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Trita Parsi posted on the blog of Tony Karon (http://tonykaron.com/2007/10/09/iran-the-inflatable-bogey/).
Accessed 10/10/07
For additional discussion on this article, please refer to Tony Karon's blog referenced above.
I'm delighted and honored to welcome Dr. Trita Parsi as a guest columnist at Rootless Cosmopolitan. Following the escalating tension between Iran and the West over the past two years, I've found Trita to be a singular voice of sanity in the proverbial world gone mad. As both a scholar and as president of the National Iranian-American Council, he has dedicated himself to promoting dialogue and peace, and he had a particularly important role in bringing to light the 2003 proposal sent from the leadership in Tehran to the Bush Administration, offering a grand bargain in which Iran would address all U.S. concerns — a proposal that was sharply rebuffed by the Bush Administration, under the sway of neocons determined to prevent any rapprochement between the U.S. and Iran.
Trita's new book Treacherous Alliance – the Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States, (Yale University Press, 2007) is an absolute must-read, precisely because it cuts so decisively through the rhetoric and obfuscation that fills media coverage of the issue, and makes clear that the relationship is managed on an unsentimental, national-interests basis by all sides.
The tributes alone tell you this is an important book, welcomed by such diverse players as former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami, John Mearshimer (as in Mearsheimer and Walt, whose Israel lobby book quotes extensively from Trita's work), Francis Fukuyama and Zbigniew Brezinski. In other words, it could just as easily have been subtitled "A grownup guide to the Iran-Israel-U.S. relationship." Trita interviewed 130 key players in the strategic decision-making echelon in Iran, Israel and the U.S. — a unique achievement in itself — to produce a fascinating account of the sober national-interest considerations that have driven, and continue to drive both the alliances and the tensions between those three.
To anyone following the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s, it ought to have been very clear that Israel was not unduly worried about Ayatollah Khomeini's revolutionary Iran being a "new Nazi Germany," as today's rhetoric would have it — after all, Israel was actually delivering weapons to Iran on behalf of the Reagan Administration. The fact that today, these two countries that share a strategic rivalry with the Arab world are, rhetorically at least, at one another's throats is also based on each side's reading of its strategic interest: Israel began talking up an Iran threat in the early '90s in order to maintain its privileged position in U.S. national security policy in the wake of the Gulf War; Iran began championing the Palestinian cause, and Palestinian rejectionism, as a way of pressuring Arab governments to counter its potential isolation in the region during the post-Gulf War period.
And as Trita explains here, Benjamin Netanyahu had a most unexpected take on the matter. Read on — it's the first ever Rootless Cosmopolitan piece with footnotes! — and, more importantly, buy this book!
Iran, the Inflatable Bogey
By Dr. Trita Parsi
Benjamin Netanyahu would like Americans and Israelis to believe that it's 1938 all over again: Iran, he tells us, is Nazi Germany; President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is Hitler. And, of course, that means that anyone who advocates diplomacy and engagement with Tehran is simply reprising the tragic appeasement politics of Neville Chamberlain, even as the clock ticks towards catastrophe.
The 1938 analogy is entirely fallacious, but no less powerful because of it – by at once terrifying people and negating the alternatives to confrontation, it paints war as a necessary evil forced on the West by a foe as deranged and implacable as Hitler was.
If Iran is, as Netanyahu and his allies in the U.S. suggest, irrationally aggressive, prone to a suicidal desire for apocalyptic confrontation, then both diplomacy and deterrence and containment are ruled out as policy options for Washington. The "Mad Mullahs," as the neocons call them, are not capable of traditional balance of power realism. In the arguments of Netanyahu and such fellow travelers as Norman Podhortez and Newt Gingrich, to imagine that war against the regime in Tehran is avoidable is to be as naïve as Chamberlain was in 1938.
However, as I discovered in the course of researching my book Treacherous Alliance – the Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States, not only does Netanyahu's characterization of Iran have little relationship to reality; Netanyahu himself knows this better than most. Outside of the realm of cynical posturing by politicians, most Israeli strategists recognize that Iran represents a strategic challenge to the favorable balance of power enjoyed by Israel and the U.S. in the Middle East over the past 15 years, but it is no existential threat to the Israel, the U.S. or the Arab regimes.
And that was the view embraced by the Likud leader himself during his last term as prime minister of Israel. In the course of dozens of interviews with key players in the Israeli strategic establishment, a fascinating picture emerged of Netanyahu strongly pushing back against the orthodoxy of his Labor Party predecessors, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, which treated Iran as one of Israel's primary enemies. Not only that, he initiated an extensive discreet program of reaching out to the Islamic Republic.
When he took office in June of 1996, the U.S.-educated Likud leader sought not only to undo the peace process with the PLO and the land-for-peace formula; he also sought a return to Israel's longstanding strategic doctrine of the periphery – the idea that the Jewish State's security was best achieved by forming secret or not-so-secret alliances with the non-Arab states in the periphery of the Middle East – primarily Turkey and Iran – in order to balance the Arabs in Israel's vicinity.
Such a shift required efforts to undo Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin's rhetoric on Iran – deemed "exaggerated and self-defeating" by many in Israel at the time - as well as attempts to quietly reach out to Tehran. [1] Unlike his Labor predecessors, Netanyahu chose to follow the recommendations of an internal Israeli government report on how to address the Iranian challenge, which had concluded that Labor's inflammatory rhetoric had only attracted Iran's attention and strengthened Iran's perception of an Israeli threat, which in turn had made Israel less rather than more secure. [2] (Even though Israeli intelligence discovered the existence of an Iranian missile program in late 1994, there was widespread recognition in Israel that Iran's rearming, its missile program and even its potential nuclear program were not aimed at Israel.[3] )
One of Netanyahu's first orders of business as Prime Minister was to request an intelligence assessment of Israel's security environment from both the Mossad and the military intelligence. The debate between these agencies was the same as in the 1980s – did Iran or Iraq constitute the greatest threat to Israel? And could Iran be relied upon to balance Iraq?
The assessments were presented at a full cabinet meeting. Major General Amos Gilad represented the military and Uzi Arad, the Director of Intelligence of the Mossad, argued on behalf of the intelligence services. While the debate was heated and passionate – as all cabinet discussions were in the Netanyahu government – the outcome was unprecedented.
Gilad argued that Iran had replaced Iraq as an existential threat to Israel. First, the Iranian regime was hostile to Israel and determined to destroy the Jewish State. Gilad dismissed the notion that moderates would get the upper hand in Iran and argued for the opposite scenario. "I presented a tough line that claimed that Iran would be dominated by the conservatives.… This was at the level of strategic intentions," the Major General explained to me.
Second, the Iranian capabilities had grown, particularly through Tehran's missile program. Gilad asserted that the Iranians would have Israel within reach of their missiles by 1999. The third component was Iran's nuclear development program. "Even one primitive device is enough to destroy Israel," Gilad maintained. "Altogether, it seemed that ideologically and strategically, Iran [was] determined to destroy Israel," Gilad concluded. [4]
Arad presented a radically different perspective. He argued that Iran's rearmament was defensive and primarily aimed at deterring Saddam Hussein. Iran needed to rearm due to the natural continuation of its enmity with the Arab states; after all, Iran and Iraq had yet to sign a conclusive peace treaty.
Furthermore, Iran was in debt, the internal political situation was unstable, and oil prices were low. All of this reduced Iran's ability to pose a threat, Arad argued, whereas Iraq – with its existing Scud missiles, of which 39 had been fired at Israel during the Persian Gulf War – was a proven danger. [5]
In fact, the Arabs' perception of Iran as a threat could give life to the periphery doctrine again, leading to an Israeli-Iranian re-alignment to counter the common Arab threat.
The heart of Arad's argument was that Israel had a choice: it could either make itself Iran's prime enemy by continuing Peres and Rabin's belligerent rhetoric, or it could ease off the pressure and allow the Iranians to feel a greater threat from other regional actors. (At the time, Iran had the hated Saddam regime to the West and a mortal enemy in the Taliban to the East, the latter together with Pakistan both being clients of the Saudi regime that had backed Saddam in his war against Iran.)
"There are enough bad guys around them; we don't have to single out ourselves as the enemy," went Arad's argument.[6] Israel should remain cautious and pursue a policy of wait and see whether Iran's ambitions went beyond its legitimate defense needs. [7]
Most importantly, Israel should avoid continuing the pattern of rhetorical escalation with Iran that had characterized the stance of the previous two Labor governments. "We needed to tone down," said Shlomo Brom, who was a member of the original Iran committee. [8]
Netanyahu listened carefully as the two sides fought it out. Gilad spoke with great confidence, knowing very well that no Prime Minister had ever dismissed the findings of the military's National Intelligence Assessment. And with the Israeli tendency to embrace doomsday scenarios and treat nuanced and slightly optimistic assessments with great suspicion, the odds were on his side.
But Netanyahu's response left Gilad baffled. In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister rejected the National Intelligence Assessment and instead adopted Arad's recommendation of reducing tensions with Iran. [9] Much to Gilad's frustration, Netanyahu focused on Arafat and the Palestinian threat instead of Iran and put a complete end to Israel's confrontational rhetoric against Tehran. It was a major policy shift that affected all levels of Israel's planning vis-à-vis Iran. "Until the Netanyahu government, there was a proliferation of Israeli statements trying to deter Iran, warning Iran, the long arm of the Israeli air force etc. That was stopped, to his credit, by Netanyahu," Ehud Yaari of Israel's Channel 2 explains. [10]
Israeli media sympathetic to the Likud government's shift on Iran argued that the previous Labor government was to blame for the escalation with Iran, citing the efforts of Uri Lubrani, Israel's former head of mission to Iran during the 1970s, to convince the Clinton Administration to finance a coup d'état in Iran in the early 1990s. The publication of the Labor initiative had "caused huge damage to Israel," unnamed Israeli intelligence officials told Israel's Channel 2.
The Netanyahu government viewed these statements as counterproductive and sought to avoid such entanglement with the Iranians. "He [Netanyahu] didn't want to use rhetoric that would just antagonize them [the Iranians] for no reason," Dore Gold, foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu and Israel's UN Ambassador explains. [11]
But Netanyahu went beyond just lowering the rhetoric. He tried to reach an understanding with Iran though the help of prominent Iranian Jews[12], he stopped Israeli attacks on Iran within international organizations[13]
, he arranged for meetings between Iranian and Israeli representatives at European think tanks[14]
, and he encouraged Israeli parliamentarians to reach out to their Iranian counterparts at meetings of the Inter-Parliamentarian Union. At one point, he even sought Kazakh and Russian mediation between Iran and Israel. In December 1996, Kazakhstan'soil minister, Nurlen Balgimbaev, who enjoyed excellent ties with Tehran, visited Israel for medical treatment and was approached about arranging a dialogue with Iran to discuss ways to reduce tensions between the two countries. [15]
None of his efforts bore any fruit, though. Iran's dismissal of Israel's conciliatory signals convinced the Netanyahu government that just like in the Iran Contra affair, Tehran only wanted to mend fences with the U.S. and had no real interest in rebuilding its ties with Israel.
Therein, of course, lay the real threat from Iran.
The Israelis saw danger in a rapprochement between Tehran and Washington, believing this would inevitably see the U.S. sacrifice some of its support for Israel in order to find a larger accommodation with Iran, in pursuit of U.S. strategic interests in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Iran would become emboldened and the U.S. would no longer seek to contain its growth. The balance of power would shift from Israel towards Iran and the Jewish State would no longer be able rely on Washington to control Tehran. "The Great Satan will make up with Iran and forget about Israel," Gerald Steinberg of Bar Ilan University in Israel noted. [16]
Israel's relative regional importance to the U.S. would decline with a warming of ties between Washington and Tehran.
So, after nine months of courting Tehran, Netanyahu gave up and reverted back to the Peres-Rabin policy of vilifying Iran and seeking its international isolation.
Today, Israel is facing a similar situation, but with one big difference. Iran is far more powerful than it was in 1996, while the power of the U.S. to impose its will in the Middle East has diminished considerably. The difficulties confronting the U.S. in Iraq and technological progress in Iran's nuclear program may compel Washington to recognize that its best interests lie in a grand bargain with Tehran. But the general view in Israel today is the notion that such negotiations must be prevented, because all potential outcomes of a U.S.-Iran negotiation are perceived to be less optimal for Israel than the status quo of intense U.S.-Iran enmity that threatens to boil over into a military clash.
It's precisely to prevent such engagement between Washington and Tehran that Netanyahu and company are pressing the 1938 analogy.
(In Treacherous Alliance, I explain how Israel's fear of a U.S.-Iran dialogue is misplaced and that it actually is through a U.S.-Iran rapprochement that the Jewish state best can secure its interest and change Iran's aggressive behavior towards Israel.)
Interview with Ehud Yaari, Jerusalem, October 24, 2004.
Interview with Ehud Yaari, Jerusalem, October 24, 2004.
Interview with Shmuel Limone, Ministry of Defense, Secretary of Israel's Iran committee, Tel Aviv, October 18, 2004.
Interview with General Amos Gilad, Tel Aviv, October 31, 2004.
Interview with Dr. Shmuel Bar, Tel Aviv, October 18, 2004.
Interview with Dr. Efraim Inbar, the Begin-Sadat Center, Jerusalem, October 19, 2004.
Uzi Arad, "Russia and Iran's Nuclear Program," Jerusalem Issue Brief, Vol. 2, No. 26, April 28, 2003.
Interview with Dr. Shlomo Brom, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv, October 26, 2004.
Interview with Zeev Schiff, military correspondent, Haaretz, Tel Aviv, October 17, 2004.
Interview with Ehud Yaari, Jerusalem, October 24, 2004.
Interview with Dore Gold, Jerusalem, October 28, 2004.
Likud said to seek understanding with Iran, IRNA, July 24, 1996.
IDF Radio, November 10, 1996.
Xinhua, September 13, 1996.
Jerusalem Post, September 9, 1997.
Interview with Prof. Gerald Steinberg, Jerusalem, October 28, 2004
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a) Relationships between Persians and Jews
b) Raising a Persian Jewish child
C) Historical and/or current affairs between Persians and Jews/ Iran and Israel
D) Current Debate: Is the current conflict between Iran and Israel inherently tied into the Israeli- Palestinian conflict?
All submissions welcome including poetry, links and other recommendations. Please email any submissions to email@example.com. Authors are responsible for providing respectful, factually accurate, and fully citated submissions as a pre-requisite for inclusion. Articles should be a minimum of 2 paragraphs in length up to a maximum of 10 pages. Please use proper citation when referencing another writer or speaker. Assume no specific religious knowledge and explain all references to any religions. Translate all non-English words used, including Farsi, Hebrew, Arabic, Ladino or Yiddish. Writers wishing to anonymously post may use their first name only. Please send all submissions to firstname.lastname@example.com. All information outside of your submission will remain strictly confidential including your email and contact information. Thank you for your contributions!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Iran, the Inflatable Bogey
Labels: Historical and Cultural Links, Cultural Stereotypes, People of mixed Jewish Persian Descent, Persian Jews, Activities In the Arts: Recommendations, Iran Israel Relations in the Media


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks ended sharply lower Thursday as selling took hold after a Malaysia Airlines jet crashed near the Ukraine-Russia border.
Investors turned to assets perceived as havens, such as U.S. Treasurys and gold, pushing their prices sharply higher. Read also: Malaysia Airlines crash triggers risk-off reaction.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.28% closed down 23.45 points, or 1.2%, to 1,958.12, its biggest one-day drop since April 10.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.39% dropped 161.39 points, or 0.9%, to 16,976.81, its biggest one-day point decline since May 15. Airline stocks took a big hit after the jet crash news.
The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.45% ended the day down 62.52 points, or 1.4%, at 4,363.45.
Geopolitical risks intensified after news that a Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down by missiles from a Russian plane. Then came reports that a Malaysia Airlines plane had crashed in Ukraine.
Those developments came after the U.S. unveiled a new round of sanctions against Russia, and the European Union said it would detail new sanctions against Russia by the end of this month. European stocks SXXP, -0.08% fell sharply on Thursday. Read: Russian stocks pounded after U.S. imposes new sanctions.
"Today's selloff makes sense given that there's been a concern among investors in the last few months that the U.S. could become more closely intertwined in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia," said Kristina Hooper, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors. She said there are "so many question marks right now" about the news from Ukraine, and it likely will take a few days for investors to process the implications.
"Those investors who have a longer-term time horizon shouldn't be selling," Hooper added.
Earlier, the market digested a mixed bag of earnings reports and economic data. Reports on weekly jobless claims and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area came in better than expected. But construction on new U.S. homes was far weaker than expected, tumbling to the slowest pace in nine months.
Microsoft plans major layoffs, SanDisk results disappoint
In corporate news, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.61% shares rallied 1% after the tech company said it would cut 18,000 jobs over the next year in a bid to simplify operations and integrate its Nokia Devices and Services business. It also said it would take a restructuring charge between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion over the next year.
Mattel MAT, -0.73% shares fell 6.6% as quarterly earnings were dragged lower by muted sales of Barbie dolls.
SanDisk US:SNDK shares sank 14% after the flash-memory maker's third-quarter revenue forecast was lighter than anticipated. Read more about the day's notable movers here.
After trading closes Thursday, Google GOOG, +0.16% is expected to post earnings of $6.25 a share on revenue of $12.3 billion. Shares were down 1.7%. Read Need To Know: Janet Yellen might disagree, but Amazon tapped as screaming buy.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
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subset: commoncrawl


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Posted on Feb 13, 2014
Spreading the Love and Valentines Treats to Share with In Home Help
February 14th is fast approaching. If you haven't been overwhelmed by the red, pink and hearts décor in every department store, you'll surely get a toothache looking at the wide variety of sugary and chocolaty treats available this time of year. Children are creating their Valentine boxes to collect their treats from fellow classmates. Roses are expected to fly off the shelves to be presented as a fragrant gift for a loved one. There are so many ways to express amorous feelings through cards, candy and gifts; however, this holiday wasn't always so commercial.
A simple of gesture of a homemade baked good or a handmade card featuring a pretty heart along with a flower was all that was required to show someone that they were loved. There are so many ways to show someone you care about them without having to fill their bellies with sugar and showering them with rose petals. This Valentine's Day, make it a point to show your loved one you care by doing something a bit different.
It's quite convenient that February is designated by the American Heart Association as American Heart Month. This is a great month to pay attention to your heart, both literally and figuratively. If you are interested in showing you care with heart shaped edibles, try something new that won't break the scale. A fresh fruit bouquet is an option to send a loved one instead of the familiar standby flowers. Simple and healthy ideas with a twist could include adding heart-shaped cheese to your loved one's salad and piecing together two diagonally cut cherry tomatoes to create a garden fresh symbol of love. Sugar-free, chocolate strawberries are not only yummy, they are very healthy. Strawberries are a naturally heart-healthy Valentine's Day treat that fits in greatly with the red theme. When you cut a strawberry in half, it also looks like a heart! Angel food with sugar-free icing is a low calorie and delicious treat to share. There are many recipes for creating homemade granola to give as a Valentine's treat in a pretty jar, rather than candies.
If you are looking for new ways to show how much you care on Valentine's Day, try something nonedible such as giving tickets to a movie theatre, local hockey or basketball game. If you have an elderly loved one in your life, a simple gesture of a planned afternoon out of the house to have lunch would be a fantastic way to show you care. In many ways, time spent with loved ones is more of a treasure than any material item could ever be.
If you would like to learn more about caring and consistent in home care for the elderly and the many benefits of professional senior care or dementia and Alzheimer's care, call Senior Helpers of Crown Point to speak to a senior care specialist today 219-662-2999! The compassionate senior care specialists at Senior Helpers can also guide you through the process of receiving the Veterans Administration Aid and Attendance Benefit if your elderly loved one is a veteran. In home senior care allows your loved one to stay in the comforts of their own home for as long as possible while receiving the level of care they need. Senior Helpers of Crown Point provides a wide range of services including Alzheimer's and dementia care, personal assistance, companionship, and so much more to all areas of Crown Point, Valparaiso, Schererville, Whiting, and Merrillville.


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Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels is a sequel of sorts to the director's 1994 U.S. breakthrough Chungking Express. Expanding on the latter's style, themes, and mood, Fallen Angels is set in the surreal milieu of urban, nighttime Hong Kong. As with the filmmaker's other features, plot takes a back seat to mood. The wisp of a narrative intercuts two story lines. The first follows a hitman (Leon Lai) who finds that the assassin's life has slowly lost its allure. Complicating his life is his beautiful contact (Michele Reis, a former Miss Hong Kong winner) who pines after him with fetishistic ardor, although the two have never met in their nearly three-year partnership. In another part of the city, He (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a mute, boyish ex-convict, makes a living by sneaking into and running businesses after hours. Still living with his father who runs the Chungking Mansions hotel, the restless Ho falls for Cherry (Charlie Yeung), a woman getting over her breakup with the offscreen Johnny. The movie follows these episodic romances almost half-heartedly as with Wong's other films, and digressionary moments attract much of the camera's distracted gaze. This visually stylish and unabashedly effusive work is considered by some critics to be the quintessential Wong film. Elbert Ventura, Rovi
Kar-Wai Wong, Charlie Yeung, Michele Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Karen Mok, Leon Lai, Kar-Wai Wong


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Introduced as "America's sweetheart" and "one bada– chick," Taylor Swift took to the iHeart Radio Festival stage to a huge amount of fanfare, including a mini-medley of her biggest hits. How did her performance fare? You can decide for yourself, because we have the entire thing right here!
In typical Swift fashion, it was a bit of a spectacle, complete with the fan interaction that's almost become the singer's trademark. The stage was emblazoned with her album title, 'RED,' and so were Swift's lips. Sporting a short sequined silver skirt and neutral toned sequined top, she opened with 'Sparks Fly,' all the while showcasing her sometimes awkward dance moves — considering she uses her lyrics to pander a bit to a younger audience, it's pretty offputting to see her attempt to be sexy.
Still, when the singer commanded, "Can I hear you scream, Las Vegas?!" the crowd more than obliged. For her second song of the set, 'You Belong With Me,' she changed into high-waisted black shorts and continued with her minimal choreography, likely in an attempt to appeal to the pop fans in the crowd that likely far outnumbered those with an appreciation for her country roots. Seriously, does anyone else remember when she and Katy Perry didn't try so hard and just, you know, sang and played guitar?
Don't worry, Swift does remember. In an effort to maintain her appeal with fans of her prior instrumentation, Swift's calculated next move was to bust out her banjo for 'Mean.' She followed with the pop remix of 'Love Story' and enough dancing to make herself audibly winded.
She recovered for her stately closer, 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,' for which she sported a black fedora and En Vogue style staging and dance moves (which is amusing, considering she's probably too young to know who En Vogue are). For the climax of the track, she was joined by an enormous entourage, including the inexplicable fuzzies she used in the video for the song.
One thing we noticed about the performance as a whole is that Swift seems hyper aware of the cameras that are around, often deliberately staring into and posing for them. While her performance was by no means bad — she puts on a show, for sure — she may want to focus more on what she does and less on how she looks. Considering it's nearly impossible for Swift to not look stunning, she may want to just hone in on her live vocals and dance moves (which at this point simply look like poses), otherwise it's a little tough to tell what she's actually selling … besides CoverGirl cosmetics, that is.
[button href="http://popcrush.com/taylor-swift-gifs-weekly-motion-picture-collection/" title="Next: Giggle at These Taylor Swift GIFs!" align="center"]


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Leslie Nolen leads The Radial Group, which provides sales, marketing and business planning know-how for health and wellness businesses. Subscribe to free weekly business tips at http://www.radialgroup.com.
Good news: Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be a creative wizard to develop effective marketing materials for your health club.
Great marketing materials accomplish two objectives:
- They show that your club "gets it."
- They prove that your club has a reliable solution.
Prospective members want reassurance that you really understand their goals. Also, they want proof that you can actually help them. Believe it or not, this information is at your fingertips.
Do so by picking the brains of your most loyal customers. Ask them what they value about your business. Why did they choose you? What other options had they considered or tried? What did—and didn't—work? What outcomes resulted from their experience with your club or fitness center?
Then use these pointers to turn their feedback into your marketing materials:
1. Use their words, not yours. Describe their healthy living problems and goals using their language, not yours. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks, "I want to start living a heart-healthy lifestyle." But they do wake up thinking, "I'm sick of feeling so dragged out."
2. Tailor your marketing message to your customer. Check every word and example that you use against the concerns of your target customer. Bikini season won't click with an overweight professional woman worried about professional image and pay raises. A slightly overweight guy in his 40s who plays soccer on the weekend probably won't respond to a marketing pitch about regaining control over food.
3. Describe the underlying hot buttons. For example, consumers in their 40s often worry about developing diabetes or other diseases of inactivity that they've seen their parents develop. Musicians fear career-limiting surgery.
4. Avoid professional jargon. Skip terms such as "cardio" or "fast-twitch fibers." Use an equivalent, simpler term. For example, say "healthy eating" instead of "optimal macronutrients."
5. No happy talk. Don't stuff your marketing materials with meaningless gobbledy-gook. Potential customers care about how your business can help them. They don't care that your mission is "helping everyone be healthier" or "creating winning results." Fluffy statements have nothing to do with their day-to-day lives.
6. Connect the dots for prospects. They may not immediately spot the connection between their problems and your services. Explicitly describe how your products or services will help. For example, say, "We customize your meal plan for your travel schedule to help you stay healthy on the road. You'll have the energy to enjoy the weekend."
7. Client successes are powerful. Case studies, success stories and testimonials help demonstrate that your solution really works. Let your customers write their own success stories and testimonials for inclusion in your marketing materials. Your goal is authenticity, so edit only for length. Don't rewrite it.
8. Facts and figures are persuasive. Objective data, such as total pounds lost, trophies won, customer satisfaction results, number of member renewals and other concrete information, is a great complement to subjective information about client successes.
Be sure to emphasize your business reputation, too:
1. Trumpet key business accomplishments. If you just received a business of the year award in your city, say so. List well-known customers (with their permission) if it will help motivate prospective members. Do you provide workplace wellness services to employers? Include the most well-regarded company names.
2. Mention relevant and impressive credentials. Include degrees, licensure, certification and work experiences at other well-regarded companies. If you think customers may not fully appreciate a credential, add terms such as "nationally-recognized."
3. Include real-life photos. Successful wellness businesses are built on close customer and client relationships. Photos of real employees and real customers help prospects feel as if they're starting to know your business before they ever visit. You'll never get that result from a stock photo.
A few last tips:
1. Focus your message. People skim. They don't read. Avoid visual clutter. Use lots of white space. Bullet key items. Don't let decorative elements distract from your key messages. If your business doesn't use a graphic designer, limit your palette to two colors, plus black and white. Pick one or two fonts. Be sure to also limit clip art and stock graphics. Don't sprinkle them on your marketing materials like popcorn salt.
2. Great content beats great design. Pictures grab readers' attention, but if they don't find the content compelling, your marketing materials have failed. Ask someone who's not close to your business to look at each marketing piece for 5 to 10 seconds. Then ask them what they remember and what action they would take next as a potential customer. If they primarily remember colors or pictures, your content isn't compelling. If they can't accurately describe your service, you've probably fallen into the trap of using business gobbledy-gook instead of your customers' language.
Let your customers guide your marketing, and you'll find that creative genius isn't necessary to grow your business.


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No 6: Nicholas G. Manis
Nicholas G. Manis, with the firm Manis Canning and Associates, billed $681,260 this period. Manis, whose clients include the Baltimore Ravens, is the son of George Manis, the co-founder of the practice. Nicholas Manis is shown here at right with Sen. Lisa Gladden and former Sen. Larry Haines. Here is a list of the companies he was registered to represent: Allegis Group (human resources, recruitment); Allstate Insurance Company; American Chemistry Council (plastics); AMERIGROUP (managed care); Areas USA, Inc. (marketing, travel plazas); Associated Builders & Contractors; Baltimore Ravens; Cable Telecommunications Association; CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (health insurance); CBAC Gaming, LLC (Caesars-led group applying for a casino license in Baltimore); Chesapeake Urology Associates, P.A.; CSX Transportation, Inc. (railroad); Delmarva Poultry Industry; Dimensions Healthcare System; Eastman Chemical Company (chemicals, fibers, plastics); Entertainment Software Association (video games); GenOn Energy (Power plants); Judicially Certified Class of 57,048 Maryland Consumers in the case of Petry, et al v. Prosperity Mortgage Co., Wells Fargo Bank, et al (mortgage transaction fees); Maryland Appraisers Coalition, Inc.; Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants; Maryland Association of Chiefs of Police; Maryland Association of Industrial & Office Properties; Maryland Bail Bond Association; Maryland Beer Wholesalers Association; Maryland Coalition of Nurse Practitioners; Maryland Patient Care and Access Coalition; Maryland Sheriffs' Association; Maryland Urologists for Patient Access & Care; Maryland Works, Inc. (employment for people with disabilities); Maryland/D.C./Delaware Broadcasters; Maryland/Delaware Independent Automobile Dealers Association; Maximus (health and human services, state contracting); Mid-Atlantic NATO (National Association of Theatre Owners); Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.; Owings Mills Mall, LLC.; Pfizer Inc. (pharmaceuticals); RAI Services Company; Reynolds American, Inc. (tobacco manufacturer); Sandy Spring Insurance Corporation T/A Neff & Associates (medical professional liability); SMARTBUS LIVE (school bus monitoring cameras); SMO, Inc (oil); Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Synergics Wind Energy; T-Mobile USA, Inc.; TNEM, LLC (transportation systems); Towne Park (parking); Toyota Motor North America, Inc; Under Armor
Linda Coan, The Baltimore Sun
Copyright © 2019, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad


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Zombie Walk--Evansville
Blizzard has just released a video of the Diablo 3 Follower system from their new top down action RPG Diablo 3 news. Those who played Diablo 2 will be a bit familiar with the system, as the Followers from D3 are basically the new and improved version of a hireling from D2. According to an interview from NowGamer with Diablo 3 game director Jay Wilson, Blizzard wanted to build the Followers up to new heights.
There are three distinct types of Followers that you can level up and customize based on your play style: Kormac the Templar, Lyndon the Scoundrel, and Eirena the Enchantress. Each Follower can be equipped with rings, amulets, weapons and a unique item. For example, a Templar has a holy tome while an enchantress gets something else to use.
Read on to find out everything you want to know about the new Follower system in Diablo 3. Trust me when I say it's very cool.
Followers won't be able to equip nearly as many items as players can according to Wilson, and the most important thing will be their weapon. The weapons aren't exclusive to the Followers, so you'll have to decide if you want your character or your Follower to have weapons, but usually they won't be using the same type of weapon your character will be so it won't be too much of an issue. Wilson uses the example of a player choosing the Barbarian class who uses two-handed weapons like axes and Lyndon as his Follower who would use a crossbow and daggers, so the two wouldn't conflict too much.
Source: www.mygameguide.info,
Tags:Diablo 3 news, d3 news, diablo iii news
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SAGA To Release Brand New Studio Album "20/20" On August 28
Eagle Rock Entertainment/earMusic (edel) are proud to announce the August 28th US release of 20/20, the 20th studio album from Canadian progressive rock band SAGA. Finally reunited again with their original singer Michael Sadler, 20/20is the ultimate AOR/progressive rock album. [MSRP $13.98 for CD, $9.99 Digital]
Since SAGA's foundation in 1977, the band has toured the globe various times, won many awards and has sold over 8 million albums worldwide. Their musical style is defined by prominent guitar riffs, often in harmony with a synthesizer and complex keyboard arrangements.
The title 20/20 obviously refers to the album being the 20th of SAGA, but, in addition, it's a good luck wish to keyboardist/vocalist Jim Gilmour, who had to undergo an eye operation during SAGA's latest European tour…and now his eyesight is, indeed, 20/20.
The album features ten brand new songs, never missing the distinctive sound of SAGA's legendary hits. With striking keyboard sounds and Michael Sadler's stunning vocals, the album has all that it takes to become an instant fan favorite as well as a worldwide hit. The opener "Six Feet Under" features a dominant keyboard sound, roaring guitars and a chorus you can't get out of your head. Followed by the catchy, high-energy "Anywhere You Wanna Go," SAGA clarifies that their original trademark sound is still going strong. The emotional ballad "Lost For Words" once again demonstrates Sadler's incredible vocal range.
"One thing that we agreed on was that, if and when I ever were to return, it would have to feel like it was exactly the right thing to do and exactly the right time to do it!" reflects Michael Sadler on his return to the band.
And clearly, there has never been a better time than now!
Summer and fall dates in USA, Canada, Europe and South America will follow.
Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV, Audio and Digital Media in the world. Eagle works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition and 3D programs, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, U2, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney and Ozzy Osbourne. Eagle is a Grammy Award winning company and has received over 30 multi-platinum, over 50 platinum and over 90 gold discs, worldwide. Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices in London, New York, Toronto, Paris and Hamburg.
SAGA is:
Michael Sadler: Lead Vocals & Keyboards
Jim Gilmour: Main Keyboards & Vocals
Brian Doerner: Drums
Ian Crichton: Guitar
Jim Crichton: Bass & Keyboards
01. Six Feet Under
02. Anywhere You Wanna Go
03. Ellery
04. Spin It Again
05. Another Day Out Of Sight
06. One Of These Days
07. Ball And Chain
08. Lost For Words
09. Show And Tell
10. Till The Well Runs Dry
Leave A Comment ↓


text: Hi, I have installed postfwd following instructions at postfwd.org Postfwd is started and listening, but it seems that Postfix never calls it as I see nothing in logs. My setting in main.cf is: Code: smtpd_recipient_restrictions = permit_mynetworks, permit_sasl_authenticated, reject_unauth_destination, check_policy_service inet:127.0.0.1:10040 What am I missing? If at least I could see something in logs. Thanks.


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I'm a Proud Mama!
Most kids go through parts of their lives, usually the teen years, where they struggle to find who they are and what their ultimate paths will be. My son Tristan had a particularly difficult time, the details of which don't really matter, but know that it did take him about a decade to get his footing again. But, when he did, he's since soared!
Tristan was long-time friends with a very talented rodeo cowboy-singer named Ryan Bingham, who, at the time, was barely invited to play at honky-tonk dives. As their popularity grew, the band (Dead Horses) knew they needed to go on the road and make a name for themselves. Tristan drove a beat-up station wagon and then a van, all the guys crammed inside, going from town to town, asking to sing in the local clubs. It didn't take long before they were on David Letterman and Jay Leno and Ryan eventually signed a contract in Hollywood. Tristan stood by the side of the road and waved bye-bye to Ryan and the band as they made names for themselves. Last year, Ryan won an Academy Award for co-writing and singing "The Weary Kind" for the movie Crazy Heart (with Jeff Bridges).
Now in Nashville, Tristan found himself assisting Shana Feste, the writer-director of a movie that just came out Friday, Country Strong, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw. He worked his ass off on that movie! But, between you and I, it was delicious hearing the behind-the-scenes of working with Ms. Paltrow (as Tristan called her) and even spending an evening at "Tim and Faith's" ginormous spread outside of Nashville. I wouldn't betray his confidences, but know that Ms. Paltrow is one of the sweetest and kindest women one could ever want to know... and the McGraw-Hills are wonderful and generous with their gifts. One thing about Ms. Paltrow I can share is, apparently, her skin (at 38 years old) is porcelain-white and newborn bottom soft. Tris said she's never gone out in the sun -and her skin, wrinkle-less, demonstrates that fact.
After his work on Country Strong, Tristan hooked up with the new country band Stealing Angels and is their manager as they've been touring this last year. Stealing Angels consists of Caroline Cutbirth, Jennifer Wayne and Tayla Lynn... each of whom comes from legendary royalty. Jennifer is John Wayne's granddaughter; Tayla's grandmother is Loretta Lynn and Caroline hails from the Daniel Boone line. The girls are on break at the moment; they finished the music video for their next single and are readying themselves to go back on the road in a couple of months. Tristan will, once again, have a schedule with a hundred things to do each day. For now, he's working on different projects in Nashville. We got to see Stealing Angels perform a couple of months ago for the first time. They were great!!
Jennifer Wayne, Tayla Lynn, me, my baby Tristan and Caroline Cutbirth at the October 2010 concert at Viejas (in San Diego).
Looking this over, it sounds like a name-dropping piece, that Tristan has "made it" because he rubs up against big names in Hollywood and Nashville, but that isn't the purpose of this post at all. My pride wells up inside and spills over simply because my boy made it out of those dark days... alive and much, much more than well. He isn't rich. He isn't on the front of the tabloids. He still washes his own clothes. He answers his own calls. He tells his mama he loves her every single day.
I was telling someone about Tristan this weekend, saying how I wished I could tell all moms who're struggling with their sons that it will be okay. Of course, it isn't always okay, but most of the time, our sons do find their ways to adulthood. Mine, with the grace of God/dess, did.
So, imagine my immense pride as I walked into the theater on Friday morning, 10:30am... the first showing in San Diego of Country Strong, knowing my son had a hand in making that movie possible. The movie was unbelievably good. I really hope Ms. Paltrow gets herself some awards for the amazing work she did in her role. Her singing was great, but her character was heart-wrenching.
Tristan'd told me he was in the credits as assistant to the director, but I hadn't seen a picture of it yet. I was giddy excited looking forward to seeing my son's name on the "big screen." Sarah and her sister were getting popcorn and soda, so I went in to get us seats. Interestingly, the theater was already pretty full. We're early arrivers always, so I was surprised to see how many people were there.
As I walked in, I stood in the walkway part in the front of the banks of seats and (very) loudly said:
"I know this won't mean anything to you all, but my son worked on this movie and his name is in the credits at the end. He's never been in the credits before, so I'm really excited to see it. And, in case you couldn't tell, I'm very, very proud and just had to tell you that."
Someone yelled out, "What did he do?" and I told them... then, "What's his name?" and I nearly hollered, "Tristan Lora!" Hilariously, the crowd applauded.
So, we watch the movie, I loved it... and even while wiping tears from my eyes, I bored holes into the screen watching for Tristan's name in the credits. When it came up... I snapped a picture (blurry as it is) and then squealed with delight!
There... there... there on the screen, a huge movie screen, was the visual acknowledgement of my precious baby's long road to happiness. Success is ancillary; happiness is paramount.
I am so very proud of you son. I love you so very much tonight.
My baby boy and his proud mama.


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MAHLE finalizes the acquisition of Letrika
Stuttgart, September 2, 2014 – The transaction approvals have been issued from all relevant antitrust authorities. The acquisition of the majority stake in Letrika d.d., which is listed on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, is expected to be completed in calendar week 37. In the future, Letrika is to be integrated and consolidated into the MAHLE Group as the "Electric actuators and engine accessories" profit center.
Press release [PDF; 111 KB]
The acquisition of approximately 54 percent of the shares in the Letrika Group is part of a privatization initiative started in Slovenia in May 2013. MAHLE signed the share purchase agreement on June 20, 2014. Having already acquired an additional 27 percent of the shares through the stock exchange, MAHLE will hold around 80 percent of the shares in Letrika after closing.
The successful closing gives the green light for an integration project that will spur on the incorporation of the functional divisions of development, sales, controlling & finance, as well as all relevant service-related functional divisions within the MAHLE Group structures.
In 2013, Letrika generated sales of EUR 242.5 million with its 2,416 employees at seven production and development locations in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, China, and Brazil. The company develops and produces innovative electric motors, generators, as well as electric and mechatronic drive systems.
The global production structure perfectly complements MAHLE's mechatronics activities. With its attractive portfolio, Letrika largely serves the same customers and market segments as MAHLE, but also offers interesting new approaches for industrial applications, such as electric drive systems for nonautomotive sectors. Together with MAHLE, the company's position in the different segments can now be expanded even further. MAHLE will generate sales of around EUR 500 million in the fields of electrics and mechatronics in the medium term, and achieve many times this figure in the long term.
MAHLE has a local presence in all major world markets. In 2014, some 65,000 employees at 140 production locations are expected to generate sales of around EUR 10 billion. At ten major research and development centers in Germany, Great Britain, the USA, Brazil, Japan, China, and India, more than 4,500 development engineers and technicians are working on forward-looking concepts, products, and systems.
Further queries:
MAHLE GmbH
Andrea Arnold
Corporate Communications/Public Relations
Pragstrasse 26–46
70376 Stuttgart/Germany
Phone: +49 711 501-13124
Fax: +49 711 501-13700


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Andrew R. necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 105 diseños de 20 diseñadores freelance.
Spinal Wellness Research Center
Our business claim: Guaranteed, Non-surgical, Non-narcotic, Anywhere, Anytime, Any media, Tailored for You, Most Comprehensive, One-of-a-Kind, Do-it-Yourself Back Pain Relief System.
Back pain sufferers searching for solutions on the internet
>Clean and simple design. Contemporary art styles where less is more
>The business name "Spinal Wellness Research Center" should appear on the logo (Requestors last names start with S and R-would like to see the S and R somehow highlighted)
>Graphic of a spine, back or other related medical material (we are promoting strong and healthy back so please no painful looking pictures)
>Color scheme and layout is completely up to the designer, although the design should convey health and cleanliness.
>Logo design should scale well for use in print or on the web at various sizes.
>Deliverable should be a vector based Illustrator file.
Don't Wants:
> Something everyone else has done, please be original
>No generic clip art
We need something that people will identify with us right away by our logo. Something that shows a "better future for a patient. Enlightment, less pain, more function, movement, mobility, healthy living, fluid range of motion, flow of the muscular system. Be creative, different and still professional. Think new innovative, clean, and simple to always be recognized. I look forward to seeing what your minds can come up with! Thank you! Andrew.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Soapy And Stupid Is No Way To Go Through Life Sonny: Gump File[AUDIO]
If you get yourself in a tight spot, and there is money on the line, don't expect your buddies to help you out. Greg has a story today that proves my point. Gump file, Monday thru Friday at 6:00 am, on 102.7 KORD. Give this a listen, and if it moves ya, leave us a comment. Enjoy


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Come join the team at Armor Shield Exteriors - apply today!
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Armor Shield Exteriors completed a roof replacement job on this home in Hamden, CT. Check out the photos from the job!
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Contractor ID: HIC0639402


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Sentara Life Care breaks ground on new nursing center
Sentara Life Care has broken ground on a nursing and rehabilitation center replacement facility on its Chesapeake, Va. campus with an innovative household' design and approach to care. The 65,000 square foot facility, designed by SFCS Architects and built by Vannoy Construction, will be among just two percent of current American nursing centers offering this modern design and philosophy.
"We want to create a homelike atmosphere that offers residents greater privacy, independence and self-direction than ever before," said Bruce Robertson, president of Sentara Life Care. "We are replacing a 46-year-old facility on our Chesapeake campus and we're seizing this opportunity create a new care model."
The design of the 120-bed center calls for 'households' of 20 residents each, with a kitchen serving each one, an outdoor garden setting and common areas for visiting and activities. There will also be a 40-bed short stay pavilion for post-acute rehabilitation patients featuring a bistro where patients and families can share meals. Long-term care residents will enjoy private bedrooms and customized meals and snacks around the clock just like home, versus the traditional three structured meals each day.
"I might like a scrambled egg or some homemade banana pudding while I watch the late news and at our new facility, I'll be able to order that," said Irvin Land, administrator of the Chesapeake campus. "We're also going to accommodate residents' sleep cycles and personal habits in executing care plans," Land continued. "We want to create an environment that promotes relationship building among residents and staff and encourages residents to enjoy their own daily pleasures."
Other programs and services in the new facility will include:
- A 'transitional suite' where rehab patients preparing for discharge can practice activities of daily living
- A household for residents with dementia, with specialized safety features and appropriate programs
- A clinic with telemedicine capabilities where physicians will be able to see patients on site
"It's about serving residents' needs in the way that's best for them, not us," Land continued. "We think this philosophy and approach will prove to be a good business model as well as a superior model of care, which is right in line with the Sentara commitment to always treat you with dignity and respect."


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California Department of Transportation
Today's Date: October 19, 2012
District: 05 Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact: Jim Shivers or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3237 or (805) 549-3189
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY - Caltrans held a groundbreaking ceremony today for the U.S. Highway 101/Union Valley Parkway Interchange project located south of Santa Maria. "This project will ease congestion and improve mobility for the thousands of people who live and work in northern Santa Barbara County," said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.
The $19.7 million interchange project will include a new overcrossing on Union Valley Parkway at Hwy. 101. This project will also include on/off ramps in each direction and landscaping.
Project funding includes $4.8 million in Proposition 1B funding, the 2006 voter-approved $19.9 billion transportation bond. To date, nearly $14.5 billion in Proposition 1B funds have been distributed statewide.Granite Construction of Santa Barbara is the contractor for this project.
Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway construction zones.
For traffic updates on other state highway projects in Santa Barbara County, motorists can call Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-568-0858 or visit the District 5 website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/road_information.htm
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A Mango-Shaped Space
Author: Wendy Mass
Mia Winchell appears to be a typical kid, but she's keeping a big secret—sounds, numbers, and words have color for her. No one knows, and Mia wants to keep it that way. But when trouble at school finally forces Mia to reveal her secret, she must learn to accept herself and embrace her ability, called synesthesia, a mingling of the senses.
It was funny, when I was talking to my friend Naomi about the book I was currently reading (this one), she made the comment back that I find the weirdest/interesting books to read and how did I do it (of course, there was various other friendly banter in the convo, but that was the gist of it). And I came to realize that is true – so many of my book recommendations come from lists off goodreads and they are ones I never would have picked up before. Case in point, I found A Mango-Shaped Space on a thread called, the best books you never would have read except for this challenge – talking about the Seasonal Reading Challenge, I have done for nearly two years now (and it was the first time I have looked at that thread).
The thing I loved the most about this book was the pure simplicity of it – while so many YA books now a days are so complicated with family issues; or world building – Mia's life was about as close to perfect as you can get, except for the fact that she sees colors in everything around her – not in the way that most of us see colors (trees are green etc), but rather that words have colors – her name and those around her; numbers; dates in history. I vaguely remember learning about synethesia when i was taking psychology in college, but haven't read/heard much about it since then – so I was intrigued. You could tell that the author had really done her research and managed to balance telling about the disease through the characterizations; but also just letting the story play out.
I have to admit that I did see the ending coming relatively early on, but then, since it was a YA book that doesn't surprise me – they normally are fairly telling if you can pick up on the clues. I would probably recommend that parents preview the end before letting their kids read because of one thing that happens (death is a theme through-out and something that parents should be aware of because all kids react differently). I'll definately be looking for more books by the author in the future. 4 stars overall.


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Submerging the truth about Swift Boat Vets on Hannity & Colmes , Scarborough Country
Research ››› ››› NICOLE CASTA & KATIE BARGE
FOX News Channel's Hannity & Colmes and MSNBC's Scarborough Country both gave free airtime on August 4 to a new, misleading ad sponsored by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a recently formed group dedicated to attacking Senator John Kerry's record during and after his service in Vietnam. Both programs devoted segments to the ad, airing it the day before its scheduled release, but left out key facts that discredit Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
In an August 5 interview with the Associated Press, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), "a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called the ad criticizing John Kerry's military service 'dishonest and dishonorable' and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well."
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth did not serve alongside Kerry
In the new ad, members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth claim that they "served with John Kerry." Hannity & Colmes co-host Sean Hannity echoed the false claim, saying that the veterans in the ad are "the people that know him best," and referred to them as "some of his fellow crewmates." Even Pat Halpin, who was filling in for co-host Alan Colmes, called them "some of John Kerry's crewmates." Scarborough echoed Swift Boat Veterans' misleading claim that they "served with John Kerry in Vietnam."
While the veterans attacking Kerry in the ad are veterans of the Vietnam War and may have served at the same time as Kerry, as The New York Times reported on August 5, the Kerry campaign noted that "none of the men had actually served on the Swift boats that Mr. Kerry commanded." Adm. Roy F. Hoffman, one of the veterans in the ad, has even "acknowledged he had no first-hand knowledge to discredit Kerry's claims to valor," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on May 6, "and said that although Kerry was under his command, he really didn't know Kerry much personally."
In contrast, many of the veterans who have appeared on the campaign trail with Kerry did serve alongside him. The Wall Street Journal's Albert R. Hunt noted in his August 5 "Campaign Journal" column, titled "Sham Charges Against a War Hero" (subscription required): "Indeed, 10 of the 11 men who served on his two swift boats all have sworn by John Kerry; nine living members were in Boston [for the Democratic National Convention]."
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's Republican ties
As Media Matters for America previously noted, on May 4, Salon.com's Joe Conason detailed Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's ties to the Republican Party. In addition to pointing out that the group's founder, John O'Neill, has long-standing ties to the GOP that can be traced back to the Nixon administration, Conason also reported that among the people behind Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is "veteran corporate media consultant and Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth, who is listed as the group's media contact."
As MMFA has documented, both Hannity & Colmes co-host Alan Colmes (on May 28) and FOX chief political correspondent Carl Cameron (on May 4) reported the group's Republican ties on FOX News Channel; on May 4, Scarborough mentioned criticism of O'Neill's "dirty tricks" for the Nixon administration. While Scarborough did mention on August 4 that the group was part of the "Republican counteroffensive" "prepar[ing] to release blistering attacks in John Kerry's Vietnam record," Hannity completely ignored the group's ties to the GOP.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth doctor did not sign Kerry's medical record
Neither Hannity nor Scarborough bothered to note that Dr. Louis Letson, who is featured in the ad claiming to have treated Kerry for the wound that earned him his first Purple Heart and claiming that it was undeserved, was not the medical official who signed Kerry's medical records for the wound. The Kerry campaign noted this fact in a report in The New York Times and a report in the Los Angeles Times that surfaced when Letson first unleashed this attack in May.
In criticizing the ad, McCain told the Associated Press, "'It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me'... referring to his [McCain's] bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush," according to the AP. As Conason reported on May 4, "The 'swift boat' veterans attacking John Kerry's war record are led by veteran right-wing operatives using the same vicious techniques they used against John McCain four years ago." Conason explained that Spaeth (the group's media contact) participated during the 2000 Republican primary contest in TV ads that "falsely attack[ed]" McCain's environmental record in California, New York, and Ohio.
McCain might have been referring as well to attacks on his military record by Ted Sampley and Thomas Burch, both Vietnam veterans, during the 2000 primary season. As Media Matters for America previously reported, Sampley hounded McCain as a "Manchurian Candidate" -- suggesting that the decorated veteran and former prisoner of war was a brainwashed communist agent -- and was convicted for misdemeanor assault related to an attack on one of McCain's legislative aides. Sampley is the leader of a group called Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry. During the 2000 Republican primary in South Carolina, Burch, according to a February 22 report in the Chicago Tribune, "stood with George W. Bush at his side and accused Sen. John McCain of Arizona of opposing health care for Persian Gulf war veterans and blocking efforts to locate POW-MIAs, saying the former prisoner of war "came home from Vietnam and forgot us."
- Stories/Interests
- Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, 2004 Elections
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text:
Dreams of teeth falling out
A place to share and analyze your dreams (lucid or otherwise) to better understand your dreams' subconscious symbolism.
Dreams of teeth falling out
I had this vivid dream where all my teeth went rotten and fell out. I heard this is a common dream to have but don't really understand what it means. Just kinda curious since my teeth are fine in real life! Why on earth would I dream about them being rotten?
- Dreamsphere
- Posts: 36
- Joined: 15 May 2011 17:18
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
Id say that subconsiously, you are afraid that your oral health will deteriorate, and that is why you do take good care of them?
I am an Engineering student, and have yet to experience a lucid dream. Currently on break, I am hoping to try and master the technique as it will give me some peace during the busy school year. Any advice or links are appreciated. Feel free to pm me.
- Seto_Blade
- Posts: 28
- Joined: 19 May 2011 19:30
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
I had a similar dream several months back. Sure scared the crap out of me. That point on I made it a defining goal to brush my teeth 2-3 times everyday. Eventually it wore off on me though, and now i'm back to the usual one brush a day xD
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
So you say its literal oh ok!!! I thought it must represent something from my unconscious. I have no idea what though. I do care about my teeth so it does make sense, maybe I am just looking for the X Files answer when the obvious answer is right there!
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
I get that dream a few times a year but have had a car crash when I was young and crashed my MTB and road bikes so know the feeling of chewing on teeth so take no meaning of it. I am weary of finding meaning in dreams that are vivid or lucid as I feel that a lot of them are just entertainment and should be treated at that level. No differant than a loose thought in normal life that you are playing with in a dream state.
Who are you I asked, the reply "dont be silly, we are your daughers" many years before they were born
- Seto_Blade
- Posts: 28
- Joined: 19 May 2011 19:30
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
Peter wrote:I am weary of finding meaning in dreams that are vivid or lucid as I feel that a lot of them are just entertainment and should be treated at that level. No differant than a loose thought in normal life that you are playing with in a dream state.
I feel the same way about a lot of my dreams. As if some of them are just fodder. I'm sure they all have specific reasons and symbols, but unless you've gone through something emotionally traumatizing recently or have had a huge change of heart on something the dream probably won't be too substantial.
It's partly why I don't always record my dreams. I like to dwell on the dream with thought for a while, but eventually I just let it go. Unless it's something completely awesome. Those definitely stay with you.
- Bleekman117
- Posts: 114
- Joined: 04 Jul 2011 13:54
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
Having dreams about your teeth falling out can mean a few things. Some people say that your teeth falling out can relate to anxiety about the way your look. Teeth are generally one of the first things people look at when they meet you so it could also symbolize a fear of being rejected. Similarly it could symbolize your fear of embarrassing yourself or making a fool of yourself in different situations. Here's a link if you want to read more into this dream symbol.
The mind is a beautiful thing
- worldenterer
- Posts: 99
- Joined: 20 Jul 2011 15:55
- Location: America
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
Lol this thread reminds me of a dream i had where all my teeth turned into gummy bears and I ate them!
It needs to be about 20% cooler.
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
I have that dream myself on occassion, but thankfully not often. I really hate that dream. I do, however, have what could be a very similar dream. In my dream, which I have so often, is that I have something stuck in my mouth, it's like chewing gum, but no matter how hard I try, I can't get it out. I thought that this dream might mean something I want to say, but don't, but I can't think of what that could be. I actually don't have any deep dark terrible secrets. I keep thinking that if I can only figure out what that dreams MEANS, I will finally stop having it. I mean, I hate that dream so much I would pay MONEY to never have it again.
Re: Dreams of teeth falling out
I've had this type of dream a lot. The teeth just come out one after another. It's usually painless. My biggest feeling in the dream was that this was permanent damage and deterioration in my body. Maybe you're afraid of getting old, and the permanent negative changes that come from that?
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The Journalist Formerly Known As Del Conte
Maybe I am more famous than I thought because I keep getting this response when I tell people that I am changing my last name:
"Oh but you're keeping Del Conte on air, right?"
Who am I, Madonna? Do I need a stage name and a real name? I'm not an entertainer, I'm just a reporter. If people want to follow my career, they will hopefully remember my name, right?
I never thought I would change my name but I surprised myself when I married a wonderful man four weeks ago and actually wanted to take his name. We became a family this summer when our little boy was born. He was an unexpected surprise and I did not want to get married just because I was pregnant. There are many ways to raise a child in these modern times and I felt strongly that a forced, unhappy marriage would not be the best environment for my baby. I wanted us to wait and decide to get married if and when the time was right because we loved each other. Not because we are forever bound to one another's lives due to the child. In the end, we married because we wanted to solidify to one another that we are a committed team and a family.
I have accomplished a lot under the surname Del Conte so I was hesitant to change my name. I felt like it was my brand. My identity. I was afraid that I would have to start all over again with a new name and I'm sure there will be some confusion.
I considered keeping Del Conte for professional use and Morris for personal use but that started to get confusing. Will my paychecks go to Morris but my email address will be Del Conte? Will my driver's license say Del Conte-Morris? What about registering for conferences? Will my badge say Morris but publicly I am Del Conte? It all was a little too much to manage and in the end, I decided that I am just not important enough for two names. And if I kept my name professionally, who would I be keeping it for? TV producers? Viewers? Twitter followers? I don't think those are the right reasons.
So I am now legally and professionally Natali Morris. It isn't as "romance language" as my maiden name but it is romantic in a different way. It says that I am part of the family called Morris, which includes my husband and my baby boy. It is meaningful to me and that is saying something because I usually hate ceremony, ritual, tradition, pomp, and circumstance of any kind. Weddings embarrass me. I revolt against diamonds. And I really don't want to lie to my child about Santa Clause's nonexistence. Yet I wanted to have the same name as my husband and son.
I feel myself justifying the name change a little when people show surprise that I would leave behind a beautiful name like Del Conte. Why am I explaining myself? Why can't I just say, "It's Morris now" - end of story? Has women's liberation made us ashamed of old world tradition?
I am not advocating that married women change their name. To each her own. I think it is a beautiful thing to take on your husband's name and I think it is a beautiful thing to keep the name of the family you were born into. I am only sharing my choice so that I can stand up for it once and for all. It's Morris now. I am proud of that.


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Hello, I am absolutely new to Emacs and lisp, but I am considering a possibility to star using it for latex code editing. What I have learned about Emacs (and it fascinated me) is that it has almost unlimited possibilities to modify it according to your needs. Before jumping into learning progress i need to clarify few things. One of the most important features that i need for my editor is possibility to create advanced highlighting schemes. Part of my work is rewriting latex code to make it suitable for certain type of conversion to HTML. Visual emphasizing of some parts in the code makes my work much easier. Is it possible in Emacs, to highlight certain commands only if they are in some kind of environment? Can I define highlighting priorities in case they overlap. Can I tell Emacs to highlight certain phrases only if they follow after some set (containing symbols or words)?
Thank You for your replies, and sorry for my bad English.


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28 percent of Minn. high school grads took remedial courses as college freshman
A great feature of this report is that it allows readers to look not only at statewide data, but also at information about the individual public high schools in their own and neighboring communities. You can find this at http://bit.ly/TTd4c4. The state summary is at http://bit.ly/1lQFCZU.
Taking remedial, instead of college-level courses, costs students, families and taxpayers millions of dollars that could be better spent on courses that earn credit toward college degrees.
Getting Prepared 2014 has fascinating data for people who are interested in how well students are prepared for some form of higher education, whether two- or four-year. The report includes these findings:
–The percentage of students taking remedial courses at two-year colleges is increasing: from 49 percent in 2006 to 55 percent in 2011.
–State four-year universities are showing a decrease in students taking remedial courses: 26 percent in 2006 to 20 percent in 2011.
–Only 2 percent of University of Minnesota freshman took a remedial course in 2011, compared to 7 percent in 2006.
–While there is a difference in remedial course taking between students of different races, this is an issue affecting every Minnesota ethnic group: 24 percent of white, 38 percent of American Indian, 39 percent of Asian-American, 45 percent of Hispanic or Latino-American and 55 percent of African-American high school graduates entering colleges took remedial courses.
–It's also true for students of various economic groups: 47 percent of graduates eligible for free lunch, 37 percent of graduates eligible for reduce priced lunch, and 24 percent of those eligible for regular lunch took remedial courses.
So this is not just a problem with low income or students of color. Taking remedial courses, which cost money but don't count toward a college degree, is an issue in every Minnesota community.
Larry Pogemiller, commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, told me via email that the report found "students in developmental education are continuing their education at comparable rates to other students." We will need to watch this trend because, nationally, students who take these courses are much less likely to graduate than students who don't take them.
The Minnesota Legislature has required this report be produced annually for more than a decade, but the last report actually came out in 2011. The new report is different in several key ways from previous reports.
Because it uses different, broader sources of information, we can't precisely compare data in this report with previous ones. The report issued in 2011 estimated that about 40 percent of Minnesota public high school graduates who entered a Minnesota public college or university took a remedial course. However, that report included data only from Minnesota public colleges and universities. The new, more comprehensive report includes records from private and outside-of-Minnesota colleges and universities as well as Minnesota public colleges and universities. Also, the new report includes only fall, remedial course taking while earlier reports included remedial courses taken in fall and spring.
Pogemiller also told me via email: "Minnesota's 77 percent (higher education) enrollment rate compares very favorably to the national estimate of 68 percent, indicating our state is doing a good job of moving students from secondary into postsecondary education. Obviously, the fact that one in four high school graduates require at least one developmental class is a concern."
Agreed. It's also important to say "thanks" to the educators and families who help many students and "well done" to the students who are academically prepared.
Joe Nathan, formerly a Minnesota public school teacher, administrator and PTA president, directs the Center for School Change. Reactions are welcome, please comment below.


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Power-Con*, the first annual MOTU and POP fan convention in the US, is coming!
Tentatively scheduled for fall of this year, Power-Con is working with He-Man.org to help provide the best fan experience possible.
Power-Con wants to know what you'd like to see at a MOTU and POP fan convention!
Please post your feedback in this thread.
We'll be posting more information as it develops!
*This convention is not sponsored by, or affiliated with Mattel, Inc. or Classic Media, Inc.
As far as location, I can tell you now it will most likely be NY or CA. Those states have the highest concentration of fans who visit this site, as well as the highest concentration of talent involved in MOTU and POP both past and present, so please don't suggest locations. Any posts doing so will be edited or deleted.
I'll let you know when I hear more and can post the info.
As far as exclusives, I wouldn't count on any toy exclusives.
Though nothing is being ruled out as this stage.
Just know that this is a fan convention, that will no doubt start out modest in size, with a focus on fans, special guests and vendors,
just like with other fan conventions in the past (Bot-Con, My Little Pony Fair, Jem Con, etc)
Please suggest things you'd like to see at the con itself. That's what the Power-Con team would love to hear about. Thanks!
"Like" our official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ThePowerCon
UPDATE 2 (May 11, 2011):
Off the main page
"Get ready He-Fans and She-Ravers!
Power-Con will take place Saturday, September 24th and Sunday, September 25th at the Four Points at the Los Angeles Intl Airport! You can fly directly into LAX, jump on the free hotel shuttle and be there in no time!
Show hours are from 10am to 6pm on Saturday followed by a limited attendance dinner (details coming soon) and then an after-hours mixer open to everyone
and from 10am to 5pm on Sunday.
The official Power-Con fan convention website will be launching VERY soon!
It will have advanced and onsite order info for attendees and exhibitors,
our first guest announcements,
discounted hotel reservation info (so don't call in your reservations yet!),
and many more details.
So please spread the word to fans you know!
We know so many fans are going to love Power-Con. It's going to be packed with programming and have an amazing guest list.
Stay tuned for more info and make sure you are there. You won't want to miss out!"
UPDATE 3 (May 18, 2011):
Off the main page
"Power-Con, the first annual MOTU and POP fan convention, has launched their website.
The website has announced the first round of guests to appear at Power-Con in addition to ticket, exhibitor, and hotel information.
Please continue to check the site actively as this is just the beginning! More guest and other announcements are right around the corner.
Make sure to follow Power-Con on both Facebook and Twitter to receive Power-Con news as quickly as possible."
The Voices of She-Ra and Skeletor Coming to Power-Con!
Melendy Britt, the voice of She-Ra: Princess of Power, and Alan Oppenheimer, the voice of Skeletor, will be appearing at the convention only on Sunday, September 25.
Ms. Britt and Mr. Oppenheimer will be participating in two events on Sunday: a General Admission Panel and a Ticketed Autograph Signing Session.
For more information:
Programming Schedule (Panels, Signings, After Hours Events)
Guest List


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OAKLAND — Dean Karnazes has run the Badwater Ultramarathon, 135 miles through Death Valley in searing midsummer heat. He has raced 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. He made it through a 350-mile nonstop run.
Next Sundaywhen Karnazes launches on Oakland's 26 mile, 385 yard marathon, he will be running streets that would be unfamiliar to him — and thousands of other competitors — were it not for the Oakland Running Festival.
His favorite landmark on the 26.2-mile course, which he ran in 2013, is the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension on Lincoln Avenue.
"What can I say, I'm 100 percent Greek and … the original marathoner was also Greek," he said.
"Makes me proud," said Karnazes, a Marin resident who works in Oakland.
The most unusual spot in Oakland's modern-day race, he said, had to be the 12-foot flaming "Ring of Fire" arch set up by the Crucible industrial arts center on Seventh Street, around mile 19.
"That was a first in my marathoning history," he said.
Corrigan Sports Enterprises, which organizes the festival, designed a map for each of the races: the 5K, the half marathon, the relay, Kids' Fun Run and the full marathon.
Any one of the routes may take thousands of runners who have signed up from 19th and Harrison through downtown, Broadway Auto Row, Piedmont Avenue, Temescal, Rockridge, Montclair and Lake Merritt. The course also winds through Fernwood, Oakmore, the Dimond District, the Fruitvale, the San Antonio District, Eastlake, West Oakland and Northgate.
The running festival's event director, Gene Brtalik, started designing the routes more than five years ago.
"A few people would suggest ideas and I would go out and drive to the spot to see if it was too steep or too difficult to get to without creating too many traffic headaches," he said.
Then he would run the first 20 miles. His yardstick: "If I was able to run the hard part and not feel too bad it would be OK for the other runners," he said.
Next Sunday, a stream of roadside supporters will be lined up along the way offering water, food and overall auditory encouragement through whoops, whistles and cow bells.
The Shadows of the Knight motorcycle club, the Raider Nation and a Ham radio group will be out, along with 11 DJs; nine bands; two dance troupes; and one martial art-music group, according to Tod Vedock, the man in charge of organizing the roadside support. Nine official cheer stations will be set up.
"As long as it does not rain, it should all work," Vedock said.
Marathoners will pass the fire dragon at the behemoth American Steel studios on Mandela Parkway near 20th Street, as well as Chester, the fire-breathing horse art car with a built-in sound system. Made from an Econoline Ford and recycled tires, Chester's eyes light up red and fire shoots out of his nostrils.
American Steel artists pull their work out for the running festival and thousands of people "run past looking thrilled and slightly baffled," the studio's outreach coordinator Anne Olivia Eldred said. It's also an opportunity for people to visit an area where families and children and grandparents live, she said. "This is our neighborhood."
Last year, neighbors in the Hoover District, at 29th and West streets, pulled out lawn chairs, water and posters to bolster runners' energy on the last leg of the course. The posters were printed with "silly things like '4 miles 'til beer' to get them to laugh and feel encouraged," said Lena Toney, one of the roadside supporters. Their impromptu block party started with a dozen people and grew to about 25 by the time family and friends of runners arrived. A few of the runners stayed to hang out, she said.
The neighbors will be out again this year with a DJ.
Karnazes said when he ran the marathon in 2013, a little girl saw him coming. She had just waked and her mom had brought her out from the house to cheer the passing runners.
"I held out my hand to give her a high-five and I think at first I scared her," he said.
But just as he passed, she lifted her small hand.
"I'll never forget that moment," he said. "Who knows, maybe one day she'll go on to become a famous Olympic track star."
Oakland running festival
What: Fifth annual Oakland Running Festival
When: March 23, 7:15 a.m. opening remarks; 7:30 a.m. marathon and Hawaiian Airlines team relay races; 7:45 a.m. 5K; 9:15 a.m. half-marathon; 9:20 a.m. Lucky Kids Fun Run; 11:15 p.m. awards ceremony
Where: Starts and ends at Snow Park, 19th and Harrison streets
Info: To sign up for events and to view the courses, go to www.oaklandmarathon.com.
RACECOURSE historical sites
On March 23, thousands of runners will fill the streets for the Oakland Running Festival. Many of them will be new to the city or running in neighborhoods they have not visited for years. Here is a guide to a few of the highlights.
Snow Park, intersection of 20th Street, Lakeside Drive and Harrison Street: Big Game Hunter Henry Snow gave this patch of green on the shore of Lake Merritt its name, but before he installed a menagerie of elephants, bears, leopards, lions, snakes and birds, the land was a cemetery. The interred made room for canning magnate Francis Cutting's 30-room mansion — styled as a rustic hunting lodge — that his estate sold to the city of Oakland after his death. The city made the mansion available to Snow for his showroom of taxidermy trophies that served generations as a natural history museum. The Snows also wanted to build a 40-foot-deep cave on the shore of Lake Merritt to hold living lions, rhinos and hippos. Those animals wouldn't have stood a chance against open space advocates who fought off developers' plans to build a high-rise hotel after the mansion was torn down in the 1960s.
Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, One Frank Ogawa Plaza: The Oakland Running Festival originally started here but was moved to Snow Park. Jack London, novelist and "boy socialist of Oakland," once held forth in this public square in the shadow of Oakland City Hall, where San Pablo Avenue converges with Broadway and 14th Street. A coast live oak stands at the center of the plaza as a symbol of Oakland, founded in 1852. The plaza has been redesigned over the years and in 1998 was renamed for Frank H. Ogawa, who was imprisoned during World War II with his Japanese-born parents in an internment camp in Utah. Ogawa became the first Japanese-American to serve on the Oakland City Council.
Fox Theater, 1800 Telegraph Ave.: The Fox and the Paramount theaters are two of the Bay Area's grandest movie palaces. The Fox has the more colorful history because of its association with architect Maurey Diggs, who was a very married man in the early 1900s when he invited his young mistress to Nevada for a romantic rendezvous, at that time a criminal offense known as white slavery. Diggs also designed, ironically, San Quentin Prison and the Bechtel Building, which runners passing Lake Merritt can see at 244 Lakeside Drive. The land on which the building sits once belonged to spice magnate Adolph Schilling. The Bechtel was billed in a brochure as the doorway to comfort, peace and luxury.
Peralta Hacienda Historic Park, 2465 34th Ave.: The Victorian frame house, built in 1870, stands on land settled by the Luis Maria Peralta family more than two centuries ago when California belonged to Spain, and later Mexico. Peralta was one of the Alta California families given massive land grants for their military service by the Spanish crown, which needed settlers in order to protect its claim on the rich but sparsely settled territory. The Peralta land, called the Peraltas Rancho San Antonio, measured 44,800 acres and stretched from present-day Albany to the northern part of San Leandro and now includes seven East Bay cities.
Oakland California Temple, 4770 Lincoln Ave.: At the crest of the hill, the five-spired cement and white granite landmark overlooks a spectacular view of the East Bay. It was the second temple built in California by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and can be seen illuminated at night for miles around.
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension, 4700 Lincoln Ave.: Just down the road from the Mormon Temple, the impressive Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension is a symbol of the Greek community in Oakland that dates back to the 1890s or earlier. Greeks, Syrians and Lebanese had to either cross the bay or celebrate the Divine Liturgy in a rented hall in Oakland with a priest from San Francisco before they built their first church. The parish built the cathedral on Lincoln Avenue in 1960.
Montclair Village: Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and novelist Joyce Maynard ("To Die For," among others) have lived here in this valley formed by the Hayward Fault. The hamlet was once part of the vast Peralta lands, known as Rancho San Antonio. Patriarch Luis Maria Peralta split the 44,800 acres up, giving his son, Antonio Maria Peralta, this section.
Dimond District: In the end, the 1870 house and the last 18 acres of Antonio's share of the land grant was sold by his daughter Inez Galindo in 1897 to developer Henry Z. Jones. The house was moved across the street and a housing development called the Galindo tract resulted. The last remnants of the 1821 adobe were also removed from the site at this time and some of the bricks were used to build the Dimond Lodge in Dimond Park, Oakland. Fifty years after the American annexation, the last of the headquarters of Rancho San Antonio was gone.


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Tony Romo is certain he'll come back from back surgery without complications.
And he's using historical precedent to support that confidence.
Romo compared his back procedure to ones had by other top quarterbacks on the other side of 30.
"I'll be able to play for a while," Romo said during an NFL Network interview, via the Dallas Morning News. "There are way too many cases where you see people come back; Troy Aikman had it – they won a Super Bowl the same season. Joe Montana comes back and wins two Super Bowls. They had the same surgery."
Of course, there's a slight possibility that they were better quarterbacks than Romo going into the operating room, and that might be the reason for the success rather than the surgery itself.
But as it pertains to the narrow question of coming back from a herniated disc, he has a point.
He's been limited during OTAs, and is expected to ready for training camp. At which point he'll begin leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl.


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From this Yahoo! India news release:
Mumbai, Feb 2 (IANS) Tahir Hussain, filmmaker and Aamir Khan's father, died of a massive heart attack here Tuesday morning, sources close to the family said.
He is survived by his wife and two sons, Aamir and Faisal, and two daughters, Farhat and Nikhat.
Hussain is known for producing hits like 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' (1993) that starred son Aamir, 'Dulha Bikta Hai' (1982), 'Zakhmee' (1975), 'Anamika' (1973) and 'Caravan' (1971).
In 1990, he made his directorial debut with 'Tum Mere Ho' with Aamir and Juhi Chawla.
Family sources said Hussain died at Aamir's residence in Bandra. Aamir and his wife Kiran are in the US for the Sundance Festival and are taking the first flight home. Hussain's grandson, Imran Khan, who made his debut with 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na', is in New Zealand and will also be coming back.
Picture source: Times of India.


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AXED Bachelorette Set To RETURN To The Show!
She is coming back!
Megan Marx is set to return to the Bachelor after leaving the show during a rose ceremony.
According to NW Magazine, the rope technician was so distraught when Marx left; he worked hard to convince her to return to the show.
The 31-year-old bachelor called the blonde beauty after she left the show and asked her to reconsider her decision and it's now understood she agreed.
'Megan was overwhelmed after that cocktail party - Keira [Maguire] and Kiki [Morris] were fighting, intruders had come in, and she couldn't take it anymore,' and insider told the publication.
'The decision she made that day had nothing to do with Richie, and she realised that after she had some time away,' the source added.
At first, it appeared Marx didn't regret her decision as she told PopSugar Australia that ''he respected my decision, and he didn't beg me to stay or anything...that would've been awkward,' she said.
She told the publication she didn't think Richie would be too upset because he has '10 other girlfriends to comfort him'.
When Megan left the show, Richie was visibly shocked and could be seen saying 'S***' but apparently it isn't the last we have seen of her!


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colinwalsh necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 157 diseños de 29 diseñadores freelance.
The directors have been in wholesale for over 15 years and this is their foray into online retail sales of designer brand sunglasses and eye frames in Australia. We wish to create a stylish image for this business and create the best place to shop online for top designer sunglasses and frames. Our goal is to sell thousands sunglasses and optical frames per month through this website, so the logo has to make an effective statement, stand out and look professional.
Australia and possibly Global, from the young hip to the mature fashion conscious, the demographic is the fashion discerning online shoppers who want to look great and will only wear the best in designer eye wear. The target market audience are majority women, but not exclusively female, so this logo needs to be fashionably bold, reassuring and unisex.
Take a look at the website - http://www.sunglassesshop.com.au it is under construction, but will show the designer range and the websites back ground colors which are predominately purples, grays, violets and mauve. This should be a guide with picking the right logo colour's that should either be in a complimenting contrast or should compliment the deep purple shades.
As an example see: http://www.opticalframes.com.au which has a very cool professional looking logo; this was designed by one of 99Designes designers and a regular winner. We were impressed, take a look.
All the sunglasses and eye frames we are stocking, are made in Italy, by the two biggest optical companies in the world, who make most of the top designer brands.
This means the logo for this Sunglasses Shop website; will need to be fashionably stylish and corporate to give the consumer confidence to buy designer products from the website. The logo will be used in print advertising.
• No Cartoons - must not be cheap or childish
• The typeface should be clear, simple and bold.
• Do not use any stock images or cheap clipart in the logo
• The website back ground colour's are shades of Purple, violet, gray and mauve
• The logo color should either be in a complimenting contrast or should compliment, check the color spectrum
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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A quartet of talented actors and musicians are bound to make sweet music when put in a room together — but what if the song choice and instrument selection was left entirely up to chance? Jimmy Fallon, Michael Buble, Dave Matthews and Kiera Knightly attempted to play "Name That Tune" on instruments they'd never played before, let alone even heard of. The results, understandably, were grating on the ears — and inspired a few uncomfortable looks from Fallon's house band, The Roots.
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