text:
Zinedine Zidane and that wondrous volley: this was the moment Gareth Bale fell in love with Real Madrid.
It was the 2002 Champions League final, in Glasgow, and Roberto Carlos had just hooked the ball high into the Bayer Leverkusen penalty area. Eventually it dropped – and from the area's edge Zidane adjusted his body to arc a powerful left-foot volley into the net to win the trophy.
Back in Whitchurch, Cardiff, a 12-year-old Bale was watching the television, transfixed. Watching and wondering, mesmerised by the white shirts, the names, the galacticos – Raul, Luis Figo, Fernando Hierro and, above all, Zidane.
"Real had that kind of swagger that they believed they could win every game," Bale recalls. "They always had players who would get you out of your seat and, as a fan, that's what you want to see.
"It was just everything about Real Madrid – the team, the stadium, winning the Champions League, the league titles, or getting close.
"As a player you want to come to the best club in the world and you want to win trophies, you want to win the Champions League. The reason why everyone plays football is to win things."
So Bale is now at Real Madrid, alongside Zidane, now the club's assistant coach. And not just that but Bale is one of the most expensive players in football history after Real finally agreed terms with Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the transfer window, to conclude the summer's longest-running and most high-profile saga.
In this, his first major newspaper interview since joining Real, it is no surprise to hear the 24-year-old frequently punctuate his answers with the word "unbelievable". It must seem that way.
From Cardiff, through the Southampton academy, a big-money move to Spurs that at one stage seemed doomed to failure – he went 25 league games before being on the winning side – and now to being part of a new Galacticos at Real. It has been some journey.
Not that he ever allows himself to indulge in looking back. "I look to the present and improving myself as a player. If you dwell on the past then sometimes you get lost. For me, I am always looking forward."
Neither does Bale fret about his new-found galactico status. "Obviously that's the case but I don't think about it," Bale says. "The transfer fee or the money paid is something between the two clubs. I just want to try and improve and become the best player I can."
The best in the world? That might well be Bale's long-term ambition but for the moment even he acknowledges that the distinction belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo, his Real team-mate and the man whose fee he topped.
In Bale's 's view, not even Lionel Messi comes close at the present time.
"Since I have been here, he's been nothing short of unbelievable," Bale says of Ronaldo. "I think he has not scored fewer than two goals in every game I've played! At the moment, for me, he's the world's best player and he's proving that week-in, week-out. The number of goals he has scored is just mind-blowing this year."
Ronaldo's statistics are, indeed, extraordinary. He has 66 goals in all competitions in 2013 – so far. Among them were four in the two play-off matches against Sweden, including a hat-trick in Stockholm last Tuesday, that took Portugal to the World Cup.
That, Bale says, confirmed Ronaldo's right to win the Ballon d'Or and be crowned world footballer of the year.
"He deserves that award," Bale says. "I don't think that anyone is near him right now. The goals and the performances he has put in – especially when you think about the pressure he was under playing for Portugal the other day. It shows what a true world-class player he is."
Even the virtual Ronaldo – as portrayed in the EA Sports Fifa 14 video game he is helping to launch – cannot compare. "He's better in real life," Bale confides, with a laugh.
There were suggestions that Bale's arrival in Spain for such a staggering fee could have sparked antagonism from Ronaldo, a player not used to sharing centre-stage. But the new arrival kills the notion stone-dead.
"There's no rivalry at all," he says. "Since day one he's been amazing to me. He's helped me out a lot on and off the pitch and we enjoy playing together. The goals and the assists and scoring together shows that we are playing well together and there's a lot more to come."
Bale is the only British player on the 23-man Fifa shortlist after his exploits with Spurs last season and after shaking off injury and the effects of not undergoing a proper pre-season he has quickly impressed his new audience in Spain, with one headline even comparing him to Ferenc Puskas after the 7-3 victory over Sevilla in his first Bernabéu start.
"The stadium is right on top of you, very steep and the fans like the attacking football we play," Bale says.
Moving into a new home and language lessons have helped Bale settle, as has advice from David Beckham, Michael Owen, Jonathan Woodgate and Steve McManaman, who all played for Real before him.
"He [Beckham] texted me and wished me good luck which was very nice of him and I appreciated it," Bale says. "They all offered good words of advice. But nothing beats doing well on the pitch."
And what of the challenge of playing in La Liga, after the helter-skelter Premier League? "It's a lot more technical than the Premier League," he says. "Pretty much all the teams play a possession-based game. The speed is very quick but I don't think it's as physical as the Premier League and maybe not as 100mph in every second.
"I would definitely recommend it. I had always wanted to play my football abroad as well as playing in the Premier League. Everything about your life as a footballer out here is unbelievable."
And there is another bonus: "I think the warm weather does help a little bit as well."
- Gareth Bale is an ambassador for EA Sports Fifa 14. Next Generation Fifa 14 is out now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It just got real.


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I have been reading lots of parenting blogs and forums lately. I happened to stumble on one where a few non-Japanese people were wondering about breastfeeding in public in Japan. They wanted to know if it was legal, if people commonly did it, and if they could conveniently travel around or live in Japan with a young, breastfed baby.
I was very surprised to read replies along the lines of:
I asked my Japanese friend about laws specifically regarding breastfeeding in Japan, and she said that she couldn't find any concrete info about laws. She said that the previous generation was much less squeamish about public breastfeeding. She mentioned seeing a photo of her aunt feeding her cousin without covering up and no one was bothered by it, so much so that she didn't even (obviously) cover up for the photo.
My baby is now seven months old and she still breastfeeds. We decided to breastfeed her because I have the ability to do so and the facts show that it is unequivocally the healthiest choice for the baby. Besides that, it is convenient (when I'm out with the baby, there are no hassles about washing bottles, carrying formula, finding warm water), eco-friendly, and free. Now that I am working full-time, it has become a much bigger hassle, and it would be a lot easier to switch to formula. I have to lug my breast-pump to work and back with me every day on the crowded bus and every time I get a spare moment I have to go lock myself in a room and hook myself up to a pumping machine like a cow. I usually have to pump two times to get enough for one feeding, because the pump is not as effective as a baby at getting the milk out. In fact, if I didn't know that it was the best choice for our baby, I definitely would have given up pumping milk in the second week of work. I really hate pumping. For someone to suggest so cavalierly that if I want to go out with my baby on a Saturday afternoon, I should wake up at 3:00 am to hook myself up to the pump (I can't just pump breast milk during the day....my baby eats everything I make.) is a pretty clear sign that they have never pumped. The other people who suggest (so blasé, like they're the experts) that breastfeeding should be done at home have obviously never been new parents.
My husband and I used to love going out on the weekends, going to parties, movies, playing soccer in the park, and camping with groups of friends on the beach. Guess what? We STILL love doing those things. Having a baby is an intensely isolating experience. You're tired more often than you ever were before. You're worried and stressed out more than you ever thought possible. Going out becomes a logistical nightmare of organizing the baby's nap time with the bus schedule and weather report, packing the baby's diaper bag, grabbing an umbrella (just in case), a blanket, a baby carrier, and some people have strollers and car seats too. It's hard enough getting out of the house, and I should have to add the stress of pumping milk and putting it in a cooler and bringing that with too? Perhaps to avoid offending these people's delicate sensibilities, I should simply stay home all the time? Perhaps baby and I should never travel farther away from home than 20 minutes so we can make it back home and eat?
The idea that someone would be offended by public breastfeeding is pretty ridiculous anyways. The baby's mouth and head covers the nipple, and you can see less of my breast than many ladies who are wearing even a slightly low-cut top.
As for Japan, this is my experience. My baby was born in October, but it was December before I ever had to feed her in public. I didn't want to leave the house very often with her before that, and when I did, it was only short trips to the grocery store and back. (re: isolating experience) In December, my husband and I had to travel to a nearby town. I decided I was going to feed the baby on the train. It was a much bigger hassle than I thought it would be. The blanket wouldn't stay over my shoulder, the baby kept wiggling and I couldn't see if she was comfortable or eating right with the blanket in the way. However, we figured it out and I have since fed her everywhere. There are often nursing rooms in public buildings and department stores, so that is convenient, and I sometimes use those. When there isn't one of those, I usually use a blanket to cover myself up. The baby bag gets so full with diapers, wipes, toys, bibs, spare change of clothes, burp towels, and etc, that sometimes I forget to pack a blanket. I wear nursing tank tops, so when I pull my shirt up, and my tank top down, everything is still covered and you really can't see anything. There's been plenty of times that people have come up and wanted to see the baby or talk to me and didn't even realize that she was eating until I told them. As it gets hotter out, I'm using the blanket less and less. The baby doesn't really like it and spends her time trying to pull it off rather than eat. It gets pretty hot under there pretty quickly.
I've gone out often with my Japanese friends who also have infants and some of them only use the nursing rooms, while others have no problem feeding their baby anytime and anywhere. I have noticed women feeding their babies in restaurants and parks, too. The nursing rooms often have a large room with a couch for relaxing, and then smaller curtained off rooms for nursing. I've sometimes gone in and all the curtained rooms are full, so I feed the baby on the couch, but I've noticed women who come in and will wait until a curtained off room is free until nursing too.
As I have been writing this blog entry, I've been thinking a lot about the breastfeeding rooms. On the one hand, they are very convenient, and when I'm out alone with the baby, it's nice to be able to dump all my bags and things in the corner and relax on a comfortable couch to feed Cora. On the other hand, I'm rarely out by myself, I'm usually out with my husband or other friends. When I have a free afternoon to go out, I don't want to spend 40 minutes away from my husband or friends walking to the seventh floor of the nearby department store to feed Cora. If I'm alone on the train, I don't want to lug my suitcase through four rickety train cars to get to the breastfeeding room. What I want to do is stay exactly where I am and feed my baby. More and more often, that's what I do. I haven't noticed anyone giving me looks and no one has said anything negative to me, but I can be pretty oblivious about that sort of thing.....so.....take that with a grain of salt.
Anyhow, that made me think, "What if the existence of these breastfeeding rooms are even more isolating than the absence of them?" Do women feel pressured to go sit alone in them when they might otherwise stay in the cafe chatting with friends? Do people judge moms for breastfeeding in a restaurant and think, "There's a breastfeeding room just a few blocks away. Why doesn't she leave her husband alone by himself and leave her hot meal and go to the designated room to feed her baby?" I'm lucky that I have an extremely supportive husband who always helps me out when I'm feeding the baby (Or anytime). If it weren't for him assuring me that no one could see my boob, and that no one cared anyway, I might still be schlepping my things three blocks out of the way and missing out on lunchtime to feed Cora in a breastfeeding room rather than discreetly in the restaurant. In the end, I think the breastfeeding rooms are nice, but as more time passes, I use them less and less.
Oh wait, actually, I mean, in the end, Japan is one of the more baby-friendly countries I've ever lived in and would be a great place to visit, especially if you have a breastfeeding infant.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Fine Early California & American Paintings, Palm Desert, California, USAElmer Wachtel GalleryWe are a California allery that specializes in buying & selling fine origianl Elmer Wachtel and Marion K. Wachtel paintings!949-981-0070
William A. Karges Fine Art, Carmel, CA, USAEarly California and American PaintingsSince 1987, highest prices paid for paintings by Elmer Wachtel. Purchasing, Sales, and Consignments. (800) 833-9185
Steven Stern's CALIFORNIA PAINTINGS, Beverly Hills, CA USASteve Stern, California PaintingsSteve Stern's California Paintings specializes in
paintings by Elmer Wachtel. We pay very high prices!!
Artnet homepage for this artist2 artworks in total
Westbrook Galleries Inc., Carmel, CaliforniaRanch Near Santa Barbara George Stern Fine Arts, Carmel, CaliforniaSan Bernardino Canyon
All images and text on this Elmer Wachtel page are copyright 2010 by John Malyon/Artcyclopedia, unless otherwise noted. Note that the listings on this site are a unique compilation of information and are protected by copyright worldwide.


text:
Hi there, we have just released a new version of SourceTalk with a lot of minor improvements to the overall user experience:
- Chat now supports multiline messages. Press <Enter> if you want to insert a line break, press <Ctrl + Enter> (or Send button) to send a message.
- Source file synchronization mechanism is improved.
- Several notable synchronization bugs are fixed.
But besides that, we are glad to announce some huge changes that you will see very soon. First of all, we are working on a better design for all our infrastructure: the app itself, our site, and this blog. Then, we are planning to move to WebSocket technology as the main transporting mechanism, which will strongly improve your chatting and synchronization experience: we understand that it is far from perfect right now. Last but not least, we are working to implement user accounts and planning to add paid plans later. Don't worry, if you don't want to pay, all the features you can use now will be always available for free: paid plans will add the features like private conferences, infinite chat history, and synchronization with GitHub, but if you don't need these, nothing changes for you.
SourceTalk team


text:
Lawyers for Jersey and Guernsey have begun a last-ditch effort at the high court to block George Osborne's plans to stamp out VAT-dodging practices on websites such as Play.com, Amazon.co.uk, Tesco.com and HMV.com, saving the exchequer more than £110m a year in lost tax. The chancellor plans to use this month's budget to outlaw the VAT-free Channel Islands industry from 1 April, but will rethink if the three-day judicial review goes against him.
Counsel for Guernsey said the Treasury and HMRC had failed to put before the court any evidence that VAT-free shipments of goods bought for less than £15 involved tax avoidance, abuse or impropriety.
This is an argument the UK authorities were desperate not to get into. The reason is that the evidence – and there is plenty of it, say campaigners against the loophole – points to another embarrassing question. Why have the Treasury and HMRC ignored this issue for more than a decade?
The answer appears to be that they previously took quite a different view of low-value consignment relief, or LVCR, as the VAT loophole is known. Indeed, in the face of repeated complaints from struggling high-street retailers, the former Treasury minister Stephen Timms told the House of Commons in 2009: "It is important to underline the fact [that] the arrangements in Jersey and Guernsey are not improper."
As questionable as that assertion might now be regarded, it is hard now for the government – even a new administration – to argue the opposite.
Even on conservative estimates there must have been 40 lawyers squeezed into the crowded court 75 at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, underlining the commercial significance of this case. Among the few who were not being paid by the hour to be there was John Biggs, an executive at the Romsey printer cartridge suppliers Wellow Business Services.
Biggs first took evidence of VAT-dodging Channel Islands shipments to HMRC in 1998 and he has been writing letters ever since. Initially, HMRC appeared to take him seriously, sending two officials to visit and producing a report into the matter.
Subsequent freedom of information requests seeking a copy of this report have proved frustrating. It is lost, says the taxman.
Increasingly, this looks like a case MPs on the public accounts committee might productively look at.


text:
I was tagged by Shantelle from A Writer's Heart for the Q & A tag! =D It looks quite fun, so here we go!
\\Favorite book you've read this year?
|image source: pixabay.com
|image source: pixabay.com
I enjoyed this! =D
I love October Baby!! I actually started watching it last night, and finished it today. ;P
I love your hearts wish. XD
I'm glad! =D
Yea, I really like it too! It has a good message, and it's kind of cute. ;P
XD Yea, it's kind of the same as what you said, but what can I say? ;D
Chick-fil-A, YES, YES, YES!!! ;D I love that place!
So glad you're enjoying the Jan Watson series; can't wait until you read them all! Ah, "October Baby" is such a lovely movie - and yes, definitely has a powerful message concerning abortion.
Exiles and Cinderella's Dress are both gorgeous, I agree! In different ways. ^_^
Good reason to blog ... and beautiful wish! <3
Enjoyed reading this, Natasha!! :)
ME TOO! :D We need to go again soon...
Yea, it's been a great series. :) It is!
Yes! They're both such beautiful covers. :)
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
*gasps* How did I not know that Jaye had shown the cover for Exiles already?! OH MY GOOD GRACIOUS, IT"S GORGEOUS, I need it on my shelf xD.
Wonderful post, Natasha! :D
~ Savannah
I really enjoyed this! I love October Baby!! I like just watched it! ;P I also really liked the one about your brothers cuteness! <3ReplyDelete
Glad you did! Yes, it's a good movie. :D Yep, like kid's cuteness is certainly a blessing. ;)Delete
Enjoyed! :D
October Baby is one of my favorites movies to watch when I feel the need to cry. ;)
Oh yea, it's a really good movie!
Oh my goodness the covers!!!!! And I LOVE Chik-Fil-A too. =)
Love your blog, by the way. =)
Aren't they beautiful?! YAY for Chick-fil-A lovers! =D
Thank you, I'm glad you do! Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for the tag! Looks like fun (Btw I'm a traveler-dreamer...so...can answer that question easily xD)
Thank you again...I'll try and get to this soon :)
You're welcome! It'll be fun to see your answers! ;DDelete


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Patrick Blampied is doing a great job with the media and PR for the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, and sent out a press release about me after we met through Youtube. I'm more than happy to help build their profile in Canberra, although between the journalist, Pat's press release, and me seeing the story in print, some minor corrections and clarifications are needed:
- I don't start each day with a warm feeling about environmental sustainability. I get that feeling working towards conviviality.
- The correct order for being inspired to try this started with a Youtube video by Permascience, leading to information about Jean Pain, eventually seeing a video by Patrick that the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia were using the method too.
- My pile (version 3 that is) is made of horse manure, straw and woodchip, not paper. Paper is a good suggestion - but slightly harder to come by around here.
- I don't think or imply this system is for everyone, and I don't think it would reasonably replace existing systems.. not before a bit more research and development was done. I have concerns about the HDPE pipe possibly putting a chemical into the water for a start, and I think the biomass needs to be semi sealed to keep flies away. Patrick and I reckon something like a wheelie bin would probably be good, hooked up to a storage tank, with a replacement bin at the ready each week or so. Either that, or use the V3 system for room heating instead of shower water.
Apart from those minor points, it was great to get some interest from the local paper, and I hope it helps lead me to good local connections for progressing this and other projects. Thanks Patrick.


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Energy kinesiology software that runs on Windows, Mac and iOS. Launched in 2003, it is now being used in homes, clinics, spas and schools in over 85 countries. Used both by students of Touch for Health and their Instructors. Professional Practitioners and Lay People use eTouch to help themselves and those around them live more healthy and fulfilling lives with reduced pain and stress.
More info...
Touch for Health (TFH) levels 1-4 hands-on workshops and eTouch for Health (eTFH) software instruction. TFH is taught in instructor-led workshops while self-study, instructor-led and Video-on-Demand are used for eTFH training. CE's and PDA's available for Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists and Registered Nurses (in most states). We teach this popular TFH series twice annually.
More Info...
These software apps work in conjunction with eTouch providing additional advanced techniques related to Touch for Health and Energy Kinesiology. The Expansion Apps are from leaders in the Energy Kinesiology field such as Dr. Sheldon Deal and Donna Eden. Additional apps are from eTouch developers, Earl & Gail Cook. This apps can parrallel with eTouch and installed into eTouch.
More info...
The Interactive Tree of Touch for Health is a clickable menu for accessing many related modalities that are built upon Touch for Health or have grown parallel to the TFH model. Many of the TFH organizations around the world are also linked from the Interactive Tree. At the base of the tree are the founding pioneers and principles of TFH/AK/EK with links to historical recaps.
Go to...
Touch for Health can be practiced almost anywhere and at any time. Balancing the World is a Photolog of people from around the world conducting a TFH in front of natural and manmade monuments of the World. Atlanta - NYC - Mongolia - Spain - New Zealand - Germany - Canada - France - Morroco - China - Venezuela - Russia and more. Send us your photo!
Touch for Health is an alternative and complementary model of wellness and healthcare. Importantly, it is non-diagnostic model and not used for the diagnosis or treatment of disease or serious conditions. TFH is focused on the many everyday issues of our life that focus on Wellness, Personal Growth, Health Maintenance, Prevention, Stress Relief and Pain Control.
One minute tour of eTouch for Health.
Dr. John Thie was the author of Touch for Health and founder of the Touch for Health modality.
Touch for Health events are held around the world.


text:
Monday, 30 November 2009
7 comments:
- lina said...
what fun you two had! i love your totes!!! where are they from?
& ooo coffee eh? sounds promising!
- 30 November 2009 at 21:11
- lina said...
oh & that place looks so cool with all of those things on the wall! & i loke that photo of you two!! hehe. aaaannnddd....i think that's it...!!
- 30 November 2009 at 21:16
- Miss Mariposa said...
simply adorable!
- 30 November 2009 at 23:30
- LookingGlassGirl said...
I love the quote from the song. Newcastle sounds fun. I've never been. Glad you had a good time there. I hope you have an equally good time on your coffee trip :).
- 1 December 2009 at 05:06
- The Curious Cat said...
ooo someone? Interesting!! Looks like you had a fun time in Newcastle! Friends are great aren't they?! xxx
- 1 December 2009 at 08:11
- Sophia said...
it was such an exciting day, i got both my new ipod AND your package! :)
don't stop believing is quite possibly my favorite song of all time. i'm learning it on the piano, currently because i love it so much. journey rocks, end of discussion.
coffee sounds yummy and exciting :) good luck!
- 1 December 2009 at 09:19
- •¦Amy¦• said...
looks like an amazing time was had!
love the photo of the exhibit! looks amazing.
have fun drinking coffee :)
- 1 December 2009 at 12:26


text:
|Ensembell! (Photo: Fox)
Jess: Jingle Bells is a trash song. Played on a trash instrument.
Schmidt: My bar mitzvah was an amazing event. The theme was sports jams!
Jess: That was off the hammer!
Winston: It is not that hard, people! It's an instrument that a cat wears around its neck.
Schmidt: These are the things that come out when you take another man's conditioner.
Jess: You are such a tonkle!
Winston: Hold it! Don't nobody call me a tonkle!


text:
I was walking into work today and heard someone playing the harmonica. Sounded a lot like Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changing, so I had to look and see who was playing. It was a woman. A woman who lived on the street. She was dressed in all white––at least it was all white at one time––and had her head back and eyes closed as she whaled away on the "harp".
I was both stunned and in awe. Stunned that someone in such dire straits was playing with a happy soul. In awe of her talent. She didn't seem to have a care in the world. She didn't seem to mind that she was drawing attention to herself. Maybe that was what she was trying to do––make people notice her. And people did. Scowls, mouths opening and people walking the other way to avoid her. I just kept heading straight to get something to eat. And then snapped out of my self-induced funk as I kept thinking about The Harmonica Lady.
It's funny how certain events, experiences and quick glimpses of life make you stop and think. I've been thinking about my future. Today. Tomorrow. Next year. I have a PET Scan coming up in 3 weeks. It will be 2 years since my cancer diagnosis, next week. I feel the best I've felt physically in a very long time––about 2 years. But my mental state of mind has been fragile. Questioning. Wondering. Searching. Am I close to "beating" cancer? Will it come back? Have I changed through all this for the better or worse? As I said, lots on my mind.
The sound of the harmonica woke me up. The vision of someone who is in such dire straits snapped my ass back to reality. I have it really good. Really, really good. I'm alive. I have a wonderful family. I have a great job. What the hell is wrong with you, Greg?
I just needed to stop and listen to the music. And enjoy life's special little moments.


text:
By Jeannine Parvati Baker
June 1, 1949-December 1, 2005
Lay Midwife, Ashtanga Yogini, Astrologer
Founder of Hygieia College,
Herbal Medicine-Woman,
Mother of Six,
Author of Prenatal Yoga & Natural Childbirth,
Hygieia: A Woman's Herbal , and co-author of Conscious Conception
I have met many men who are excited to become fathers and yet have the idea that it
is their wife's business just precisely how this happens. In a world where babies were
welcomed as naturally as they were conceived, this would be a good idea. However
most babies born nowadays are delivered in ways that have lasting effects upon
everyone. You, father, have everything to do with this. Indeed, without courageous
men, we cannot make the Earth worthy of our future grandchildren. Hence the special
message below:
If your wife doesn't want to feel pain (plans an epidural) when she gives birth, what
does she plan to do for the rest of your child's life? Upon encountering painful feelings
as all humans do after your baby is born, will she take a pain pill or drug? Prozac®,
Motrin®, alcohol, or any of the legal drugs women consume in cultures where birth is
medicalized? The statistics show that this is a real possibility.
Postpartum depression has been linked to the previous use of drugs during childbirth.
More alarmingly, teenage suicide is also correlated with drugs and medical instruments
used at birth. Children, especially babies, learn what life is all about from their mothers
– if your wife is unconscious or anaesthetized at birth, she sets an example of primal
proportion to your child.
The reason to go through the pain of birth is that the other side of labour is ecstasy and
a specific education is given for this baby's upbringing. If the mother is drugged at
birth, she misses the once in a lifetime initiation, not to mention genetic information
specifically given to take care of baby the way nature intended it.
The most important event in your marriage is the birth of your child. If the mother is
rendered unfeeling, that medical assault is a loss to your family. A hospital delivery may
even damage your sex life and can compromise the quality of care your child receives
thereafter by a traumatized mother. This in turn affects you, society, and our shared
Earth. And you thought all you had to do was "support your wife"!
If you are a woman reading this, rest assured that I am suggesting that your partner
educate both of you for the sake of the Possible Earth. It's not a matter of gender
submission. For example, if your partner insisted that you have a medically managed
childbirth, I would instead invite that you ask your baby how s/he wants to arrive
Earthside? It doesn't matter whether it is the mother or the father/partner who wants
the paid paranoid in charge of birth.
100% of babies want to be born gently and stay close to mother, by her heart, in her
arms, be adored by the original lovers who made life possible, and be free of the
normative obstetric and pediatric abuses tragically imposed upon newborns today.
As mothers, our joy is found in protecting, as well as nurturing, our children. By
meeting these sacred obligations, happiness begins before birth and yet it is never too
late to trust nature to guide us in caring for our children. If you think that natural birth
is too hard, scary, or even inconvenient, it is nothing compared to the probable
consequences of a traumatic medical birth.
Lest I attempt to prove what I declare above, I now add instead that proof is a lack of
imagination. As Albert Einstein stated, "Imagination is more important than
knowledge". I know that freebirth is ecstatic. I imagine that, if you have read this far,
eventually you may, too.


text:
Saturday morning entertainment is back!
Every Saturday morning, from now until the last Saturday in August, the Village commons shops and the Odyssey bookshop will be hosting family entertainment!
We have a blast with a variety of entertainers from puppet shows, to exotic birds, to magicians and singers.
The first entertainer to go was the excellent story telling of Caravan Puppets!
We had a nice sizable crowd join us for stories ranging from Aesop's fables to Miss Rumphius!
In case of rainy or bad weather, the event will be held indoors at the Odyssey, which was the case this morning as it began to pour buckets.
A complete listing of the dates and entertainers is listed below:
Saturday mornings 10:30- 11:15.
July 10 Caravan Puppets & Timeless Tales
July 17 Roger Tincknell... songs & singing games
July 24 Tom Ricardi... Birds of Prey
July 31 Ed Popielarczyk's Magical Moments
August 7 Bill Ross... Book 'Em! Celebrate Reading!
August 14 Tom Neilson... "Why the Sky is so High!"
August 21 Trevor the Games Man
August 28 Hoopoe... Mime, Magic & More
Event updates, book reviews, and assorted book-related thoughts from the staff (and guests!) of the Odyssey Bookshop, a locally- and family- owned/operated independent bookshop in the agricultural and sometimes weird Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Family Fun and Entertainment
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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I know I haven't been around the blog much. I'm just going through a rather rough patch just now, what with my health and everything, and I don't really want to talk about it.
I feel confident that I'll be back to blogging once things settle down in a few months.
So long 'till then,
Truly Trampled


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Irvine Housing Blog
A Review of the Beachwood Tract at Pavilion Park
Posted: 07 Nov 2013 04:00 AM PST
This week, I will introduce you to Beachwood, another new home collection in Pavilion Park, the first of the Great Park Neighborhoods. Like the Roundtree homes I wrote about a few weeks ago, Beachwood was built by Lennar. It is the fourth smallest of the collections and features three unique models. Beachwood is one of only two collections to feature a single story home (Hawthorn, which I also recently wrote about, is the other). It also has one model with a private residence on the first floor. All homes have a two-car garage.
Lennar markets the home as "Everything Included" and signs throughout the houses claim "YES!" to let you know which features are standard. Smaller signs indicate upgrades. Some of the standard amenities include ceramic tile flooring at entry, kitchen, baths and laundry; Mohawk wall-to-wall carpeting in all living areas and bedrooms; polished chrome hardware, white thermafoil cabinetry, and engineered stone countertops in all bathrooms; acrylic tubs in master baths and fiberglass tubs in secondary baths; and prewiring for ceiling fans in all bedrooms. In the kitchens, standard features are white thermafoil cabinetry; granite counters with a 6" backsplash and full backsplash at cooktop; stainless steel GE appliances including built-in, self-cleaning wall oven, gas cooktop with five burners, Advantium microwave/hood and Energy Star dishwasher; and a stainless steel two-compartment undermount sink. These standard features are identical to those in Roundtree.
Again, Lennar is proud of their commitment to green technology. Some of the standard features include CertainTeed AirRenew drywall that actively cleans the air; central air; high performance low-E glass; cool roof tiles on concrete roofs; tankless water heater; programmable thermostat; water conserving toilets, faucets and shower heads; low VOC interior paint; and pre-wiring for ceiling fans and electric/hybrid vehicle charging systems. There are many other green features and these are also the same in both Roundtree and Beachwood.
Unlike many builders, Lennar doesn't offer alternate configurations to the floorplans or different ways to set up a room. You don't have the choice of a den vs a bedroom, an enlarged laundry room, or anything else along those lines. What you see is what you get. While it's nice to keep things simple, it does eliminate the flexibility found in many other home collections.
Although the models for Beachwood are located midway down Compass (the main street of models), the actual tract is farther back in the neighborhood (towards Portola), behind the Birch Trail collection. There are 90 lots in the Beachwood collection, including the models, and they are projected to be released in 10 phases. Phases 1 and 2 have been released and will be ready for move-in at the end of November and December 2013.
Basic Neighborhood Financial Information
Residence One
Residence One is a single story home with Spanish, Farmhouse and Craftsman elevations (the model is Craftsman). They market it as having a front porch, but the area is really very small and couldn't fit more than a single chair or small bench. When you enter the home, you look right at a wall. The kitchen and great room are to the right; the bedrooms, baths and laundry to the left.
The kitchen shows mostly included, standard features without upgrades, so it gives buyers a true sense of the base model. It has a rectangular island with seating for three and without any appliances on it. The fridge, oven and microwave are on one wall, the sink and dishwasher are in the middle, and the stove is on a third wall, forming a U around the island. Cabinets line the top and bottom, but only one narrow cabinet is pantry-height. It has a window looking out to the street. The kitchen looks nice and is functional, but I would prefer more pantry space and less distance between the stove and the fridge.
The kitchen is wide open to the adjacent great room, with space for a dining table in the middle. The openness offers the option for a table of any size and is probably best suited for a more casual atmosphere. Two tall windows face the side yard and have space between them for a china hutch. The living area is a good size, with windows facing the side and sliding doors to the backyard. It doesn't have a fireplace. The setup allows for furniture to be arranged in a variety of ways.
The backyard is extremely small. There is a narrow, covered porch area built into the house (similar to what other collections call a California Room). It's wide enough for a couch or comfy chairs, but not for a table. The rest of the yard is just a long, narrow space that is wide enough for a table and chairs but nothing else. The backyard really isn't much bigger than a typical side yard.
On the other side of the home, there are three bedrooms, two full baths and a laundry room. A hallway off the entry leads to one bedroom and the garage. The bedroom overlooks the street and is on the smaller side, but still has room for a large bed, nightstands and a dresser. It has a standard, two-door sliding closet.
Another hallway leads to the other rooms. The laundry room is on the right and the first bathroom is across from it on the left. The laundry room has counter space but no sink with upper and lower cabinets. The bathroom has a single sink and, through a separate door, the toilet and a shower/tub combo. This is the bathroom that would serve both secondary bedrooms as well as any guests in the house, as there is not a separate powder room. Fortunately, the showers are much better designed than in Lennar's Roundtree collection, with tile going higher up on the walls. Like the kitchen, this bathroom appears to show the standard features without upgrades. Just beyond the bathroom, there is a very small coat closet and a set of upper and lower linen cupboards.
The next bedroom is just behing the laundry room. It has one window looking out to the backyard and a two-door, sliding closet. This room is a little smaller than the one at the front of the house and feels more cramped with a bigger bed. It shares walls with both the great room and the master bedroom, so it probably isn't as quiet or as private as the bedroom at the front.
The master bedroom is at the end of the hall. It is much bigger than the other bedrooms and it gets more light. Two windows face the backyard and another, smaller window faces the back porch.
The master bath has dual sinks, a soaking tub, and a separate shower. The area between the tub and shower is tiled and raised from the rest of the floor, creating a similar feel to a walk-in shower. The shower has a seat and a small cutout in one wall for shampoo, soap, etc. As with the rest of the house, this bathroom appears to be mostly standard features.
Overall, this is a pretty basic house without any remarkable features. I think it will appeal to some buyers because single story homes are not common in Irvine. However, the tiny yard will be a turnoff for others.
Residence Two
Residence Two is modeled with the Monterey Elevation and is the only elevation that has the large balcony in the front. The Spanish Elevation has a very tiny one off one bedroom and the Farmhouse doesn't have any.
When you enter the home, the dining area is visible directly in front of you. The stairs are immediately to your left with a small coat closet next to them. A bathroom and bedroom are to the right. The full bathroom has a single sink and a shower/tub combo. It shows an upgraded vanity and upgraded tile. You do not have the option for just a shower. The bathroom is not connected to the bedroom, but is just outside of it.
The downstairs bedroom is a bit smaller than average, but it does have a nice nook to fit a dresser, desk or bookshelf. The closet is a standard, two-door slider and the room has windows facing both the front and side of the house. Depending on the elevation, you can have one, two or three front-facing windows.
The great room and kitchen are at the back of the house. Windows line the back wall of the living area and sliders in the dining area lead to the backyard. Along with windows on the side, it brings a lot of light into the great room. The great room is a pretty typical space – a big square room without any notable features. This one does not have a fireplace or show any built-ins.
The dining area is also average in size, with room for a big table and the opportunity to be as casual or formal as you wish.
The kitchen is shown with upgraded cabinetry. The island is longer than the one in Residence One and, though pictured with three chairs, could probably seat four. The sink and dishwasher are in the island. The wall behind the island has the microwave, oven, cooktop and a fair amount of counter space (though I prefer a little bit more). The fridge is just to the left with a large, walk-in pantry next to it.
As in Residence One, the backyard is really small. This one doesn't have a covered area and is just one open space. The model shows a fire pit with seating all around and space for a big grill. There is also a very long, narrow portion of the yard that can't really be used for much of anything.
A short hall in the back corner of the kitchen leads to the garage and to the private residence, or what Lennar calls "NextGen – The Home Within a Home." The private suite has a bedroom, living room, kitchenette, full bath and a washer dryer. In addition to access from the kitchen, this home has a private entrance next to the garage, set far back from the street, and behind a gate, so it won't be confused with the home's main entrance. I actually entered from the outside entrance, as the door from the kitchen was locked.
The living room is a good size, but doesn't get a lot of light. It has three windows on the back wall, but since the backyard's wall is so close, it blocks the light. The kitchenette has a sink, a full size (but slightly smaller than normal) refrigerator, and microwave/convection oven.
There is a spot for a stacked washer and dryer just outside the bathroom. The bath has a single sink and a shower, no tub. The bedroom is pretty small, but does have two windows and a standard, two-door closet. This is the only closet in the private residence. The private suite is a nice feature, but I think the one in Roundtree and the options for a private suite in Hawthorn are much nicer.
Back in the main house, the upstairs offers a small loft. Unlike most lofts, this one is too small to use as a family room. It has a long, narrow area with built-in cabinets and a small, square open spot that could maybe house a bookcase or a single cozy chair. The loft has the only access to the deck, which is long and narrow. The laundry room is at the top of the stairs with side by side machines and a counter, but no sink.
There are only two bedrooms upstairs. The secondary bedroom is a pretty good size and has windows facing the front of the house. This is the room that has a tiny balcony in the Spanish elevation. Unfortunately, the closet is really small. This room also has an en suite bathroom. It has a single sink (again, with upgraded cabinetry) and a shower/tub combo.
The master bedroom is at the back of the house, with windows facing both the back and side. It is smaller than the ones in the other Beachwood homes and is very basic. The master bath is nice, with split sinks and a bathtub between them. There are two walk-in closets, each about the same size. I think the shower is too small for a master. It has a built-in seat and shows upgraded tile.
Aside from the private residence, this home doesn't really have any interesting features. It feels smaller than I expected, based on the square footage, and I was disappointed to see that the loft really isn't usable. I also wish there was more closet space throughout the home. Per square foot, this home is priced much lower than Residence One
Residence Three is modeled in the Spanish Elevation, with the others being Farmhouse and Craftsman. It is also shown reversed from the typical layout. The entryway opens to a long hallway in front, with the great room visible at the end. The stairs are in front of you to the right and a short hall leading to a bedroom, bathroom and laundry room are to the left.
The downstairs bedroom faces the street and, as in the other models, is a pretty typical size. It has a standard, two-door closet and, in the Farmhouse elevation, two windows instead of one.
The downstairs bath is adjacent to the bedroom. It has a single sink and a shower/tub combo. This one shows upgraded cabinetry but the tile is standard. The laundry room has a very long counter, but still no sink. This room shows the standard cabinetry.
As you walk back to the great room, there is a coat closet with expanded storage under the stairs, though not as large as the closets in some homes. The great room is similar to those in the other two residences. This one has windows lining the back wall and a sliding door on the side that leads to the outdoor California room. Just like Residence Two, this one doesn't have a fireplace or built-ins.
The dining area isn't directly in front of the main hall, as it was in Residence Two, so it feels a little more open when you walk into the room. Again, there is space for a big table and it would work well with a casual or more formal set up. More windows face the backyard here. There is space along one wall for a nice china hutch or, as seen in the model, a small desk.
The kitchen is similar in size to Residence Two, but with a slightly different set up. The island is shorter and still houses the sink and dishwasher. The cooktop is still directly across from the sink, with counter space on either side. In this layout, the microwave, oven and fridge are on a different wall, with additional counter space next to the fridge. Both upgraded cabinetry and countertops were used in this home. Beyond the kitchen, there is a small entry area with built-in cabinets that leads to the garage. On the other side of the cabinets is the large, walk-in pantry. The kitchen also has sliders to the backyard.
In this home, the master bedroom is downstairs. A hallway between the laundry room and the great room leads back to the suite. The bedroom is a little bigger than in the other homes and it has access to the California room.
The master bath has a lot more open floor space. The two sinks are side by side on one wall, with the shower and bathtub next to each other on another. The shower has a built-in seat that is actually part of the tub surround. The large window above the bathtub looks directly out to the street, which I find incredibly awkward, as it creates a total lack of privacy. A window like that may work when the master is on the second floor, but not when it's on the lower level. The walk-in closet is about the same size as the one in Residence One.
The backyard is pretty much consumed by the California Room. It's a very nice space for sitting and, in the model, has a fountain just outside of it to create a peaceful atmosphere. The rest of the yard is extremely narrow and, though you could easily put a grill out by the kitchen doors, you couldn't put a table and chairs over there.
Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and a loft-style bonus room. The extra living space up here is nice, and about the same size as the living room downstairs. Three smaller windows face the front of the house. There is a walk-in linen closet just next to the bonus room.
The bedroom at the back of the house is a lot bigger than the one downstairs, and bigger than the secondary rooms in Residences One and Two. It has windows overlooking the back and side of the house. It also has a walk-in closet.
The other bedroom is even bigger, and is almost as large as the downstairs master. In this room, three of the walls have two windows each, so it gets a lot of light throughout the day. It has a walk-in closet that is about the same size as in the other upstairs room.
These two bedrooms share a bathroom. This one has two sinks and, through a separate doorway, the toilet and a shower/tub combo. I like the setup of this bathroom.
While I don't love the downstairs of this home, I like the upstairs much more than any part of either of the other two residences. The rooms are much bigger and the bonus room is a great living space. A family with older children and teens could make great use of the upstairs area, especially since the master is downstairs.
Overall, I am not a big fan of Beachwood. The only part I really liked was the upstairs of Residence Three. Residences One and Two lack sufficient closet space and I don't love the layout of either one. I also really disliked how small the backyards are in every home. The prices per square foot are pretty low in Residences Two and Three (relative to other Irvine homes) if you stick with the standard features. I am sure the NextGen Home in Residence Two and the single story living in Residence One will appeal to some buyers, but those were not big selling points for me.
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Live in the Tragic Kingdom
|Live in the Tragic Kingdom
|Video by No Doubt
November 11, 1997 (VHS)
November 25, 2003 (DVD, as part of Boom Box)
June 13, 2006 (separate DVD)
|May 31–June 1, 1997
|92 minutes
|Sophie Muller
|No Doubt
|No Doubt chronology
Live in the Tragic Kingdom is a video release by the American third wave ska band No Doubt, consisting of a filmed concert at The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California on May 31, and June 1, 1997.[1] It supported their commercially successful third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, it was released on November 11, 1997 on Interscope Records on VHS; November 25, 2003 on DVD as part of No Doubt's box set album Boom Box; and as a separate DVD on June 13, 2006. A laserdisc version was also released in Hong Kong.[2]
No Doubt released their debut album, No Doubt, in 1992, one year after being signed to Interscope Records. No Doubt were a commercial flop, selling only 30,000 copies.[3][4] Interscope did not trust that the band would fund a second album, and paired them with producer Matthew Wilder. Keyboardist Eric Stefani was distressed by the band's lack of success, and the fact that he had to give up creative control to someone outside the band; and soon left the band in late 1994 to pursue an animation career on the popular TV series The Simpsons.[5] No Doubt released and recorded their second studio album, The Beacon Street Collection, independently,[4] despite its limited availability, it sold over 100,000 copies within a year of its release,[4] and convinced Interscope that they would fund a successful third album.[6]
No Doubt's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, was released on October 10, 1995 and spawned seven singles, including "Just a Girl"; "Spiderwebs"; "Excuse Me Mr."; "Sunday Morning"; and "Don't Speak", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and stayed there for sixteen weeks, a record at the time[7] which was later broken by the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris". The album sold sixteen million copies worldwide,[8] because of the success of Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt decided to embark on a tour in support of the album.
No Doubt embarked on a tour called the "Tragic Kingdom World Tour", beginning in 1997, two years after the release of Tragic Kingdom, they expected to tour for two months, but the tour ended up lasting two and a half years.[8]
The band chose Project X, headed by Luc Lafortune and Michael Keeling, to design the stage for the series of concerts, the band suggested decorating the stage like a clearing in a forest. Project X created three anthropomorphic trees with glowing oranges, as a reference to the music video of "Don't Speak", the show included clear and mylar confetti designed to look like rain. Lighting design was difficult because there were only four rehearsals, so the show was arranged to be flexible to allow for what Lafortune referred to as "a very kinetic performance."[9]
Concert setlist[edit]
|"Tragic Kingdom"
|"Excuse Me Mr."
|"Different People"
|"Happy Now?"
|"D.J.'s" (Sublime cover)
|"End It on This"
|"Just a Girl"
|"The Climb"
|"Total Hate"
|"Hey You"
|"The Imperial March" (From The Empire Strikes Back)
|"Move On / Ghost Town" (The Specials cover)
|"Don't Speak"
|"Sunday Morning"
|"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (The Beatles cover)
Critical reception[edit]
|Professional ratings
|Review scores
Because Live in the Tragic Kingdom was not one of No Doubt's studio albums, it lacked much attention from critics. However, Tracie Cooper of Allmovie enjoyed the mix of songs between fan favorites, lesser-known songs, and covers.[1] Allmusic gave the album three stars out of five, although not giving a review.[11] A Rotten Tomatoes review noted lead singer Gwen Stefani's "danc[ing], bounc[ing], and sing[ing] ... to the infectious pop-punk-ska of her bandmates" and said "it's impossible not to feel like dancing (or smiling, at least)."[12]
Bonus material[edit]
Several "extras" and easter eggs were included on the 2006 DVD release of Live in the Tragic Kingdom, including a three-song video clip of a concert in Den Haag, Netherlands during the Tragic Kingdom Tour, an alternate version of "Don't Speak", a photo gallery, and trailers for No Doubt's two previous DVD releases, The Videos 1992–2003 and Rock Steady Live.
External links[edit]
- ^ a b Tracie Cooper. "(((No Doubt: Live in the Tragic Kingdom > Overview)))". Allmovie. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- ^ http://www.discogs.com/No-Doubt-Live-In-The-Tragic-Kingdom/release/2843593. Missing or empty
- ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (February 26, 1998). "Tunes and 'Toons". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Timeline". No Doubt official website. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- ^ "No Doubt". Behind the Music. VH1.April 9, 2000.
- ^ Hermanson, Wendy (November 17, 1995). "Just a Girl". BAM. San Francisco. ISSN 0194-5793. OCLC 4855429. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
- ^ "No Doubt". Rock on the Net. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- ^ a b Van Meter, Jonathan (April 2004). "The First Lady of Rock". Vogue. New York: Condé Nast Publications. 194 (4). ISSN 0042-8000. OCLC 1769261.
- ^ McHugh, Catherine (August–September 1997). "Keys to the Kingdom". Theatre Crafts International. New York: Theatre Crafts Associates. 31 (7). ISSN 1063-9497. OCLC 26180112.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "(((Live in the Tragic Kingdom > Overview)))". Allmusic. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- ^ "Live in the Tragic Kingdom Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 6, 2008.


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Movie details | Photo gallery | Buy tickets
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
The Cast: Dave DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan
The Buzz: We've seen the found footage film being done in the genres of horror and sci-fi before, but "Chronicle" brings it to a new zone; the Superhero origin story. Written by Max Landis... does that surname sound familiar? Of course it does, he's the son of John Landis, the director of Michael Jackson's world famous "Thriller" video.
The Story: What would you do if you had superpowers? Start fighting crime on the street or play elaborate pranks on innocent bystanders with your new found glory? The latter's exactly what happens in "Chronicle" to a group of teens, Andrew, Matt and Steve. Andrew, the loner, follows his cousin Matt and popular kid Steve into a cave, only to emerge out of it with amazing new powers. Their discovery of their powers spins their lives out of control, as Andrew starts using his powers irresponsibly.
inSing.com thinks: At the very core of the movie, "Chronicle" is just like another superhero movie like "Spider-Man" or "Superman". However, there are no explanations on radioactive spiders, cosmic rays or Krypton... just a visit to a strange cave and subsequent flying abilities and all sorts of fantastical powers granted to these young men. So basically, it's a superhero movie, but stripped down to its core and presented in a street wise urban kid in high school manner with a slightly creepy main character filming most of it on his camcorder.
"Chronicle" manages to capture the fun of having a superpower quite wonderfully. The joy and fun of able to fly and levitate objects is captured quite palpably by newbie director Josh Trank. Instead of rushing to beat up bad guys in the name of justice, they're stuck with levitating lego blocks in their own privacy, torn between using it for their own gain and keeping a low profile in order to avoid scrutiny.
In what seems to be an ode to Captain America's super soldier serum, the three kids' personalities seem to expand twofold when they gain their powers. The two that seem to have their heads screwed on right, the popular kids in school, Matt and Steve handle their new powers with maturity, while Andrew's fears and insecurities get magnified and lead to his subsequent abuse of his powers, something that worries the hell out of his cousin and friend.
Sounds rather straight forward? It is. Thankfully, the subplots involving Andrew and his family/social life lend some much needed dimension to him and provides some characterization that makes his regression motivated and a little tragic (as well as making him a wee bit more tolerable).
The film's commitment to the "found footage" format is admirable and gives the film a grittier and a more up close and personal feel as compared to the movies of the larger than life counterparts of Marvel and DC, and when that is combined with the high school setting makes for a pretty fun counterpoint to the usual superhero fare. It's also a lot more fun than most other found footage films, mainly because of those films have been ones in the horror genre, so "Chronicle" has that going for it.
All in all, "Chronicle" is one of the year's early surprises, a fresh take on two genres that have been done to death recently and a very entertaining one at that.


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anything goes @ Crafts & Me
anything goes @ Brown Sugar
Nice card Jo loving your colours
jacqui x
wonderful card Jo - no wonder miss rebecca has claimed it!!! Glad the weather's more to your liking now xxReplyDelete
Gorgeous card Jo lovely image and colour combo, I can see why Rebecca has claimed it.
Hugs Julie xxx
Lovely card and love the image...great colours and layout
Such a lovely card Jo and an adorable image coloured beautifully xReplyDelete
Lovely card and nice color combination! I love the image you've used!
Oh love it.. Thanks for joining our challenge at Brown Sugar. Good luck.ReplyDelete
super joli, quel superbe choix de couleur qui colle parfaitement avec ce superbe tampon, bizReplyDelete
so stunning jo.great image and i love your purple colours :D
xx coops xx
WOW, Jo! Stunning coloring. I can't blame Rebecca for claiming this card, but I have to admit I was hoping it would come to my house, being purple and all. :-DReplyDelete
Gorgeous coloring and fabulous, nontraditional colors.ReplyDelete
Those MB purple stars so suit this image...if I was is Rebecca's age, I would be claiming it too!
Sure agree with you about loving a bit of a breeze...I am not a heat lover...everyone else in my family is and I always feel like I could melt in the heat. I do have a bit of a tan but it is from the gardening we have been doing, not lying out!!!


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The Harper government may have vowed that cutting the deficit would not lead to higher user fees, but documents show that as many as a dozen federal departments plan to raise those fees – including Parks Canada.My, despite the governmental vow, apparently we have government departments gone wild that are hiking user fees without the blessing of the government. Scroll down to about the two-thirds mark of the report, however, and you get a glimpse at what's going on here:
After floating the idea of higher user fees in a closed-door speech to public servants, the Treasury Board President later flatly rejected the notion when asked about it by reporters on Parliament Hill.So, to recap. Behind closed doors in early June with said government departments, Clement raised the option of user fees. See this report as well (""We are encouraging departments to develop a full range of options in areas such as administrative and program efficiencies, business consolidation and user fees," he said"). Then it becomes public, he denies. Yet 13 departments go ahead with user fee plans. Of course they do, they were given the green light by Clement. Yet...this government can't be seen to be raising revenues aka taxes aka user fees. It's anathema for them. Bad public relations and all. Thus the solution, pin it on the departments doing so beyond the review process they've got going on.
"We don't think that taxpayers should be taxed more or should be user-feed to death," Mr. Clement said on June 13. "There's lots of ways that we can get to a balanced budget without additional user fees on Canadians."
Squaring this circle requires a classic case of Ottawa-speak.
Mr. Clement's office explains that the minister was only ruling out higher user fees as part of his Strategic and Operating Review process, which will be detailed in the 2012 budget. That doesn't prevent government departments from raising fees outside of that plan.
Why whatever will these rogue government departments be doing next? Somebody, anybody in charge up there, really should get on that.


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First off, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.
I received a great package today for the Pretty Little Pouch swap on flickr.
It has denim fabric and beautiful orange fabrics. I gave a hint that I didn't really have anything that had orange in it so if my swap partner had some and wanted to use them that would be great. She did and I love it. It even has some great orange lining and of course my all time favourite, hexies. She also included a great shopping bag with hexies (in some prints I've seen other people using and raving about). There was even some chocolate (which I had to give some to youngest daughter as she wanted my lovely pouch). Thank you Judy.
I also received an order of zips I made. I have been waiting for these so I can make one of those fantastic Triple Zip Pouches. Now I just need time. I've also signed up for a Stitch Me Up blog hop and am working on my piece for it. I signed up for the April Showers blog hop as well for which we all make a mug rug with our interpretation of what April Showers means to us. Better get a move on.
Hubby gave me some beautiful flowers (I love flowers). There's a big fuzzy red heart in the middle of them.
As a treat the four of us are going to have one of these after dinner (I know I'm on a diet but it's Valentine's Day).


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I invite you to become a TAFE Champion.
TAFE has delivered quality vocational education and training to millions of Australians for over a hundred years. It has a quality brand that is recognised and supported by many in the community today. Recently we stood in the cold collecting hundreds of signatures at the NSW Blue Mountains 'Winter Magic' festival in support of TAFE. What we found was that when we spoke about TAFE and informed members of the public about what was happening to TAFE across the country, they were concerned and alarmed.
As Prime Minister once again, you have the opportunity to ensure that TAFE is properly funded and that no National Partnership Agreement between the Commonwealth and states and territories, can be used to undermine TAFE and create instead a government funded artificial training market. We are concerned, as you are, that Australians have access to the best education and training through their lives, and that TAFE is able to build not just the skills of individuals, but also social capital and community capability. Economic productivity is important, but so is building lifelong learning opportunities for all. TAFE has and continues to have a significant role in this undertaking.
We are concerned that the current National Inquiry into TAFE has not been used to gather all that individuals and organisations value about TAFE. The submissions clearly demonstrate overwhelming support for TAFE and its varied roles in meeting the educational requirements of a diverse group of students. Yet there has only been one day of public hearings in Brisbane. We do not feel that the employer and industry participants on the day reflected this breadth and depth of support for TAFE.
We ask you as Prime Minister to become a TAFE Champion. TAFE Champions are recognised on our website. But more than that! As a TAFE Champion we know that you will ask your new Minister for Skills and Training, Brendan O'Connor, to reconsider the current National Partnership Agreement, and ensure that it funds and recognises TAFE's role as the major provider of vocational education and training in this country. What is happening currently in your own state of Queensland, and in NSW and Victoria, in particular, will lead to the demise of TAFE. Its delivery has dropped to below 50% in Victoria. It is not too late to prevent a similar decline in provision occurring in NSW and Queensland.
Representatives of the TAFE Community Alliance are able to meet with you and/or your office at any time to provide further information. We will be writing to Minister O'Connor. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com.


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I just grappled with the grossmont registration process, and when I finally got into the system, the only class I really wanted to get on, the advance pastry and cake decorating, was full. Very sad. There isnt even a waiting list for this class. :(
I got into the basic culinary arts, so it sounds like at least I'll be wrestling with chickens next semester, so I will be moving forward a little with my skills.
If anyone happens upon this blog and knows of any other relatively inexpensive options as far as part time training in the culinary arts in San Diego, I'd love to hear them. I think I'll explore doing some classes at 'do it with icing' which should be fun.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sad-no posh baking classes for me next semester
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I've always been "meh" about the Saudis over the years. I know what they are - autocratic Islamic despots - and that the only way in which they differ from other now-former Middle East autocrats like Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarek, and Muammar Qaddafi is that they have sat on an ocean of petroleum for decades and made a point of cultivating U.S. friendship rather than going out of their way to alienate us. And it's largely gotten them what they've wanted: to remain in perpetuitous and plutocratic power. And they have been a useful ally in that part of the world and have performed the service of at least buying off and outsourcing the jihadists in their midst as opposed to directly suppressing them.
Or at least it was a service until fourteen years, seven months, and five days ago. Then it became a problem for us. A BIG problem. Though not so big that it manifest itself in congressional legislation to make the Saudis legally culpable for whatever role they might have wittingly or unwittingly played in the 9/11 attacks any earlier than, well, fourteen years and seven months later. Which is why I have a great deal of difficulty taking the vehemence of the bill's sponsors seriously, if not the families of 9/11 victims who have doubtless been seeking this for years. It is an election year, after all.
But the Saudis have have a problem with this bill. A BIG problem. And they're holding, and threatening to unload, approximately three quarters of a trillion very cogent counter-arguments as to why this bill should be deep-sixed to keep Osama Bin Laden company:
Barack Obama will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday amid turmoil over the Saudi government's threats to sell off hundreds of billions of dollars in assets the kingdom holds if Congress goes through with a bill that would allow American courts to hold the Middle Eastern nation responsible for any part in the 9/11 attacks.
The Obama administration objects to the bill, reports the New York Times, and has been lobbying to block it, with State [Commissaria]t and [Obam]agon officials warning senators that there will be both economic and diplomatic issues if the legislation passes.
Last month, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, personally delivered a message from the kingdom to Washington, saying his nation would have to sell as much as $750 billion in treasury securities and other assets it holds in the United States, before they can be frozen by the courts if the bill is passed.
I'm taking it from The One's lobbying against the bill that he would veto it if it were to pass and reach his desk. In which case, I have to believe the Saudis are aware of it as well, in which case it isn't going to become law and therefore they should have nothing to worry about, certainly not enough to mortally wound our currency. On the other hand, perhaps the Saudis are concerned that Obama might sign the bill in order to not create a distraction or even liability for Hillary Clinton and congressional Dems in what is shaping up as another potential "blue" wave election and are moving to massively preempt that outcome, in which case that message seems to have already been amply received. Or perhaps the Saudis are overly sensitive about such a public perception being given that high-profile of a validation. "Me thinks thou dost protest to much" and all that.
What this uproar illustrates vividly to me is something that former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen (retired) said over two years ago: The national debt is, if not the greatest national security threat to the U.S., then certainly among them. All it takes is one of our enemies - the ChiComms come to mind, or even a quasi-friend like the Saudis - to unload a significant portion of that debt, and back comes "quantitative easing," Fed printing presses in maximum overdrive to "buy" it, the dollar going into free fall, etc. A monetary shock akin to OPEC's 1973 post-Yom Kippur War oil embargo. And that gives any major holder of U.S. debt that isn't Janet "Old" Yellen hardcore leverage over us, no matter who's in the White House.
Riyadh's threat isn't being taken seriously by economists in a "They need us more than we need them" sense. Which may or may not be true, depending upon how serious their butthurt over this 9/11 indictment bill really is. But suppose, say, a President Trump launched his trade war with Red China next year and Beijing decided to dump the large chunk of their U.S. debt holdings sitting on the asset side of their balance sheet. The rumors of their moving to replace the dollar as the global reserve currency are no secret. What would there be to dissuade them from pulling the trigger on it?
But I keep forgetting that a President Trump would completely eliminate the $19.2 trillion national debt in eight years with his magic lantern 24% annual GDP growth and $90 trillion economy. Much of it probably looted from Xi Jin-Ping's supersecret offshore bank accounts, doubtless stashed in all those fake islands in the South China Sea. Never mind, I'm just an old worrywart, aren't I?
UPDATE: This will fix the swarthy old ragheads....won't it?


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Blue Lock Publisher's description
from Wuul
Lock your PC if your Bluetooth phone or device is out of range. Includes source.
Bluelock is an open source application that locks your Windows PC if a particular Bluetooth device is not detected. For example, if you register your Bluetooth mobile phone with the program but then move away from your desk, the program will detect your phone is out of range and automatically lock your system, requiring the password to be entered to reactivate the system. Full Delphi source code is provided.
System Requirements:No special requirements.
Program Release Status: Beta
Program Install Support: None


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Anti-climax to my distress about failing the MSP test last post. Returned to work Tuesday. I was the closer, so when things slowed down and I was 'fortunate' enough not to have any late tables, I procured my retake test from the manager.
Exact same test – not a different one. So I ripped off all the shit I already knew, and that I now know newly (nice turn of phrase, eh? No?), and was finished and had passed in about 20 minutes.
* * * * *
My dinner job, Carney's Corner, has been neglected here of late. I don't mean the fact that that I've not been posting for a year. I mean, even so, I've mostly written about Michael's.
Well, Carney is pretty happy these days. She has historically been ever-so-eager to spread rumors of the demise of our main nearby competitor, O'Shaughnessey's. In the six years I've worked at Carney's, I've personally heard her get on about O'Shaughnessey's at least 5 times. And this is not an overheard stray comment. This is dedicated, prolonged prostheltyzing (yes, it took me a really long time to get that spelling). O'Shaughnessey's never went down. But in the last month, two other competitors have been confirmed as doomed businesses.
One place has lost its lease, and the planned sale that would save it for another owner fell through, so it is shutting down permanently at the end of the month. Another, about 10 miles away is closing just next week.
There are a lot of restaurants in Southern California so you might not think it would matter much. However, these are directly analogous establishments to Carney's – stodgy steakhouse-type places who've been in business for decades. I submit that while steakhouses are everywhere and always cropping up, the old-school ones with long-term reputations are another whole entity.
While one wouldn't normally think two restaurant closings – in a ten-mile radius that features hundreds of restaurants – would warrant any major change, it does in this case, for Carney's. The clientele who crave our type of restaurant will simply seek out that same type if their favorite is no longer open.
And sure enough, it has been busy at Carney's. I might be jumping the gun, since neither competitor is closed yet, but I think the rats are already scurrying from the ship. And further, I heard one guest saying exactly that to Carney this evening.
Since guests aren't tagged and tracked by GPS, we have to speculate. But I think it goes like this: One table on a weeknight, 2 or 3 on weekends, makes a significant difference whether you're busy or slow. In our small restaurant (9 tables in the dining room, another nine in the bar/patio).
Result this weekend: $266 Friday, $205 Saturday.


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Wednesday loves.
Good morning beauties! How are you? Staying cozy? I just finished a holiday video on getting ready for a glam night out. So fun...which put me in the mood for holiday ensembles. Shoes specifically.
Check out these six beauties that will have you swooning under the mistletoe. Each pair is positively to die for and all but one pair is completely budget friendly. <I promise it's a fabulous investment> Just click your heels three times and say, "There's nothing like a new pair of heels." Voíla! They will appear magically on your doorstep. #yourewelcome
- Santa baby, yes to these red patent beauties!
- All the glitter and then some.
- Ombre heels, what the what?
- An investment but so gorge!
- Obsessed, no words for these magical unicorns.
- Add a little pom pom in your step.
Happy shopping! xo
What's the biggest challenge you face when it comes to family night? For me, it's undoubtedly finding a place that will make the entire family happy. Somewhere that will keep the kids occupied while feeding the hubby something with substance. Tough, right?
You can tell I am slowly becoming acclamated to Spring...splashes of pink, more pattern play...it's happening. And like every year, there are so many pieces I want RIGHT NOW but I am trying to reign it in and be realistic. Do we really need all this excess? The answer is no but it sure is fun to look and honestly, purging a few pieces in exchange for splurging on one great closet staple is never a bad idea.
I am on the countdown for my birthday getaway and I couldn't be more excited. Next stop: New Orleans! I've never been but I am ready for all the amazing food, architecture and color. I know this will be not only good for the soul but also a great opportunity to spend QT with the hubs. The last time we went away was about three years ago! Everyone tells me that that is an insane timeline but hey, life gets in the way. So yes, this is long overdue.
Guys! This is just a quick PSA that I am co-hosting a really fun shopping event at Macy's in Oak Brook!
You guys, Zara is so so good right now for mod, chic Spring basics. Clean lines, menswear and cowboy details...my favorite lineup. I usually gravitate towards brights but man, I am really digging on the monochromatic wardrobe these days. And for good reason, you can mix and match to your heart's delight!
Let's go shopping...just in time for Daylight Savings this weekend, eh? Sounds like a good plan to me. I am ready to transition. Here's to hoping Chicago cooperates. While denim will always remain a staple in my closet, this year I am embracing cheeky flats and texture. I've never been one for big florals so this is my way of dipping my toe into a new season.
An extra late post on what was a pretty exhausting Monday. Not to be confused with what as an AMAZING weekend staycation in the city. More on that later as I plan to do a full write up to share with you all.
Well, that snowfall was a fine how-do-you-do wasn't it? It's a legit winter wonderland out there but I am okay with it because it's back to 40 this weekend. Wahoo! For now, I am enjoying the coziness with all the sweaters and blankets!
Fitness is such an important part of my life. Once I was done having kids, I vowed to get toned. Slowly my goal of getting toned became a reality but the real reason I stuck with it was because it calmed my stress levels and made me a better wife and mother.
Today's shopping is NYE themed. If you are anything like me, NYE means you've "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT" aka A Pajama Party At Home! It's easy as pie: 1. purchase adult onesie 2. invite real friends over who do not judge (often parents in their 30's) 3. make your own pizzas 4. let the champagne and dessert flow 4. make sure the kiddos arrive in their pjs for play comfort.


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Roaring 20'Sixteen Auction & Gala News
February 2nd, 2016
We hope you are planning to join us on March 12 for the Roaring 20'Sixteen Auction & Gala. Committees have been hard at work preparing for the big event! Be sure to check out our latest newsletter, which was emailed on Friday.
The gala is just around the corner, so be sure to purchase your tickets today! Ticket prices go up on February 19, so click here to purchase your tickets today!
The event may be just around the corner, but it's not too late to help! To donate an item, please click here. To support the gala as a sponsor, please click here. Don't forget! Our sponsors will receive a VIP tour and tasting hosted by the master distiller at American Spirit Works!
If you cannot attend the gala, yet still want to support St. Pius X, consider purchasing a ticket for a teacher (click here) or making a contribution as an attendee in spirit (click here).
We have a number of incredible items up for auction this year. A luxurious getaway to Tuscany, round trip tickets to Cancun or Punta Cana, golf with Archbishop Gregory, exclusive home plate tickets to see the Braves, and much, much more! Plus, for all junior/senior parents, we have highly sought after reserved seats to graduation and baccalaureate for 2016-2017 years! Don't leave grandma behind!
To prepare for the auction, please download the BidPal app to your smartphone (from the app store/play store) prior to the event. Click here for some helpful tips for using BidPal. We will have plenty of volunteers on hand should you need any assistance.
Stay tuned for more information!


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Report NEP-UPT-2008-03-25This is the archive for NEP-UPT, a report on new working papers in the area of Utility Models & Prospect Theory. Alexander Harin issued this report. It is usually issued weekly.
Subscribe to this report: email, RSS or Twitter.
Other reports in NEP-UPT
The following items were announced in this report:
- Larsson, Lars-Göran, 2008. "Non Utility Maximizing Behaviour: Probabilistic Choice in a Budget Set "Box". Properties of Expected Demand Functions," Working Papers in Economics 293, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
- Oliver Kirchkamp & J. Philipp Reiß & Abdolkarim Sadrieh, 2008. "A pure variation of risk in first-price auctions," Jena Economic Research Papers 2008-024, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
- Yesuf, Mahmud & Bluffstone, Randy, 2007. "Risk aversion in low income countries: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia," IFPRI discussion papers 715, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
- Albert Marcet & Klaus Adam & Juan Pablo Nicolini, 2008. "Stock Market Volatility and Learning," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 732.08, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
- Noah Williams, 2008. "Persistent Private Information," NBER Working Papers 13894, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Nieken, Petra & Sliwka, Dirk, 2008. "Risk-Taking Tournaments: Theory and Experimental Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 3400, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Tavoni, Alessandro, 2007. "Incorporating fairness motives into the Impulse Balance Equilibrium concept: an application to experimental 2X2 games," MPRA Paper 7760, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Huang, Biao, 2007. "Random Utility Pseudo Panel Model and Application on Car Ownership Forecast," MPRA Paper 7778, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Olivier Blanchard & Jordi Gali, 2008. "Labor Markets and Monetary Policy: A New-Keynesian Model with Unemployment," NBER Working Papers 13897, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Item repec:oxf:wpaper:383 is not listed on IDEAS anymore
- M. Menegatti, 2008. "Optimal saving in the presence of two small risks," Economics Department Working Papers 2008-EP01, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).
- Item repec:scs:wpaper:0807 is not listed on IDEAS anymore


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In the Sunday Telegraph magazine, Seven, there is a review of a book called The Genius Factory by David Plotz.
Scouting around for a hero to save the human race, few of us would immediately target the world of optometry. But, in 1980, Robert Graham, a millionaire who'd made a fortune from shatterproof spectacle lenses, announced a new project doing just that. His Repository for Germinal Choice would produce a master race of inspirational leaders by matching up high-IQ women with the sperm of Nobel Prize winners and other "geniuses". (Seven magazine, 3 April 2011, article 'Whatever happened to the babies bred to be geniuses' by Lucinda Everett.)
I would not have thought that Nobel Prize winners would provide a particularly suitable population from which to produce either inspirational leaders or exceptionally high IQs. They have above-average IQs to be sure, but also personalities that lead to socially recognised success in their lifetime, which requires an ability to work within the career frameworks and socially acceptable ways of thinking of their time.
"If you compare them [the people born as a result of these matches] with a random sample of Americans of the same age, they're slightly better, but nothing astounding," says David Plotz, author of The Genius Factory, a book about Graham's experiment. (Ibid.)
'Some haven't made anything of themselves', says David Plotz. That is scarcely surprising. Personally, I have encountered every opposition throughout my life so as to make it as difficult as possible for me to do anything that might appear out of the ordinary.
Nevertheless, I have given quite enough evidence of ability in at least some areas to justify support to do more, but I have not received it.
We invite Doron Blake (named in this article), and any other product of this scheme, or anyone who thinks they may have a higher IQ than they might appear to have, to consider coming to join us, the high-IQ ghetto of Great Britain, and join in our cooperative efforts to build up our independent university, with several departments supported by a business empire, until such time as it is able to get sufficiently substantial support to dispense with supporting business activities.
Perhaps Robert Graham would like to come himself, or at least contribute support from a distance.


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|Left to right are: Martha Ann Brown, Francis Marion Collier, Mary Susan Brown, Hiram McDuffy Collier
The brothers in the photo married the sisters in the photo. Hiram McDuffy Collier is my husbands gr grandfather.
Hiram McDuffy Collier b: Feb. 2, 1865 Marion Co. AL
d: Mar. 22, 1936 Vinemont,
Cullman Co. Alabama
Parents: Joshua Collier and Rebecca Ann McClung
The 1870 Census showing Hiram at age 4.
The census shows Hiram living with his parents and siblings:
Rebecca b: 1828 Georgia, she can read and write.
Joshua Collier b: 1808 N.C. cannot read or write
The children:
Malinda F Collier b: 1859 Al
Nancy C Collier b: 1862 Al
Francis M. Collier b: 1863 Al
John Collier b: 1867 Al
Mary E. Collier b: 1869 Al
In the 1880 Census:
It shows Joshua a Farmer
Hiram : farmer
John: farmer
and Joshua and Rebecca have a new son named:
Joseph b: 1871 Al
Malinda isn't living at home.
In the 1900 Census:
Hiram has been married to Mary Susan Brown for 15 years. They married August 3, 1884 in Marshall, Alabama. They have seven children:
Wesley J. b: May 1884 Al
John H. b: Sept 1886 Al
Riley N. b: Nov 1888 Al
William P b: Mar 1890 Al
George T. b: Sept 1891 Al
Susan C. b: Oct 1895 Al
James M. b: Oct 1899 Al
Hiram is still a Farmer, Wesley is farming, and Riley is farming.
Neither Hiram or Mary Susan can read or write.
The 1910 Census:
Hiram is 45 years old, he's still doing General Farming, Wesley and John have moved out living on their own.
James McDuffy Collier my husband's grandfather is 10 years old.
The 1920 Census below:
Hiram is farming, James McDuffy Collier and Bertie M, Wise are living with Hiram and Mary Susan.
Bertie married James but at this time it appears that they aren't married yet.
1930 Census:
Hiram's wife Mary Susan dies on January 29, 1925 in Jaffa, Cullman Co. Alabama. On Nov 1, 1927, Hiram married Ethel Bevins Jordan and they have a son named:
Henry Holt Collier b: 1928 or 29 Al
d: 2001
Also living with Hiram are his step-children
Annie Jordon
Rufus Jordon
Marvin Jordon
Alabama Death and Burial Index for Mary Susan Collier:
Mary is buried in New Canaan Church Cemetery.
Hiram McDuffy Collier Dies March 22, 1936
Hiram is buried East Point Presbyterian Cemetery Cullman, Alabama
Ethel Bevins Jordan-Collier
dies Aug 20, 1978, she's buried in:
Flint Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Cullman, Al
Plot: sec 2 row 16
More information about all the children:
Wesley Joshua Collier ( May 26, 1885 Marshall, Alabama, Dec 30, 1956 Cullman, Alabama)
John Henry ( Sept 12, 1886 Marshall, Al, July 31, 1968, Blount, Alabama)
Riley Nathan Collier ( Nov. 24, 1888 Alabama, May 15, 1970 Cullman, Alabama)
William Presley Collier ( Mar. 4, 1890, Marshall, Al, April 13, 1965 Loxley, Alabama)
George Tillman Collier ( Sept 30, 1891 Marshall, Al, Jan 25, 1943, Hattiesburg, Forrest, Mississippi)
Susan Catherine Collier ( Oct 22, 1895 Marshall Al, Dec 30, 1945 Cullman, Alabama)
James McDuffy Collier ( Oct 5, 1899 Marion Co. Alabama, Feb 29, 1960, Cullman Alabama)
1870 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1880 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1900 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1910 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1920 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1930 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002, Ancestry.com
Alabama Death's 1908-59, Ancestry.com
Alabama Deaths & Burials Index 1816-1974, Ancestry.com
Alabama, Select Marriages, 1816-1957, Ancestry.com


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Brohammer Episode Four is live and available for download! Go check it out!
This episode is special! We welcome our good friend and hobbyist extraordinaire, Canada's own, Andrew Webber on to the show!
We start off talking about what is on the plate for the evening in the liquid refreshments department and move right into a new **Warhammer's Real Men of Genius** at 6:02 min mark
We talk about our week in warhammer and then Andrew gives us some insight into the world of online WFB campaigns.
Our feature segment this ep is Tom giving us a complete tournament coverage of the WaaaghPaca IndyGT up in WI. That starts at the 36:35 mark
or itunes search for "Brohammer"


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Amongst them is British celebrity, former news reader, and Princess Diana look-somewhat-alike, Selina Scott.
Many Brits actually really like Donald Trump– or they don't care very much. Why worry about Trump having the nuclear codes when the United States and the whole free world survived not just one term of George H.W. Bush, but two terms of George W. Bush?
The Bushes had the nuclear codes the whole time.
Talk about whistling past the graveyard!
And still, here we all are.
The missiles are still all in their silos out in Idaho.
But the Brits who don't like Donald Trump have decided to let loose a few peremptory strikes. We'd call NATO, but nothing's hit anything strategic yet.
It makes us wonder whether what's aimed is a fatal cruise missile, or just a couple of large fireworks gone run-amok.
Whoosh! Whistle-whistle-whistle! Whiz-bang! Boom!
So, while America's nuclear missiles sleep safely in their cold Midwestern silos, those Brits who don't like Trump are dusting off an old secret weapon. This is an old secret weapon.
Almost two decades gone.
Selina Scott, who does not like Donald Trump, has tried to launch a few fatal cruise missiles at him for a long time. A long, long time. Well, at least from 1995, when Selina interviewed Trump for ITV and flew on his private jet and he showed her his big, white-leather double bed at 30,000 feet while flying to Trump's Mar-A-Lago Palm Beach estate. According to Selina, she interviewed him for two weeks for a 60-minute documentary.
Two weeks!
Wow, that is one long, long interview for a 60-minute documentary! And that's not counting the commercial breaks, right? I mean, Princess Diana only spent a couple of hours with Martin Bashir for that infamous "Panorama" documentary, and look what happened from that! Imagine if Diana and Bashir had been together for two solid weeks– checking out Kensington Palace, heading over to Buckingham Palace, jetting off to exotic locales in the Caribbean and the like.
There would be no monarchy left. Or maybe, Diana and Bashir would have just gazed into each other's eyes at some point, and jetted off into, somewhere.
Two weeks of an interview kinda reminds me of those in-depth interviews that married home-wrecking tramp Paula Broadwell used to conduct with U.S. General David Petraeus when she was writing his "biography" before they were both caught snuggling with their pants down. Playing hootchy-kootchy while the free world was struggling with fighting terror in the Middle East!
The married Petraeus was forced to resign as head of the CIA. The Agency changed the nuclear codes from "hootchy-kootchy" to something more serious. I mean, we can't have a leader of the free world in charge of the nuclear codes when he's just so busy all the time humping the mattress with his married home-wrecking tramp biographer, can we?
Now, if Selina really thought that Trump was super-creepy while he was showing her his big, white-leather bed at 30,000 feet, she might have made that the point of the interview back in 1995, or cut her interview short, or called the cops and filed criminal charges.
But for what?
By Selina's own admission, Trump's big sins and danger signs were things like this: "Checking into my suite at the exclusive Plaza Hotel, which Trump then owned, overlooking Central Park, I was greeted by a forest of blood-red roses with a tasteful handwritten note that simply said: 'Donald.'"
Very sinister, that! "A forest of blood-red roses" sounds like, uhm, well, at least two dozen.
And not just "red roses," but "blood-red roses."
Ooh! Sounds so...macabre!
And that sexy black dress with just a hint of bondage by lacing it up over Selina's bosoms surely got The Donald's juices burning. I mean, that was a dress Selina bought herself, right? Nobody made her wear it at Mar-A-Lago, did they?
What else?
Selina grouses that, at one point on camera, Trump "danced around" her, gazed at her admiringly and said of Selina, "Isn't she beautiful? She doesn't think she's beautiful but she is beautiful."
Well, call the cops because a man saying that a woman is "beautiful" is absolutely "creepy!" Right? Take those codes away, pronto!
I dunno. Selina's griping sounds a little bit over-the-top, but only because perhaps the West is a place where men and wimmiin have kinda stopped being men and wimmin. Now, we're all supposed to be just men and men. Wimmin wear pants all the time and take over everything and start doing crazy stuff like linear algebra and calculus and no wonder high-testosterone fellas like The Donald soon head over to Eastern Europe and snap up those beauteous, sexy Ivanas and Melanias who are also pretty smart cookies and have appreciation for The Donald and show off by doing things like making dinner and mixing drinks and playing hootchy-kootchy and do not mind at all when a man sends them "a forest of blood-red roses" and dances around them saying "Isn't she beautiful?"
So, wait a minute, I just want to make sure that Selina Scott is saying that the roses and compliment-bearing Trump is the guy we wimmin are NOT supposed to vote for!
Brits who don't like Trump are fine with me. I believe in Democracy, and just caring about who becomes president proves that we are all cousins, under the skin. Scratch an American of almost any stripe and one will find at least a wiggle of British DNA. This may be one big reason why many Americans cannot resist loving or hating the British Royal Family. And it may be why so many Brits care so deeply about The Donald– one way or another.
Just like family.
But this week, Selina Scott fired off a Stinger missile to try to derail Trump's candidacy– aiming her secret weapon straight at the heart of democracy.
Like a Stinger missile, the coordinates are locked in.
Selina used "the Diana." Trump, Selina claims, allegedly deluged Diana with roses and orchids and fancied her. Maybe, like many men and no few women, Trump did "fancy" Princess Diana and thought it possible that he could bed her and perhaps even marry her.
So what?
And why is that idea so incredible?
Princess Diana had many lovers. The typical list includes (but is not limited to) married personal protection officer Barry Mannakee, scalawag army officer and riding instructor James Hewitt, engaged car salesman James Gilbey, married art dealer Oliver Hoare, unmarriagable deal maker Teddy Forstmann, John F. Kennedy Jr., married rugby player Will Carling, and Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. In the end, Diana went for Dodi Al Fayed, son of millionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, who had lots of big planes and big boats and an estate in St. Tropez– the Mar-A-Lago, Palm Beach of the Mediterranean.
Dodi deluged Diana with jewelry and cashmere sweaters.
Were Trump's orchids and roses so sinister? Is deluging a beautiful, desirable woman with flowers "stalking?"
Well, maybe it is today, in a world where men are trying to be men and wimmin are trying to be men.
If Charles had deluged Diana with "a forest of blood red roses" and had danced around saying, "Isn't she beautiful? She doesn't think she's beautiful but she is beautiful," maybe history would be different. Maybe, at least, Prince William and Prince Harry might have some younger siblings.
Sending a forest of blood-red roses and sighing over beauty may not be a good reason to elect a man to the presidency.
But it's not a good reason to count him out, either.
And if that's the worst of the weapons in the nuclear silo that Selina can aim at Trump, then fire away!
Whoosh! Whistle-whistle-whistle! Whiz-bang! Boom!
Or maybe it's just a a couple of large fireworks gone run-amok.