text:
This week has been more emotional for me than I'd like to admit. I've put up this hardened shell and tried to get people to care about more for me than whether I can get married. I don't have anyone to get married to. I'm not waiting to put a ring on anyone's finger. I'm more worried about not getting the fuck beaten out of me in the street, fired from a job, or publicly humiliated because of who I am.
Now, I don't believe necessarily that NO ONE cares about these things. Maybe I shouldn't put it quite so dramatically. But what I will say is that it's very frustrating to see how many people are focusing on JUST marriage equality because that's what's up for debate. It has nothing to do with me, even though statistically speaking, it does. I feel like everyone's over in another room cheering for me, and no one knows I'm not in the room with them.
It's scary how distracted people can be from the other issues once a ray of hope begins to show through. I don't care if I can get married right now. What difference does it make whether or not I can get married if some dickhead can grind me to a pulp behind a bar because we frighten him just by being in the same room, and if local authorities take a hands-off approach because they don't want rainbow stains on their fingers, should the next election fall out of our favor? What difference does it make if we can have equal health insurance benefits to everyone else through my job if said job can still legally fire me in some states for violating the moral code of the people in upper management?
I hate to sound so down on everyone, but I am not part of the celebration, here. And it's not that I left the party, it's that the party left me without realizing it. Marriage equality does little for people who don't want to get married. It's a good step for our kind and for humans in general, but I'm starting to realize that my safety and job security (aside from being threatened merely by my own bad habits at work) will never be secured in my lifetime.
I have waited almost ten fucking years for someone to get it, for someone, ANYONE to stand up for something other than my right to marry and divorce someone. It seems to me that no one is coming back to my room, because no one realizes I'm not there, or maybe they think I left on purpose.
Well, I'm here to tell you, thanks. Really. I appreciate it, but it does nothing for me right now if I can still find myself a bloody pile in a back alley. It doesn't make me feel any better to know that I should have been able to marry one of the guys I've attempted to date over the last five years, because I doubt that any of those situations would have gotten any better with marriage.
I leave it in your hands to give a fuck about me, because I certainly give a fuck about me, but I seem to be the only one. I am seen as the party pooper when I tell people to put action behind their god damned red equal signs. I am seen as the Debbie Downer, the Negative Nancy, killing everyone's equal rights buzz with my petty demands for safety and a life worth living alone.
You've all disappointed me by how far you've missed my points in what I say and even accused me of being a bitter, self-hating person because I insist on change in all directions rather than just one at a time, one slow, bleeding-out change at a time. I'm literally going to be dead before anything gets done that makes me feel safe or okay in this world.
I am thinking of myself, yes, because someone has to. Love is not all there is in this god forsaken husk of a life that I find myself forced to grit my teeth through anymore. I have people that I love and have loved, but I want to be alive for it, god damn it.
You may very well still tell me that I am bitter, or that I am self-hating, or that I am missing the point of what you're doing or the historical significance of what's happening. That's just fine. I see that as you continuing to not listen to me.
I am standing up for me, and therefore for you, and so few of you are clear-minded enough to realize it. You have no idea how frustrating it is to be called out for wanting more than what you're fighting for. Like I'm supposed to just sit down and shut up and have my rights handed back to be cafeteria style.
I will not sit down. And you had all better get back into this room and get on the same page, or we're all going to be lost. The focus is wrong, though admirable, and the attitude toward anyone who demands anything more than what you're willing to fight for is shameful.
Nevertheless, there's little I can do besides wait and hope.
I don't actually expect anything positive to come out of this blog. It's more of a rant than anything. I think I'm done with calling anyone to action beyond what they're comfortable doing, because it really pisses on everyone's party, and I don't want that kind of reputation. I don't want to be that guy.
I appreciate all of your support, I really do. I just wish you were fighting for me as well as my love life. I'm not here to be the bad guy and shit on anyone's flowers about it, but I understand that that's the way I'm seen, here: some kind of ungrateful asshole sticking it to his own community for the sheer joy of doing so. I'm not changing my position, though. And what hurts the most is to be treated by my own friends and my own kind like I just don't understand the significance of what's happening right now. Like my level of understanding is so elementary that it has to be explained to me, when in reality, no one is listening to anything that I have to say about it. They simply hear that it differs from what the bandwagon is playing, and they assume that I'm just determined to be a bitch about everything.
It makes me want to give up to realize how few people actually listen when I talk.


text:
I came down with a cold. I know you can run with a cold and there's nothing that says you can't run with a cold BUT I just would rather "run" tomorrow then today. Simple enough. It's 4 miles. 4 miles can be done tomorrow and will have to be done tomorrow since I didn't do it today. Ta-Dah!
So, I went to PT yesterday and explained my issue. Oh wait, let me back up. I go two physical therapy places. One that specializes in orthotics and one that specializes in "fixig you up and getting you back on your game." So I went to the "lets fix you up" place. The foot..... she recomended that I get a referral from my doctor to for a more in depth look at what I'm dealing with. She "thinks" it could be a neuroma but again, she's not a "doctor" so.... As for my calf, doesn't think it's shin splints BUT the soleus muscle. That it could be over compensating for "my right foot" which is causing me so much grief. Great! ha!
So, she did some ultrasound therapy on my foot and massaged the crap out of my calf. If you've never had a massage from a physical therapist, well, ummmm, let's just say it's unlike any other massage EVER... it's not relaxing... when she says "BREATH.." it means omg, that hurts so bad but you know tomorrow it will feel so much better. ha!
So, today, well, I feel better except for the cold I have and I'd rather just let everything take it's course and heal then muster up any other garbage.
I got into my doctor this morning and he sent a referral to a podiatrist. So I will see them on Monday morning. It's much easier to get into someone when you've gone from orthotics to physical therapy and back to the doctor saying ummmmm, FIX THIS!
I'm the type of person who doesn't "quit." I'm not going to go, ohhh, it hurts, I'm not going to run... I'm a "ooh it hurts, but nothing a little ice and advil wont kill." I just want him to say, cortisone shot here ya go and send me on my way. Or heck, lets make it easy and put me in a new orthotic?
so, that's the latest on me. Aren't I a whole bottle of fun?
I'm leaning more towards the half on May 1st.... Something inside me is telling me to just do it but I don't want to sign up until I know my toes wont go numb by mile 6. ha!
Currency Trading Online
10 months ago

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Illustrator Research 43: Kazu Kibuishi
Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1978, Kibuishi is an American graphic novelist and comic book creator. He is best known for his work on the online comic Copper, Amulet, and the comics anthology Flight. He studied at the University of Santa Barbera and after graduation he worked as an animator for Shaded Box. Most of his work is done with India Ink on Bristol Paper as well as digital painting. His site is here.
Posted by Shof Coker at 5:07 AM
Labels: Illustrator Research
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Andy Murray Not Sure Whether To Continue Play at the World Tour FinalsNovember 21, 2011
Andy Murray just revealed that he's been carrying a groin injury sustained during training a couple of days after the Paris Masters.
"Had it been any other tournament than the World Tour Finals or a Slam, I wouldn't have played," Murray told reporters at the O2 Arena in London.
"I'll decide tomorrow whether or not I keep playing," he added. Asked if he could put a percentage on whether he would be playing or not, he refrained.
"I don't know, I'll just see tomorrow how I feel. I don't know. I don't know what will happen. I don't know a percentage."
Murray attributed his loss to Ferrer's solid game and great returning.
"He returned well today, didn't make hardly any mistakes on the return, so he was always putting pressure on my service game. And, yeah, that was the main difference".
As for the tournament, Murray has just dropped from one of the favorites to a possible drop-out. Let's hope he recovers well enough to compete.


text:
Some Kind of Happiness - Claire Legrand
Things Finley Hart Doesn't Want to Talk About
Her parents, who are having problems.
Being sent to her grandparents' house for the summer.
Never having met said grandparents.
Her blue days- when life feels overwhelming, ant it's hard work to keep her head up.
Up until now, Everwood has only existed in Finley's journal. Now that she's at her grandparents' house, she discovers that it really exists in the woods behind their house.
She realizes that Everwood holds more secrets than she could have imagined. With the help of her cousins, they set out to save Everwood.
Suggested Level: Middle School


text:
Resignation of my current job requires me to give two month notice. It's kinda long, but it does not matter much to me. Over the years working here, I'd accumulated 54 days of annual leaves. Even if i take leave for the entire two months of resignation notice, it's only 42 days (Rugi tak ambik cuti sebelum ni :-P ). This also imply that I'm already on leave :-D
Though on leave, I'm not in a hurry to look for other job, just yet. Instead, I spent time on things that requires my attention and matters that I enjoy doing. Here're the list:
1. Spending quality time with Justin Boy.
2. Monitoring the renovation of our new house.
The renovation is due to complete this month. The built in cabinets and the kitchen furnishing is on the way. The water feature is also in the process of completion. Lots of checklist to be completed. But my wife and I are enjoying every single bit of it.
3. Completing the Banana Monograh.
Beside the activities above, I also do shopping and a bit of cooking. Ahh........ I'm enjoying my life now. Can i be a house husband? :-P


text:
Inspired by daffodils, I am at work in my new studio....
...with able assistance.
I saw a few more daffodils blooming in Central Park today...hoping that many more will joining the display in a day or two. This is such a strange spring hereabouts.
Your art and that assistant, too, look quite lovely. Promise you an email. xo
lovely flower and butterflies.
still we have no flowers, but they will be here soon.
Happy Easter to you Frances, I hope you are settled into your new studio. Beautiful painting as always. xReplyDelete


text:
The Adel-DeSoto-Minburn boys basketball team will be playing Pella tonight. The Tigers and the Dutch played each other once, late last season, with which the Dutch walked away with the win (93-59).
The Tigers leading scorer last season was, a now senior, Tajen Ross. Ross scored 349 points on the season. He had 86 field goals, 35 three pointers and 72 free throws for an average of 15.9 points per game.
The leading scorer for the Dutch had 387 points. Ryan VanWyk scored 154 field goals, three three pointers and 70 free throws. He averaged 14.9 points per game.
Both Ross and VanWyk were the leading scorers of the A-D-M/Pella game last season. Ross had 21 points and VanWyk had 17.
Payton Conrad was the Tiger to lead in assists. He finished the 2015-2016 season with a total of 105 assists. Conrad also had the most steals for the Tigers, with a total of 38.
For the Dutch, Nick Finney is the returner with the most assists from last season. By the end of the season, he had 113 assists. Finney had the most steals for the team, overall, last season with 43 total.
With the highest number of blocks for the Tigers being only 14 and belonging to a senior, Ross was the first underclassman to lead the Tigers with seven blocks on the season. He was followed by six blocks from junior Cole Knoll.
Donovan Holterhaus, a junior last season, easily led the Dutch in blocks. He finished the season with 15 blocks on his own. Finney was the second leader with nine blocks.
Knoll led the Tigers in rebounds. He averaged 5.2 rebounds per game. He racked up a total of 115 rebounds, 36 of which were offensive and 79 that were defensive.
VanWyk had an amazing 246 rebounds at the end of last season. He had 114 offensive rebounds and 132 defensive rebounds that allowed him to average 9.5 rebounds per game.
The Tigers currently have a 3-3 record and the Dutch have a 5-1 record so far this season. The Tigers and Dutch will meet again tonight in Pella at 7:30 p.m.


text:
Job Opportunities
Beverage Merchandiser - Ohio, Cincinnati Job Description
Objective: Responsible for the complete company maintenance of large-format stores assigned daily.
Reports to: Merchandiser Managers, or Account Development Managers and Area Managers.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Responsible for stocking main shelf with all Rockstar and/or Yachak Yerba Mate products daily primarily at large-format accounts such as grocery stores and mass merchants.
- Responsible for stocking all displays daily.
- Comply with proper product rotation standards for product freshness and quality.
- Fill all coolers and vendors daily.
- Fill all products in coolers and on warm shelf.
- Work product in back rooms of stores and condense backstock each time in store to keep these areas clean at all times.
- Securing, setting, and moving displays when required.
- Helping and/or ordering when required.
- Placing proper point-of-sale materials on main shelf, displays, coolers, and vendors.
- Follow company merchandising standards.
- Keep proper corporate sets on main shelf, displays, and in coolers.
- Any other tasks or responsibilities assigned to you by your supervisor.
Employee Requirements:
Successful Candidate Will Possess:
- Ability to lift 30 pounds while administering continuous lifting through the work day.
- Reliability and responsibility.
- Ability to work well independently.
- Excellent customer-relation skills (will spend the entire day in the field).
- EXCELLENT driving record.
5 working days (Wednesday thru Sunday)
Benefits include 401K, health insurance, paid holidays, vacation, company telephone, company vehicle.
* This job description is not all-inclusive and is meant to provide a brief overview of job responsibilities; responsibilities of this position are subject to change at any time.
Related Links
Social Feed
11 hours ago: Ready to burn some rubber this weekend at the Formula Drift Throwdown at Evergreen Speedway! Fredric Aasbø #RockstarDrift #FormulaDrift #ToyotaRacing 📷:... see full story
14 hours ago: Ready to burn some rubber this weekend at the @formulad Throwdown at Evergreen Speedway! @FredricAasbo… https://t.co/cb4UBXKopd see full story
1 day ago: Great weekend for Rockstar Energy and Andretti Autosport as Scott Speed took the WIN and Tanner Foust took third at DirtFish Rally ARX of COTA !... see full story
3 days ago: Great day for Rockstar Energy and @FollowAndretti as @scott_speed takes the WIN and @tannerfoust third at… https://t.co/D5Uo2QvTqM see full story
3 days ago: Staring down Sunday like.... Davey Cathels #rockstarsurf see full story
3 days ago: Check out the World Showdown of Esports today at 10am on twitch.tv/WSOE | PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS #WSOE #RockstarEnergyEsports see full story
3 days ago: Check out the World Showdown of Esports today at 10am on https://t.co/JetfBVEjIN | @PUBG @WSOE… https://t.co/aKhjPAskLB see full story
3 days ago: Sending it back to snow season with Torstein Horgmo #rockstarsnow see full story
4 days ago: Weekend agenda Ryan Nyquist #RoskstarBMX see full story
6 days ago: RT @alfredogomez89: Sumando días súper contento! COUNTING DAYS VERY HAPPY! 😁😁😁🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻 @rockstarhusky @rockstarenergy... see full story
1 week ago: The boys came to play, @chrisjoslin_ 🥈 and @kelvinhoefler 🥉 at @StreetLeague Los Angeles! #RockstarSkate #GoSkate… https://t.co/ksdUk4PpGq see full story
1 week ago: Your taxi has arrived | @tannerfoust #GridLife #RockstarDrift #Drift | https://t.co/etSPXsygMt see full story


text:
Get access to the exclusive HR Resources you need to succeed in 2018.
Sign up for free email newsletters and get more SHRM content delivered to your inbox.
Is your employee handbook keeping up with the changing world of work? With SHRM's Employee Handbook Builder get peace of mind that your handbook is up-to-date.
Build competencies, establish credibility and advance your career—while earning PDCs—at SHRM Seminars in 14 cities across the U.S. this fall.
Gain the skills you need to rise to the next level in your career. Jon us at SHRM's Leadership Development Forum, October 2-3 in Boston.
Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal counsel for compliance with applicable law, and should be modified to suit your organization's culture, industry, and practices. Neither members nor non-members may reproduce such samples in any other way (e.g., to republish in a book or use for a commercial purpose) without SHRM's permission. To request permission for specific items, click on the "reuse permissions" button on the page where you find the item.
It's not even on sale to the public. Yet, Google Glass—and sophisticated wearable technology like it—has the potential to cause significant disruption in the workplace, experts say.
A lightweight band worn like regular glasses that features a miniature display in the user's field of vision, Google Glass can be operated by voice command. The wearer can record a video or a still photo, and through an Internet connetion display a GPS map and find out how long the Brooklyn Bridge is (5,988 feet).
A Google promotional video shows skydivers and other users sharing exciting experiences in real time.
However, Glass is raising concerns about individual privacy and the potential to capture and misuse sensitive business data.
For HR, "It's still the Wild Wild West where wearable technology is concerned," said Sharlyn Lauby, an HR consultant and the author of
the HR Bartender blog.
When users are recording video and audio, a red light appears on Google Glass. In theory, the light serves as notification that users are recording whatever they see and hear. "But even when it's on, are you getting people's consent?" asks John Sileo, a speaker on privacy issues and CEO of
The Sileo Group.
"There's a lot of spy stuff going on" with the technology.Google Glass is part of a wave in which smart devices with search and recording functions are becoming smaller, cheaper and easier to hide, challenging employers to keep up with the implications.
Yesterday's science fiction is tomorrow's must-have workplace device."Glass is not a fad," said Amy Webb, CEO of
Webbmedia Group, a digital strategy agency. "We know it's coming."Though their uses are not always apparent at first, many innovations that appeared in recent years have become essential items in HR's toolbox. Raise your hand if, at the dawn of the social media age, you foresaw how LinkedIn would revolutionize recruiting and hiring.
Surgeons and others in the field of medicine are already recognizing the benefits of using Google Glass—though there could be issues under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, says Eric B. Meyer, a partner in the labor and employment group of the law firm
Dilworth Paxson. In some organizations, Glass could help by recording meetings and facilitating employee training.
Among the downsides: Sileo says that Glass and similar devices can allow a user to walk through an office, discover corporate secrets and "stand behind you and record your pin number and your credit card number."
Some experts say that HR needs to start changing policies and communicating with workers about new devices.
"I can't think of a single industry in which Google Glass won't have a significant impact," said Webb. "I don't think social media policies are adequate" for regulating use of wearable technology in the workplace. "You will need a separate policy on wearables."
Said Lauby: "You need to educate people about what these new things are and privacy options. It can be a win-win."
Still, the technology might add to the burden that companies face in litigation, Meyer said. "In sexual harassment or discrimination cases, I would imagine the video would be admissible in court." And he suggested that employees' use of Glass after working hours could raise the same Fair Labor Standards Act issues as employees using cellphones when off the clock.
A Google spokesperson declined to be interviewed for this article, saying in an e-mail that "Glass is still in its early days." However, in response to a May 2013 letter from congressional leaders, the company said that "protecting the security and privacy of our users is one of our top priorities." It added that all files stored on Glass can be deleted by users—limiting the benefit to those who would steal the devices.
Some businesses—including casinos, theaters, and even restaurants and bars—have said customers cannot use Google Glass. Meyer predicted that some companies will prohibit employees from using the device.
Experts say that Google won't be able to prevent users from altering Glass and similar devices to make them less detectable and more of a threat to security—particularly if supplemented by facial recognition software.
By using facial recognition software, ne'er-do-wells can capture an image of you through Glass and use a database to identify you. Add that to the information Glass already captures, experts surmise, and thieves can profile you, find out when to rob your house, steal your identity, or worse. Google has told Congress it won't develop ways for crooks to pursue such activities, but third-party app developers and hackers may figure out how to get around Google's roadblocks.
Meanwhile, the technology keeps advancing. A police department in the Washington, D.C., suburbs is outfitting officers with barely visible cameras that attach to sunglasses.
Smartwatches (smartphones worn on wrists) are already on the market. A Google subsidiary is developing a temporary electronic skin "tattoo" or patch that will stick to the user's throat and allow voice activation of electronic devices.
Webb said that Glass should prompt HR to upgrade its relationship with IT and the C-suite. "This is a good opportunity for HR to assert itself" by becoming more tech-savvy and advising business leaders how the organization should react to tech developments.Organizations that develop a process to manage new technology will have a competitive advantage, said Sileo. "It always comes down to a human-training issue."
"Technology will bring some positive impacts into the workplace," observed Lauby. "We need to find a balance."
Steve Bates is a freelance writer in the Washington, D.C., area and a former writer and editor for SHRM.
You have successfully saved this page as a bookmark.
Please confirm that you want to proceed with deleting bookmark.
You have successfully removed bookmark.
Delete canceled
Please log in as a SHRM member before saving bookmarks.
Please sign in as a SHRM member before saving bookmarks.
Please purchase a SHRM membership before saving bookmarks.
An error has occurred
Recommended for you
Join us for the largest and best HR conference in the world, June 23-26, 2019 in Las Vegas.
SHRM's HR Vendor Directory contains over 10,000 companies


text:
Another Pigeon Olympic Suggestion?
I was out in St James's Park on Saturday when some dude called Alan comes over.
Apparently he'd heard about my request for suggestions of sporting events for the 2012 Pigeon Olympics, and thought his particular skill might be worth a mention – High Speed Foot Tapping.
He reckons he's the fastest foot tapper in London:
Think you're on your own there Alan.
I should also point out that an Olympic event requires more than one entrant in order to qualify as an event.
That said, anyone else out there wants to give it a go, let me know.
3 Comments
At least he's eager – let that be said for him!
Testing the comments again, hope it works this time.
Of course, in addition to the high speed foot tapping event, there would have to be the foot tapping marathon …
Count me in.


text:
Esther is genius. She is a musician. Actually she is music. Hearing her play the cello is like closing your eyes and indulging in the 5 senses at the same time. She has taught me so much. I came into the music department as a scared, compeditive and apathetic flautist and through our deep chats time listening to her, I have fallen in love with music and the power it has- both on the performer and the listener.
Out of our entire group- She was the least likely to get married, and now she is so married, and a mother. Im so proud of her and honoured to know her.
Here's a shoot of her family.


text:
They are concerned with end-of-life care almost to the point of obsession.
How is that point determined with certainty? Professor Pullicino considers it not to be scientifically possible to diagnose dying and to predict death.
The assurances given that those placed on the Pathway may be removed from it should they improve serve only to confirm that wrong diagnoses of dying do occur.
Misdiagnosis is far from uncommon:
The statistics indicate as many as 9 million patients nationwide and between 400,000 and 528,000 patients in Illinois are harmed each year. According to Graber and other researchers, deaths and serious harm associated with diagnostic errors are uncommon even though an estimated 5 percent to 15 percent of medical diagnoses are incorrect. But for those harmed, Graber said the impact can be devastating.(Liverpool Care Pathway – Misdiagnosis, Misdiagnosis, Misdiagnosis) and
(Liverpool Care Pathway – And More Misdiagnosis)
But misdiagnosing dying can be fatal!
How many more, already frail and fragile, succumb to the rigours of the Pathway and fail to improve for that reason and perish on it?
And the new Death List guidelines for GPs actually advise them to use their intuition...?
This is Worcester News -
Plans over end-of-life care discussed
9:50am Thursday 3rd January 2013 in Local
EXPERTS from the NHS and hospices in Worcestershire have discussed the best ways to care for people towards the end of their lives.
The topic formed part of Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust's second members' event and featured a talk by Dr Ian Douglas, a consultant in palliative medicine.
Around 100 members including trust staff, staff from partner organisations and members of the public attended.
The audience was invited to speak to Dr Douglas and other professionals from different teams within the trust and from the Worcestershire hospices, general practice and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
They answered questions on the approach taken to supporting and caring for people during the final days or hours of their life.
The event coincided with the Government ordering a series of reviews into the Liverpool Care Pathway which was developed in the 1990s to guide health professionals in how to provide quality care during the final stages of someone's life.
The pathway attracted criticism recently following complaints that it was being introduced for some patients without consent of or discussion with their families.
Dr Douglas said: "End of life care is a really big and live issue at the moment and it is something which is close to the hearts of professional, patients and their families."The event is the second held by the trust for its members, of which there are now over 11,000. To find out more and to complete a membership form visit worcestershirehealth.nhs.uk/whct-ft/ or contact 01905 681425.
Are there no 'Experts' from the NHS ready to come clean and have public discussions around 'Care of the Living' in NHS Hospitals?
All NHS patients deserve 'quality care', respect and 'dignity'. It is high time they received it!


text:
Tori Spelling Plans Makeover After Dean McDermott's Alleged Cheating
Poor Tori! She's worried that Dean allegedly cheated on her because she 'let herself go too much,' so she's planning a full-body makeover to wow her wayward husband once he leaves rehab, a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY.
Oh no! Tori Spelling is blaming herself for Dean McDermott's alleged affair. Even though Dean swears he "still loves her and thinks she's hot," Tori is convinced that her lack of sex appeal is what lead him to stray. Now she's willing to do whatever it takes to make sure he stays faithful after he completes his stint in rehab.
Tori Spelling's Makeover — Her Plans For Dean McDermott's Return From Rehab
Tori has been so busy being a mom to her four young children with Dean that she hasn't had much time to keep the spark in their marriage alive. And while Tori knows that Dean is responsible for his actions, she wants to do her part to keep her hubby happy.
"Tori's all over the place, she's sad, she's angry, she's blaming Dean but also herself," a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. "Dean has told her that this has nothing to do with her, that he still loves her and thinks she's hot, but she's questioning everything. Her self-esteem is shattered. She doesn't spend money on herself these days, it's all for the kids, but she's talking about getting a major makeover."
We totally understand why Tori's confidence has taken a shot but we hate that she is blaming herself in any way!
"She worries that she let herself go too much because of the kids, and that's why Dean cheated. And she's going on a diet because she knows Dean thinks it's hot when she's really thin," the source says. "Her friends are trying to tell her she's sexy the way she is but her confidence has taken a huge hit."
We're glad Tori's friends are trying to talk some sense into her. We think she looks fabulous as is!
Dean McDermott In Rehab — Tori Spelling's Husband Being Treated For Sex Addiction?
Following rumors that Dean had been cheating on her, Tori's husband checked into an undisclosed rehabilitation facility. "I am truly sorry for the mistakes I have made and for the pain I've caused my family," Dean told People.
"I take full responsibility for my actions and have voluntarily checked myself into a treatment center to address some health and personal issues," Dean continued. "I am grateful to be getting the help I need so I can become the husband and father my family deserves."
News of Dean's self-admittance into rehab first surfaced Jan. 22 after he was spotted entering a Los Angeles facility by himself. Though Dean has yet to confirm what he's getting help for, it's being reported that he's undergoing treatment for sex addiction.
So HollywoodLifers — do YOU think Tori should get a makeover for Dean? Let us know.
— Tierney McAfee


text:
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
There is an Irving Berlin song... that sums it up:
"I haven't ambitions for lofty positions
That wind up with the wealth of the land
I'll give you the throne that a king sat on
For just a small baton
Providing you included a band
If I could be the wealthy owner of a large industry
I would say, "Not for me"
I'd rather lead a band
If I could be a politician with a chance to dictate
I would say, "Let it wait"
I'd rather lead a band
My ev'ry care ceases
I'm rich as old Croesus
When I've got ten pieces
In hand"
So here's who I got to lead:
and here's the story:
We finally get to scoring the magical Bob (see below) movie. And so we put together the greatest rhythm section.
Don't even try to argue.
I got like one of those "you can't argue with me" dreamteams.... like what would it be like if Magic were passing to Bird passing to Jordan (ok- I have that on tape- it was the 1992 dream team- particularly the first qualifying of the Americas tourney when they played together vs. Cuba... but I digress)... well here's the rhythm dream team:
James Gadson on drums
King Errisson on bongos and congas
Rahzel beatboxing and breaking legs
Shoot, I could have used just James, King and Rahzel and it would have been the all-time hip-hop sample library... but we are not done yet.
Ray Parker, Jr on guitar... and before you say it... who you gone call?
Reggie McBride on bass http://alsrecordsandtapes.com/reggie.jpg Oh, and go watch Reggie playing with Stevie Wonder in 1973 here: http://alsrecordsandtapes.com/beatclub.mpg
Scott Kinsey on keyboards
Billy Hulting on percussion
Gary Gardner on percussion
We had only two days...
But for two days, I was the luckiest man... on the face of the earth (Gehrig, Magic... whatever).
note the amount of pages on my right (cues not done yet) and those on the right (done)
But, with all that music to do.... I could look down in front of me and see RAY PARKER, JR.!
Please, we never had ANY problems.
So here's some photos of the fun for one and for all.
In terms of hip-hop history... here is a good one. Perry Botkin, Jr. and King Errisson see each other for the first time in 25 years. Perry wrote and produced all the Incredible Bongo Band records ("Apache" anyone?) and of course, the bongo player in the Incredible Bongo Band IS King Errisson.
When we started placing Bongo Band records into the temp score, I called my pal Perry and asked "How many bongo players did you use and where are they?"
Perry then referred me to the King and we found two days where he was off the Neil Diamond show he is on tour with these days.
King Errisson is the man. You think you gotta a better bongo man.
You are wrong.
Here's me and Rah- Rah- Rahzel
Again... Who you gone call? Mr. Telephone Man.
Bob and Rahzel
My thanks to everybody- our music super G. Marq Roswell, music editor David Carbonara, the studio at Glenwood Place (nice place!, nice folks too) and my attorney general, head groundskeeper and man who makes the train run on time, Hank Cicalo- who is also the best engineer anywhere.
This was the most fun recording date I have ever attended- let alone been a part of. The band worked that sucker to death- wait til you hear it.
from left: Billy Hulting, Ray Parker, Jr. (last time: Who you gone call?), Hank Cicalo, Reggie McBride, Bob Odenkirk (below), Scott Kinsey (above Bob), King Errisson, James Gadson, Rahzel, G. Marq Roswell, me (!), David Carbonara.
Posted by Alan Elliott at 9:30 PM 6 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
CardsFun 1.0.08
CardsFun Details
Malcolm BainDeveloper :
1.0.08Version :
Windows 2000/XP Platform :
2.3 MbFile Size :
Free to try; $19.95 to buy License :
May 01, 2006 Date Added :
CardsFun screenshotScreenshot :
Rating :
CardsFun ReviewSix fun card games for all the family for the price of one game. Consisting of Crazy Eights, Oh Hell, Comet, Agony, German Whist and that good old favourite Spades. The younger members of the family will no doubt enjoy Crazy Eights and Comet whilst the other members will have fun with Oh Hell and soon understand why it is called that and sometimes worse. German Whist is whist for two players and most of you will be familiar with Spades.
Write your review
Software related to CardsFun
Pinochle 2.0.1
Pinochle is an exciting and challenging game of cards very popular in the U.S.
Castle of Cards 1.1
Build your own Eiffel Tower or Pyramid of Heops using just ordinary cards!
Solitaire Piknic 4.5.4.088
An enjoyable blend of poker and solitaire rolled into one very addicting game.
5 Realms of Cards 1.0
Go through 5 Realms of Cards full of addictive solitaire playing fun and enjoy!
SpadesFun 1.09
A card game of Spades
CardGameCentral Games 2.6.2
FREE card games, board games, and dominoes including canasta, euchre, pinochle..
Absolute Patience 5.4_us
A superb collection of 430 solitaire card games. More than 650 variants.
Pretty Good Solitaire 14.3.0
play 660 solitaire card games and solitaire quests
Canasta 2.0.7
A fascinating Rummy type card game in which you play George the computer.
Solitairex 3D 1.0.1
New solitaire playing experience


text:
DALTON, Ga. - Dalton firefighters are investigating a deadly fire Monday.
It happened shortly after 3:30 p.m. at an apartment complex on Ashton Woods Way.
A release from the department says flames were visible when fire crews arrived, and one person was found dead inside.
View the complete story at our news partners' website, WRCBtv.com.


text:
I've got a stalker... lol ... again.
It's all good tho- some people will never be happy and will always hate on those who do it bigger, better, and bossier than they'll ever be able to.
This "person" stalks my blog, comments, even reads my blog and legit copies my shit. LOL. They've been obsessed with me since 2010 (...seriously)... they just can't seem to GET OVER IT and move on - it's quite pathetic.
Normally, I wouldn't give a shit. I love my haters... Imitation is the highest form of flattery!
But -- I've been considering taking a break from blogging for a while now anyways... as mentioned in a previous post - my life is SO busy with so many big MOVES and beautiful things going on... I think now is the perfect time to take a break, make some serious moves, and get situated (when I return, I will tell you all about it... I'm SO freakin excited!!!), and let my stalker find someone else to be disgustingly jealous of!
Today I'm posting all of the blogs I had scheduled/written -- and then you won't hear from me for a while, unless I randomly decide to post something ;)
Don't worry, I will be back - I don't know when, but I could never stay away from writing for very long!!!
Rest assured, I am happier than ever and things are happening just as they should <3


text:
About the same time as the picture just before this one.
Unless I had my point-and-shoot, we were limited to the pictures of us both. My rangefinder was hard for other people to focus and use.
Now I wish we had more pictures of both of us.
My father died peacefully on February 6, 2012. I had arrived a few hours before he died, so I had time to sit by him and talk and even moisten his lips with the long-promised scotch I had with me. I don't know if he heard me, but he smacked his lips from the scotch, My father had Alzheimer's and had donated his brain to the Alzheimer's study he'd been part of at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. I'll continue to post for a while.
Monday, March 19, 2012
dad & I
About the same time as the picture just before this one.
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Confessions of a Film Junkie: A review of "Scary or Die"
By: Brian Cotnoir
I've been noticing that there are more films like this appearing on Netflix. This isn't a film with one story, rather than it is a multiple short films linked together by a thin strand of plot to make one full length film. There are a few decent ones I've seen. "Devils Carnival" is probably the best one I've seen (yes, I'm counting it because each character got their own individual story and song that was linked together by Lucifer telling 3 of Aesop's Fables to the character Daniel). There's also "V/H/S/" and "The Theatre Bizarre". The film I'm reviewing this week is called "Scary or Die". The plot to the film is based off a mysterious stranger searching through videos on a website called Scaryordie.com where there are different stories and videos for a person to click on and learn a story. One interesting thing about this film is some of the actors appear in more than one story, but it doesn't affect the plot of the film as a whole; not even in the slightest bit. Rather than talk about the film as a whole I'm just going to give a brief summary of each story and what I thought about it. There will be Spoilers in this review because I particularly didn't find any of them to be all that good. If you want more reasons why just read the rest of this review.
The Crossing
The First Story in "Scary or Die" is "The Crossing". It's a story about two red necks, who live in Arizona, and their hoochie girlfriend. Recently, the two rednecks have been abducting Mexican immigrants from all over the state, driving them out to the border and executing them to "send a message" to all other illegal immigrants who think about sneaking into the country. One day after murdering and burying their two latest victims, one of them decides to add insult to injury by pissing all over the graves. This for some reason or another leads to the Mexican immigrants coming back as zombies and they attack the rednecks and the hoochie girlfriend. The zombies kill the rednecks, but the hoochie girlfriend manages to escape, but she is later shot by the Border Patrol when she is mistaken for zombie; implying that the Border Patrol was already aware of this zombie problem. In my opinion this was the least awful of the stories in the film. It's short, sweet, to the point, and the make-up effects are half-way decent.
Tae Jung's Lament
"Tae Jungs Lament" had the most predictable story in "Scary or Die". It's the story about a mourning widower named Tae Jung who lives in Los Angeles, and he basically wanders around looking sad and mourning his late wife. One day he witnesses a beautiful women being abducted by a stranger. Rather than use commonsense and report the abduction to police like a sane person, he instead goes after the abductor and tosses his IPhone into the car and then tracks the IPhone's location on his laptop (again not ONCE does he consider calling the police and telling them he witnessed an abduction and that he was able to secretly track where this guy was going. Tae Jung eventually finds them, knocks at the abductor and saves the woman. The woman's named is Min-ah (ßDRACULA REFERENCE!) and she is so thankful for Tae Jung coming to rescue her, so she invites him over to give him a reward. Unfortunately for Tae Jung, the Min-Ah turns out to be a vampire and the guy who abducted her was actually a vampire slayer, so sucks to be Tae Jung. If only he would've called the police and reported the incident instead, he could have avoided this whole silly little incident.
It's "The Tel-Tale Heart", but instead of a guy being buried under the house and the person thinking they can hear the victims heart beat, it's a dismembered body in the trunk of the car and the driver thinks he hears a person knocking on the trunk. It's boring and it's unoriginal.
|The Real reason we all checked it out.
He's on the Poster and the DVD Cover.
This is the longest story in "Scary or Die", it's about a man named Emmet, whose just trying to survive and take care of his mother and little brother. The day of his little brother's birthday party, he is attacked and bitten on the leg by "Fucko the Clown". If being called "Fucko the Clown" wasn't ridiculous enough, he also wears the exact same costume and make-up that American serial killer John Wayne Gacy wore; No freaking subtlety whatsoever! It's clear as day that this clown was meant to look just like John Wayne Gacy! The clowns bite begins to take an effect on Emmet and he slowly begins to turn into a "Were-Clown"??? I don't f*cking know! This film story makes no sense and it's kind of all over the place. Anyway Emmet tries to find the Clown that bit him so he can protect his brother, but the longer Emmet stays a clown the more psychotic he becomes and yearns to eat other peoples flesh. He eventually saves his little brother Andy from being killed and eaten by Fucko the Clown, but then Emmet decides he can no longer go on living for fear that he might harm his little brother or another child. So he hangs out around a play ground the police show up, he pulls out a fake gun and the police kill him.
|That is some Wicked Make-Up :)
Make's no God d@mn sense, huh? This story tries to condense and force out way too much material in a short span. I will say this though; Emmet does turn into a pretty gnarly clown with this permanent evil grin on his face. Even in the scenes where he's sad and crying he still has that evil smile on his face and it just looks cool. That unfortunately is the only positive thing I have to say about this part of the film. It was a stupid idea and it was poorly executed.
Lover Come Back
|Spoiler alert: Her character is the framing device!
The last story in "Scary or Die" is also the shortest and the Worst part of the film. A woman is beaten to death by her abusive husband, her grandfather was a Voodoo Priest or Witch Doctor or I don't give a crap, and anyways he cast a spell on her as a child so she has the ability come back from the dead so she does and she finds her ex-husband and kills him. The End!


text:
"Kissed by Sun", 9 x 12", Pastel.
One more Tetons-themed painting what I finished the other evening.
This one also done on multimedia surface, however with no underpainting.
tetones Valley always was one of my favorite places to paint.
I'm looking forward to go back there and spend more time with my camera and easel.


text: After 3 Maulings, Anchorage Mulls Bear Policy By Jess Kilby, Newser User Posted May 11, 2009 8:09 AM CDT 1 comment Comments Grizzly bears at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Alaska try to get into a bear resistant trash can being tested at the zoo on Friday, May 8, 2009. The test is in conjunction with the zoo's bear aware program... (AP Photo/Al Grillo) View 2 more images (Newser) – Anchorage has long been a bear-friendly town, but with three uncharacteristic maulings last summer some residents want a more aggressive wildlife management policy this year, the AP reports. The city of 285,000 is also home to more than 300 bears and borders a national park that officials have called a "bear factory." The city has increased the number of bear-hunting permits to 10 but says that's enough. "The people that want us to shoot all the bears in town, that is unreasonable," said a wildlife official, who hopes no more than three bears will be killed this year for the sake of population control. "We don't kill bears in retribution. We try to examine each case." View 2 more images


text: Hi everybody. I brought two young silkies home from a show about a month ago. I guess their ages were about 6 week for one and 10 weeks for the other. They had a pen inside the main coop to themselves for a few weeks. Then I started letting them out in the run while I watched to make sure they weren't attacked too bad. They never seemed too interested in exploring/scratching much. They are now fully integrated with no major pecking incidents, and I removed their temporary pen. But they continue to huddle in the corner that was their pen. I have showed them the ramps to exit the coop to the run several times, by shooing them up and down the ramps. My other birds never had any problems with the ramps even when they were babies. When I have shooed them out to the run, they just huddle by the fence, occasionally scratching. The rest of the flock mostly ignores them. Occasionally my other silkies stand very close to them in a sort of challenge, and the larger baby will lower her head in a submissive posture. The rest of the flock go in and out all day. But these babies don't seem to move much unless I make them. They are eating and drinking well and growing. Poops are healthy. I put them on corid preventatively. They appear very healthy. They have more crest at this age than my other silkies had. Especially the larger one. So I wonder it their eyesight is the issue. Should I cut the crest off? Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.


text:
A lot of our friends didn't go to Rotterdam this year as they usually do, which wasn't sad for us at all because we were forced to make a relative acquaintance into a friend. Simon Lee, who I talked about earlier on the blog and who stayed near us down by the docks (pictures of area seen here) while at the fest, was in Rotterdam screening his short Where Is the Black Beast? as part of a program called Signals: Regained. The program featured a group of four highly experimental shorts which Brent & I were fully prepared not to like...having jet lag and watching experimental short films late into the night sounded like a form of French torture but, to our surprise, we ended up loving almost the entire set! Simon and his musical partner for this piece, Algis Kizys, crafted a kinetic collage of black & white found images set to an engrossing score as people recited lines from the Ted Hughes collection of poems called Crow: From The Life and Songs of the Crow, poems that I need to read before really analyzing the film and which I can't seem to find online... It was very moving and captured the glimpses of a life in a simple yet inquisitive way as the words about a crows gruff and independent life were buoyed by these moments of the lives of others. Wonderful!
Other shorts in the program included a newer one, Night Mayor, by Guy Maddin about a man creating sound and images from the charged particles of aurora borealis, Another Occupation by Ken Jacobs dealt with the nature of military existence (a piece that sparked a raging film nerd debate about how it was produced to the point someone offered to call Jacobs himself and get the inside scoop, conclusion: it appears he used a stroboscope- WOAH! I never heard of that! It is insane! I'd also never heard of Ken Jacobs and now I am kind of obsessed with seeing more of his "paracinema.") and a piece called Finding the Telepathic Cinema of Manchuria by David Blair (who we also hung out with for a bit and whose piece I am still trying to wrap my brain around- it might be about the confusion of history through media resources and the spirituality of watching film? or a meditation on the way we impart our stories to one another? not too sure...). Either way I was unprepared to have a new love affair with late-night experimental cinema...despite the fact I always imagined Gravity as a perfect midnight movie! Teehee!


text:
The important bit is this one, I think:
[WotC], in my opinion, is addicted to publishing new shiny things that were already printed before. After all, PUBLISH OR PERISH is the mantra for people in my field and for publishing companies. They HAD to make another edition of D&D to stay profitable - otherwise they were just going to run out of expansion products and ideas.
What they really need to do is completely change their business model (DDI doesn't count - that's vaporware). More and more gamers are turning to the internet and not to published hardback books for their materials. The RPG bloggers network alone provides me with enough material for more campaigns than I could ever run in my lifetime!
And that last bit is the rub: the internet changes everything. I can read tonnes of good stuff on blogs and forums, and if I want to I can cheaply or freely partake in fan-produced materials like Fight on! or Labyrinth Lord or a million and one others. (3e and 4e equivalents are also out there, if that's what floats your boat.) Who needs to buy materials the traditional way when you can download a .pdf, print it out and bind it (because it would be better to pledge your soul to satan than try to read them on an electronic format) within minutes - and when moreover there won't be the built-in redundancy which trying to keep up with new editions of the game brings?
I really wonder where WotC will go from here. I'm nowhere near churlish enough to argue that they couldn't continue to make fun versions of D&D from here until kingdom come if they had the money to. But there are only so many times you can say "Here's a new better version than the one you've been enjoying for the last few years!" before your customers start to smell rats. Role playing games are not like computer games, where graphics and processor speeds are continually evolving: there is a point at which a set of rules are good enough and require no more refinement. (Which is why nobody has successfully produced a new version of the Monopoly rules, for example.) This is especially true of rules for role playing games, whose point is not rules at all, but the concept of a shared world, which is free.


text:
Let Analytics Edge do your work for you with this free report. Automatically download your Google Analytics data and transform that raw data into meaningful information. No formulas required; the workbook uses the wizard-driven Analytics Edge filter, replace, pivot and sort functions to do the work for you.
Download the workbook: GoogleAnalyticsVisitsByMediumReport.xlsx
Inspiration reference: annielytics.com


text:
Within much of Palestinian society, though, nonviolent resistance is viewed as suspect. After a recent showing of "Budrus" at An Najah University in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, much of the discussion centered on whether nonviolence was an implicit attack on "legitimate armed struggle" and whether joining with Israeli activists was an illicit act of "normalization" — meaning granting recognition of Israel.
he said: "It is obvious that the filmmaker was not there. The movie represents what happened as more nonviolent that it really was."
Bassem Tamimi, a Palestinian activist, listening to the conversation, added: "Our enemy is so violent that he doesn't give us a chance to be nonviolent. So it is no wonder that Palestinians do not believe in nonviolence."
via Film – 'Budrus' Becomes Part of a Palestinian Debate – NYTimes.com.


text:
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Iceberg dead ahead: The Yankees visit two last place teams going nowhere. What could possibly go wrong?
Nope. We should have no problems with Atlanta. Three game sweep, baby, three game sweep. Everybody knows this. Bring the brooms. It's inconceivable that we would lose to Atlanta, right? They don't have Chipper Jones anymore. Bad team. Right?
Oh... but then, come next week, the Fates have a special place for us to visit- our own little dung heap in hell. Boston. Yes, we play the most disappointing team in baseball, a club with nothing to play for - and nothing to lose - other than the pleasure of killing the Yankees' shot at the Bud Selig one-game wild card playoff.
Insert fart here.
Ever since Toronto came to town - seems like a hundred years ago, eh? - it's as if the mighty Yankees jersey was yanked off to reveal two dwarfs, standing piggyback. We spent four months adoring what could turn out to be the biggest collapsing Yankee team since 2004. This with - AND I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP - a Sports Illustrated puff piece this week that actually wonders aloud whether Brian Cashman could someday be enshrined in Cooperstown. Hey, anything can happen, I guess. All he needs is a fake mole.
5 comments:
- John M said...
All season I've been wondering which Yankees are the real Yankees. The hot team or the bumbling, every 5.00 ERA opposing pitcher is Cy Young team.
It turns out they're a floor wax AND a dessert topping. One team shuffles in suddenly after the other one flames out. Two teams, two completely different personalities, the mean and the 3 standard deviations away version.
The mean is tough to watch.
- August 27, 2015 at 7:18 AM
- Honey Barnes said...
As was noted by El Duque in another post (see Nova, Ivan). The inconsistency has been solved. They are now a model of consistently bad play.
- August 27, 2015 at 9:03 AM
- McGatman said...
I did not know Sterling was a lefty. And that uniform! Was Dick Frederick the first baseman?
- August 27, 2015 at 10:30 AM
- Ken of Brooklyn said...
Riffing on John M's hilarious comment, we do have two nutty teams, Professor Sherman Klump and Buddy Love!
There's been waaaaaaay to much Klump this month and not enough Love, and, I'm afraid Buddy has been permanently exorcised from the collective soul of this anemic line up!
URRGGG, we've been Body Snatched by the Mets,,,,,,
- August 27, 2015 at 12:30 PM
Remember the old show "Branded"? Well here's what I suggest. At the beginning of the next home game the entire Yankee team lines up in two rows in the infield, and Drew and Capuano are made to run the gauntlet while the drums bang away. They rip the NY from their uniforms and break their bats in two (or in Capuano's case take a box cutter to his mitt). Then they are banished from New York -- never to return.
Hey, I know the whole team sucks, but we really need this.
- August 27, 2015 at 2:10 PM


text:
1# Antilla, Mumbai, India: $1 billion
|Antilla, Mumbai, India: $1 billion
The Most Expensive Home in the World in{Mumbai}, India.
The gizmo-filled posh pad, named "Antilla," is a 27-story, 40,000 sq/ft tower that belongs to the head of Mumbai-based petrochemical giant Reliance Industries. The building will stand 570-ft tall above the ground and will have 400,000 sq. ft. of interior space. The home has six stories of parking space alone after which the living quarters with nine elevators and a host of storage rooms and lounges begin. Mostly glass, it has a staff of 600 servants, but at the rate this palatial home is getting blinged out, we won't be entirely surprised if the number increased by a couple of hundreds more!.
2# Villa Leopolda, Cote D'Azur, France: $506 million
|$506 Million: Villa Leopolda, Cote D'Azur,France
Situated on the French Riviera and built on 29,000 square feet of interior space that opens to manicured lawns and a swimming pool, it also has 11 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. The villa is not only known to have the best sea views in the south of France, but it also sits on 10 acres of immaculate grounds that run right down to the resort of Villefranche. Originally built for Belgian king Leopold's mistresses, this house has been a den of big shots like late banking magnate Edmund Safra, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Fiat tycoon Gianni Agnelli.
3# The Penthouse, London - $200million
Fairfield Pond, one of the largest privately owned houses in United States is the fourth most expensive house in the world valuing $170 million. It is named after adjoining body of water, Fairfield Pond and faces Atlantic Ocean. The ground area of the house is 63 acres and buildings are on 110,000 sq foot which also includes the 66,000 sq foot of main house that contains 29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms and has Italian facade. The house is owned by Ira Rennert, the American investor and businessman. The house also feature a 91-foot long formal dining room, a $150,000 hot tub, bowling alley, two tennis and squash courts.
5# William Randolph Hearst\'s mansion, Beverly Hills, England - $165 million
This prestigious Beverly Hills mansion, which was once home of the US newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, has 6 separate residences, 3 swimming pools, eight fireplaces, a tennis court, a nightclub and 29 bedrooms, all spread across over 6 acres of land in a famed Beverly Hills environ called the Platinum Triangle. The nationally recognized home was then bought by lawyer and investor Leonard Ross in 1976, who wants a "lifestyle change." Buying this would make you the owner of most expensive real estate in the US and moreover, you would become the next door neighbor to Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and David and Victoria Beckham.
6# Franchuk Villa, Kensington- Price - $161 million
This six-story property in Belgravia, central London, has 20-foot ceilings, luxurious fixtures and more than 21,000 square feet of living space. Along with Candy Spelling's Holmby Hills mansion, this white-stucco-fronted house at No. 10 Belgrave Square, owned by Lebanese developer Musa Salem, is now the most expensive home on the market in the world. Mr. Salem bought this property many years back on a long lease from the Grosvenor Estate, with a condition to restore the house to full Victorian glory. The lavish amenities include an indoor swimming pool in the basement, a gym, a home theater, a garage room, a news house and much more.
7# "The Pinnacle," Montana= Price - $155 million
The Pinnacle," Montana
This luxury ski-lodge is to be the largest property in the exclusive billionaires-only private ski and golf community, "Yellowstone Club." Naturally then, it will be the home of the owners of this elite group, Tim and Edra Blixseth. While not considered big compared to others on this list with only 10 bedrooms, this home will include heated flooring throughout the house that stretches all the way to the heated driveway, as well as fireplaces in all bathrooms, a huge wine cellar, an indoor/outdoor pool, gym and massage room.
Features: Small in comparison to the other properties on this list with 10 bedrooms. However, it boasts features such as heated flooring system throughout the house, fireplaces in all bathrooms, a huge wine cellar, indoor and outdoor pool as well as gym and massage room. It is the home of Time and Edra Blixseth, owners of the billionaires-only golf and ski resort "Yellowstone Club".
8# The $150 Million Spelling Manor,Los Angeles, California
The Aaron Spelling mansion, the Holmby Hills home to the iconic TV producer and his family, has been put on the market by his widow, Candy, for $150 million, E! Online reports. All offers considered, we're sure.The walled 4.6-acre estate has 123 or so rooms (who knows if they've ever counted -- Spelling has admitted she's not sure how many bathrooms there are). The French château-style mansion includes a bowling alley, wine cellar and tasting room, China room, library, gymn, screening room, beauty salon and gift-wrapping room. There's an outdoor pool, a tennis court, and a rooftop rose garden, plus 16 car ports and parking for 100 more cars.
Who: Suzanne Saperstein
Location: 350 North Carolwood, Holmby Hills, CA
Price: $125,000,000
Square Feet: 35,046
House Name: Fleur De Lys
Bed/Bath: 12 bed/15 bath
Lot Size: 4.18 acres
Year Built: 2002
Candy Spelling already has plans beyond Holmby Hills -- she spent $47 million on a new two-story condo in Century City.9# Updown Court, Windlesham, Surrey, UK: $139 million
|World's Most Expensive Homes
Your blood may not run blue, but with enough green you can still live near—and like—royalty. Updown Court is currently the most expensive residence in the world, costing about $50 million more than the priciest U.S. home – more than 85 million British pounds (+$ 150 million USD). The brand-new property is totally over the top, with 103 rooms, five swimming pools and 24-carat-gold leafing on the study's mosaic floor.
9# Updown Court, Windlesham, Surrey, UK: $139 million
|Updown Court, Windlesham, Surrey, UK: $139 million
There's a squash court, bowling alley, tennis court, 50-seat screening room, heated marble driveway and helipad. All eight of your limousines will fit in the underground garage. Then there are the neighbors, who include the queen (at Windsor Castle) and Elton John. It is listed with Savills and Hamptons International.
10# Dracula's Castle, Romania -Price - $135 million
Dracula's Castle, Romania- Price - $135 million
Built on 200 ft. tall rock, the castle has 57 inviting rooms, courtyard and underground passages. It is said that Prince Vlad the Impaler, the ferocious warlord who inspired Bram Stoker's "Dracula" character, lived in this castle for one night in 1400s. Digging a bit deep into the past, the Bran castle is believed to be originally built as a stronghold by the Teutonic Knights in 1212. From 1920 to 1948, the castle became the residence of royal family. Presently, the historical castle is operating as a museum of medieval arts and about 450,000 people visit the castle every year. And yes, do remember that you will be greeted by bats flying around the ramparts at twilight.
11# Hala Ranch, Saudi Arabia - $135 million
Hala Ranch has 15 bedrooms and 27 bathrooms, an indoor pool, a tennis court, private ski trails, a gas station, car wash and sewage treatment plant on the area of 56,000 square feet.
Hala Ranch Aspen, Colo., $135 million: Owned by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, this 95-acre estate boasts a 56,000-square-foot, 15-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion.
12# Maison de l'Amitie, America - $125 million
In 2004, Donald Trump bought Maison de L'Amitie at bankruptcy auction for $41.25 million. With the refurbished version, complete with a ballroom, a 4,100 square foot conservatory, 100-foot-long swimming pool as well as 2 others, a media room, a library and 475 feet of oceanfront, he aims to set a U.S. sales record.
13# Fleur de Lys, Carolwood Drive, Bel Air, America - $125 million
The mansion has 80,000 square feet of space but no chandeliers. Lighting and other fixtures have been left out of the home, so the new owners can customize it to their taste.
The French Regency "palace" also features an eight-car garage, carriage house, guest house and pool house.
"It's just a fantastic piece of property," Trump says. "The biggest site. The biggest oceanfront. The best location in Palm Beach. And Palm Beach is the richest community in the world."
"It's just a fantastic piece of property," Trump says. "The biggest site. The biggest oceanfront. The best location in Palm Beach. And Palm Beach is the richest community in the world."
Who: Suzanne Saperstein
Location: 350 North Carolwood, Holmby Hills, CA
Price: $125,000,000
Square Feet: 35,046
House Name: Fleur De Lys
Bed/Bath: 12 bed/15 bath
Lot Size: 4.18 acres
Year Built: 2002
Suzanne has relisted her opulent mansion, consisting 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, and a 9-car garage on 4.18 acres of land.
Straight across the street from Walt Disney's old property is the Fleur de Lysmansion at 350 N. Carolwood Drive in Bel Air's Holmby Hills.
The Saperstein's bought three parcels in 1996 and 1997 and combined them to build this 35,046 square foot home. Which they promptly named "Fleur de Lys". It is modelled after Versailles.
Candy Spelling's neighbor in Holmby Hills, Suzanne almost sold her pricey real estate to singer Mariah Carey in 2009.As befitting a nine-figure contender for second most expensive of U.S. properties,Fleur de Lys features a formal ballroom which accomodates 200, a library with a collection of first edition books, a pair of kitchens, staff quarters for ten, a nine car garage, 4,000 bottle wine cellar, conference room, massage room, beauty salon, and a 3/4 quarter mile jogging track. The Holmby Hills chateau also features a posh formal dining room where Saperstein has entertained the likes of Prince Andrewand Laura Bush. And because this L.A., there's a 50-person screening room.
Fleur de Lys features Italian marble walls, French limestone floors, gold-embossed leather wall coverings, gold-leaf crowned moldings and a ballroom with ceiling frescos. That's not it, theres a pool house with full kitchen, 70 foot swimming pool, tennis court, and a pool house with an exercise room, a three bedroom manager's house and staff quarters for ten.
The Swedish-born chatelaine decorated the manse with 18th century French furniture and Faberge eggs, filling the closets with couture anda collection of HermesBirkin and Kelly bags
While spearheading construction of the grand estate, the Saperstein's drew inspiration from Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicompte, one of France's most elaborate chateaux.
David and Suzanne Saperstein met on a plane, a commercial variety, en route fromEurope to the US. They ended up sitting beside one another and flirting until the moment David remarked on his distaste for European women because of their hairy legs, whereupon Suzanne swung a leg over his lap and invited him to run his hands along them.
14# Updown Court, London - $116 million
Updown Court: This house in England is around $116 million. It has more than 100 rooms, bowling alley and swimming pools.
Updown Court is even bigger than Buckingham Palace featuring 103 rooms, 50-seat movie theater, 3 swimming pools, a bowling alley, and a squash court on the area of 40,000 square feet.


text:
IT WAS 1965 AND I WAS TEN. It was a typical summer night at my suburban Orange County home. Our family's store, (think RiteAid) was about a 30 minute drive from our home, but socially it was decades behind, and that hot summer night the flames of the infamous Watts' Riots were roaring too close for comfort. I remember the night that my dad got the call that rioters were marching in front of the store. I remember my dad and brother jumping in the truck and heading out to see what they could do to avert too much damage. It was a scary time for all.
From as early as I can remember I was taught that skin color and social ranking were not to be markers of a person's worth. My dad lived-out that teaching everyday as he opened the doors of his store on Compton Ave. That night in August, 1965, my dad's faith in the goodness of people, no matter their race or social status, would be put to the test.
Upon driving up to the store my dad and brother found a number of black men with guns at the ready. An even greater dismay occurred when my dad recognised that these were his regular customers, people he had befriended with free items when they were in need. Angered, he jumped from his truck, pistol in hand. As he approached the men they yelled to him, "Mr. Bob! Mr. Bob! Don't you worry, nobody is going to touch your store. We're here to protect it!" And protect it they did. The businesses on either side of our store were burned-out, but ours remained untouched.
It was in the midst of the riot that the true nature of people was released. Yes, some rose to cause damage and hurt, be they white or black, and yet others rose-up to show that the color of one's skin was not to be the determining mark of one's heart.
As followers of Jesus Christ we are in a riot zone. But we are not called to be rioters, fighting for what we think are our rights, but rather reconcilers, living for what is truth. In the Scriptures we read, "And God reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
Let us all then live out the reconciling reconciled life everyday in everyway.


text: Motorola Mobility wants business users on Android handsets, and to accomplish this the company has decided to put its money where its mouth is. Starting today, Moto will offer up to $200 to smartphone users that trade in their old, BLUR-less set for a new Android device. The company is also offering converts its MotoAssist service, which should -- in theory -- make the data migration process as painless as possible. The Droid RAZR Maxx, Droid 4 and Atrix 2 are just a few of the handsets up for grabs. Saunter on past the break for the full PR, and be sure to let us know if a pair of Benjamins in your pocket is just what you've been waiting for to make the switch.


text:
81 degrees...unacceptable!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
All Up In Muh Grilllll...
81 degrees...unacceptable!
Monday, March 29, 2010
If you like making love at midnite...
Friday, March 26, 2010
Shame on all of you! Give me my dignity! I just came here to see "Honk If You're Horny" in peace.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
WIDE Wednesday!
If I'm being totally honest, I did eat 6 mini eggs. But that was only like 100 calories and I had that to spare. I still included it because I didn't eat the whole bag in one sitting, which would have been the norm. There, now my conscience is free and I can sleep at night. Make it a great Wednesday, dudes!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I represent Queens, she was raised out in Brooklyn...
Monday, March 22, 2010
Now I know why they call it Bloody Sunday.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
I don't wear green because of my sick-ass pinching fetish.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
If the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.
I am going to send my $1 to this company and see how this diet works out for me. It can't be any worse than those Slim Shots, you know?
Alright, I'm outta here. Have a happy Tuesday. Trivia tonite! More snacks to avoid! Then a potluck at work tomorrow because what St. Patrick's Day would be complete without the pressures of eating a bunch of shit at work. Erin Go...Blah?
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mondays, by the case.
I got home at 4:30am after a fun but frustrating Saturday night only to be woken up at 9am by a still-slightly-drunk friend who wanted to know why her car wasn't in her driveway. Probably because it was in MY driveway. It was a weird night. Long story short, I would love to find a few pals who don't go out every weekend with the main objective being to remember NOTHING come Monday morning. Not trying to be a prude...it just sucks being the only sober one in a group of beligerant yet loveable drunks.
Either way, despite being stuck for four hungry hours in very close proximity to a Denny's, I did great food-wise. I drank about nine cups of water and bowled for 3 hours. My foot hurts, but I was proud of myself for the first time in a while, so that was nice. I'm not real big on self-assurance so it's a rare and welcomed feeling.
Anyway...weigh-in was this morning. I'm at 394, so that's 4.8 down since last week. Good times...good times. I'd like to see some 380s in the next week or two here, but I guess that's up to me, right? Warp speed ahead, Mr. Spock.
Friday, March 12, 2010
What Would You Say...
PLUS, there's a freeze on raises due to "economic hardships." Look, I get that we are in a shitty recession, and I totally get that times are tough. But they eliminate all these positions and make everyone left work way harder and then they make it impossible to ask for a little extra scratch. And if you bitch about it, they give you the ol' "HEY AT LEAST WE STILL HAVE JOBS!" line.
I'm sure if you've been recently laid off from your job and you're out there looking for a new one every day and getting nothing but doors slammed in your face, you're probably reading that last paragraph and saying to yourself "this greedy bitch..." But I'm just saying, the economy is shit and it's not like anything costs any less than it ever did when times were "good." If you're working hard, I don't think it's out of line to expect your whole extra 40 cents an hour once per year. My raises are always only 40 cents! But still...right about now...I could sure use that forty cents.
Anyway, I'm off my soapbox...FOR NOW. I bought a jicama! Like, a whole one. I usually buy the little container of it at Whole Foods already all chopped up and ready for action. But it's like 5 bucks! And a whole one was like 53 cents, so I thought I could at least try. Even though it was scary and intimidating on the outside, I think I did it okay. I expected it to be a lot harder than it was. I think I actually didn't ruin something I made in my own kitchen for once!
That's a bad-ass plate, huh? Dina sent it to me from her store-of-all-the-weirdest-things-Tricia-will-love-but-could-never-afford. She's a true pal.
If you're wondering what that red stuff is, it's this:
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Get outta my yard!
Anywho...here's a few pics of boring things. As you can see, my phone offers the same boringness and awful picture quality as my camera, but now I have two ways to bring that boringness to you, gentle reader.
First off, PROOF that I gave away the Jelly Bellies! Here is Allan, my cubie neighbor, looking like Special Ed while holding the proof! This dude is a nut, for real. He's super Mormon so you give him some sugar and you will be entertained for the afternoon. It's pretty great. The best thing ever is when he goes to buy one of those 5-Hour Energy Shots at lunch because the whole rest of the day is pretty much like a 4-hour acid trip. Good times...
I took this picture as proof that I can't cook for SHIT. I tried to make TJs Baked Oatmeal to have for breakfast this week. It literally called for like 4 ingredients and I still totally fucked it up. By the time I pulled it out of the oven 45 minutes later, it was this rock hard chunk of burniness and well, let's just say this pan has been soaking in my sink of like three days and it's not even TRYING to work with me. I give up!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Listen all y'all, it's a sabotaaaaage...
...except it was the Kid Mix! Which means it's even greater because there's no annoying black licorice ones to slow down the shoveling. I faked exuberance and hid the bag behind me on the bench. When I left, I stuck the bag in the glove compartment of my car, and today I plan on passing those suckers on to someone else. Preferably some other fattie in the Biggest Loser challenge so I can get the inside edge...
Man, the things a girl's gotta do just to avoid junk food these days.
In other, way shittier, news...I found out from my brother that my Aunt Alice had a stroke a couple nights ago. She's totally paralyzed on her left side and she can't remember her husband and daughter. That is a terrible awful thing and I feel horrible about it. My aunt and I aren't that close. I remember me and my niece Crystal used to have to spend summers there when we were kids and man, hell on earth. Still, she's a good lady and I hope she can recover from this.
From as far back as I can remember, Alice has always been severely overweight. But as far as I know, she's always been in pretty decent health. So while I was surprised and saddened to hear of her condition, it wasn't a total shock. But more than ever, it drives home the message of health. I don't want to have a heart attack. I don't want to have a stroke. I don't want to have to survive some life-altering medical condition to be able to make positive changes in my life. I just wanna do it on my own terms. On a daily basis, I see my body fighting back against the damages already done. I don't need another wake-up call, I'm awake, dammit. Now I just gotta get outta bed...
Sometimes I wish the Snooze button was never invented.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I miss the Sopranos.
Plus, at least now I know the 400.0 last week wasn't a fluke and I am for sure under 400 for now. And hopefully forever. I think I have the right mindset right now. I just hope I can make it last. Don't wanna get cocky because then I fall off my game and I end up back at Day One for the millionth time.
Home life has been stressful due to some rearranging of Jeff's work schedule. I think we just get along better when we're not around each other very much, which is a sad state of affairs when you're talking about your boyfriend. Not really sure how all this is going to pan out, but maybe it won't be as terrible as I'm thinking. I'm not really sure what I'm doing with my life at this point. I think it's easy when you're on a fast track to a cholesterol-related death to lose sight of where you actually wanna go with your life. When things start to fall into place, then you start wondering if the years are worth saving if you're just going to be miserable. Change begets change? Or maybe I'm all talk...who knows.
Man, this a depressing ass post. Does it help if I say I'm eating an orange that's the size of a baby's head? Like a fat James Gandolfini-style baby. A fat, italian baby. Obviously from the Jersey Shore, due to the skin color.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Those Charmin Commercials with the Bears Creep Me Out...
If you don't know Kelly, you should go check her out. She's funny and smart and like one of the best moms ever and she posts rockin' recipes and once she sent me steak sauce and I still use it like all...the...time. Well, not the same bottle, cause it's gone. But they sell it at Wal-Mart is what I'm saying, people. So go there and read her if you don't already and congratulate her for her fibery win and also for RUNNING A MILE AND A HALF+, so awesome! (/fangirl)
Also, I would like to award a small consolation prize to my favorite comment! If you know me, you know I am not normally a fan of poetry as I think it is weepy girl-type stuff and I hate when people search too hard for meaning in stuff and like write an 8-page essay about how some poem was about man's struggle against the environment or something and really it's just about some girl getting her period for the first time (are you there, God? It's me, Tricia.) ANYWAY, I still think creativity and hard work should be rewarded, so here's Tammy's poem in case you missed it!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Committed Committee.
In other news, I went to Jeff's neice's baby shower yesterday and it lasted SIX hours. Who in the hell thought this was a good idea? I was talking to his sister and she said something about their Baby Shower Committee Meetings and I'm all 'what in the world?' Are baby showers the new weddings or something? Six hours of playing weird baby games and having to stand up and give parenting advice and watching someone slowly unwrap what seemed to be about 500 onesies pretty much had me praying for death.
Who am I to give parenting advice? I don't even have kids. I advised them not to encourage the baby to cuss, because even though it's cute and hilarious, it will inevitably say FUCK really loud at a funeral awaiting giant laughs. A few people chuckled but then I got told I wasn't taking it "seriously" probably because I wasn't. It's a baby shower, not a wake. I see now why I have little to no contact with the outside world. Between the Greatful Dead tshirt and ripped jeans and total inexperience on all things baby and baby-like, I'm sure I did not successfully blend in. The only solution: Stop knowing pregnant people.
I pulled a winner for the giveaway, but I tried (unsuccessfully) to make a cool visual to display the name. I FAILED. I have failed thee, oh world of bloggers. I'll try again tonight after work and if it sucks again, I'll just post it in a regular ol' boring way. Nothing ever comes out as good as it is in my head. Inside my mind lies a glorious land of successful craft projects. I want to go to there.
Happy Monday.


text:
Prep Time: 25min
Servings: 24
Total Time: 2hr30min
- 1
- box (1 lb 1 oz) Betty Crocker® dark chocolate Premium brownie mix
- Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box
- 1
- package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 2
- cups powdered sugar
- 1
- tablespoon frozen (thawed) orange juice concentrate
- Yellow food color
- Red food color
- 1/3
- cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2
- teaspoons shortening
- 1Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make brownies as directed on box. Cool completely.
- 2Stir cream cheese, powdered sugar, orange juice, 2 drops yellow food color and 1 drop red food color until smooth and spreadable; spread over brownies.
- 3Place chocolate chips and shortening in small microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on Medium (50%) about 2 minutes or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Drizzle over brownies. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until cream cheese and chocolate are set.
- 4For 24 brownies, cut into 4 rows by 6 rows. Cover and refrigerate any remaining brownies.
Expert Tips
Soften cream cheese quickly by placing unwrapped cream cheese in a bowl and microwaving on High for 10 to 15 seconds.


text:
for each other. The flocking on the velvet and its satin bow added to the allure for me.
black Moyuru skirt and a wool knit top. For some colour I added my orange leather gloves , from Paris last year , a vintage orange hat , black booties and a Spencer and Rutherford tulip bag.
resist adding to my collection at every opportunity- fortunately usually from thrift or recycle stores.
The good thing about accessories , they don't date or wear out and they always fit. We all need a hobby don't we. I have recently turned my son's old bedroom into , as my husband refers to it," a whacking great walk in wardrobe." More collecting to come for sure-well I must use the space.
Joining Patti for Visible Monday and Catherine at Not Dressed as Lamb for #iwillwearwhatilike


text:
It is so hard to believe that fourteen years have gone by since the day you came into my life and fulfilled my destiny to be your mom. I feel so blessed to be your mom.
You are amazing, beautiful, talented, loving, caring, creative, smart, funny, compassionate, brave, courageous, artistic, wonderful, kind, determined, unique, blessed, strong.
I hope you never forget how much I love you.
I will always be your best and loudest cheerleader. I will always be striving to better your life. I will always be a listening ear and a pair of arms to hug you. I will always try to heal your hurts whether they are big or small. I will always champion your causes and I will always believe in you.
I love you honey!!
Happy 14th birthday
my sweet, sweet girl!!!!


text:
If you're experiencing issues with our site while using Internet Explorer 10, please click the Compatibility Mode icon in your browser's address bar as shown above.
Computing Fundamentals
Key Applications
Living Online
* Membership of this site requires user agreement to receive communications from CCI Learning.
This microsite is designed to be used as a companion to the CCI Learning Solutions Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) Guide. Students will find additional exercises, creative applications, projects, additional review questions, and practice tests to assist in practicing and reinforcing skill sets learned using the courseware. Instructors will have access to lesson plans, slides, additional resources for students, and much more.
The information on this site is arranged to follow the flow and structure of the CCI Learning IC³ Certification Guide; you will notice the navigation bar along the top features each exam. Under these headings you will navigate to the content for each Lesson.
To access the course outline, click here.
Download the Errata for 7318.
When focusing on gaining the appropriate skill sets to work with a computer, one certification can set you apart from the crowd.
The Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) provides students and job-seekers with the foundation of knowledge they need to succeed in environments that require the use of computers and the Internet. The Global Standard 4 (GS4) is an internationally recognized standard for digital literacy and reflects the most relevant skills needed in today's academic and business environments.
In an increasingly digital world where virtually every field and function is impacted by computers, IC³ certification can help you refine your aptitude in the most important and valuable areas. What's more, IC³ helps teachers and instructors define their students' proficiency and marketable skills as they enter the workforce.


text:
Pomp, and Little CircumstanceI wonder if they borrowed a talking head from MSNBC to write this vitriolic editorial.
A theatrical production of unusual pomposity will open on Wednesday when Republicans assume control of the House for the 112th Congress. A rule will be passed requiring that every bill cite its basis in the Constitution. (ed.note: and they see fault with this?) A bill will be introduced to repeal the health care law. On Thursday, the Constitution will be read aloud in the House chamber.(again, where is the fault here? The pomposity?) And in one particularly self-important flourish, the new speaker, John Boehner, arranged to have his office staff "sworn in" on Tuesday by the chief justice of the United States.
Those who had hoped to see a glimpse of the much-advertised Republican plan to revive the economy and put Americans back to work will have to wait at least until party leaders finish their Beltway insider ritual of self-glorification. Then, they may find time for governing.
The empty gestures are officially intended to set a new tone in Washington, to demonstrate — presumably to the Republicans' Tea Party supporters — that things are about to be done very differently. But it is far from clear what message is being sent by, for instance, reading aloud the nation's foundational document. Is this group of Republicans really trying to suggest that they care more deeply about the Constitution than anyone else and will follow it more closely?(why, yes, yes they are!)
In any case, it is a presumptuous and self-righteous act, suggesting that they alone understand the true meaning of a text that the founders wisely left open to generations of reinterpretation. Certainly the Republican leadership is not trying to suggest that African-Americans still be counted as three-fifths of a person. (since they are reading the whole constitution this is a riduculous and hateful statement.)
There is a similar air of vacuous fundamentalism in requiring that every bill cite the Constitutional power given to Congress to enact it. The new House leadership says this is necessary because the health care law and other measures that Republicans do not like have veered from the Constitution. But it is the judiciary that ultimately decides when a law is unconstitutional, not the transitory occupant of the speaker's chair. (This whole editorial is vacuous and hateful in any conservative point of view.)
All of this, though, is simply eyewash — the equivalent of a flag-draped background to a speech — compared with the actual legislation the Republicans plan to pass. And though much of that has no possibility of being enacted, it does suggest the depth of the struggle to come. The bill tauntingly titled the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" has nothing to do with increasing employment and will never reach the Senate floor, but shows that the leadership is willing to threaten the hard-fought access to health care for millions of the uninsured, just to make a political point. (we can certainly hope so!)
On budgetary issues, the House Republicans' new rules bypass the chamber and even their own Budget Committee to give all power to set spending levels to the committee's new chairman, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. It is hard to imagine how long such an aggrandizement of power will last in a contentious body like the House. The plans by Mr. Ryan and his colleagues to simply cut all spending back to 2008 levels also have no chance of being enacted.
The one good thing about these meaningless rules and bills is that they finally seem to be prodding House Democrats into standing up for their own programs as they enter the minority. Democrats have begun to remind Americans of what is at stake in repealing health care: popular provisions like the elimination of lifetime coverage limits, insurance under parents' policies up to age 26, and coverage for pre-existing conditions.
The Republicans' antics are a ghastly waste of time at a moment when the nation is expecting real leadership from Congress, and suggest that the new House leadership is still unable to make tough choices. Voters, no less than drama critics, prefer substance to overblown theatrics.
Someone, somewhere in the heart of the almost extinct Old Gray Lady, is really feeling left out as the Republicans take over the house. I feel no sympathy for him/her, they helped in the making of the Democratic Administration that has rained down such disaster on our country.


text:
It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio – Most seniors wait for years for the cap and gown, but for Ann Colagiovanni, it took a bit longer.
Ann – or Anna Lupica as she was known in the 1930s – was only 17 years old when she quit school. She helped fill relief orders for at her father's Lupica's Grocery Meat Market. "It was the depression years and working was more important than getting your education," said Ann's daughter, Emilia Colagiovanni Vinci.
"She did what her father wanted her to do, even though she wanted to graduate. She put her father, her family, before herself." But Wednesday, Shaker Heights High School bestowed the 97-year-old an honorary high school diploma—something Ann's dreamt of her whole life.
Originally posted by caladonea
reply to post by jude11
I think this is wonderful! A very motivating story.
Awesome Anna...you go girl!!!!!


text:
I don't normally do resolutions, in fact, this is the first time I'm really setting any. Mostly because I'm young, and don't really plan things out that far ahead. Don't get me wrong; I like to plan things out, and if something unexpected happens during those plans, it throws me off for the rest of my day (not in a crazy way, I just feel off balance, like the world is upside down... I'm not helping my case...)
Anyway, my list is looking something like:
1 - Get in better shape.
I'm not a complete uggo or anything, but I'm not completely happy with my body. A bit of a gut, small moobs, a little bit of jiggle in my arms and ... you figure it out.
2 - Actually put my degree to use.
I work in the auto service industry (read: change oil). Which, don't get me wrong, is an okay job. The people are great (mostly), and I'm pretty sure unless I screw up in a major, major way, I'm sure to stay there. But I would like more. I have a Bachelor's that says I learned how to code programs and web sites, but haven't put it to use because I had been waiting for a company to hire me. But I'm realizing, I don't need to wait for some company to give me the opportunity, I can do it on my own, build a portfolio, and then let the companies fight over me (I can still dream). Luckily, this one is already sort-of happening.
3 - Write
In 2012, I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and actually finished the book. Kind of. The plot is there, the ending is there or in the works, and I have room to expand the story if I want. But there are some things I'm not happy with. My writing style, for one, seems choppy in some places, winded in others, and nonsensical everywhere else. I also feel it's not descriptive enough. I can see it in my mind, but I'm the writer, can other people view what I'm viewing? Do other people even see landscapes and characters in their head like they're watching a movie when they read? Plus, I would like to add some side-story there. What fun is it if you see the objective, and run straight for it? On top of finishing that (and possibly publishing?) I would like to do it again, most likely in a different universe.
4 - Learn another instrument
I played the clarinet from 6th grade up until the beginning of my 11th grade year. And I was pretty good. The best one in my class by a fair margin I believe, and some upperclassmen to boot. I do still play it occasionally (Phantom of the Opera Theme is a favorite, we did a marching band show using that music my 10th grade year), I also have a violin I ordered with the intentions of learning to play it... and then never did. So I'm going to get around to that, roommate's hearing be damned. (Unless someone wants to buy me a cheap electric one... no?)
5 - Be more assertive
I'm kind of a doormat. I back down from confrontation all the time, telling myself they don't mean it, or they just need space, or they're having a bad day; but I would like to put and end to that. I don't mean I plan on hulking out on anyone (one, that's uncalled for, and two, I don't have the muscle mass for that). I mean, I have bad days. Why should I be questioned or chided for my attitude when I have them when I say nothing to anyone else about theirs? So, yeah, that.
6 - Read
I love to read. Mostly fantasy series, but the occasional murder-mystery or retelling of an event. But since I've started working, its hard to just sit down and read. I try to do some reading before work, when I'm waiting for a manager to get there to open, but that's not a lot of time, and it can be hard to focus trying to watch for the manager's car, deal with people coming to ask when we open, why I don't open, etc. But I think there will be some exciting developments this year. Maybe "Winds of Winter" will be released. The last of the Mortal Instruments series is slated for release, although I'm not sure I'll pick it up... I've just finished Susan Ee's debut novel "Angelfall" and am in suspense to find out of my library can borrow the sequel from the only library in its system that has it. And I'm assuming it's possible for her to release a third in the series by the end of the year...
So, there's my hopes for the new year (so far!). Maybe putting them down on record somewhere will inspire me to do some, if not all of these things.
Here's to a brand new year, Random People of the Internet; may all your hopes, wishes, and dreams at the very least become attainable this year.


text:
First, finding the notes in the plans was hard, so it is A4, pitch 40.
Don't worry about drilling it into the extrusion gusset yet. Draw your centerline on the flange that meets the seat back and push into place. I had one hole on the side extrusion that I had to match, but you are lucky you can just drill the flange into the uprights. Once the back support is positioned, extend the center line onto the uprights.
Cleco the seat back into place over 7F6-5. Now extend the centerline from the uprights onto the seat back. Now space your rivets making sure to take into account where the vertical ("L") will go in the seat back.
I drilled four test holes to make sure I had extended the line properly, which I had. The remaining holes were then drilled.
I also had to trim the bottom tabs of the engine mount for a good fit. Sadly the radius bend in the lower mount is causing fit issues. the solution may be shims, grinding away part of the frame rails, or both.
Here are some pictures detailing the issue.
Fuselage ~148h ( 3h, 3h, 2h, 3h, 7h, 2h, 5h, 2h, 3h, 2h, 2h, 3h, 6h, 2h, 2h, 1.5h, 2.5h, 1h, 2h, 3h, 2h, 3h, 4h, 1h, 2h, 1h, 3h, 4h, 3h, 3h, 4h, 3h, 4h, 4h, 6h, 3h, 3h, 4h, 2h, 2h, 2h, 4h, 2h, 2h, 10h, 4h, 4h, 6h)
Wings: ~157.5h ( 1h, 1h, 0.5h, 2.5h, 4h, 1h, 1.5h, 1h, 1.5, 4.5, 1h, 1h, 2h, 4h, 1h, 3h, 1h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1h, .5h, .5h, 2h,3h, 1h, 3h, 3h, 4h, 2h, 3h, 7h, 3h, 1h, 4h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 4h, 2h, 2h, 2h, 2h, 1h, 2h, 3h, 2h, 1h, 3h, 2h, 2h, 1h, 2h, 3h, 2h, 1h, 1h, 1.5, 2h, 2h, 3h, 2h, 1h, 3h, 2h, 1h, 2h, 1h, 5h, 2h, 1h, 2h, 4h, 2h )
Flaperons: ( DONE! ) 23.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h, 3h, 4h, 1h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
Total Done: ~410h