text:
Sprite OptimizationJanuary 27, 2009
Maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention, but over the past few years an interesting variation of CSS Sprites has been getting a lot of play on large web sites that serve millions of users.
I stumbled over one of these on Amazon and posted an image here last week, but the comments quickly pointed out that this was far from a unique case. Google, Yahoo, and Apple are also doing similar, and those are just the ones I've found so far. Yahoo even documents the practice on their Developer Network and the Flickr code blog.
The problem is making a site with multiple UI elements load quickly. There's a lot of overhead if your design requires dozens of UI images and icons and the like. File size isn't the only factor, each image is called with a separate HTTP request, and the more of those you have the longer your site takes to load. At Yahoo and Google traffic levels, it's vitally important to think about how many million users a day a site is losing to long load times.
The solution? Cram as many UI images as possible into a single image, then use selective CSS to clip and only show the relevant part of the image:
Andy King has written up a great how-to guide on implementing sprites this way. He does warn that the method isn't without its issues — some devices (the iPhone being the most notable) apply the sprites in a memory-intensive way that slows the device to a crawl.
I also wonder about the pop-in effect; when your entire UI is in one or two larger images that take a second or so to load, the site will render without images for that brief time then pop in all the images at once. This reminds me a bit of the FOUC of old, but in a slightly less jarring way. Probably a necessary evil in this case.
But the question I've had on my mind is whether I should start doing this myself. Should all the sites I build use Sprites this way from now on?
I've started playing around with this all-in-one approach for UI images, and I'm finding it quick going and fairly simple to do. From Photoshop, I crop my source images and prepare to save, but rather than export to a JPG / GIF / PNG I'll instead take a flattened version of each image and place it in a new document that becomes the master, saving out the entire thing to an optimized image. (And if I go with PNG, it's worth also running a non-Adobe PNG compression tool against it, something like Pngcrush or PngThing.)
Planning for repeating images is a bit trickier, but I think the MobileMe example serves as a guide. Have one image per row, leave room between each, and have the repeating bits span the entire master image width rather than the smaller 1 pixel strip you might traditionally have saved out. The extra overhead will compress fairly well, and it seems fairly certain that the fewer HTTP requests will more than make up for it.
So, back to the question at hand, should I be building sites this way? I think the answer is: sort of, yes.
It does require more work. Applying the section of the master sprite image you want to show up takes time. And you really need to carefully plan out that master sprite image to ensure the wrong slice doesn't show through on text-resize or in unplanned text wrapping situations. I don't see every site benefitting enough to justify the time overhead.
Of course, the maintenance is also easier; need to change the colour of a UI element? Just edit the master and re-save one image. Done. Need to add more images? Make the master a little larger and drop 'em in. Done.
Web applications where a quick-loading and responsive UI are essential seem like the perfect fit. Sites with a common set of design elements that are used globally across the site might also benefit.
But I doubt most sites will require you to go as far as the every-image-in-one like the MobileMe example; a lighter approach of, say, combining all the icons into one image file like Yahoo is likely good enough most of the time. And simple wins like taking a box with rounded corners which traditionally would have been three separate images (one for the top, repeating middle, and bottom) and combining those three into one is fairly trivial to pull off.
The main change I expect is that I'll likely look for ways of reducing the overall number of images I save out for each site in the future. If I can see a quick way of combining a half dozen into one, I'll do it. If I can't, oh well. If I end up with 12 images instead of 20, that's probably optimized enough for the majority of sites I'll build.
I find it a pain in the ass to do it by hand – if you have to resize some of the sprites it throws off the co-ordinates of all the others, and you then have to figure out what their new co-ordinates are and change them in the CSS. It's even worse when you inherit the sprite and have to figure out what's what.
Google Web Toolkit has a neat auto-spriting feature that takes all your separate images and compiles them into a sprite (well, a couple of sprites, for horizontal and vertical repeating images). Of course, then you have to buy into the whole GWT platform.
Good point; I assumed it'd be easier because new ones cand just be tacked on to the end of the image, but I didn't really think about resizing.
There are other automated tools out there too, eg. http://spritegen.website-performance.org/ or http://www.csssprites.com/ – but I haven't really looked into them.
There are open source packages that create sprites too. SmartSprites is a good one. You create CSS with a few conventions, and it packages that up into a new CSS file and a sprite.
If you have a build step in your deployment, it's pretty easy to slip it in. Added advantage is you can develop with individual images and the source CSS, then deploy the streamlined version.
Also, it runs on your computers, so you don't have to buy in to GWT or whatever.
Great write up Dave. I've been thinking about sprites off and on for the past few years… I've decided I'm on the fence with sprites…
You said:
" Just edit the master and re-save one image."
This sounds good, but…
"…instead take a flattened version of each image and place it in a new document that becomes the master"
…if the master is a compilation of flattened images, then it requires more work in that you have to grab your comp, tweak that, then crop, flatten and import into the new master. I also second what Cameron is saying about having to re-tweak coordinates…
Of course, I say all this and I don't work on sites that get millions of page views. If I did, I'm sure I'd use this solution.
@Noah Stokes - you can of course create the master any way you want.
But given the way I design it's easier for me to flatten each out first before combining. If I have one element spread across ten images, and changing the colour of that element requires tweaking ten layers, I'd rather tweak ten layers once and flatten+recombine, then tweak ten layers x ten images.
Also, if you happen to use Photoshop, you could just use smart objects in your combined file. Then, when you change any of the original images, the smart object automatically updates and you don't have to re-copy it over to your combined one. You can just flatten and/or export the compilation as a flattened filetype, then run any optimizations you want on that exported image and you're good to go.
I've moved away from doing massive numbers of images in one sprite; I actually experimented with it a few years ago (shortly after your original article, I think) on a couple large web apps, and ran into some of the problems other comments mentioned. I also noticed diminishing returns on file compression once you start combining huge numbers of dissimilar graphics.
Speaking of compression, as I recall, another issue that pops up when you have massive numbers of images in one sprite is that your arrangement of them can drastically change the amount of compression… I'm sure this has been written up somewhere, but if you have a large number of buttons it seems to be more economical (particularly with GIF, less so with 8-bit PNG) to put them in a long vertical file. The simple explanation I read way back when was that having a large number of vertical lines (whitespace between graphics for example) in a GIF balloons the compression due to some quirk of LZW… mind you, even bad compression of repetitive elements is better than none, ie. not using sprites at all.
I tend to make smaller groups of sprites now, grouped by functionality or placement in the layout… one file for buttons, one for icons, one for image replacement text, etc.
Here's another sprite generator that may be of interest to readers: http://spritegen.website-performance.org/
I sure hope these sites, especially MobileMe, have written guides for using their sprites. it would be horrible to be constantly asking "Do I want the one at 0 -125px or the one at 0 -135px?".
I've been doing application programming that way for years when the application needed some sort of graphic feedback to the user's attempt to control a dial or knob or whatever. I was surprised to discover the same concept being discussed for use in web pages when I was surfing the net a while back. Heck… why not?
Its essentially the same concept of menus based on sliding-doors.
Haven't bothered to try it for web pages yet…
I find that I use sprites for parts of the page that seem to be related (like a nav, etc), but I don't like including every image into one master image. If it's already a large image, I will leave it out alone.
It's more of an art than a science to me.
It's not as simple as 'throw all the images into one image'. One image probably isn't your best bet, as browsers can download your images in parallel. Using multiple sub-domains for the images can have a dramatic effect.
You can also get into issues with color maps. If you have two images that can both get by with 8-bit color maps, that doesn't mean you can put them into one new image with an 8-bit color map (you need the union of each image's color map to fit in 8 bits). Going form an 8-bit png to a 24 or 32-bit png can have a big impact on your file size. So, very often, you'll want to group images with similar colors to keep file size lower.
Also, if you have EVERY image, you're probably sending too much info on your home page. Case by case - but generally speaking, if you have a dominant landing page, it's worth tuning a version of the CSS / JS / Images just for it to make your first impression as snappy as possible.
This is very effective, I have used the general idea in the past, however I'm not so sure it works with fluid sites. The MobileMe example gets around the width issue but what about height when text scales?
I generally take each interface element on it's merits and group images in that way.
Maybe I'm oldschool, but I can't sleep if elements on my site doesn't scale vertically, when text size increases. I don't see how it could be achieved with buttons / icons made like this.
The post mentions:
"it's worth also running a non-Adobe PNG compression tool against it"
- I was wondering why? I've never used other png compressors before, are the file sizes noticeably better? Suppose I'll get hold of pngthing and try it out..
I would be very keen on using this method if it wasn't for fear of scalability. Just the thought of it not working or aligning badly is enough to put me off, despite it's good points.
"At Yahoo and Google traffic levels, it's vitally important to think about how many million users a day a site is losing to long load times."
It's not just at their traffic levels that you can lose users. A slow site with 100 daily users will also lose a percentage due to slow load times. No site owner wants to lose users.
I wrote about this very topic a few weeks ago:
I have been using sprites since I know about it. I have experience on creating graphics sprites for games, so this method is not surprisingly difficult.
I always group my sprites into extension: JPG, and PNG 8bit. Never use GIF, PNG is smaller than GIF. This purpose is to separate looseness image with index color image.
Using sprites quickly showed you need about 5 different sprite images. Our designers love making patterns which are repeated vertically or horizontally.
So you need a sprite with all the horizontally repeated images with 1px width and an enormous height (adding the images together). And a similar sprite for all vertical repeated images.
Then there are the images you need to align on top or bottom, which i pop together in a sprite side by side. Of course there are also images you want to align left or right, that ones are in a different sprite stacked.
The last sprite i use for icons likewise google does for their side packed in the smallest possible way.
I tried the tools told here for sprites but had problems with all this 5 sprite variants. And since i don't like gaps which are not needed, we build our own little java application where you can decide which way you need the images aligned. It saves the image and also give you a css output with all the background positions.
That way it's always possible to add or remove images without much work.
Firebug makes working with sprites a lot easier.
It's still a bit fiddly, but at least with the firebug console you can change the background-position values with your cursor and see the results in live view.
I tried using PNG Thing on an image and didn't see any change. It was a small 1x50 graphic saved with PNG-24. Save for Web in Photoshop got it down to 160bytes, which is only slightly above GIF which came in at 150bytes.
Annoyingly, Finder can't seem to tell you how big a file really is if it's smaller than 4KB for some reason.
It's quite a task to get it vertically and horizontally right. It may mean to make compromises here and there. You cannot place all images in one, when you for example need a middle image which scales on both axis.
In the qooxdoo JS framework (http://qooxdoo.org) I was involved in we have a json-like configuration where one defines which source images to combine to a larger one. The tool chain then automatically created a combined image and a json data stucture with offsets to be used via JS. The application developer works with the original path names in the application but automatically make use of the combined images when they are available. It is quite useful to automate it this way. Though it does not work with a simple CSS/HTML site where the interface is not rendered via JS. (Ok, maybe some kind of CSS rewrite can do something like this too.)
You may like to see an example of a Button in qooxdoo here: http://demo.qooxdoo.org/current/demobrowser/demo/widget/Button.html. The Button is scalable in both directions. Try to increase the font size and reload (no dynamic reaction for now).
For the re-sizing implications alone i've steered clear of this method for whole sites though i've been using it for ages for hover effect items.
I always thought that fewer http requests was obviously a good thing but if your large image got quite sizable then surely the benefits would be lost too?
Regarding resizing issues. I've started using sprites selectively and my method for resizing is to simply give the graphic some extra vertical height. This works for gradients well enough. So if I have a menu item that's normally 50px high, I'll take that 50px high gradient, make the canvas 100px or so, and then repeat the top pixel to fill the extra 50px. If that doesn't work, just give some space between each graphic to allow for resizing.
A little off-topic, but they reminded me of sticker sheets. Quirky promotional giveaway, perhaps?
Sprites are great tool when used wisely (as is any tool). When reading the comments I see many people concerned about what will happen when the text is resized. Well, most modern browsers do page zoom by default and most users wont change that. A few pixels extra padding between the images wont hurt either.
There are places where sprites are not applicable - we often use sliding doors for bigger blocks and the image becomes big enough to be combined with other images.
Also, some people suggest using the data: protocol to embed the images into the css, but this will have negative effect if one image is used more the once, or if the images are big. Remember, the image data is base64 encoded, so it adds 30% to 50% to the actual file size.
About image optimization, read Stoyan Stefanov's articles in YUI blog:
@Dave Joyce - "I tried using PNG Thing on an image and didn't see any change. It was a small 1x50 graphic saved with PNG-24."
Well, you're not going to see a ton of saving on an image that small. Try something in the 500x500 range perhaps. I've crushed 16k down to 12k, which yes, was around the same size as an equivalent GIF, but the GIF was 64 colours and the PNG was 24-bit.
@everyone worried about scaling - with a bit of clever coding, you absolutely can get these scaling vertically. MobileMe is probably a bad example of this, but see Dave Joyce's comment (#24) or the original post's example of a box with rounded corners for a few ideas.
Both horizontal and vertical at once might be a bit trickier, granted.
I actually put together a 10 minute video explaining how to implement CSS Sprites for hover effect reasons.
This is probably is a no brainer to the mezzoblue visitors, but for newbies or beginners trying to wrap their heads around CSS in general, but to use sprites I created this video: http://www.csslessons.com - How to use CSS Image Sprites in 10 Minutes!
Future videos will be done slower, have better explanations, etc… but this was my first video so cut me some slack lol :)
I find it MUCH easier to manage this sort of thing with Illustrator (as opposed to say Photoshop). But I'm funny that way. I use AI for almost all of my design work now.
Some of the problems would be solved if they updated css to cover the sprite technique and make it work more like actual sprites on old game systems like the N.E.S. (and then of course for browsers to actually support it)
We wouldn't need to "Have one image per row" or "leave room between each" or "have the repeating bits span the entire master image"
Instead we'd write some "variables"(or something) in css to indicate a range within the image that should be treated as if it were it's own image file. The browser would basically copy/paste those areas of the image into memory as separate images. Then there would be no worries about undesired areas of the master image showing up in the wrong place.
Alternatively, we could maybe save such images in a single special zip file that the browser would unpack into separate files and make accessible to to us in a special way:
background: sprite(images/ui.zip::borders/rounded-bottom-blue.png);
@thinsoldier - your last suggestion looks very similar to the way Mozilla works with the chrome: scheme, where things like XUL files, css, javascripts, etc. are packed al together in a jar file.
After a quick search the jar: URI scheme appeared, I knew there was something like this.
Well, another idea to play with in the lab ;-)
try this website for additional image size reduction without losing quality after using the photoshop exporting tools:
Great Article! As a new designer I've found sprites to be a lengthy and sometimes frustrating process. I never even thought to search for a generator. Thanks for the suggestions.
I love ImageOptim for mac to compress my images. It's basically a wrapper of all of the freely available jpeg/gif/png image optimization routines.
As to sprites, getting them to all line up and play nicely is always the hardest part. Or if you use any sort of drop shadow. Those always tend to get cut off :(
I've always admired the Apple sprite though. Not too many people are going to make all 4 a:pseudoselector variants for a single image. I don't even think that I would know how.
It's funny that you mention the Yahoo Developer Network…
I have been trying to get as creative as possible with use of sprites over the years to minimize HTTP requests. As a Linux user, I have plenty of powerful command-line tools to assist in compression and optimization. However, Yahoo themselves have put out a web application for this very purpose that is greatly overlooked and underused, Smush.it (http://www.smushit.com/), which Yahoo themselves seem to not promote much.
Your fellow Canadian (ex-pat),
Akiva Levy, http://sixthirteendesign.com
I'm a big fan of sprites. You don't get that annoying lag when an image needs to be loaded and you don't see it for a split second.
hadn't noticed that before…
talking about http requests in big websites, it certainly is a good idea to do.
but on second thought, a lot of the graphics we use are small icons that indicate the type of a link with unpredictable length (e.g. pdf links, external links, etc). this would result in having to use big spaces between the icons in the graphics, resulting in big file sizes. got any better idea?
To make Sprites brain dead simple in Ruby on Rails I created a plugin called ImageBundle that creates sprites on the fly.
You can find an example at http://thecodemill.biz/image_bundle. It contains links to the documentation and the source (which is available from github).
Just a warning for everyone using this technique. Page-zoom in Firefox sometimes shows a line of pixels of a neighboring sprite.
For example. When going to a google result page and zooming to 110% there are three gray lines at the bottom right. A was wandering what these were. After some checking it seems the google logo image also contained other UI elements.
I'm not sure if it's a Firefox (Mac) only problem, or that other browser have the same problem.
So when using this technique be sure to add some space between the sprites.
I've been using this method for a while but only in certain situations. Primarily for website navigation where I might use images instead of selectable text, and the negative margin technique to kick the link text out. I mainly did this because with navigation styling that uses images, sometimes there's that split second where the hover image doesn't appear immediately, regardless of how well you've optimized your images for the web.
I'm a little hesitant to jump into it for everything but I'm glad Gerben pointed out the page-zoom issue for Firefox. I have a habit of adding some "safe space" between my sprites regardless. I guess as a failsafe.
Regardless, this is a fantastic technique. CSS background positioning is one of my favorite methods and I've been using it a lot more for recent endeavors and experiments. It's nearly bulletproof from all the examples I've seen and put into motion.
"File size isn't the only factor, each image is called with a separate HTTP request, and the more of those you have the longer your site takes to load"
This is just unnecessary optimization. Graphic files are usually static, and the HTTP server can get a Content-Length for them so you'll usually have all of your images pipelined through the same persistent HTTP connection.
Assuming of course that your graphic files weren't cached anyway. This is actually a reason NOT to use sprites; if you were to change one portion of the image, the whole collection would be invalidated in cache, and everyone would have to download it again.
That isn't to say it isn't a valid technique, but I believe the benefits from CSS Sprites in webpages come from rollovers, and when you need to swap one image out with another quickly. It takes more work to swap an image than it does to change a cropping view of the same image.
It's very dangerous to have a rule of "use sprites always". Know what you're doing, and you'll avoid pitfalls.
I think that having several sprites broken up into groups of functionality or sections is fine. You end up with about 10-15 images on a canvas and it does kind of alleviate some of the "pop-in" effect you mentioned. I usually break things up into items for navigation (cold, warm, hot states), forms, widgets/boxes, and some times other tertiary items like bullets and lines. This seems to provide the most flexibility for me.
I'm interested to read that link you mention about the iPhone issues. iPhone is becoming a more prominent word on my lips these days. Great discussion! :-)
Also, for cheap (albeit limited) hover effects, don't forget about the easy option of simply changing the background color of an element containing an image with some transparency. For example, a GIF or PNG with some transparent pixels will naturally reveal the background color of its parent elements wherever it has transparency. So instead of switching out an *image* on hover–thus requiring two images (or a larger sprite)–you can just change a BG color on hover.
You can also create some interesting effects by layering multiple images (or the same image) that contain some transparency and changing their positions on hover or some other user input.
Does anyone know how google looks at sprites in regards to search engine optimisation? Will it push a site higher up in the rankings, or lower it? Are they compatible with all types of browsers and mobile phones?
I wouldn't go out of my way to create a sprite for the entire website. That simply is too much effort for very little return.
That said, sprites are an absolute must for:
1. Websites that use menu images
2. Web application interfaces (think FCKeditor)
3. High traffic websites where speed of content delivery and bandwidth is essential (if your website is still running on a shared server, then no, you do not need to do this yet)
MobileMe's sprites are expressly designed to scale horizontally, not vertically. We don't use boxes, but we do use buttons (and lots of them in various states: default, focus, active, disabled) and a button size that's capable of the text scaling up +3 settings.
@Cameron: the key with such huge sprites is making sure they're documented very thoroughly, so that you can just look it up in a PDF and have all the information and coordinates right there by your side.
I agree with Dennison. If a site isn't going to have much traffic (the majority of the brochureware I do for local companies), I try to avoid creating one sprite map.
But you should still combine normal+hover images, so there is no delay. I've made an easy to use PhotoShop script to combine two images that I use all the time along with a script that extends the bottom pixel 50 pixels which is great for background text based navigational elements that *might* have two or more lines instead of just one line. With many of the CMS driven sites I design for, there's no way to tell how much text is going to be in the menu name.
I was using this technique for quite sometime, and I found in recent times it is by far the best solution too for almost all kinds of designs.
Great article loved the MobileMe bit, never noticed they took it a step forward! Thanks !
Hi Dave,
I just so happen to come across your post searching for something else, but I'm glad I did. This to me, imho is a really snazzy technique. Thanks!
@Bryan Kohlmeier
Thanks for the video!. I actually implemented it on a site that I am building. I started with a simple menu that gives the impression of a 'colored arrow' on mouse over.
Overall I like this style of design due to the efficiency it can provide. Someone above had mentioned about 'extra work for them' to get it configured, but all I can say is when was it about what 'you', as a webmaster, had to do and not about the end users? Shame on you for that one!
Now, I hope the site provides followups, because I like what I am reading.
Does anyone know how google looks at sprites in regards to SEO? Will it push a site higher up in the rankings?
and i do not think it is compatible with mobile phones?
@Jamie Hill quoted: "This is very effective, I have used the general idea in the past, however I'm not so sure it works with fluid sites. The MobileMe example gets around the width issue but what about height when text scales?"
My thoughts on how to achieve this would be to have your repeating graphic faded with a solid color below it. Have that in the actual sprite, do not use background-color because of course we know that will not work as the image will cover the background color. So in the sprite you will just have to be sure to create enough of a buffer with that solid color. On a header for example, I wouldn't suspect that anyone would be increasing their font size to 200px or anything to crazy, so the repeating image does not need to be super long on the sprite. I think that would work.
I'm confused.
The techniques discussed here sound well thought out, but as Philihp Busby (#41) suggests, is there actually any performance benefit in using sprites for anything other than rollovers?
I agree with some posts that the most important benefit is the avoidance of flickering menu's. And furthermore, grouping certain related images to one sprite is also more logical and keeps your web folders nice and tidy :)
For performance issues, I find multiple interpretations of less http-requests, so I don't have an idea of whether sprites are an improvement there.
But I can recall something of building sprites with a fixed size(in pixels): 1x1, 2x2, 4x4, 8x8, 16x16, 32x32 etcetera. A PC loads these formats better than something like 215x38, but I'm not totally sure about it. Can anyone shed light on this theory?
I have used the method described here, and if you're using Photoshop's smart objects, it's really easy to save a psd that has all the 'cuts' while still able to be edited afterwards. It's really not that much more effort than making the actual cuts themselves.
No one likes flickering loaded images. I think sprites are a must must must.
I found using one large image for large, high traffic sites makes editing and maintaining images easier to deal with. If not ONE large image, at least a few separated out in groups of items that are related to each other (like nav, forms etc) Or separating between different mattes if the images are transparent png/gif. Rather than updating multiple images, it's just one, and if I do need to be sending images to someone or to copy files there are fewer to worry about :)


text:
Room 9
An elegant, queen-size Victorian bed, marble top dresser and two Victorian chairs grace this plush and romantic third-floor room. Enjoy our Woodstock Vermont Bed and Breakfast at its best! The private bathroom features a large Carrera marble tiled shower, a pedestal sink, and a green marble floor. The room overlooks the terrace. View other rooms in our beautiful Woodstock, VT B&B.
Rates: $179 – $269
Rates: $179 – $269
Additional Amenities include:
- Flat Screen Cable color TV
- Complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access
- Individually controlled heat and air-conditioning
- Iron and ironing board
- Hair dryer

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Think you have problems?
Just be grateful you don't live in Haiti.
Here are some of the legitimate charitable organizations:
Please be generous.
American Red Cross
Salvation Army Haiti Relief
Catholic Relief Services
Save the Children
The Order of Malta
Google has setup an excellent reference page here
Doctors Without Borders
American Jewish World Service
Samaritan's Purse
World Vision
Hope for Haiti
Stand with Haiti (Partners in Health)
Fox News also has a great reference page here


text: Dr. David Matlock, the guy who pioneered the vaginal rejuvenation "industry," was on The View this morning to discuss his trade—and hit up his demo. He mentioned that women tell him what they want done by telling him how old they want their vaginas to feel, after which he made a pretty gross joke about women wanting vaginas like 14-year-olds. Joy Behar was not amused, and confronted him on the fact that creating tighter vaginas is actually more beneficial for men than for women. He disagreed, but didn't really explain why. However, he did say that he "knows" that kegels do not work. Is it just me, or is this "doctor" totally fucking unethical, going on a national talk show and telling women that kegel exercises are basically pointless? Clip above.


text:
Note Taking
Note-Taker Policies and Procedures:
What is a note-taker?
We use this term to designate a student who shares notes with another student in a class.
Who uses a note-taker?
Students with various types of disabilities use note-takers for a variety of reasons, including difficulty with hearing, memory, writing, spelling, or attention.
How do I get approved by Disability Services to have a note-taker?
You must provide documentation that shows that the service is needed and discuss it with the appropriate DSO staff member.
Do I need a note-taker for every class?
No, you may not need them for some non-lecture classes – those administered in computer labs, for example. We encourage many students to record the class with a digital recorder.
What happens when I am approved for a note-taker?
Ask for a Note-Taker Request Form for each class for which you need notes. Meet with your professor to discuss your needs. The disability office will simultaneously be looking for a note-taker as well.
What do I do next?
When talking with the instructors during office hours early in the first week of class- find out how the course is structured, if there are notes or PowerPoint's provided to all students or posted on blackboard. If these do not meet your needs, ask your professors to request a volunteer by making an announcement in class- bring the note-taker request form to the instructor and they will an announcement or pass the form around in class. OR You can ask a fellow classmate yourself if you feel comfortable doing so.
What do I do when I have the name of a note-taker?
If you coordinate your own Note-Taker, bring the completed note-taker request form with the name and contact information to DSO so we can discuss our procedures and acknowledge them. The office will contact you using your MVCC email account if we have located a Note-Taker ourselves.
What happens then?
DSO will send an email to each note-taker explaining how the process works and how to use the copier in our office as a scanner. All approved note-takers are expected to view a Note-Taking PowerPoint training.
How do I get my notes?
Your note-taker should scan notes using our copying machine right after class, or as soon as possible thereafter, and you should check your MVCC email account regularly to get your notes.
How should I use my notes?
Review them daily. If you need clarification or have a question, go to your instructors' next office hours. Record your classes and use the recording as a back-up to the notes. Consider copying the notes over in your own handwriting or typing them on a computer.
Must I go through Disability Services in order to get copies of notes?
No. Any student can make private arrangements to share notes with a classmate. However, you must go through Disability Services if you would like them scanned in and emailed or to make copies free of charge in our office.
Student Responsibilities in the Note-taking Process:
• Request note-taker forms at the beginning of each semester
• Discuss note-taking with your teachers and ask them to make an announcement for a volunteer
• Return completed forms with note-taker contact information to DSO
• Go to class – notes are not a substitute for attendance
• Check your MVCC e-mail for notes on a regular basis
• Identify a back-up person in case your note-taker is absent
• Follow the "How should I use my notes?" guidelines
• Notify DSO if the note-taker is not providing notes
• Notify DSO immediately if the notes you're receiving aren't meeting your needs
For more assistance with notes, check out:
Interim ADA/504 Coordinator
Tamara Mariotti, Coordinator of Accessibility Resources
Phone: 315-731-5813
Email: email@example.com
Utica Campus
Office of Accessibility Resources
Daniel Boggs, Testing Accommodations Specialist
Payne Hall Room 104H
Phone: 315-792-5644
Email: email@example.com
Learning, Autism & ADHD Disabilities:
Katelyn DiCastro, Transition Support Specialist
Phone: 315-792-5413
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Other Disabilities:
Tamara Mariotti, Coordinator of Accessibility Resources
Phone: 315-731-5702
Email: email@example.com
Rome Campus
Student Services Office
Plumley Complex 102G
Phone: 315-334-7709
Michelle Luvisi
College Services Associate
Disability Support
Phone: 315- 334-7744
Email: email@example.com


text:
Vote using the forms below!
If the page is not loading correctly or you are having any other voting problems please follow these instructions.
You can send us your vote directly by sending an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com. Make sure the name of the school that you are voting for is the first word in the subject line of the e-mail. The same rules apply for votes accepted this way. One vote per minute per school or all of your votes will be voided.
Thank you!


text:
This article was printed from mlb, originally published .
Read more news at: https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news
White Sox Name Todd Steverson Hitting Coach
CHICAGO - The Chicago White Sox have named Todd Steverson as the team's new hitting coach.
Steverson, 41, has spent the last 10 seasons in the Oakland Athletics organization, including 2012-13 as the organization's minor-league roving hitting instructor. He was the Athletics' first-base coach from 2009-10.
Steverson managed four seasons in the Oakland system from 2005-08, compiling a 297-264 record (.529) with Class A Stockton (2005-06), Class AA Midland (2007) and Class AAA Sacramento (2008).
He led Sacramento to an 83-61 record and won a Class AAA and Pacific Coast League championship with the River Cats, the franchise's second consecutive title. Steverson guided Stockton to a 78-62 mark and a postseason appearance in 2005.
Steverson began his coaching career as a hitting coach in the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1999-2003.
The Los Angeles native appeared in 31 major-league games with Detroit (1995) and San Diego (1996), hitting .256 (11-43) with two home runs and six RBI. He also played in 494 minor-league games over seven seasons from 1992-98.
Steverson was selected by Toronto in the first round (25th pick) of the 1992 draft out of Arizona State University. He is the cousin of former American League All-Star outfielder Ron LeFlore, who played for the White Sox in 1981-82.
Steverson replaces Jeff Manto, who was relieved of his duties on September 28, 2013.


text:
Here you will find links to all my artisan hand dyed and hand painted mill-spun yarns. Just click on the yarn name, photo or "more colorways" to learn more about these yarns.
Every effort has been made to reproduce the shade cards accurately. Colors shown may not be a true representation and will appear differently on individual monitors. BFL = Bluefaced Leicester, SF = Superfine, SW = Superwash


text:
Shell garage alcohol sales approved
PUBLISHED: 15:54 09 November 2012
Plans to sell alcohol at an Exmouth garage have been approved by East Devon District Council.
At a licensing meeting this week, councillors agreed that the Shell garage in Exeter Road could be licensed for alcohol sale, and for the provision of 'late night refreshment', which would be limited to soup and hot drinks.
The applicant, Nigel Fletcher, had initially applied to sell alcohol 24-hours-a-day, but agreed to drop this request to alleviate concerns from local residents, who feared it could lead to anti-social behaviour.
Instead, alcohol will be sold between 5am and midnight. Hot drinks will be available 24-hours-a-day.
The application had drawn numerous objections from residents, along with Exmouth Town Council and district councillor Jill Elson.
Cllr Elson told the meeting that neighbours' main concern was over a footpath adjacent to the garage.
Cllr Elson said: "The path is a concern as it could encourage people to hang about and drink in the dark lane.
"Anti-social behaviour there would be out of sight of Exeter Road and Halsdon Avenue."
In their own submission, Mr Fletcher's representatives said there was no evidence that selling alcohol on the site would cause problems, and that the business's clientele would not change.
The committee was told: "[The business] has been trading perfectly happily there for decades providing a service for the local community, and now for the store to stay open, alcohol is what people expect from a convenience store.
"The premises won't be doing anything different, but customers will be able to buy a bottle of wine or hot drink.
"No [late night] hot food at all. It won't become a burger bar."
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary had initially objected to the plan, but withdrew these objections after being given assurances about the CCTV system which would be installed.
The committee therefore granted the license, having ruled that the business was allowed to sell alcohol, as Shell's figures showed more people used it as a shop than as a filling station.


text:
AlwaysOn – Finally, A usable 'mirror'!
In the past, High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR) had many limitations. Clustering and Mirroring are great, but the mirror/secondary database is not very usable since it is not online. Finally, AlwaysOn solves this limitation by merging both multi-node Clustering and mirroring. AlwaysOn also allows the secondary database to remain ONLINE, so we can use it for reporting purposes without resorting to a Snapshot! Come see this lively session with extensive demos of setting up, configuring and testing AlwaysOn. We'll also test automatic fail-over using a real web app to see how well this feature works.
Jim Murphy
Jim Murphy has been using Microsoft SQL Server since version 6.0 back in the 90's. He is the President/CEO of SQLWatchmen, LLC., a managed DBA service provider for smaller companies who do not need a full-time DBA. He runs the Austin SQL Server User Group: CACTUSS Central and sits on the board of SQLPOSSE.com. He has been a professional DBA and developer for over 20 years and has run a consulting company full-time for over a decade.
LiveMeeting Information:
Attendee URL:https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/UserGroups/join?id=834ZNP&role=attend
Meeting ID:834ZNP


text:
International Professionals:
How to SOUND GREAT in English by Improving Your Pronunciation and Accent.
Want to Show the World You Have a Good Grasp of Spoken English?
You may have been speaking English for years, so why hasn't your accent become clearer?
Let me answer that for you...
Chances are very good that you've never had the opportunity to learn much about English pronunciation and even less about actual accent. Accent training is rarely a part of English training curricula and I would guess that many of your former teachers didn't even speak to you in English very much- if at all!
Add to that another problem. As adults, we honestly can't hear the difference between certain sounds and rhythms that are new to us unless someone really points them out. Until we recognize them and learn how to make them, they will never find their way into our speech.
But don't worry. It doesn't mean you cannot change your pronunciation or accent. You just need the right instruction. That's what we do. We show you what you are missing and teach you how to add it into your speech so you sound great.
The American Accent Course is a unique and proven online accent reduction program for people who have learned English as a second language. Thousands of people have benefited and now, you can, too.
Why the American Accent Course?
Add American Accent Coaching to Your Training
You can choose to learn the American Accent on your own through our awesome self-study course, or we can match you up with a private coach!
Your coach will help you as you go through the course and give you extra training as well as constant feedback on how you are doing.
We have two ways you can work with a coach. Both of them can be done via internet so it doesn't matter where you are in the world.
- You can meet your coach online each week through our online meeting room or through Skype.
- Or, if you schedule doesn't permit, you can choose to communicate with your coach through audio and video recordings.
Either way, you will still get high quality help as you learn the American Accent.
Please note that there is an extra charge for coaching.
Our Students Have Included Professionals From A Wide Variety Of Fields, Including...
- Engineers
- Educators
- Medical Personnel
- Businesspeople
- Real Estate Agents
- Scientists
- Customer Service Reps
- Clergy
- Hotel Staff
- IT Professionals
- University Students
- and many, many more
What Our Students Are Saying...
"Each class really helped me. The teacher is just great. The explanations are very simple and understandable. The pronunciation of each sound is so easy to understand and you begin to use it. And because of that, my pronunciation got much, much better. Many people (my friends and family) noticed that I was taking this class and a lot of people noticed that my English became much better. Definitely I would advise people who want to improve their English to take this class."
Irina Katz, Business Owner
"Today I had a long meeting with my British colleagues and I tried to control my R only. After the meeting they asked me what happened with my English over night. They mentioned that the rolled R turned into a better English R. Evidently they don't know my secret. To be honest, I was impressed by their positive remarks. So Sheri, thank you!"
C. Lupu
"Even though I have master's degrees in teaching English and Japanese, I have learned a lot of new things in each lesson of this course. Sheri is an excellent teacher and "accent" expert! Not many ESL teachers or speech pathologists can help you like she does. She has helped me improve my accent and gain self-confidence. I highly recommend her online course if you want to improve your accent."
Junko Ito, Japanese Language Professor
The following testimonials are completely real and came directly from my former and current students…
"The thing I really love about this program is that we learn English the way it is- as something real. It's something that I now hear people doing. I have started hearing people and I don't need to focus the way I was doing before. I am learning some little details that are making a huge difference when it comes to talking to, listening to, and understanding people.
I tried a lot of methodologies before this program and at a certain point, I thought I would not find anything new about English. But now I realize that people don't talk about these kinds of things in schools. Teachers don't even know about these little details. Now I'm learning some little details that are going to make a huge difference in my English. I see something very different from the way I was learning and speaking before I joined this course."
Jose Oliveira, Project Manager
"Being a Japanese, I have seen so many people are struggling with English conversation, mainly because we studied English from textbooks and teachers who cannot speak English well. And, although there are so many books about "English pronunciation" published in Japan, they only refer to specific sounds without any reference to rhythm nor intonation and very very few people would know what "schwa" is. I am now recommending your courses to people I know as they are literally life-changing."
"Sheri is like a skillful doctor who accurately evaluates your accent health and fixes your problems with a complete set of efficient methods, drills, and practices. Awareness and confidence about the way I sound in American English are those two greatest assets that I acquired as a result of her classes and for those I'll be forever grateful to her."
Tatyana A., Russian-English Translator
"I went to college and took all the levels of ESL in order to take credit courses. But one thing did not change- my strong Spanish accent. When you feel like people have to take time to understand you, it can make you feel embarrassed and insecure in your career, relationships, and friendships.
Since I joined the American Accent Course it is amazing how much difference it has made. I feel more confident about myself and feel comfortable talking to my clients at work. I keep telling Sheri how well she teaches and the class is a lot of fun because we can interact with her and the other students.
We have Help Sessions every week and I make it a priority not to miss any of them. Now learning to change my bad habits from the way I spoke English for so many years is gradually changing. I can ask the teachers questions anytime and I get the feedback from them. It is an easy and convenient way to improve my pronunciation and that can change my life."
Rita Nardini, Massage Therapist
"I just delivered a very important speech yesterday and it went very well. I got a lot of compliments on my accent and fluency! I mean it, the American Accent Course was a real ear-opener for me! Excellent job, Sheri!"
Sarah Dumont, Doctor
"Your course is helping me in each and every aspect of my job. Thanks!"
S. Sooriya Kumar
"If you are like me and are one of those people who is extremely concerned about the way you speak English, I would highly recommend the American Accent Course to you. Sheri is such a lovely trainer with a wealth of knowledge to help you.
One of the things that I love the most about this course is that Sheri explains things in such an easy way, like how to produce the vowel sounds by positioning your tongue in the correct place. You will also learn one of the most amazing sound in English which is the famous SCHWA. Besides, you will learn all the contractions in sentences such as Whatcher name? and Diju go out last night? and how to shorten sounds in structure words and so on. There are a lot of great tips and techniques that you will be learning as you go along. All of your pronunciation concerns are going to be erased with Sheri."
All the best and good luck."
Diego Mendonça, Engineering Student
"I am a senior accountant with MBA degree. I must say your audio course, per se, is O-U-T-S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G! I have learned so much from you already in regard to English rules / knowledge, which I was not aware of. You really know how to open our eyes on a level where everyone can understand. I have tried so many other products and tutors, and I must say I really have to hand it to you. You are like a next Einstein! To me, how your job has extraordinary impact on so many people's lives is highly highly respectful, and I sincerely thank you again for your passion and hard- work for developing the products / program"
Jason L
"The American Accent Course has been a real eye-opener for me. During the course I have learned techniques to apply which have been essential to my progress in speaking clearer English. One of the major benefits of the course is the concentration on American English intonation. I also like that the course is well structured, which I found very helpful.
One of the best things about the course is the teacher, Sheri Summers. She is a highly -qualified professional, very knowledgeable, has many years of experience, extremely dedicated, patient, and fun to work with. Her ability to detect my pronunciation errors, show to me what I am doing wrong and concentrate on the technique to make it right always amazes me! It has helped me to understand my errors and apply the correct pronunciation and intonation.
Overall, this course has helped me a lot as it has improved my intonation, pronunciation and accent. It has been the best investment I have made to increase my confidence. I would definitely recommend the American Accent Course to others who are interested in improving their accent, pronunciation and intonation skills."
Lana Lifshitz
"The classes have been EXCELLENT! Honestly, I haven't found anything like this before, and I've been looking for a long time."
Kira Generoso, Nurse
"My name is Jennifer Hsieh and I am a scientist. I am originally from Taiwan. I have been living in the United States for more than 10 years, but I still had trouble letting my American friends and colleagues understand me totally. Since I took Sheri's workshop, she corrected my accent and I have been able to communicate better now. She is an excellent teacher, and her lectures are fun, vivid and creative. I learned so much about correct pronunciation, intonation and linking sounds of American English. It is definitely a useful and worthy experience for the person like me who has struggled so long to speak correct American English."
Jennifer Hsieh, Ph.D., Staff Toxicologist, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
"I'd like to really thank Sheri Summers for her course. It's been of tremendous help to me. I run a video blog about digital photography, TheBeginnersLens.com. It's in English, even though I am a French national. I soon realized that I needed to improve on my accent so that the videos I make be more pleasing to the ear of native English visitors to the site. After quite a bit of research online I settled on Sheri Summers' American Accent Audio Course, and I've been delighted. Sheri's course is comprehensive and very well structured. It quickly helps you spot the things that you need to change in the way you speak, to get your messages across more clearly and to communicate effectively in English. Sheri's tone and voice are very pleasing to listen to and I love review one or two of her audio chapters when I jog every morning. Her course has been of tremendous help in my business and I thoroughly thank her for that."
Guy Yang, Business Owner
"Thank you so much for your excellent teaching. I think it is the best accent course ever (I have already tried americanaccent.com and pronunciationworkshop.com). I like the fact that your focus is the accent part.
Keep up the good work!"
Sitthipol Rujirawat
"I'm an international student in a TESOL graduate program. I've been listening to the American Accent Course and found it's something nobody has ever taught me before. I majored in English linguistics as an undergraduate, but the phonetic theories never helped me improve my pronunciation. The American Accent Audio Course is more than just pronunciation. It shows you how the words link and flow together. I think it's more important than knowing how to pronounce each sound. This course makes sense to me. It has a very innovative approach to English pronunciation, and that is great. It's helping me to have more confidence in speaking, and it's also helping me speak more clearly and naturally."
Youngmi Choe, Masters Degree Candidate
"My name is Franck Janet and I'm originally from France. I had many English teachers in my life, and most of them were very good in what they were doing. But if you want to make it in America, Sheri is outstanding because she focuses on helping people to learn American accent. And this type of expertise, at this high level is very rare. I had been looking for this many years until I found Sheri."
Franck Janet, Business Consultant
"I've just listened to lesson 4 on the American-style T and it is awesome! This course is just getting better and better."
Pablo Vargas
"The most useful (thing) was to know and be aware of what I am doing wrong. That's the first step to overcoming it."
Francisco Dos Santos, Brazilian Police Force
"I could realize a lot of mistakes I make and… we could work on our specific mistakes."
Andreza Prado, English Pre-School Teacher
"The lessons were extremely helpful. I liked the lessons very much, especially the pronunciation of vowels, R, L, linking words, and intonation."
Yun-Jeong Hong, Calgene-Monsanto
"I have improved a lot with Sheri. I think she understands students very well, and honestly, she has the best way to explain things in English. I strongly believe that she is one of the best teachers I have ever had."
Yaser Alharbi, University Student
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I go to take this class?
The American Accent Course is completely online so you can take it from anywhere in the world. You don't have to travel anywhere, you don't have to take time away from work or school. You can even come to the class in your pajamas if you like.
Is the course for certain groups, or people who speak certain languages?
The American Accent Course was designed for people who learned English as teenagers or adults. It doesn't matter what your native language is. Many people who take it are professionals in all kinds of careers- or university students.
Is my English good enough to take this course?
The entire course is taught in English, so you will need at least a high intermediate level of English to take the program. If you use English for everyday life, you should be just fine.
How long does it take to finish this class?
The American Accent Course has 24 lessons. Each lesson takes around one and a half to two hours to complete. Ideally you would complete one lesson each week so you have time to practice and incorporate what you have learned into your speech. Some people like to work a lot faster. You can go as fast or as slow as you need. Everyone learns and works at a different speed.
Can I get personal help in this class?
While the American Accent Course itself is perfect for self study, having someone help you along the way can be very beneficial. Once you join the course, you will have the opportunity to add private help to your program if you like.
Can I see a sample of the classes?
Yes, you can! Let me send you a sample from a pronunciation class and you can download an audio on using stress and pitch to "Americanize" your accent.
Just click on the button below to take a tour and get the samples.
Where Should I Send the Samples of the Course?
We value your privacy and would never spam you
What You'll Be Receiving in the American Accent Course:
(You'll be Shocked at the Depth of this Program)
- Over 50 Hours of Training!
- Get All Learning Materials at Once
- Training on Intonation, Rhythm and Timing
- Pronunciation of American English Vowels
- Learn What a Schwa is and Why It is So Important for Learning the American Accent
- Pronunciation of American English Consonants
- How to Blend Consonants Together
- How to Properly Link Words Together
- Training on Word and Sentence Stress Patterns
- Downloadable Workbook
- Downloadable Awareness Journal
- Exercises and Quizzes
- Optional Private Coaching (Once You Join)
Just $19.97 a Month
Stay for as Long or as Short as You Need
Yes, I would like to join the American Accent Course Monthly Program. I understand I can cancel at anytime.
Or Get 12 Months for the Price of 5!
Just $97 a Year
Yes, I would like to join the American Accent Course Yearly Program. I understand I will be billed once a year and can cancel at anytime.
Or Get Our BEST OFFER! Lifetime Access. No Future Payments.
Just $197 One Time Payment
Your purchase is 100% Risk Free. If you are not happy with the American Accent Course for any reason, simply let our friendly support team know (firstname.lastname@example.com) and we'll happily refund any payment made within the last 30 days.
Need Help? Have Questions? Contact email@example.com


text:
Mobile devices open up your world – both personal and work – and provide easy access to a wealth of knowledge and capability. But with so many apps available and more and more added every day, it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which are must-haves and worth your time and which are duds. With the end of the year fast approaching, the staff at Google Play has made their picks for the best Android apps of 2014.
Related Topics : In Their Own Words: The Four Dark Horses for the Third Major Mobile OS Speak, HTC, Mobile Search, 3G, Location-Based Services
Wearables are revolutionizing the workplace, with innovations that create a safer work environment or enhance the way professionals are able to go about their job. ... More >>
Here are the top 10 strategic technology trends that will impact most organizations in 2017. Strategic technology trends are defined as those with substantial disruptive potential or those reaching the tipping point over the next five years. ... More >>
Digital innovation is by far the biggest influencer, changing the way we do just about everything, from shopping to communication to running a business. ... More >>


text:
Steamer MORNING STAR, struck on an anchor near Malden, Detroit River.
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser
Wednesday, January 20, 1864
From a hasty glance at the records of marine disasters we find the difficulties have their origins somewhere about 1854. The schooner BUTLER, deep laden, struck an unknown obstruction and sunk, but was subsequently raised. The cause was supposed to be that of some sunken wreck. The accident took place in May. In the month of October, 1855, the propeller ILLINOIS, commanded by Capt. Wm. Dickson, of long experience on the lakes, having a full load of merchandise, struck and sunk. The entire cargo was damaged, and the loss to the steamer and cargo amounted to $85,000. The propeller CUYAHOGA, with a cargo of wheat, in October, 1856, run on the same spot, worked herself off, and was run ashore, the damages amounting to $3,000, the damage to cargo and vessel slight. In July, 1857, the schooner ALICE was stranded near there, and became a total loss. The schooner DREADNAUGHT, with a cargo of grain, struck in 1858, and sustained damages amounting to $100. In 1859 the bark LONDON run on the same place,, damages $150. The bark INDIANA, in November of the same year, dragged her anchor and grounded in the same spot, but was lightered off damaged $200. The scow E. S. TAYLOR, laden with coal, was sunk near there in 1860 and became a total loss. In April, 1861, the schooner WYANDOTTE, laden with coal, met with a disaster at the same place, the damage amounting to $300. The propeller DETROIT struck there in 1862, and sprung a leak, damages $100. In May, 1863, the steamer MORNING STAR struck on what was supposed to be an anchor, but the real cause was doubtless one of the wrecks above alluded to. The sloop MESSINGER, with a cargo of wheat, grounded there and damaged her cargo $3,000. The propeller MARQUETTE, cargo of merchandise, sank there in 1865, but subsequently got up; cargo badly damaged. In September of the same year the propeller PITTSBURGH struck and went ashore, and lightered off. Soon after the propeller WENONA grounded and was lightered off, and the steamer CANADA, of 166 tons, sunk and became a total loss there in September of 1865. In November, 1871, the propeller POTOMAC stove a hole in her bottom on the same obstruction and returned to Detroit, damages not stated. Soon after the propeller CHINA sustained a like disaster. The disasters of 1872 from
the same cause were as follows: In May, the propeller MERCHANT, cargo merchandise, sunk, raised, and taken to Detroit. In August, bark C. K. NIMS, cargo grain, struck and sprung a leak. Bark RED, WHITE and BLACK (sic), stove hole in bottom, damaged cargo and brought to Detroit. In November schooner OWASCO, cargo corn, all damaged and vessel ashore but got off. Propeller BURLINGTON sunk and got up. Propeller PHILADELPHIA stranded but got off.
Schooner SAM FLINT, cargo grain, stranded and got off. In December, propeller RUSSIA, cargo grain, struck and sunk, raised and brought to Detroit.
Detroit Free Press
July 11, 1873
The Maritime History of the Great Lakes site is managed by Walter Lewis
Since 2005 this site has been the prototype for the digital collection management tools built for the Our Digital World (formerly the OurOntario project of Knowledge Ontario.)
As a prototype it is subject to occasional, unexplained interruptions in service ... because we keep trying new things.
My favourites lets you save items you like, tag them and group them into collections for your own personal use. Viewing "My favourites" will open in a new tab.
Login here or start a My favourites account.


text:
One call. Red does it all! 302-629-3001
Garbage Disposal Repair in Greenwood, DE
Your garbage disposal makes clean up in the kitchen much easier—so when it breaks down, you want it fixed right away! Garbage disposal repair is typically a pretty quick job for the pros at Peninsula, and it makes your life much easier.
If your garbage disposal breaks down and you need garbage disposal repair in Greenwood, DE, call Peninsula today at 302-629-3001302-629-3001 or click here!
When should you call for garbage disposal repair?
You may need garbage disposal repair if:
- Your garbage disposal is making unusual noises
- Your garbage disposal makes a loud clattering
- Your garbage disposal is jammed
- Your garbage disposal hums
- Your garbage disposal makes no noise
- Your garbage disposal leaks
Broken down garbage disposals are a major inconvenience, especially if you're used to having them. If you need garbage disposal repair in Greenwood, DE, call Peninsula today at 302-629-3001302-629-3001 or click here!
How to Maintain Your Greenwood, DE Garbage Disposal
Garbage disposals are designed to last a long time. In fact, one of the only ways anything can go wrong with a garbage disposal is if something gets into it that shouldn't be there! To help keep your Greenwood, DE garbage disposal running smoothly, here's a list of everything you should and should not put down the sink:
What NOT to put down your disposal:
- Potato skins
- Large animal bones
- Banana peels
- Onion skins
- Stringy vegetables like asparagus and celery
- Glass, plastic, metal, or paper
- Anything combustible
- Cigarette butts
- Grease, fats, or oils
- Used coffee filters
What to put down your disposal:
- Vegetable ends
- Soft food matter
- Certain hard materials, including chicken and fish bones and eggshells, small fruit pits, etc.
- Citrus peels (for freshness)
- Ice cubes (to clean the garbage disposal out every now and then)
- A little dish washing soap (helps freshen the smell)
Count on Peninsula: Your Garbage Disposal Repair Company
We care about our neighbors, and each and every one of our customers. And we believe this commitment to quality customer service sets us apart from the rest.
Dependability. Service. Quality. Value. That's what you'll hear when you ask our customers about us. And our commitment to your satisfaction is built on this foundation!
Reputation is everything. That's especially true in the close-knit communities along the Maryland and Delaware peninsula. Here, Peninsula has built a long-standing reputation of respect and trust, home by home, family by family. And we're proud of that!
You can count on Peninsula for:
- An unequaled commitment to your needs and personal satisfaction
- Reliable, around-the-clock emergency service, 365 days a year
- Expert installation and upgrades, maximizing system performance
- Worry-free payment plans that respect your budget
So relax. You've come to the right place. You can count on our family to keep your family snug and secure. It's what we do!
To find out more about garbage disposal repair in Greenwood, DE, contact us today!
Peninsula Today!


text:
Friday, January 8, 2010
He definitely isn't Twilight
35 comments:
"He definitely isn't Twilight."
- January 8, 2010 at 4:59 PM
- anca said...
To be honest, I hope he will kill Twilight!
- January 8, 2010 at 5:32 PM
He is Twilight!
- January 8, 2010 at 5:44 PM
- Sla said...
This kinda crossover between Dark Horse and IDW it's awesome, you might think abou this stuff.
Love "Twilight", love Angel and of course, love Spike!!! can't wait for his new adventures =)
- January 8, 2010 at 6:40 PM
Just so damn happy to see Spike back, however it plays out. Hell yeah!
- January 9, 2010 at 1:15 AM
- zriza said...
It's about time !!! The announcment about a new Spike series was ages ago. Looking forward to Spike's new adventures :)
BTW - what happened to the Star Trek movies omnibus ???
- January 9, 2010 at 1:53 AM
- Skytteflickan88 said...
Thank God he isn't.
This is for the new Spike series, isn't it, not another series?
- January 9, 2010 at 7:23 AM
- Veiriti said...
OH, GOD!!! I can't wait for!!! You really made my day with it!! Thank you! WOW SPIKE!!! He's my bloody champion!! Yep, whoever Twilight is Spike will kill him! Spike is the best!!! My favorite hero ever!!!
I was so sad to see the Bangel kiss and Angel as Twilight!That's wrong! I love Angel as a champion, I don't want to see him evil again! And I'm definitely not a Bangel fan! :))
And I'd like to thank you to you mr. Ryall, to Brian Lynch and to all team of IDW for doing these awesome comics about Spike and Angel!
And I wish that spikehater Scott Allie and his entire Dark Horse team to go straight to hell! LOL
- January 9, 2010 at 7:30 AM
- Skytteflickan88 said...
I was with you veiriti up until that last comment. You want people to go be tortured for eternity because they don't have puppy dog love for your favorite character? A little harsh.
- January 9, 2010 at 7:43 AM
Heh heh:)
Man I really think the whole *Ahem* as Twilight (just in case people havnt seen it yet!) is crazy...but have decided to not jump the gun and I'm sure it will make sense.
I hope...
- January 9, 2010 at 7:48 AM
It's amazing how fast Franco Urru did this piece.Very fun nod to the big news in the verse the last day.
angeliclestat,you know me.I am a B/Aer and I'm freaked out on the issue 34 reveal but I can't wait to see how things pan out and connect to the Angel line of books at IDW.I did ofcourse love both issue 34 covers especially the Jo Chen one.As a B/Aer,i enjoyed seeing the kiss on the Jeanty one.For the record though,what's on the covers isn't actually in the issue.The Jeanty cover is a homage to a Superman cover and the Chen cover is an artistic portrait like all her covers.
Veiriti,that's a bit harsh.Wishing Scott Allie and Dark Horse to go to hell due to perceived opinions?And Allie isn't even a Spike hater.
- January 9, 2010 at 8:19 AM
- Veiriti said...
Skytteflickan88 and Buffyfanatic.
Yeah, maybe I was a bit harsh, but I'm very angry at Scott Allie from long time ago. I'm 100% sure that Scott Allie is a Spike-hater. Spike has completely disappeared from Buffy's life, he wasn't mention at all, except the short cameo in her dream... after that he was erased from the plot as he never exited before – Buffy even didn't mention a word for the man who gave his life for her, who fought for his soul and earned it in the name of their love, the man who gave her a strength to continue to fight against First Evil in the moment when her Scooby "friends" abandoned her, even her own sister kicked her out of her own home... Who was the man who hugged her and comforted her then?! Who was the man who fought side by side with her and sacrificed himself in the battle with the First Evil?! That man has been totally forgotten on Buffy season 8... that's sad and that's wrong! And Mr. Allie has posted only disgusting comments about Spike on his back pages called that awesome character "Disgusting, mass-murdering, raping sociopath Spike" (see the back pages of issue 4) And in an interview about Satsu/Buffy relationship he said that's relationship is more appropriate than her self-destructing relationship with Spike... and Satsu's line "That was the best night of my life" absolutely mocking with Spike's brilliant line on season 7... So tell me again that S. Allie is not a spike-hater...
Buffyfanatic, I'm a huge Spuffy fan and it wasn't pleasant for to see Angel and Buffy kissing again. Mr. Whedon and Mr. Allie totally forgot about Spike/Buffy love story which was one of the best storylines on the show and it was a true love by my opinion. I'm not against Bangel, I even liked them in the beginning – that was Buffy's first love - well bit naive hight-school romance, and they both moved on. I love Angel with Cody more! Buffy and Spike, Cordy and Angel – they were the real soulmates. As I said I'm not a Bangel fan, but I do love Angel. He's my second favorite character on the both shows. And I love him as a champion as a hero who helps to the helpless not as a Big Bad again. Making Angel evil again (mass murdering psychopath!) will ruined his awesome character... I prefer to see Angel on IDW comic series with his team, as a champion and far away from Buffy. I'd like Buffy ends up with Spike one day, but with the hero Spike not with the Spike-villain, but I'm doubt that Allie will allow that. As I said above he totally ignored that character...
So I'm pissed at Scott Allie and his team!
I'm disappointed and I'm done with Buffy. I'm going to buy only the comics with my favorite hero - SPIKE! Only Spike can make me to spend my money and my time for the Whedon stuff. And I hope IDW will continue with their Angel's comics...
- January 9, 2010 at 10:34 AM
- Skytteflickan88 said...
I can't remember him saying that he hates Spike(even tough a lot of people overreacted about a certain comment a while agi, if I remember correctly). Not that I've read everything he's ever said, but I doubt a editor would be dumb enough to use the strong word "hate" for a character his company might use some day.
I checked the back pages of issue 4, and Allie says nothing about Spike, but there's a fan who wrote strong opinions about Spike there, among them that Spike's a mass-murdering rapist (which, let's face it, he was when he didn't have a soul or chip, no matter how nice he later treated Buffy).
You have the right to want Spike with Buffy, but just because Joss (remember, it's he that has the power, not Scott) chooses to not use Spike that much (other than in one panel in issue 3 or 4) doesn't mean they've forgotten about Spike or think he's not a interesting character anymore.
Personally, I'm actually glad that Spike's over at IDW, because we get to see him a lot more there, and soon he will be a main character for his own series, something he probably never would have gotten at Dark Horse. It would be nice if Spike was mentioned in Season 8 tough, but let's face it, they have limited space in this comics, and they can't write about everything or everyone that matters.
I hope you change your mind about reading season 8, because at least to me, Buffy is worth watching/reading with or without Spike, even tough he's my favorite character.
- January 9, 2010 at 10:58 AM
- Veiriti said...
Skytteflickan88, that disgusting comment was written by some "fan" named Shawler – but why Allie has posting comments which bashing the characters in such a way?! That's not professional at all... And I didn't read any one good comment about Spike on his back pages…
And I can't wait for the Spike's solo series. I'm happy that he takes his solo series – HE TOTALLY DESERVES IT!!! Spike After The Fall, Spike Asylum and Shadow puppets take the first places in my collection beside of my two 12 inch Spike sideshow figures. (I have got and Buffy Prophesy girl figure as well).
But I'd like Spike to be mentioned on Buffy S 8... only in few words… only one panel would be enough... I can't agree that their place is limited and Spike isn't everyone... he was one of the main characters on Buffy... Lot's of the secondary characters made appearance - Ethan Rain, Amy The rat (I was forgot about her and now she is one of the regular characters …) , Harmony, Kennedy, Riley, Oz... Angel made appearance 2 times, but not Spike. Buffy didn't say any word of gratitude for the man who died for her, even she didn't shed a tear for his sacrifice… as he never excised before! That's bother me...
Yeah, I love Spike more on IDW comics – the stories are better, the art is awesome (I'm a huge fan of Urru's art!) in comparison with Buffy's art – I love Jo Chen cover art, but not Jeanty's. It would be better Chen to make and the art inside... But maybe I'll continue to read the comics because of Angel – I'd like to know what will happen to him... Actually I'm happy that Spike's not Twilight, seeing the cover of issue 33 I was thinking that he is... I would die if see Spike evil again!
- January 9, 2010 at 12:50 PM
- Skytteflickan88 said...
Why assume Scott Allie hates Spike, just because he chooses a letter that has negative views of Spike? There could be other reasons for that. Maybe he wanted variety, and thought it would be unprofesional to not post negative letters.
"Buffy didn't say any word of gratitude for the man who died for her, even she didn't shed a tear for his sacrifice… as he never excised before! That's bother me... "
I hear what's you're saying, but from a storytelling point of view, how much fun is it to see Buffy be grateful and cry? There wouldn't be room to remember every important character. And all the characters you mentioned, Harmony, Riley, Oz, Amy and Kennedy meant something for the story and they were used to make the story go forward. To have Spike pop up for a few panels or issues like those characters would take co-working from IDW(like the other characters didn't need), and since it's Spike, a beloved character and Buffy's love interest, it can't be done easily, since there would have to be a chance for Buffy to find out he's alive, meet him and there would be drama, and Angel would probably need to be mentioned. That alone would take up half a issue to be satisfying, and since we already spent too much time from the main story (there has been one shots that, even tough entertaining, kept us from the main story line). I'm not sure that would be smart to do. A mention is fine, and to be honest, a one shot with Spike would have been more enjoyable than a one shot with Harmony, Andrew or Satsu/Kennedy, which is what we got, but those issues were needed to give the story some new angles. But that's just my opinion. I would like at least a 10 issue "mini" series about the Buffy/Angel/Spike triangle, to get some closure(even tough a part of me is so tired of both Bangel and Spuffy by now).
If Spike appeared for real, not in a dream sequence or in "the past" like with Angel, it would be a big deal, and I'm not sure there's room in season 8 for that. Maybe season 9.
- January 9, 2010 at 1:12 PM
Love this! Very funny and cool. I stopped reading the Buffy comics a while ago, but since I still read Angel I'm a little worried about what this might mean for his character. I don't really believe that Angel is Twilight. Probably Angelus, a bot, or a Glamour.
Still grossed out by the Bangel smooches though, just a visceral reaction for me. Blech.
- January 9, 2010 at 5:04 PM
- DanielW said...
If it is Angel... then what's his plan?
Could it be to get the mystical back underground?
There's a lot of nasty stuff that could be (a) really dangerous in the wrong hands (especially people who are just "experimenting") (b) deleterious to one's sanity (how many apocalypses did Angel personally prevent?)
Having Vamps as common knowledge, once the glamour wears off, could be a good thing for people "knowing is half the battle" and all that.
- January 9, 2010 at 6:59 PM
- nmcil said...
I personally hope that the final phase of Buffy Season Eight and the Twilight arc will take us back to the theme and questions regarding Angel/Angelus and his connections with W&H and The Senior Partners, that question that followed Angel/Angelus in LA -What would be his role in the big Mother Apocalypse. Plus we still have the question about Connor The Destroyer that was part of his birth and Holtz arc.
Angel making the choice to take on The Black Thorn and sending all of LA into a hell dimension, was not the apocalypse, least I don't think it was, that has been part of his story since LA. So I'm hoping that this will be resolved, or at least developed with the finale of Season Eight.
Just would like to point out that Angel/Angelus is depicted in his Sunnydale era shirt - not as Twilight.
- January 9, 2010 at 7:32 PM
- nmcil said...
BTW - just wanted to come back and say "Great Cover"
I so very excited about Spike having some alone time with a series - and I am also very excited to see what Joss Whedon has to say about the current state of his Buffyverse saga.
PS - I just got my copy of Issue 28 Variant New Year Issue - I LOVE It
I am a big fan of Spike and what IDW has done with the character. Look forward to the new work from Mr. Lynch.
- January 9, 2010 at 7:59 PM
Awesome art and Spike. I am a happy girl
- January 9, 2010 at 9:07 PM
Man get over it. The shows are over !!! The shows have been over for seven and five years. I could care less if Buffy ends up either Spike or Angel at this point. I follow Spike and whoever ends up with as long as he is happy, and Angel is happy who cares. Buffy can just rob banks at this point forever. Really because as much drama that follows those three, I don't see why Spike and Angel just give up chicks, because least with a guy you can drunk and fight it out, then it will be over
- January 9, 2010 at 10:33 PM
Sorry, not a fan of Brian Lynch. He writes Spike as a one-note "Angel-loving weakling".
They pretty much turned Spike from a powerful souled warrior that always rages against the established order/fights against overwhelming odds/understands that everyone can be defeated into a placid, content to go with the flow, take orders from Angel's minions, just all around deadbeat.
I don't hold much hope for this new series, where you can be sure that whatever Spike will do, in the end it won't really matter. He can stop as many pseudo-apocalypses as he wants that might make him believe he matters. He doesn't, what jesusAngel does is the only thing that matters...BULLSHIT.
- January 10, 2010 at 2:43 AM
- Skytteflickan88 said...
Bard, the dude saves people. Sure, you're right that he's not as independent as before, but he sure does matter to the people he saves. But yeah, Angel is The Guy, The Championest of champions. Because the show and comics where named after him.
- January 10, 2010 at 12:53 PM
Sky, it's Brad.
And no i disagree, there is nothing that special about Angel that makes him any better then Spike, hell i could give a dozen of reasons why the reverse is true.
"The Championest of champions.", are you serious?
He's done terrible and disgusting things, with or without a soul. Yet idw's comics are probaly the worst, i think i saw it mentioned in an intresting way. Yeah, it was "Angel's mistakes are constantly glorified."
And i'm definitely sick and tired of Spike being made to look bad to make Angel look good.
And as the previous poster mentioned, the show has long been over. Spike spent a lot more development and meaningful role on Buffy. He was only on Angel for 1 season, hardly makes sense since they've been keeping Spike as Angel's pathetic sidekick for the last 5 years.
- January 10, 2010 at 2:30 PM
- Skytteflickan88 said...
I misspelled, my bad.
And I'm not sure you got what I meant, and I probably misunderstood you too. You were saying that Spike didn't matter, that his character development was going no where, and I disgreed.
And yes, Angel is the championest of champions, just like I said. It got nothing to do with Spike, Angel is just seen, by many fans and other charcaters, as the NR 1 champion, the championest of champions (I know that's not proper English).
He's the vamp who first got his soul, he worked for good longer than Spike, he's the one that will/did shanshu and he acts like a champion. That makes him the championest of champions(which I said to reflect his status in the Angelverse, not because I think he deserves it). But that's not the main point of my reply. You made it sound like Spike didn't matter, and I disagreed. I understand if you think him being the "sidekick" sucks, but when someone says that my favorite character doesn't matter, I have to disagree.
Btw, I loathe Angel. He's done things (with a soul, I don't blame him for what he did when he didn't have it) that makes him very unlikeable to me.
In comparison, Spike is the angel, pun intended (even tough he's ocassionally a jerk too).
- January 10, 2010 at 2:49 PM
No problem.
Actually i was being sarcastic in my rant about Spike not mattering. He's also my favorite character, that's why i'm so angry at the treatment of the character.
Still disagree about Angel being the nr1 champion.
"He's the vamp who first got his soul"
By pissing off the wrong person, he had absolutely no desire in getting the soul.
"he worked for good longer than Spike"
After he received his soul, he still tried for 2-4years to get back to his evil self and rejoined the gang. And he killed who knows how many people that he deemed ok to kill.
Not the mention the fact that he often falls off the "good" boat by losing his soul or as in season 5 with his soul perfectly intact willing to start an apocalpse and sacraficing innocent people for HIS cause. And he didn't fight for good until long after he got a soul, first he wasted almost a 100y brooding and looking down on humanity.
"he's the one that will/did shanshu and he acts like a champion."
Shanshu is total utter bullshit, i refuse to believe that the world's survival rests on this loser vampire's choices.
And i have no doubt that the real Spike would dust Angel if he truelly believed that he was going to bring about the end of times.
But that's typical idw's treatment of Spike, make him look as a incompetent weakling.
"That makes him the championest of champions(which I said to reflect his status in the Angelverse"
Might be true in his own little universe, Spike however is from the Buffyverse and there in Angel is just another vampire with a soul. The shanshu bullshit first came forward on Angel's show.
- January 10, 2010 at 3:18 PM
- Brian Lynch said...
Bard-Brad should co-write the SPIKE series with me.
- January 10, 2010 at 5:25 PM
- nmcil said...
I was hoping for a little more Spike love and respect with the latest writer, but if what this treatment suggests, and I sincerely hope that I am wrong, looks like Spike is going to continue getting the "comic relief" treatment -
Dear Mr. Lynch, if you are out there and happen to check out the comments - PLEASE PLEASE give Spike some of the respect and dignity that his journey and struggle over at Sunnydale should afford the character.
And about Angel/Angelus - I am still trying very hard to understand why this character is given so much praise and commendations. His suicidal Grand Stand Play that sent the city of LA into a hell dimension was a total catastrophe and it was only by the most good fortune and work from Wesley and the loyalty of his fellow compatriots that all those people were saved. Why he is THE BIG HERO, I am still trying to figure out.
Don't get me wrong, I love Angel the Series, I love reading the comics but I don't understand the treatment and huge respect that the character is afforded.
- January 10, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Brian has been one of the best writers we've ever had for Spike, imho. He writes Spike as a multi-layered, complicated character and I've every faith that in his new adventures, Spike will step out from Angel's shadow and find his own direction.
Must say though, I don't think Spike is working well as a member of the ensemble cast, presently. In #28 he was the comedy relief, a self centered jerk whose ideas for being a leader seemed pretty stupid. It's too early to tell whether this is Bill's take on the character or not, so I think that I can be patient for quite a while longer. I'm grateful for IDW's development of Spike as a solo character.
I'm in awe of Franco's art and highly relieved that Spike is not Twilight.
- January 11, 2010 at 1:00 AM
Nmcil, i wouldn't count on any better treatment of Spike.
The last issue he was being led by not even Angel but Angel's spawn. And pretty much everyone in the group ignored him because he doesn't matter.
In the boys and their toys arc, he was again the annoying little brother and lesser of the two as he's always portrayed. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
That's why i believe this new series won't matter, idw is unwilling to take risks/change anything huge about Spike.
They have him learn, experience new things but as soon as he's back in an Angel title, he conveniently forgets about it all. Everytime they put him back in an Angel title, the Spike character is reduced back to zero.
But don't worry Spike isn't too far from Angel, Vegas is just a short ride away. So Spike can pop in from time to time in the Angel series so he can be ridiculed some more, make everyone laugh as the comic relief and then he'll be off again "pretending" to be some hero in Vegas. Silly vampire, only angel's actions really matter.
Ditto about Angel/us. I don't believe for a second that angel fans need to worry about him being made an enemy as Twilight. Because the writers always find another way to "redeem" him. It's really disturbing to me that such a disgusting person gets so many undeserved second chances.
And now the douche is also the main villian of the Buffy series, geeze talk about overexposure.
- January 11, 2010 at 2:17 AM
Above post was mine.
- January 11, 2010 at 2:19 AM
First I'd like to say, I'm a huge fan of Brian Lynch and I love his works and how he's doing Spike's character and I can't wait for the outgoing Spike's series! I really have no patience – I need my Spike-fix after that damn Bangel kiss! LOL
I loved Angel ATF and I don't see any problem Spike to be Angel's sidekick - I'm and a Spangel fan as well I love these two boys together (not exacly in that way LOL).
But I agree with Brat as well. I love Angel – he's a champion, but Spike is way better than him. Angel was forced with his soul – it was a curse to him. Without a soul Angel is nothing more than a monster and he didn't want to have it back. From the other side Spike was able to love even without a soul (and even without a chip – he has loved Dru and took a care for her) With or without a soul Spike always was a loyal ally and Buffy believed in him more than she believed in Angel... so Buffy had chosen him for her champion in the end, not Angel. "Spike is in my heart now."
I have only one note to Brian – why Spike should turn to Angel (issues 26-27 – sorry about the spoiler!) to remember his love to Buffy? Spike loves her more than Angel – as I said above – he fought for his soul, passed thru a demon trial to be a better and worthy man for her..."to be forgiven and to be loved" (The brilliant Church scene S7- Beneath you) What Angel did to resolve his "soul problem"? Left her for her own good. Very typical for most men... ;) And why Angel didn't fried his champion's a** to stop the First Evil. As Spike said he abandoned the woman who clamed to love. (Again!) Spike stepped into the fire and literary burned for her without a reservation! I think the IDW and Dark Horse writers don't have to forget that. Spike is the better man for Buffy – he loved "the best and the worst" of her.
And I have few thoughts about Angel being Twilight:
1. Twilight is a mass murdering sociopath (using the words of that git Shawler but they are true in this case)- he and his organization killed a lot of people.
2. Twilight hates the magic and all slayers's kind and wants to destroy them.
3. Twilight is chasing for Buffy and had hurt her badly into the cemetery.
4. Twilight destroyed Buffy's castle in Scotland killing some of her crew.
5. Twilight is killing even his own people - he killed the man who said -"Spike" (Why?????)
6. Twilight killed half of Buffy's crew in Tibet and captured the other half.
Ok, replace the name "Twilight" with "Angel" - it doesn't sound good for our champion, does it?
And what about Spike when he finds out that Angel is a villain again? Will he seat and watch how he's killing people and hurting Buffy again? I don't think so...
There are some enigmatic quotes between Spike and Angel on the end of Angel ATF (that was brilliant conversation between Spike and Angel – Thanks Brian!):
Spike: "Yes, don't worry if and when the times that you do try to tip the balance between good and evil in the favor of whatever side I'm not, I will absolutely kill you, no problem. "
Angel: "What to hell were you talking about?"
So that Bangel kiss is meaning nothing for me! In the end of season 2 Buffy has kissed Angel and then she sent him to hell. In the end of season 7 Buffy has kissed Angel and she has spent the night with Spike... So, I'm happy that Spike is not Twilight and I'm still up for a Spuffy happy ending!
- January 11, 2010 at 2:47 AM
I have to disagree with anon above. I think BL is doing a bang up job on Spike. I'm as Spuffy as the next man but he has really captured the essence of the character in my opinion. Spike isn't prefect but he continues to try and do the right and he rarely gets a reward for it. There's not big reward waiting on him but he continues to fight the good fight. I kind of wish Brian had been a writer on the series. Brian is a Spike fan, he's just taking him through a journey. Trust him. As far as the Angel stuff on DH, I find it disgusting and wish they wouldnt' go there but I'm lukewarm on S8 anyway. I buy the books just to support Joss but that series is a mess. Even though I'm a Spuffy, I'm glad Spike isn't being ruined over there like so many of my favorites. Thank you guys for the new Spike series. Now bring back Tok, Beck and Betta.
- January 12, 2010 at 10:11 AM
- Andrea said...
Thank You for the content. Wow, itz nice. He is Twilight. Great. Love it!
- January 13, 2010 at 1:37 PM
- nmcil said...
The timelines are really being played with between Buffy Season Eight and the LA Hell Timelines - And Angel/Angelus/Twilight not remembering Andrew's name, but he does know him, suggest ( unless it is a total red herring) that Twilight's timeline is different from either LA HELL and Buffy's current timeline. Plus Fray's timeline has also to be reconciled. It's all pretty much up in the air, just like Buffy, Willow and Twilight - plus Fray.
I think that we will just have to wait on how Willingham is going to treat Spike in his phase - I personally would love to have an independent Spike back - I don't believe that the "tabula rasa" particularly applies to Spike - not in the sense that his comments to Angel/Angelus suggest. While he may have been motivated by his powerful emotions and his vampire demon - the very fact that he had the capacity to choose how he reacts to changes in his life, IMVHO, cancels out Spike's very words. Spike and his journey of transformation, I believe, have written in the words and deeds himself - Spike is his own self-created man - his voluntary choice and free will at the caves in Africa are his "new or fresh start."
Just like Buffy in her Season Eight, Spike too should be given the "right" to finally grow up and be totally independent from any "needed ties" to Angel/Angelus - they have both earned it and deserve to finally be independent from that history. Not to forget or turn away from that life, but they don't have to always have to go back there either.
And on all the speculation about Spike being put into another romantic relationship with this Beck character - The love that he showed for Buffy in the series would suggest that it is much to soon for another romantic connection - that kind of love does "Not Fade Away" this soon. It's really time for Spike to be alone and develop as a man and vamp without anymore love connections. I think that the majority of his fans would really like some Spike alone time. If the love and relationship between Buffy and Spike is not going to be addressed in Buffy Season Eight, Spike really needs to be by himself for now.
- January 17, 2010 at 8:52 AM


text:
SANTA FE, N.M. — It's fair to call me a chocoholic, but it wasn't until a trip to Santa Fe that I realized I'd never had the good stuff.
What was supposed to be a casual late-December exploration of this New Mexican cultural hub wound up becoming a full-on chocolate extravaganza in which I dragged my husband, Jay, to a new exhibit, "New World Cuisine: The Histories of Chocolate, Mate y Más," at Santa Fe's Museum of International Folk Art, and to several chocolate artisans around town.
I blame it on the slice — er, cup — of heaven we tried at Kakawa Chocolate House, just a few minutes' drive from the city's plaza, and I can't say I wasn't warned.
"You're going to get a nice little buzz. Enjoy that," said Tony Bennett, Kakawa's owner, as he placed a 4-ounce ceramic mug of Mayan Full Spice hot chocolate on a saucer in front of me.
This blend of 100% cacao and a proprietary (trust me, I asked) blend of herbs, spices, flowers, nuts and chiles was the closest thing I was going to get to the ancient chocolate elixirs that captivated the pre-Columbian, Mesoamerican elite as early as 4,000 years ago. They called it "food of the gods."
Archaeological evidence found in Chaco Canyon northwest of Santa Fe suggests that native New Mexicans have consumed chocolate for at least 1,000 years, said Mark Sciscenti, a Santa Fe-based chocolate historian, chef instructor and founder of Kakawa who gives chocolate talks and tastings.
In 1524, however, Spanish conquistadors deprived natives of their delicacy for nearly 100 years by halting cacao trading with Mexico. When cacao was later exported to the Old World, its bitter taste was tempered with milk and vanilla, nutmeg, sugar and cinnamon. During the Spanish colonial period, this sweetened version became the most common way to drink chocolate in New Mexico and around the world.
At Kakawa, the faint of heart can choose a European-style hot chocolate with 72% cacao, such as the Tzul, with passionfruit, allspice and tarragon, or the Italian Citrus, with lemon and orange peel, canela, or cinnamon, and Mexican vanilla. But what the heck? When in Santa Fe ...
The Mayan Full Spice had both herbal and fruity aromas but was chile-forward on the tongue. Jay chose the Chili, another Mesoamerican drink of 100% chocolate, Mexican vanilla, coconut sugar, agave nectar and chile. This one was less aggressively spicy and was sweet and creamy.
Intrigued and jacked up on pure cacao goodness, Jay and I were off. At the folk art museum, we saw colorful ceramic, copper and silver chocolate beaters, saucers, pots and jars dating to 750. We nabbed a recipe card for New Mexican hot chocolate by Bill Jamison and Cheryl Alters Jamison, who wrote "Smoke & Spice" and "Tasting New Mexico," among others, and who had just led our class that morning at the Santa Fe School of Cooking.
In one of the small shopping areas along the plaza, we stumbled on a ChocolateSmith stand, and when we expressed interest in the chile pistachio chocolate bark, we were asked, "Green or red?" (the official New Mexico state question). We chose the green chile, nibbling on it as we window-shopped among the plaza's various western wares.
That evening, while we dined at Fuego in La Posada de Santa Fe, a posh hotel off the plaza, we tasted chef Carmen Rodriguez's chocolate mousse, which, the recipe having been passed down from his nana, included cinnamon-sugared tortillas and berries. It reinforced our impression that Santa Fe was proud of its chocolate heritage — and the history and the memories that came with it.
To keep ourselves from overindulging, we saved visits to other chocolate spots for another day, when we perused teapot and skull candy molds and funkily wrapped chocolates and nabbed a freshly made nut cluster at the colorful Todos Santos Chocolates & Confections in a quiet courtyard off the plaza.
One morning, we even ordered lavender hot chocolate at C.G. Higgins Confections, along with a few truffles the dog-friendly shop is known for. Choosing among varieties such as applewood-smoked sea salt, fiesta chile and cinnamon, butter pecan, ginger, anise and pink peppercorn, and blue cheese was among the hardest decisions I've made in my entire chocolate-loving existence.
And best of all, no one seemed to find our breakfast odd.