text:
You are here
Kite Building and Chinese Poetry Workshop
Date and Time:
October 3, 2015 - 1:00PM
Event Location:
Kray Hall
Art materials charge: $10
Cast your imagination skyward with this poetry and kite-building workshop. Participants will personalize their high-flying creations by marking them with poems inspired by the images and metaphors of traditional Chinese poetry.
All ages welcome!
Event Sponsored By:
Poets House, co-presented with China Institute
Event Type:
Children's Events


text:
(DVDfull pro-shot)
w/ Juliard and London's Royal Academy of Music. Also performing is the Brooklyn Augmented Youth Choir. Live at Radio City Music Hall
Source: Bravo Cable TV Broadcast
Lineage: Broadcast>VHS HI-FI SP>DVD
Menus: Yes
01 – Philadelphia Freedom
02 – Border Song
03 – Levon
04 – Freaks in Love
05 – Take Me to the Pilot
06 – Background
07 – Tiny Dancer
08 – Band Intros.
09 – Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
10 – Burn Down the Mission
11 – Come Down in Time
12 – This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
13 – Madman Across the Water
14 – Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
15 – Your Song
16 – Believe
17 – Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)
This is a great show with an orchestra and choir, that was broadcast on Bravo in 2004. I have transferred this from my first generation tape made at the time of broadcast, and created menus. This show has been on DIME before (although not my version), but it has been several years since it was last available here. An interesting contrast to the 1972 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra show I recently uploaded. Both are excellent, just 32 years apart.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A Farewell "Murph"
Josh M is leaving for botcamp and Steve D is leaving for military training. Both of these guys are metabolic beasts with aspirations for the special warfare community. Josh has a guaranteed pipeline for the Navy Seals if he can get through buds. In honor of Josh's quest, and the 31 Special Ops troops recently lost, we will do Murph today.
Skils: quick dynamic warmup-up and standards review
1 Mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run
Partition the reps as desired
Recent Posts


text:
World of Warcraft Classic progresses: 'This is the right decision'
Desperate for some World of Warcraft Classic news now that the BlizzCon high has faded? Forbes has an interview up with Blizzard Executive Producer J. Allen Brack and Senior Game Designer Jeremy Feasel that at least touches on the challenges that lay ahead in bringing a legacy server to the gaming population.
The two don't mince words about the technical challenge, but say that there is a plan to minimize the complexity of such a project and move forward. The studio said that "lots of decisions to make" and many things to do, such as to partner with the community and get feedback about the formation of Classic.
Brack emphasized that Blizzard wants to structure this so that it will not be managing two MMOs at the same time. He said that headaches aside, it's a project worth pursuing: "We're convinced, through the desire of those folks, the desire of our internal folks, and the desire to preserve what WoW was, that this is the right decision."


text:
Founded by Iris Dankner, this highly respected exhibition will take place in London for the first time this November. Featuring 23 top interior designers and brands the exhibition showcases their talents by transforming individual rooms across two dedicated houses in London's St. Johns Wood.
Clive Christian are honoured to be collaborating with two designers Campion Platt & Rachel Laxter with a room in each property. Our contemporary study collaboration has provided us with a special opportunity to exhibit our extraordinary design and craftsmanship capabilities – resulting in a beautifully furnished environment tailored perfectly for business or recreation alike.
Holiday House raises crucial funds for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation programs in the UK and we consciously incorporated this campaign into our design for the occasion.
The cabinetry is crafted from crown cut walnut and detailed with the characteristic brass pinstripe of our Metro Deco door. The professional sleek lines of the Metro Deco Inlay are a stark contrast to the playful, pink highlights; a nod to the tireless achievements that the BCRF represents.
The desk arrangement is the focal point of the room; a gravity defying surface adorned with fine burr walnut veneers – seamlessly flowing from the surrounding wall panelling. The rich natural tones of the walnut interior are complimented beautifully by the brass; enhancing each and every unique grain tone, from rich chocolate to decadent caramel – the display is then 'topped' with the hot raspberry leather spotlight detailing – making the representation look good enough to eat!
Finally, we complimented the room with an original piece of marquetry veneer artwork inspired by the BCRF ribbon – an iconic symbol that brings hope for families worldwide. As well as raising awareness of this vital charity, this study bursts with personality and cannot fail to raise a smile from all who see it.
Holiday House London is open to the public from November 9th to December 10th 2017.
Tickets are on sale now.
Proceeds from ticket sales to Holiday House London benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation research programs in the UK. BCRF is committed to funding scientific research to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime.


text:
The Basics of COMSOL Multiphysics® in 18 Minutes Webinar
Oct 9, 201811:30 AM - 11:48 AM EDT
Want to learn the basics of multiphysics simulation software in a short amount of time? This 18-minute webinar may be for you.
Multiphysics simulation brings you a great engineering advantage: the ability to accurately simulate and optimize your designs.
- Learn about multiphysics and letting the laws of physics power your real-world simulations
- Get a live demo of how to set up and run a model
- See how you can build your own simulation app in minutes
Register for The Basics of COMSOL Multiphysics® in 18 Minutes Webinar
Webinar Details
Date and Time
Oct 9, 2018 | 11:30 AM EDT (UTC-04:00)
Zachary Conrad
COMSOL, Inc. Zack Conrad is a multiphysics marketing engineer at COMSOL. He focuses on writing and producing articles and presentations about the COMSOL Multiphysics® and COMSOL Server™ products. He holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Occidental College and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Boston University.


text:
Visitors :
The Canadian High Commission, in association with the Women's Feature Service, organised an interactive workshop entitled Media and Climate Change: Cool Reporting on Hot Issues, in New Delhi recently.
Mr Jess Dutton, Deputy High Commissioner, Canadian High Commission, emphasised that the science was clear: climate change was real, it was caused by human beings, and was happening now. Year after year, our planet was getting warmer, sea levels rising, wildlife being impacted, and communities all over the world were feeling the effects of climate change. It was affecting "our health, economies, and our very way of life".
The Canadian government was taking strong action to address climate change and grow a "clean economy". In December 2015, Canada played a positive role in Paris to help reach a historic, ambitious, and balanced agreement to fight climate change, and along with India ratified the Paris Agreement.
He stressed on the media's role to not only create awareness among the masses, but also encouraging governments to form environmental-friendly policies.
Mr Matt Friesen, Counsellor & Head, Advocacy Program, facilitated the day-long session. The workshop was attended by 45 participants, including journalists from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Twenty three guest speakers, including journalists, experts and activists participated in the six sessions on climate change and media. Mr Norman Sacuta, Communications Director, Petroleum Technology Research Centre, Canada, shared his country's experience in the context of climate change. These sessions deliberated on the following issues and were followed by interaction with the panelists.
As a blogger, Ms Hiremath was practicing what she was reporting on her blog, Endlessly Green, and given her expertise enjoyed credibility among her readers. She believed in going out and collecting information on her own. Mr Singh mentioned that resources posed more problems, than sources for stories on climate change. Journalists usually did not have time to cross check the facts, besides there were pressures from lobbyists and PR groups as well as advertisers.
Mr Vinay Kumar (Editor, Indiansaga.com) moderated the session onmedia's role in creating awareness on climate change, with Ms. Urmi Goswami(special correspondent, The Economic Times); Mr Norman Sacuta; Ms Nivedita Khandekar (independent journalist working on water, environment and climate change); and Mr Himangshu Watts(Editor-Energy, The Economic Times) as the speakers.
Mr Kumar mentioned that there was certain degree of acceptance ofclimate change issues with national dailies sending reporters to cover the Marrakesh conference. Mr. Watts talked about the emergence of green concern in politics with initiatives like odd-even cars running on alternate days in Delhi. He pointed out to the lack of comprehensive studies.
Ms Khandekar mentioned that while there was need to reach out to the scientific community, on a positive note there was proliferation of independent journalists writing on environment. On climate changeissues, Ms. Goswami stressed, out-of-the-box thinking was required since everyone had an opinion on these matters.
The fifth session on scientific facts vs human interest stories was moderated by Ms. Aditi Kapoor (Director, Alternative Futures), with Ms. Bahar Dutt (environmental editor, CNN-IBN), Mr. Dinesh Sharma(columnist and writer), and Mr. Manish Anand (senior special correspondent, The New Indian Express) as the panelists.
Mr Sharma mentioned that the challenge before science reporters was that new evidences were coming out every day. Ms. Dutt stressed on the need to educate the editors on climate change and to bring together the scientific facts and the human interest angle of the story. Mr. Anand spoke about focussing on marketing of stories on climate change and communicating in simple language.
The last session of the day was on the impact of new age media on reporting on climate change, moderated by Mr Norman Sacuta. Ms Meenakshi Arora (Managing Editor, India Water Portal-Hindi); Mr. Sanjoy Hazarika (Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative); and Mr Chandra Bhushan (Deputy Director General, Centre for Science and Environment) were the panelists for the session.
Ms Arora, Managing Editor of India water portal, which focuses on water, sanitation and hygiene issues, finds it easier to communicate to her audiences in Hindi through the portal. She mentioned that thoughclimate change issues were global, there was a need for a local connect and the social media provided that opportunity.
Mr Chandra Bhushan felt that the media had failed to connect climatechange with people. Regarding the social media, he mentioned that while it had a global reach, it was rhetorical, insular and targeted, providing instant gratification. Mr Sanjoy Hazarika felt that social media was an extremely powerful tool, and the new medium could influence the old media and vice versa.


text:
- Home
- Drill Doctor Model 750X
Drill Doctor Model 750X
Drill Doctor Model 750X
Item #30767 Brand: Drill Doctor
- Adjustable material take-off allows user to change the amount of bit material that can be removed to further extend the life of your bits
- User replaceable diamond sharpening wheel design for simple replacement
- Cast aluminum point angle shuttle for added durability
- Metal sharpening tube
- Permanent magnet motor produces consistent power, regardless of speed or load
- Sharpens High-speed Steel, Carbide, Cobalt, TiN-coated and Masonry bits
- Can sharpen 3/32" – 1/2" reverse-twist (left-hand) drill bits with optional accessory
- Custom Point angle sharpening - choose any angle from 115 degree to 140 degrees
- Includes professional hard shell carrying case
About Drill Doctor Model 750X
The DD750X shop model is designed for durability and has the flexibility required to sharpen the largest range of dull or broken bits,including split points and masonry bits. The DD750X also adds increased capacity, sharpening 3/32 to 3/4 inch bits.
Contains one drill doctor
3 year warranty on all DRILL DOCTORâ"¢ components; excludes abrasives. Warranty for consumer not industrial use.
Always fully read and understand the instruction manual before use. Serious injury can occur with the misuse of this tool
Made in USA, Manufacture 3 year warranty; excludes abrasives
Customer Reviews
Questions & Answers
Customers also viewed:
Includes digital readout, laser sight, 1/2" chuck and moreOnly $359.99
Eastwood High-torque, ball-bearing motor provides smooth operation, long life.
Only $49.99
Sale $23.98


text:
Autism Climb Fundraiser for C.A.D.E. @ Vertical Endeavors Minneapolis
Saturday, November 12th 2016
From 6:00pm-8:00pm
Minneapolis Vertical Endeavors
2540 Nicolett Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Children with autism, their families, and C.A.D.E. supporters are all encouraged to attend. While this is a fundraiser, we aim to make it affordable, supportive, educational, and encouraging for children with autism to try/continue rock climbing (beginners or advanced climbers alike). This event will be fun for everyone!
$35.00 - Climber w/ Autism
$35.00 - Climbing Parent, Chaperone, or PCA
$45.00 - Youth/Adult C.A.D.E. Supporter
$20.00 - Climbing Volunteer
-Climbing Harness & Shoe Rental
-Access to Party Room & Party Room Activities
-Free Gluten and Casien Free Meal for Participants with Dietary Restrictions (Provided by: TBD)
-Free Meal for Participants without Dietary Restrictions (Provided by: TBD)
-Prizes for Children and Adults (ie. participation, route challenges, etc)
-Assistance from Vertical Endeavor Instructors & Behavior Therapists
-"50% Off Activity Voucher/Gift Card Table" to Raise Money For C.A.D.E. (Everyone Benefits)
-An unforgettable climbing party experience….and more!
PLEASE NOTE: All climbers and chaperones are required to fill out a VE waiver prior to the event. This waiver will be emailed out after registration and collected prior to admission on March 19th. Youth climbers need to be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or PCA throughout this outing. Adult chaperones are encouraged to climb too. Extra volunteers will be at this event to ensure safety and make this event as enjoyable as possible!
All proceeds from this event will go directly to C.A.D.E. through the upcoming Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb Fundraiser that is set to take place mid-February of 2017. Fundraising climbers have raised approximately $16,860 towards their goal of $19,340 (As of 9/1/2016).
For more information on this upcoming charity expedition to Tanzania, to join this group of climbers, or to donate/sponsor, please follow the link below, or email firstname.lastname@example.com:
Twitter: @ClimbingForCADE
Thank you to Vertical Endeavors Minneapolis, our food sponsors, and all of the volunteers! Without you, this event would not be possible!


text:
Angels help in many ways! Their presence is very loving and feels "heavenly". Everyone has guardian angels and some have an entire angel team who are happy to assist in one's life purpose or vocation. We, like angels have unique purposes and gifts to serve. You can ask the angels to assist you anytime, you need only be willing and they are happy to intercede and assist on your behalf. Angels always intend peace for us and are unlimited in nature. The Angels are happy to lift any seeming fears, guilt, (or any other lower vibration emotion) you may have in exchange for love and peace so we can focus on our life plan and purpose. (And sometimes, with guidance for action steps for a more peaceful outcome!)
The angels are unlimited; meaning we need not be concerned over the size of the question, nothing is too seemingly little or too big! In addition, the angels are also not limited by time and space, they can be with anyone simultaneously (or with many at the same time). The angels always say that all Glory goes to God , for they always follow the Will of God. They do not want to be prayed to because all prayer should be for The Most High Heavenly Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit. However, the angels are messengers of God and deliver God' s messages to us and are our "Heavenly family". If you feel guided to ask God first, then do so because God does come first (and should be the only one we pray to ~ and pray with faith because "faith moves mountains" )…. BUT consider that the angels and God are not separate, they are His Holy messengers, and are happy to help if we ask them, (the same way as if I asked you for assistance as a spiritual friend and family member- I am sure you would be willing to help someone you loved). In fact , the angels encourage asking for Heavenly Guidance and Assistance help when needed. You need only be willing. You are probably being guided by an entire angel team already and the angels are surrounding you now with their love.
"Call on us dear ones anytime , for we not only help with lifting any seeming fears or uncertainty, but are happy to connect with you now and help you uplift to ensure love , joy and peace." Ask the angels and Archangels to surround you now with their love. "For you are a Holy Child of God, each child unique, and are sent here by God as a 'Godsend'. "
You can feel their embrace when the energy around you and within your heart feels very uplifting. The angels not only carry a very high vibration of love , but are always serving in God's Holy presence, which is unconditionally loving.
"For many have asked and received Heavenly assistance and when followed, the angels will certainly guide you to where you would be your happiest, including following your calling."


text:
Did you know that musculoskeletal injuries are the cause of over half of all workers' compensation claims received each year in Queensland?
In the waste recycling industry, musculoskeletal injuries (for example muscle sprains/strains and back injuries) make up almost 48%* of all injuries, with 245 new claims lodged in the 2015-16 financial year.
The cost of these claims during that period was over $3.0 million at an average of $9,608 per claim.
WorkCover Queensland Customer Service Manager Ben Wyeth said 31% of musculoskeletal injuries were back-related, while shoulder/upper arm (18%) and knee/upper leg (14%) were the next most common injuries.
"The 40-50 year old age group was most affected by musculoskeletal claims (29%), while those in the 50-60 year age bracket contributed over 23% of claims," Ben added.
"On average, workers have 45 days off work to recover from this type of injury.
"While it is not surprising that musculoskeletal injuries make up the majority of claims due to the manual handling nature of many occupations, there are steps that employers and workers can take to prevent these injuries."
Top three causes and prevention
"The top three most common causes of musculoskeletal injuries are lifting, carrying or putting down objects, falls and repetitive movement or strain," Ben said.
"One way an employer can minimise and eliminate these injuries is to develop and implement an effective risk assessment approach."
One of the most commonly asked questions by employers is 'what is the safe way to lift a heavy object?'
Research evidence suggests that there is no safe way to lift. The focus should instead be on risk management. When considering a task that involves lifting, employers should ask:
- Why do the workers have to lift?
- Can that part of the job be eliminated?
- Can the task be done another way?
For example, if a worker is required to lift a heavy box and this part of the job can't be eliminated, consider if the task can be done another way.
It is important for employers to protect their workers from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), also known as sprain and strain injuries that result from lifting or other hazardous manual tasks.
Ben says fall injuries in the workplace are easily preventable if employers and workers work together on four simple steps – identify hazards, assess their risk, x the problem and monitor performance.
"There is no excuse for complacency from employers and workers when it comes to eliminating workplace hazards which can cause people to slip, trip and fall and suffer potentially life-threatening injuries," he said.
When it comes to repetitive movement and strain, talking to workers about the problems they notice in the tasks they're performing is a great way to identify where improvements can be made and what solutions will deliver the best outcomes.
Some employers in the waste recycling industry have introduced a few initiatives that have had a positive in uence on the physical health of their workers. These include:
- Healthy worker initiatives to encourage improved tness and health and wellbeing
- Stretching and exercise before and after each shift
- Manual Handling videos demonstrating with industry speci c equipment, correct ways to lift and undertake various daily tasks associated with waste industry speci c roles.
There are plenty of easy to use tools and resources from trusted global injury prevention authorities, including Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, available for employers and workers to prevent lifting or fall injuries.
Getting better at work
While workers' compensation claims have been falling, WorkCover data shows only 52.7% of those who sustain a musculoskeletal injury stay at work while they're recovering from their injury, which may mean it has been a challenge to nd meaningful suitable duties.
Dr Graeme Edwards, Senior Consultant Physician in Occupational and Environmental Medicine – Work & Health Risk Management, says it is important to remember that the availability of suitable duties critically depends on the employer, not the doctor.
"With a physical injury, suitable duties requires consideration of the injured worker's physical abilities matched to the physicality of task requirements and the workplace environment," he said.
"A 'return to work contingency plan' addresses not only the physical task requirements, but also the perceptions of both the individual and their immediate supervisor. This establishes an agreed action plan to be followed in various circumstances."
Dr Edwards said the plan is designed to enhance or improve the worker's con dence, resilience and capacity, while at the same time, reducing the risk of relapse.
Additionally, the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (AFOEM) and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians' position statement, 'Realising the health bene ts of work', indicates work plays an important role in any rehabilitation process because 'doing' promotes recovery.
If a person is off work for:
- 20 days, the chance of ever getting back to work is 70 per cent
- 45 days, the chance of ever getting back to work is 50 per cent
- 70 days, the chance of ever getting back to work is 35 per cent.
"By understanding the role of the doctor and the employer, together we can make a difference," Dr Edwards said.
"Because for a signi cant proportion of these people, they still have some capacity to work and may even be better off at work."
*All data is from WorkCover Queensland 2015-16 financial year claim figures.
For more information visit; www.worksafe.qld.gov.au


text:
The drone lay stranded in the minefield. Night had fallen, the stillness of cease-fire settling in once the sun dipped below the steppe to the west, and neither side—not the peshmerga, the Kurdish forces in control of the drone, nor ISIS, who had shot it down—was willing to send men into the gentle hills of the IED-studded no-man's-land to retrieve it. So Ryan Skuta and two other Americans were sent in.
Skuta was always picked when a serious problem needed fixing: He spoke Arabic and ran signals intelligence, monitoring the ISIS radio communications his fellow "foreign fighters" could not. Plus, he was an ace with a rifle.
The three Americans stood in the dark on the Shia-militia front line—a berm, little more than a dirt mound—just outside Bashir, two hundred kilometers due north of Baghdad. ISIS fighters were stationed a thousand meters ahead on a front line established when they had taken over the town nearly two years before.
The peshmerga and the Shia didn't have a healthy working relationship. In fact, they despised each other. But as long as they had ISIS as a common enemy, they weren't killing one another. Skuta understood the tensions but found them aggravating nonetheless. Isn't that why we're all here? he thought. To smoke these fuckers?
The Shia commander said that this area belonged to him and his men—fifty strong—and that the peshmerga weren't welcome to move about as they pleased, drone or no drone.
Skuta listened in but said nothing. He revealed that he understood what was being said only on a need-to-know basis. No one in this country ever suspected him—why would a white guy from Pittsburgh know Arabic? Only a few of the peshmerga knew that nine years ago, the young American had done some of his best work not far from here, as a member of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. This time, though, he was not here at the behest of the president of the United States. He was here under his own steam, one of an unknown number of American fighters come to kill ISIS himself.
The peshmerga commander addressed Skuta and the other Americans in English: "The Shia commander isn't letting us get the drone, and they're getting upset. So be prepared to fight to the death in five minutes." This is gonna go south real fucking quick.
They decided to call the Shia commander's bluff—there was no way he was going to intentionally target three Americans. Skuta walked off the mound and back to their truck, grabbed his RPG, loaded the booster, and slid the rocket down the tube, the satisfying click indicating it was in place. He swung the RPG over his shoulder, grabbed his AK, and readied himself along with his buddies at a wall near the ridge.
For the past two days, their position had taken some very effective fire from an ISIS sniper. The shooter was more than a kilometer away but had still managed to hit the lens of a spotting telescope just three inches across. He'd shot a peshmerga fighter between the eyes. If it had been daytime and they were doing this mission, they'd all be dead in less than a minute. If a sniper sees you, you're fucked. He'll put you in his sights and blow your fucking brains out.
It was time to go. The men pushed out and started sprinting toward where they thought the drone had come down. After a few hundred yards, they got down low and started bounding from one small bit of cover—a bush, a slope—to the next, always scanning for signs of the enemy. When they were two hundred meters from the ISIS position, they began crawling on their stomachs, inching along the ground, trying to remain silent. Just then they startled a flock of birds, which took off, wings beating, erupting in calls of alarm. Skuta might as well have sent up a flare.
Then they heard voices. Skuta popped his head up and squinted into the distance and could make out a structure nearby but couldn't discern the details. Is that an ISIS outpost? The language was unmistakably Arabic. Several male voices. Yes, an outpost.
That he and his boys were half a football field away from the enemy didn't concern him. He liked fighting more than he liked most things. But he had one hundred peshmerga flanking his left, fifty Shia militia flanking his right, and an untold number of ISIS in front of him. All with weapons pointing at him and his men. Sure, he could initiate contact—hit the outpost with an RPG and follow up with his AK—but then he'd be in the middle of one of the biggest firefights the dirt-patch village of Bashir had ever seen.
For just a moment, Skuta lay still, unsure what to do.
Who is Ryan Skuta? And what's he doing fighting as a mercenary?
Well, he is both a specific man, a combat veteran who you might say has been in combat his whole life. Thirty years old, a working-class kid who has brawled his way through childhood and has never quite been at home in civil society—which in his case is the small towns of western Pennsylvania, around Pittsburgh. And Skuta is also a random sample of a vast and quietly suffering population returning from the wars of this century but not quite making it all the way home.
Look at Ryan Skuta, talk to him, and this is what you'll find: First and foremost, the one thing he is sure of is that war is the best thing that ever happened to him. Oh, Skuta was screwed up before he joined the Marines—aimless, aggressive, antisocial. As a rifleman, he blazed his way through tours in Iraq in '07 and Afghanistan in '09 and came out on the other side being told by the military wizards—that's what the Marines call their psychiatrists—that he has PTSD. But what the wizards don't understand and never did is that he only feels anxious when he's home. All the pills in the world can't change that—and besides, the pills led to the heroin.
But fighting is his natural state, and he feels best when he's fighting.
Which is why he keeps returning. To Iraq. To battle. To the place of his highest purpose. To transcendence; to where he feels he belongs. Fuck stacking up pieces of paper in a bank so I can go to some tourist beach on the East Coast once a year and worry about work the whole week anyways. If I have a decent set of cammies, an AK-47, some food, and a place to stay for the day, I'm cool. I'm a wolf, not a sheep. And a lot of places in this world need wolves.
In ISIS he sees an enemy that needs killing, but he also sees personal redemption—the chance for his own heroic narrative to become true.
Skuta thought the Kurds needed a wolf, so he went to join what's known as the Peshmerga International Detachment (IDET), Westerners—mostly ex-military—volunteering to fight in support of the peshmerga's campaign against ISIS. That's the story he tells, anyway, an uncomplicated accounting of his best self. The details don't matter, ISIS does. In them he sees an enemy that needs killing, but he also sees personal redemption—the chance for his own heroic narrative to become true. Maybe he'll make his little boy proud. And his mom and dad. He hasn't been easy to be around since he separated from the Marines in 2010, listless and lonely and strung out. But maybe now they'll understand. He's returning to the fight as soon as he can because he believes the peshmerga still need his help. Whether that's true, or what kind of difference he could ever hope to make, is beside the point.
For now he's at his parents' house, sleeping in his old room. He flew home from Iraq to Pittsburgh at the end of April. He's here for a brief visit, and he has nothing to do. He does some work at his father Richard's signage company when there's work to be done, but otherwise he sits around the house, smoking Newports and drinking whiskey. He occasionally heads to the firing range. That's about it.
War might be the best thing that happened to Skuta, but it's also made him incapable of maintaining relationships. His last girlfriend was around for four years, but she wanted a family, a house, something stable. So that was that.
His mother, Donna, urges him to go see his six-year-old, Logan, but the time never seems to be right. Logan lives with his mother in North Carolina, born from a one-night stand Skuta had between tours. It's been months since he's seen the little guy. I do pay child support. "I will," he tells his mother. "I will." He's grateful that Donna brings his boy up north a few times a year—it's a commitment he just can't make.
So he drinks. A few weeks ago, he was hanging out at a friend's place, then thinks he took off for Skis & Nick's, his favorite watering hole—he can't recall. But he didn't make it. Along a desolate stretch of highway between New Kensington and Jeannette, his truck crossed the center line and plowed head-on into another vehicle, totaling both. Ryan stumbled to the side of the road, where he lost consciousness. According to the police report, no field sobriety test was administered. The other driver suffered a leg injury. Ryan woke up an hour later in a nearby hospital, a shiner on his left eye and thirteen stitches crisscrossing his temple. Against doctors' orders, he washed up and left after an hour. His buddy picked him up, and they headed straight to the bar.
Does Skuta regret the accident? Sure. Chalk it up to experience, I guess. Two days later, he pulled the stitches out himself, threw the crusted red thread in the trash, and bought a one-way ticket back to Baghdad—private security work during the week, fighting ISIS when he has the time. If he sticks around here much longer, he'll end up dead or in jail. He must return to the place where he feels at his best. It's better this way.
Skuta's regiment showed up too late to the party. Ramadi, the declared capital of the incipient Islamic State of Iraq ever since the U.S. had smoked them out of Fallujah two years earlier, had been infested with insurgents, and the battle had boiled for five months. Plenty of terrorists were there for the killing.
But by the time the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines—known as the 2/8— arrived, the city had been secured. I didn't sign up for the Marines to babysit Iraqi police. I want to fight terrorists.
In high school, Skuta was a powder keg—too many fights, not enough discipline. Wrestling allowed him to focus that rage, but he was going to have problems adjusting to a conventional path—college or a nine-to-five. And what good was intelligence if all it was used for was homework? The news coming out of the Middle East piqued his interest—battles waged in dusty streets, good guys hunting down the bad. War looked important. War looked fun. Now, that looks like something I could do. So in 2006, when he met a Marine recruiter at a suburban Pittsburgh mall, no recruiting was necessary; Skuta signed up on the spot. He was twenty.
When they'd first arrived, the 2/8 collectively thought, All right, we're in Iraq—shit's gonna go DOWN. And at first their missions were promising. Ryan was an 0311 rifleman, a frontline grunt, and carried out raids of locals' homes in the middle of the night and occasional snatch-and-grabs. But he rarely took contact—one of the few times was friendly fire from some Ugandans—and there just wasn't much to do.
And even if there was, the rules of engagement they were expected to abide by—Shout, Show, Shove, Shoot—were, to Skuta, soft. Say a vehicle driven by a potential enemy was flying at him at seventy miles per hour. He was expected to first wave a flag, then show his weapon, then fire into the grille. If none of that worked, only then was he allowed to fire through the windshield. At any second I could get shot in the face, but I have to pretend like everything's okay.
They'd been in Ramadi for almost seven months, during which Skuta had been so bored he learned Arabic from two Iraqi police and taught them English in return. The 2/8's relief battalion, the 1/9, had already arrived, which meant that Skuta and his fellow Marines—brothers with whom he was now extraordinarily close—were heading home. As a show of goodwill—the U.S.'s new hearts-and-minds push to show they were not a conquering force but were there to help—Skuta's battalion commander decided to remove some of the concrete-and-concertina-wire barriers leading a serpentine path to the coalition forces' observation posts.
Skuta says that everyone knew it was a bad idea to remove protections days before they left—it felt complacent. But they were almost done, so why complain?
Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter and Corporal Jonathan Yale were manning the gate at Joint Security Station Nasser. Yale was Skuta's friend from their days training at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina—they would drive down to Tampa on the weekends. Yale was kind, soft-spoken, underestimated by his fellow Marines. Skuta was posted a kilometer away at JSS Malaab.
It was morning, Skuta remembers, and the sun was blazing. People were finishing their morning routines before the temperature got uncomfortable when all of a sudden the calm was broken: A Mercedes dump truck sped toward JSS Nasser's entry control point. Yale's and Haerter's actions were caught on six seconds of grainy security video that was later recovered: They saw the truck and began firing, puffs of gun smoke spilling from the window of their post. They managed to kill the driver but not before the bomb went off: two thousand pounds of explosives that leveled a city block and was heard for miles. Yale and Haerter were killed, but they saved a lot of Marines. It was the first loss the 2/8 had suffered.
Oh, fuck. They'd all made it through and were so close to leaving, then the barriers came down and this happened.
The second you get complacent is when someone gets shot.
Skuta hated the Taliban, but he respected them. They proved to be damn good fighters.
After a short stint back at Camp Lejeune—during which Ryan met a woman named Kayla, who would later give birth to Logan—the 2/8 shipped off for America's other war. As part of Obama's troop surge, they were about to begin Operation Khanjar, the fiercest Marine offensive since the Battle of Fallujah—forty-eight days of hell in the scorching summer heat, during which four thousand Marines took three towns on a seventy-five-mile stretch of the Helmand River Valley.
The operation was to begin on July 2, but the 2/8 arrived early to serve as an advance party with the Brits, who'd occupied the ancient Jugroom Fort, just south of Gamsir. The Brits aren't doing shit—no offensives, no missions, no plan. They even had an agreed-upon cease-fire each day from noon to three because of the heat. Are you serious? A cease-fire during prime daylight hours? This afforded the Taliban time to entrench themselves and arm up.
While the 2/8 was settling in and readying for what they knew would be an intense few months, word came over the radio that some Marines from Golf Company had accompanied British troops on a mission two kilometers south and had accidentally ended up outside their area of operation. They were ambushed, completely surrounded by Taliban fighters, and needed immediate backup. As part of the Quick Reaction Force, Skuta loaded up, got in a tank, and headed south.
By the time the QRF arrived, one of the Marines had managed to retreat in a vehicle but had plowed through some buildings of a nearby village—people's homes—and was stuck. Taliban fighters were hitting him hard.
His father and brothers were the only ones he could talk to about the war. His memories weren't a weight, exactly; people just didn't understand.
The QRF jumped out of the tank and headed toward the action on foot. They popped around one corner and immediately started taking rounds. A couple men hit the ground and returned fire while the commanding officer called out targets. Give me a fucking target! "Black turban!" his commander shouted. "Roger that!" Skuta said. He trained his gun on the turban, twenty meters away, and fired.
By then, the platoon sergeant had rolled up and immediately screamed, "You're fucking killing civilians!" We're getting shot at! Shut the fuck up! Skuta looked back at the man he'd shot—a second man ran out with a wheelbarrow to collect the body. Skuta's impulse was to kill him, too, but the man was unarmed, so he didn't.
The Marines found themselves in an L-shaped ambush near a little canal, Skuta's men on one side and men from 3rd Squad on the other, everyone taking very effective fire. But then the helicopters began arriving, and finally a Harrier jet came along, destroyed the Taliban positions, and everything quieted down.
Before they'd left that morning, each Marine had reviewed the BOLO list—be on the lookout—and one item said that the Taliban were transporting explosives inside spare tires. In the blurriness of the engagement, two Afghans had started rolling tires toward 3rd Squad, who opened fire.
After the battle, another unit came across the two bodies and judged that the men had been killed execution-style. That's the description that went out over the radio, and that term—"execution-style"—changed everything.
Every man from 3rd Squad was immediately taken to Camp Leatherneck, the main base in Helmand Province, and quarantined, awaiting charges. Investigators took Skuta and the others there that day back to the site of the ambush and asked them to explain what happened. If you think you're gonna get us to incriminate our own guys, you're fucking stupid. It looked like an execution because the shots were so precise. Give them a medal, not murder charges!
Third Squad would be acquitted, but Skuta was done with the Marines.
Operation Khanjar started soon after. The 2/8 lost fourteen men. Skuta watched two of his closest friends die. He almost died, too, when a Taliban fighter triggered a bomb beneath his feet as his unit walked back to base after a firefight. The bomb's concussion didn't kill him, but it did send him flying through the air. A fellow Marine says that as soon as he hit the ground, he jumped to his feet and began firing into a tree line where he thought the Taliban fighter who detonated the bomb was hiding. "You missed me, motherfuckers!" Skuta screamed. "You can't kill me!"
Back home, he wouldn't be so lucky.
Ryan was dopesick in the locker room of Stage AE, here for the third competitive mixed-martial-arts bout of his fledgling MMA career. His record was 2–0. But he'd recently dropped twenty pounds and hadn't eaten in days, and he was running to the bathroom every five minutes to puke. He was waiting on a buddy to drop off a bag, told him otherwise he might die. He just needed enough to get him through the next hour. The first fight had begun, he was up sixth, and his buddy hadn't shown.
Ryan first took opiates in 2010, prescribed by his doctors at Camp Lejeune, where he went after Afghanistan to finish out his time in the Marines. The blast that had sent him flying through the air made his back—a mess from bearing heavy loads for years—instantly worse. By the time he got the meds, he could barely get out of bed.
Kayla had just given birth to their boy. They agreed to name him Logan, after Ryan's favorite Marvel character, Wolverine. But Ryan didn't stick around very long. He returned to Pittsburgh, four hundred miles from his newborn son and the mother of his child.
Ryan had a hard time reintegrating into civilian life. In his mind, he was stuck back in the war. He missed it. My squad knows more about me than my family does.
His father and brothers were the only ones he could talk to about the war. His memories weren't a weight, exactly; people just didn't understand. A whole lot of "Thank you for your service!" and "How many people did you annihilate?!" Some things couldn't be explained—all the dead bodies, seeing your fellow Marines take their last breath.
So he spent hours at home, in his room, drinking until the early hours of the morning, watching home movies he'd filmed in battle. He liked the ones from Afghanistan most. His favorite—he watched it hundreds of times—was taken in the midst of a gunfight. So many of the videos were from a GoPro attached to his gear, so he never saw himself. But in this one, he'd flipped the camera around to see what he looked like amid chaos. Ryan would stare at his computer and look at an earlier, more content version of himself, cackling and cracking jokes as bullets whirred around his head and mortar blasts went off nearby, offering up color commentary as if he were at a hockey game.
Military doctors diagnosed him with PTSD and put him on a series of antidepressants that did nothing to stop his anxiety. And when they weaned him off opiates, heroin seemed like an easy replacement. It allowed him not to think about war so much. It numbed him. He stopped watching the home movies.
Then he discovered MMA. It brought back what he yearned for from the Marines. His team was his new squad; his coach was his new squad leader. He'd train two, sometimes three times a day. They'd beat each other up, then hug and go grab drinks. He even cleaned up for a bit before falling back in.
Ryan was in the locker room, getting his hands taped up, shaking. The fourth fight started; no sign of his buddy. If this dude doesn't come through, I'm fucked.
His coach came in and said, "You're up." So he breathed in and out, wiped the sweat from his face, pulled himself upright, and went out to the ring. His opponent specialized in jujitsu, the perfect foil to Ryan's wrestling and boxing. The bell went off and Ryan went in. Okay, let's fight this dude.
Ryan got in a few decent takedowns and could've knocked the guy out if he were able to hit in the face while on the ground, but Pennsylvania rules don't allow that.
By the end of the second round, he was tired—beat down, feeling terrible. His coach didn't know about the dope. Hardly anyone did.
Ryan didn't make it through the third; his opponent got him in a choke hold and he tapped out with forty-nine seconds left. Fuuuuuuuuck! This was the only fight he'd ever lost. He was beyond disappointed in himself. Why the fuck am I hooked on heroin? He talked to as few people as possible on the way out, scored dope, went home, and got so high he fell out. He woke up eight hours later covered in sweat.
Ryan had a crippling addiction, few friends, and no purpose. Until he watched the news one day and heard about a group of radical jihadis born from the ashes of Al Qaeda who were snatching up territory in northern Iraq and eastern Syria, committing beheadings and other atrocities. They went by the name ISIS.
Through Instagram and Facebook, Ryan made contact with men—ex-military, mercenaries—helping Iraqi forces fight back, and they transmitted images to him from the front lines. He saw children with their heads cut off. He saw a young woman, no older than eighteen, her hands tied to a bed, her breasts cut off, a crucifix shoved down her throat. Why the fuck am I not doing anything about this? These people need to die. When he found out all he needed to go was a passport and a plane ticket, he nearly headed to the airport right then and there.
But first he had to get clean.
His mother contacted the Wounded Warriors Project, which provides services for disabled veterans. They referred Ryan down to Camp Hope in Houston, and from there he went to a nearby farm where Marine vets worked as ranch hands while working through their struggles. Ryan hated talking about his feelings, but he got clean and went back to Pittsburgh to continue preparing for his return to war.
Who cared that his mortar was from 1931, his AK was from 1979, and his RPG was rickety? He chose to embrace the scrappiness.
He could've gone directly into the heart of ISIS and fought in the Kurdish areas of Syria. But then, through Google searches, he found the peshmerga, the army of Kurdistan, based in northern Iraq. He'd never been to that part of the country, but one of the two men who'd taught him Arabic was proudly from there. Ryan watched the peshmerga's motivational videos and thought they had a good fighting spirit.
Through a Marine buddy, he started talking to a nineteen-year-old aspiring Kurdish rapper named Hameed. Though not himself a fighter, Hameed seemed well connected with the peshmerga fighters. He told Ryan about the IDET. Hameed said that men in the IDET were provided lodging, vehicles, and, of course, weapons.
Though Ryan couldn't be certain Hameed wasn't a member of ISIS who would cut his head off as soon as he arrived, they talked enough—nearly daily in online conversations over three months—for Ryan to feel as comfortable taking the risk as he ever would.
When Hameed began to arrange for Ryan's travel in November of last year, Ryan realized it was time to break the news to his parents. They were deeply unhappy—he'd just gotten rid of his addiction and he had a son he could finally be a father to—but they didn't argue. Richard agreed with his son that ISIS had to pay for what they'd done, and Donna was afraid that if he stayed, he'd start using again. "I'm choosing between ISIS or heroin," she said.
On the afternoon of January 2, 2016, Donna and Richard drove their son to Pittsburgh International Airport. They asked if they could wait with him at the terminal, but Ryan told them he'd rather go in alone. While their car idled in the drop-off lane, they unloaded his bags. Richard hugged his boy tight. Donna gave her son a hug and made the sign of the cross on his forehead.
Then Ryan walked away, carrying with him his old Marine gear, a hunting knife, and as many contact lenses and Newports as he could fit into his bags. He boarded a plane for Vienna, then on to Erbil—a forty-hour trip, gate to gate. He didn't know if he'd ever come back.
The three men lay stranded in the middle of the minefield. Fuck the drone. They turned around, slowly crawling back over the undulating terrain, careful to be as quiet as possible. One of the men stopped abruptly—his foot was stuck on an artillery round that could be nothing or could be linked to a pressure-plate IED. The only way to tell was to move it. They counted to three, he lifted his foot, and they took off running. No explosion. The peshmerga leader would have to do without his drone.
Skuta had been in the fight for three months, joining "foreign fighters" in the war against ISIS, including a number of Americans. (Around 4,500 Westerners have joined arms with ISIS, including 250 from the U.S. who joined or attempted to join.) The U.S. does not prohibit enlisting in another country's army or in a mercenary army. However, fighting against U.S. military interests—taking up arms with ISIS, for example—is in violation of several federal laws.
Where Skuta could run into problems was with the often-blurred lines between groups that operate in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. is okay with some of them—even supplying the peshmerga with arms and ammunition—but considers others terrorists. It's not unheard of for such groups to intermingle. If they did while Skuta was around, he might inadvertently run afoul of U.S. law by providing "material support" to a terrorist group.
The IDET included men from New Zealand, Scotland, England, Sweden, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Australia, and the U.S. Though they were there for support, they often ended up leading. But Skuta was impressed with the peshmerga. The men in the videos he watched back home were comically amateur—jeans and sneakers, shooting AKs. Now they had uniforms and walked around in columns, saluted their superiors. It was no Marine Corps, but it was definitely military.
The first few months were busy: running missions, conducting raids, getting into gunfights. Skuta's unit even caught an ISIS commander in a raid one morning in a village not far from Bashir and turned him over to the Asayish, the Kurds' security organization.
Who cared that his mortar was from 1931, his AK was from 1979, and his RPG was rickety? He could've bought his own weapon—an RPG went for as little as six hundred bucks at the weapons bazaar in Sulaymaniyah—but he chose to embrace the scrappiness. He did buy his own uniform, a Multi-Terrain Pattern similar to what the U.S. Army used.
Skuta spent downtime in between missions teaching the peshmerga how to clean and operate weapons, running IED drills. He ate most meals with them, the same thing every time: a piece of flatbread, a small plate of rice, and red soup (tomato-based, with potatoes or beans) or green soup (chickpeas and lentils). One day red, the next day green. If they were fighting on the front, they'd get a piece of chicken.
Hameed tagged along as much as possible, and Skuta liked him. But he started pissing others off—he always wanted to talk, take selfies with the IDET and their weapons and upload them to Facebook. Just thug-life shit in Kurdistan. But soon enough the commander, Akam, banned Hameed from their base.
That pissed Skuta off. But what pissed him off more was the incompetence of Khris, the head of his IDET unit. He thought that Khris didn't know anything, and just kissed Akam's ass. But Khris had peshmerga rank and thought that meant he could boss Skuta around. Nobody bosses Skuta around. Just as in the Marines, just as in his whole life, authority didn't sit well with him. Yes, he had traveled halfway around the world, leaving behind civilian life, where they just didn't understand, and now he had to put up with this jealous, ass-kissing motherfucker, pretending like you're Mr. Pesh. This is ridiculous.
After a few months, the ISIS action started dying down. Guess we're doing our jobs. But when the action was slow, the tensions between the peshmerga and the Shia militias rose. One week, Skuta would be fighting side by side with Shia fighters, taking photos with them after battle. The next, his peshmerga commanders would say that the Shia were killing Kurds and razing their villages and needed to be dealt with.
Skuta quickly got the impression that the peshmerga were grooming the IDET to be some sort of hit squad against the Shia militias. He wasn't sure whether the Shia were allies of the U.S. for the purpose of fighting ISIS. Would fighting them be a war crime?
The final straw came when he went to Sulaymaniyah to pick up an M4 rifle that the peshmerga commander, Sheik Jaafar Mustafa, had ordered. When he got back, Khris freaked out because Skuta hadn't said he was leaving. Skuta lost it. I'm here to fight ISIS, not brownnoser shits. I'm outta here!
That was the end of Ryan Skuta's four-month stint as a "foreign fighter" in the campaign against ISIS.
So who is Ryan Skuta? He's the valorous Marine from western PA who will soon be heading back to Iraq to work as private security for rich people moving around Baghdad, the potential for violence crackling in the air. And on the weekends, he says he's going to fight the enemies of America.
So Ryan Skuta is a fighter. He's also an addict at a time when it's never been easier to be an addict. A pox on the working class, addiction is one of many, as prospects shrink and the world closes in on working people, beset by enemies without faces or names. And so you might say that Ryan feels both powerful and powerless. And maybe that's why he needs to go six thousand miles away, back to the setting of his most meaningful fights, to find that meaning again, and to fight an enemy that he can see with his eyes.
Who is Ryan Skuta?
Well, as the nexus of so many of the pathologies that make up America in the twenty-first century, you might say that he is us.
Ryan was supposed to leave on an early-morning flight on May 16. The gig didn't start until June, but a Marine buddy decided to join one of the peshmerga volunteer forces, and Ryan figured he'd tag along for a few weeks to see a bit more battle. He had bought a ticket; he had packed. But he stayed up late drinking whiskey, and he missed the countless calls his ride to the airport made to his phone.
No matter. Ryan is convinced his new Kurdish boss will buy him a ticket back whenever he returns. Besides, with the recent bombings and political tension rocking Baghdad, the kinds of diplomats and dignitaries he'll be guarding aren't likely to be in Iraq right now.
Once there, he won't be working for a U.S.-based company, where he'd sit around in a secure compound playing video games. He's joining a security firm run by a Kurd who understands Ryan's need for battle. He'll let Ryan take off on the weekends—for Fallujah, for Ramadi—to fight with the Iraqi army or the peshmerga (they were so upset when he left, he says, begged him to stay, and said they'll always take him back), or anyone else. Ryan is an official resident of Iraqi Kurdistan—with his sponsorship by Sheik Mustafa, and an Iraqi ID card. Moving around is easy. If Ryan wants to go to the front line in Mosul, he'll hop in a cab on Friday and get driven a few kilometers away. A weekend warrior, back to work on Monday.
Ryan's contract is three months on, one month off, so he can return to the United States if he wants. Maybe next time he'll see Logan.
He'll be going back any day, and he'll be there, he says, until ISIS is eradicated—they're not human, they're fucking animals—or until there's nothing left to do. Maybe he'll buy a house. A couple people have approached him about it. It's cheap real estate. Besides, he likes it out there.
There is, of course, the court date for the recent car crash. Scheduled for late August, that might throw off his schedule some. So in the meantime, he's got some time to kill. On days when he isn't working for his dad, he heads to Skis to drink. Sometimes he gets obliterated. Sometimes he makes it until dawn. On those days, he thinks, I feel absolutely normal. Maybe I should do this every day.


text:
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Nutcracker Market
I haven't written in awhile. Tony's the more dedicated one to this blog, but that's ok with me. But I had to talk about today because today is the best day of the year. Well...close to it at least. This is at least the 3rd annual trip for my Mom and I to go to the Nutcracker Market. She used to go with the flamingo mamas, but they always used to go the first day of the market, which is Thursday, and since my Mom works, it was getting hard for her to take off every year to go at that time. So she recruited me to go with her on Saturday once I was done with college. Janet has come with us a couple of times too. The Nutcracker Market basically starts the holiday season for us because it is all Christmas themed. It's held at Reliant Center and it's rows and rows of booths selling everything from yummy holiday type foods, holiday decorations, clothes, jewlery, etc. But it's not crap. It's all cute, unique stuff that you don't find anywhere else from smaller companies. Well, I can't lie, we do laugh about the crazy clothes they have...like all furred, sequined, and bedazzled up. This is our girls thing to do though, and we always have a good time hanging out together. I'm sure this year will be no different. Now, I have to go shower and get ready to go!
Posted by Tony and Beth at 7:28 AM
1 comment:
- Carol said...
Hey sweetie, I had a great time at the Nutcracker Market. I always look forward to our time together!!
- November 16, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Submitted by Danielle from Toronto:
"After 10 days of travelling in Ireland, I broke the only rule I had and made plans to meet a guy and his friends for a second night. About an hour into drinking with them, another one of their friends showed up and of course he was the cutest and youngest of all, reminding me why I had the rule in the first place.
My excitement at seeing his newly tattooed arm inspired a surprise reveal (shown in pic 1). Then my barely adequate radiohead fact basis was enough to stop me from pointing out the questionable mathematics and say 'oooh, radiohead' instead. He was so happy that I was the first to recognize it (apparently the tattoo artist asked him several times if he was suuuuuuuure) that he fell secretly and immediately in love with me! And I loved him too! Bah! Bros before hoes never works out for the hoes."
The reason I like this one is that it reminds me of that time that Ron Weasley got hot. Remember? How he was like the ugliest kid ever and then in the last Harry Potter everyone had to admit he was a babe and it was so embarrassing for everyone?
The other reason I like it is because I know how old Danielle is and she's at least a decade older than this teen. Winner!
Don't you love preying on teens?
Danielle! You're prize is absolutely nothing!!!!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Honourable Mention the first!!!! Soooo Honourable!
Labels: cute boys, honourable mentions, not winning big, Ron weaslies, UK
4 comments:
He is cute! I always picture Irish guys as fugly, I don't know why. I guess I was influenced by all those propoganda-ish American cartoon from the 1800s where they're depicted as parasitic monkeys. Or something like that. But he's an exception!
- October 3, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Man he is hott! I agree, I totally fell in love with Ron Weasley once he got cute :)
- October 3, 2008 at 2:49 PM
wow this guy has the potential to make all my harry potter fantasies come true. am i right? You know the ones where YOU hook up with Ron and go to Hogwarts too!
- October 4, 2008 at 10:16 AM
- Pixel said...
Also, as Ron got hotter, Harry seemed to get less so. I should do a graph on this...
- October 6, 2008 at 7:15 AM


text:
Days Inn at 13353 North Fort Myers … BED BUGS!!!!! I ended up at this particular hotel for two weeks because a friend of mine and his family had been living there for 6 months and they were able to secure for me the "off season" pricing and save a few bucks. I knew not to expect the Ritz Carlton but there was no question that my room disappointed in the area of cleanliness. I did a quick investigation for bed bugs, pulling down the sheets, looking around the base of the bed and the night stand … saw nothing.
Seven nights into my 14 night stay however I wake up with six huge welts. Ok, so it might be spider bites, or might be hives or sand flea bites. I have no idea … I have been in the same room *** free for six nights …. So It can't be bed bugs! It just can't be! That's what I told myself all day. However here is the ugly truth my friends IT CAN BE bed bugs! ….. turns out bed bugs only eat every three to seven nights and can live up to eight months without a meal!
My six bites became over 30 bites by the next morning!!!
When I got back to the hotel that night I decided to do a much better investigation of my room that included pulling the heavy bed unit away from the wall. That's when I found them! About twenty of them dead and alive. As one started to borrow down into the crease between the carpet and the wall …. I caught it, killed it and took it up to the front desk for a little show-n-tell.
The first words out the front desk attendant's mouth when I made my complaint was "well you have been in that room for two weeks". Not a "oh, im sorry" or "oh let me move you right away to another room". In fact it was suggested that I "just sleep in the other bed" since there were two beds in the room. WHAT!!!! As you can imagine, this did not fly with me. Im a little more educated about bed bugs then to assume that they can't travel from one bed to another in the same room. Made me wonder how educated this lady was on how to deal with this type of hotel issue. However I was given a key to another room when I asked for one.
It was one in the morning by this time. I told the attendant that I would keep all my personal items in the contaminated room until I could wash everything, to make sure I did not bring any bed bugs with me to the next room. I was also going to talk to the manager first thing in the morning as well to make sure she knew what was going on and could take appropriate action to control the problem.
Well, I was just as dissatisfied with the customer service Days Inn Manager, Jennifer, provided. I did not care for her attitude and I got the feeling that she just wanted me and my problem to go away, as if I brought the bugs with me. What really made me upset however was the fact that She charged me a fee for me to do my laundry!!!! Yes that's right, I had to pay Days Inn for the privilege of taking a full day off from my vacation to do laundry to prevent the spread of THEIR bed bugs!!!
While doing Laundry I found a bed bug on my luggage. I made the decision to throw out two suitcases and two bags as it was just two difficult to see in all the nooks and crannies and I did not want to take any chances. While talking to the grounds keeper, Dave, who took my luggage to discard it, I found out that bed bugs were a known issue in that room. He said they had bought new mattresses and used chemicals in the room. It would appear that no one checked to make sure the bed bugs were really gone before renting out that room again.
I understand that bed bugs are an epidemic in America right now. It's a difficult issue for the hotel industry, whether it's a five star or a one star establishment. But I also believe a paying customer, no matter how much they are paying for a room, should be treated in a friendly professional manner, and steps should be taken to protect them from bed bugs and if a situation like mine arises to ensure the rest of their stay is as pleasant as possible.
I am not satisfied with my experience at the Days Inn, North Fort Myers. A more pleasant interaction with the manager and laundry compensation would have gone a long ways. At this time i am considering submitting a dispute for the charges on my American Express Card. I have also been advised to notify the board of health and if need be the Attorney Generals office.
Review about: Days Inn Customer Care.
Monetary Loss: $200.


text:
So I got to say, my choice of projects couldn't have worked out more perfectly with these Inside Out inspired items I'm working on to start off this whole venture. I've been a bag of mixed emotions lately and they've allowed me to be more self-reflective. There's change in the air as the summer draws to a close. I'm ending my maternity leave and heading back to teaching at a brand new school. I was lucky to take extra time with my little guy so he'll be 17 months when he starts full time, but sending him off to daycare is a struggle nonetheless. Then there's also the little bit of anxiety that comes with a new school year but lots of excitement for the fresh beginning as well. Lastly there's all these new crochet related feelings with opening the Etsy store and starting this blog, which I couldn't be happier with! It certainly felt great to share my last pattern for you and I'm pumped for this one too!
I decided to go with one of my two favorites from the Inside Out movie for my next hat inspiration with anger. Truth be told I loved all of them, but anger has a special place in my heart as the struggle with my inner anger is real. I'll go ahead and blame it on my latin fire that comes from being half Chilean. So I decided to make anger a little for myself and sized it to fit an adult.
I don't know if I was channelling this hat when I was making it, but the making of this hat certainly brought with it some rage moments. Perhaps it's because most of it went so smoothly and it was only the end that brought frustration. I had an idea for how to get Anger's head shape and was happy that it turned out so great, as did the eyes. Then came the eye placement, I had to attach them twice and made four different mouths before finding one that I liked. Oh, and Pudge was acting like a butt the whole day, so I was getting a little frustrated.
I decided to make a nice hearty dinner since I enjoy cooking, a take on cottage pie, with lots of orange things, because apparently if it's orange it's delicious. Here's the recipe if you're so inclined:
|Pudge's Marbled Top Cottage Pie
Pudge kept trying to feed the dog crayons while I was making dinner, and to cause mayhem in general, so that was fun. A few hours later I returned to my project, finally figured out a mouth I liked but then realized I had to move the eyes AGAIN, so I just lost it and went to bed. ARRRRRGH!
After a good night's sleep I moved the eyes and was very happy with the result. So my tip to you is to keep calm and put the eyes a little closer together than looks right and to use pins!
This hat is sized for a large adult head 22 – 23 inches, but if there's enough requests for it I can let you know how to size down. Get your rage on and happy hooking!
**** For sizing down instructions visit here: http://pudgefudgecrochet.com/2015/09/02/shrinking-anger/
FREE PDF PATTERN: Inside Out Anger Character Hat Pattern


text:
I spent 25 years in the Music Industry and wanted something new and fresh but had to be creative. I've always loved photography but about 5 years ago I changed jobs - this is now both my passion and my job. I shoot lots of stuff but Nudes has become a real love for me. I love trying to find how the figure fits into the landscape and how the photograph can make you feel something. #drama is what it's all about for me. If you're not doing something that makes you happy - why not?
SS2b (108 of 121)x.jpg
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You have to be logged in to send messages


text:
The Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Camouflage Color Corrector is a new release and though I don't need any more correctors, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the orange/red which is designed for those with deeper skin. There … Read the rest
Category: Concealer
Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Camouflage Concealer Now Available At Sephora
If you love the Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Long Wear Foundation, then you'll probably be thrilled to know that there is now a concealer to go with it which is the Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Camouflage Concealer which … Read the rest
NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer Is Available Now + Swatches
Although the bestselling NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer is much raved about, it was just too light for me but I'm thinking that this NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer may be a better fit for me. I need a thicker concealer … Read the rest
Lorac PRO Conceal Contour Palette and Brush Is Available Now!
If you love contouring/highlighting and concealing as well as contour/highlight palettes, you may love this Lorac PRO Conceal Contour Palette and Brush which is available now. It's currently available at ULTA for $45 but only exclusive to platinum members for … Read the rest
New Releases | New Products From L.A. Girl Are Available Now!
I love L.A. Girl Cosmetics and have reviewed a few of their products on this site but I don't know where I've been because they've been releasing new products for a while now including in recent days. The most recent … Read the rest
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick Review + Swatches (Espresso)
I haven't tried a whole lot of stick foundations but ever since I first bought and used my Black Opal Stick Foundation, I knew that this was my favorite way of applying foundation. Even though this stick foundation wasn't … Read the rest
New BECCA Products At ULTA!
There are two new products from BECCA which have been released on the ULTA website (in stores 8/25) which I'm excited to try. These appear to be exclusive to ULTA at the moment. These two new products are the BECCA … Read the rest
6 Best Concealers Which Cover Up And Last All Day
Whatever your skin issue or your budget, there's a concealer for you. The following 6 are some of the best concealers on the market which will not only address what you need covered up but which will last all day … Read the rest
Cover FX Correct Click Cream Corrector Review + Swatches (Brick)
I love color correctors because I have some dark under eye areas (not too terrible though) as well as some hyperpigmentation on some areas of my face. Color correctors are nothing new but for some reason, 2016 seems to be … Read the rest
Deals & Steals! Black Radiance True Complexion Starter Set $4.99!
Black Radiance makes some of the best products for women of color and the above Black Radiance True Complexion Starter Set is a great deal for anyone who loves Black Radiance products and if you have never used products from … Read the rest


text:
Set as Homepage | Add to favorites
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing this
letter for an opening in your fashion company (name), which seeks only the most creative
I am enclosing my
resume along with portfolio with details of my skills and experience for your review. As a
graphic designer, I am aware of the changes in people's tastes and I possess the
flexibility and imagination to stay ahead of the trends.
I have the training
and ability produce compelling images for your web and print publications as well as I
have the training to work on projects under budget.
I would appreciate
the chance to meet with you to discuss how I could be a vital part of your operation. You
may reach me at my telephone number (-------) or e-mail address (-------).
Thank you for your


text:
No products
Prices are tax excluded
Our estimated shipping dates are based on several factors, including the destination address, how quickly we can obtain and assemble items for shipment.
Also, orders for multiple items or multiple copies of a single item can take longer to assemble before we are able to ship them to you.
We calculate delivery estimates by taking the estimated shipping date and adding the time it takes a package to travel from our facilities to your destination address, based on the shipping address you've chosen.
The goods will be delivered within 7 working days.
Shipping charges will be automatically calculated as per the delivery address and weight of the books at the time of checkout/payment.
The items ordered will not be returned until they fall in the below mentioned points:
1. If the product delivered is different from product ordered.
2. There is a production defect in the product that you have received.
Boxes are amply sized and your items are well-protected.


text:
Welcome to our website.
To view product availability in a specific country, select from the country list below. For Investor Relations, please visit our global site.
With the emergence of virtualization, unified communications, and cloud computing, deploying IT has become more complex, especially when space is tight.
InfraStruxure architecture simplifies installs and increases manageability and adaptability.


text:
Poster Image
My name is Jayashree Talkad and I was born in Bangalore, India. I have lived in Canada for the last 10 years and I am a proud Canadian citizen. In my situation, I was thinking that I couldn't do anything for myself. But when I found University Settlement, I found people and a place which believes in me and is now helping me to get a meaningful job. I am putting all my efforts to get a job which really means that if we work hard in any situation, the result will be fruitful like a well cared for tree.


text:
3rd Power Amplification announces Switchback 112 Cabinet
Nashville based 3rd Power Amplification, designer and manufacturer of tube guitar amplifier systems, will debut their new cabinet at Summer NAMM 2011.
Like 3rd Power's larger 312 and 212 models, the Switchback 112 is a single 12" cab with a triangle speaker chamber contained within a rectangle outer shell, but is 35% smaller than the 212.
The triangular port behind the speaker gives you a choice closed or open-back sound, effectively doubling the tonal possibilities of whichever amplifier the cabinet is paired with. And it sports computer tuning to extend the low frequency response.
The idea is for the light-weight 112 is to give you the kind of sonic performance usually associated with larger cabinet designs, but with a refined clarity and tone that really translates well on recordings, in the PA as well as when monitored by the artist via in-ear monitoring systems.
The concept behind the triangular design is to minimize internal reflections and their associated interactions that can result in uneven comb-filtered responses to the sound.
"Artists and studio engineers have requested that we create the Switchback 112 to better facilitate recording and live performance setups. It seems more common these days for the amplifier head and the cabinet to be in separate locations whether recording or performing live," says 3RD Power founder and designer Jamie Scott.
He goes on to say, "We've had great success with our cabinets being used on major tours by players like James Richardson (MGMT), Patrick Matera (Katy Perry), Korel Tunador (The Goo Goo Dolls) and others. We've also had great success in the studio with major producers and engineers like Sylvia Massy, Justin Neibank, Paul Ebersold and others".
The price for the standard Switchback 112 will be $699 with a standard ceramic magnet 12" loudspeaker, however speaker upgrade options will also be available.
It will go on public display for the first time at booth #1525 at this year's Summer NAMM.
You will find the 3rd Power Amplification website at 3rdpower.com
Related News:
Guitar Speaker Cabinets
BluGuitar NanoCab and FatCab
Share This Article
Post new comment
Feature Article
We all love the sound of a cranked tube amp, but it can be too loud in many situations. This is what power attenuators are for - reducing the loudness of your amp while retaining the cranked tube tone.
Guitar Gear Guides
Cheap Electric Guitar Pickups
There's no denying that pickups play a major role when it comes to electric guitar tone. By simply replacing your pickups, you can substantially change your tone for the better.
10 of the Best Guitar Cables
When you consider how much time and effort you put into getting your rig to sound just the way you want, it makes sense to ensure your guitar cables are also up to the job.
The Best Wireless Guitar Systems
We explain how to choose the best wireless system for your situation and provide a recommended list of the best wireless systems currently available for guitarists.
The Best Acoustic Guitar Straps
The different kinds of straps explained for different types of acoustic guitars along with a recommended list of the best strap options for your situation.


text:
Joan Bennet is tired of being a wallflower. Thanks to some deliciously scandalous—and infamous—stories, she has a pretty good idea of what she's missing as a spinster. Is even a short flirtation too much to ask for?
Tristan, Lord Burke, recognizes Joan at once for what she is: trouble. Not only is she his best friend's sister, she always seems to catch him at a disadvantage. The only way he can win an argument is by kissing her senseless. He'd give anything to get her out of her unflattering gowns. But either one of those could cost him his bachelor status, which would be dreadful—wouldn't it?
When Tristan Burke meets Joan Bennet once again, after not seeing her for years, he's not really impressed. Yes she's a tall woman, which he actually likes, but he hates the dresses she wears and the way she styles her hair – it's just not flattering. She's also extremely impertinent and he soon dubs her the Fury. Her impertinence doesn't stop him from seeking out her company, however.
Joan isn't impressed with Tristan Burke at all. He's a known rake and her mother has said for years that she doesn't approve of him. When her mother takes sick and has to leave town and then her brother gets sent off to help with reconstruction on a house Joan's brother, Douglas, asks Tristan to watch over his sister. You know, got to tea, dance with her at a ball – generally make sure she's not moping about their mothers' health. He only asks Tristan because his other friends are even worse reprobates than Tristan. He's not thrilled at his new task but it seems that every time he sees Joan there's one more thing about her that he notices.
The pair become friends of a sort and Tristan asks Joan out for a drive and surprises her with an adventure. He finally realizes that he's fallen in love with Joan but he's not sure her family will approve.
This was a lovely story that I loved reading. When I think back on the story it was quite a simple one in that there weren't villains to worry about or anything of that sort. It was just the story of two people meeting and falling in love. Now for some people that's not exciting enough for them but for me it was wonderful. The simplicity of the romance is what I loved about this story. The feelings that are stirred, the chances that are taken to be together, the tension between the couple as they metaphorically feel their way around each other – just so good.
There was so much about Tristan that I liked. One of the things was that he was quite an intelligent man. Now it's not like a lightbulb went off in Joan's head telling her this but as the story evolves we see Tristan's curiosity with mechanical things and his ideas that he uses. I loved that a big deal wasn't made of this but it was definitely brought to our attention. His admiration for Joan was slow and steady and I loved seeing his indecision when it came to her – even though it was mixed with cockiness. 🙂
Overall the story was one I definitely recommend.
Rating: 4 out of 5


text:
Everybody knows that a store bought household cleaner spray is jam packed full of harmful and toxins – why else would we have to child proof the cupboards they live in once we have little people running around???
So why buy them?
Some people believe we need these strong chemicals to effectively remove dirt and sanitise our homes but that simply is not true! Essential oils such as Tea Tree and Eucalyptus have fantastic antibacterial properties, are readily available and are safe!
One thing I love about this particular spray is it has a soapy effect. Some of the sprays I have used in the past have the appearance of plain water and although just as effective it kind of feels like a product is "doing it's job better" when you can see some suds!
So here it is…
The Best Easy To Make Household Cleaner Spray.
2 cups of water
3 tbsp liquid castille soap (I love Dr Bronner's Almond scented one)
30 drops of Tea Tree oil
I like to mix together in a bowl or jug then pour into spray bottle. Make sure you pour slowly as it will foam up!
Let me know if you have any similar recipes you love!
Please note. This post may contain Affiliate Links. However, if it does please remember I would only recommend something I truly love and/ or believe in myself!
2 Comments on The Best Easy To Make Household Cleaner Spray
Dr. Bronner's is so great and I like how easy this is to make! Do you know how long this formula stays potent? If it takes me a month to use it, do I need to add more tea tree oil as time goes by? Thanks!


text:
LONGWOOD — Teen-age volunteers at South Seminole Community Hospital have performed more than 23,000 hours of unpaid work in the last two years, learning job skills and sharing time with patients.
Laura Flannery, coordinator of the junior volunteers, said the 65 youths work year-round in the evenings.
Most volunteers start working at the hospital at age 14, said Flannery, who has been with the volunteer program since its inception two years ago. She said volunteers who perform well may stay as long as they want, learning about adult responsibilities along the way.


text:
The 8.5m who lost their jobs in the recession; the 1.2m who have given up looking for work and, finally, the Republicans who can smell a Democratic President in trouble.
Like the recession, America's recovery is departing from the normal script. Since World War II, the deeper the downturn the economy has endured, the steeper the recovery it has enjoyed on the way up. But a summer that brought record temperatures to many parts of the country has seen the momentum that the economy began to lose in the spring evaporate further.
Manufacturing remains weak, despite better-than-expected numbers yesterday; consumer spending is no stronger and small businesses are still cutting jobs. Corporate America, which has plenty of cash, isn't spending it.
It came as little surprise, then, that President Barack Obama used a national televised address on Tuesday night to tell voters that, as the combat mission in Iraq ends, the economy is now the "central mission". However, if America's war in Iraq proved a bloody quagmire, it's not clear that fixing the country's economy will be any easier.
Voters already appear sceptical that the administration has answers: just 41pc of the public approved of his handling of the economy, according to a poll last month from Associated Press-GfK, and the political clock is ticking. The Democratic Party is expected to face heavy losses at critical mid-term Congressional elections on November 2, a prospect that has galvanised the White House.
On Monday, in the White House Rose Garden, President Obama said that his team was examining new options to help revive growth. They include a $30bn (£19.4bn) package to encourage lending to small businesses, extra incentives to invest in green energy and a package of new spending on infrastructure, in an echo of President Roosevelt's New Deal.
But it will be in turning aspirations laid out on the presidential lawn into legislation that the administration faces its greatest hurdle, experts say.
First, Republicans in Congress are unlikely to give their backing to more stimulus that they claim risks wasting taxpayers' dollars.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader from Kentucky, lambasted the administration this week for growing "the size of the national debt, the federal government and the unemployment rate."
Secondly, and perhaps more worrying for those who believe the economy is in urgent need of a government-administered electric shock, President Obama appears to be losing the intellectual argument that more needs to be done.
"The administration has done a very bad job of moulding public opinion," says Barry Bosworth, a former economic adviser to President Carter. "A lot of the public believe that the original stimulus package did nothing, so there's no coherence about what to do now."
Critics of the administration cannot say it hasn't taken action. There's the original $800bn American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that was passed in February last year. Then there's the HIRE Act, which provides a tax credit for companies that employ people who have been out of work for more than two months, and the list extends to the cash-for-clunkers programme, the homebuyers' tax credit and the National Export Initiative.
But as our politicians have found in Britain, making the case to voters that these measures are effective is not straightforward. Christina Romer, who yesterday left her post as the government's chief economist to return to academia, used her parting remarks to urge Congress to find the "will and wisdom" to deliver new measures for the economy.
But it's around the question of tax cuts that the political paralysis enveloping Washington, and the threat it poses to the recovery, is most acute.
The two major tax cuts made by President George W. Bush expire at the end of the year, and Republicans and Democrats are at odds over how to extend them. The Republicans want the cuts made permanent for everyone, while the Democrats want to exclude individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and households with an annual income of over $250,000.
For Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America, it all points to the administration being able to do nothing more until a new Congress is in place in early 2011. Americans will just have to hope that this summer's slowdown doesn't turn into something worse.
The President's immediate priority, though, is to make sure he doesn't have to replace the Recovery Blog, with a much nastier sounding Double-Dip one.


text:
We have about a ZILLION bands for the Loom all over our house. The guy who invented the Loom is a zillionaire and he's earned it. The quiet is worth it. Thank you, Rainbow Loom guy.
Oh...We've also been all over YouTube watching videos on how to make different kinds of bracelets too. Gwen's getting into some really complicated bracelets. Barrett's still new at it, as he's Loom just arrived not too long ago.
Another Christmas favorite has been all of the LEGO toys. Both Barrett and Gwen got LEGO toys. Is there anything more to be said about LEGO? They're awesome!
American Girl is always a hit for Gwen. In 2013, she drooled over Saige, the American Girl of the Year doll and her Painting Set. Santa brought her the doll and painting set. She's so happy. I know that American Girl isn't for every kid, but when you know they want it, it's a hit. Gwen spends lots of time dressing, undressing and playing with the doll. Plus, the stories that accompany the dolls are great. Saige's story is about using your creativity for the better good...gotta love that!
One last favorite for now...Disney Infinity and all it's awesome characters and power discs! Is this a surprise coming from our house? Barrett got lots of characters (Gwen got a couple too) and the complete Series 2 Power Disc Set from Grandpa and he was in HEAVEN! He gets limited screen time, but when he does play, he's all in! He had so much fun playing and building his toy boxes this Christmas Break.


text:
In a beautiful and deeply nurturing environment, join us in retreat for two pleasurable days, where you'll be supported in opening deeply to the magnificence of your true self, the Divine Presence within you. Experience the profound comfort, inspiration and joy of knowing who you really are and how you want to live your life.
This retreat is unlike any other you may have experienced. Suzanne creates a powerful field of resonance that helps you lift your vibration naturally and gracefully. After the retreat, your everyday life flows with more ease than you've ever imagined.
The theme for the retreat is deepening your connection to your own inner guidance from a foundation of genuine self-love. You'll gain a deeper understanding of what it really means to love yourself, and you'll learn new ways to recognize and connect with your deepest wisdom so you can create a successful, generous and deeply fulfilled life. Suzanne is known for helping clients reach new levels of clarity and genuinely embody what was once merely an intellectual concept. The focus is always on supporting your growth and evolution in a truly loving and compassionate way.
Through a combination of teaching, guided activities, music, movement and quiet time for personal reflection, meditation and journaling, participants will experience a deepening connection with the Divine Presence within and heightened awareness of how to come into alignment with who they really are.
Solid Ground's spiritual retreat is not just about recharging your batteries so you can better cope with your busy life. It's about learning to genuinely love, trust and honor yourself, and allowing a life you love to blossom from your inner core of magnificence.
At the bottom of this page are testimonials from prior retreat participants. Their heartfelt words beautifully reflect the profound experience that was shared by everyone who participated. Please take a moment to read them as you consider whether this retreat is right for you.
And now for some of the particulars! Retreats are held once or twice per year, usually in the spring and/or fall. The next one will be in May, 2016. We will meet in a gorgeous oceanfront apartment at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Our gathering times for the weekend are:
Friday, May 6th 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 7th 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 8th 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Meals and lodging are not included in the retreat price; many options are available for hotels, bed & breakfasts and restaurants in all price ranges. The apartment features a full kitchen and participants are free to bring food they can easily heat and prepare for mealtimes. Light snacks and water will be provided. Additional information about lodging, meals and what to bring will be provided via email to confirmed participants as we get closer to the event date.
If you feel called to this retreat…give yourself the immense gift of answering that call. And please feel free to email Suzanne at firstname.lastname@example.com if you have any questions.
WHEN: Friday May6th - Sunday May 8th, 2016
WHERE Boardwalk Plaza Hotel, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
INVESTMENT: $395 early bird price; $435 when registering after April 22nd
REGISTER: Click here
"The weekend beach retreat was so peaceful and nurturing and full of surprises. As one who is still learning to let go of worry and doubt, your theme of "trust" was perfect for me. I found that not only have I taken so much from the weekend but I also left behind some things that I'd carried for far too long. You have provided me with the tools to let go of worry and stop micromanaging the details of my life and trust that everything is perfect.. When the weekend ended I felt that maybe life should be gently held and not so much strangled. Thank you for being the perfect guide." - M.D.
"At the beach retreat, I discovered that taking the extra time to get away from everyday life, having the freedom to go deeper and the opportunity to stay longer with the divine Presence within, was both joyful and priceless. I've been to a lot of Suzanne's workshops, booster classes and one-on-one coaching, but this was an even more profoundly valuable experience. Instead of exquisite moments of grace I had exquisite days of grace! I am so thankful and can't believe I delayed so long in giving myself such a precious gift. On the last day of the retreat I watched the moon rise over the ocean with a sense of wonder and gratitude I've not felt in a while. The gifts just kept coming even when the retreat was "officially" over. I have a kind of joyful expectancy about the weeks ahead and what they might bring." - Ann Murphy
"I am SO glad I came to the retreat! It was perfect." - M.S.
"This was my first retreat of any kind and certainly my first with Solid Ground. You were a magnificent host and while I was the newest group member, I felt at home. I am still learning to just relax and "be" with the divine and wanted to get it right. You see I wanted to get everything I could out of it. Funny thing, what I learned is that I couldn't get it wrong but that however I am is just exactly right. I learned to be with me and learned that I am a pretty (if I can use your words) magnificent person. I believe that the Divine loves me without judgement and that I am worthy of that love. My heart if full with this knowledge.
In the message you sent after the retreat, you said that I may continue to reap the benefits of the retreat over time, 'awakening further to my magnificence.' I was stunned when it actually happened. I can't really say what happened last night but something wonderful touched my heart. I felt overwhelming joy. I felt God's presence in me. Tears of joy came ... what a blessing that was. Maybe it was the [...] the meditation or chanting. I don't know but two weeks later I am still learning in my heart what my head thought it already knew. I am unique. I am enough and any improvement that I think I am making in my character is unnecessary. I am already an incredible creation. Wow...Thank you from my heart, Suzanne." - M.D."
It was simply awesome." - J.A.
"The beach retreat was amazing! I'd attended the one in May and had been awestruck by the depth of "knowing" contained within me. The November retreat took me deeper into this "knowing" and allowed me to connect at an ever deeper, and broader, level with my Divine Presence. I was given a glimpse of how perfect our World is and how our presence in this World brings color, texture, and meaning that adds so much value to the landscape of life. Each of us is so uniquely special, and I truly felt that as I walked the boardwalk in communion with my Divine Presence.
Suzanne provides the optimal environment to connect with the Divine Presence within. Not only is the retreat space lovely, inviting, and calm, but the meditations, movement activities, and quiet time she selects for the weekend are all centered around giving each participant the opportunity to be truly grounded and deeply connected to each Self.
If you've not yet allowed yourself to experience this one-of-a-kind opportunity to spend with yourself, I would strongly urge you to do so. You will not regret it. " - Mary L.
"Beach...Ocean...Spiritual Retreat. When I saw these words in an invitation from Suzanne, I knew I wanted to be there. She masterfully crafted a weekend filled with beautiful sights, sounds and touching discoveries about oneself.
You enter in silence on Friday night to an awe inspiring oceanfront apartment with beautiful music playing which centers, grounds and drains away any lingering stress. After that, you discover that you are surrounded by glorious new Divine Beings who are all there for the same purpose...to safely and comfortably dive in to discover more of who we truly are...to discover our authentic and magnificent selves.
This retreat was a vacation for my soul. The discoveries, memories and new friendships that it brought has made this a "must be" annual event.
I am blessed, as is this world, to have Suzanne in our lives. She is a beautiful and authentic pioneer.
Thank you Suzanne!" - Sue A.
"I was privileged and honored to spend this past weekend with transformational life coach, Suzanne Eder, and other extraordinary women at Solid Ground's Spiritual Beach Retreat.
I had no expectation of what the weekend may hold for me. I only knew that I would be getting in touch with the Divine Presence within and gaining an understanding of who I TRULY am in this physical incarnation.
Prior to this retreat, I had a belief system in place whereby I knew that I was a soul who had chosen to live on the physical plane and had life lessons to learn so that I could "move up the spiritual ladder" to the next phase on my journey to enlightenment. I believed that there were certain life lessons that I had chosen to master during this incarnation, and situations would continue to present themselves until I could ultimately resolve and master them. Always, new lessons were there for me to learn.
In addition to moving up the spiritual ladder was the overarching question of, "What is my purpose in life?" Surely, I had some magnificent purpose for being here, but if I were continually overcoming obstacles and learning lessons, what could it possibly be?
Imagine my wonder and surprise when Suzanne told us on Friday evening, at the beginning of the retreat, that our purpose was to live a joy-filled and creative existence as the magnificent Beings that we are!!!! Imagine my increased wonder and surprise when she told us that we need never have to work on ourselves again! There is nothing to fix; we are completely whole and perfect as we are; after all, we are of the Divine!
Thus began a journey of getting in touch with the Divine within; recognizing and embracing the magnificence that we are; breaking through barriers that have kept us "small" and thinking that were are undeserving of a truly wonderful life.
My life has been forever changed by this weekend, and bonding at the deepest level occurred. We celebrated our magnificence and recognized it in each other! " - Mary L.
Our Monthly Inspiration Series is Here!
Learn More Here...
"Suzanne is a true visionary. She effortlessly sees the many possibilities within the assumptions we hold as absolute and the beliefs we have about 'the way things are.' Just by spending time with her in conversation, you cannot help but expand your world view and open up to all that exists in support of us. She has stretched my thinking in ways I would have never come to on my own - and that in turn has opened doors for me that I didn't even know were in my way." - J.T.
Administrator • Webmail
Transformational Life Coaching in Delaware and Pennsylvania: