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| This talk page is for discussing the Karen/spoilers article.
This includes commenting on the article, questioning whether it is correct, or adding suggestions for improvements
Questions about GTA games, not about the wiki page itself, should be asked at Community:Questions.Remember to always add your signature to the end of your comments/replies using four tildes:
I've added a spoiler alert to this page, because I came here only looking for info about Michelle the girlfriend - not knowing she was Karen - and now it's blown for me, along with other things I accidentally saw in just the first sentence.
I really think there needs to be a page for Michelle that looks like a normal GF page and has a spoil-free link to here. For that matter, the disambiguation page also contains this spoiler.
I added a spoiler alert in case anybody else made the very easy mistake of following Michelle from the disambiguation page and suddenly found themselves discovering a plot point and not what clothes she likes.
KalypsoSig 22:26, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
- Agreed - I've seen this happen a lot, and it's happened to me. Sorry about that. I'll get it fixed ASAP. Gboyers talk 22:31, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
- I have to disagree. GTA IV has been out for over two months now and spoilers should surely be allowed on the site, in particular considering the spoilers have been on the article for a little while. Also, if this is implemented then I suggest marking all such pages with spoiler tags to prevent other people having a GTA game spoiled. A-Dust 22:46, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
Ok, first, it really doesn't matter how long the game has been out OR how long the page has existed. The only people a spoiler alert affects are the people it is intended to reach - those who do not want the game to be spoiled. I don't see why adding an alert affects anybody who already knows this information.
Secondly, this is a really really easy spoiler to stumble upon! In fact, until I made a very minor edit to the disambiguation page, the spoiler was there too. The reason this plot point would have been so cool to discover is that you think she is only a girlfriend. That is the information I came here looking for. Not her storyline. I only wanted to know what, other bowling and darts, she would like to do most. None of this information is even present before the plotline is blown - or at all!
Like I said, there should be a Michelle (Girlfriend) page, and that page should link here. I would say the problem is solved if the link in the Michelle (Girlfriend) page contained the spoiler alert. That way you would not have to crowd the Karen page with it, since anyone who is searching for Karen already knows this info. The problem is that Michelle disambiguation page links directly here, and that in the first sentence in this article - and in fact, even in coming here from the disambiguation - blows a major plot point ...and it is completely, totally unnecessary.
- As I have already stated, the game has been out for two months now and thus the information should, in my opinion, be regarded as common knowledge. Yes there are going to be people who don't know about certain things, but that is true of anything. I don't see why a spoiler warning should be put on here. This is not in line with other articles. Also, just look at Wikipedia, no spoiler warning. As for the spoiler, what did you expect to find on a website designed to be an encyclopedia of all events? Sorry if that sounds harsh, but to be honest it has to be said. Also, the warning for spoilers can be found on the Main Page, where it states
As our purpose is to provide complete detailed information, some pages may contain spoilers.
- A-Dust 23:14, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
Firstly, we aren't Wikipedia. If we were, it would say Wikipedia at the top of the page. Our mission is to provide good GTA information and be helpful to GTA gamers. 2 months is NOT long enough for everyone to have bought the game, even if tens of millions of people have done so. We have always been delicate about GTA SA spoilers, and we should do the same with GTA IV. The way I've edited the pages now is to outline Karen and Michelle on different pages, since they have different names and appear at different stages of the game. Yes they are the same person, but this gives us a perfect opportunity to hide the spoilers. The text "later in the game" means "don't read this or click on it if you dont want to know". Yes people know spoilers are here, and yes all the information SHOULD be on this wiki, but a big plot device like that should not be on the first sentence like that. Gboyers talk 00:21, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
EDIT: Gboyers: I'm sorry, I didn't see your message before I posted this. KalypsoSig 00:47, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
The very fact that this conversation is happening lends to the idea that this is not common knowledge. If all the info on this site is common knowledge two months after the game comes out, then why does the site exist at all? What need would you have look for any information to begin with, if you assume that all of it is common knowledge? But this is not common knowledge, especially for someone who just opened the game. The point of these wikis are to serve the user, not contributor's egos, and assuming the user knows this information is unnecessarily elitist, and the worst part is that it is a disservice to the user. The issue is not whether or not these pages contain spoilers, because of course they must.
Michelle is a girlfriend first: This is really specific spoiler issue. This spoiler is particularly insidious because of the fact that until you know Michelle is Karen, a user is probably looking for information about Michelle the girlfriend, and it is very very easy to discover this spoiler completely on accident. I'd also like to add that even if the disambiguation page (simply when searching for "Michelle" like I did) didn't link directly to a spoiler, the Girlfriend page lists her as Karen. Karen is not a girlfriend. Michelle is. After she becomes Karen, you can no longer date her, therefore Karen is not a girlfriend.
Compromise: I offered a compromise in my previous post, which I think is totally reasonable. This Karen page contains no information about Michelle the girlfriend. That is why I think we need a Michelle (Girlfriend) page that links here with an alert. That way there could be a spoiler alert in the link to this page and we would not muddy up the Karen page with a spoiler alert. In this way, a user who is ignorant of these events does not have it spoiled, and those who do not want a huge, ugly spoiler alert at the top of the page can be satisfied as well. Currently the girlfriend info does not exist at all. Currently, this spoiler is too easy to stumble upon, and I think it is a completely valid point that should be addressed somehow.
Ultimately I'm looking for a solution, not an argument as to whether or not somebody who just bought the game should already know about this very pivotal plot point, and if they don't well screw them. I would think that a simple review of common courtesy would reveal this as the wrong position to take. KalypsoSig 00:44, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
- May I add my two cents' worth? As Gboyers mentioned, we are not Wikipedia. In fact, this is the very reason I "defected" from Wikipedia in the first place, i.e. the rules are far less draconian, and people are a lot more friendly (and usually not as anal). But what really got me hooked on GTW is the fact that although we strive for encyclopedic content, it does not preclude us to cut-and-dry Wikipedia-style commentary on the games, where all things are aimed at the broadest audience possible. We are here for gamers primarily. That means our intitiatives should be geared toward assisting gamers in their gaming experiences, and should educate the general public as a secondary goal. That having been said, if a major plot development is prominently displayed on a page that someone might inadvertently come across while researching a related part of the story, then it should be taken care of appropriately. I think all of us need to step back and realize the issue here: a gamer had a plot development spoiled for him/her because of this. Therefore, we, as GTW editors, should remedy the situation. EganioTalk 00:50, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
- I like you, I also stopped editing Wikipedia because the people were mean. While i have had people here Give me messages about my work, they are friendly about it and explain my mistakes, I love Grand Theft Wiki. To get back on topic, I was one of the people who thought the michelle page dhould redirect to here, in fact, im the person who created the page and redirected it. But when Eganio explained the problem to me, i changed sides
Biggest gta fan ever 09:04, 18 July 2008 (UTC)
Alright, the discussion seems to have stalled, and nothing is being done about the spoiler. I think KalypsoSig's ideas on creating a page for Michelle are sound. I have removed the spoiler detail on the Michelle disambig page. What should be done is this: create a page for Michelle (IV) the girlfriend, on which only information about dating her while she's undercover should be present. Then, on this page, we can keep the appropriate details about her being an undercover agent, and should add a spoiler tag. The question is: do we link Michelle (IV) with this page, vice-versa, or both? I say we only link the Michelle (IV) page with this page, which will hopefully eliminate accidental blowing of Karen's cover for someone who still only knows her as Michelle. Thoughts? EganioTalk 20:31, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
- I agree that we need to be sensitive to readers, but at the moment it is IMPOSSIBLE to link Michelle to Karen - anyone that wants to know the link can only do so if they know Michelle's name and go directly to that. Imagine doing research on girlfriends in GTA IV, and not being able to find out that Michelle exists, never mind any information about her. We definitely need a link to Karen from the Michelle Stone page, but it must be carefully worded.
A couple of days ago I added: Later in the game, you are introduced to Karen (page contains spoilers) - that is quite a sensitive link, and it doesn't reveal what the link between the two is. But if you know the secret, then it is obvious that that is where to read more about it. And if you want to know the secret, you can click on that to find it out. And if you don't want to know the secret, it doesn't give anything away - it hints at a connection to someone called Karen, nothing more.
I don't think you should go round undoing these edits without discussing it, especially on (evidently) such a sensitive topic. Can we make a decision on this? Gboyers talk 03:46, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- Hi, Gerard. I understand your concerns, and apologize if you feel I have been autonomously dealing with this, but I was simply trying to do something, since the discussion had apparently completely stalled (I made the last comment, which was posted July 3rd). I'm happy to discuss all of this with any- and everybody, but it seemed like no one else was interested in resolving the matter, which is why I took the initiative. Besides, there still remained obvious confusion as to whether we needed a separate page for Michelle Stone (see edit history on both pages).
- Also, I removed the line you inserted because I felt it to be too much of an obvious "trap" to a naive reader (sorry, I should have been more clear in the edit summary). Personally, I think we should not link to this article from the Michelle Stone article, as it offers too much of a propensity for people to have plot details spolied, as happened to KalypsoSig. As I see it, people are going to figure it out, one way or the other, either by clicking the link out of simple curiosity, or (more likely) by surmising why that line was even inserted into the article at all. Perhaps we can say, "Michelle has a secret revealed later in the game", or something indirect and deliberately cryptic like that. I'm just concerned that adding a link to here is far too obvious. Besides, anyone reading about Michelle most likely has not discovered her "alter-ego", or else they would be reading this article instead, since they would know by then that Karen and Michelle are one and the same. That having been said, I think the Michelle Stone article should only focus on that persona, whereas this article should allude to both. What do you think? EganioTalk 06:32, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- I agree that the line made by Gboyers was a bit obvious, but if we mention the word secret it'll be more obvious, I don't think that there is any real answer to this. So I agree with you I guess Eganio. Biggest gta fan ever 06:53, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
I had made that addition only 3 days ago, so it isn't as if everything had stalled. You also failed to discuss your removal of that sentence, and simply reverted another user's edit without explanation. I also slightly feel that you are overestimating this plot development, due to you not having played GTA IV (I believe). Yes it is a surprise, and yes it totally re-establishes an entire character; but it is only halfway through the storyline that this is revealed, and it doesn't affect anything else. Yes we should protect people from finding out if they don't want to know, but if they DO want to know then we should allow them to find out.
By removing all traces of Karen from the Michelle article, we are adopting the "we know best" mantra - we are saying that our users are not allowed to know this information for their own good. We should give THEM to choice to read on if they want to. Obviously that needs to be done in a sensitive way. For example: "Michelle has a secret which is revealed in the mission [[Mission Name]]" - that doesn't expose her identity or the fact that she has another one; users that want to find the Karen page know thats where to lookl; and users that want to know her secret (even if they dont know it yet) have the option to find out. It is not for us to decide what to tell our readers - I am totally against witholding information, but I'm fine for hiding it sensitively.
I have protected both articles due to a small edit war that had been going on previously, and to ensure no spoilers or links are added until a decision has been made. Gboyers talk 12:57, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- Perhaps I am overestimating the plot development. I will therefore leave this to people with experience in the game, as I obviously do not have a firm grasp of the situation. Considering what you said about not withholding information from our readers (with which I absolutely agree), the line you put in earlier that I removed sounds fine to me. Sorry for making a mess. EganioTalk 21:22, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- Eganio contacted me for my opinion on this dicussion. As I have already stated, I believe that the Michelle article should be redirected to Karen. There is a spoiler warning on the front page, which warns all users that there are likely to be spoilers on articles. I think there should be no reference to the Karen character. If you are going to separate the pages on the basis of the spoiler, why are you then re-adding the spoiler? Even the word secret is a spoiler and should, really, be removed, if this is to remain separate. Otherwise, just redirect to Karen. As a compromise, why not add a list of the missions she is in under a header. This would allow readers to actually read-up on the missions before getting there, whilst not having no idea about the spoiler. Thoughts? A-Dust 17:00, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- I have to strongly disagree with your contention that we should simply redirect Michelle Stone to Karen. Because Michelle is a separate, distinct girlfriend earlier in the story, there should be some information regarding her dating proclivities, as I see it. How is someone supposed to find out about her preferences as "Michelle" if there is no article for that persona? If there is the option of prematurely learning her secret identity, there should also be the option of not doing so. What does everyone think? EganioTalk 21:22, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- He meant move all the content across too, not just delete it. But that would be worse than a direct link to Karen for spoilers. His second suggestion of listing the missions is closer to my idea of linking to the mission in which her identity is revealed, but blatently stating that there is a secret/spoiler at that link. Gives people the choice, not forcing them to find out, and not stopping them finding out. If we do either of those, its not living up to our aims. Gboyers talk 21:51, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- Okay, here goes:
- My feelings on this subject are mixed; we do have a spoiler warning on the front page, specifically for this reason; since we strive to document all details of the games, there will inevitably be spoilers on our pages. However, we do not want to alienate readers who come to our site mid-game for tips. We would lose many readers and editors if we expected them all to play the games through completely before visiting our site.
- Therefore, I definitely think we should have two separate articles, because (as was stated earlier) many readers may simply want to find out Michelle's dating preferences, and should not be redirected to a page titled "Karen", because that does not give the reader an option; it forces them to learn the spoiler.
- Revealing that Michelle has a "secret" is a spoiler. Readers should not be forced to learn that she has a secret. Similarly, adding a note that "Niko later meets Karen" on Michelle's page makes it obvious that the spoiler is related to Michelle. However, since we strive to document all details of the game, someone reading Michelle's page should have the option to learn everything there is to know about her.
- Consequently, it seems to me the best option would be to include a list of "Related Missions", and place a note next to The Snow Storm stating that the page contains spoilers. This would prevent any readers from being forced to learn the spoiler (would in fact prevent the reader from being forced to learn that Michelle has spoilers related to her), while still giving readers the option to learn the spoilers, since any reader reading a mission page should be prepared to learn spoilers related to that mission. --GuildKnightTalk2me 22:13, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
That makes sense, although I don't see any way around the spoiler issue...any way we slice it, we have to alert readers to the fact that there is a spoiler related to Michelle Stone. Adding related missions, with one having a spoiler tag attached, is a spoiler in and of itself, just as saying she has a "secret", or just as putting in a line about her being related to Karen. It seems to me that either we don't include any information about the link between Michelle and Karen (which I now realize is defeating our purpose, as Gboyers mentioned), or we necessarily add some content that contains spoiler information. It seems to me the best option might be one line, in the interest of not making it too obvious, but also not making it so readers can't find the info. Having said that, as much as I cringe at the thought, I think the best option is to just do what Gboyers did with the Michelle article, i.e. a simple line stating that Michelle is related to Karen (with the requisite spolier warning). Thoughts? EganioTalk 22:30, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- I disagree; placing a spoiler "warning" next to a link to a mission does not seem (to me, anyway) obvious that the spoiler is related to Michelle. However, as long as we give the readers the option of learning the spoiler, without forcing them to, it's fine with me. --GuildKnightTalk2me 22:41, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- Well, as you mentioned, anyone reading a mission article should be prepared for spoilers, so why would we put it next to a link to the mission article as well? Wouldn't that make it obvious, when only one mission has a spoiler warning attached under a separate article? I think our readers are smarter than you're giving them credit for. :-P EganioTalk 22:45, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
- I do see your point. Gboyers suggested having a ==Related Missions== header, with a note underneath, "This is a list of missions related to Michelle. Bear in mind that mission pages may contain spoilers." I think that would work better. --GuildKnightTalk2me 23:22, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
My friend finished GTA IV in a week and was constantly telling me things that I didn't want to know. One of these things was the Michelle secret. While I was unhappy to know about the plot, It didnt affect anything else (as Gboyers said above). I think that we need to be sensitive about it, but not too sensitive, like has been mentioned several times, our job is to give every bit of info, we can't avoid spoilers, and while I have gotton many from this site, I don't blame the site, I blame myself for reading it. Biggest gta fan ever 06:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
Don't get me wrong with the above post, I have changed sides in that I do now beleive that there should be 2 articles, but I agree with Gboyers that we can't hide info from the readers, while I stick too that it shouldn't be too obvious (like I said in my reply to Eganio earlier) but there is no unobvious answer. We just need to choose the the least sensitive line. Biggest gta fan ever 07:36, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
I have come up with the possibilly perfect way of linking the Michelle page here. Somewhere on the Michelle page it could say:
- This is the page about how Michelle is origionally met, and is also about dating Michelle. For the full main story part that Michelle plays, click here. (Page contains Spoilers)
That way, people looking for Karen would know that that's where to go, people looking for info about Michelle will know that this page will contain info about future story and so won't click it. Thoughts? Biggest gta fan ever 07:56, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
- That sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I would suggest perhaps rewording it as
- This article is concerned with the initial encounter between Niko Bellic and Michelle. For further plot details concerning this character, see here (contains spoilers).
- What does everyone else think? EganioTalk 02:16, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
I partially disagree with that one, because the link is to Karen, and anyone can see that by hovering over it or editing the page, and that makes it obvious that Michelle = Karen. I still think the best way of linking is through the mission in which she gets revealed. Something like "Michelle's secret is revealed in Mission" or "Michelle's last appearance is in Mission" (which sounds like she dies/leaves). Gboyers talk 09:23, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
- Now that I think about it, I totally see that problem. Now i'm not in any way trying to convince you, i'm just offering possible solutions. What if we created a page something like Michelle (IV) Story. That could be what the link goes to and so what is seen when hovering over the link, but that page could redirect to Karen. The reason I like this idea is that it doesn't mention any secret or any reason for another page besides story spoilers (which no one wants) Biggest gta fan ever 09:56, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
The problem with it looking innocent is that people might click it without realising it holds a spoiler. However we choose to do it, if it says "spoiler" or "secret", people know that if they go there they will find out the secret, and they can choose not to go there if they don't want to know. If it just links to another page, they might click that, accidentally reading the secret (which is a lot worse than reading the fact that there is a secret).
For the same reason, I think "spoiler" is better than "secret", as it is more specific (its a plot spoiler) and isnt quite as tempting. I still think that a mission is a perfect way to do this, because everyone knows that it will contain very specific plot details and won't read it unless they want to know something about that. I have rewritten The Snow Storm for this purpose.
I think we all agree that there SHOULD be a link between the two, so long as it is done in a sensitive manner. Gboyers talk 01:30, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
- Just let me make sure you understood exactly what I meant, it could still say:
- This article is concerned with the initial encounter between Niko Bellic and Michelle. For further plot details concerning this character, see here (page contains spoilers).
- The click here could lead to Michelle (IV) Story and then redirect to Karen. It wouldn't look too innocent because it is to a page concerned with the story and so obviousley contains spoilers of the future story (and thats why it's on a different page) and at the same time wouldn't say secret, or show that it links to Karen. And people won't click it for the wrong plot points because there aren't any other ones, she only appears in the story twice, when you meet her and when she becomes Karen, so they will know that all info on that page will be future info. Thank You for taking the time to read my idea again, I know i'm probabilly annoying. Biggest gta fan ever 01:43, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
The problem that I see with the mission thing is that people will know that something special happens in that mission, my idea doesn't allude to that. Biggest gta fan ever 01:46, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
- I do understand, I just see no reason for another page just to explain Michelle's story. We have the mission The Snow Storm which explains when Michelle is revealed, so why not use that? I would suggest the article either list all of Michelle's missions (and say "These may contain spoilers"), or just link to the snow storm saying something similar to "Michelle stops being Niko's girlfriend in The Snow Storm".
Redirecting any page to Karen is bad, because the first line of that page gives away the secret. any "Michelle's Story" page should be readable by people who want to read about the START of her story - just like the Michelle (IV) page should be readable by anyone. We can't give away the secret to people who don't want it, which is the entire point of these discussions. If you read The Snow Storm, it is revealed at the end of the walkthrough, after being clearly marked with spoiler tags. That is where you would expect to find plot details, and it doesnt look suspicious on the Michelle page.
And thanks for participating in these discussions, this is exactly what a talk page is for, and is exactly how we should make decisions on this wiki. Gboyers talk 02:14, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
Alrighty, soo... How's about, the first sentence of the page says,
"Michelle is Niko Bellic's first girlfriend in Grand Theft Auto IV. Niko dates her until The Snow Storm."
It gives access to the spoiler, but doesn't give too many hints, only that Niko will stop dating Michelle for a reason that would be explained on that mission page. --GuildKnightTalk2me 02:41, 7 August 2008 (UTC)
- If we're going to use the mission idea, that's the best way. Good idea GuildKnight. Biggest gta fan ever 06:54, 7 August 2008 (UTC)
Done. Everyone happy? Thanks for a very good (if tricky) discussion, I'm impressed. Gboyers talk 11:26, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


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The guys in "The Workplace Proximity" Episode 5 of Season 7
Sheldon must decide how much "Amy time" is too much after she takes a job at his university. Meanwhile, Howard finds himself sleeping on Raj's couch after a fight with Bernadette, on THE BIG BANG THEORY, Thursday, Oct. 17 (8:00 – 8:31 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured left to right: Simon Helberg, Jim Parsons, Kunal Nayyar and Johnny Galecki Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved

subset: commoncrawl


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Bubble Tea Meets
October 23, 2013
Hi guys! I've had a few days away from this blawg which consisted of going to a blogger meet up, completing my maid of honour duties at a hen do and finalising my plans to move house! If we chat in chronological order, a few weeks ago I tweeted that I was looking for some new blogs to read and spoke to Cara of super sweet blog Glacial Glow, where I spotted she was organising a Birmingham blogger meet up! After working so many blogger events and barely going to any recently for just myself and my own blog, I was really excited to meet some like-minded bloggers and new people.
On Saturday I stood at New Street Station and did think the effortlessly cool girl nearby in a great coat with popping red lips may be a blogger, but I was not keen on asking a stranger if they were attending a blogger meet up if they actually weren't and thought I was crazy! It turns out it really was delightful Jess of Jessthetics and we linked up when Cara came in her enchanting doll-like, porcelain beauty, and we know how much I love girly vibes! We had a hunt for the second WHSmith in the station to bump into Elizabeth of new beauty blog MungleVille - go over and show some welcome love! Elizabeth seems the perfect candidate as a beauty blogger because she can size-up and recommend cosmetics perfectly both online and in person, and has the pretty face I certainly would like to see adorned with products I may like to purchase! We were expecting a few more people but as with many meet ups, people may be nervous or a bit flaky, so we went off to Café Chino in Arcadian for some bubble tea and cake!
Yum! If I am around town I will definitely stop by for a bubble tea, and I think I prefer mine warm without the pearls. We were all set with tea and cake and my talented friend Leah came; a blogger I've known for many years now and always a source for inspiration, wisdom and awesome charity shop finds, including some Luella jeans that looked beyond fantastic.
As we nibbled, we chatted blogging, feminism, various highlights and crazies of the Midlands, and it really is a hive of inspiring thoughts when chatting with ladies with something to share with the world. I do think surrounding yourself with different and diverse people who have goals and dreams really does enhance your own, and I'm sure we will meet again soon!
Sadly I had to rush off soon after our lunch as it was the hen night of my oldest and dear friend, where I will be a bridesmaid in November! I wish I had taken a photo of the treats I had prepared, which included some flash cards of funny questions about her, tiaras, glowsticks, wine jelly, a 'Guess the Groom' game with various celeb grooms in envelopes, a pass the parcel, VIP passes, and a selection of dares that possibly weren't appropriate for her grandma to pick out! I really enjoyed the DIY aspect as I was browsing Pinterest all week, so I will certainly look into more fun and inexpensive wedding ideas to make her day even more special.
I stayed at my nan's house but I thought I would post these photos anyway as I am loving my new Motel Rocks Folly Top in Sun, Moon, Stars, my favourite print in a while! I did actually order the Kimmy Skirt also to wear as a matching two piece but it's really slimming for some reason, maybe due to the dark colour and large print, and I didn't really look like myself! The shape of the top is really chic though, with a high neckline and strappy open back. It will be my go-to top for weekends under a few layers! I also made a quick OOTD video to see the outfit in more detail. Loving blogging and vlogging again!


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Group seeks exchange families
Staff writer
Welcoming foreign exchange students into her home has affected Doris Unruh's children as much as it has her own life.
Unruh's daughter, Marie, now travels the world constantly. She is currently in Europe.
"The world has become so small; they realize there's more than Marion County," Unruh said. "They will always have friendships around the world."
Carol Duerksen, state coordinator for the exchange student foundation ERDT/Share, said 50 to 100 students still need placement.
Families that welcome exchange students do not have to be traditional homes like Unruh's.
"We have a wide variety of people that serve as host families," Duerksen said. "It can be a young couple, a retired couple, a single host mom, or single host dad. You don't need kids."
Unruh, a teacher at Peabody-Burns High School has opened her home to 11 students from Brazil, Germany, Poland, and Albania. She said being a part of the program has kept her young.
"It keeps you in touch with young people," Unruh said. "Hosting takes work, but the benefits outweigh any inconveniences that may arrive."
Families can contact Duerksen at (800) 296-3738.
"Marion, Hillsboro, Peabody, and Goessel, all four of those high schools have been exceptional," Duerksen said. "We're hoping to find some more families."


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Ravens tight end Ed Dickson is watching tape of the 49ers, and he likes what he sees.
Dickson said at Super Bowl Media Day that watching the 49ers' defense give up 24 first-half points to the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, the Ravens became confident that they'll have similar success.
"We've seen the success that Atlanta had," Dickson said, via CSNBayArea.com. "We're not going to be naïve. I'm sure they've made corrections. In the end, it's all about us and the things that we do well with running the football and passing the ball, just being a balanced offense. We've seen a lot of things on film we can exploit, and we'll go after those things."
Of course, the 49ers' defense also shut the Falcons out in the second half, so the things the Ravens think they can exploit may have already been corrected. But Dickson, who was held without a catch in the AFC Championship Game, seems to think he's going to get a lot more opportunities in the Super Bowl.


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Photo by Bachrach44, via Wikimedia Commons
After defeating the New Jersey Devils in six games in this year's Stanley Cup Final, the Los Angeles Kings became the first eight-seeded team to win the Stanley Cup since the new playoff format was introduced in 1994. At first glance, this sounds like a huge upset but it really isn't if you have been paying attention to the playoffs and the run the Kings have been on. They got through the first three rounds in only 14 games and steamrolled over the Phoenix Coyotes in the Western Conference Finals.
Past history has shown that teams built on a strong puck possession game at even strength have a better chance at going further into the playoffs. The recent Stanley Cup victories from teams like Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh are evidence of this and the Kings were the fourth highest ranked team in Fenwick Close this season. This means that they were consistently outshooting their opponents in close games and were one of the better teams in the NHL this season. One of the reasons why they ended up as an 8 seed is because they had some very poor shooting luck and had numerous stretches throughout the year where they couldn't score.
When a team plays that well at even strength, it usually doesn't go unrewarded, so those who followed these numbers saw the Kings luck turning around eventually and it did in a big way. Los Angeles' shooting luck improved this post-season and when you combine that with their ability to dominate the pace of play at even strength and the superb goaltending of Jonathan Quick, it makes for a very dangeorus team and a cup favorite. The Canucks, Blues and Coyotes all found out the hard way and the Devils followed suit in the Stanley Cup Finals.
New Jersey did what they could to push this series to six games but the Kings proved to be too much for them and just about every underlying stat from this series proves that point. We will take a look at said underlying numbers after the jump and point out a few areas where the Kings excelled, the key one being scoring chances.
Stanley Cup Final Scoring Chances
Los Angeles' chances are in grey, New Jersey's are in red. This chart is from LA's perspective.
The Kings did to the Devils what they did to most of their other opponents this post-season. They outchanced the New Jersey by 16 at even strength, which is a little surprising because there were a couple of games where I thought the Kings looked a bit off. It appears that didn't matter as much since they were still able to outchance the Devils by a wide margin both overall and at even strength. This isn't terribly surprising because the Devils (nor many other teams in the league) don't match up well with the Kings at even strength, so the best they could do was try to contain LA as much as possible.
That is what New Jersey did for most of this series and they did a decent job when playing at even strength, but they still were not producing much offense. It's very hard to win like by merely suppressing the oppsotion's offense you are playing against a goalie like Jonathan Quick.
It didn't help that the Kings also shut them down on the powerplay, allowing only 12 scoring chances when playing 4-on-5. Taking advantage of powerplays is a way to level the playing field against a tough team but the KIngs wouldn't let that happen.
Los Angeles Kings Scoring Chances by Player
Drew Doughty played some of the best hockey of his young career this series. He was the Kings' most active player offensively and he did a remarkable job at preventing chances at the other end, too. All series long I thought the Devils top line looked very ineffective and the play of Doughty was a huge reason for that. Rob Scuderi also palyed very well along side of him as the two make a very effective duo. Doughty was clearly the one who was making things work, though. He was fantastic in all three areas of the game.
The Kings' top-six also came to play as the Kopitar line continued to plow over their opposition and the Richards line also performed very well. That line was actually a concern coming into this series because despite Richards, Carter & Penner putting up points, they were very poor defensively through a majority of the post-season. They managed to right the ship in this series, though, as all three were much better at preventing chances than they were previously.
All but two players in the Kings forward corps had a positive scoring chance differential at even strength. Those two players were Trevor Lewis and Brad Richardson. Lewis and the rest of the third line were probably the Kings' weakest unit this series but they did not play poorly overall. Richardson was scratched in Game 2 in favor of the returning Simon Gagne and I don't even need to tell you how big of an upgrade that was.
The vulnerable spot for the Kings this series was the Mitchell/Voynov defense pairing as they had a lot of problems when it came to preventing scoring chances against. Rookie defender Voynov definitely got exposed a few times and had quite a few miscues in his own end, so it isn't too surprising to see that these two were outchanced. I didn't think it would be by this big of a scope, though.
I do wonder how much Mitchell's numbers relate to playing with Voynov because he was much better at preventing chances on the PK than he was at even strength. Either way, the play of the rest of the defense corps made this not that big of an issue.
Kings Even Strength Scoring Chance Differentials
SCF 15 = Number of LA scoring chances that the player was on ice for per 15 minutes, SCA 15 = Number of PHX scoring chances the player was on ice for per 15 minutes, Diff/15 = Scoring chance differential per 15 minutes. Chart sorted by scoring chance differential
This chart should better illustrate how dominant Doughty, Scuderi, Williams, Kopitar and Brown were. The Kings' top-five was just oustanding at both creating and preventing chances. Keep in mind that Doughty and Scuderi usually play the toughest minutes on the team, so for them to allow so few chances against at even strength speaks volumes about the quality of their play. You can also see that Doughty outplayed Scuderi by quite a bit.
Alec Martinez had the highest differential among every player which might surprise some but he does play significantly easier minutes than the rest of the defense corps. Both Martinez and Greene are used against third lines more than anything else but you can't blame them for playing their role effectively. Just remember that they were protected when evaluating them. Still, on most teams the third pairing is only expected not to be a liability but the Kings had two quality players in that role which is another reason why they got this far.
Earlier I said that the Richards line was better defensively than they were against Phoenix and while that statement is true, they still had some problems when it came to preventing chances. Richards and Penner struggled a lot more in that area than Carter did, though.
Devils Scoring Chances by Player
For how much talk there was about Ilya Kovalchuk playing through an injury and struggling because of it, he was actually one of New Jersey's best forwards this series. He was one of only six players to have a positive scoring chance differential, led all forwards in scoring chances for and was on ice for all but one of their chances on the powerplay.
His injury may have been a reason why New Jersey's offense wasn't as effective as it could have been, but those who believed he was the Devils' biggest problem in this series clearly weren't paying attention. A much bigger problem was that both Travis Zajac and Zach Parise were neutralized by Doughty & Scuderi.
Defense was also a major concern for the Devils because while their blueline isn't terrible, they do not match up well with the Kings. Case and point, they had Bryce Salvador & Marek Zidlicky skating against Kopitar for the first three games of the series and you can see how that turned out. Salvador was lauded for his point production but he was getting hammered in the defensive zone more than any other New Jersey blue-liner.
Pete DeBoer tried to change things up by putting him with Anton Volchenkov while inserting Henrik Tallinder into the lineup to have him play with Marek Zidlicky. This didn't help Savaldor much but Tallinder managed to provide some relief for the rest of the defense corps. However, I do think it was interesting that he replaced Peter Harrold when there were other defensemen who were playing worse.
The other move that was made was having Petr Sykora inserted into the lineup in place of Jacob Josefson. This move didn't work out at all as Sykora was sigificantly worse than Josefson in the scoring chance department. My guess is that DeBoer made the switch to add another goal-scorer to the lineup but Sykora didn't provide much help at all to New Jersey. Perhaps the other reason for this move could have been to slide Patrik Elias back to center, but they weren't using him in a shutdown role so I'm not sure how much that would have changed things.
If there's one positive New Jersey can take away from this series it is the play of Adam Henrique. His linemates were a revolving door but he was able to work with just about everyone and had the highest scoring chance differential on the Devils. With the Kings top unit taking care of Parise & Zajac, one of Henrique or Elias needed to step forward and you can see that Henrique certainly did. He was poor on special teams but there isn't much to complain about concerning his production at even strength. The big caveat is that he started 73.3% of his shifts in the offensive zone in the finals, which gave him a territorial advantage over others.
Devils Even Strength Scoring Chance Differentials
It's easy to see where things went wrong for the Devils here. David Clarkson, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Jacob Josefson and Adam Henrique can not be producing more chances than Travis Zajac, Patrik Elias and Zach Parise. When that happens you know that your top players aren't getting the job done. Zajac and Parise had to be a lot better but they spent a lot of time against Kopitar's line & Drew Doughty, and it's hard to come out on top in that matchup no matter who you are.
I also mentioned the possibility of using Elias in a shutdown role against Kopitar but he didn't appear to be doing that well defensively according to this. It looks like Henrique outperformed Elias defensively here, but Henrique got much easier zone starts than him.
The Devils' fourth line has received a lot of praise for their play in the post-season but they were giving up almost double the amount of chances that they were creating. We see this every year. There is always a few "grinders" on a playoff team who step up and score some timely goals but the truth is that they are replacable and, in most cases, not very good. Carter, Gionta and Bernier all fall under that category.
I am going to let Bryce Salvador's numbers speak for themselves. It's largely irrelevant how many points he recorded this post-season, he was crushed in this series and any team looking for a defenseman this off-season needs to twice before signing him. Yes, he was given a tough matchup but when your numbers are that bad compared to the rest of the defense, there is a lot more going on. He was still getting destroyed when DeBoer tried to protect him by placing him on the third pairing with Volchenkov.
It's surprising that he played more minutes at even strength than any other Devil.
Head to Head at Five on Five
The big thing that sticks out about the head-to-head numbers is how good Doughty and Scuderi were compared to Mitchell & Voynov. Doughty and Scuderi managed to beat every single matchup the Devils threw at them, while Mitchell & Voynov struggled immensely. How badly they were beaten by the Devils second and third lines is surprising nullified how good Doughty & Scuderi were against the Zajac unit. Winning any matchup in a series by five or more is very impressive but losing one by that amount is awful no matter what.
It is a good thing that the Kings top defense pairing and first two lines played as well as they did or the play of the Voynov/Mitchell pairing would have been a serious problem. The Kopitar line crushed their matchup against the Zajac trio and won all of their matchups against the Devils defense. The Richards line also did some impressive work and were able to take advantage of some of the weaker matchups (i.e. Devils fourth line).
The only time that the Devils' first line was able to generate a lot of offense is when they were playing against the Kings' third line. They actually beat them by a considerable margin and Kovalchuk did some serious damage against them.
Head to Head Ice Time
DeBoer changed his strategy throughout the series. He started things off by matching his first line against the Kopitar line & Doughty/Scuderi but that didn't work out. He then tried to get those two on out against the Mitchell/Voynov defense pairing which worked more in his favor than the power vs. power approach did. As for the defense pairings, Marek Zidlicky actually spent the most time against Kopitar while the rest of the defense corps had their ice time spread around against the LA top-six.
While DeBoer made a few changes, Darryl Sutter didn't do much with his lineup and stuck with the same matchups throughout the series. He continued to use Kopitar, Richards, Doughty & Mitchell against tough competition and protected the fourth line & third defense pairing. He did seem to trust Stoll and company with some tougher minutes, though. The only lineup change he made was replacing Brad Richardson with Simon Gagne.
Head to Head Chances per 15 minutes
Parise and Zajac took a huge thumping from the Kings' first line and they also posted some very poor numbers against the LA fourth line, too. They managed to make some of that up against the Stoll line but eventually learned to keep that line away from those two. Instead, Stoll, Lewis & King feasted on the Devils fourth line, who were crushed by them and the Richards line.
The Devils had some big matchup wins, as well with the most glaring one being Clarkson's work against Voynov & Mitchell. The Kings won the majority of the key matchups in the series, though.


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Deconstructing the Macau High-Stakes Cash Games
In Macau, the fabled no-limit hold'em high-stakes cash games, which take place at the Poker King Club and have run as high as HKD $30,000/$60,000 (USD $3,850/$7,700), have captivated the poker world for well over a year, yet specifics surrounding these games seem to be under lock and key. Sure, we know that high-stakes pros like Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, John Juanda and Sam Trickett have flocked to the game, but what do we know about the players who attract these sharks?
Information regarding these "rich Chinese businessmen" is scant, but a recent event, the €50,000 Majestic High Roller, at the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe shed a little light on these mystery players. I happened to be at the Casino Barrière for the duration of the WSOPE, and while I didn't cover the High Roller, I was an interested observer, given the lineup. You see, while the event was open to everyone, it was put together thanks to support from Richard Yong and Paul Phua, two of the aforementioned businessmen whom you may recall from this summer's $1 Million Big One for One Drop.
"Guys like [Richard] Yong and [Paul] Phua are accustomed to playing really big. But 50,000 euros is already huge," said Ty Stewart, executive director of the WSOP and vice president of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, in a September interview with PokerNews when the €50,000 Majestic High Roller was announced. "We looked at the high-roller and super high-roller tournaments out there, how many distinct players each achieved, and felt that €50K would give the tournament the best chance."
From what I've observed, Yong and Phua seem to be the two major players from Macau, or at least the ones who are capable of organizing games and inspiring players to partake. Thanks to the former's final table appearance in the Big One for One Drop, where he finished in eight place for $1,237,333, Yong has spent the most time in the spotlight of the Macau contingent. Little is known about Yong, though his WSOP bio for the Big One for One Drop shed a little light: "Richard Yong is a 54-year-old businessman from Asia who currently resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has many businesses worldwide, his main ones being data mining and IT-related companies. Richard has participated in the highest buy-in cash games and tournaments around the world. Richard was a part of the Million Dollar Cash came in Melbourne, Australia."
Likewise, here's Phua's limited WSOP bio: "Paul Phua [whose real name is Wei Seng] is a 48-year-old businessman from Asia who currently resides in Malaysia. Phua travels around the world and has competed in some of the highest buy-in tournaments and cash games. Phua was a part of the Million Dollar Cash came in Melbourne, Australia."
Phua's background is just as veiled, but an Oct. 20, 2008, article from macaubusiness.com offered a little more information. According to the report, Phua became a crucial piece in the casino chess came between gaming tycoons Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson. The former managed to recruit Phua, a well-respected "promoter," from the latter, a move that helped Wynn Resort thrive in Macau.
Here's the relevant part from that article: "The promoter used to work exclusively for Sands Macao, but is now serving rival Wynn Resort. The Malaysian junket agent received a 1.1 percent base commission on the amount of chips that his players bought in Sands Macao VIP rooms. According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Phua managed eight VIP tables at the Sands Shanghai Room and was responsible for 36 percent of Sands Macao's total VIP room turnover of US$12.8 billion dollars during the first three months of this year. Wynn Macau reportedly will pay Phua a 1.2 percent base commission. Phua also works with the Australian casino Burswood, as well as Genting Highlands outside Kuala Lumpur."
While they're largely shrouded in mystery, one thing is clear — both Phua and Yong are loaded. In fact, while I was at the WSOPE, one of the floors told me the following when I asked how Yong made all his money: "I have no idea, but let me put it this way. That guy over there is the biggest player Caesars Palace [in Las Vegas] has ever had in its history."
These men may largely drive the action, but the man responsible for organizing the games, at least as far as the high-stakes ones at PKC are concerned, is Winfred Yu, business director of PKC. "The Big Game is Winfred's baby and the players call him to let him know when they will play," AJ Brock, the Chief Operations Officer at PKC, told pokerportal.asia in an interview.
Yu is not only an organizer of high-stakes games, he's also a poker player and bubbled the WSOPE High Roller. "I was born in Hong Kong before immigrating to Canada with my family when I was 14. I then went to university there, taking up math and statistics. So basically, I got something that was related to poker, so that's how I first started playing," Yu told Asia PokerNews in a 2009 interview. "Because of the spread of poker's popularity into places such as Sweden and Russia, I thought that China is definitely one place where the game can grow. I wanted to bring the game to the market and show that the Chinese can definitely be good at poker. Chinese people like to gamble and at the same time they are very interested in a lot of challenging and skill games. Also, a lot of them are very good at math, so that helps as well."
Interestingly, Phua, Yong, and Yu finished first, second, and third respectively in the 20-player £100,000 buy-in High Roller tournament at Aspinall's private gambling club in London, which took place the week before the €50,000 Majestic High Roller. Phua took home the £1,000,000 top prize, Yong collected £570,000 for second, and Yu took £300,000 for third.
Of course those three men aren't the only rich Chinese businessmen players in action. A host of others joined them in Cannes for the €50K including Wang Qiang, Lifeng Chen, Sheng Sun, Zheng Tang and Fung Cheung, though information on these players is scant at best. Because I've never personally witnessed games at PKC, I can't guarantee that all these players play the big game, but I believe it's a safe deduction given their associations and ties to Macau that they do. Here's some of the information floating around in cyberspace regarding these players:
- In 2011, Wang Qiang played in the Million Dollar Cash Game at the Aussie Millions and followed that up by busting on the bubble in fourth-place in that year's $250,000 Super High Roller.
- There is a Lifeng Chen who is President of VanceInfo Technologies Inc., but whether or not this is the same man is unknown.
- Sheng Sun took third in the HKD$95,000 NLHE High Roller at the APPT Macau back on November 26, 2011 for HK$610,700 (USD $78,461). He also finished third in the HKD$1,000,000 NLHE Manila Millions Asian Poker Tour—Manila on April 20, 2012 for HKD$4,650,000 (USD $599,153).
- Zheng Tang finished runner-up in the APPT—Macau HKD$88,800 NLHE High Roller for HKD$666,700 (USD $85,854) on May 18, 2010. He also took fourth in the 2012 Macau High Stakes Challenge $258,000 NLHE Super High Roller for $2,233,531.
- Fung Cheung first caught my attention at the European Poker Tour Barcelona €50K High Roller as she was the only woman to enter that event. While she didn't cash, Cheung did managed a 37th-place finish in the 2012 WSOPE Main Event for $27,724. Cheung is also a close friend of Phil Ivey, whom she traveled with during the WSOPE.
There's no doubt that Macau is a hotbed for poker, and with men like Yu, Phua and Yong driving the action, it shows no sign of slowing down. The veil of anonymity the Chinese businessmen and players donned in the safe confines of the PKC are slowly being stripped away, a process that has been exacerbated as they venture outside Macau to places like Vegas, London, Australia, and Cannes in search of action. Who knows, maybe one day these players will embrace the unsolicited celebrity thrust upon them — it'd certainly be good for the game.
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Todd Wilbur is a name you may well have heard before. For lack of a better word, he's a copycat…and a cool one at that. From homemade Twinkies to homecooked Big Macs, Todd can recr
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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — As LeBron James said during the playoffs when asked about his potential participation in the 2016 Olympics, "that's a long time from now."'
That's three years from now to be exact, which is why it is far too early to count James out of competing in a fourth straight Olympics with the USA Basketball program he helped rebuild.
Despite reports to the contrary, James hasn't informed anyone at USA Basketball about his intentions for 2016. USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo made it clear during this week's mini-camp that he will give James and the other veteran stars who have competed previously space between now and then, the door will remain open for the future.
James, who already owns two gold medals and one bronze, could play in his fourth Olympic games that summer. But that would be after three more rigorous years of trying to add to his championship haul in the NBA. James has led the Miami Heat to back-to-back titles, earning consecutive Finals MVP awards, and will have endured considerable wear and tear to his body if he continues on his current and torrid pace.
There is also the potential for an exhausting free agent summer after the 2013-14 season, provided James opts to test the market after next season.
But again, so much can go on between now and 2016 that it's nearly impossible to speculate about who will or will not be willing, able and available in three years. No U.S. male has ever played on more than three Olympic teams ( LeBron is one of only three players to participate three times. Carmelo Anthony and David Robinson are the others.)
"I'm sure all of these guys think they know what's coming down the line and what they'll be doing," said an Eastern Conference executive who is in town this week for USA Basketball's mini-camp for the Men's Senior National Team. "But they should know better. Derrick Rose is the cautionary tale for all of these guys. It all depends on where [LeBron] is that year. How healthy is he? How tired might he be from grinding his way through the playoffs? You just never know."
Kevin Durant and Kevin Love have already committed to participate in the World Cup of Basketball next summer in Spain and will surely be a part of the pool for 2016, provided they are healthy. Durant said there are several other stars from the team that won gold at the London Olympics last summer, he mentioned Russell Westbrook and James Harden specifically, who are interested in joining them.
When asked specifically about James, he said he hadn't spoken to him about it. "Those guys are older," he said and then laughed. "Their time is precious."
Colangelo's declaration that Durant is the "face of the program going forward" was acknowledgement of the obvious; he's just 24 and has a larger window than James or any of the other older and more established stars. It was not an indication that James, Anthony and any of the other veteran stars are done with USA Basketball.
In 2016 James could very well play a role similar to what Kobe Bryant played in London. Bryant served as the elder statesman of the group and its leader, while stepping aside offensively and allowing Durant, Anthony and James to serve as the catalysts on the floor.
In the immediate aftermath of last summer's gold medal run, the rumblings about U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski's run being over began percolating. Months later an announcement on his replacement was expected. But he had a change of heart and reaffirmed his commitment to the program and the process for the long-term. Simply put, things change. And Coach K's influence on James in three years could be significant, if they decide his services are vital to the U.S. cause.
Plus, it's hard to walk away or even take a step back when the U.S. is in the midst of reestablishing its dominance on the world stage. And the fact is, no one has a crystal ball. No one knows for sure who will be available for competition three years from now.
There is a ton of talent on display here this week and there will be even more NBA stars vying for spots on next summer's team that will compete in Spain. There's no doubt that the competition for roster spots will be fierce three years from now in an Olympic summer.
USA Basketball's pool of talent should be as deep as its ever been, given the way the program has been reconstituted under Colangelo and Krzyzewski. New faces will pop onto the radar as more established ones move on or fade out of the program. There are All-Stars involved in the program that might never make a 12-man roster for a competition. But the surplus of talent will remain, with or without James included.
"The [three] things for all these guys; it's contract, family and health. And any personal stuff is the reason we have the pool [of players]," Krzyzewski said. "Because anything that can happen human, can happen to Kevin Durant or Kevin Love. That's why you need more than the main 12 guys. It's worked well, it's worked very well, so far."


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Warm green bean salad with pancetta, tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese.
- 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp sherry vinegar (a mild, flavorful wine vinegar)
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 pound thinly sliced pancetta
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 pound of fresh green beans, ends trimmed, strings removed (if any), halved if very long
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano) shavings, chopped
1 Core the tomatoes. Slice them in half horizontally and gently squeeze out most of the seeds and juice. (Alternatively, you can use your fingers to gently remove the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes.) Chop the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
2 In a small bowl, mix the honey and sherry vinegar. Set aside.
3 Heat a large sauté pan to medium heat. Cook the strips of pancetta in batches until golden and crisp. Let drain on a paper towel set over a plate to absorb the excess fat. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the fat remaining in the pan (don't put down the drain or you'll clog your drain when the fat cools). Add 3 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan, set aside. Chop the pancetta.
4 Bring a medium saucepan of generously salted water to a boil. Add the beans and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans. Put beans into a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes.
5 Heat the oil in the skillet that was used to cook the pancetta on medium heat. Whisk in the vinegar honey mixture. Turn the heat up and continue to whisk as the mixture boils and blends. Pour out the hot dressing on to the beans and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped pancetta and Parmesan and toss.


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Teodora Axente is associated with the Cluj School, a group of Romanian artists making work after the 1989 Revolution, which ended Nicolae Ceausescu's communist regime.
There is a dark sense of carousing in her work which examines the question of boredom in a secular world. Left to his or her own devices, Axente's adult figures conjure up spirits or flights of whimsy in seemingly childlike ways, often seeking solace in shiny and tactile objects such as tinfoil, plastic wrap, or furs. However, translated to a non-secular world, each stroke Axente makes seem satirical or political, consciously examining religion or capitalism.
According to the artist, this dichotomy is the exact intention: "One of my concepts is to transform a real fact into a game . . . It is all about play from my perspective, the playfulness is more than a world of novelty in which everything happens and is reconstituted because of the freedom to act, to think."


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