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Hey...a captive audience!
It's been an interesting - but tiring - trip across most of Canada on a fantastic railroad adventure and I'm reflecting on the sights I've seen.
I noticed the young girl in the aisle talking to passengers.
Then I saw the flash of a colorful catalog sheet when she held it up. It was for Girl Scout Cookies!
Her clipboard was clutched in her right hand and she was taking orders. At 36,000 feet.
The day before, I had flown down to Seattle from Victoria, B.C. on a float plane. A seaplane.
The pilot told me later he was cruising only at 500-1,500 feet during the 30- minute flight back into the US.
As we passed by the Space Needle I saw a small lake near downtown and realized that was our landing site.
I had seen many sightseeing float planes taking off and landing while I was in Vancouver for two days.
It was smooth as was the landing.
The landing and takeoff zone in Vancouver had been in front of Canada Place.
This is the iconic city convention centre sitting on the harbor.
Butchart Garden but bumped into a bus situation that could have been ugly.
We timed our leisure walk to end just before the 4:10 bus would leave for the 40-minute drive down from north Victoria Island to the capital.
So did about 60 others who were already standing in line.
The city bus filled and pulled out.
The park closes at 5pm so no more buses could enter. Yikes.
And, yes, it WAS uphill.
Probably both ways.
We were back in the capital in plenty of time for a drink at the Empress Hotel and dinner nearby. The British Columbia Parliament building is outlined in small white lights and was a spectacular sight as the evening darkened.
Yes, there are pictures taken during the Whale Watching boat cruise but let's hold off on that for now.
(Click on the photos for more detail.)
Please come back and continue my Canadian adventure.
If you're thinking about a train trip, look into this one!
(Please click http://photo.meetup.com/687.)
Labels: Alki Park Beach, B.C. Parliament House, Butchart Garden, convention centre, Empress Hotel Canada Place, Girl Scout cookies, Orca Killer whales, Seattle, Space Needle, Victoria Island, whale watching cruise


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Originally posted by liquidsmoke206
reply to post by Idonthaveabeard
200 mph hot air balloon. yep, thats what it was.
or are you saying that the whole story is a lie?
The problem with eyewitness reports is they are notoriously unreliable , the object in the picture isn't doing 200mph nor does it appear to be hovering at 1500 ft , maybe he caught it as it was descending into the woods but what did it do after that , did it take off again or stay there ... he doesn't say .
Well, it appears Major Quintanilla knew who this guy was and didn't try character assassination. Based on that, the default seems to be giving the witness benefit of the doubt. LIFE personnel also apparently considered him a reliable source.
It hovered at about 1,500 feet above the lagoon-side restaurant where we sat , then sped away at 200 mph and abruptly changed direction , it didn't skid or bank but made a flat 90 deg turn setting down in the woods across the water
post by liquidsmoke206
can't pass a simple reading comprehension test.
post by Kandinsky
There aren't enough details to identify the lake so we're left with a name and a photograph.

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm really happy to be expanding my partnership with Peanuts Worldwide!" says Khoa. "Instagram will be another great social media platform for sharing short stories, just like on Vine. I can't wait to see what we can do with Snoopy and the Peanuts gang.
New York, NY (PRWEB) June 20, 2013
Peanuts Worldwide announced today that the company has expanded its partnership with Vine animator Khoa Phan by signing him to an exclusive agreement to create custom videos for the recently announced Instagram video service.
Over the course of the next year, the artist (known as Khoa, pronounced "Kwah") will create 10 custom Instagram videos featuring the Peanuts characters for Peanuts Worldwide on their @Snoopygrams Instagram account. Peanuts will debut their first Instagram video in July. Earlier this year, Khoa was signed to a 12-Vine deal with Peanuts Worldwide, creating six-second Peanuts-themed videos using the Vine app. Khoa's first Peanuts Vine video made its debut at the end of May.
"As always, 'Joe Cool' is at the forefront of what's happening this minute, as Snoopy leaps to the brand-new Instagram video service," says Cory Cole, social media director for Peanuts Worldwide. "Our partnership with Khoa on Vine is already a huge success, and we're excited to bring Snoopy and company to life in a creative and witty new way for Peanuts' tens of thousands of fans on Instagram."
"I'm really happy to be expanding my partnership with Peanuts Worldwide!" says Khoa. "Instagram will be another great social media platform for sharing short stories, just like on Vine. I can't wait to see what we can do with Snoopy and the Peanuts gang."
Twenty-three year-old Khoa Phan, an amateur artist, began using the Vine app the day after Twitter released it in January of this year. It only took two tries to launch him into the spotlight.
Featuring what was to become his signature message, Phan's first "Editor's Choice" vine used stop-motion animation to send construction paper "bubbles" floating across a tabletop; as the bubbles pop, they spell out "Have a good day!" To date, Phan has created more than 100 vines and has attracted more than 44,000 Vine followers. Two of his vines—"Rawr means 'I love you' in dinosaur" and "Some light trouble"—were shortlisted in the Animate category of the Tribeca Film Festival's #6SecFilm competition (making him the only creator to have more than one film in the finals).
Phan has recently been profiled on CNN's "The Lead" and was heralded as "Vine's Most Creative Stop-Motion Animator" by Mashable.
The PEANUTS characters and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide LLC, a joint venture owned 80% by Iconix Brand Group, Inc. and 20% by members of the Charles M. Schulz family. Iconix Brand Group, Inc. owns, licenses and markets a growing portfolio of consumer brands including: Candie's (R), Bongo (R), Badgley Mischka (R), Joe Boxer (R), Rampage (R), Mudd (R), Mossimo (R), London Fog (R), Ocean Pacific (R), Danskin (R), Rocawear (R), Cannon (R), Royal Velvet (R), Fieldcrest (R), Charisma (R), Starter (R), Waverly (R), Zoo York (R), Ed Hardy (R), Sharper Image (R), Umbro (R) and Lee Cooper (R). in Addition, Iconix Owns Interests in the Artful Dodger (R), Ecko (R), Marc Ecko (R), Material Girl (R), Peanuts (R), Truth or Dare (R), Billionaire Boys Club (R), Ice Cream (R), Modern Amusement (R), and Buffalo (R) brands. The Company licenses its brands to a network of leading retailers and manufacturers that touch every major segment of retail distribution from the luxury market to the mass market in both the U.S. and worldwide. Through its in-house business development, merchandising, advertising and public relations departments, Iconix manages its brands to drive greater consumer awareness and equity.


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Pigtronix OFO Disnortion FX Pedal
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The Pigtronix OFO Disnortion stomp box features a touch sensitive Overdrive, Fuzz with 6 different filters and frequency-doubling, Octava. Each effec...Click To Read More About This Product
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Three original flavors of outrageously FAT analog distortion.
The Pigtronix OFO Disnortion stomp box features a touch sensitive Overdrive, Fuzz with 6 different filters and frequency-doubling, Octava. Each effect is an original design and can each be used independently or in combinations to forge a tremendous range of musically responsive distortion sounds. The unique magic of the Pigtronix OFO Disnortion is parallel Fuzz and Overdrive, allowing you to pile on the gain without sacrificing clarity, dynamic response, punch or low end. Well voiced tone and shape controls allow you to focus each effect on its own frequency range. The Octava effects pedal is wired in series before the Overdrive and Fuzz, allowing the guitar pedal to produce a unique type of gated, gnarly grind that is absolutely devastating. A buffered output provides a clean signal for parallel processing or direct recording.
Overdrive"There has never been an Overdrive quite like this. The Pigtronix Overdrive responds to the dynamics of your playing using a proprietary, 5-stage gain architecture that retains the natural tone of your instrument, while gradually breaking up as you play louder. The circuit is so touch sensitive, it has been described as " . . . more tube than tube." You must hear it to believe it! From clean or gritty boost right up through Plexi roar, the Pigtronix Overdrive is the most musical overdrive ever made.
Fuzz"Massive gain, full-bodied sustain, and flexible tone shapes define the fuzz effect. Pigtronix's unique version of diode-clipping provides plenty of compression and controllable feedback while preserving the dynamics of your playing style. The rotary tone control switch provides 6 musical EQ curves: Bass, Scoop, Treble, Smooth, F.A.T., and Full Range. The Pigtronix fuzz can go from clean boost to hair raising, shred fisted, freak-out pandemonium!
Octava"This frequency doubler effect makes the notes you play sound one octave up. A filter control allows you to achieve singing octave up tones without adjusting your guitar's tone control. Stable intervals such as 4ths and power chords result in knarly, tweezed out grind, while other intervals create ring-modulator textures in all registers. The Octava is wired in series with the other 2 effects for harmonic filled lead tones and outlandishly bizarre crunch. Combine the Octava with both fuzz + overdrive and... fuggettaboutit!
- 3 original F.A.T. analog distortion effects
- Super-low noise at all volume levels
- Perfect for direct recording
- Glass-breaking Octava Up with onboard filter
- Blistering hot fuzz with 6-way rotary "shape" selector
- 5-stage tube sound overdrive
- Pigtronix 15VDC adapter included
- Massive Headroom
- Parallel overdrive and fuzz both go from clean boost to all out RAGE
- Individual output level controls on each effect
- Runs on 9-15V DC power (15V recommended)
- Buffered clean output (perfect for EP-1 trigger)
Reviewed by 4 customers
Comments about Pigtronix OFO Disnortion FX Pedal:
I've been using this pedal for about 18 months. The overdrive section on this pedal is very good, and VERY dynamic... play soft for cleaner tones (even on higher gain settings), play hard and teeth emerge. The fuzz section is also very good, although not particularly "fuzzy". It seems more like distortion in my opinion... similar to the yellow MXR, but also still very dynamic and cleans up well with your guitar's volume. Lower the gain setting and you can use it as a clean volume boost for the overdrive, with a preset EQ curve (6 options). I prefer the mid-boost and use it for lead work. The octave section is a whole other animal, and makes for some tasty single note lines... but do steer clear of chromatic runs. It does some crazy stuff with uneven harmonics (which some may like). This thing is definately built like a tank and is DEAD QUIET, even in higher gain settings. My only complaint is this. I am the singer and only guitarist in my band, and seem to suffer from anvil foot syndrome... making most of my switches out of the corner of my eye, stomping two or even three buttons at once, unfortunately I'm usually aiming for just one. Clearly Pigtronix can not be faulted for this. But for me, I think single function pedals better serve my needs... at least when playing live. Peace!!
- All Analog
- Direct Out
- Excellent Sound Quality
- Good Selection Of Effects
- Solid
- Value
Best Uses
Comments about Pigtronix OFO Disnortion FX Pedal:
I use this as the front end to my rig, with a tuner on the direct out. The overdrive has a wonderful sparkle and, as many mention, is very touch sensitive. The overdrive is more modern to my ears than other pedals; it doesn't sound quite like anything else I know. The amplifier on the overdrive channel is very clean/transparent, so it makes a great boost. Love the Octava with the bridge pickup of my Tele. The box is rather wide, but covers 3 effects with no cables or gaps, so not an issue for me. Also, the 3 LEDs look cool!
Comments about Pigtronix OFO Disnortion FX Pedal:
I was unable to get one usable tone. I love Pigtronix's products, their customer support is first class all the way. I own a OCD & a Keeley Java Boost & I found their tones just so much better.
I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority about this pedal. I recommend you try one out & see for your self. I'm returning it, but I still love Pigtronix's as a company.
I was looking for a Ovtava & came across this pedal & was impressed with the number of effects in one pedal. You can stack up the effects as well. There's lots of control over the effects.
I also own Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone & delay. They are all well made. Some well known stars are using this box & rave about it.
For the price you get a Octava, Fuzz/Distortion, and a Overdrive with a lot of controls. I'd say that's a lot for the money.
Comments about Pigtronix OFO Disnortion FX Pedal:
I purchased this for the Octava Effect and because I am a bit of a fuzz addict, but the Overdrive is Awesome: Has some outstanding tone and disables the tone control when you crank it to full: Very dynamic, cleans up perfectly works well with boosts and other overdrives and fuzzes. I have run this with a Fuzzhugger White Spider, and run this into my Empress ParaEQ slamming the front of an amp: It works well with both.The OD is so Good I sold my Dano Wasabi/ Rocktron Austin Gold / and Jekkyl and HydeThe Fuzz is awesome in it's own right: Won't replace your typical super fuzz pedals, but has a nice sound. The Way it is linked to the OD and the multiple EQ settings make it very useable: I like to set it on the setting that only has highend and use it as a top boost with the OD.The Octave effect is similar to most of the old upper octave effects. Works best on the neck pickup with the tone back a bit, but it is awesome and sweet for single note lines and riffs.Not a polyphonic effect and not smooth, but it isn't designed to be.In total this pedal offers 3 very awesome sounds in one monster indestructable box. Even if you just wanted the best possible overdrive tones, you could spend more than the cost of this whole unit and come up very disapointed.Never leaving my pedal board. and If it broke I would get another one.


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The long season continued for the Owen County Rebels last week as the team dropped three more games.
The Rebels began the week by traveling to Independence to take on Simon Kenton. The Pioneers took control of the contest early and would win 78-38.
Since the calendar turned to 2017 things have not gone well for the Owen County Rebels on the hardwood. The team has won just a single game in the new year and saw their current losing streak expand to five last week.
by brian blair
N-H Sports Reporter
The home court has been kind to the Owen County Lady Rebels the last two seasons.
Before Saturday night the team was 14-4 at home dating back to the start of the 2015-2016 season. They had won all five of their home games this season.
The Owen County Athletics Hall of Fame inducted its third class on Saturday night at Floyd Gritton Gymnasium. Rebel football standout C.W. Ware was enshrined, as was 1920 Olympian Admiral Willis A. Lee and track star Danielle Hoop.
by brian blair
N-H Sports Reporter
The Owen County Rebels went to Carroll County on Tuesday night looking for their first win of 2017.
They would get it as they knocked off the Panthers 58-42. The win avenged an earlier season loss at home to the Panthers. The Rebels used a big second half to pull away from the Panthers after the two teams were tied at 22-22 at halftime.
They were seconds away from having a perfect week.
A busy week of basketball ended with disappointment for the Owen County Lady Rebels on Saturday. Gallatin County grabbed a rebound after a missed free throw and scored in the closing seconds to defeat the Lady Rebels 44-42. The basket came after Owen County led 41-38 with just over forty seconds to play in the game.
The Owen County Lady Rebels entered the 8th Region All 'A' Classic last week looking to improve on recent history.
The team tipped off against Eminence Jan. 9, at Gallatin County looking to win a first-round game for the first time since 2013. They would have little trouble in achieving that goal.
After leading 4-3 early in the first quarter, the Lady Rebels would go on a 19-2 run to take a 23-5 lead in the second quarter. From there they would cruise to a 62-35 win over the Lady Warriors putting them in the semifinals.
Owen County won a couple of games on the hardwood last week. One was a close, come from behind win while the other was comfortable from the beginning.
The team hosted Lloyd Memorial Jan. 3.
The Lady Rebels jumped out to a 9-2 lead to begin the game before the Lady Juggernauts found their footing. Once the visitors settled in they would come back and take a 25-23 lead at the half.
The Owen County Rebels traveled to Walton-Verona Jan. 3 for a contest with the Bearcats.
The Rebels entered the game with a nine-game winning streak over Walton-Verona. The last time the Bearcats defeated the Rebels was on Dec. 19, 2011, when they won 63-58. This would also be a close contest with Walton-Verona coming away with the 57-51 victory.
With the end of the holiday break, things are about to get busy for the Owen County basketball teams.
The boys were in action last week as they picked up their first district win of the season defeating Eminence 62-60. Three Rebels reached double figures led by Patrick Osborne who scored 15 points. The senior also pulled down 11 rebounds in the win. Walker McDonald notched a double-double of his own scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Austin Fitzgerald scored ten points.
The win improved Owen County to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in 31st District play.
Copyright © 2018
The Owenton News-Herald is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Owen County and Owenton, KY, and the surrounding area.


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Book 2 in the Secret McQueen series
Author: Sierra Dean
Publisher: Samhain
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release date: September 20, 2011
Author's website: Sierra Dean
After cheating death twice in one night, confessing her true nature to her werewolf soul mates and being asked to kill one of her closest friends, Secret took a much-needed vacation. By running away.Let me start of by saying that the ending of book 1 in this series, Something Secret This Way Comes, had me saying "OMG!" out loud while I read the last few sentences. The main character Secret McQueen has got so many problems going on that she decides to run from it all. She's been given the task of assassinating her
Now she's back in town—dragged kicking and screaming—determined to clear Holden Chancery's name. Right after she finds out what he's accused of. It shouldn't be hard—Holden has a habit of using their new and scintillating psychic bond to break into her thoughts and dreams at some very, shall we say, awkward moments.
Just a few things stand in her way: a secretive Tribunal leader, a group of would-be vampire slayers and two werewolf boyfriends who refuse to let her operate in her customary lone-wolf style. Even less amusing are the terrifying creatures that someone is using in an attempt to gain control of the council. Even for this out-of-the-ordinary bounty hunter, it's a challenge with potentially deadly teeth.
liaison to the vampire counsel and she believes that Holden is innocent. She also has to deal with the fact that her secret of being half wolf/half vamp is out to the 2 wolves that she is bonded to. Lucas and Desmond now know the truth and she doesn't know how to react. So she hides with her grandmere until those that are looking for her find her and literally kidnap her to bring her back. It literally takes a joint effort between several individuals to bring her back and let's just say she's not to happy when she realizes who was involved. But now that she's back she has to figure out who is framing Holden for a something that he didn't do.
One thing that Secret is not lacking male attention. She's got the king of the wolves Lucas Rain, his right hand man Desmond, and Holden all vying for her attention. She's attracted to all of them and has a different connection to each of the men. But in the end, she really, truly loves one of them and I have to say I wasn't surprised when she admitted that she loved him. I won't tell you which one here, so you'll have to read the book to find out. *wink* Personally I'm a Holden lover and want more of him so I'm looking forward to book 3 in the series so I can get my fix.
I'm giving A Bloody Good Secret a rating of:
What I love most about this series is Sierra Dean does such a great job at keeping her readers entertained. Her books are well written and I never feeling like I'm missing out on something while I am reading them. I would recommend this series to anyone that enjoys Paranormal Romance as well as Urban Fiction.
Other books in series:
Book 1: Something Secret This Way Comes
Prequel: The Secret Guide To Dating Monsters


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My initial point of contact was Julian Hyde, with whom I worked in the Oracle CASE / Oracle Designer team in the early 90s. He went out to Oracle HQ and worked on bit-mapped indexes, then spent time at Broadbase before becoming best known as the founder-architect for the Mondrian OLAP server.
Event Stream Processing (ESP) is a development of what we might have called Active Database a few years ago. Rather than running queries against stored data as in an RDBMS, we register active queries which can be used to filter data arriving from any kind of stream. These active queries behave just like topic subscriptions in a message bus - except that unlike typical JMS implementations, the SQLstream query engine can do more than just filter. SQL queries against the data-in-flight can also:
- join data between multiple streams, or between streams and tables
- aggregate data within a stream to give rolling or periodic aggregates based on time or row counts
- apply built-in and user-defined functions to columns within the stream's rows
- build a network of streams and views to support complex transformation and routing requirements
My experience working at JMS vendor SpiritSoft convinced me of the value of asynchronous message-based techniques, which in the last 10 years have spread out from high-end financial systems to ESB implementations all over the place. Since the early 80s we have seen how the RDBMS swept all other forms of structured data storage away. Now SQLstream's relational messaging approach removes the impedance mismatch between how we store data, and how we process it on the wire. In principle, this architecture can subsume both message-oriented (ESB style) and data-oriented (ETL style) integration architectures.
It should be said that "other ESP engines are available". Oracle itself has two projects on the go: its own CQL which I believe is still internal, and Oracle CEP (the rebranded BEA WebLogic Event Server - which itself is (or was) based on the open source Esper project). These two development threads will no doubt combine at some point (perhaps they already have?). IBM also has two or three independent CEP (complex event processing) projects on the go.
I think the same thing will happen to ESP / CEP as happened to ETL/EAI tools in the last ten or fifteen years. For sure, the database/application server vendors (especially Oracle and IBM) will sell plenty of this software within their respective client bases. An Oracle CEP system that was (or could be) tightly integrated with the RDBMS itself - maybe executing PL/SQL as well as Java functions - would be an easy sell. However multi-vendor sites will be interested in an agnostic / vendor-independent tool as a basis for their integration efforts. Just as Informatica has carved out a place for itself in competition with Oracle's ODI and OWB and IBM's DataStage, so SQLstream and other ESP vendors can fight for the common ground. It will be very interesting to see how it all turns out.
See the SQLstream product page for background, plus posts from Julian Hyde, CTO of SQLstream and Nicholas Goodman, Director of BI Solutions at Pentaho.
PS: here's another post from David Raab.


text: The Rev. Jeff Walling of Providence Road Church of Christ isn't surrendering the pulpit to the whims of his south Charlotte, N.C., congregation or watering down what's supposed to be a challenging message each Sunday. In launching Holy Google! he's trying to satisfy the curiosity of those seeking answers to life's cosmic questions. Yes, I said Holy Google! That's the name of a new summer program in which church members pose questions via e-mail or on paper that will be answered during Sunday services at 8:15 and 11 a.m. through Aug. 13. Some 40 questions have been posed in the first days of Holy Google! from what the Bible says about aliens to one child's good question about exactly who wrote the book. It's a gimmick, of course -- Walling wants the Google people to know this is all just a parody -- but it's one that touches an important nerve. Christians and most everyone else have questions. Why, out of laziness or arrogance, should organized religion force people to turn to Dr. Phil or the Internet for answers? Holy Google!? "Old message, new method," Walling says.


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Monday, March 15, 2010
Various Artists - Pomegranates - Persian Pop, Funk, Folk And Psych Of The 60s And 70s (2009)
Bright Persian psychedelic pop, funk, soul and boundless grooves from the 60s & 70s -- one of the greatest compilations yet from Finders Keepers! Many of the tunes are actually classics of the era's Iranian scene, if wildly fresh and new our ears, while others are quite obscure all around, but all of it is fresh and exciting exotic pop that we're thrilled to see collected. The sounds draw from the creatively fertile period when traditions were combined in music all around the world -- with hypnotic eastern raga strings blended with global funk and jazz, bursting pop tunefulness and both meditative and instantly gratifying melodies of myriad influences, borderline disco grooves and beyond. Exciting stuff! 16 tracks in all: "Helelyos'" by Zia, "Biya Bar-e Safar Bandim" by Mohammad Nouri, "Talagh" by Googoosh, "Miravi" by Soli, "Kavir-e Del" by Marjan, "Naz Kardanet Vaveyla" by Sima Bina", "Sharm-e Boos-e" by Ramesh, "Cheshm-e Man" by Dariush and more. (dustygroove.com)
Eingestellt von freaky_lady um 1:12 AM
Labels: Compilation , Finders Keepers
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The fact that he sees a diver, plunged into the cave, except as phantasmagoria not name. Diver in water at a depth of about thirty feet, and beneath him he saw an island, river, trees and fallen leaves …
In fact, underwater river, over which hangs a scuba diver – a layer of hydrogen sulfide. According to the author completes a surreal picture of a crocodile, floating somewhere above the top diver All these wonders odyatsya in Mexico, an underwater cave Angelita.
Underwater Cave Angelita In Mexico
at 3:50 AM
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text:
Many new arrivals to central Arkansas likely assume that the Saline County community of Bryant has long been a bastion of Republicanism. That's not the case, for just a generation ago that town — like the county around it — was a consistent source of Democratic votes. While the transformation of Bryant's politics is more stark than that of other communities in Central Arkansas (Conway, Cabot, and Benton, among others), it exemplifies why Republicans are now strongly advantaged in the Second Congressional District and on the cusp of consistent success in statewide elections. It is communities like Bryant that are grooming the next generation of state government leaders, for good or ill.
With locals doing more than a little flirting with socialism during the Depression area, it's not surprising that one of the few success stories for organized labor in Arkansas came in the aluminum processing plants that boomed during and after World War II in the county. While Alcoa drew heavily from Bauxite and Benton, those working to mine bauxite and process aluminum for Reynolds came disproportionately from Bryant, which officially reincorporated as a town in 1946. Thus, Bryant's small population was dominated by citizens who had seen the power of labor organizing to push families from economic dire straits to the middle class in a single generation.
While labor unions promoted their economic progressivism, Bryant residents also showed a comfort with social change unique for the region. It made investments in public works programs and parks still fairly rare in rural Arkansas communities. Most tellingly, the city's schools desegregated relatively early and with little fanfare.
Understanding this unique political context makes it unsurprising that one of the first serious threats within the state Democratic party to the Faubus machine came from the community. Running two years before Dale Bumpers, Ted Boswell (who remains an active trial lawyer) came within a handful of votes of making the Democratic runoff that likely would have put him on the path followed by Bumpers in 1970. In the elections of that era, Bryant joined Saline County as a source of consistently large Democratic margins in most elections; it made sense that the final rally before the Democratic primary was held for decades on the grounds of the county courthouse.
But, dramatic demographic change came to Bryant in the 1970s (the town's population more than doubled in that one decade) and that change was fueled by race. As busing orders were handed down as a remedy to the past legal segregation in public schools in the county to the north, whites began to flee the Little Rock School District in response and the Bryant School District was one of the closest stops on a major interstate. Movement to Saline County intensified after the federal court decisions in the 1980s that created more instability in the Little Rock and Pulaski County districts. Population growth has steadily continued with the town now over 12,500; realtors sell it with a series of phrases ("it's a good place to raise a family"; "it has good schools"; "it's a safe community") that emphasize that it is not Little Rock and that it is racially homogenous.
This demographic change brought emphatic political change to the community. The demise of the bauxite industry left only retirees in the community as practitioners of the progressive politics of the past. By 1994, the Bryant precincts in the governor's race gave Republican Sheffield Nelson right at 60 percent of the vote despite the fact that Democrat Governor Jim Guy Tucker won just under 60 percent statewide. The Republican tide intensified to the point that Blanche Lincoln polled well under 30 percent in the city in 2010.
Mayoral candidate Jill Dabbs and her friend, Heather Kizer (running for city clerk), fought all the way to circuit court in an attempt to use "Republican" on the ballot for the nonpartisan offices (their husbands were on the same ballot, running for the partisan office of justice of the peace). Like Sarah Palin in Wasilla, Alaska, Dabbs ran as a reformer specifically appealing to the town's new residents like herself. Moreover, the chaotic and combative way that Dabbs has governed in these early months (fighting for her own higher pay and outlays for the swimming team she founded) reads much like Palin's early days as mayor in another almost all-white, fast-growing suburb of a similar size thousands of miles away.
Making partisan these formally nonpartisan offices in growing communities like Bryant become a potential treasure trove for a Republican party that has had enormous difficulty in building a field team to run for higher offices in Arkansas. However, we should be wary of the politics that such communities produce. It is a politics grounded in separation from diversity, where combativeness trumps cooperation, and where reform is more faux than real.
Jay Barth is the M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of Politics Chair of the Department of Politics and International Relations Director of Civic Engagement Projects at Hendrix College.


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The children love all the traditions we have started and if I forget to do something they quickly remind me! I'm glad that the little things we do each year mean so much to them.
On the first day of Advent, we get out our Advent Wreath. We place new purple and pink candles in the wreath (purple is the color of penance to remind us that Advent is a penitential season) and Mike blesses it with Holy Water. Then we gather around a say a prayer, asking God to bless us this Advent season and bring us closer to Jesus. New this year, we started learning "O Come, Emmanuel" in Latin. It's very beautiful. We'll work on learning a new verse each year. We also get out our Christmas books which have been packed away since last Christmas. I put them all in a basket and the children pick one to read together every night. But we always start Advent with Tomie DePaola's "Clown of God". Then the children talk about what gifts they can give to Jesus for his birthday. We write it down on a piece of paper and place it in a little gift box. I saved their "gifts" from last year and we enjoyed reading them. Mr. Tickle wanted to give Jesus a donkey last year and this year he asked if he could get baby Jesus a St. Michael statue. The older kids got a kick out of this. ;) Some of the gifts from the older two were to be nice to siblings, to listen to Mom, to not complain about dinner. Every once in awhile we open the gift box and read what they wrote as little reminders.
Then comes December 6th, St. Nicholas' Day, which I explained in my last post.
Gaudete (which is Latin for "Rejoice") Sunday changes each year, depending on when Advent starts. But it is the third Sunday before Christmas, the day you light the pink candle. Pink represents Joy and on this day the Church shows her excitement that the Savior's birthday is very near. This year, it happened to land on the 11th. The day before 2 other feast days! It was a busy week. ;)
But on Sunday morning I made the kids pink pancakes with whipped cream and raspberries which we ate after lighting the pink candle. The kids were so excited to see that there was only one more week before we would light the last candle! We certainly joined the Church in her joy.
Then comes December 12th. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The kids and I wanted to go to Mass so we drove to a church in Warrenton for their noon Mass. But after getting there, a nice old lady explained to us that the stopped having the noon Mass and moved it to 6:30AM. We were disappointed but they had a huge, beautiful painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe inside so we went in to pray. Little Miss Sunshine was being very loud and I worried about disrupting the other people who were praying in the church. So I quietly told the kids it was time to leave. Mr. Tickle did not want to go. He was kneeling down with his little hands folded together in prayer. It was so sweet. I waited a few more minutes but Sunshine was getting louder and louder. Still Tickle did not want to go. I had to literally drag him out of there and when we got to the van he was crying and kept saying, "I want Jesus!" I reminded him that he could still talk to Jesus even when we aren't inside the Church. But he wanted to be back inside with the beautiful picture. Bless his little heart.
When we got home the kids colored pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe and we watched a cartoon about St. Juan Diego, who witnessed the apparition of Our Lady of Gaudalupe.
We had beef fajitas for dinner and Mexican Wedding Cakes and Mexican Hot Chocolate for dessert. We also read a book about the apparitions which is gorgeously illustrated. The kids always enjoy looking at the pictures in that book.
Then comes December 13th, St. Lucia's Day. St. Lucy just happens to be the patron of electricians so we feel indubitably honored to celebrate her feast day. ;) Traditionally, the oldest girl in the family prepares breakfast and serves it to the family in bed. I'm not too comfortable with bringing food into our beds so we opt for a picnic in the family room. it's also a tradtion to serve lussekatts (St. Lucy Buns) which are made with saffron. I go the easy route and just buy cinnamon rolls in a can. I was really excited to find cinnamon buns with orange flavored icing this year because saffron has an orange color to it.
The girls wear candle wreaths and boys wear star boy hats. I'm not quite sure what the meaning behind the star boy hats are. I'll have to look in to that. We do it simply because I don't want the boys to feel left out!
Little Miss Chatterbox always brings her stuffed animals to the family room to join us. It's quite the party. ;)
Lucy is always depicted wearing white, to symbolize her purity and wears a red sash, symbolizing her martyrdom.
Chatterbox has a barbie named Lucy so of course she needed a candle wreath too. And we couldn't leave Tigress out either. She is part of the family, you know. Chatterbox even made them white dresses out of tissues.
I love this picture. Doesn't she make a beautiful St. Lucia Bride?
Then things quiet down for a day or two before the O Antiphons start on December 17th which lead us into Christmas. During that week we get our Christmas Tree and start decorating for Christmas. Advent and Christmas is definitely the children's favorite time of year though I can't imagine why. ;)


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It's heartbreaking to Catholics who care because the Church has not died; it is very much alive and bears all the growing pains of a growing adolescent.
Speaking of adolescents...
I wrote this blog piece after my son's summer wedding, a wedding that was overdue in some ways and quickened in others. I wrote it quickly...with no idea of what a Synod was much less that the Catholic Church would have one in the near future. I was too busy living the life of a Catholic in the 21st century.
But due to privacy concerns and because I dreaded labeling anyone in my family...or giving anyone else the right to "label" a member of my family..., I left this post in my draft file and sat on it, like a mother hen, protective of the souls and lives placed in her keeping. It was my own personal prayer of thanksgiving for how our Church opened up to my family when our sins left us open to scrutiny and scandal.
I wrote this piece and this one and this one as I struggled with my own imperfect Catholic family. A family of sinners and doubts and questions and failings. There's just no end to the imperfectness that greets you at my door. Not that any of it surprised me, mind you. We all have families and the hurt and pain that sin causes is prevalent and all too familiar.
Then Monday evening, following an afternoon spent under a rainy-drippy patio rooftop, strewn toys, and day-old hashed pumpkins; I was compelled to send my daughter-in-law the article I offer below. I wanted their permission to share it. I didn't want them thinking they were my guinea pigs on parade. But there is responsibility to the whole of God's creation and we have a responsibility to speak up. As I told her, some are called to a sacred trust. But I want my children to trust me. Still I am not one to shy away from a challenge.
The hurt voices of people on social media today who feel the Church is becoming too lenient in her teachings guided me. It was time to say Welcome into my home. This is what the face of the Catholic Church looks like when it opens its doors to those who don't know the Church, haven't been raised in the Church, have turned away from the Church, have gotten angry with the Church. It doesn't have to be that way.
It just doesn't.
Of course they might choose differently, but what if we tried a little harder. You know, walk the walk instead of just talk the talk.
This is not a media piece. It isn't a columnist piece. It isn't a cardinal's piece. It isn't anything at all official or important. I'm probably over-defending it...but mothers are fiercely protective and I don't put my child and his laundry on display without warning the reader of who I am.
And so...what I wrote months before the Synod began...what I live today...and what I believe can guide people back to the faith without the stern, hell-and-brimstone mentality of past generations...and because my son and daughter-in-law read it, approved it, and gave their permission for me to share it with you...my own feeble attempt at what I think the Synod of the Family is addressing...what I think Pope Francis is calling us to in the great work of Mercy.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
The Catholic Church keeps getting a bad rap, doesn't it; but people love to criticize something that is so radically different from their own way of thinking.
There is the media and there is the liberal public who thinks they know the truths of the Church. {Not many do, but at least they're *thinking* ;-) }
There are so many reasons. So many reasons to hate what we don't understand. So many reasons to learn what we don't understand.
And there are people who have been hurt by people in the Church and a Church that has been hurt by her people.
No matter who does what, rejection and indifference are the most hurtful things of all. The Church speaks tough love and people reject her. People sin and think the Church rejects them.
It's the same old tug-a-war between teenager and parent.
The door slams. Dialogue is silenced. Assumptions are made. Gossip is vicious. Feelings are hurt. Bitterness gnaws open and raw.
It's all a loud, ugly, vicious cycle.
Not of God.
Not God at all.
We are the church and the Church is there for us. She is still a young church if you look at the age of all things. She is a message sent by God to save His people. So while God (nor His message) never changes, the Church develops because the Church is a very living, breathing, existing entity.
We are Church.
This is certainly not the family my husband and I gave birth to. Our family has developed. It's been painful, fretful, and HUGE, in so many ways. But we are who we are today because we allowed God's church to develop through us rather than outside of us.
{My! when kids grow up, bless their souls, they sure do grow up!}
Like a developing baby we are swaddled from our mother's womb...holy, flawless, unblemished, underdeveloped, yet whole. Through life we develop...like this young church has...slowly, alarmingly quick, awkward yet self-assured, flawed, hurt, abused, ridiculed, blemished. We are the Church. And we are assured that someone awaits us at the gate.
Not in our time, in His time.
All in His time. Not in our flawed infinity of starts and stops, hiccups, beginnings and ends, clocks and hourglasses. His time is not our time.
We are not encouraging sinners to continue sinning. No. We are meeting them at the gates and showing them where wisdom lies, where mercy serves, where sinners are welcome, where baggage is dropped, where sins are forgiven, where life is renewed.
We prefer to do this through the Church Christ began.
As one priest told me (chances are he was verbalizing a sinner declared saint), the Church is not a country club; it's a hospital. Healthy people don't go to hospitals, sick people do.
The Church had to recently sit down and ask what they are to do with all these wretched souls it has on its hands and at its hospital doorsteps. There's a reason for this sickness. Had there been no bad catechesis before Vatican II then things would have been handled very differently post-Vatican II. But there goes that baby spitting up again and arguing and throwing temper tantrums.
What's a parent to do?
Holy Mother is trying to help parents answer that. The Synod is basically discussing the challenges families are facing in today's world. It's trying to help parents answer what they are to do with their divorced/remarried children, their prodigal children, their wayward children, their unbelievers, their cohabitating children, their unbaptized grandchildren, etc.
And really not what we are to do because those children certainly have freewill and, often, underdeveloped consciences, but, rather, how we are to treat them and how we can serve them better.
She is not saying the sin is not there and not real and deadly but how do we serve those children better? We have told our children for years that these sins are against God's commandment, against His direction for a better life for ourselves and our children, against the Ten Commandments. Like many people before us, they turn a deaf ear at times.
The Church, like any good parent, sometimes feels the need to step in yet again and guide, counsel, and discipline her misguided child to a new level of maturity and wisdom. Holy Mother Church helps to develop us in all things.
And we can never forget that America is a small section of the overall Catholic population and we should in no way try to refine Catholicism under our terms, our rules, our laws. The Catholic Church and Synod serves the people in third-world countries as rightly and justly as it serves us in prosperous America. The Synod changes nothing, except to make us better aware of how we are serving others through our words and our actions.
The sins don't change, the sinners can...and should...and do.
Perhaps the ones objecting to the Synod and its call have raised their children wiser and holier and better than my husband and I did. They have done outstanding work and I am in awe.
But please bear with me...a sinner in your mist...the face of a Catholic raising many Catholics in today's scandalous world. A warning...we don't look like what some Catholics say we should look like.
I'm thankful for priests who care...who reach out...who talk...who guide...who prepare...who mentor...who welcome the imperfect Catholic as well as the attempting-to-be-Catholic. For priests who strive to be the face of the Catholic Church in a world that makes it pretty much impossible.
It isn't about us at all; it's about seeing God's mercy, not our miseries.
This is the face of Christ's Church.
I'm grateful to priests who reach out to the woman at the well and who don't mind touching the lepers...that would be me. Priests who counsel and heal without worrying about the voices of the townspeople in the background. Priests who speak to the individual couple before turning their attention back to the insensitive crowd.
For a priest who, like a proper father, reprimands, but who does not flog. A priest who meets them face to face, eyeball to eyeball, who guides rather than reacts. Who opens the door of his office and welcomes them into a deeper understanding of the Church's teaching. A priest who reprimands without shouting religion and explains understandingly, whether they hear him or not. A life mentor who blesses rather than curses.
My family and I are the face of Catholics in the world today. We're sorry if we offend anyone. We're sorry if we are not your version of "happily ever after."
We're trying. We're trying very hard. And we love God, but we keep messing up.
How do you put up with us?
We keep sinning and we rub shoulders with sinners. We take unwed pregnant mothers into our home, even when they are carrying our grandchild. Especially when they are carrying our grandchild!
And our Catholicity is questioned, analyzed, scoured. Thankfully not by the people in our home church. They know us. They know we're trying as hard as they are. And they have their own hidden crosses.
I'm sorry but we cannot worry about limited theories and righteous expectations. We're too busy trying to feed, water, and find our own meek sheep.
We go to church every Sunday, dragging open those heavy, creaking doors, hoping our neighbors will smile at us and embrace our weak attempts rather than grimacing at our squeaking entrance, rather than rejecting the reality of our soiled hands and skeptical souls. We keep entering those doors that rust and squeak because behind them a Mother Church will anoint us with live-saving oils and the rust and squeaks will lessen if only we keep walking through those heavy doors.
This is the face of God. He is alive and hurting and swollen with our infidelities. And still He breathes mercy and compassion and life on us. Always the welcoming and forgiving Father, if we're only brave enough to keep stepping through those doors...those heavy doors that seem to block our entrance but are open...always open.
I turn to a God who is bigger than myself and a Church who loves and beckons my developing children into the fold better than I ever could.


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Life is a poem - it has rhythm and grace. It has phrases that have no decipherable meaning and it has momentous meaning. It roars and it softly tickles the bottom of your feet. It moves swiftly toward a conclusion but doesn't give you time to really figure everything out. I like these words from Mary Oliver's poem, "When I Am Among the Trees" - ....never hurry through the world but walk slowly and bow often." I also like these words from Rabbi Rami Shapiro: "When you admit to life's complexity and to your unknowing, you discover you need do nothing with your life except live it - humbly, simply, kindly, and justly - trusting in life to offer you one opportunity after another to make the world a little better for you having been born into it. Nothing confusing about that.".............Well, Bing and I have been doing just that since I last added to the mish mash of this blog........We've had a visit with my brother,Paul, and his wife, Marianne. It's always fun to be with them because we've shared so much of life with them
through the years. There's a picture of the four of us attached. We look like the tribal elders that we are but inside there still lie the hearts of little kids.....souls in the latter part of their luminous journey on this beautiful Earth, but still souls with so much to learn.......There are pictures of two of our granchildren next to their lockers at school. We were treated to a wonderful Grandparents' Day at their kindergarten and 2nd grade classes. That was so great to see them so excited about the beginning of their education............We also had a visit from two good friends who like to come in the Fall and fish and visit. John is from Montana and Paul is from Arizona. It was a bit nippy while they were here so one picture shows Arizona Paul all dressed up in winter clothes to fend off the unArizona temperatures. We really laugh a lot and eat a lot when we have these visitors. They both live alone so it's fun to cook for such appreciative eaters. The picture with the tripod shows how the guys cook their french fried potatoes and walleyes over the campfire. It's a shore lunch in the backyard! ...........Well I think I'll post this and get back to "slowly walking and bowing often."


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I am doing a happy jingle today. Cause I got these cinnamon stars just right!! Or rather the icing, PERFEKT!! The last time I made them was over 2 years ago. Then, I referred to an english version of the cookies. Since then, I have come a long away. It shows in the cookies themselves. Being able to read and also understand the german language(especially recipes) has helped me tremendously!!
While I thought there was only one recipe with almonds for the Zimtsterne, the Advent baking book of mine told me something else. There were different kinds of recipes for the same star, some with different spices, some with a different kind of icing, and others with a mix of nuts(which today's recipe is).
To tell you the truth, I do not know why these cookies are called Zimtsterne. Zimt means cinammon and sterne means stars. The sterne part is explainable, but zimt ?? As you dig into these cookies, you get the slightest hint of spice, what is dominant though is the nutty, chewy texture of almonds.I guess some things just remain at that with no explanation..:-)
Coming back to the recipe, I followed the ingredients mentioned in my book, a mix of hazelnut and almond powders. For the method, I went against what I read in both the book and the internet. As we go along, will tell you why I decided to do it differently.
Coming back to the recipe, I followed the ingredients mentioned in my book, a mix of hazelnut and almond powders. For the method, I went against what I read in both the book and the internet. As we go along, will tell you why I decided to do it differently.
For the cookie dough:
- 2 egg whites
- 150 gm powdered sugar.
- 150 gm almonds with skin, powdered
- 150 gm hazelnuts with skin, powdered
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tbsp orange peel
- salt to taste
For the icing:
- 1 egg white
- 100 gm powdered sugar.
For the cookies:
- Beat the egg whites and powdered sugar together till you get soft snowy peaks.
- In a bowl, mix the hazelnut and almond powders along with the salt, cinnamon and orange peel.
- Add the beaten egg mixture slowly to the above and knead together to form a dough(pictured above).
- Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate it for an hour.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar on a clean surface and flatten the dough to 1/4" thickness(or less).
- Cut out stars and neatly arrange them on the tray(pictured above).
- Bake for 20 minutes at 150 C.
- Take them out and let them cool.
- Prepare the icing by beating together the egg white and the powdered sugar. The mixture should be thick.
- Apply the icing on the cookies with the help of a spoon(I used the back of a small baby spoon to spread out the icing on each star pictured above).
- The icing should set in about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Store the cookies in an air tight jar. Can be kept for upto 2 weeks.
- 99% of the recipes apply the icing before baking the cookies. Why I decided to try this method was with the past experience of having done the same and not resulting in pretty cookies. A comment from fellow blogger Shireen as to how she did it and stumbling upon a video which supported her theory I decided to give this method a try. Since the above icing is nothing but royal icing, the cookies taste equally good and you can keep them for upto 2 weeks.
- If you would like to bake the cookies along with the icing, after step 7, apply the icing on the stars and bake them at 150 C for 20 minutes. Take care that the icing does not get brown.
- If you would like to prepare zimtsterne with almonds, then simply skip the hazelnut powder and use 300 gm of almond powder instead.


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I just got home from the first night of the Green Screen Film Series (tonight's film: The Economics of Happiness), easily one of my favorite and most inspiring events in Spartanburg for several reasons:
- THE LEARNING FACTOR. I love nonfiction. I write it, I read it, and I guess I want to watch it, too. The documentaries that we watch throughout the eight weeks in the series always teach me about different ways to see life, perceive life, live life, act on life. Frankly, I need the reminders, and I need to always be growing. So to be able to go to The Showroom every Tuesday night for 8 weeks for free and learn about the world and myself is so important and rewarding.
- THE COMMUNITY. I sit down next to my friend Phillip Stone, and behind him is Ned Barrett, and beside him is Angela Vinney, and behind me are new faces, and across the aisle is a row of college students, and in front of me is Isabel Forbes, and in front of her are Erica Shanks and Veronica Kneeland, and everywhere there are faces ready to engage, to learn, to take part in and be a community of doers. I've never experienced this anywhere else. I can't tell you how much I value the opportunity to gather in a space like The Showroom for this series and all other HUB-BUB events.
- THE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS. Because we don't just watch a film and go home; we watch a documentary and talk about it. The discussion that follows allows us to share how we see the ideas introduced in the film relating to our own lives, our own relationships, our own town. Hooray to the college student who said she was raised without a TV and still doesn't own one. Hooray to Ned for pointing out the difference and division between a car (object) and man on a bike (person). Hooray to Nancy for offering a space to local artisans at the Plaza on Main, spreading happiness. Hooray to Spartanburg for supporting the exchange of and implementation of new ideas.
- THE POPCORN. Come on, it's delicious.
Localization. Turning inward. To each other. Together. What can we do to look to each other instead of corporations for what we need to live? What does Spartanburg already have that we can support? What is it that makes a community and its people happy?
Three hyper-local things making me happy right now:
- Expecting Goodness Short Film Festival (stories written by local writers, published by local press, used as inspiration for short films by local filmmakers, filmed locally with local actors, to be shown locally in The Showroom on March 24)
- The Pocket Park (an unused space between two buildings transformed into a gathering place with permeable pavers and trees and, coming soon, tables, that will open officially on March 8 with a community party and book release for The Underground Guide to Spartanburg, which also features hyper-local places to go and things to do)
- The Blogging Workshop that happened last night at The Showroom (where 15 local newbee and experienced bloggers came to talk about their passions and how best to share them, and where 15 local bloggers enjoyed themselves and the conversation so much that they all wanted to stay in contact, share their blogs, and meet regularly to form a community of local bloggers)
The word, y'all, is ONLY CONNECT!


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Movable Chickens
Not only were there wonderful paintings and sculpture at Future Studio this past Saturday night, there was kinetic art as well!
The Chicken Boy cat likes to climb all over Future Studio, including under the CB head!
Artist and Gallery Owner, Amy Inouye created a new Chicken Boy head to grace the front of the building!
Labels: Art, Friends, Los Angeles


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WWBApril 2016
Retail therapy: Share your retailing bugbears
Henry Graham
Creative Director & Co-Founder of Wolf & Badger, London
"Potential customers no longer browse the high
street looking to be inspired in a traditional way,
but instead start their journey online before
entering a physical retail environment. At Wolf &
Badger we leverage this to our advantage. Our
online shop tells the story of the brands we carry,
with beautiful imagery and editorial content.
That is then reinforced by a variety of digital
re-engagement strategies. We have to make it easy
for customers to become inspired online and then
use our physical stores as a real-world touch point
where they can more deeply understand the
product range and of course try it on. So although
we have fewer browsers than in years past, we have
gained more accredited shoppers entering the
stores with a pre-informed purchasing intent."


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When Spencer is invited to a party at her friends house...
He's my Brother?!
- by Jada Quigles
- Rating:
- Published: 15 Sep 2013
- Updated: 27 Dec 2013
- Status: In Progress
A scarred freshman, Harper Johnson, was the biggest One direction fan ever- her favorite being Harry. She used the music they sang as an escape from her abusive dad, Travis Johnson. Like the average fangirl, she lie in her bed all day checking Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Youtube and trying to get One Direction to notice her. But finally, after winning a contest, she wins a trip to LA to see a Little Mix concert. But what will happen when on the plane over, she sits next to her idol and life saver, Harry Styles?
Join MovellasFind out what all the buzz is about. Join now to start sharing your creativity and passion
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Details to follow. By the way, have you seen our Facebook Fan Page?
Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Junior Tournments will Begin July 7th, 2010June 26, 2010
2010 Little League Night Fundraiser!!!June 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 22nd, at 7:05 PM, be sure to join your friends for fun and excitement when your National League Milwaukee Brewers take on the Minnesota Twins at the 27th Annual Little League Fundraiser.
Little Leaguers from around Wisconsin and Illinois will gather to back the Brewers. BE SURE TO WEAR YOUR UNIFORMS!!! Bring family and friends.
Call Beckum-Stapleton for more information: 414-372-5794.
Opening Day May 1stMay 1, 2010
Don't miss this Milwaukee tradition!
Opening Day Parade from Clinton Rose Senior Center to Carver Park, followed by Opening Day Game. See you there!
2010 SeasonMarch 22, 2010
2010 registration took place on Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27, but it's not too late to get involved. Call 414-372-5794 for information. There is no online registration option for Beckum Stapleton Little League participation. For more information, click here.
Tryouts will take place every day from March 29 through April 9. 9 to 12 year-old tryout times are 4 PM to 5:30 PM daily during the tryout period, and 13 to 15 year-old tryouts will be held from 5:30 to 7 PM daily during the tryout period.
2010 OPENING DAY PARADE will be Saturday, May 1. Starting time: 11 AM at Clinton Rose Park. Kickoff game will follow at 1 PM. Don't miss this Milwaukee tradition!
Other important dates for the 2010 season:
4/28/2010: Parents' Night–6 PM
6/19/2010: Beckum Stapleton Little League Picnic, Raffle–10 AM-6 PM (Raffle at 6 PM)
June 22, 2010: Little League Night at Miller Park–Milwaukee Brewers VS Minnesota Twins; game time 7:05 PM. Bleacher seats: $20. For more information, please contact Beckum-Stapleton Little League office at 414-372-5794.
9/11/2010: AWARDS NIGHT–5 PM; location to be determined.
There is a residency requirment for participation in Beckum Stapleton Little League. For more information, click here.
45th Annual Awards Ceremony and Banquet: Saturday, September 12, 2009August 15, 2009
Beckum-Stapleton will hold its 45th Annual Awards Ceremony and Banquet on Saturday, September 12, 2009. The ceremony will honor youth who participated in Beckum-Stepleton Little League teams and dedicated Manager/Coaching staff and volunteers.
Please show your support of the youth and the Board's ongoing effort to see each youth receive an award. Attend the banquet, and bring family and friends.
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Genesis High School: 1011 West Center Street (in the North Division High School building)
Event will begin promptly at 5:00 P.M.; doors will open at 4:00 P.M.
Players attend free, all others: $5.00 per ticket.
Attendees will enjoy a sit-down banquet dinner immediately following the awards presentation.
Please contact the Beckum-Stapleton office at (414) 372-5794 to purchase your ticket. If there is no answer, please leave a voicemail message.
See you on September 12!
Welcome!August 2, 2009
Alumni: CLICK HERE TO RECONNECT


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Since my teen years I can't remember a time I haven't struggled with my skin. Blemishes and oily skin that everyone told me would disappear in adulthood didn't. As the years have progressed I still wrestle with occasional break-outs and the omnipresent oily skin, but now have the added challenges aging skin brings.
Thanks to the ever increasing technology of skin care, my daily routine evolves as I find products that better address my needs. In fact, many of the products I currently use you'll recognize from TIA reviews that have been recommended. What are my concerns? Along with addressing oily skin and the errant blemish, are fine lines (with a few that are deeper), refining pores, and beginning signs of aging of the neck (and overall preventive maintenance). So here's a look at what I do for my skin from dawn to dusk:
My daily routine:
For many years I have relied on Phisoderm face wash (with neutral pH and 2% salicylic acid) to help keep blemishes minimal and I still reach for it when I do get a breakout. However I've lately been using Erno Laszlo Black Mud Soap each morning for its thorough cleansing and minerals. After shaving my toner is simply pure witch hazel – no burning or stinging.
Afterward I apply YBF's Defend which helps to address oily skin and has the benefit of their signature Spin Trap technology. I use Dermophisiologique Optima Eye Cream above and under the eyes and have noticed improvements in lines and firmness. (This is a thick product so I've found less is more – if you use less than you think you need, it will still cover the area and absorb much better) I also apply the eye cream at night.
At night:
I have begun using Nutra-lift Herbal Nonsoap Cleanser ($24 in the TIA shop) for its antioxidants and gentle cleaning, applied to face and neck by the Nutra Sonic Face Brush System (I found it while looking online for the Clarisonic – it works on the same principal, has four speed settings, 2 face brushes (regular and sensitive) and a body brush, but at $107 on Amazon, cost less than half). I've only been using the Nutra Sonic about a month and only at night to acclimate my skin to it, but I do feel it helps me achieve a cleaner skin. Time will tell if I notice other benefits.
Every other night I use Nutra-lift Night Repair ($30 in the TIA shop) lotion for its botanicals, hyaluronic acid and gentle exfoliating. I've noticed it gives me a fresher, hydrated face in the morning. Alternate nights I use Suki Pure Facial Moisture Lotion for its skin calming properties and to let my skin rest. (I've found Arcona Magic White Ice Moisturizer works equally as well.)
I don't want to rely on topicals alone, so to also benefit from the inside out (and because I don't always eat right) I take a multivitamin, 2 flaxseed oil capsules, 2 Fiber Choice (sugar free) tablets, several glasses of water and eat some type fruit every day.
Mark- one guy's routine
Is a Solution for:
Face Care for Men


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I can boast a 10-pound weight loss in the first 19 days of January! I'm feeling pretty good about it. Even though last Saturday I indulged a little too much at dinner, and I know that this Saturday will be similar, I'm not letting those set me back. In fact, I doubled up last Saturday and did 2 workouts -- Upper and Lower Fix. It felt great to be able to knock out an hour!
I realized today that when I miss a day or two, I take a step back. Today I got winded during the exercise and had to pause it at 15-minutes to catch my break. The old Meghan would have turned off the DVD or let the video continue while she caught her breathe -- missing the next exercise (or four....) But I'd rather pause it and take an extra minute break.
This week we've had a great menu. Turkey Meatloaf, Chicken Fajitas, even Beef Stew is planned for Thursday night! Next week we're going back to basics -- grilled chicken most nights, some fish, maybe a steak night. This should re-jump our weight loss as I begin the second round of DVDs and we continue on with the meal plan.
Here's the calendar of workouts so far! Looking good! 3+ hours a week!! Seriously, WHO IS THIS GIRL?


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I'm sitting here on the couch watching shows on my DVR! I'm 10 episodes behind on The Young and the Restless...and I already know that LeBron is going to Miami so no need to watch that now! Tonight is the first time in over a week that I've been able to just sit on the couch, eat Pirate's Booty, and watch all of my trash t.v.
For the past week we've had 2 sets of visitors...first being my God-Sister and her family, and then the Mister's cousin and his girlfriend. When I say it was busy around here....the second group arrived 3 hours after the first group left! So Monday Neish and I washed towels, changed sheets, cleaned bathrooms, and mopped the floors before Narris and Channing got here. I was exhausted!
It's always so much fun to have visitors and entertain! It's just something about knowing that there are other people here to talk to and laugh with. Don't get me wrong...the Mister and I have a lot of fun together; but we love when our family comes to visit. We always order food and get out and about throughout the city.
But I'm going to enjoy this peace and quiet while it lasts because on Tuesday my Mom comes! The best part is that I can turn all of the cooking over to her ;) I love a full house and all of the fun that it brings...but I must say that it's nice to sit here on my couch in this peace and quiet!
I had to throw this one in just for fun...the radio was playing some throwbacks! So we just had a little moment in the car on the way to the mall! Hope you're not embarrassed Narris ;)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
1 comment:
I love the three pictures of you guys over the past three years. It will be fun to see how the pictures change:)
Is the song "Hoop There It Is" considered ol' school now? LOL!
- July 11, 2010 at 5:16 PM
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Saturday, March 29, 2014
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H.R. 1503, the legislation that makes a congressional issue out of Birther concerns, has gained an additional co-sponsor: Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Republican who represents TX-01 ever since Tom Delay's mid-decade redistricting allowed him to handily defeat Democratic Rep. Max Slandin in 2004.
That means that 11 congressmen are now championing H.R. 1503: Posey, Goodlatte, Blackburn, Campbell, Carter, Culberson, Neugebauer, Burton, Marchant, Poe and now Gohmert. 6 of them are from Texas, so 30% of the state's Republican delegation is now on board. And Kay Bailey Hutchison thinks she has a chance of defeating Rick Perry next year?
Unlike some of the other Republicans on that list, Gohmert has no qualms about questioning Barack Obama's place of birth. Asked by The Washington Post whether he believed Obama was born in Kenya, Gohmert answered: "I don't know if it's true or not. But I read that Lou Dobbs said [Obama's] original birth certificate was destroyed."
A congressman is willing to jump on a movement's bandwagon because he read about what a TV host had to say about it? The fact that Gohmert's fears are verifiably untrue make matters all the more stunning as they point to some Republicans' willingness to believe just about anything that is said about Obama. But perhaps we should not be so surprised: In the same interview, Gohmert displays an absolute indifference towards independent fact-checking: Asked what he made of Hawaii officials' repeated confirmations that Obama was born in Honolulu, Gohmert responded "That's what they say… I don't know if it's true or not."
A former county judge who was appointed to the state's Court of Appeals by Governor Perry, Gohmert has some experience jumping on board of such conspiracy theories and his decision to co-sponsor H.R. 1503 is in no way a surprise. After all, he was one of the first co-sponsors of Michele Bachmann's foreign currency-banning constitutional amendment. This means that a majority of the Birther champions (6 out of 11) are now also co-sponsoring the Bachmann bill.
Gohmert is now focusing on channeling the right's health care fears. For instance, here are comments from a recent interview he conducted on Alex Jones's radio show:
We've been battling this socialist health care, the nationalization of health care, that is going to absolutely kill senior citizens. They'll put them on lists and force them to die early because they won't get the treatment as early as they need… I would rather stop this socialization of health care because once the government pays for your health care, they have every right to tell you what you eat, what you drink, how you exercise, where you live…
But if we're going to pay 700 million dollars like we voted last Friday to put condoms on wild horses, and I know it just says an un-permanent enhanced contraception whatever the heck that is. I guess it follows that they're eventually get around to doing it to us.
Let's jump over the fact that health care reform as it is shaping up looks nothing like a British-style nationalization of health care and let's go to an even more urgent point: It's one thing to argue that government-run health care will result in higher mortality because the quality of care will decrease and because there'll be longer waiting periods that seniors will not be able to wait through. But that's not what Gohmert is getting at: By using the active form and the expression "force to," he is suggesting that Democrats want seniors to die and that health care reform is a vast conspiracy meant to get rid of older citizens.
Does that sound like too much? Well, it's a conspiracy theory that seems to be spreading. Here are, for instance, the ravings of Tea Party activist Victoria Jackson:
I'd been wondering why the liberals are so passionate about this Health Care thing… When I suddenly awoke at 3 a.m. I had the answer. Euthanasia! Social Security and Medicare are broke. Baby boomers, like me, are getting old and will soon be asking for it. Socialized medicine makes people die… One less person in line for Social Security and Medicare!
It's not surprising that such arguments are being made. What is (a bit) surprising is that there are well-established politicians willing to embrace any viral rumor that spreads through meetings of conservative activists or through the blogosphere.
Note that concerns over euthanasia has become one of the GOP's favorite talking-points this summer. Granted, most do not take that to mean that the White House is solely motivated by the need to find ways to legally kill seniors, but they aren't necessarily that far off: Republicans are up-in-arm about a provision of the House Democrats' health care bill that, in the words of a letter signs by Boehner and McCotter, "could create a slippery slope for a more permissive environment for euthanasia, mercy-killing and physician-assisted suicide because it does not clearly exclude counseling about the supposed benefits of killing oneself."
The New York Post's Betsy McCaughey doubles down:
One troubling provision of the House bill compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years (and more often if they become sick or go into a nursing home) about alternatives for end-of-life care (House bill, p. 425-430). The sessions cover highly sensitive matters such as whether to receive antibiotics and "the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration. This mandate invites abuse, and seniors could easily be pushed to refuse care.
Over on TNR, Harrold Pollack points out that the bill in no way mandates counseling sessions. To their credit, the Republicans who signed the letter cited above do not suggest that such a session would be required but their goal is the same: Scare seniors into opposing health care reform, as this politically powerful constituency could scare just enough Democrats to sink any legislation in the fall. And we see where such concerns lead in comments like Victoria Jackson's and Louie Gohmert's.


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Business Law Practicum
Loyola's Business Law Practicum offers a unique and innovative approach to educating business lawyers that is designed to allow students to "hit the ground running" as first- year transactional associates. It represents the core of Loyola's Corporate Law Concentration.
Supervised by the Patrick J. McDonough Director of the Business Law Practicum Dana M. Warren, with the advice and guidance of Faculty Co-Director Therese H. Maynard, the Business Law Practicum moves students beyond the abstract study of business law to an interdisciplinary analysis of transactional lawyering problems and business objectives that requires reading, comprehending, and managing, as well as drafting and modifying actual transactional documents.
To complete the Business Law Practicum program, students must take Business Associations, Securities Regulation, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Business Planning I. An additional, elective feature of the Business Law Practicum is the Transactional Negotiation Team, which gives students the opportunity to analyze and develop a strategy to address a complex business problem, then compete with each other in a negotiation tournament where they receive mentoring and feedback from practicing transactional lawyers.
The Business Law Practicum's capstone class, Business Planning I: Financing the Start-Up Business and Venture Capital Financing, allows students to understand the lawyer's role in business transactions by taking an entrepreneurial "client" through a series of simulated deals that introduce the legal, ethical and business issues that confront the transactional lawyer in representing an early stage growth company. Practicum Director Warren and Faculty Co-Director Maynard have written a casebook based on the Business Planning I course materials. This casebook, Business Planning: Financing the Start-Up Business and Venture Capital Financing, is available from Aspen Publishers.
The Business Law Practicum courses are the required elements of the Corporate Law Concentration. Separate from the Concentration, the Business Law Practicum is a testament to Loyola's commitment to bridging the gap between law school and practice. It offers students interested in a corporate transactional practice the foundational knowledge in key subject matter areas and, through Business Planning I, gives them the opportunity to apply their substantive learning in advising an entrepreneurial client.


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Thursday, August 14, 2008
Is Ed Tinsley Really "The Worst Person In the World?" Iraq Comment Goes National, Plus: The Roundhouse & The Nonprofits, And: White & Heinrich Updated
Ed Tinsley
It wasn't supposed to be this way. According to Republican Alligators, it was "country bumpkin" Harry Teague who was going to trip over his tongue and knock himself out of the race for the Southern NM congressional seat. But lo and behold, who was front and center in the American liberal blogosphere Wednesday for an over-the-top comment on the Iraq war? Why, it was smooth talking GOP congressional hopeful Ed Tinsley. Here's the gift horse of a sentence Tinsley uttered Aug. 7 at a Clovis candidate forum and that was soon flashed across the World Wide Web on sites such as the Daily Kos and won Tinsley the not so coveted "Worst Person in the World Award" from MSNBC talk host Keith Olbermann.
"How am I supposed to call my two nephews over there right now... and tell them I'm running against a guy who will cut your throat." Tinsley said.
Tinsley's comments came before the Association of Commerce and Industry and were edited and released by the state Democratic Party.
Here is the complete forum as presented on the KSNM Radio Web site.
While Dems were ecstatic over what they perceive as a major campaign gaffe, Republicans were more understanding toward Tinsley, saying the comments might have the liberals jumping for joy, but they are not going to fatally injure the Capitan rancher in the conservative south. Tinsley's campaign statement is below, but first here's Keith Olbermann awarding Ed his worst person pick.
Tinsley made the comments at an Association of Commerce and Industry joint appearance with Teague. That's a conservative group, but even there Ed drew boos and hisses for the remarks. Last night, as his fledgling campaign based in Ruidoso absorbed the national shock waves sent forth by the liberal chattering class, Tinsley released this reaction:
"What I said in the August 7 candidate forum regarding funding of U.S. troops in Iraq were no doubt harsh words. However, if these words caused my opponent to change his mind to support funding that provides necessary body armor, weapons and other equipment to help our troops in harm's way to achieve their mission--and to not demand immediate withdrawal--then they were well worth it."
This video is of interest on another level. Ever since Teague came with TV spots in the June primary that did not have him speaking on camera, he has been shadowed by talk that he is not ready for prime-time and that Tinsley will roll over him in public appearances. But Teague more than holds his own in this video, not at all like the country cousin he has been made out to be.
Sen. Feldman
Rather than have Attorney General King dancing around with Secretary of State Herrera over having political nonprofits like the Center For Civic Policy release the names of their donors and their expenditures, why not have the Legislature pass a law mandating disclosure? Look for such a measure to be introduced in January.
After being chided by critics and reporters, the Center released to the ABQ Journal the names of the foundations that have given it money, but refused to release the names of individual donors. Political observers are still trying to digest the stunning amount of money--$1.645 million--that political operative Eli Lee, who runs the Center, says it will take in over a two year period.
Dem State Senator Dede Feldman has been in the forefront of campaign finance reform. Would the ABQ North Valley lawmaker be willing to sponsor a full-disclosure measure? We're just asking.
Republicans have plenty of things to kick themselves over this election cycle, so adding one more to the list probably won't hurt too much. But it deserves mention. With all the problems Democratic Public Regulation Commissioner candidate Jerome Block, Jr. is having, why is there no Republican in the race? It's especially bad because there is a Green Party candidate for the seat, Rick Lass, who could take votes from Block by appealing to Dems concerned with Block's past. That would mean the Republican could come up the middle and take the heavily Dem seat.
It happened in '97 when Bill Redmond took the northern congressional seat when an ethically challenged Dem was nominated and a Green was also in the race. But there will be no repeat of history in 2008. The R's failed to field a PRC contender. So, if GOP Chairman Allen Weh is looking for a reason to kick himself, he has one.
A top D.C. Republican was in ABQ this week, giving a pep talk to local R's who worry about a Democratic tidal wave costing them the US Senate seat and the two US House seats they hold. But Rep. Tom Cole, chair of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (NRCCC), could offer little more than talk. While the campaign arm for House Democrats is pledging $1.3 million in TV for Southern Dem Harry Teague, the NRCC simply says money will come for Republican Ed Tinsley, but hardly anyone believes the committee, with only several million in the bank, will dole out much cash to Tinsley. In fact, one school of thought has it that Tinsley, independently wealthy, is expected to write his own check if he can't keep the upper hand in the Republican lending district.
Darren White is not independently wealthy and the question of national R donations for the ABQ US House GOP nominee is more serious. National Dems have pledged a $1.2 million TV buy for Dem Martin Heinrich. Cole attended a fund-raiser for White at the ABQ Four Hills home of Mickey Barnett, the lawyer-lobbyist, who has been a player in NM GOP politics for many years. But there was no announcement of funding for White. His supporters are eyeing the Republican National Committee coffers where over $50 million rests. They hope that some of that cash will find its way to ABQ and White.
It's hard not to believe that White will not end up getting national R help as well as significant third party support in the form of TV ads, but there is no guarantee. The Bernalillo County sheriff opted not to run any TV ads in the June primary, saving his funds for the general election, and he has already been slightly outraised by Dem Martin Heinrich, according to the latest finance reports. White, however, has more cash in the bank.
By the way, why aren't Heinrich and White pounding each other into the cement?
Bob Gallagher, head of the NM Oil and Gas Association, is still a Democrat. We lumped him in the category of "Republican heavyweight" when we posted a list of hosts for today's Tanoan Country Club lunch for Steve Pearce featuring GOP Senator Pete Domenici. So why is Dem Bob supporting R Steve? "I believe Udall is running against my industry instead of Pearce, and I cannot sit back and take that..."
The matanza tradtion is alive and well in New Mexico. ABQ South Valley brothers Steve and Dickie Gallegos will put the pig in the ground this Saturday afternoon as they host Dem Senate nominee Tom Udall. The matanza will be at the home of Diego Gallegos and Theresa Archuleta...
E-mail us your news, comments and whatever else is on your mind.
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008
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