nexis paralegal certificate of mastery, which has enabled her to expand her career as a research specialist. Her studies as a paralegal included civil litigation, personal injury, and product liability. Additionally, she has studied contract law, employment law, tax law, and intellectual property law. Prior to receiving a bachelor's degree in legal studies, Ms. Mathews earned an associate's degree in business accounting and small business management. In her more than twenty-five years of experience, she has also worked in all areas of accounting functions, as well as human resources, and tax preparation.


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Rugged Elegance Adventure Tours is located at 11029 Crooked Lake Rd NE, Rockford, MI. This business specializes in Travel & Lodging.
Rugged Elegance Adventure Tours can be found at Crooked Lake Rd Ne 11029. The following is offered: Travel Agents. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Rockford there are 2 other Travel Agents. An overview can be found here.


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The Shannara Chronicles
2x1 | Druid
A year after the War of the Forbidding, a mysterious figure interrupts Wil's new life; Eretria reunites with someone from her past; Allanon uncovers a plot that could send the Four Lands into darkness.
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Season 02, Episode 01 – "Druid″
In the Season 2 premiere, Wil's new life is interrupted by a mysterious new figure; Eretria is reunited with someone from her past; and Allanon uncovers a plot that could send the Four Lands into darkness.
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Originally published June 18, 2010 at 10:00 PM | Page modified June 18, 2010 at 10:14 PM
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Neighborhood of the week
Lower Queen Anne
In the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, an area once known for its distinctive old houses is being transformed.
Special to The Seattle Times
Lower Queen AnnePopulation: 7,767 (2009 est.)
Distance to downtown Seattle: About 1.5 miles.
Schools: The Lower Queen Anne neighborhood is served by Seattle Public Schools.
Recreation: Kerry Park (Franklin Place), 211 W. Highland Drive. Kerry Park offers a 180-degree view of Seattle. The Space Needle rises at nearly eye level ½-mile away, with Mount Rainier in the background.
The plaque at the viewpoint reads: "Kerry Park given to the City in 1927 by Mr. and Mrs. Albert Sperry Kerry, Sr., so that all who stop here may enjoy this view." The sculpture "Changing Form" by Doris Chase was added in 1971, a gift from Kerry's three children.
Fun fact: Still buried below Queen Anne Avenue North is a narrow tunnel that's 3 feet tall in most places and which contains the old track and special waist-high cars used in operating the cable cars on the counterbalance from the 1890s to 1940.
— Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf
Mark Huck lives in the shadow of giants.
The neighbor of the south is a nine-story apartment building. Immediately to his north are six new town houses under construction. And across the street, a three-story condo building.
And in the middle of it all is Huck, 53, in an actual Queen Anne-style house built way back in 1891.
Huck bought the house, designated a historic landmark, in 2000 for $550,000. It hadn't been demolished and turned into condos or apartments like so many of its former neighbors because the nonprofit Historic Seattle bought and renovated the house in the 1970s and put a covenant on it to preserve it.
"They were going to tear it down," Huck said, sitting comfortably in his living room.
Dichotomy defines the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood in Seattle, as decades of development have bulldozed most of the Queen Anne homes that gave the neighborhood its name. Lower Queen Anne is now a neighborhood of new with old sprinkled in.
"Except the old is going away," said Jeff Eccles, a Windermere Real Estate agent who has sold a number of homes in the neighborhood.
And while a slice of Seattle history is fading away with the loss of old houses, the construction of relatively lower-priced condos is creating a neighborhood that is one of the most affordable in a city, Eccles said.
Recently, all 78 homes listed for sale in the neighborhood were condos, ranging in price from $145,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit to $735,000 for one with four bedrooms and one bath.
The median value of all condos in Lower Queen Anne, not just condos recently sold, was $344,500 in April, according to figures compiled by Seattle-based Zillow.com. Zillow's Home Value Index shows that the median value of condos dropped 5.5 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, the median value of all single-family houses in Lower Queen Anne was $940,700 in April, down 12.5 percent year-over-year, the Zillow Home Value Index shows.
The official boundaries of the neighborhood stretch partway up Queen Anne Hill and down to Denny Way, from Aurora to Elliott Bay.
Lower Queen Anne also is home to a thriving restaurant and commercial district with the Space Needle, the iconic symbol of the 1962 World's Fair, towering over it nearby.
"Really it comes down to great location," Eccles said. "You can walk to the (Olympic) Sculpture Park; you can go to the Seattle Center. ... It's kind of like a little hidden area of Seattle. It's not really on anybody's radar as really hip and cool, but there's a lot of housing down here and there's a lot to do."
And there were a lot of historic homes that have been lost as the city grew.
Leanne Olson, who works with the Queen Anne Historical Society, said two of the biggest losses to the area were the Kinnear Mansion and the Denny Home.
The Denny Home, also known as the Leslie Apartments, was moved in the early 20th century to Queen Anne Avenue and Republican Street before it was torn down.
The Kinnear Mansion, built in 1885, was donated by the family to the Methodist Church. It stood until 1958 when it was replaced by a retirement home.
"In the Lower Queen Anne area, it definitely was very residential in the early parts of the 20th century, and over time, a lot of that has been lost," Olson said. "And, of course, a lot of it was exacerbated by the Seattle World's Fair at the Seattle Center."
So what do some of the residents of the new Lower Queen Anne think of the neighborhood?
For Frank Lott, whose ancestors settled in the Pacific Northwest, the decision to buy in Lower Queen Anne was a given after spending 20 years in New York City.
"When I moved back here, I was like 'I want to live in Queen Anne,' " Lott, 50, said while gardening in front of the two-bedroom condo in a midcentury cedar-sided building he bought in 1999 for $199,000. "It's just a really nice neighborhood."
When Lott talks about the things he loves the most about living there, he echoes Eccles, and mentions such things as Seattle Center and the Space Needle being within walking distance.
Lott also talks about the sense of community he gets from living in a walking-oriented community.
"Like New York, I can walk to everything I need," Lott said. "My post office is here; my groceries are all here. Everything is within a five-minute walk. I find that I really don't have to use my car that much when I'm home because I can get everything I need within walking distance. It's really great."
And the growth continues. Ground was broken this past week on a 204-unit apartment project called Avalon Queen Anne at Third Avenue West and West Thomas Street. The project is being built on the site of the old Mountaineers Club building.
A century after it was first developed, Lower Queen Anne continues to evolve.
But it may take a few more years before its residents accept the "Uptown" moniker that some business interests have long advocated for the neighborhood.
"I've heard Lower Queen Anne referred to as Seattle Uptown," Eccles said. "As neighborhoods get more cachet, sometimes they re-market themselves. So you never know. Five years from now, we may be calling Lower Queen Anne Seattle Uptown."
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- At least one of the eight or more pastor changes at Roman Catholic churches on Staten Island is in line with recommendations for the "Making All Things New" pastoral planning initiative that will result in the mergers -- and possible closings -- of some churches throughout the Archdiocese of New York.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan has made it clear that the Archdiocese of New York no longer can afford to support or staff 368 parishes and that some will need to merge or even close. The 33 Island Roman Catholic parishes have been grouped into clusters of neighboring parishes that are working together to, at minimum, share ministries and staff and possibly merge or shutter churches.
Pastors are facing reassignment in July at Roman Catholic churches including: Our Lady of Pity in Bulls Head, Our Lady Star of the Sea in Huguenot, St. Adalbert's in Elm Park, St. Anthony's in Travis, St. Christopher's in Grant City, St. Margaret Mary in Midland Beach, St. Patrick's in Richmond and St. Rita's in Meiers Corners.
The Rev. John Wroblewski, the pastor for 14 years at St. Anthony's, also is assuming the duties of administrator at Our Lady of Pity.
St. Anthony's and Our Lady of Pity are part of a "Making All Things New" cluster team that includes representatives from Holy Family in Westerleigh, Blessed Sacrament and Sacred Heart in West Brighton and St. Teresa's in Castleton Corners.
In its June 1 bulletin, Holy Family published recommendations made by its cluster.
Among them:
- "The 2 faith communities of St. Anthony's of Padua and Our Lady of Pity will be consolidated at the current site of Our Lady of Pity (depending upon a structural and long-term maintenance appraisal.) An additional worship site (e.g. weekend masses as well a occasional weddings and funerals) will be at St. Anthony of Padua. The additional worship site will be evaluated every two years based on use, financial viability and building condition."
- "Collaboration with Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Church of Holy Family, Church of Sacred Heart, Church of St. Rita and Church of St. Teresa."
The Archdiocesan Advisory Group approved the major recommendations of the cluster team and made some additional suggestions.
"The appointments are not made based on Making All Things New - we still don't know what the final decisions will be, so it would have been impossible to make appointments on that basis," said Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the archdiocese.
The cardinal is expected to announce his decisions in September.


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I'm sure someone somewhere could consider this mildly spoilerish, so consider that disclaimed.
Of all the memes and mashups I've seen born of Sunday's intergenerational twerking calamity, this one wins everything.
Side note: I wrote a post nitpicking the premiere of the final BB episodes and have not made one for the next two episodes. That's because there was nothing–absolutely nothing–worthy of complaint. MSNBC's Benjy Sarlin asked on Twitter Sunday night, "how many shows have peaked in their last season? Any?"
After the episode that aired Sunday, "Confessions," I think we may finally be able to answer, "yes, one."


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Read our terms and conditions here.


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Looking for customer care agents at Booking.com (Amsterdam)
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A house-cleaning project in Roeland Park got exciting Sunday when people going through the basement of a home at 4900 W. 51st St. discovered what turned out to be a live grenade.
Roeland Park police were called to the scene at about 3:30 p.m. and immediately determined the grenade was live.
The Olathe bomb squad arrived to remove the grenade. It was not immediately known how the grenade wound up in the basement.


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Once Upon A Time In America contains a number of references to cinematic, literary, and artistic works:
There are many allusions in the film to Hollywood gangster and crime films from the 1930s through to the 1950s. The film is Leone's homage to the gangster film just as his Once Upon A Time In The West is an homage to the western. Leone's biographer Christopher Frayling lists some citations:
A thread on the Sergio Leone Web Board discussed some more references in Once to classic gangster films. Here are some quotes from that discussion. (The original can be found here.)
Angels with Dirty Faces: "in AWDF, just before the two characters are about to break into a freight train car as boys, they talk about going to Florida and going swimming. In OUATIA there are two references to swimming which are used as sort of "relief" scenes after Noodles and Max have words. After the hit on Joe Minaldi, Noodles drives the car into the water so they can take a swim. Also after the disagreement in Jimmy's hospital room, Max goes after Noodles and suggests he accompany Noodles to Florida for a swim. The swimming in OUATIA also refers back to the fall in the water when the gang were boys fishing the liquor out of the harbor." "Tom ends up taking the rap for the attempted theft of the freight car and goes to a reform center. His incarceration definitely affects his growth; contributes towards his progression to a life of crime. This has similarities to Noodles' experience."
Little Caesar: "Rico's boys give him a pocket watch at the banquet honoring him. The platinum and diamond pocket watch was stolen by his gang. In OUATIA, Noodles and gang take the pocket watch of the drunk. Max will hold on to the watch and take it out in the final scene with Noodles." "Rico admires Big Boy's desk and furnishings during their meeting together and comments on how much it must of set him back, reminiscent of Max and the Pope's throne he purchases. He answers Noodles questions concerning the throne and points out how much he spent on it." "Rico shares same view of women as Max. Women are dames and molls. He has no interest in women. "What does it ever get ya?" He sees Olga, love interest of Joe, as a threat to his business. In his view, once in a gang one can never leave. Furthermore, Joe cannot be a member of a gang and have a relationship with a woman. In this way the Rico/Joe relationship mirrors the Max/Noodles relationship." Little Caesar "depicts Rico as being unfulfilled and empty after achieving his superficial goals. He commands his own gang, he has the fine clothes and jewelry, and he has the "admiration" of his boys....yet there's something missing. The emptiness seems to increase his appetite for more.... setting his sights on becoming the next Big Boy. Big Boy is portrayed as being above the law, and untouchable. Neither Rico or Max can ever obtain Big Boy status. Like Rico, Max's lifetime pursuit of power and wealth brings about his own downfall and results in a meaningless, empty life."
The second time young Noodles tries to spy on Deborah dancing, she catches him and makes him sit while she reads from the Song of Songs, interspersing her terse comments. Below is Deborah's recitation of part of chapter 5 of the Song of Songs, which is the seventeenth book of the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible. Alongside is the original version, from the 1917 Jewish Publication Society of America version, which is the most common translation. (Available here.) Deborah either has a different translation from the 1917 version (but I have not been able to find a translation the same as the one Deborah reads) or is translating/ amending it herself.
Later as adults, after Noodles and Deborah have dinner at the seaside restaurant, they sit on the sand and talk. Noodles tells her that thinking about her was what got him through his time in prison. And he recites chapter 7 of the Song of Songs, reproduced below. Again the original is alongside. Noodles's version is much different from the 1917 JPS Tanakh, which may be due to a faulty memory or doing his own translation/ amendments.
In one scene, the young Noodles locks himself in a toilet and reads a battered book. The camera deliberately reveals the book's title as Martin Eden by Jack London. Here is a summary of the book:
Noodles shares Martin's aspiration for self-improvement, though Noodles does not work hard at it. For both, this aspiration is motivated by a woman. A further parallel is Noodles'/Martin's melancholy over Max's/Russ's suicide.
In a recent novel, Umberto Eco writes:
This indicates a slightly different parallel. Martin's final glimmer of understanding is similar to Noodles's in the opium den that ends the film. Does Noodles know, but also cease to know, that Max is not really dead? The final words are similar to a favorite phrase of Leone's: "I say it here, and I deny it here."
Martin Eden is in the public domain and electronic editions are available for free from the Internet Archive. An edition published in 1916 that has the same frontispiece illustration that is in the one that Noodles reads in the film is here.
In interviews, Sergio Leone as said that the scene where the young Deborah dances in the backroom of the diner is influenced by Edgar Degas's paintings of ballet dancers.


text: funnydie Up Next: Gamechangers Ep. 1: The Rant Writer AUTOPLAY Up Next In: 10 Gamechangers Ep. 1: The Rant Writer Gamechangers Ep 3: A Legend In The Booth with Hank Azaria Soon to be an IFC Original Gamechangers Ep. 4: The Rant Writer 2 Donald Sterling NBA Press Conference Highlights Follow Gamechangers Ep. 4: The Rant Writer 2 Rant writer Charlie Hoard (Ty Burrell) is back to share the story behind his most recent written rants. July 30, 2012 140k Views Ty BurrellPat O'BrienChris GorhamFunny Or Die Ty Burrell Actor Pat O'Brien Actor Chris Kula Writer Chris Gorham Director Funny Or Die Executive Producer Brett W. Bachman Editor Andy Maxwell VFX Christin Trogan Producer Ellie del Campo Art Direction Martin C Vallejo Art Direction Aubrey Binzer Wardrobe Funny Or Die Sports Channel Additional Credits Starring Ty BurrellFeaturing: Pat O'Brien, Jennifer Bartels, Michael ArnoldDirected by Chris GorhamWritten by Chris KulaDirector of Photography: Luca del PuppoProduced by Christin TroganSupervising & Line Producer: Greg KindraEdited by Brett BachmanB-Camera Operator: Dave CainSteadicam Operator: Grant CulwellVFX Editor: Andy MaxwellFirst AC: Ray LeeGaffer: Marc AntoineBest Boy Electric: Eric TolzmanKey Grip: Aleks AbadSound Mixer: John MaynardArt Directors: Ellie del Campo & Martin ValllejoMakeup and Hair: Ashley Ann HarrisWardrobe: Aubrey BinzerSecond Unit: Sebastian Spader, Dwight Stone, Megan Klimkos, Brandi KalishKey PA: Ross Buran 1,729Funny544Die 140,375 Views July 30, 2012 Published Category Web Series Sketch Sports Tags gamechangers game rants rant stephon marbury modern family mike tyson charlie hoard tiger woods nba ncaa kris humphries theater practice kim kardashian writer writing roethlisberger neck beard lebron james the decision favre lakers Up Next Gamechangers 3:53 Gamechangers Ep. 1: The Rant Writer Ty Burrell 4:23 Gamechangers Ep 3: A Legend In The Booth with Hank Azaria Hank Azaria Advertisement Shooting Hoops 2:10 Donald Sterling NBA Press Conference Highlights Funny Or Die 2:25 Donald Sterling Inner Monologue Funny Or Die


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Cape May County Advice Givers | Business Owners | Entrepreneurs | Interviewing Our Community's Brightest Minds | Gene Summers
About This Show
Show Info:
Local Experts. Incredible Interviews.Read more »
Local Experts. Incredible Interviews.Read more »
ENJOY THIS EPISODE: Amy Mahon is president of the Love of Linda Cancer Fund, Inc., a local non-profit organization providing financial assistance to Cape May County cancer patients. In addition, she is a Board member of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce and serves on the chamber's Strategic Planning Committee and is Chair of the...Read more »


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Here is presenting official song video of Sau Tarah Ke from the movie Dishoom starring John Abraham, Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez.
Sau Tarah Ke is catchy and peppy from word go. This is definitely one of the disco numbers of the season. Chemistry between the trio John, Varun and Jacqueline is looking amazing.
Dishoom is directed by Rohit Dhawan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Dishoom is slated for release on 29th July, 2016 and is one of the most awaited films of 2016.
Sau Tarah Ke Official Song Video from Dishoom -


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These are some of the big reasons home buying has delayed for the millennial generation, but they're getting older and that means families and houses.
More than any other generation, Millennials or those born between 1982-2004, are waiting to buy a home until later in life; And the trend is increasing. Due to pay rates, increasing home prices, and lack of savings millennials are forced to wait up to decades before going in on a down payment for a home.


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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24 (UPI)–Amanda Bynes' lawyer said Tuesday she is mentally unfit to stand trial for a drunken driving charge related to her April 2012 arrest in Los Angeles.
Lawyer Rich Hutton told a judge the 27-year-old actress currently does not have the mental capacity to understand the legal proceedings, TMZ reported.
The judge transferred the matter to a mental health court, which will conduct a hearing to determine Bynes' mental competency, the celebrity news website said.
Bynes has been hospitalized for an undisclosed mental illness since July.
The former child star was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold after she allegedly caused a disturbance when she tried to break into a retirement community in her hometown of Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The following night, she allegedly set a small fire in a driveway, which led to police involvement and her eventual hospitalization.
The actress is known for her work on TV's "What I Like About You" and "The Amanda Show," as well as in the films "Hairspray" and "What a Girl Wants." Her most recent major screen credit was a supporting role in 2010's "Easy A."
Her once-bright career has been eclipsed in recent years by her bizarre Twitter rants and frequent brushes with the law.


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Ed Westwick on 'hazy' parties
Ed Westwick had some "wild" get-togethers with Chace Crawford when they lived together.
Both handsome actors starred in Gossip Girl, which finished with its sixth season last year.
When the show first started the boys lived together, which made for a great excuse to have people over.
"Yes, in the first year we had an apartment in New York, with a lot of wild parties, of course – mostly too hazy to remember," he grinned to the British edition of InStyle.
Gossip Girl started in 2007 and also starred Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Taylor Momsen and Blake Lively.
Ed, 26, misses the good times he shared with his co-stars.
"[I miss] the cast and crew," he admitted.
"Filming every day for nine months a year, for six years, you form close bonds with people very quickly."
Luckily the British star has been managing to keep himself busy.
He stars as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, which also features Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld as the title characters.
"I desperately wanted to be involved," Ed gushed.
"I've always found Tybalt intriguing, and it came together with such a great cast – what's not to love?"
He also has plenty of other projects in the pipeline for 2014.
"I have a ridiculous and hilarious film called Kitchen Sink," he grinned.
"I don't know how you'd describe it… a Halloween comedy? It's about humans, zombies and vampires who coexist but are attacked by aliens. Vanessa Hudgens is in it, who is an absolute sweetheart. I've also decided I'm going to start playing the saxophone this year. I've been listening to George Michael's Careless Whisper a lot."
Source: Belfast Telegraph


text: Sculptor, designer, and furniture-maker Emmett Moore wittily blurs the line between artwork and functional object, creating sculptures that hint at utilitarianism and tables, chairs, and light fixtures that look more like modern sculptures than items of everyday use. Through his discipline-melding practice, Moore both complicates and enriches the categories of sculpture and furniture, collapsing the boundaries between them by revealing their tantalizing physical, conceptual, and aesthetic commonalities. In Eclipse (2011), for example, he tops a shiny black oil drum with a circular piece of cut glass set slightly to the side, supporting a brass rod topped, in turn, with a light bulb. As its title states, this work is a clever sculptural representation of an eclipse. Unstated in its title yet apparent in its form, Eclipse is also a table with a conveniently built-in lamp.


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Offers in Excess of £335,000
Offers in Excess of £335,000
If you are looking for a detached family home, tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac and over looking a pretty green open space, then this is the ideal home for you. With beautiful views across to the (...)
This modern executive style home enjoys a cul de sac position in one of Alveston's premium post codes. With well regarded schools and a local parade of shops are a pleasant walk away giving (...)
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This super home offers good value for money, whilst in need of some updating it has been well maintained and cared for by the current owner. A stones throw from local amenities and being offered with (...)
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