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I am honored to be Featured Artist for this weeks PPA76 challenge and since I was still in the Valentine mode, I decided to play again! :) Why not when you have great inspiration, right?? I also used the MOJO173 sketch to play off of too. I was still wanting to keep things simple for this Valentine as well and I think I was able to accomplish it. I'll leave that up to you.
* Cherry Cobbler standard cardbase
* Whisper White zipped through the Big Shot w/ the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder for the perfect bit of texture and matted on a piece of Basic Black
* Cherry Cobbler seam binding and embellished bow with an Antique Brad.
* LOVING this new Glitter Paper, from the Occasions Mini, quick pizazz with no glittery mess! Popped out 3 Small Heart punches and placed them on Dimensionals (even more WOW)
* Zipped a piece of Whisper White and Basic Black through the Big Shot w/ my Ovals Die.
* From the Hostess lev 3 set, Occasional Quotes, the sentiment was inked in Cherry Cobbler ink. Snipped the Basic Black oval in half and kreated a matte behind the sentiment.
* Grabbed my Crop a dile and punched out 3 tiny Red Glimmer circles to add some interest to the sentiment.
Thanks for stopping in for that little dose of me. Hope you liked another simple Valentine! Get your fingers inky and then jump over to Mr Linky- hehe
Any questions, I am always just a click away!
You can purchase all products online with me or email me with your orders.
Happy Kreating
Monday, January 17, 2011
Another Simple Valentine for the PPA
9 comments:
- Pam~ said...
Stunning! I LOVE your bow with the brad centered on it! Wish I could make a bow like that.
- January 17, 2011 at 8:21 AM
- Linda Callahan said...
That bow is a work of art! And Cherry Cobbler is my favorite color - so rich!
- January 17, 2011 at 9:13 AM
- Ann Schach said...
Fabulous,fabulous bow! Fabulous,fabulous card!
- January 17, 2011 at 11:10 AM
- Patti MacLeith said...
I don't think this is simple, but I think it's simply gorgeous!!
- January 17, 2011 at 12:57 PM
- Cards by Gina said...
Another stunning card, Kim! So glad you were the Featured Artist and also played along! We love to see your cards at PPA!
- January 17, 2011 at 3:21 PM
- TrishG said...
Beautiful Kim!
Love the colors. Great job with the ribbon!
- January 17, 2011 at 5:47 PM
- Christy Q said...
Kim - your card is stunning! I love the seam binding with the brad center. I think I'm going to be adding antique brads to my next order... Thanks for enabling me! :)
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving me a comment - totally brightened my day!
- January 17, 2011 at 8:06 PM
- scrappingnana said...
Very pretty card. Love all the details. TFS
- January 17, 2011 at 10:08 PM
- Carla Bazhenow said...
Kim your card is stunning!! I too am say it, I love that bow!!! Love the embossing and the layout. Hugs,
- January 17, 2011 at 10:44 PM


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Time has escaped me yet again and we (I) have had so much going on and I have had trouble finding time to read all of my favourite blogs yet alone write a post. The little fella in the picture is a Echidna, also known as a Spiny Anteater it was crossing the road when I was driving home so I stopped and watched him for a few minutes. Echidnas use their spines as a method of defence against predators so I just sat in my car and watched him as he would take half a dozen steps and then he would freeze like a statue then he would move again hoping his watchful predator would move along . He did this, take a few steps then stop for a second or two then move again until he was close to the tree trunk or bushes where he would blend in with his surroundings. I left him in peace and went on my way.
We have another baby arriving and I think I will be called again for mother & grandmother duties which I just......LOVE. I will be up and down from Sydney again with appointments, scans and blood test etc so my busyness will not ease up till next year.
The Church is getting close to finishing and so is the budget, we just bought second hand cafe table and chairs for unbelievable price and all they really need is to be repainted, so I'm rounding up volunteers to make this as easy as possible.
On the home front everything is at a standstill due to extreme busyness and the rain, did I mention that we have had so much rain that my house yard is like a swamp, the chickens have grown web feet and I'm not far behind them. The heavy frost has also browned off the grass, so the yard is looking pretty bad at the moment. The veggie patch is waiting its fate, I'm hoping that it will be back in full production this year as last year was grim. I'm going to nag my poor hubby to make me some raised beds in his spare time (ha) or I will have to just set up night lights and get stuck into it when I get home from work and make it ready for spring. Once it gets warmer we will finish off our lounge room, laundry and kitchen and then start painting and decorating....yay
It won't be long now and our business will be picking up pace again as the orders have been coming in fast, we need to get more stock back in the shop and hubby wants to put our business name on our truck so make people more aware of us.
My life is very busy and I am doing at least 10 things at one time but I do get time to smell the roses and thank God for every blessing he gives me and I hope you do the same :)

subset: commoncrawl


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PHILADELPHIA — — After one full, extra-long session in which the Eagles mostly lined up against the New England Patriots in the first of two joint practices, what we saw on Tuesday was pretty much what we expected.
This team doesn't look like it will have problems putting points on the board. At the same time, it looks like it will have major problems keeping opponents from doing the same.


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Sunday, February 22, 2009
Things to Look Forward To
(I must add here that I miss Abby now she has moved to Sydney.)
And among the reviews is Janet Tay's take on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald which is a must-read, as do the two stories that are published with it. (And I so want to see the film ... will it get an Oscar tomorrow?)
And again, there are tasty vouchers to clip giving substantial discounts!!
6 comments:
People who are involved in bookstores and the business of selling books shouldn't be reviewing or writing about books. It's unethical, and even if you are sincere about what you write, it will still cast doubt over your views.
- February 22, 2009 9:29 pm
People who love books and enjoy reading and writing are the best people to review books - whether they are in the business or not.
- February 22, 2009 9:46 pm
So, if someone who sells cars and also enjoys driving and nice cars, tell you that a particular car he is selling is good, then you would buy it?
- February 22, 2009 9:56 pm
Here is Anonymous, arguing with himself, or myself, again.
- February 22, 2009 11:21 pm
- bibliobibuli said...
i think that Abby's list is a damn good one - she's picked a selection a lover of lit can't argue with. yes and sure she has a vested interest in you going and buying books, but she isn't going to make more money by recommending those particular titles! (i.e. yiyun li isn't slipping her a backhander to promote her book!)
and what's wrong with a bookseller choosing a selection of books they like? it does happen all over, in the UK, in the US etc etc
there is a lot of commercial interest in the bookpages though. notice how all the bookshops have money off coupons in there. but the problem of getting sponsorship for our bookpages otherwise is very difficult.
i would like more writing from Abby, cos i feel she's a kindred spirit!
- February 22, 2009 11:44 pm
"People who are involved in bookstores and the business of selling books shouldn't be reviewing or writing about books."
That is the stupidest thing I've heard all week. People involved in bookselling are EXACTLY the people who should be writing about books. They're exposed to more new titles than anyone else, and they obviously care about literature or they wouldn't have got into the business. Access to their opinions is exactly why serious readers have always preferred small bookshops with personal contact.
A bookseller was on the last Booker Prize committee; in the US and UK booksellers routinely put out newsletters, and the staff of bookshops recommend their favourite new titles with little cards on the shelfs and/or mini-reviews on their websites. Kinokuniya is not the only place doing this; you have to have been living on Mars not to have encountered booksellers' recommendations before.
As Sharon says, a bookseller has zero interest in recommending one book over another. If they wanted to make money, they'd be recommending the most expensive books: the coffeetable books by Samy Velly and the angkasawan, the glossy feng-shui books. The fact that they are recommending fiction at all should tip you off that profit is not the first thing on their minds. One could even argue that they're limiting their own profits by doing this, because a person who goes in and buys Yiyun Li's book will have that much less discretionary income to spend on a pricey coffeetable book.
-- Preeta
- February 23, 2009 2:33 am


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Relative to Calvinism, John Piper suggests we say what we believe rather than stating simply, "I am a Calvinist". The following is his primer ...
I believe I am so spiritually corrupt and prideful and rebellious that I would never have come to faith in Jesus without God's merciful, sovereign victory over the last vestiges of my rebellion. (1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1–4; Romans 8:7).
I believe that God chose me to be his child before the foundation of the world, on the basis of nothing in me, foreknown or otherwise. (Ephesians 1:4–6; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29–30; 11:5–7)
I believe Christ died as a substitute for sinners to provide a bona fide offer of salvation to all people, and that he had an invincible design in his death to obtain his chosen bride, namely, the assembly of all believers, whose names were eternally written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. (John 3:16; John 10:15; Ephesians 5:25; Revelation 13:8)
When I was dead in my trespasses, and blind to the beauty of Christ, God made me alive, opened the eyes of my heart, granted me to believe, and united me to Jesus, with all the benefits of forgiveness and justification and eternal life. (Ephesians 2:4–5; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Philippians 2:29; Ephesians 2:8–9; Acts 16:14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 3:9)
I am eternally secure not mainly because of anything I did in the past, but decisively because God is faithful to complete the work he began—to sustain my faith, and to keep me from apostasy, and to hold me back from sin that leads to death. (1 Corinthians 1:8–9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 1:25; John 10:28–29; 1 John 5:16)


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Ok, I'm going to 'fess up.
I spent a long time on my layout this week. In fact, I had a picture in my mind of exactly how this layout was going to turn out. I had picked out papers and product. I was excited to put it together. I even had it finished on Sunday right on time to post.
But then I lost interest in it :-( It didn't turn out how I'd pictured it. It didn't seem to work. I seem to have missed the tone on tone effect that I was trying for. I didn't even get a photo of it so I could post it. And now I'm 4 days late!
I still don't love it. I still think I didn't get the tone on tone right. It just didn't work for me.
But you know what? That's OK. Live and learn and move on!
I love the photo I used and will no doubt use it again sometime. But this is not a layout I'm taking apart. I am happy to have it ticked off as a learning experience.
I might try this one again sometime, I was disappointed not to give this prompt the effort it deserved.
Like to share those types of layouts that you've made? Don't forget our Flickr gallery (here) - there's so much to see over there.


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I don't know if you read my post I'm a winner or if you even know how I won my Fresh Diet week or even what it is that I won, that you could read about here, Fresh Diet could this be your ticket.
Well I was and am so excited to have been selected so that I can try the meals this company makes. Today was day one of my free week. I have decided that I will document my journey of meals and give you pictures and my opinion on each.
I woke at 5AM (yes it is an ungodly hour) to make the coffee and make sure the inhabitants of my household are starting to stir for work / school / whatever, and find this
Now I am not sure when the bag arrived (they say anywhere between 7PM and 5AM) because I never heard a thing. But I was really happy to see it there.
Around 3:00 I started to think about how I would get everything that was left in my bag into me. I mean I try to stop eating between 8 and 9 so that I'm not going to sleep with anything heavy in my stomach, and I still had an appetizer and dinner and dessert in said bag.
Dinner was around 6:15 today. Turkey Breast Scalopini with White Wine & Shallots with Baby Farmer Carrots and Sauteed Spinach. I would have liked a few more carrots (so it might have meant a little less spinach) but the vegetables were fantastic. The spinach wasn't slimy and the carrots were tender crisp - how they did that when its made at least 12 hours before I have NO idea but I really enjoyed them. The wine and Shallots sauce was very good, not sure if you can tell but I put some over the veggies too. The turkey was a very generous portion, but I will say it wasn't my favorite part of the meal. I'm not really sure why though. It was pretty thick so although the veggies were hot, the inside of the turkey wasn't very warm. I did eat all of the entree, but I don't know if I would order the turkey again. But then again, it could have just been me today and then next time I could love it. Two mugs of green tea rounded out the meal.
Did you notice my pumpkin candle? It is October after all - its pumpkin time! Please note that it was lit for dinner ........ just need to set the stage.
Now this is on a BIG black saucer - from a Starbucks cup that has to hold 16 oz of coffee so the saucer has to be big too ..... but I just thought it looked cute next to my tiny pumpkin candle and orange crocheted table runner (my grandma made those so I will always have one of her pieces on my table)
Well there you have it - Day One of My Fresh Diet Journey. I can't wait to see what is in my green bag for tomorrow, I mean I know what I ordered but since today was more than I thought it would be I can't wait to see tomorrow.
Now if you will excuse me my Cheese Cake is calling me. Should I have a cup of cappuccino to go with it? mmmm ok I will be good. I will have my Cheese Cake and then later I will have another cup of tea before going to bed. Oh and putting my new green friend by the back door so one of his relatives can come to visit tomorrow.
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Fresh Diet - Day 1
Posted by Kat @ Inspiration CAN be Found Everywhere at 8:23 PM
1 comment:
- Mimi said...
Wow it looks great! I'm so glad it lived up to your expectations. I'm astounded that they were able to get the food to you so early & that the spinach turned out well, that's hard to do!
Hugs & love,
- October 5, 2010 at 7:19 PM
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With Bricscad V11 we continue to add value for our hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. Thanks to the wide acceptance of our API's in the application community we can offer now an unmatched range of functionality in all the main disciplines.
Ghent, Belgium (PRWEB) October 18, 2010
Bricscad is recognized as the number one .dwg CAD alternative. The level of .dwg compatibility, together with the availability of a constant growing number of third party applications – actually more than 160 – makes Bricscad the best alternative solution. This new version, Bricscad V11, offers an impressive set of new features.
Bricscad V11 includes support for editing dynamic blocks. Dynamic blocks can be inserted from existing Dynamic Blocks Libraries - properties and constraints can be adjusted in the Properties Bar. PDF files can be used as an underlay and Bricscad V11 enables snapping to the geometry of the PDF entities. Bricscad V11 has a handy Layer Preview. In the layer section of the Drawing Explorer, the content of each layer displays in the Preview pane.
The Graphical User Interface is now enhanced with support for new style Grips, Dynamic Input and Dynamic Dimensions. This is a huge improvement in the interface and makes drawing in Bricscad more direct and more dynamic than ever.
Bricscad V11 Pro has the powerful Redway3D rendering engine inside, allowing rendering in permanent mode. This rendering technology is one of the fastest in the industry. Lights and materials can be defined in the Drawing Explorer. Settings to define materials allow fine-tuning to the very last detail. The performance of this rendering engine is outstanding.
"With Bricscad V11 we continue to add value for our hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. Thanks to the wide acceptance of our API's in the application community we can offer now an unmatched range of functionality in all the main disciplines of engineering", says Erik De Keyser, CEO of Bricsys. "Our focus is the balance between compatibility, performance and price."
Bricscad V11 Classic for Linux is on its way and will be released within a couple of weeks. It will contain all the same new features as the Bricscad V11 Classic for Windows version. eBridge will also be available for Bricscad V11 for Linux users.
About Bricsys
Through its network of 70 offices, Bricsys NV is a global provider of engineering software on four continents. The product portfolio consists of Bricscad design software and Vondle, a powerful cloud application for document and data management.
Bricscad is the powerful .dwg alternative CAD platform that enables .dwg-based applications to serve the growing markets of GIS, AEC, mechanical CAD, and civil engineering. Bricsys products are available in 16 languages, with more languages in development.
Every month, Bricsys transparently reports to its customers on the status and development of its software products. Wherever they are around the globe, customers can communicate support requests directly to the Bricsys support team around the clock.
Bricsys is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance, thereby contributing to the interoperability in the engineering industry. For more information about Bricsys, visit http://www.bricsys.com.
# # #


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- 2012-01-14: "Samsung to merge its Bada and Tizen mobile operating systems – Intel still on board?"
- 2011-10-20: "Will Intel's Tizen mobile operating system succeed where MeeGo failed?" relays doubts about the long-term support for Tizen and mentions a few more technological details.
The Linux foundation just announced the "Tizen" project, whose (open) development will be lead by Intel and Samsung. It will give Intel a replacement for its MeeGo platform which has not made enough progress.


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|Click to enter!
|Click for a chance to win!
|Click to view Facebook launch party
|Karla's website header
If you don't know where to start, here are the basics:
- Build a website. It doesn't have to be fancy. I used Wix.com when I first started and later I used Weebly.com. There are other free platforms out there. Use the one that is the most user-friendly for you. I didn't spend money to have someone design one for me until after I had my first novel published.
|This blog interacts with the history books I write
- Blog. You don't have to blog every day but it makes sense that the more you blog the more people will visit. What to blog about? Do a Google search for blog topics and you'll have more than you'll ever have time to write. Also, I started my first blogs on Blogger, but now I use WordPress because that's what my web designer used to design my site. There's a learning curve to WordPress, but I love it. However, if you're new to finding your way around the Internet, I recommend Blogger. Many successful authors use it and it's what I use for my interactive ebooks.
|Click to follow!
- Facebook: I have a "friends" page with about 3300+ followers, an author page with a little over 500, a page for my book and several groups. But really, you don't have to do all that. You can simply use your friends page if you wish. However, once you reach 5000 followers, you have to stop accepting them and direct them to your author page. So it's a good idea to go ahead and build your author page. The nice thing about an author page is that you can host your giveaways on it.
|Facebook Author Page Giveaway Tab
- Twitter: for me, this is the hardest platform to build relationships on. But I am learning!
|Click to follow me!
- Pinterest: I have almost 3,000 followers on Pinterest and it was super easy to build that following. Pick a popular subject and start pinning! (To keep numbers in perspective, most best-selling authors have followers in the five digits. I'm still working toward that!)
|Click to follow me!
- Google+: I'm fairly new to Google+ but as more people learn to use it, I'm gaining more experience and developing relationships.
|Click to follow me!
- LinkedIn: I post here every time I have a blog post.
|Click to follow me!
- tumblr: I have about 800 followers on tumblr. I admit that tumblr is one of my guilty pleasures. I enjoy the people I follow there and I actually get the news before it's published in most other forums. It's a lot like twitter that way.
|Click to view
- Goodreads: I have about 1300 followers on Goodreads. I'm not very good at checking in there, but while I was promoting my book, I did give books away and I believe it was well worth the expense and time.
|Click to follow!
Click to tweet: What are you doing to build your online platform?
Don't forget to go to my website and enter the giveaway! Today's the last day! Have fun!
Leave me a message below and let me know how you're building your online platform!


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In an interesting post on his blog Mirifica Commutatio Bobby Grow writes about Randall Zachman's book: The Assurance of Faith: Conscience in het Theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin. Zachman claims that Luther and Calvin intended to ground the assurance of faith in Christ, but that they not completely succeeded in doing that. The problem is, according to Zachman, that both Luther and Calvin operate with a doctrine of limited election. If that is true, than the real question with regard to assurance cannot be answered in christological terms in the end, but only in terms of God's election and (secret) counsel. The lamentable result of this: endless efforts (for example by applying the syllogismus practicus) to make this uncertainty undone. Bobby Grow adds to this an advice to 'move out of the voluntaristic theology of both Calvin and Luther' and to bridge the gap between God's inner life and outer life with the help of the theologies of Thomas Torrance or Karl Barth.
I'm, however, not fully convinced. Let me try to explain why with the help of Calvin's sermons and an article of Thomas Torrance. One of the topics Calvin frequently mentions in his sermons is the question of the certainty of our faith. Let me give just one example. In his sermon on Is. 31,1-3 (Supplementa Calviniana III (ed. by F.M. Higman, T.H.L. Parker, L. Thorpe), p.85) Calvin speaks to the Genevan congregation of assurance.
First, he sums up what God has said and done on our behalf. He says that He rescues us, that He is close to all who ask Him for help, that He has shown us that He is God with us in Jesus Christ, that He never forgets us, that He hears all our prayers. If we are not by now assured, says Calvin, than we are most ungrateful. So, the first step to assurance is looking around and seeing the work God does, every day, in our lives.
However, he continues by saying that, if God was promising so much in the time of the Law (the Old Testament), we have even more reason to be assured:
"Car nous avons l'asseurance de nostre adoption, d'autant que nous sommes membres de son Filz unicque, qui est le chef de toute l'Eglise. La porte de paradis nous est ouverte, d'autant que nostre Seigneur Jesus Christ est entré au Sanctuaire non point fait de mains d'hommes, mais eternel, afin d'estre nostre advocat et intercesseur."
So, for us, who may share in the Gospel, there is a more direct and secure route to assurance. We may know that we are adopted as children of God, that the paradise has been opened for us, and that we have free entrance into God's presence, thanks to our High-Priest, Jesus Christ. Note that Calvin does not separate here between believers and non-believers, elected and non-elected. This is what he says to the congregation in Geneva: you may be sure of God's grace, by looking to Christ and what He has done for us all.
But there is one step further to go. This is where Torrance comes in. In a Festschrift for Peter De Klerk (Calvin's Books, ed. by W.H. Neuser, H.J. Selderhuis, W. van 't Spijker) he wrote an essay titled 'Legal and Evangelical Priests: the Holy Ministry as Reflected in Calvin's Prayers'. It's pretty short, but rich and instructive. In this essay he points out that for Calvin ministry involves executing a priestly office, including offering and mediating. In fact, he claims (p.74):
"[W]e can understand in this light how he [Calvin, AT] could regard the sermon not only as a proclamation of the Gospel from the mouth of God but as an offering made to God, assimilated to Christ's one self-offering as the Word become flesh now ascended to the Father."
Let me put it my way. The statement of Torrance implies that for Calvin assurance is not something to figure out in private. No, in the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments, God descends to us in his offering of grace. But, at the same time, these events are invitations to us to ascend, to lift up our hearts to God. To put it differently, assurance of faith is not a private enterprise, but part of the proclamation of the Gospel and the celebration of the Lord's Supper. At that moment God Himself is at work, and it is our responsibility to accept that. And, of course, to thank God for it.


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Known as the new New King of Coal, Cline doesn't bother much with his public image, beyond avoiding as much as possible the public eye, as he looks at the Illinois Basin for more coal extraction and fracking and northern Wisconsin for the largest open pit mine on the planet in a pristine area that for now draws tourists from out-of-state.
The coverage of Cline in the American press has been relegated to celebrity pieces on whom Cline is dating with an occasional piece on Cline buying up stock in the extraction industry. Cline manages somehow to keep an extremely low profile.
Bios of Cline are typically written by environmental activists noting how destructive and oblivious cline is to the health of the people his extraction operations destroy:
Although Cline's lifestyle appears to be all about champagne and caviar, the basis of his wealth presents a far darker story than the golden-hued online tour of his 33,413 square foot mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida.I'll poison your land and water, buy the politicians and there's nothing you can do about it, is the position of this gaping asshole of a man, pictured above-right, next to his Mine Games Yacht (unless he's already sold the $ 28-million, 161-foot toy for a more expensive yacht). (Fabrikant, New York Times)
According to an extensive 2010 profile of Cline in Bloomberg Markets Magazine, he became "a billionaire by betting on a dirty fuel the world can't get enough of." (Pember, Indian Country Today)
The new problem is that Cline is trying to begin operations in pristine northern Wisconsin in Iron and Ashland counties by ripping open the largest open pit mine in the planet looking to make some more $ millions from iron ore extraction (eventually), expressing no concerns that his proposed open pit mine would release into the pristine environment various toxic amounts of mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, and simply ignoring what looks bad such as the release of sulfuric acid into area rivers, streams and lakes.
|Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin - Perfect for a
massive open pit iron ore mine, claims Christopher Cline
Political opposition has galvanized against the very idea of disturbing a pristine wilderness, as Cline is now allied now with the Koch brothers. (Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal)
Supported by Scott Walker (and opposed by Walker presumptive Democratic Party opponent, Mary Burke), the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine would toxify the pristine "headwaters of the Bad River, which flows into Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world and by far the cleanest of the Great Lakes. Six miles downstream from the site is the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, whose livelihood is threatened by the mine." (Kaufman, New York Times)
Iron County Wisconsin is a corrupt political jurisdiction, where the rule of law has long been supplanted by political and personal alliances.
Yet, even Iron County touts the grandeur of its natural resources and habitats as a "place of incredible natural beauty. With 300 pristine lakes encompassing 34,000 acres of pure water, the only thing that could make it better is Lake Superior coastline. Good thing Iron County has that, too. Come and enjoy an amazing waterfall, or take a long walk on the beautiful sandy beaches of Saxon Harbor."
Why despoil such an amazing environment: Corruption and convenience, and the sociopathic drive for extraction of natural resources for profit, whatever the consequences of poisoning the surrounding environment and residents.
The CIA has a term for the type of human being who would inflict mass casualties intentionally by injecting toxic agents into populations: Terrorist.
"Terrorists have considered a wide range of toxic chemicals for attacks. Typical plots focus on poisoning foods or spreading the agent on surfaces to poison via skin contact, but some also include broader dissemination techniques," reads a public CIA site dealing with the delivery devices of toxins and other "typical agents ... available to al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups."
Unfortunately, for Americans the extraction industry is not listed as a terrorist organization.
Fortunately for Americans, we still do have the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and a federal court system protecting the habitat and environment of protected species under federal law that Cline would need to navigate before he begins his plan of destruction.
Citizen groups insist their voices are heard before Cline executes his project of terror by extraction.
Wisconsin environmental activist, Frank Koehn, remains optimistic of stopping the would-be terrorist, Cline: "With the mercenaries he hired, Chris Cline shows that he's just another rich guy who'll try to take our resources and pollute our water. It's not the first time this happened, and they've all failed. He will, too." (Pember, Indian Country Today)


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added new listings showing The Bad Plus returning to St. Louis next year to perform Wednesday, January 6 through Saturday, January 9 at Jazz at the Bistro.
If said listings are accurate, 2016 then would be be the tenth consecutive year that The Bad Plus (pictured) will serve as the first touring act of the calendar year to headline at the Bistro.
The trio's recent endeavors have included a series of live performances with saxophonists Tim Berne and Sam Newsome and trumpeter Ron Miles, interpreting the music from Ornette Coleman's 1972 album Science Fiction; working on an upcoming album with saxophonist Joshua Redman that's set to come out in May; and continuing to perform live dates in support of their most recent album, 2014's Inevitable Western.
As always, we remind you, dear reader, that listings on Pollstar should not be considered final until announced by the presenter or venue. But given that this particular booking is something of a tradition now, and considering Pollstar's near-spotless record of accuracy in such things, this one seems like a lock. In any event, Jazz St. Louis usually announces their upcoming season sometime in May, and whenever that announcement occurs, StLJN will have the details for you right here.
Coming to Detroit
3 hours ago


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Of the eighty or so cars displayed for the first time at the Paris Show, at least thirty of them have been developed with lower fuel consumption and emissions in mind. From city cars, to futuristic concepts and useful family cars to sports saloons, hybrid luxury cars and even supercars, the industry's need to drastically reduce CO2 was tangible. Now that the media days are over and the doors are open to the public it's time to round-up what's what in green terms in Paris.
Regardless of fancy new technology, if you want to save money on fuel and reduce your car's effect on the environment then the most effective step you can take is to downsize. That word was being bandied around with aplomb in the Paris show halls with the launch of a raft of all-new superminis making the trade-in less of a painful experience. Honda's new Jazz for instance actually compares very well to cars from the class above in terms of space and practicality, while Mitsubishi's facelifted Colt and the compact Suzuki Alto/Nissan Pixo twins are also worthy small cars. It's the cute new Ford Ka and Toyota's absolutely tiny iQ that stole the headlines though, and for good reason. These are clever new city cars that appeal on an emotional level too.
Hybrid power
Hybrids are huge news in the USA right now, with nearly 350,000 sold in the last 12 months and even more on the cards for this year. European sales of hybrid vehicles are more modest, but with several new models hitting the market in the coming years this could set to change. Leading the charge are luxury hybrids. Lexus has had the luxury hybrid market all to itself for a while now, but next year it's predicted that the BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid and the Mercedes-Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID (both making their world debut in Paris) will go on sale, utilising small electric motors to assist performance and enhance overall efficiency. Honda also has big plans for its hybrid technology and the Insight 'concept' revealed in Paris previews a five-door model set to hit Honda dealers in 2009, priced to undercut Toyota's Prius. Kia also revealed hybrid versions of its cee'd hatch and the new Soul 'urban crossover'. Though not technically classed a hybrid, the Chevrolet's new electric Volt was also on hand, utilising a petrol engine as a generator of electricity to charge the batteries.
Blue is the new green
The number of 'green' brands on offer increased further in Paris. We're already used to VW's BlueMotion name, which adorned an impressive version of the new Golf in Paris that emits just 99g/km of CO2. Equally remarkable is the Passat BlueMotion II, which, though only a 'concept' at this stage, emits just 109g/km. Audi trumped VW's efforts with the 105g/km A4 TDI concept e. We expect to see production versions of all of these cars within a few months.
Mitsubishi's new green brand is called Clear Tec, a name that will be used initially on the new Colt and presumably then rolled out across the range. Vauxhall/Opel unveiled an ecoFLEX version of the stylish Insignia with claims of CO2 emissions of 'less than 140g/km', while SEAT's sharp new Ibiza range gained an Ecomotive model in Paris. Other names to watch out for include Skoda Greenline, Hyundai i-Blue, Mercedes BlueTec and AdBlue and the Volvo DRIVe.
As with all good motorshows, Paris was chock full of new concept cars. Each of the French manufacturers had two on their massive stands and virtually all of the show cars had a green theme, regardless of the type of car they were. The PSA Group, comprising of Peugeot and Citroen, clearly has a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain up its sleeves, as several of its concepts featured the new HYmotion technology. Of note were the (almost production ready) Peugeot Prologue crossover and the stunning RC HYmotion4 four-door 'coupé'. Citroen proffered the promising Hypnos hybrid concept, while also showing a World Rally Car utilising the new four-wheel drive hybrid system.
Renault also previewed a new mild hybrid system in its plain weird Ondelios concept, though the ZE (zero emissions) vehicle could actually see the light of day, as it is based on the electric vehicle technology under development by the Renault-Nissan alliance and the body of Renault's funky new Kangoo be bop. Nissan's equivalent was the curvaceous Nuvu concept car, which featured the company's new electric powertrain that will go on sale in another car within the next couple of years.
That's how long we have to wait for Audi to get its cool new A1 to market too, though we're not convinced that the hybrid technology gracing the car on show in Paris will make it to the showroom that quickly. Sadly, the same can be said for Mazda's Kiyora and Saab's sharp-dressed 9-X Air BioHybrid.
Not the usual suspects
Rounding up the green theme in Paris were claims from all sides that the latest models are greener and more efficient than outgoing cars, with no compromise on performance. That in itself is nothing new, but when such claims are being applied to supercars and high-performance sports saloons, we tend to sit up and take notice. Audi's S4 is one case in point, the all-new car featuring a supercharged V6 in place of its predecessor's V8, resulting in even higher performance, though a significant reduction in fuel consumption and emissions. Even Ferrari made mention of its new California's fuel economy. That's a sign of the times.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Paris reveals host of new green cars
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The Pearl
In chapter six why does kino begin to act and feel like as he protects his family?
In Chapter six of the Pearl by John Steinbeck.
In Chapter six of the Pearl by John Steinbeck.
The family is being tracked as it travels in order to sell the pearl and get medical help for Coyotito. Kino realizes that he must protect his family from those who track them, but he still places the pearl and what the pearl can afford them as his prioroty. In the end, he realizes the pearl has no value........ its v value was lost with the life of his son.
Steinbeck explicitly compares Kino and Juana to animals being chased by hunters. Like animals, the pair attempts to escape their pursuers by seeking out a higher elevation. What puts Kino and Juana in close proximity to the trackers is the need to be near water, a need common to all mammals. Furthermore, Kino finds himself forced to strip off his clothes, distinctive symbols of his humanity, in order to surprise his pursuers. In reverting to this animalistic strategy, Kino inadvertently transforms his own son into an animal, leading to Coyotito's death by an indiscriminate gunshot on the part of the trackers, who mistake the baby's cry for that of a coyote. Coyotito's name, which literally means "little coyote" in Spanish, foreshadows this transformation throughout the novella.


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Horseradish Sauce
This is an attractive accompaniment to an elegant roast beef dinner.
Also good with other meats and poultry.
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup prepared horseradish
Sort the cranberries, discarding any soft ones. Finely chop them and
put into a small saucepan with the sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring
constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is fully blended,
about 2 minutes. It does not need to cook. Set aside to cool. Stir in
the horseradish and serve.


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Thursday, July 14, 2011
Fave New Iphone Apps
We take pictures, lots and lots of pictures and we use many tools to get them. Extreme close-ups of delicious food, each glistening morsel inspiring hunger pains that will haunt you. Pictures of beautiful, handsome people with smiling faces, having fun at food and social events. Pictures of interesting architecture in the places we visit.
One of the tools we use is the iphone and whenever two or three are gathered with them the discussion inevitably leads to our favorite new apps. I am well-known for discovering some of the best photographic apps out there so I thought I'd share some of them with all our readers. These two are free, easy-to-use and the most very popular of those I have recently shared.
Now you, too, can look like a super model. You may have noticed that some of our candid portraits look a little more movie-starish than others. That's due to the app called morebeauté. This app airbrushes your iphone pics. Yes! In a swipe that lasts seconds you can eliminate all those flaws and blemishes. Try it out. No one I have told about this has not loved it.
For sweeping panoramic scenes there is the photosynth app. The banner photo at the top of our blog with an expansive view of the Charles River and Boston skyline was taken with this app. Simply point and click while moving the iphone from side to side and the app "stitches" the pics together for a stunning panoramic view. In my experience, it works best when there are no moving objects in the frame. It will work well for large group shots as long as the people remain relatively still.
So there you go. Two great, new, free apps that will make your iphone pics even cooler. Have a new app you like? Please share. We are always looking.
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Templemore Gardens_Queen Bedroom
Templemore Gardens_Queen Bedroom
Templemore Gardens is centrally located in Perth, Western Australia, in a quiet neighbourhood.
The property is 11.2 kms or 13 mins drive to Perth City. There is easy access to the City via public transport. You can either catch the bus to the Canning Bridge train station or cycle there. From Canning Bridge it is 2 quick stops to the Perth Underground station. If you are new to Perth and work at the City, the location would be good for your short term stay whilst you look for rental or permanent housing.
It is close by to amenities like the Waterford Shopping Centre, golf courses, George Burnett Leisure Centre, and Curtin University. The property is walking distance to bus stops to the Canning Bridge train station, Curtin University, Perth City and large shopping centres (Garden City and Westfield Carousel).
The property is easily assessable to nearby golf courses like Collier Park Golf Course (27 holes), Royal Perth Golf Course, and, Point Walter Public Golf Course, and Glenn Iris Country Club. See other golf course (EMAIL HIDDEN)
The surrounding area is close to natural reserve and foot paths for a relaxing jog, walk or cycle. There are ponds with ducks to admire along the way. Bicycles can be hired for a minimal fee.
The room offered is spacious, with a Queen size bed, office study desk, cupboards, chest of drawers, with shared bathroom and toilet facilities. Minimum stay 2 nights.
Kitchenette facilities to make coffee/tea and to warm up quick meals using the microwave and oven facilities are offered.
Internet access is provided for emails and general surfing but not for downloading music or movies.
The house is equipped with modern amenities – washing machine, clothes dryer, fridge and room for garaging 2 extra cars.
Pick up/drop off to and from the airport is possible if pre-arranged, at additional cost.
There are no pets, smoking is not allowed in the house but permitted outside at the garden.
Look forwarding to hearing from you :)
NOTE: Currently, we have 2 bedrooms listed on airbnb, please look at the other listing if this room isn't available for your dates.
Instant booking activated. Please furnish some details about yourself/your companions & the nature of your visit.


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Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first AL.com user to add photos or videos of Gulf Shores Bp Automotive
This is a quality repair shop with very experienced staff. T hey do a great job and i would recomend them to anyone. They also get the job d...
Gulf Shores Bp can be found at Gulf Shores Pky 1901. The following is offered: Car Parts. The entry is present with us since Sep 8, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Gulf Shores there are 3 other Car Parts. An overview can be found here.
Gulf Shores B P Inc was founded in 1987, and is located at 1901 Gulf Shores Pkwy in Gulf Shores. Additional information is available at www.attorneystitleinc.com or by contacting Daniel Reeves at (251) 968-7456.


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Last weekend Snabby and I took a little break and went to Astoria for some much needed R&R. Although overall the weather was overcast and drizzly, we mostly just wanted to cozy up and not do much, so that worked out perfectly. We had a great time and discovered some new restaurants in the process! We stayed at our favorite place, Hotel Elliott because we love the beds (of course!) and we can just park the car and walk to everything downtown. Our first little excursion was out to Drina Daisey, a new Bosnian restaurant. We had an EXCELLENT wine which even I drank more than one glass of...a huge free hor d'oevres plate with sausage, smoked beef, grilled peppers and a spread made of roasted peppers and eggplant, a HUGE pre-salad with a wonderful light oil & lemon dressing...HUGE entrees (beefstuffed cabbage for me and beef stew for Snabby). I finished up with homemade Baklava. Yum!
Godfather's Books
We also visited our favorite bookstore, a real hippie place with funky used books and VERY lively strange patrons. Evidently they like sitting and talking for hours, don't need to work (several obviously homeless people hung out there), and since they are often over the age of 50 - don't meet the "young, hip & goodlooking" criteria for the more expensive bars.
We did decide to take a little road trip and check out Fort Stevens for lunch on Sunday. We took the leftovers from Drina's for our repast (there was ALOT of food!) and headed out, hoping to sit on the beach near the Peter Iredale...well we missed that turn off and ended up out on the spit. We did not go down actually on the beach as the tide was so high there was barely any walking space. No worries though we just decided to eat on the grass at top of the hill overlooking the ocean. We listened to the waves and watched the birds...
Fort Stevens Pacific Ocean
The sun broke through for a little bit and we even got a little warmth from the cold wind that was blowing. There were a few people here and there...but mostly we were quite alone and thoroughly enjoying ourselves in nature! I forgot to say both of our entrees included lots of beautifully cut fresh fruit and pickled vegetables. I so enjoyed eating all the fruit after finishing up my beefy cabbage! Here's a picture of Snabby looking north, (well he's looking south..but you know what I mean!).
Pacific Ocean Feb 2010
Here's another picture of me taken facing east. We are still on top of the hill at the beach. You can see the Young's Bay in the background and the low mountains that are south of Astoria. On the way back down the hill we saw where deer had passed over the trail.... Also we were able to get in for "free" as one of Snabby's Christmas gifts was a 2 year Oregon State Park pass!
Ladybug Feb 2010 Fort Stevens
We did some more shopping (more about that and some other interesting local lore coming soon on Hypatia's website)... and made another fun discovery of the Fort George Brewery. It was as comfortable as a McMenamin's and had very good food for reasonable prices. (The same cannot be said of some of the other more tourist trafficked haunts like The Supper Club [used to be The Schooner] or the Silver Salmon). It also has a breakfast/daytime cafe in the other part of the building. We are really glad we discovered this place too. It used to be a car repair factory as late as 1998 or so....
Finally I will leave you with a picture of our wonderful bed at the Hotel Elliott..and the elegant red glass lamps...
Wonderful Beds!


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Dear friends of Avolon,
We would like to draw your attention for a spectacular, great benefit concert given by the Dutch choir GRENZENLOOS. The concert will take place on the 21 of April 2012 at 21:00h in the Aula de Cultura of Hondon de las Nieves. Entry price just 3 Euros.
Grenzenloos donates all the benefits to Avolon. Avolon as you know supports the poorest of the village and every Wednesday and Saturday morning they sell second hand clothes and bric-a-brac in their charity shop in the market hall. The food and money collected will be given to the ones in need.
On Saturday morning 11 o'cl. 21st of April Grenzenloos will give a promotion concert in the plaza Mayor of Hondon de las Nieves!
from Frans and Berta
More info about Avolon:
> http://avolon-ayudavoluntaria.blogspot.com/
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inp3offka54


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Many brides and grooms have wedding websites–in this day and age, it's a great way to get guests excited about your wedding, as well as get out vital information to your wedding party, families, and friends that you wouldn't otherwise want to include in an invitation suite. Plus, it's much more exciting than just sending out a regular ol' email!
There are many companies through which you can set up a wedding website. Some are free, some are free for awhile and some are pay sites. Some of the free sites are:
- http://www.momentville.com
- http://www.ewedding.com
- http://www.sharedweddings.com
- http://www.weddingannouncer.com
- http://www.bridalfever.com
- http://www.theweddingvendor.com
- http://www.mywedding.com
And some of the pay sites are:
- http://www.wedshare.com
- http://www.weddingtracker.com
- http://www.weddingwindow.com
- http://www.wedorama.com
- http://www.mywedding.com
- http://www.weddingwire.com
- http://www.wedquarters.com
- http://www.ourweddingday.com
- http://www.wedsimple.com/
(Many thanks to weddingbee.com for this list of links)
When Mr. Groomy and I got engaged, one of the first things we I did was create our wedding website. We decided to go with ewedding.com on the basis of recommendation from a friend (Hi, RhodeyGirl!). I loved their templates, and we could get fairly customizable on the page contents. Since our engagement is so long, I decided right away to pay for our own domain, which will last us until after the wedding. Once the logistics were set, I got to creating!
I made our site password protected, because I wanted our friends and family to be able to access it but I didn't want to give the rest of the internet free reign. When you type in our domain (for example's sake, we'll say http://littlemisswpandgroomy.com), guests see this:
In case you can't tell, it's a screen where our guests are prompted for our password. Once the password is entered, they are redirected to a little introduction page (complete with music and moving graphics of our names that says "The Wedding Celebration of Little Miss WP and Mr. Groomy"). After that, they see this:
My apologies for the blur…I am trying to keep Mr. Groomy fairly anonymous for now.
We did an intro page welcoming our friends and family to the site. It also points out things to check out on the site, like our "request a song" feature, schedule of events, and things to do and see in the area. Then, we did individual pages for each of those things, as well as a contact us page, a guest book page, and an about us page, which we did as a question and answer, with our names, loves (each other, of course!), likes, dislikes, and interesting facts.
Regardless of whether you decide to pay for a site and your own domain or create a free website, there are a couple of things to remember:
- Take into account your privacy. It's one thing to semi-anonymously blog your wedding, but be careful with your website, where you will most likely be including personal details about yourself, your families, and your wedding party.
- Make the site informative for your guests, but especially focus on those out-of-towners who might not have visited your city before. Include not only information about your wedding events, but also things to do and see in the area.
- Include your accommodation information if you are doing room blocks, and if you aren't, include info on area hotels so that guests can find their own accommodations.
- Have fun with it! Update often and make the site interactive…encourage guests to sign the guestbook, request songs for your reception, or leave bits of advice for you. The possibilities are endless!
I'll be showing you more of our wedding website as we get closer to our nuptials. Do you have a wedding website? What are your tips and tricks?


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Snooki's Signature Pouf Takes Over The Vera Wang Runway!
Vera Wang must love Snooki as much as we do! All her models were sporting her kooky pouf!
We expected to see more of the Jersey Shore cast in the front row this New York Fashion Week, but we never expected to see them on the runway! Vera Wang complemented her gorgeous Fall 2010 collection on Feb. 16 with the ultimate juxtaposition – Snooki poufs! I thought poufs were relegated to sweaty nights at Karma replete with fist pumps and cartwheels. I didn't think they went with chiffon and fabulous jeweled necklaces. But, Vera sure thinks they do. Maybe it's just a coincidence that she opted for this 'do but in our heads, we like to think that no one is immune to the charms of the Jersey Shore, not even Vera. – Marta Topran


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Two free playgroups, sponsored by ECHN's Vernon Family Resource Center will begin in September.
Parent/Child Play and Learn Together
This educational playgroup is for children ages two to five years old. Learning activities are provided for parents and children to do together. They include art projects, story time, singing and educational toys. A snack is included. Registration entitles participants to a free Ages and Stages developmental screening and a personal visit with a certified Parent Educator. Parents will receive weekly parent resources.


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Denver Hub, black holes, and me
I gave my talk "Seven Ways a Black Hole Can Kill You" last week at Fiske Planetarium, and a reporter, Kevin Villegas, from the Denver Hub was there. He wrote an article about the talk, me, and the blog for his paper. It almost makes me seem respectable. Don't be fooled.


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|Image source
Praying after Orlando
Lord, do you weep
when you see we've not learned to solve our problems
with words, not weapons,
with wisdom, not war?
Lord, do you weep
when you see how we've cheapened life
with our selfishness, pride and arrogance?
with our violence and reckless strength?
Lord, do you weep
when you see what we say and do
in the name of faith and belief
to our neighbor, near and far?
Lord, do you weep
when we label and judge,
when we hate those you love
and yet claim a place in your heart?
Lord, do you weep
when, like Cain of old,
we murder our brothers and sisters,
their blood on our guilty hands?
Lord, do you weep
when you see what we've done to creation?
Do your tears fall upon the waste we've made
of your precious, natural gifts?
Lord, do you weep
when you see the poor suffer
while the rich grow richer
and the gap between them grows so wide?
Lord, do you weep
when you find your children
lost in a haze of fantasy,
foolishness and folly?
Lord, do you weep
when we turn away
from your word and your truth,
from your grace and your gospel?
We weep too, Lord
at least on those days
when we see through your eyes
what we've made of the world and ourselves...
We weep too, Lord,
when we see the work of our hands
or what comes when we fail
to work with the help you give us...
Let your tears fall upon us, Lord:
cleanse our souls with your grace,
slake out thirst for mercy
and flood out hearts with your love...
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For the first time in I don't know how long.. I have nothing to say.
Ok, actually I think I have a LOT to say, but really, why? What purpose does it serve to say it? I have court tomorrow. Again. I am sooooo over this bullshit. I am also tired of being a pushover and agreeing to shit I shouldn't agree to. Like the last time. I promised myself, DO NOT agree to anything. And stupid me did the opposite. I'm actually getting along with the donor lately, but I still have to tell myself DO NOT AGREE TO ANYTHING this time. And stick to it. Dano wants to talk to the Mediator again. She doesn't want more visitation or anything, actually she wants less. So that's what I'll be telling them tomorrow. I will NOT agree to more visitation for her, since that's not what SHE wants. I will repeat all this shit over and over and OVER in my head until court is over tomorrow. I hate court. LE SIGH.


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PRISM is the oldest literary magazine in western Canada. Here is a little of its history.
PRISM was established in 1959 as a journal of Canadian writing. PRISM was first born of a group of Vancouver writers, based out of UBC's Creative Writing department. At the time, it was the only Canadian literary magazine west of Toronto. Under its first editor, Jan de Bruyn, the magazine published new writers at the time such as Margaret Laurence, Alden Nowlan and George Bowering.
In 1964, then editor Earle Birney expanded PRISM's scope to include international authors, allowing the magazine to participate in the global literary community. In 1977, under the direction of George McWhirter, PRISM became a student-run publication. As emerging writers themselves, the graduate students of UBC Creative Writing bring fresh perspectives on the magazine's editorial approach and aesthetic.
PRISM takes pride in the diversity of our content and in our international readership. PRISM has published award-winning Canadian writers, such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Irving Layton, Evelyn Lau, and Robert Kroetsch; prominent international authors, such as Ted Hughes, Jorge Luis Borges, and Tennessee Williams; and the Nobel Prize winners Salvador Quasimodo, Vicente Aleixandre, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Seamus Heaney. PRISM has also published and continues to publish many emerging writers from around the world. The work of the authors published in PRISM reach an audience of readers in over 40 nations across the world.
PRISM international publishes award-winning literature by award-winning authors. Some of the pieces featured in PRISM have been nominated for the Western Magazine Awards and the National Magazine Awards, while other pieces have been included in the Journey Prize Stories, Best American Essays and Best American Stories anthologies. Previous contributors have gone on to receive such honours as the Alberta Literary Award and the Writer's Trust of Canada / McClelland & Steward Journey Prize.
Let's not forget the editors. Aside from the founding editors mentioned above, PRISM international has been managed and edited by such Canadian novelists, poets and acclaimed authors as Jacob Zilber, Andreas Schroeder, Bill Gaston, Zsuzsi Gartner, Miranda Pearson, Steven Galloway, Annabel Lyon, Chris Labonte, Jennica Harper, Billeh Nickerson, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Amber Dawn, and Sheryda Warrener, while our editorial board has included Lee Henderson, Nancy Lee, and Madeliene Thien—a veritable Who's Who List of contemporary Canadian writers.
To see the full list of previous PRISM editors, download the PDF or Word document below.
List of Previous Prism Editors (Word)
List of Previous Prism Editors (PDF)


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Westerdawg and I were discussing the NCAA committee on infractions that will (or already have) heard from UGA about their findings and plan. Quite the all star list:
John S. Black, Polsinelli Shughart
Roscoe Howard, Andrews Kurth LLP
Gregory Sankey, SEC
Britton Banowsky, Conference-USA
Melissa L. Conboy, Notre Dame
James O'Fallon, Oregon
Rodney Uphoff, Missouri
Greg Christopher, Bowling Green
Eleanor W. Myers, Temple
Christopher Griffin, Foley & Lardner
Michael Adams, Georgia
Norman Bay, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Lloyd Carr, Michigan
Carol Cartwright
Bobby Cremins
Thomas Hill, Iowa State
Joel Maturi, Minnesota
Sankar Suryanaryan, Princeton
Greg Sankey is the COO of the SEC and someone I would think is a likely candidate to replace Mike Slive. Note that Mike Adams and Bobby Cremins are on the list. You have to think Mike Adams recuses himself, or our punishment might end up being all noon kickoffs for two years.
October 15, 2014
As the Gurley world turns
Posted by Tyler Dawgden at Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Labels: ncaa


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You know that one, right? The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad kind? Mine started off like that.
BUT...I was determined that the morning need not set the tone for the whole rest of the day.
I didn't sleep last night. No reason---just because I woke wide awake at 3:00 and couldn't go back to sleep. I finally got up and ate some cereal. I could have washed the dishes or balanced the checkbook or any number of things at that hour I was so awake. But I chose to go back to bed. I finally, finally drifted off to sleep a few minutes before husband's alarm went off. Sigh.
I weighed all the courses of action I could take. Get up and make his coffee and breakfast and lunch like usual? (He was getting up an hour earlier than he usually does ON TOP of losing that hour of sleep this weekend). Or lay here and try to get back to sleep? Hmm. He's getting up early. He can make the coffee and grab some toast. I think he has enough cash in his wallet for lunch.
I guess you know what I chose. But it was 7:00 before I went back to sleep. And then I woke up at 8:30. (which, really, is 7:30--you know?) Great start to the day. The girls got up before me and were playing on the Wii. The kitchen was a mess and I didn't know what we had for breakfast.
(On a side note, we cleaned house this weekend, but the kitchen didn't seem to make the cut.)
So I sent them to get dressed and I took a shower. Now it was 9:30. I'll make pancakes. Shoot. No baking powder. I have a tiny bit of "just add water" mix they can have and I'll find something else. Not enough. Oh look! Just enough Bisquick! Add milk. Add eggs. Huh? Oh man. Little bugs in the mix. I hate those little things. Wonder what else they are in?
So, I had to pay for breakfast while we ran our errands. Not what we needed to do. But I'm still determined to make this day good.
Errands are run. We have lunch and supper for today and breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. Picked up medicine for S. Back home. It's 11:15. There is still time for this day to turn around.
After lunch we will do school. We will START with Bible. There hasn't been enough Bible around here lately. Then we will clean the kitchen. And update that checkbook. And do some chores around the house. I will have the girls sweep off the back porch and tidy up before Daddy gets home. We will watch a show together tonight and maybe eat popcorn.
Just because the morning started off poorly doesn't mean the day is going to go downhill. I mean, sometimes it does. But today is NOT one of those days.
Because I say so.
And this picture makes me happy. Little Bit, nearly 2 years ago, helping Daddy in his wood shop. See all her Handy Manny tools in her tool belt. Cutie.


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Sky News is opening a new US West Coast bureau in Los Angeles next month.
The new office is being set up by US correspondent Greg Milam, who is moving from his current base in Washington DC but will continue to cover stories across the US.
Amanda Walker, formerly Russia correspondent, has taken on the role of US correspondent, replacing Milam and joining Dominic Waghorn in Washington DC.
Last year Walker covered the Russian Presidential election, the trial and imprisonment of punk band Pussy Riot and the flash floods which killed 150 people in the south of the country.
Walker also reported on Superstorm Sandy and the US elections in Florida. She will be replaced as Russia correspondent by Katie Stallard, who leaves her current role as media and technology correspondent in London
Stallard, who will now be based in Moscow, is to be replaced by news correspondent Niall Paterson.
Sky News head of international Sarah Whitehead said: "I'm excited at the prospect of having four correspondents covering the US, coast to coast.
"Having a presence on the West Coast will enable us to tell stories from across America with all time zones covered."
Milam moves to LA in February.


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September 27, 2017 03:57 PM
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Supreme Court says part of a statute that paves a way for people who are wrongfully convicted to seek compensation is unconstitutional.
But the justices fixed the law in a way that now makes those who had their convictions reversed or vacated ineligible to seek payment.
Wednesday's ruling comes in the case of Danna Rochelle Back, whose second-degree manslaughter conviction was previously reversed. Back sought compensation for her time in prison, but the statute said she also needed prosecutors to dismiss her case.
The Supreme Court says that requiring prosecutorial dismissal violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. The majority severed that from the statute, along with language that affects people like Back - making her ineligible.
State Rep. John Lesch, who sponsored the legislation, says he believes the statute can be fixed.
(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Created: September 27, 2017 03:57 PM
(Copyright 2017 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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Relationship Details
Celebrity Biographies
Angela Simmons dated Rob Kardashian in the past, but they broke up on March 13, 2011. Angela Simmons dated Rob Kardashian for 4.7 months. Angela Simmons is currently available.
Business - Entrepreneur
Why Famous: Daughter of Rev. Run/Daddy's Girls, reality show
Age: 31 (b. 9/18/1986)
Entertainment - TV Personality
Why Famous: Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Age: 31 (b. 3/17/1987)
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|Start Date
|4.7 months
|Broke Up
|4.7 months
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012
President Obama Wins Re-election
I said over a year ago had Mitt Romney gotten the nomination, it would be an Obama win. I still did what I could, but I think it was baked in the cake from the day he got the nomination.
I did stay up to watch President Obama's acceptance speech. LOL. Wow. He and the people who voted for him are delusional, truly delusional if they believe one word of what he said.
Romney gave a classy speech. He is a good man. I just don't happen to agree with him politically. I wish him well with whatever he chooses to do with the rest of his life.
The GOP needs to do some re-examination. The re-examination I am talking about is going to be a little different than many on the far right who think Romney simply lost because he wasn't conservative enough. The demographics in this country have changed. The party needs to show these demographics what they have to offer. Something that some I know resist. It is time to rethink that.
Note, not congratulating The President isn't an oversight.
1 comment:
- net observer said...
Not that my opinion matters in this setting, but I think it's a mistake to focus on demographics. Yes, the changing face of America was one of the factors in Romney's failure last night. But was it the overriding factor? I doubt it.
There's not a sugary way to put this: Today's GOP often evokes disgust in a lot of smart and decent people. But for whatever reason, the GOP, generally speaking, doesn't understand this.
Most Americans cannot casually dismiss the fact that most GOP-ers don't believe that Barack Obama is eligible to be president. Most Americans cannot casually dismiss a thriving cottage industry based around that theory alone. Most people cannot casually dismiss a legendary real estate tycoon championing such a cause.
Throughout the blogosphere, there are right-wingers who are perfectly comfortable labeling Barack Obama "racist" but can't bring themselves to say much about the ugly racial optics in their midst. (Fwiw, I'm glad to know you're not like that, just)
The recent aspersions cast upon now-former GOP rock star Chris Christie are, in one sense, mind-boggling. But when you think about it, it's really par for the course. It's been said that today's Republican party is not your dad's Republican party. But I'm not even sure if it's your big brother's. This sharp turnaround is relatively recent.
You don't have to be African-American, or Latino, or Asian, or Jewish, or female, etc., to be concerned about these matters. This is not, primarily, about demographics. This is about a GOP that far too often comes across as flat-out weird.
- November 7, 2012 at 10:37 PM


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What's Going On Here?
There are SO MANY wonderful book review blogs out there and I can't compete with them, that is for sure. So this is not a book review blog. This is just a way for me to organize what I have read so that I can be better at matching the right book to the right person. The blog title comes from the brilliant mind of the most talented woman who ever lived, Ms. Judy Garland. The full quote is, "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else." That is what I hope to do here and in ever aspect of my life.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Wild and Wonderful and Delightfully Odd!
West of the Moon is unlike anything that I have ever read before and probably will ever read again. It is just lovely and yet it has many a sad and terribly awful parts to the story of Astri, a young Norwegian girl who lives with her evil aunt, wimpy uncle, cousins and little sister, Greta, after being pretty much abandoned by her father. He just up and left Astri and Greta with this toad of a woman and set out for America. This book is just incredible. Incredible. I was also thankful to have the author's note at the end of the book that talked about the "America Fever" that hit Norway, when lots of folks thought that America was the place to be. Once again, here is a remarkable piece of fiction, magical realism, I guess you would call it, that teaches so much. The whole deal is about choices and forgiveness and this book reads like a beautiful, lovely sermon. Now I know that word has negative connotations, but for someone who preaches, I don't mean it in any negative way at all! This book is a thing of beauty. Even though it has darkness in it, because that's life here on this side of the Jordan right? The beauty with the ugly.
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Medical Facilities of America has appointed Lynn O. Lohrmann administrator of the newly constructed Regency Health Care Center in Grafton. Lohrmann has been in the health care field for 10 years, most recently as administrator of health care services for Westminster-Canterbury in Virginia Beach.
Sandra A. Lawton has joined Barker Campbell & Farley Advertising and Public Relations in Virginia Beach as a copywriter. Lawton's credits include a Finalist Award from the International Radio Festival of New York. She has also received over 50 regional creative awards including three Best of Shows from Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Prior to joining Barker Campbell & Farley, she served as a copywriter with Rockett, Burkhead and Lewis Advertising, and Howard, Merrell & Partners, both in Raleigh, N.C.


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To answer your question Jill the lady is from a Graphic 45 paper
As promised I have a few spellbinder samples from a demo I did at Crafts 4 U 2 Do, St Helens last week. Greetings ladies - it was absolutely lovely to meet you all and get to know ALL about you and your crafting habits. I hope to get to meet you all again.
I used American Crafts card and Dark Room Door Stamps - these are a bit yummy as they are presented in a silver tin shouting to altered.


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Tuesday, 23 March 2010
BUPA Manchester 10km Run - spaces available
Who wants to join Britains "Premier 10km running event"?
Live Life Then Give Life have been lucky enough to secure some places for runners this year and well, it's now over to you to get running!!
The event takes place on Sunday the 16th of May and as usual, it's only 10km long and involves pounding the streets of Manchester! For more details about the run, have a look at the BUPA site
The fantastic "Team Ethan" are running again this year, in memory of Mr Brave, Ethan Collins. There's about 9 of them, so if you're on your own and want a running partner...why not join up with them? Have a look at their Just Giving page if you want to see what they're up to, or, if you want to make a donation through them.
We currently have about 5 places left and they're available on a first come first served basis. If you want to know more or want to register for a place, please email email@example.com as soon as possible!
We hope to see you out there pounding the streets soon!
All the best
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Update on Rachael
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
The greatest gift of all.
We won't know anything more till tomorrow and the first few days are critical; please keep her in your thoughts.
Of course most importantly, please think about the wonderful family who said yes, and their loved one who signed the Organ Donor Register.
A farewell
Jen here, writing a very emotional blog. I have, with regret, decided to step down as trustee from the board of Live Life then Give Life to focus on work and family commitments. I'm absolutely gutted to go as LLTGL has been such a hugely enjoyable, challenging and rewarding part of my life for the last 3 years.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Our utterly amazing Advocates: 5
Audrey has Cystic Fibrosis, but is part of the transplant community for a different reason. In 2002, Audrey was diagnosed with Liver Cancer, at the same time as she discovered she was pregnant.
Things were very uncertain for the family but thanks to pioneering surgery, a course of chemotherapy and the wonderful generosity of an organ donor, Audrey and her gorgeous little boy are both here, eight years on.
Audrey is always keen to get involved and to support other members of the transplant community. From giving talks in front of spellbound audiences at events, taking part in fundraising events, manning stalls and talking to the public, and appearing in her local newspaper raising awareness, Audrey does everything with a smile. She also works closely with the transplant team at Addenbrookes, helping them with publicity and press-related requests.
Recently Audrey braved the biting wind to take part in the Cambridge plinth project, which you can read more about here.
It's never too much trouble for Audrey to come along to a LLTGL event and sometimes she brings her gorgeous little boy, who wouldn't have a mummy if it wasn't for Organ Donation. Thank you Audrey, for your energy and your enthusiasm. You can read more about Audrey on her biography page, which can be found here.
Monday, 8 March 2010
Please....Live Life Then Give Life.
Rachael Wakefield on BBC North West Tonight from Live Life Then Give Life on Vimeo.
Despite being desperately ill and struggling for each breath, Rachael managed to record this piece for her local BBC News.
Please pass this link on, and if you've been inspired by Rachael's determination to keep fighting, click here to sign the Organ Donor Register.
Thank you.
Our thanks to BBC Northwest for allowing us to use this clip.
Robyn's Rainbows
"Thank you so so much for the lovely surprise... it really did make my day and put a smile on my face and tears to my eyes."
"She was really thankful for her balloons. She said it helped lift her when she most needed it."
"You should have seen their faces when the balloons popped up. Believe it or not we still have the balloons, they are still playing with them although they are trailing the floor now!"
These are just some of the reasons the Robyn's Rainbows Initiative exists. The project aims to support members of the transplant community who are struggling more than usual, by sending a balloon in a box. The balloon is a little beacon of hope, signifying that something better may be around the corner...and hopefully, brings a smile to the recipient's face.
You can find out more about the project and how to nominate someone by clicking here. To donate towards the project, visit www.justgiving.com/robynsrainbows.


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Connectria To Immediately Provide Domino Disaster Recovery Hosting Service for Businesses Impacted by Hurricane Katrina
ST. LOUIS, MO (September 1, 2005) - Connectria Corporation today announced the availability of a Domino disaster recovery hosting service.
Any organization whose Lotus Notes e-mail systems were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina may receive immediate assistance to bring them online again. Connectria will offer a Domino 7 server with Domino Web Access (DWA) 7 and Sametime 7 integration for chat services for business affected by this natural disaster. Businesses will be able to point existing mail records to Connectria's disaster recovery servers to send and receive email until their own enterprises are available again. Companies needing to restore their Lotus Notes email should contact Connectria at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 1-800-781-7820.
"Our heart goes out to the people of New Orleans and other gulf coast communities devastated by this deadly storm. It will be important for businesses to have email access as they seek to resume operations as well as communicate with employees and customers via email. We hope we can bring some relief to the many businesses impacted by this natural disaster that currently have no way to access to their Lotus Notes email servers." said Richard Waidmann, CEO of Connectria.
About Connectria
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If you're interested in learning more about Connectria or to Request a Quote on any of our services, please contact us.


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Milne Bay - Papua New Guinea
At the time of the Japanese amphibious landing two squadrons of Kittyhawk fighters (No. 75 and No. 76 squadrons RAAF) worked from Gurney Field or No. 1 strip. Two infantry brigades one militia (25th battalion and 61st battalion) and the other AIF (2/12 th AIF) were grouped together under Major General Cyril Clowes and were known as "Milne Force".
The Japanese landed 2,000 marines to the east of the allies' position over 11 kilometres from their intended target with the support of two light tanks on the 25 August 1942. On night of 27-28 August they reached No. 3 Strip eastern edge. A Japanese warship on the 29 August dropped another 800 marines and shelled an area between No.1 and No.3 Strip before the main battle at 3 am on the 31 August. The militia battalions and the American 41st Engineer Regiment countered three frenzied Japanese charges over open ground; the Japanese withdrew before dawn with heavy losses.
At 9am Major General Clowes launched a counter offensive by sending the AIF after a retreating enemy, strong resistance by the Japanese was encounter from rearguard actions. On the 4 September this had covered ten kilometres with increasing resistance. On 6 September the 2/9 th Battalion occupied the enemy's main base. The Japanese evacuated only 1,318 marines by naval vessel. Milne Bay battle was a relative small scale battle but it became a vital piece in history as the first defeat of the invincible Japanese in the Pacific. This assisted moral and dispelled the myths surrounding the Japanese in the Second World War.
Did you know that Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975; it was an Australian Territory from 1906 which is why the militia battalions were employed there in the war.
Source, The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles, Chris Coulthard- Clark
Media releases
8 May 2018Adelaide to host Chief of Army Land Forces Seminar - 2018 14 March 2018Army's next armoured fighting vehicle announced 28 October 2017Army Delivers Final Component of Plan Beersheba 25 July 2017Chief of Army History Conference 19-20 Oct 24 July 2017CA interviewed about domestic violence in Army


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Little over a year ago I thought it'd be a good idea to quit my stable, 40-hour-a-week job to make by childhood wish come true and start making violent video games for a living. The past year has been a rollercoster with lots of successes, failures and lessons learnt. I've been doing some stocktaking, trying to figure out what I've learnt and I've come up with a list of things that I wish I knew two years ago, before I started on all this. I hope this can help anyone else starting out on this silly venture of making games...
1. Don't fall in love with your game
When I was starting out on trying to become an indie developer, I'd made one or two small projects, and I asked some of my friends to play them to test and get some feedback. I got annoyed with my friends when they weren't that interested in playing my games. But really, it wasn't their fault, it was my fault for making shitty games. The first thing to take away here is that you shouldn't be making shitty games. The second thing is that is is actually quite hard to know when the game your are working on is shitty. I thought my early games were pretty cool, looking back now, I am embarrassed at how bad they were.
|Stick Duel is still fucking legit, tho
When you've been working on a game for a certain amount of time, it's easy to not see any of its faults and start thinking it's the greatest game ever. This is a trap, this is what makes you not be able to throw it away, start anew or iterate quickly. What makes this harder is that very few people are willing to admit that your game is crap, so you have to pick up on cues. I've since resorted to the following trick: I'll ask someone to play my game and I'll do the usual over-the-shoulder peering to see how they experience the first few minutes. Then I'll leave the room for some reason. If I come back in a few minutes and the person is still playing, I'll assume they like the game. If not, they obviously have terrible taste in games and I'll disregard any feedback they gave me. Dicks.
2. Get feedback early, get feedback often
The timing of when you should start asking for feedback can be tricky to get right. The game must be playable, obviously, with some juice added where it's important and some effort made to explain the mechanics in-game. But once the bare bones are there and the core mechanics are exposed and it isn't just falling over at random, you should start trying to get some people to play your game. Join a few forums, become involved in communities and post your game for others to play. Unity webplayer is excellent in this regard, as it lets people play your game as easily as possible.
What works even better is to have people play it while you are watching in person. However, it is crucial that you do not interrupt or give any clues as to how your game works, or you will not learn what is and what isn't being explained in your game and taint their first experience, meaning you will not learn what you need to.
Try to also not have too many people play the same version of your game - it is always important to gauge the first impression your game makes. Having people see your game for the first time in each stage of feedback is important so you can gauge if that improvement you made to the tutorial is panning out.
Try to also not have too many people play the same version of your game - it is always important to gauge the first impression your game makes. Having people see your game for the first time in each stage of feedback is important so you can gauge if that improvement you made to the tutorial is panning out.
3. Tech doesn't really matter
Stop worrying about whether you are using the right tools. Get an engine you are comfortable with, and go with it. If you are required to use a different engine at some stage you will be able to translate over your skills in a short amount of time. If you feel limited by the tech you are using, you are probably not being creative enough.
|Black Annex - made in Q-Basic - the first language I learnt.
In my personal opinion, everyone starting out should be using either Gamemaker or Unity, probably Unity these days, but it really doesn't matter. Also, use an engine, unless you are masochistic or enjoy programming more than creating games - although lots of excellent games are made with small teams and their own engines.
4. Don't work in secret
Early access and open development practices are becoming more and more popular and with good reason - it's simply a much better methodology for developing games. Don't be concerned that people might want to 'steal your ideas', because:
5. Ideas are overrated
I'm not sure whether I've been successfully blocking these people out or whether this has become less prevalent but for the love of god please stop thinking you have an amazing idea. You almost certainly don't have an idea that a hundred other people haven't already had, and even if you did, the idea is worth far less than the execution. Take Narbacular Drop, for example. An excellent, revolutionary idea that won GOTY the world over, but only when it was executed to perfection as Portal. Of course, we all love our own ideas, and those ideas are what get us excited and why we work in game development, but it only has value once it is realized.
6. If you wanna make games, make games (not excuses)
I've heard a few people say that they are interested in making games, when I ask to see what they've made, they'll usually offer an excuse such as they're still forming a team, or they are still reading up, or that it's hard and they don't have time, or whatever. I don't care. I'd already stopped paying attention. This doesn't just apply to games, but if you want to do something, then do it. All the information and tools you could ever need is available for free on the internet. Yes, your first few games will be embarrassingly bad, but that goes for everybody. The only way to get to the stage of making less shitty games is by making those shitty games first. You don't need a team and if you are new to making games you should not be working in a team, anyway.
7. Juice is king
A game is not a game until it has camera shake. I don't care whether you are making a text based depression simulator, add some god damn camera shake. Hearthstone is a card game and it's jucier than most FPS's, which is probably the single biggest reason for its success. Peggle is a game with nothing BUT juice, and look how well that has done. When in doubt, particle effects and camera shake.
|Particles! Explosions! (not pictured: camera shake)
8. Find some cool bros to work with
After you've built up some experience, maybe did a jam or two by yourself, it's definitely worthwhile to find a few people to team up with and do a group project. I'm lucky to be working with some ridiculously talented and driven people and the rate at which I've learnt has skyrocketed. There is also great value in being able to work with a group in person rather than remotely, as ideas can be bounced around far faster than over email or skype.
9. Learn to teach
The art of conveyance is a cornerstone of game design. It is critical to learn how to teach people your game while they are playing, without them realizing that they are taking lessons. Using text to instruct a player anything is a mistake, most people will just blindly ignore text on the screen.
10. Gamejams are great
Something I'm guilty of is not participating in enough jams. Jams are great for trying out that weird idea you aren't certain of, getting something 'finished' after a weekend and getting easy feedback from other participants. It's also great for building up a portfolio, which is by far your most useful asset to get hired.
11. Making Games != Playing Games
Game development is some of the hardest (desk bound) work you can do. There is a very long road between seeing a picture of the game you want to play and realizing it. On top of that, competition in the indie space is hectic and getting tougher every day. Making an average, or even just a good game isn't enough any more, you have to stand out above the crowd and that takes work. If you want to succeed professionally, while still making an interesting game to your own vision, you have to go the extra mile and be prepared to give up sleep/free time/sanity to accomplish your goal. Whether it's worth it or not is up to you - I know it's certainly been the case for me!


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So for today's Friday Five, tell us about five of your favorite places.
1. My corner on the couch when I have time to relax and catch an episode of the Big Bang Theory.
2. Lake Michigan Lake House up in WI when I visit my sister and family. It's wonderful to walk
the beach and be by the water.
3. Switzerland - when we go to visit my side of the family. Always good to back in the town
where Dad grew up and where my Grandma lived. Spent a lot time there and
over the years there's been some changes but it's still a second home.
4. Chicago - where I was born and grew up. My sister still lives there and I love to visit her.
Just hate the traffic!
5. My bed where I drop off exhausted and tired every night! It's been very hectic for me since
Holy Week - baptisms, confirmation classes, meetings, sick folks in the hospital, cleaning
house every other week, prepping for Sunday services & sermons, bringing in a new member.
So, my bed and pillow where I can rest and sleep for another day.
6. Extra - my garden, where I've been playing in the dirt; planting herbs, pulling weeds, putting
in flower seed and fretting over things growing or not growing! There's always weeds
to be pulled! Next up will be putting in the wee tomato plants.


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Outfit One - Top: Primark, Skirt: H&M. Outfit Two - Top: H&M, Skirt: New Look, Outfit Three - Dress: H&M.
Outfit Four - Dress: H&M, Outfit Five - Bandeau Top: New Look, Skirt: Topshop.
Outfit Four - Dress: H&M, Outfit Five - Bandeau Top: New Look, Skirt: Topshop.
Outfit Six - Dress: ASOS.
Well I'm back from Barca, and I thought I would share with you some of my holiday evening outfits! I'm aware these are all very summery looks, and it's not so summery in England right now - but nevertheless, I took the pictures, so I'm going to share them!!
Today I cracked the coat and scarf combo out, I can't believe it's already cold enough to permit that!! Although, I must admit, I am now very excited by the prospect of shopping for my autumn/winter wardrobe. Jumpers, cardigans, boots, jeans, fluffy socks... maybe this cold weather isn't so bad after all?
Anyway, my holiday was blissful and Jack and I really enjoyed having some time to ourselves to switch off (have a look through some of my holiday snaps below)! Unfortunately, we were greeted by some bad news on our return. Some of you may have come across me mentioning my little pet hamster, Mimi in previous posts or on twitter/instagram. Well my little furry baby was a poorly girl, and on the day we arrived home, sadly passed away. Current mood: heart broken. She was my first pet and I was besotted! Nothing will ever fill that gap! RIP Mimi <3


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KUCHING: A proper study to determine the best locations for Automated Enforcement System (AES) cameras must be done soon to prevent traffic chaos.
Wanita PKR vice chief Voon Shiak Ni claimed that AES cameras erected after the Mile 9 traffic light near here had frustrated many motorists due to its 'inappropriate location'.
"The AES camera is not suitable because there are no schools and pedestrians paths in that area," she told a press conference at PKR Stampin office yesterday.
"After the traffic lights there is a four-lane main road and the speed limit will cause massive traffic jams because cars would have to slow down after the traffic lights."
Voon added that the speed limit of 50kmh was "not reasonable for smooth traffic flow."
"We call on the government to make a proper study of the locations and to give priority to areas with schools nearby and accident prone areas," she suggested.
"We feel that more appropriate locations would be along the Kuching-Serian road at Mile 14, Mile 17 near Siburan school, and the accident-prone Mile 24."
Voon also called for a review of the RM300 summon imposed for speeding, adding that not many people could afford the amount.
She was also anxious to know if considerations were given to those in an emergency.
"Road improvements and proper road maintenance are alternative ways to reduce road accidents, and it is a long term plan for all the road users without increasing the people's burden."
Source From : Borneo Post


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I love Bruce Campbell.
Now I know I'm not the first person to utter these words and won't be the last, he's kinda like Vincent Price meets Jim Carrey. My buddy and nemesis Matt agreed with this, but added that Bruce is also funny. I think this a tad harsh on Jim to be honest. ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE, the first one, was hilarious at the time and I have a bit of a soft spot for ME, MYSELF, AND IRENE…… He was appalling as The Joker though, there's no arguing with that one.
I was first exposed to Bruce a few weeks back when David Nicklen (a work colleague) had me round to his to enjoy a double bill of his choosing which consisted of THE EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD II. He was shocked that I'd never seen the films, especially as I'm a child of the "video nasty" generation.
The first picture impressed me as it had obviously been done with very little cash but excelled in being genuinely frightening (in parts) and achieving gory special effects that looked believable. I love when the ingenuity of the filmmaker almost becomes its own character. Part 2 very obviously had more money thrown at it but, although taking a more comedic angle, is still a great picture.
……….. Last night I watched part 3: ARMY OF DARKNESS.
In this film Sam Raimi gives up on the original idea of trying to scare us and produces a comedy which, although has its roots in the horror genre, is closer to slapstick and, in the extreme, complete silliness. It shouldn't do, but it works.
The reason I say it shouldn't is that it deviates so severely from the first 2 pictures. There was definite hints to the direction it was going in the second film but this was (mostly, there were a couple of amusing scenes) due to a more extreme style of acting which gave the whole picture a "hammy" feel, hence the Vincent Price comparison. What's strange (and nice) about AOD is that the acting is toned down a little and replaced with actual out and out comedy scenes.
The fight scene in the pit is well constructed, as is the large battle towards the end. You can really see Raimi pushing the scale of the picture which obviously put him in good stead for his superhero outings some years later. I'm also a huge fan of that low steadycam(?) shot that flies through the forrest in all 3 films. In this one there's trees splitting down their length and the camera goes between the split. Very nice indeed. The wide angle lens used up close is also applied to good effect in various scenes.
There is a story holding all this madness together:
Ash, having been sucked into a time vortex at the end of part 2, finds himself in the year 1308. Luckily, his car, double barrelled shotgun and chainsaw arm attachment all made it through which prove handy as the picture progresses.
He immediately finds himself fingered as an ally of the enemy by a mob that pick him up and is, naturally, sentenced to be thrown into a pit where two grotesque members of the undead are waiting to shred him to a bloody mess as soon as he hits the bottom. Ash easily picks off these ugly beasts using his chainsaw, kindly thrown to him by an elder who thinks he's "the one" (mentioned in a prophesy) who falls from the sky and frees them from an evil that has befallen them……
All perfectly plausible so far.
Ash is then tasked with killing two birds with one stone, as the only way to break the "spell" (I can't think of a better word, sorry) AND get home is to embark on a quest to obtain and return with the ancient Necronomicon (book of the dead) which will banish the evil, and give instructions to get Ash back to good ol' 1981. It's like BACK TO THE FUTURE on Ketamine.
All doesn't go to plan.
There's no real need to see the first 2 films before seeing this one as it has nothing at all to do with any continuation of the story. It is great fun though and these movies, along with some other notables I've watched of late, are changing my mind on the horror genre, of which I've not, at any point in my life, had a lot of time for.
The chosen scene is the first part of the battle between Ash and co and the undead. It doesn't take a genius to spot the influence of Ray Harryhausen, it could be JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS.
Incidentally, NBC Universal have taken exception to me uploading this clip which seems stupid as I'm using it to PROMOTE THEIR MATERIAL. As a result, our American viewers will be faced with a blank screen. Anyone else having problems can find the video by clicking this link: