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Thursday was inauguration day in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez — who has dominated Venezuelan politics one way or another for 14 years — was again sworn in as President. Only this time, the authoritarian populist could not take the oath in person. He departed for cancer surgery in Cuba on Dec. 10, 2012, and has not been seen in public since. This latest surgery is his fourth round of treatment in Cuba. Few expect Chavez to serve out this next six-year presidential term.
The indispensable Caracas Chronicles blog described the day:
"The owner of the circus may not have been there, but there were clowns galore. There were chants of people pledging to give their life to Chavez — which may well happen, given Venezuela's alarming homicide rates. There were TV stars and beauty queens … Military planes flew over, while no one — absolutely no one — mentioned the 11 people that died in a bus accident while being hauled to Caracas for the rally."
One way to understand the homicide rate mentioned in the blog: Venezuela, with fewer people than Canada, suffers more murders than the United States. I visited Venezuela in early 2010. My tour began with a briefing by a security officer at the U.S. embassy. "You've been to Afghanistan? Iraq? Well congratulations, this is now the most dangerous place you've ever been."
After a lecture at the university in Maracaibo, the head of one of the faculty departments drove me to lunch with a loaded pistol in his lap. To enter the restaurant, we passed a metal detector. On the bench outside waited the bodyguards of local business leaders, guns holstered to their shoulders.
The violence in Venezuela isn't political, exactly. It is more a reflection of the general breakdown of law in a society where every institution of state has been corrupted and degraded.
The police had long since given up patrolling the poor neighborhoods on the hills surrounding central Caracas. Now they had ceased patrolling the high-rent districts, too — that is, when they were not actively in cahoots with the criminals who committed "express kidnappings": jumping out at a motorist as he punched the keypad to the locked garage beneath his apartment building, putting a gun to his head, and abducting him for two hours. The ransoms were typically relatively small, a few thousand dollars. The kidnappers made
their money on volume.
My host's parents had abandoned their jewelry store after repeated robberies. But Venezuela's biggest robberies are carried out by Chavez and his supporters, under the color of law. In 2008, the Venezuelan legislature opened investigations into claims that two of Chavez's brothers acquired at least 17 ranches at knock-down prices, using front men and concealed names. The investigation was soon abandoned, however: The 2010 elections were boycotted by opposition parties to protest new rigged rules, and Chavez's own party gained a super-majority that put an end to all awkward questioning.
Yet people around Chavez continued to amass fortunes from confiscated lands and enterprises — and from the opportunities for fees and other benefits in the state-controlled oil sector that sustains Venezuela's otherwise dilapidated economy. It is this enriched inner circle that will attempt to sustain Chavez-style rule after Chavez's demise.
For all the talk about Chavez's "socialist revolution," his regime rests, caudillo-style, on the backing of corrupt, drug-dealing generals. Henry Silva Rangel, appointed minister of defense in January 2012, was one of four senior Chavez associates named by the U.S. government in 2008 as Foreign Narcotics Kingpins (yes, that's the actual title). In a 2010 interview, Rangel warned that the army would not allow the Chavez "revolution" to be voted out of office. Rangel maintains a tight working relationship with another Chavez brother, Adnan, who succeeded Chavez's father as governor of the family's home state of Barinas.
Despite vast oil wealth, the Venezuelan economy has tumbled into terrible straits. Inflation roars at 25%, unemployment exceeds 8%, the non-oil economy stagnates, electricity flickers on and off irregularly, and basic commodities such as rice and beans have become scarce in the marketplaces and must be obtained as rations from government-controlled stores.
Yet there remains enough cash on hand for the government to open the spending spigots in election years such as 2012, building showcase housing developments amid the slums, and distributing keys to its most proven supporters.
So long as oil remains in the $100 range, the regime can probably stumble forward, despite declining output from its mismanaged oilfields. It's when the price drops that the regime will fall, leaving nothing but ruin behind for Chavez's country and what remains of his reputation.


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Hep C Tracking Study
Over 3 million Americans suffer from hepatitis C. And although highly effective new medications are available, we still know very little about the impact the virus and medications have on people's daily lives. To remedy this, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have created C Tracker, a new Apple Research Kit study for people living with hepatitis C.
You can support their research by downloading the C Tracker app today. As a participant in this study, you'll answer a few basic questions on a regular basis, learn about the virus, and be able to review your personal activity levels.
They will collect information on your symptoms and experiences using short surveys, which will include questions like:
- Which antiviral medication are you currently taking or have you taken in the past?
- During the past seven days, how many hours did you miss from work because of problems associated with your hepatitis C?
This study is open to adults ages 18 and over, living in the United States, who have been diagnosed with hepatitis C. Come join a movement that will help smooth the road for future patients—one answer at a time.
Page added December 2015

subset: commoncrawl


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Ever wonder what that funny little orange symbol is? Many people recognize it as RSS, a few people even know it stands for Real SImple Syndication, even fewer people realize what that means. The good news is we really don't have to understand it to take advantage of it. RSS is at the root of our blogging platforms. It is the technology that allows bloggers to be both the reporter and the publisher. RSS allows a means for us to publish to the world and then have a simple method for people to subscribe to our "feed." Here at the Cyber WIgwam few people care about that but we are excited that the nature of RSS has an impact on our SEO or Search Engine Optimization. The bloggers at Council Blogs know that effectively choosing tags for their posts can have an organic impact on their Findability. Why? Currently, the search engines like to parse the RSS feeds because it is easy to find where the new information is coming from. Rather than send web-crawlers out to find new aspects of a site, it is easier to monitor the RSS feeds to see what is new. If our blog posts are appropriately tagged the search result impact is astounding. In SEO tests conducted at the Cyber Wigwam we have posted in the morning at 10:00 and received Google Alerts for those posts with the target tags by 2:00 that same afternoon. Our bloggers have found that we can focus on telling the story of our business and let the tags and RSS handle the SEO.
Blogging for out of the Box SEO in 2012


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Friday, September 13, 2013
Winter Wonderland
Sparkle N Sprinkle's Winter Swirl rubber stamp set and Sparkle N Soft was used to create this oh so soft card. The entire panel is made from three different colors of Sparkle N Soft flock - Night Sky, Glistening Emeralds, and Twinkling Clouds.
To start off, I stamped the image onto an adhesive sheet and used my exacto knife to cut around the trees. I then exposed the adhesive for each section separately and applied the flock.
The sentiment was heat embossed with Black Detail embossing powder and a couple rows of pearls finish it off.
15 comments:
- rachel said...
looks wonderful Anne - I wish I could feel the texture as it looks very tactile! Have a great day! Hugs Rachel x
- September 13, 2013 at 3:21 AM
- McCrafty's Cards said...
Gorgeous card Anne, I like the trees, the sparkle and the gems.
Kevin xx
- September 13, 2013 at 5:25 AM
- Shona Erlenborn said...
It must have taken ages cutting out all these trees! Great effect though! I bet it really sparkles in person.
- September 13, 2013 at 6:05 AM
- Eret said...
I wish I could touch this card. I bet the flock feels awesome. Truly amazing card. Love it!
- September 13, 2013 at 6:37 AM
- Donna Ellis said...
What a sparkly card - and so full of texture, Anne! It must look lovely IRL! Wow! Hope you are slowly getting things unpacked, and experiencing "Christmas" as you open each box in your craft room! hugs, de
- September 13, 2013 at 10:40 AM
- Linda Simpson said...
Picture postcard feel to this gorgeous card.
Linda xxx
- September 13, 2013 at 12:28 PM
- April said...
Such a beautiful and sparkly card! I love how the night sky looks. The trees must have taken forever to do! LOL! Great job!
- September 13, 2013 at 12:50 PM
- jimlynn said...
Beautiful winter scene but now you have me wanting to sing Christmas songs! Very pretty, Anne!
- September 13, 2013 at 4:16 PM
- Tammy said...
Wonderful card and pretty background. I"ll bet its even more sparkly in person!
- September 13, 2013 at 4:20 PM
- Brenda said...
Now - that's just yummy!!! It's got to be even more gorgeous in person :)
- September 14, 2013 at 1:36 PM
- nwilliams6 said...
Wow is this pretty! Love the sparkles and colors and the scene is wonderful! Hugz!
- September 16, 2013 at 7:03 PM
- Joan Ervin said...
Ooooh, how pretty...what a wonderful scene you have created with the different colors of flock...such a fabulous design!!!!
- September 16, 2013 at 10:47 PM
- tammy scott said...
very pretty I don't think I have the patience for it
- September 17, 2013 at 7:02 AM
- scrapngomobile said...
Wow! What an impact this card would get when opened. It's beautiful. Such detail. Great Job.
Thanks for sharing,
- September 17, 2013 at 9:26 AM
- Shelly Schmidt said...
Beautiful- bet this card will only go to a cardmaker- or someone who will truly appreciate it!!! Cause, it needs to be one that is saved....or framed : )
- September 17, 2013 at 11:22 PM


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This section contains 7,070 words
(approx. 24 pages at 300 words per page)
SOURCE: "Playwright of Popular Dissent: David Hare and the Trilogy," in David Hare: A Casebook, edited by Hersh Zeifman, Garland Publishing, 1994, pp. 217-35
In the following essay, Glenn provides an overview of the political themes, staging, and critical reception of Hare's trilogy—Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges, and The Absence of War.
As one of Britain's most successful playwright-polemicists, David Hare has been lauded for his ability to attract largely mainstream, middle-class audiences to productions that often tear at the very fabric of bourgeois English life. For the last fifteen years he has been assisted in his efforts by the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, where he is an associate director: since 1978, Hare has launched nine plays from the National's three stages, including Plenty, A Map of the World, Pravda (written with Howard Brenton), The Bay at Nice and Wrecked Eggs, and The Secret Rapture. His...
This section contains 7,070 words
(approx. 24 pages at 300 words per page)


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Palm Sunday. Also, Lily's 8th birthday!
We are going to California this summer to visit family and attend Josh and Virginia's wedding. All four of the kids are going to be in it. They are all really excited!
After all of our company headed out we went to a pottery painting place in town for Lily's birthday party. She had a lot of fun, painting and repainting her vase...
Everyone's masterpieces. I can't wait to see them once they are fired.
I took cupcakes to school for her birthday too. You are welcome, parents of overly sugared children! Glad I could be of service. :)


text:
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Relationship Details
Celebrity Biographies
Rob Camiletti dated Traci Lords in the past, but they have since broken up. Rob Camiletti is currently available.
Other - Other
Why Famous: Ex boyfriend of Cher
Age: N/A
Porn Industry - Actress
Why Famous: for her underage appearances in pornographic films and Penthouse magazine
Age: 50 (b. 5/7/1968)
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text:
Formerly a Playstation 3 exclusive, Far Cry 3 DLC, High Tides, has sneaked out on Steam and is now available to download on PC for absolutely nothing.
Awesome lol
When you open UPlay, it's available as a 0 points reward.
Thanks. Updated the post to reflect that.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It's part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today's pop culture.


text:
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
Here's this week's book I can't wait for...
This Is One Moment by Mila Gray AKA Sarah Alderson
Expected Publication: 1st September 2015
Didi Monroe's waited her whole life for the type of romance you see in the movies, so when Hollywood heartthrob Zac Ridgemont sweeps her off her feet, Didi believes she might finally have met the one.
While Zac's away filming for the summer, Didi begins her internship at a military hospital in California. There, she meets wounded Marine Noel Walker.
Frustrated on the outside and broken on the inside, Walker's a pain-in-the-ass patient who refuses all help.
Yet Didi can't help but be drawn to him, and though he's strictly out of bounds it soon becomes impossible to ignore the sparks flying between them.
As the attraction simmers into dangerous territory, Didi finds herself falling hard for a man she knows is going to break her heart. Because Walker doesn't believe in love or happy ever afters. So what possible future can there be?
Then tragedy hits, shattering both their worlds, and Didi is forced to choose between fighting for love or merely falling for the illusion of it.
I adored Come Back To Me so I am really excited to see more even if its only a companion novel I still can't wait.
What are you waiting on?


text:
Jerusalem Campus
3 Aravnah HaYevusi
Hebron Road, 9411602
P.O. Box 1276, Mt. Zion
9101202 Jerusalem, Israel
voice: 972-2-671-8628
fax: 972-2-673-2717
North American Office
1185 Wesley Avenue
Xenia, OH
toll free: 1-800-891-9408
voice: 937-933-9099
fax: 937-933-9099
Although the
word unique is terribly overused by those who want to
stand out from the sameness of everyone else, I'm hard pressed
to find another that better fits the mission and role of
Jerusalem University College. Extraordinary? Select?
Exceptional? Focused? Authentic? It would be easy to make a case
for all of these, and more.
Ours is an
institution that, for almost fifty years, has been located
precisely at the point where the biblical text intersects with
the world of the Bible. The events recorded in the Bible, of
course, took place somewhere, and the biblical authors—those who
preserved and commented on those events in writing—also lived
somewhere. That somewhere, in most every instance, was
the land of Israel and its neighbors, where we are!
In a day and
age when the relevance of the Bible is too often ridiculed, and
all too many people discount the reality that underlies its
claims as either unknowable, uninteresting or irrelevant,
Jerusalem University College stands in the gap. In fact, I would
assert that it is precisely because of the objective
nature of the world of the Bible, its language, landscape,
cultural milieu and geographical and historical settings that we
who read the Bible can have confidence that these ancient
writings can continue to speak to real needs yet today.
This is where
Jerusalem University College comes in. The JUC experience—our
location, our faculty, our curriculum and our method of
learning—are designed not only to expose our students to the
land and cultural world of the Bible, but to integrate a wide
body of data with first-hand experiences, and to give meaningful
shape to thoughts and ideas. How can a student of chemistry, or
biology, or medicine become a competent chemist, biologist or
doctor without devoting significant time for discovery and
application in the laboratory? And so it must be for students of
the Bible. Our pedagogy, in which our students learn the
geography, history, archaeology, language and culture of the
world of the Bible on site, with a host of field study
and encounter sessions, is a laboratory in which real learning
takes place. The same can be said for the part of our curriculum
that focuses on the modern Middle East. Should not a look at the
peoples, cultures, religions and history of the modern Middle
East be done here, by and with and among the very people
But we're
more than just this. Jerusalem University College is also an
institution that is decidedly Christian. We support a consortium
of associated schools (Christian liberal arts colleges, Bible
colleges, seminaries and graduate schools) that represent the
spectrum of evangelicalism. Moreover, we are the premier school
in Israel that specifically serves the evangelical world, and
our alumni serve the cause of Christ worldwide.
And so the
words extraordinary, select, exceptional, focused, authentic,
and yes, even unique, are not, for us, attempts at
self-praise or jockeying for position, but accurate descriptions
of what is truly a worthwhile educational experience.
Those of you
who already are or have been a part of the Jerusalem University
College experience know of our struggles and triumphs over the
past 50 years. It's a difficult enough task to foster a proper
learning environment at home; to do so amid the ongoing
upheavals and uncertainties of the Middle East is, well,
challenging and often bewildering, but always rewarding. At the
moment we are coming out of a period of struggle that has been
particularly acute, but we look to the future with confidence.
Your help, encouragement and prayers have been most appreciated!
Although those of us in Jerusalem may be on the "front lines,"
JUC continues to exist only through a joint effort of many
people like you, who continue to sacrifice on our behalf. Thank
I am sure you
have noticed that our web site has a completely new look and
feel. Consider it a symbol of our resolve and commitment to our
consortium of associated schools and our students, friends and
supporters. We intend to remain faithful to the call of God and
the vision of our founder, Dr. G. Douglas Young, as together we
seek to meet our shared goals.
We look
forward to seeing you in Jerusalem sometime soon!
Paul was appointed
President of Jerusalem University College in 2010
after serving as Executive Director of Jerusalem University College
since 2002. He first
joined JUC in full-time appointment as Academic Vice President and Dean
in 1997. His first experience at JUC was for short-term studies in 1977,
then as an M.A. student from 1983-1985. Paul is also on the adjunct
faculty at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies and
has participated in archaeological excavations in Israel at Ramat
Rachel, Giloh and Tel Rehov. He is an ordained minister in the Baptist
General Conference. His published works include
Greatness, Grace & Glory (Carta), Atlas of Bible Lands
(Holman QuickSource Guide), Understanding the New Testament: An
Introductory Atlas (Carta) and The Illustrated
Guide to Biblical Geography (Broadman - Holman, forthcoming). He believes that teaching, writing and
fieldwork are crafts much like woodworking, which he also enjoys—all
require a measure of patience, an eye for detail, and a willingness to
get one's hands dirty in the process of creating something that's useful
for others.
Dr. Wright received
the Ph.D. in Bible and Ancient Near East from Hebrew Union
College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, OH, the M.A. in Old
Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the M.A. in History
of Ancient Israel from Jerusalem University College and the B.A. from
Bethel College (MN).
About JUC
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HighEdWeb's Integrated Marketing Academy is designed to introduce the concept of integrated marketing communication in the higher education environment. Tune in to hear more about this exclusive opportunity at the HighEdWeb conference in Memphis, TN this October.
Episode Host
Amy JorgensenAmy L Jorgensen specializes in developing a digital presence and consumer engagement strategies for brand awareness and customer acquisition. She has also developed marketing strategies and directed implementation for the University of Virginia, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, University of Florida Department of Housing, University of Florida College of Medicine, Disney's Worldwide Safety and Accessibility, and a Disney ticketing subsidiary company. Amy is a University of Florida Business Marketing alum and now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her Basset Hounds, Chauncey Billups & Priscilla Presley.
Bob Sevier
With more than 35 years of leadership experience in strategic thinking and planning, integrated and brand marketing, market research, and student recruiting, Robert's innovative work has been featured at hundreds of professional conferences as well as in higher education's major marketing publications, including Currents, Trusteeship (AGB), The Presidency (ACE), University Business, and College & University. He holds a Ph.D. in policy analysis and higher education administration from The Ohio State University, and he has authored nine books and more than 200 articles on strategy development, strategic planning, integrated marketing, brand marketing, and leadership. After teaching and working as an administrator at The Ohio State University, Denison University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and Oregon Health Sciences University, Robert joined Stamats in 1988.
Seth Odell
One of the industry's leading creative talents, Seth is no stranger to successful enrollment marketing campaigns. His work is Emmy nominated and includes SNHU's heralded 2013 cross-country bus tour campaign, which the Chronicle of Higher Education called "Exhibit A of Marketing Success" and "One of the most buzzed-about marketing campaigns in higher education."
As Assistant Vice President of Integrated Marketing at SNHU, Seth was responsible for concepting, writing and art directing the university's national advertising efforts and helped the institution become one of the fastest-growing, online non-profit institutions in the nation – the breakout darling of post-traditional education. His campaigns contributed to SNHU's growth of more than 50,000 online students in just four years.
Today Seth serves as Vice President of Creative & Marketing Strategy for Helix Education, where he works with colleges and universities to help them develop their brands, craft meaningful messages, and deliver integrated advertising campaigns that drive results.
Alan Etkin
Alan Etkin works as a Senior Analyst at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He's been using Google Analytics in higher education since 2006. A frequent speaker on analytics at conferences in Canada and in the United States, Alan also works with Ruffalo Noel Levitz. helping universities and colleges around North America with web analytic strategies, implementations and training. He has a Master's degree in Communications, advanced training in web and business analytics, and a fossil finder's certificate from Dinosaur Provincial Park.


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Nevada Secretary of StateHome Menu
Branch Office
A broker-dealer who maintains a branch office must obtain a license from the Division before doing business at that office, pursuant to NAC 90.392. NAC 90.027 defines a branch office in Nevada as "any place of business in this State other than the principal office in this State of the broker-dealer, from which one or more sales representatives transact business." Application for licensing shall be made through Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
- All branch information must be submitted to FINRA on the Form BR, Branch Registration, and submitted through the CRD system, along with a fee as determined by NRS 90.360, $100.00, and in the form of payment as prescribed by the CRD.
- Per NAC 90.392(2)(b) the Broker Dealer firm must be qualified to do business in this state. This can be obtained by filing a Foreign Corporation packet with the Office of the Secretary of State, Commercial Recordings Division.
Licensing of Supervisor
A supervisor for each branch office must be designated and licensed with the Division as a principal. If the branch office is not designated as an office of supervisory jurisdiction, the supervisor need not be located at any office for which he is given supervisory responsibility.
- The individual in charge of a branch office must be licensed in this state as a sales representative.
- A broker-dealer who maintains a branch office shall keep a current roster of the sales representatives affiliated with that office.
Designation as Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction
The broker-dealer must designate the branch office as an office of supervisory jurisdiction if required to do so by the requirements of the FINRA, regardless of whether he is a member of that association.
Amendments to Branch Information
If any change occurs in the information set forth in an application made pursuant to this section, the applicant shall, within 30 days after the change, file an amendment Form BR and submit through CRD, and pay a fee of $50.00.
Permissible Name for Operation
A branch office must not be operated under any name other than:
- The name of the broker-dealer; or
- A fictitious name registered as required by chapter 602 of NRS.
Renewal of Branch License
Renewal of branch license must be filed prior to December 31st of each year. Renewal is accomplished through the CRD system.
Withdrawal of Branch License
A broker-dealer shall notify the Division before closing a branch office or terminating business at that location. Notice must be given by the filing of a request for withdrawal of a branch on Form BR through the CRD.


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Friday, October 15, 2010
Odds and Ends
I babysat through the first part of the Devils game but before I left I gave Mark very strict instructions to DVR any interviews with Henrik Tallinder. I was really excited when I got home during the first intermission and discovered I had just missed it. I plopped down on the couch, rewound the recording, and well...
It was really, really weird. One of the advantages of kind of ignoring hockey in the off-season was that I didn't think that much about Hank not being a Sabre anymore. Even the beginning of the season was fine. But actually seeing him on the ice wearing a Devils jersey was weird. Watching him play against Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy was weird. Watching that interview with Rob Ray was weird. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty sad. I'd told myself that all the "Oh, I'm devastated, let me ease some pain with ABBA" stuff was a put-on but while it was exaggerated, no, I really am pretty sad. Hank is as twinkly and smiley as ever but he's twinkly and smiley in a Devils jersey. The DEVILS. The Devils are the least twinkly and smiley team in the NHL. I do love Jochen Hecht, but it's going to take some time to get used to this. (For Tyler Myers too it appears. I'm not going to say I told you so but...)
(Sidenote: I love Rob Ray's expression in the above phot. He must have the worst poker face in the world.)
I'm making my first trip to HSBC tonight for the Montreal game so I'll have some more thoughts after that. I think it'll be the first full game I've seen this season so I'm pretty excited.
4 comments:
- mcguffers said...
When I heard the Blackhawks were playing the Sabres again on Saturday, I angrily told my friend Hjmal-whatever was only getting suspended enough so that he could play in that game so Gary Bettman could pleasure himself over the thought of a rematch between Pommers and the guy who tried to kill him. But Pommers probably won't be back for it.
Hank looks better in Blue and Gold. :(
- October 15, 2010 at 1:39 PM
- S.A.M. said...
ditto on your comments about Pominville. The NHL needs to wake up!
I thought of you on Wednesday. It was clearly strange for Hank (and Mair! who were both on the starting lineup) to be seeing the Anthems and starting lineup from an outsiders point of view. (I say this because I could see their faces from my seats.) But Hank was very smiley. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I have no photos to back it up.
BUT you are I are on for March 26- put it on the calendar! :)
- October 16, 2010 at 11:04 AM
- BK said...
Great blog - check out...the Drew Remenda commercial...
- October 16, 2010 at 2:42 PM
A mandate of a standardized pre season evaluation used by the Patriots should be mandated.
Playing football with a boxers "Glass Jaw" is not a good idea. Developed with Marvin Hagler, he never got ko'd, never!!!! www.mahercor.com
http://www.mahercor labs.com/pdf/Dental_ Traumatology%20Publi cation.pdf
http://fourthandgoa lunites.com/2010/07/ 21/nfl-and-nfl-playe rs-association-ne
ed-to-mandate-the- use-of-mouth-gaurds/
http://fourthandgoa lunites.com/2010/02/ 24/why-is-the-mouth- guard-not-a-manda
tory-piece-of-equi pment-in-the-nfl/
http://www.kansasci ty.com/2009/11/05/15 52026/cassels-secret -weapon-against.h
http://www.usajunio rhockey.com/archives /USAJHM_Sept_09_12_2 4.pdf
- October 16, 2010 at 11:02 PM


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SUMMARY: Past, present and future are mixed together and served up in this loose retelling of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You can find a longer synopsis of the entire story here. Please note that italics are typically used within the story to indicate what a character is thinking or saying to himself.
WARNING: This story is a work of adult fiction and intended for mature audiences only. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. The story may describe, depict or otherwise include graphic portrayals of relationships between men and/or adolescent boys that are homosexual in nature. If you do not like or approve of such discussions or it is illegal for you to read such material, please take note and consider yourself warned. If you continue to read this story, you are asserting that you are fully capable of understanding and legally consenting to reading a work of adult fiction.
NOTICE: This story is my property and protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. It may not be reproduced in any form without my written permission. You may download a single copy to read offline and to share with others as long as you credit me as the author. However, you may not use this work for commercial purposes or to profit from it in any way. You may not use any of the characters, bars or other fictional locations described in the story in your own work without my explicit permission. Nor may you use, alter, transform, or build upon the story in any way. If you share this story with others, you must make clear the terms under which it is licensed to them. The best way to do that is by linking to this web page.
AUTHOR NOTES: This is my holiday gift to you. It's undoubtedly been done before and better, but every generation of writers has a new take on the tale and this is mine. I hope it will haunt your house as pleasantly as the original. As Dickens noted, I have endeavored not to "put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me." Read, enjoy, and feel free to participate in the creative process, either directly below if you are reading this story at the web site where I post my stories or by sending me an e-mail if reading it elsewhere. You can find my e-mail address at either my web site or my my blog. I would appreciate hearing from you even if only to let me know about any spelling or other errors you find since I would like to correct those wherever possible.
THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER: In Chapter 8, Brian falls asleep at the office contemplating suicide. When he finally wakes up, it's late. Not wanting to go home immediately, he walks up the street to get something to eat and manages to kill a couple of hours doing that. Returning to the building where he works, Brian retrieves his car and drives across town to the Lincoln Memorial where he recalls the dead President's struggles with depression. Later he ends up across the street from the Café Palermo and decides to go in. He's joined by a young man named Vinnie, who first persuades Brian to buy him a drink and then inquires whether Brian is interested in purchasing his company for the evening. Although Vinnie is good looking and Brian tempted, he is about to leave the bar when a second boy, even younger than Vinnie, joins the two of them. In the resulting conversation it becomes apparent that the two youths have nowhere to stay after being kicked out of the place where they had been living. It also becomes clear that Vinnie had been counting on the younger boy to earn enough money so that the two of them could rent a room for the evening. But the boy, named Jimmy, hasn't had any success. Dropping his demand to be paid, Vinnie tries to persuade Brian to invite him back to his place. In turn, Brian tries to suggest other alternatives, but none of them turn out to be realistic. In the end, Brian agrees to let Vinnie come back to his place, but insists on bringing Jimmy along as well.
A Tale of Sin and Redemption
Chapter 9
With everything seemingly settled, we made our way across the street to my car. By then it was covered with snow. While I retrieved the brush from the trunk and started cleaning off the front windshield, Jimmy did his best to clear the back one with his arms and hands. Vinnie offered no help at all, immediately plopping himself down in the front passenger seat and waiting for us to finish. Eventually we did and Jimmy climbed into the back of the car behind Vinnie.
I started the car and drove off, reminding myself to be careful. Jimmy had been right. The snow was coming down fast and furious and the roads were a mess, slick and without a snowplow in sight.
Almost from the moment we left Vinnie resumed his criticism of Jimmy.
"We wouldn't be out here in this fucking mess if you hadn't pissed that dude off. We'd have a room by now if you had worked that ass of yours a little harder to find some customers."
He went on and on and on; and while Jimmy initially apologized profusely and did his best to defend himself, he eventually fell silent and just sat there while Vinnie revisited the same ground over and over again. It was irritating and made the driving more difficult. As we finally crossed the 14th Street bridge into Virginia I decided enough was enough.
"Give it a rest, will you, Vinnie?" I interjected. "Driving in this weather is hard enough without listening to all this chatter."
He didn't say anything in response, but quieted down. I remember being thankful for that. By now the visibility was down to zero and the driving almost impossible. Being from Maine, I was used to driving in snow, but it could be nerve-wracking in Washington.
There weren't many cars on the road, but some of them were being driven by idiots completely oblivious to the weather conditions. At one point one sideswiped us and I could feel the car beginning to slide. I turned in the direction of the slide, tapped the brakes gently, and was able to regain control before any damage was done.
The drive seemed to go on forever, but we were finally approaching Burke when Vinnie began complaining again.
"Jesus, where the hell do you live?" he asked, nervously. "We've been driving forever and I'm beginning to think I'm going home with some kind of axe murderer tonight."
Not a word of thanks for my efforts to avoid getting us killed or for taking him in. It was annoying, but I tried to make a joke of the whole thing.
"Hey, the roads are dangerous," I said, "and I told you back at the bar I lived pretty far out. But you're in luck, Vinnie. Not only are we only five minutes away from my place, but I decided to send my axe out this weekend to be sharpened."
I heard a giggle from the backseat and looked in the rearview mirror. Jimmy was smiling and it was a beautiful smile and that made me smile as well.
By the time we finally pulled into the driveway I was exhausted. I pressed the button to open the garage and we were back at my place at last. The three of us piled out of the car. I opened the door that led to the kitchen and pointed out the refrigerator to Vinnie and Jimmy.
"If you're hungry, you're welcome to whatever you can find in there."
By then the cat had come racing into the kitchen and was brushing against my leg. Looking over, I could see he had eaten all his food so I took a moment to refill the dish.
"That's a pretty cat," Jimmy volunteered. "What's its name? And is it a male or a female?"
"He's a dude," I replied. "His name is Muffin."
"Like in studmuffin?" Vinnie asked, retrieving his head from the refrigerator where he had been foraging for food.
Then he started to laugh.
"I bet that thing has been neutered, hasn't it? I bet it isn't a studmuffin at all. I'm definitely the real deal myself. Ain't that right, Jimmy? I'm a real studmuffin, ain't I?"
"You are, Vinnie," the kid replied, stroking his ego. "You're definitely a stud, Vinnie. But the cat's still pretty and I like it."
"Look, guys, I'm kind of tired so I'm going to bed," I interjected. "Let me show you around the place before I do. You're welcome to stay up if you want."
With that I quickly showed Vinnie and Jimmy around the house, focusing on the recreation room, where the television was located, and the guest bathroom, where I pulled out some towels and toothbrushes for the two of them. Finally, I led them down the hall toward the bedrooms.
"You can each have your own bedroom if you want or you can share one. That's up to the two of you."
"It looks like you lucked out tonight, Jimmy," Vinnie said, directing his remarks to the kid. "It looks like you'll be getting that reward I promised even though you screwed up big time today."
"We'll be sleeping together," Vinnie said, returning his gaze to me. "The kid's got a really tight pussy and I plan to get some of it tonight. But you can have a piece when I'm done if you want, Brian. I don't mind."
I couldn't believe he had said it, especially in front of the kid. I glanced over at Jimmy and he looked away, embarrassed.
"Like I said, Vinnie, I'm tired," I replied, deciding not to make an issue of it. "I just need to check whether anyone called while I was out. Then I'm going to bed."
I walked back downstairs with the two of them and checked the answering machine. No one had called so I told them to make themselves at home once again and headed for the stairs. The grandfather clock began to toll midnight and I considered whether I should wish them a Merry Christmas. But by then they had settled down in front of the television and I decided to give it a pass.
Making sure to bring my wallet and the keys to the car along, I climbed the stairs and made my way to my bedroom.
As tired as I was and given the events of the day, I fell asleep quickly. I don't know how long I slept, but the next thing I recall was being awakened by the sound of a loud voice coming from the bedroom next door. Listening carefully, it quickly became obvious that Vinnie was berating Jimmy still again for everything that had gone wrong that day.
"I told you to get started earlier," I heard him say in a loud voice. "But did you listen? No. You need to get the wax out of your ears. Now get down on your knees and make yourself useful, bitch."
Except for an occasional "yeah, do it, girl" and the like, things quieted down after that and I started to fall back asleep. But then I heard Jimmy's voice and it wasn't hard to figure out what was happening.
"Easier Vinnie, easy," he was pleading. ""Not so hard. Please, Vinnie, please. You're hurting me. Take it easy, will you?"
I remember being upset when I heard those words and I heard them more than once that night. At one point I started to get out bed, then slumped back, wondering whether it was any of my business. Finally, to my relief, their room quieted down.
I was glad the whole thing was over and closed my eyes once again, still wondering whether I should have done something to stop what was going on. Just as I was beginning to drift off, I heard the door to my bedroom open.
"Are you awake?" Jimmy whispered, softly.
What now? I recall thinking.
"Yeah, I'm awake," I responded, irritated by still another interruption.
"Do you want some company?" he asked. "Vinnie told me to come over here and, well, you know, do whatever you want me to. He says we need to, um, thank you for letting us stay here tonight. Can I come in?"
This is unbelievable, Brian, I said to myself. They're right. No good deed goes unpunished.
"Look, the only thing I'm interested in right now is getting some sleep," I replied. "So you may as well go back and tell Vinnie thanks, but no thanks."
He started to turn around and close the door. But then he peeked in again.
"Um, Vinnie snores really badly when he's been drinking. Could I sleep in here even if you don't want to do anything?"
I didn't know what to say. I mean, I liked the kid, but all I wanted to do right then was to get some sleep.
"I guess," I responded. "But it's late and I'm anxious to get some sleep so settle down quickly."
Jimmy climbed into bed. Like me, he was naked and the sight of his youthful body, however brief, had the usual effect. I rolled over facing away from him and pretended to be asleep. I heard him sigh deeply once and then the next thing I knew he had fallen asleep.
It didn't surprise me when I woke up early the next morning. I was used to getting up early in an effort to beat traffic into Washington.
What surprised me was finding Jimmy already awake, his back propped against the headboard, the sheets and blanket covering the bottom half of his naked young body. He was petting Muffin, who had joined us in bed at some point during the night.
That surprised me. Muffin wasn't the friendliest cat in the world, but he was just sitting there, letting the kid pet him.
"Good morning, Brian," Jimmy said, smiling at me; "Merry Christmas."
"Morning," I replied, staring at his small, thin, body as discreetly as I could.
"And, yeah, Merry Christmas to you too," I added.
"How long have you been up?"
"Maybe an hour," he responded, still smiling at me. "I wake up early most of the time. But you sure must have been tired last night. You were sleeping like a log. Fortunately, you don't snore like Vinnie."
"I had a tough day yesterday," I said. "I was tired. You didn't have to stay in bed though. You could have gotten up and made yourself comfortable. There isn't a lot of food in the kitchen, but there's probably something down there you could make for breakfast."
"But I wanted to stay in bed," Jimmy replied. "It's comfortable in here with you; nice and toasty. You have a very nice body by the way, Brian."
I remember wondering whether I should be pleased or embarrassed by what he had said.
Maybe he's just playing you, Brian, but at least he's making an effort to be nice. It's Christmas. Try to be nice yourself.
"Thanks," I replied.
Reaching over, I grabbed the remote from the table next to my side of the bed and turned on the television. I listened to the news for a minute or two. Mostly it was about the storm.
Thinking he would like it, I switched to one of the stations that showed cartoons continuously. The two of us just laid there for a long time watching TV.
Jimmy seemed to be having a good time and I remember thinking it was nice to hear someone laughing in the house again.
I was about to get up when the door to the bedroom swung open and Vinnie walked in, completely naked and totally unembarrassed by the fact he was naked. He was scratching his groin. His body was more developed than Jimmy's, but the effect on my groin was the same. I pulled the blanket tighter around me to conceal the effect it was having.
"Good morning, girls," he said.
It was the first thing out of his mouth that morning and it was annoying.
I grimaced.
"So, Brian, did you fuck her?" Vinnie asked, nodding at Jimmy.
"Fuck who?" I responded, trying to deflect the question.
"Miss Jimmy, of course," Vinnie replied. "I fucked her twice myself last night. But you would have known that if you fucked her because you would have felt how wet her pussy was."
"I didn't fuck anyone last night," I said, defensively, disgusted with what Vinnie was saying.
"It wouldn't matter to me," he responded, clueless to what I was thinking. "That's why I sent her over here last night. And I'm sure Miss Jimmy would have loved it; wouldn't you, Jimmy?"
Trying his best to ignore Vinnie, Jimmy didn't say anything in response.
"Well, it don't matter anyway," Vinnie continued. "We can both do her right now. Which hole do you want?"
I remember staring at him incredulously.
"Do you want to fuck her mouth or her pussy?"
"You are unbelievable," I said, too disgusted to restrain myself any longer.
He just laughed at that, as if it was some kind of compliment.
He started to approach the bed, but Muffin hissed at him and he stopped.
"And I'm not into threesomes in any event," I continued. "You two can do whatever you want, but I'm going to take a shower and then get something to eat."
Having said that, I climbed out of bed and headed toward the door.
"I'm hungry too," Jimmy said, getting out of bed and following me.
"I'm going to get dressed and have some food myself."
"Be sure to make enough for me, girl," Vinnie replied, shrugging his shoulders as Jimmy brushed past him.
After I finished showering and shaving, I walked down to the kitchen. Vinnie was sitting at the table while Jimmy was puttering around, already making breakfast. From the look of things, he was making it for all three of us.
"You sure don't have very much food here, Brian," he said, "at least not for breakfast. But I'll do my best."
"I don't usually eat breakfast at all," I responded.
"Well what about all the friends you bring back here?" Jimmy asked, grinning. "Do you just let them starve to death the morning after?"
"I haven't had anyone over to my place for a long time," I replied.
"Usually when I have a guest over, I take them out to the local IHOP," I continued, thinking of Robbie.
"But there's no way we're getting there this morning," I added, looking out the window at the snow covering the ground.
"How long before you have something for me?" Vinnie interjected, directing his question to Jimmy and obviously annoyed.
"I'm hungry, girl. Shake a leg."
"Hold your horses, Vinnie," Jimmy replied. "I'm doing the best I can."
I walked over to the sliding glass door and stared out. The ground was covered with snow as far as I could see. In fact, it was covered with more snow than I had seen for a long time in Washington.
"Wow, it's definitely bad out there," I said. "I think we're snowed in. I'm glad we didn't lose power."
With that I turned on the small portable TV on the kitchen counter.
The news reports quickly confirmed I was right. The roads were impassable and church services and other holiday events had been cancelled throughout the region. Whether the roads would be passable and the city open for business the next day was anyone's guess at the moment.
"Jesus, I don't think I could take two days out here in the boonies," Vinnie muttered. "What the hell are we going to do out here today, let alone tomorrow, if we can't get out?"
"We could make a snowman," Jimmy responded, smiling. "That would be fun."
Just the mention of building a snowman brought back memories of an earlier snowy morning years ago and of the snowman Eric and I had built, memories I didn't want to deal with right then. But Jimmy knew nothing about any of that and I didn't want to spoil it for him.
"You and Vinnie can do that if you want," I said. "But I need to shovel out the driveway or we'll never get out of here."
I remember thinking how much I had taken for granted when I was a boy back in Maine. Snow was a blessing, something to play in, not a burden, something that was going to break my back given the length of the driveway.
"If you have another shovel, I can help," Jimmy said.
It surprised me.
"Okay; if you want to," I responded. "I do have another shovel and I'd appreciate the help."
"In fact, I have two other shovels," I added, looking over at Vinnie.
But Vinnie just looked away, ignoring me.
So that's what we did. Jimmy and I went outside and shoveled and it was hard. It was one of those sticky snows that retained lots of moisture and lifting the stuff wasn't easy. But Jimmy never complained and I was grateful to have his help. What would have taken me ninety minutes was pretty much finished in half that time.
It was still cold out that morning and we were wet and I remember thinking it would be nice to get inside and warm up.
"Come on, Jimmy," I said. "We need to get out of these clothes and dry them."
"I'll be there in a little while, Brian," he said. "I still want to build a snowman."
I took his shovel and walked back toward the open garage. When I was finished putting the shovels away, I turned and looked down the driveway.
Jimmy was down at the end by himself trying to make his snowman. It brought back all the memories and I remember feeling sad so I was surprised when I heard myself say it.
"I'll help; if you want help, that is."
"I do, Brian," he responded. "Come help. It'll be fun."
He was right. It was a lot of fun and I had to admit it was a pretty impressive snowman we put together that morning.
As we were applying the finishing touches, Vinnie emerged from the house.
"Vinnie," Jimmy shouted. "Come look at the snowman we made. Isn't it the best snowman you ever saw?"
"It's missing something," Vinnie responded, shrugging his shoulders.
"What?" Jimmy asked.
"It's missing a dick. Give it a dick and make a snow girl for him to fuck."
"You can use your ass as a model for her vagina," he added, looking over at Jimmy and laughing.
By now I was reaching the end of my patience.
I was annoyed, seriously annoyed. Here we were trying to make the best of a bad situation and all Vinnie could contribute was a lousy attitude.
"Forget it," I responded. "I have to live in this neighborhood so there won't be any dick for our snowman. Go back inside and play with yourself, Vinnie."
"We should go inside too and get out of these clothes, Jimmy," I said, turning my attention to him. "They're wet and we need to dry them and get ourselves dry as well."
"Do we have to?" he asked. "The snow is so white. It makes everything beautiful. This is the nicest place I've ever seen. Let's go for a walk, Brian. You can show me around. I mean, this is such a beautiful community; so many trees and all of them covered in snow. I even saw a deer back there in the woods while we were making our snowman. Come on, Brian, show me around. Please. I want to see everything."
He was right. The place did look beautiful, the snow still a pristine white. The holiday lights adorning Christmas trees in nearby homes were visible through the windows and occasionally you could see kids playing with the toys Santa had brought them that morning.
"Do you want to come, Vinnie?" Jimmy asked. "Brian and I are going for a walk, aren't we, Brian?"
"Sure," I said. "I guess I could use the exercise."
"It's freaking cold out here, girl," Vinnie responded. "The only walk I'm going for is the one back into the house."
While Vinnie retreated back inside, Jimmy and I spent the next hour wandering around Burke Center. Finally, having shown him just about everything worth seeing, I pointed us back in the direction of the house. By that time snowplows were rumbling through the community and I remember thinking maybe the roads would be open by the next day after all.
Eventually we got back to the house and it felt good to be inside out of the cold. I suggested to Jimmy that we should get out of our clothes so I could clean and dry them.
"Sounds good to me," Jimmy said, grinning, as he began stripping off his clothes.
"Not here, Jimmy," I said, embarrassed. "Go up to your room and leave your clothes outside the door. I'll come by in a few minutes to get them."
"Sure," he responded.
"And I'll come along," Vinnie interjected. "I'll keep that pussy of yours occupied while you're waiting for your clothes to be cleaned."
With that the two of them headed for the stairs to the bedroom. Vinnie moved quickly enough, but it seemed to me Jimmy was less eager to go upstairs now. I wondered whether I should say something that would give him an out, but I couldn't think of anything to say and I reminded myself it was none of my business.
It was his decision after all, not mine.
I gave Jimmy a couple of minutes to get undressed and then followed them up the stairs to retrieve his clothes. As I approached the bedroom, I thought I heard a low moan. I could also see Jimmy hadn't left his clothes outside the door as I had asked him to.
"Is everything okay in there, Jimmy?" I asked. "And where are your clothes?"
"You can come in," Vinnie responded. "His clothes are in here."
I opened the door and walked in and I remember being sorry I had done it because the first thing I saw was Vinnie down on the floor mounted on Jimmy and going at it with relish.
I couldn't believe he had invited me to come in while the two of them were having sex. I turned around and started to leave, but Vinnie called out.
"You need to get his clothes, dude," he said, laughing at me. "Besides, Miss Jimmy wants you to watch me fuck her, don't you, Jimmy?"
His fists clenched, his head pressed against the floor, Jimmy didn't say anything. By then it was too late to do anything about it in any event. As I stood there watching, Vinnie thrust forward rapidly several times and then let out a squeal.
"Fuck yes," he shouted, pushing himself all the way in one final time.
"Oh, yeah, girl, you've just been fucked," he added, and by now he was laughing hysterically as he collapsed on top of Jimmy.
I wanted to slap him for tricking me into watching him do that and for embarrassing Jimmy as well. I knew he must have planned it that way and I was disgusted, but I restrained myself and tried to calm down.
"See how much she likes taking it up her tight little pussy," Vinnie continued, completely oblivious to the cold stare I was giving him. "You're definitely welcome to see for yourself, Brian. I got her nice and loose for you. Feel free to fuck her while I recharge the batteries for a second go."
"I don't think so," I responded.
"Suit yourself," Vinnie replied, shrugging his shoulders. "But if you're not going to fuck her, Miss Jimmy needs to take a shower. Her pussy is a mess from all the lube I've pumped into her last night and this morning."
Jimmy pulled himself up, quickly picked up his clothes and tried to use them to cover himself. As he brushed past me, he offered me the clothes. I took them and walked over toward Vinnie while Jimmy retreated to the bathroom.
I looked at him coldly.
"Why do you treat him so badly?" I asked. "He seems to like you a lot. Why do you do stuff like that?"
"He likes it that way," Vinnie responded. "You don't have to get all upset about it. The little bitch likes taking my dick up her ass. What a faggot."
Later, after I had finished washing and drying Jimmy's clothes, the two of them spent the rest of the day watching cartoons on television. Not having anything better to do, I spent the day just catching up on work and reminding myself never to do something like this again.
I made dinner for the three of us that evening. It was nothing much, but I remember not being surprised when Jimmy thanked me while Vinnie just retreated to the recreation room and turned on the television again. The contrast between the two of them was stark and I wondered what paths each had followed to reach this point in time. Whether the roads would be passable the following morning was impossible to say, but they would be gone soon enough and I wondered what would become of them.
It was dark now and there was still the evening to kill before it was time to go to bed. I picked up the television listings and leafed through them to see whether anything interesting might be on TV. I saw that one of the networks was going to be rebroadcasting It's A Wonderful Life for probably the twentieth time that holiday season.
As much as I hated Christmas, I recalled how that movie had inspired me as a boy and I wondered whether its message might provide some glimmer of hope for Jimmy.
"Hey, there's a movie coming on I want to watch," I said.
"What?" Vinnie asked.
"It's a movie called It's A Wonderful Life and it's about Christmas," I replied. "We haven't really done anything special for Christmas today. We should watch it just to remind ourselves it's Christmas, if for no other reason."
"I've never seen it," Vinnie responded, "but with a title like that I can already tell it's a loser. Do you really know anyone who has a wonderful life? I don't."
"Do we have to watch it?"
"Yeah, we do," I said, pushing back. "It's my television so I get to decide what we watch. You can do something else if you want, but I think you'll like it."
The three of us settled down on the couch and started watching the movie when it finally came on. No one said anything much, but about 45 minutes later Jimmy stood up.
"I'm not feeling that great," he said. "I think I'll go to bed. Sorry, Brian. I like the movie so far, but I'm real tired and just not feeling well."
"Good idea," Vinnie said. "I was about to gag anyway. I'm sure your pussy will be more entertaining than this piece of shit."
I didn't say anything. I just watched as they disappeared up the stairs and then sighed and took a deep breath.
You can't do anything right, can you, Brian? See how your little attempt to create a magical Christmas moment turned out?
When are you ever going to learn Vinnie is right?
Life is shitty, not wonderful.
For a moment I wanted to cry, but I composed myself. I sat there watching the rest of the movie by myself, then turned off the television and went up to bed.
I turned off the light and stared into the darkness.
Merry Christmas, Brian, I said to myself.


text:
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal,
love leaves a memory no one can steal.
~an Irish Epitath~
How sleep the brave, who sink to rest,
By all their country's wishes blest!
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallow'd mould,
She there shall dress a sweeter sod
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod.
By fairy hands their knell is rung,
There Honour comes, a pilgrim gray,
To bless the turf that wraps their clay;
And Freedom shall awhile repair,
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there.
~William Collins~


text:
Flew into KTUS for probably the last time in 2013. If you have been following my blog over 12 months, then you will know how much fun I have had flying into the airport. Flying into KPHX was rewarding in terms of work load on the radio etc, however, flying into the class charlie KTUS airport has to be up there with the best. How many other airports can you be sharing a pattern with another C172 whilst an F-16 departs on the parallel runway with an American Airlines MD-80 on a 5 mile final to the same runway?
I'm going to miss you Tucson Airport!
|F-16's KTUS
|My First Crew Car!!
|Serious Biz Jets @Atlantic FBO
|Departing 11L KTUS (11'000' runway!)


text:
Monday, November 21, 2011
Barn Charm #18
28 comments:
Did you see any NO Trespassing signs? I'm sure your hubby would come to yoru rescuem but you are braver than I am. Great captures, Debbie!ReplyDelete
What a beautiful old barn Debbie, and I LOVE the tractor!ReplyDelete
Sending you wishes for a beautiful Thanksgiving.
love the overgrowth surrounding it. :)ReplyDelete
Not much holding that barn up anymore I fear....ReplyDelete
Wonderful shots. They deserve to be immortalized in photos! Looks like the barns are held up only by the trees. Love the sign.ReplyDelete
I love the photos I wish it was mine. That is a great barn.ReplyDelete
love these Debbie...what is it about old wood that is such a captivating draw? My husband never understands the allure old barns have for me...but old tractors??? that he gets!ReplyDelete
Just waiting for an artists to spend days painting pictures of it from every angle. Nice photos.ReplyDelete
The tractor looks a lot like the ones I spent hours, and hours, and hours on when I was a kid on our farm. Good memories but hard on the rear.
This is gorgeous old barn. So sad to see them abandoned isn't it.ReplyDelete
Wonderful Wonderful!!! (LOL...what a hubby heh??)ReplyDelete
Love the oldness and the old tractor....beautiful pictures!!
These are awesome, Debbie.ReplyDelete
It's sitting there enveloped with weeds and vines. It looks like it was quite a nice place at one time.ReplyDelete
Love that you got the photo of the tractor. I love the blue and rust. It may be abandoned but that's a fairly new plastic coffee can covering that exhaust. :)
Love it! Thanks for treading where no "man dares to go"...haha.ReplyDelete
Love this barn Debbie, and all the plants and greenery around it.ReplyDelete
You two are such rebels! Nice signs.ReplyDelete
Beautiful old barn and tractor.ReplyDelete
Have a great day.
People used to hang their old license plates on barns back in the day when you got a new one every year.ReplyDelete
You are much braver than I am, that's for sure. I just love your spirit.ReplyDelete
This was a great find! Everything about it is so charming.
Great pictures! I seem to have gotten a little bolder about "trespassing" (did I say that?) to get good pictures lately!ReplyDelete
Wow...this is super COOL!!! What an exciting adventure! Great shots!ReplyDelete
HI Debbie...Awh...this is a winner, just my kind of old barn pic's ; }ReplyDelete
Love them all!!
Glad you didn't end up on the wrong end of a double barreled shotgun!! lol lol!!
- AnonymousNovember 22, 2011 at 9:17 AM
It's hard to imagine an entire farm being abandoned... How did they move on? Wouldn't they have had to sell the place in order to have money to move somewhere else? That's the question that always enters my mind when I see these old abandoned places... How can anyone afford to just get up & leave a place? Even if it IS paid for...ReplyDelete
Great old barn find & the tractor is an added bonus - Thanks for joining =)
wow - beyond rustic! In one of my dream worlds/lives I restore old properties. My dad's the architect and I'm the decorator...hahahaha!ReplyDelete
I don't know -- that coffee "can" on the tractor looks pretty new. Watch your back, girlfriend! :)ReplyDelete
Wow, I love this pictures!!AND the tractor is super cool! Beautiful Debbie!ReplyDelete
PS, Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!ReplyDelete
i am itching to take a few shots of barns too. these are lovely!ReplyDelete
they make such beautiful shots! i've seen a few of them on my way up to northern cal.
Great shots. I especially like the one of the tractor. It reminds me a lot of the tractor I learned to drive on when I was twelve.ReplyDelete
Barn Charm 60


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Here Davis is reading the instructions to his Daddy!
Now he is wondering "When are you ever going to be done with this? It is time to play!!!!"
Next he is doing his happy dance... I must say he's got somes moves folks :)The final product minus the roof/tarp that goes on top of the fort....Matt teaching Davis how to climb...Going down the slide for the first time!So happy with his new surroundings!


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it's 3rd of March 2012
and i felt that today is a great day
and it was!
it is my special day...!!
1. my loved one fetch me from the airport~hehehe
2. i've got a present! jeng3!!
3. i saw the 'unbelievable' looks my parents had
when saw me coming out from the house.
i didn't tell them about my arrival today!
they thought i'm having class
when i off my phone for 2hours and 45 minutes!
4. i told my parent all about him...
for the meantime, he say it's okay.
i pray for the best.
*well, i thank God for today.
it was so FANTASTIC..
God is always great.


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Friday, June 11, 2010
A Nautical Birthday BBQ.
Posted by george, danielle, kingston & saxyn. at 1:31 PM
1 comments:
- Marilyn said...
Wow, what a cool party! The sailor theme was perfect for your little boy. Thanks for giving me an idea for my son's 3rd birthday next month!
By the way, Kingston is two years old now, right? Judging from his smile there in the photo, I think he has a good set of teeth. That's what my son's dentist in Nashua, NH also noticed when I first brought him in the clinic. He said that my child will most likely grow up having an attractive smile, and he will help him achieve that. My son liked what he heard! From then on, his eagerness for dental appointments showed. Maybe that's why kids smile beautifully in Nashua. Dentistry for children in the city is outstanding!
- December 13, 2010 at 7:49 PM
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While hemlock wood can be dressed for interior work, it most often used in rougher work such as bridge planks, sills, boxes and crates. Because this species retains its lower branches for many years, it wood is usually knotty. These knots probably contain the hardest wood of any eastern. They can nick an axe blade very easily. Hemlock is dangerous in camp fires, because it throws out more sparks than the wood of any other native conifer except perhaps cedar.
Early leather-makers leached hemlock bark for tannin, a dye and preservative. Indians poulticed sores and wounds with boiled and pounded inner bark. Settlers drank hemlock tea to induce sweating, and made brooms from the branch-lets
Elements of the Hemlock
Needles: Dark, shiny green and flattened, with two white lines below.
Cones: Similar to those of tamarack, but longer and not erect, pale green with slightly toothed scale margins, each fertile scale produces two winged seeds.
Bark: Reddish or greyish brown, changing with age from scaly or flaky to rough and deeply furrowed.
Wood: Buff with reddish tinge; tough ,splintery and fairly hard.


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Quinnipiac Hockey Moves To No. 1 In Nation
The Quinnipiac men's hockey team moved to No. 1 in the USCHO.com and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. Quinnipiac (21-3-4) overtook Minnesota, which had been rated No. 1. Quinnipiac had 41 first-place votes to nine for Minnesota (19-5-4) in the USCHO poll. Yale (13-6-3) is No. 10. It is the first time a Quinnipiac athletic program has been ranked No. 1 in the nation. "I think, looking back, to me it's more than impressive that in only our 15th year as a Division I program, that we're the No. 1 team in the country," Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. "I think it's something our fans, alumni and our administration can enjoy. For us, as players and coaches, we'll enjoy it for about 15 minutes and get ready to play St. Lawrence [on Friday]." Quinnipiac is 14-0-2 in the ECAC hockey standings. The Bobcats received 28 of the 34 first place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.


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NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) -- A southern Nevada woman accused of tying her 4-year-old daughter to a bed and locking her in a room for up to 12 hours a day made an initial appearance before a judge Friday on multiple child abuse and neglect charges.
Laketha Moore, 36, kept her eyes downcast and said nothing as she stood in shackles and an orange jail jumpsuit before North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Pro-Tem Eugene Martin.
The judge told Moore that she faces two child abuse and 31 child neglect charges, but that formal charges had not been filed. Martin ruled there was probable cause to keep Moore jailed for up to a week on $620,000 bail.
A deputy public defender, Xiomara Ferrera, met for the first time with Moore and said outside court that she hadn't seen the evidence in the case. But she said Moore planned to fight the charges.
Moore also faces an eviction hearing Tuesday in a separate court action, a court clerk said.
Moore was arrested Tuesday after apartment managers entered the unit where Moore lived alone with the girl and found a string stretched from the knob of a closed bedroom door to a bathroom door across the hall, North Las Vegas Police Officer Chrissie Coon said.
Investigators reported that the girl had been tied to the bed by her ankle every day for at least a month, for as much as 10 to 12 hours a day.
Coon said the girl was left with little to eat or drink and a plastic bucket to use as a bathroom while the mother was at work or at church.
Evidence also suggested the girl had been beaten with a belt during that same period, police said.
The child was treated for minor injuries at University Medical Center in Las Vegas and turned over to Clark County Child Protective Services officials.
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I ordered a hideous teal colored cross with a wooden dove glued on the front off of ebay. I pried the dove off, chiseling away at the hot glue that was attractively visible around the edges of the dove. $10 well spent. Then I created a design on a paper outline with pre-cut stone mosaic pieces from an art supply store. I applied pre-mixed grout to the cross and pressed on the stone pieces.
I am happy with the result, but the grout is a little too white to feel rustic to me.


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Bodhgaya is a city in Gaya district, part of Bihar state on the northeast India. Besides being a holy place like many others in India this has two very important features. The first one is that it is the mecca of Buddhist religion in India and the second one is that it is located in the poorest state all over India.
This place is considered holy in Buddhism because according to their beliefs, is there where Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became Buddha. The most important place in this city is the Mahabodhi Temple where the Bodhi tree also known as religious ficus is located. It is said that under this tree, Buddha used to sit to conduct their meditations and was there, where after three days and nights of continuous meditation attained nirvana. Since then, Bodhgaya is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world.
Continue reading Bodhgaya, the town where Buddha attained enlightenment.


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Home » alien invasion » The 5th Wave (2016)
The 5th Wave (2016)
Posted by Hans von Aachen Posted on 22.19 with No comments
You've just seen the movie categories alien invasion titled The 5th Wave (2016). You can bookmark this page with the URL http://buchliebhaberin11.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-5th-wave-2016.html. Thank you!
The 5th Wave (2016) 910109.
Label: alien invasion


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Friday, November 21, 2008
Warn me next time. . .
Why does your box of Fruit Nibbles neglect to tell me that the Fruit Nibbles contained within look like dried squirrel brains. Don't believe that they do? Click here.
Don't get me wrong, they taste great and I love your "No Junk Promise" (meaning there's no artificial colors added) but warn a guy when the food going in is going to look like the food coming out. I don't mind how they look, I'm happy to give my kid something that looks like healthy food, but the image on the front make the Fruit Nibbles look like any other brightly colored fruit snack on the market.
Just be honest. I don't mind putting little brown wrinkly things in my son. . . that sounds bad, but you know what I mean.
EDIT: Whoops wrong little brain link.
6 comments:
You know I thought about getting these, but were afraid they were like fruit snacks. They do look like little brains. I may have to see if Bubs will try them. He is really bad about eating his fruits...sigh.
- November 21, 2008 at 8:50 PM
- I'm Not Skippy said...
He did really good with them, I recommend them as long as you're prepared for the shape and color.
- November 22, 2008 at 12:35 PM
- ~Joe said...
oh geez I almost gagged when I saw those that is too funny.
- November 22, 2008 at 7:50 PM
- caramama said...
They look really really gross. I don't think I could eat them or give them to my kid. Does that make me superficial? Oh well.
- November 25, 2008 at 12:38 PM
i just was gonna try these today, but when I opened the package, I had the exact same reaction as 'Not Skippy'. The only difference was that in the pack we opened, there was one very brightly colored red and smooth looking fruit piece in there, which led me to believe that there was something wrong with the brown wrinkly ones. I didn't give them to my daughter, although she was screaming and crying in protest- I just couldn't tell if that was how they are supposed to be. I have been scouring the net now to see if I can find any info, and am considering contacting Beech Nut to see if I can find out any additional info. Are you sure they are supposed to look like that? I'm dying to find a healthier fruit snack for her to have as her candy treats...
- December 11, 2008 at 6:55 PM
so i just talked to beechnut, and they're not supposed to look like that!! Something happened in the drying process that caused the natural fruit ingredients to come to the surface and look all wrinkly with a brownish/white casting on them. THe 'nibbles' should look like the image on the packaging. Beechnut says they are still safe to eat, and they say they are working to improve the quality.
I would never give my daughter something to eat that I was unsure about, it only took a phone call to clear up my questions- I guess I'm the only one who thought to check it out directly from the source...
- December 12, 2008 at 12:34 PM


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Home »Unlabelled » teardrop tattoo
Friday, January 21, 2011
teardrop tattoo
Posted by dia berlalu at 2:18 AM
I thought any self-respecting rapper-eater with multiple tear drop tattoos
the tattoos on the defendant's face and neck have been a big issue.
Tattoos such as a tear drop
Teardrops teardrop tattoo 22. Sunflowers
solitude · newport · girl with the teardrop tattoo
Teardrop tattoo designs belong to the latter and signify that its wearer had
Intern David sporting the tear drop tattoo. He has never killed anything but
In Australia, unlike, a teardrop tattoo has a different explanation.
told me about his love and his life and showed me his teardrop tattoos.
preview: In defense of the "cup", and the disappearing teardrop tattoo…
What Do Teardrops Tattoos Mean The bright blue teardrops on the face of
What Does Tear Drop Tattoo Mean - QwickStep Answers Search Engine
Tear drop tattoo. Affinity for hot nurses. Can't blame him.
I heard Weezy got this tattoo on his birthday as well.
told me about his love and his life and showed me his teardrop tattoos.
Lil Wayne – Tear Drop Tune once-bare face now features teardrop tattoos
Also, you know those tear drop tattoos? We were joking around the other
Extreme Eye Tattoo Design Warren Abbey got a teardrop tattoo below
Moon: AmanDUH I will miss your drawn-on tear drop tattoo, your belly dancing
If George Bush got a teardrop tattoo for every soldier's death in Iraq.
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Um, two things about yesterday's post. I probably should have included a teeeny bit of additional information about the searching for the sheets. You see, Oliver is not the great communicator that his brother is. So he didn't exactly say: There's no sheet so I'm gonna find one. Instead, I watched him go first to RT's room, come out empty-handed, then walk down the hall to my room. Curious, I followed him and stood in the doorway watching as my boy yanked the sheets from my bed in a very determined fashion and then dragged them back to his room! Oliver never once thought to look in the linen closet. Or maybe, knowing what kind of housekeeper his mother is, he just knew better!
The boys and I did make jelly today. We spent a good hour this morning stirring and mixing and ladling. Then I did the hot, heavy work of canning while the boys swam. Unfortunately, we'll have to put our problem-solving skills to work later this week when we figure out how to redo our hard work. It appears our jelly didn't gel! As frustrated as I feel about this, after spending most of a ninety degree day in front of the stove, I had to laugh when Sami turned the teaching tables on me and consoled: "It's ok, Mom. We'll figure it out and do a better job next time!"
Yes, indeedy!


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New York, NY (PRWEB) October 09, 2012
Honest Cooking Editor in Chief and restaurant reviewer Kalle Bergman is not impressed with Mario Batali's Michelin starred flagship restaurant Del Posto Ristorante in New York City. In a review yesterday on Honest Cooking, titled "Skip to the Desserts at Del Posto" he calls the food at the restaurant "unsophisticated", and only awards the otherwise praised, exclusive establishment three stars out of six.
He starts by writing "I desperately want to love Del Posto. From the ridiculously gorgeous (or is it gorgeously ridiculous – I don't know) interior, through the very talented bartenders, to the friendly and efficient service – it is a restaurant that I really want to want to come back to. In fact, it is a restaurant I want to live in. Unfortunately, restaurants are generally considered places to eat, not to live, and the eating part is where Del Posto comes up short."
He goes on to wonder why a traditional Italian tasting menu consists of French salads and Asian noodle dishes, and calls a beef served with beefsteak tomato, tater tots and mustard greens "an upscale steakhouse dish."
According to Mr Bergman, there is good food at Del Posto. Very good food actually. "Just skip the first few pages of the menu and go straight to the desserts, where Pastry Chef Brooks Headley serves creative and utterly delicious sweet and savory plates of goodness... The only problem is that the desserts have nothing to do with the rest of the food at Del Posto. In fact, they taste, look and feel like they come from a completely different restaurant. A much better one."
Read the full review here.
The Honest Cooking Rating System
****** Six stars – Cooking on the highest international level. Service is impeccable and beverages are perfectly paired with the food. A world class dining experience.
***** Five stars – Represents cooking on an international level. Dishes look and taste great and display a personal touch. Service is highly professional making it a dining destination that is really worth a detour.
**** Four stars – This represents very good cooking with ambitions. Solid preparation of all dishes, only very few flaws. A restaurant that Honest Cooking recommends a visit to.
*** Three stars – Represents good cooking, and an above average restaurant, but without the more personal touches and craftsmanship that is demanded of higher ratings.
** Two stars – Represents average cooking. The restaurant doesn't reach a level where the food stands out as anything special, and / or service / ambience has flaws.
- One star – Represents sub-par cooking and service. A restaurant to stay away from.


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When I was a little girl, living in Southern California, my family used to take weekend trips to Tijuana Mexico every once in a while. My greatest memory was visiting the candy shops during the Autumn when they had displays full of Dia de la Muerta (Day of the Dead) candies: little sugar skulls, bright colored marzipan figures, and cubes of buttery caramely brown sugar fudge that had a bit of a salty finish. I had no idea what it was but I loved it, and I got some every time we went.
This recipe is an homage to the candy I had and loved as a child.
If you don't have a candy thermometer, which I highly recommend having if you make candy with any frequency, you can use the cold water method to check the state of your candy. With a bowl of very cold water (throw a piece of ice in there for good measure) once the mixture has been boiling for about 10 minutes (this is totally an estimate, look up water method if you've not used it before, please) over medium to medium low heat, drop a small bit of sugar mixture into the cold water and create a ball, it should smoosh like a pancake when you take it out of the water hence "soft ball stage."


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Seems like this rumour will just not go away. This time it has Apple testing curved glass for its alleged iWatch project. This new batch of rumours comes from the New York Times:
"Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company's explorations, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products. Such a watch would operate Apple's iOS platform, two people said, and stand apart from competitors based on the company's understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body."
I`m sure Apple, Samsung, Sony, Hitachi, etc experiment with all kinds of stuff, maybe even up to 3/4 of it never sees the light of day. Rumours are just that, rumours.
more here


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The first ones were made from a card kit i got. I love these colours together! Not usually my style but it worked. I like the one on the left better because i love RIBBON:)
Net is my snowbunnybella card i made for a swap! I used shimmery white paper (why have i not used this before??), snow dots embossing folder, nesties, stickles and frosted baubles (my FAVE!!). I can't believe now nicely the baubles fit in the snow flakes! Are you ever just so proud of a card?? This is one of them:)
I am hoping tomorrow to play with my Magnolia stamps!! They are too cute!!
Ok off to work...wish me luck, its inventory night!! ugh...


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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Pittsburgh G-20 Summit: What's the Dealyo?
Susan Schawb is a former U.S. trade representative. She pointed out that at the University of Maryland, of which she is very proud, half of the public policy students take part within the walls of these economics summits and other half of take part outside in protest-type arrangements.
She personally spoke out against "beggar-thy-neighbor" trade policies among the major countries -- an argument against import tariffs (taxes on imports for whatever reason) and export subsidies, especially "self-defeating tit-for-tat" ones that "exacerbate" problems. Free trade, free trade. And "everyone is sinning" on this score -- she says it "negatively impacts the trade of 120 countries" -- but it is incumbent on the U.S. to "step up to a position of leadership." Congress in particular needs to step up, but advanced developing countries also need to determine "what is the contribution they should make?"
Schwalb finished her opening by "guaranteeing" the leaders would call this round of the G-20 "a success", to some chuckling.
James Dobbins, director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center, echoed Ms. Schwab in stating that these meetings are "supposed to be about economics". Certain drama can distract from that, although that is usually the unexpected -- tension in the Balkans or similar. "For the organizers of these meetings, drama is a bad thing," so there generally is not any.
As to extraneous drama that distracts form trade, "the recession is over" was the mantra of the day. "Some degree of self-congratulation is due", Dobbins said, but his prediction for the results of the Summit was only that" they'll hold another meeting" to more chuckles.
On that note, moderator David Schribman quipped, "So it's a job program for public officials" to real laughter.
Former Canadian chief finance minister Barbara McDougall volunteered that some of the G-20 countries are emerging, and some of them aren't exactly. The G-7 / G-8 expanded to twenty when "it was no longer appropriate as an informal world governing body", which she underscored that is what these G's actually is: an informal world governing body.
McDougall said China would be the "elephant in the room" at these fora, owing to their capacity to -- and she settled on this for lack of better words -- "make trouble". Also she said bluntly that "the U.S. and France don't like each other" and part of that was manifesting in that President Sarkozy is insisting on getting bankers' bonuses under control. She predicted he won't storm out, but there will be "language" in the outcome communique -- which "they are already writing as we speak", only with brackets for revisions.
She did mention that "financial institution reform" is important, and that it might be wise to take a look at "Islamic banks", who have some peculiar practices. Later on she said somewhat pointedly in the direction of former U.S. minister Schwab that the U.S. and Canada, as one another's #1 trading partner, should take a look at bankers' compensation together.
P-G Associate Editor Dan Simpson was the wet blanket in the room. He proffered all these crucial benchmarks for success of the G-20 Summit that had little to do with free trade and with what the rest of the panel would call "economics"; he wants the leaders to demonstrate that they're sure we won't slide back into recession, and wants "a model to get us away from debt". Also, Copenhagen (a December climate conference) needs to be taken seriously.
He did allow that as far as protectionism and tariffs go, it grates on the "raw nerves" of everyone involved. Schwab, again the U.S. trade rep, frequently returned to how although aid is being given, you get an immensely bigger bang for you buck out of trade.
Free trade free trade free trade. Free trade. Eliminate tariffs and subsudies. So healthful! So enriching and rewarding and stimulating in itself! Zarkozy is being dramatic and at least somewhat typically French with his stances on "issues", but he won't walk out, he'll just make noise and get some language written somewhere about something. Except Canada will probably be down for a lot of those antics, along with Germany and other countries without huge banking sectors and less to lose by fiddling with compensation structures to engineer wiser decision making.
I have many more notes and will probably spill them out later. If I have one criticism of the panel discussion it's that strangely that there were too many questions -- I would like to have seen the panelists go back and forth on some of them leisurely, instead of parceling one at a time out for one specific panelist at a time and then it's gone.
5 comments:
Green Peace one classy act when it comes to protests. BRAVO!ReplyDelete
Was thinking I would rip on Ferlo several weeks ago...but when it comes to protests Jimmy is every bit as classy as Green Peace. He will add calm to situation and he is a quite the Character. Totally non-violent...ran ops with him long time ago. Trust him...and the Cops.
Why are you taking pictures of my yard?ReplyDelete
MH: HorticulturalistReplyDelete
Monk 2:34 - The only thing I can remember for sure I had against State Sen. Jim Ferlo, from what I remember, was his early and vocal role in opposing any gov't economic development money being channeled through actual Hill District organizations, as part of a CBA. It all trickled through the URA to the Penguins and in turn their larger developers.ReplyDelete
Of course, that issue was *everything* for me for so long. Interested G-20 dissenters from the global community should hit up Carl Redwood (he's everywhere right now, try Bail Out the People) specifically to ask him what he thinks of the URA, Ferlo, heck it is Mayor Luke's appointed and controlled board. Meanwhile though, no, Sen. Ferlo seems more positive an influence regionally than most. I've been a fan.
Ferlo is an idiot and a "kiss up". I say this based on involvement with Ferlo when he was part of City Council... typical Democrat Peter-principle.. promote the idiots and/or incompetents... in this instance, to State government. Whenever I see "Ferlo", I go Pfffft. (Also, Costa, Onorato, Wagner [especially the female Wagner], and Walko.]ReplyDelete


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And so it comes to an end. 40+ hours of gameplay, and I have come to the conclusion of Divinity 2.
Was it worth it? Yes. Even with the horrid ending that if you watch Japanese movies or Anime and know how they end, then welcome to the end of Div 2.
I do not wish to give away anymore at this point. But, I do want to talk for a moment on Div 2 and a few other news tidbits.
First off, what compelled me most about Divinity 2? The variety of things I needed to do was one factor. The non-hand holding and difficulty also helped.
I really enjoy games that make me feel like it is life or death, but I have a way to survive if I keep on my toes. For example, the ending fight in Div 2 was truly outrageous, but was survivable if you learned some tricks to stay alive. That is key to an action game for me.
The non-hand holding is a far cry from most of our MMO's (except LOTRO, where the obtuse questing just becomes frustrating). But, I think MMO's need to have that feature due to the size and scope of those games. Divinity 2 with the open world to explore mechanic, where the world is finite?...that helps give me a sense of adventure (adventurer?) yet completion as well.
The variety of things to do really got crazy. The enchanting of armor, charms you could apply, crafting of potions, and even controlling your own pet that you built (a necromantic skill) really just made it crazy deciding how to build, rebuild, shape and setup my character.
Variety was also key to your own classing. YOU controlled what you wished to do ...from heals, to tanking, DPS and defense, summoning, ranger attributes...and more.
The game was not easy, and I finally had reached a point in one puzzle that I needed to look it up...and THAT was it. All the other puzzles had enough of a learn curve to make it hard to do, but possible. That difficulty factor if you will is what was key to my fun. Same for fights, with tricky ways to complete some of these (boss fights mainly), but not impossible.
I like that.
There is no doubt there were gaping holes in plot, bugs to deal with, as seems to be par for course now for all software titles. But, they were not enough to make me stop.
That is the sign of fun to me.
And patches are still being developed, that it could warrant a second play through to find some things I missed along the way (I had to leave one zone with 3 locked chests I could never open...wonder how to get into those?).
It was an awesome time, and I felt that nostalgia I felt from The Witcher, Fable 2, etc.
It was just plain gaming fun.
Now, before I leave, just some news of note.
First off, the "Family who MMO's together" has been on hiatus. Thanks to several issues with EQ2 that caused us to lose interest, we just never logged back in. This to me felt like a bad sign.
We never stopped playing Age of Conan with the concerns there. Why? Because we at least could continue to play and have fun.
When EQ2 had multiple days of "unannounced" downtimes during the holiday period (where we really like to play a lot), this caused quite a stir.
We lost our son to the Xbox, and I started playing single player games. My wife lost interest due to the multiple issues she had (loss of claimable items, no rewards for a special quest and of course the outage that blocked her one time, after my son and myself got in...), and as she stated, the game "disappointed" her. She just was not happy about logging in again.
I feel that way when people or things let me down as well.
So, we wait. For what, we are not sure.
Age of Conan is of course our game of choice. But, Funcom is TRULY quite slow when it comes to development, and STILL no patch, no fixes...nothing for several months. This just keeps the game on our "wish it was better list".
We have time cards ready to go, and will most likely start again after patch 1.06. But, when that will hit, we do not know.
The news today though is the first step for "merges" are taking place. This also comes with a doozy of a side note: Anyone who has not played for the last 7 months and has a character level 21 or under...will be due for deletion.
This also makes me wonder just how bad things will be after merge? Loss of items, characters...CITIES?
A nailbiter there.
Well, that is enough rambling for now. As a final little goodbye, I wish to let everyone know I went back to Dragon Age and I am giving it another shot. The chattiness was getting to me, and I started to lose interest. But, now with Divinity 2 done, and no other MMO ready to go, lets see how it feels now.
I played about two hours this morning and had fun...so that is a start eh?
Later folks.


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People shouldn't be afraid of stones. They shouldn't be intimidated either by people who call themselves masons or experts. They shouldn't stop from experimenting and practicing and working with stones every chance they get to build and shape and organize and arrange stones in pleasing arrangements. Discover how structural they are. Take a course if you need to. If you get a chance to actually learn and get some hands-on practice with someone who is experienced in creating landscape features, such as walls of benches or stiles and arches, you may really benefit and actually be surprised what you can learn, and how satisfying it is.
It's not rocket science. It is a lot of fun and the basics are not so specialized that it should exclude people from rediscovering that primeval connection we all have to stones from the beginning of time.
I am disappointed with those who would have others kept in the dark about these elementary things and trying to hinder people from even wanting to find out about the many wonderful aspects of creating with something natural as stone. Leave the concrete and steel structures for the experts. Build something real, something simple and at the same time hug some stones.
Synthetic materials are bombarding us from every direction. Our contact with stone by contrast is getting more and more scarce. Pick some up while it is still lying around for 'lay people' to work with. Lay some, one on top of the other, and handle it and then use it in configurations as you see fit on your property and in your garden. Start with something simple. Let the stones speak to you.
Perhaps take a workshop or a seminar. Look around and see where stones are being used creatively, effectively and without any pretension ( hopefully somewhere in your area) and start to learn more about what is possible. If you can find books or people knowledgeable in using this basic material and doing cool things with the stones (who aren't hung up on hiding the basic rules of masonry from people who dont want to join some secret or elite club) and try to learn all you can from them.
How else will you know if you want to devote yourself to learning this honourable and very timeless craft?


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- Meals. We started meals for them Monday, March 2 and would love for someone to cover every other day (Mon, Wed, Fri, etc) for as long as needed. If you would like to serve the family in this way, please email email@example.com with "Meals" in the subject line and include your name, address and phone number. We will then contact you regarding a specific date and drop off details. Please bring all meals in disposable containers, so the family will not be burdened with returning dishes.
- Encouragement. Encouraging cards for Forester and the rest of the family.
- Gift cards. Gift cards for local grocery stores (WalMart, Publix, Bi-Lo) to help us keep their pantry and fridge stocked.
- Gas cards. Gas cards to cover expenses as the family goes back and forth to the hospital for treatments.
- Cash. Cash to help cover incidentals.
- Local volunteers. Local volunteers to help with various yet-to-be-determined tasks & errands.
Again, please email firstname.lastname@example.com if you would like to help in any of the ways listed above or in any other way, and we will reply as soon as possible. Thank you for the being the hands and feet of Jesus and for ministering to this precious family in such tangible ways!!! It is very much appreciated!!!
(By the way, I cannot take credit for any of this. Thank you to 3 beautiful women in Charleston who love Jesus and the Bradburn family in such selfless ways.)